It will not surprise you to learn that at various times, the newspaper's performance is critiqued in this space. In the context of localism, I'm forever fond of pointing to its parent, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., as perhaps the finest contemporary example of why it should be illegal for Alabama retirees to control the news we read in Indiana.
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.(CNHI) is a publisher of newspapers and advertising-related publications throughout the eastern part of the United States. The company was formed in 1997 by Ralph Martin[1], and is based in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is financed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
We've had most of the year to observe the newspaper's performance since the merger. What do you think?
14 comments:
Some days I read it. Some days I don't. Even the days that I do look at it, I probably don't spend more than 5 or 10 minutes. I'm definitely not part of the 1% but am in the position to subscribe to the New and Tribune and not put my retirement in jeopardy. I get it more out of habit than anything else.
I don't see people rushing to start start an alternative.
I don't see people rushing to start start an alternative.
Is there anything indispensable in the print edition that you can't get by reading on-line?
Comics. I mean the real comics, not Daniel's stories. (grin)
Actually, I find little indispensable on-line or in print. I do find an article every now and then that I learn something from. Read a few a opinion columns.
I'll probably catch flack for this but part of the reason that I still subscribe is that it is "our" paper. Kind of like supporting local businesses such as NABC. Yes, I know who owns the paper and have already stated that I don't really get much out of it. Still, it's all that we have and "nobody is rushing to start an alternative" for me to choose. At least not that I'm aware of.
In the context of localism, there could never be a better example of an industry that should be based out of town than a newspaper/media source.
Give me a breal Daniel, you are spouting off in favor of the corporate newspaper mentality because they are paying your salary.
In the context of local, a newspaper is a prime example of something that should only be local, what the hell does some corporate Editor know about the community it is supposed to cover?
You guys come in with your group think and your cookie cutter corporate approved writing style with absolutely no sense of journalism integrity or investigative skills.
And as a corporate owned mouthpiece that only cares about the bottom line, it strives to protect the status quo, no hard hitting investigations or opinions that run counter to whoever or whatever the power elite is in the community where it operates.
Just like the Dinosuars, the corporate owned community newspapers will perish
Why, Daniel?
I've told this story several times but here it is again in brief:
I've written for two different companies in now going on seven years, one was "locally" owned, the other my present employer. My first owner was very well known in the community, and to keep it I guess as friendly as possible, his relationships definitely had an impact on our editorial coverage. I've never had any such pressure here, not even close. News, like history, is best when recorded and reported by people without a vested interest in the topic. Well, at least to the point where the interest affects how you cover or write about a topic. I've also witnessed similar biases in other "locally" owned newspaper products. Most definitely there are some around the nation that don't fall prey to that kind of pressure, not trying to stereotype everybody. And I'm not spouting off to protect my salary, just my spot on the corporate softball team.
I thought that was what you meant.
Just didn't want to assume. I understand your point.
There is danger, also, in being too detached.
Absolutely. I guess you need to be attached to the ideal, but detached from the personalities, at least in most cases.
Newspaper: timely paper, cheap, that people just want to read for the news in it. What newspapers around the world still, thankfully, do every day - go out and ask questions in the public interest.
We have a publication that thrives on sports reporting and paid legal announcements. One "news" story a week hardly a newspaper makes.
The small town that I was raised in has a newspaper that comes out twice a week. There is so much more editorial comment and reporter follow up than News/Tribune. It's a chain owned newspaper(Landmark, I believe), too. It can be done.
Is it bad to hope that when the last dinosaur dies, it falls on Ecology Warrior?
if I fall Jon, I would fall on you since you are as low as a snake on the ground
Well if you picked up the paper today I don't think you could argue much about lack of news coverage. As for follow-ups, they definitely have a place but there's only so much that can be covered and I think most people would rather have information on something that happened as opposed to several follow-ups. We do a fair share of those as well. At the end of the day, when a lot of papers across the country are shutting down or cutting back, the N & T still covers more Southern Indiana news than any other media outlet in the area, easily. It's not perfect, nothing is, but it's very much reliable and honest. Happy new year to you all.
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