Regarding my post about yesterday's Gannett stock plunge, a reader says in a new comment: "I think it's time to get realistic here and look at the true future (Gannett or otherwise). And the first question needs to be: Can small, localized dailies in markets (like New Jersey) that are overlapped with big city dailies really survive much longer in their present state? Seems to me it comes down to basic economics. And I hate to pick on Jersey, but if the daily paper disappears from Cherry Hill, will there be reader outcry? Or will people say, 'well that's a shame,' and start reading the Philly Inquirer?"Join the debate, in the original post.
Earlier: And the most miserable New Jersey paper is . . .
But we're told that our future is local, local, news. A paper like the one in Cherry Hill is uniquely positioned to provide that. The Inky sure won't.
ReplyDeleteOr is there something wrong with that local, local axiom? Perhaps people don't value it if they have to actually pay for it?
Hey here's an idea. Let's lay off everyone, putting that many more people out of work. Forget their families, or even the fact their people. You want to be realistic? That is realistic. The working people out on the floor every single day trying to just "do their job" so they don't get noticed and laid off anyway. There's so many good ideas being formed from these people, so much great talent and it's either falling on deaf ears or the management just doesn't care. It's be too much to deal with so they don't.
ReplyDeleteI think people need to step back and if you want to think realistically you need to realize you're dealing with lives here. But maybe you don't care because your paper is doing well.
There are some that come in and don't do anything and get to fly by, bringing down the company. Others struggle and all they get is grief and bad conditions. Maybe by taking the cancers out of the newsroom you'd solve this problem.
If the Courier-Post (Cherry Hill) went away, many of the local readers would indeed miss it. Afterall, this paper has been a part of the Southern NJ landscape for over 125 years. Up to now, even though the paper's quality has deteriorated further, its major competitor, the Philadelphia Inquirer has done a lousy job covering the South Jersey market. Many of the people who live in South Jersey came to the area from Philadelphia where they grew up with the Inquirer and still have ties to the city and have brought their newspaper reading habit with them to NJ. It does appear that some things are starting to happen with the Inquirer. They have hired several reporters from the Courier-Post recently including one of the Courier's best known sports editor Phil Anastasia. The INquirier has also taken on former Courier reporters and soon the Courier's well known entertainment and casino reporter Chuck Darrow will leave to join the Inquirer/Phila Daily News to cover the Atlantic City and Philadelphia area casino beat. This may be a sign that the Inquirer/Daily News are finally about to flex their muscles to bury the Courier-Post.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time for a radical re-thinking of the Cherry Hill paper.
ReplyDeleteGiven the reduced staff and increased work load, the Courier-Post should focus everything it's got on Camden County and stop pretending to be "South Jersey's" newspaper.
You want local-local? Then be local-local.
The competition in this market is fierce. Not only does the C-P have to contend with two Philly newspapers with an increased interest in South Jersey, but it also competes with the Gloucester County Times and the Burlington County Times, not to mention numerous weekly hometown papers.
The alternative to restructuring our coverage is to re-stock the newsroom, so we can go back to covering our towns, instead of our butts.
Of course, it'll never happen. But I can dream.
Hey - what about selling it to one of the two Philly papers? That way, Gannett gets income for a property that can't be increasing it's overall corporate profit margin and the Courier-Post gets to exist albeit a satellite extension of a more successful paper. Everyone keeps their jobs and (hopefully) C-P will be a more successful and respected paper. Win-Win!
ReplyDeleteGet real. John Tierney and his Philly papers have to climb out of a very deep financial hole before they can even think of burying any competitor.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure GCI would consider selling it at a substantially reduced rate just to "cut their losses." For that matter, there's a number of NJ papers that might find homes as satellites/bureaus with larger conglomerates.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the Newark Star Ledger would like to tap the Daily Record or the Courier News (or both). Maybe Trenton would like the Home News Tribune.
Seems like a buyers market to me.
I've always had a hard time taking the C-P seriously. When I was going to college down in South Jersey, you read the Inky, not the C-P, to get a readable idea of what was going on. The C-P was considered to be a rag by the entire J-school department of Rowan and several of the other colleges down there. You maybe read the C-P if you needed micro-level shit, like what the Zoning Board of Millville did last week or something. Those who say that the public would miss the C-P are kidding themselves. I bet the vast majority of people who live in the coverage area now are only vaguely aware of the paper to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing that ever happened to the Courier-Post was bringing Dan Martin on as Publisher. He had the balls to stand up to Collins. Once Collins forced him out and promoted his puppet, Frisby, Cherry Hill's demise was set in stone.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Dan Martin. He was out of place in Camden...oops Cherry Hill. He was out of place because he actually knew what we was doing and he was a good guy. In the end, he couldn't stomach Collins and his short man complex bullying crap... Collins legacy now will be he left every paper he was responsible for in near ruin..way to go "bobby"...you ass.
ReplyDelete