Monday, January 14, 2013

Jan. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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38 comments:

  1. Probably a lot of "happy" teachers in the Fond du Lac Reporter circulation area after having their names and salaries published in the paper on Sunday.

    Probably a lot of people thinking, "Hey, Roesgen, you showed us their salary. Now you show us your salary so we can determine if your paycheck is worthy of the paper you put out."

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    1. Wow! It's tough to be a teacher in Wisconsin these days. First, they were asked to pay for their insurances and pensions. Second, the governor busted their union. Third, their salaries were published in print and online. What's next?

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    2. What’s next? A more level playing field from exposing info like this, that is unless you believe public sector employees deserve far better pay and benefits than the taxpayers who foot those bills. Hint: They don’t.

      This is great info – and highly read, including by a city finance manager years ago who called to complain that their published income was too high. The issue: Theirs included the sale of a month of unused vacation/comptime, a practice many even in elected office overseeing it didn’t know, a practice that changed thereafter due to follow up stories and complaints, more so given how they were barely employed their little more than a year.

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    3. Some people may be reading a newspaper Web site, but they know nothing about newspapers and what public information is. What teachers are paid is news; as public employees they have no right to complain.

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    4. It's not that state employees don't deserve better pay and benefits than those in the private sector. It's that the state didn't break its promises to its employees, as the private sector did.

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  2. Gannett Wisconsin acts like it's serving the public good by publishing salaries of public workers. "The taxpayers deserve to know what their tax dollars are going toward." Why? It's not going to effect any change. Not a damn thing the public can do to change the pay scale. What I learned is that UW coaches make way too much money, school teachers are grossly underpaid and prison workers are shit on for what they encounter on a daily basis. I already knew all that.

    Just because you can publish a database doesn't mean you should. ...

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    1. And the Journal News has now published a list of the folks who pay the most in property taxes in Rockland County. Bill Murray tops the list at $250,000.

      Again, that's public info and is easy to find at the assessor's office (my county even has an "assessor lookup" page on the government website) but if someone wants to know that info let them get it on their own. The paper doesn't need to poke into and publish Murray's--or anyone else's--tax records unless there is a valid reason for doing so. I can't see that there was one for this particular list.

      And no, I didn't "look" myself. A Rocklander friend mentioned it an e-mail. I do not know who else was in the "top" and don't care to find out.

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    2. Check out the huge Cub's emblem in Bill's pool. That is the real story! A true, diehard fan!!! And the paper missed it!

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  3. The Reason why teacher salaries are fair game and editors are not is becuase teachers are paid by TAXPAYERS. why don't people understand this?

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    1. That is understood. But printing a name with a salary figure next to it does nothing to indicate what the teacher has done to earn that salary figure. Does the teacher teach an extra course? Does the teacher have a Masters? By putting the numbers out there, all it does is create an item for people to gossip about and probably create the be-all and end-all for Gannett now ... web hits.

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    2. I read the stories, didn't look at the names. However, my 18 year old daughter asked why her phy ed teacher was making so much more than her physics teacher - with only a few years more in the job.

      That's the sort of question that should be asked - not only between teachers at one school but across the region. Our kids and communities are the same, shouldn't pay be similar? Recall that most of these teachers were until recently covered by a bargaining unit. Sharing the salaries will do more to create pay equity than the union ever did.

      We deserve to see those numbers just as we deserve to see the salaries and benefits of the corporations we own stock in. Without sharing those numbers, abuses and waste can run unchecked.

      Perfect example is the compensation committee's decisions after Mr. Dubow left Gannett.

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    3. But if the story fails to explain why the phy ed teacher is paid more than was the exercise valid? As in the gun database debate, just publishing the data without context doesn't achieve anything.

      It is quite likely the phy ed teacher has coaching duties.

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    4. or more experience, or a higher degree, or additional duties like curriculum writing or teacher in summer. Gannett wants the hits and no context, and doesn't have the staff to ask the questions to add context anyway.

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    5. At first I wondered how many teachers or other public employees would cancel their subscriptions, but from what we hear he numbers are down so much most of them probably don't subscribe anymore anyway.
      Can't blame them when we do this crap but no longer cover school boards or do stories on new programs or innovations. Any way to get the recent subscription numbers?

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    6. If 12:14, 2:37 and 3:30 used to be reporters, it's pretty evident why you aren't anymore.
      How about reading the series first instead of speculating about what context it provides?
      As for 3:34, what a lost cause. "From what we hear?" And "Any way to get the recent subscription numbers?"
      Did you have to ask editors to provide you sources and their phone numbers, too?

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    7. Thanks for demonstrating what so many citizens don’t know 3:30 – that ALL teachers, regardless of educational discipline, are paid on the same scale.

      It’s one of education’s larger cost problems as a hard to find science or math teacher shouldn’t be paid on the same scale as a less skilled gym teacher who can easily be replaced.

      So, while running just total compensation is admittedly limited, it does open up a discussion about what all teachers make, something even students rightly question.

      Frankly, if newspapers were really doing their job, they’d go further into exposing just how ridiculous that is today. Unfortunately, that takes work, added expense and courage as teachers’ unions won’t like it, but it sure as hell will be read by plenty.

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  4. Publishing salary info is a nice start, publishing how those incomes grow over time (amount and percent) is what’s more telling…information that I’ve yet to see published anywhere.

    It may take a bit more work, but people are amazed (and rightfully pissed at some) once they learn how many public employees get merit raises, COLA’s and more – including vacation buybacks, ANNUALLY. That info is what needs to be published next.

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  5. So here are the addresses and phone number of NY Journal "columnist" (one who propagates journalistic abuse) Dwight R. Worley who published all of the HOME ADDRESSES of Law Abiding Conceal Carry Gun Owners of the entire state of NY as well as the rest of the Marxist swine at The Journal:

    The reporter on the story is:
    Dwight R Worley 23006 139 Ave Springfield Gardens, NY 11413 (718) 527 0832


    Journal News President:
    Janet Hasson, 3 Gate House Lane Mamaroneck, NY 10534 (914) 694.5204


    Editors:
    Cyndee Royle, 1133 Westchester Ave., Suite N110, White Plains, NY 10604, 914-694-9300
    Nancy Cutler 9 Woodwind Ln, Spring Valley, NY. (845) 354 3485

    Parent company of The Journal News Gannett
    CEO Gracia C Martore 728 Springvale Rd Great Falls, VA 22066 (703) 759 5954

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    1. Jim why did you allow this????

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    2. That information has now been posted all over the Web.

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    3. but by you posting it makes it seem like you are endorsing it being posted all over the web. are you???

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    4. At least the people who published the gun owners information were known, unlike the anonymous coward above. You've already lost, you just don't know it yet.

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  6. You can never go wrong by beating up on public employees. As the failed Scott Walker recall proveed people resent any public employee who has better pay or benefits then they do.

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  7. Just to help you out -- people today want to take responsibility for NOTHING. They want the teachers to raise their kids, and they want them to bear the responsibility of shooting back, too.

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  8. USAT comments seem to have disappeared. This might be a good thing, but is it intentional?

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  9. My site did a similar school system pay database two or three years ago -- with reporting about how teacher pay is calculated and context about disparities. Raw data of any kind shouldn't be put up without reporting or analysis. Sloppy.

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    1. I think it was already pointed out that the story included that information.

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  10. http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/jan-14-20-your-news-comments-part-1.html?showComment=1358216917193#c1360357879246009013

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  11. Where are our marketing/PR geniuses when "ambush" videos of the journal news like this are on the air?

    http://video.foxnews.com/v/2092574211001/judge-jeanine-confronts-the-journal-news

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    1. The geniuses behind this "data dump" were totally unprepared for pushback. That fact alone shows what kind of intellects are at work here.

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  12. Vote fraud charges expected
    “What’s the problem?... I didn’t know that. I’m from Alabama.”

    While the afforementioned story (link below) hardly addresses what is likely a much larger problem than some admit, it’s nice to see the Enquirer take it on as too many districts around this nation yielded 100% for Obama.

    Hence, perhaps USAToday can demonstrate the balls Banikarim and others are so enamored with by taking a hard look into it, a look that won’t be a happy ending for those against requiring even a driver’s license to vote.


    http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130114/news0106/301150012/?nclick_check=1

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  13. James O'Keefe's Project Veritas just posted a great satirical piece on the Westchester Journal News's gun map, in which some of their employees got punked:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wt1Zy_ASNyA

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    1. That is one damning video.

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    2. What a great message.

      JN - It’s bad to have handguns yourself - as evidenced by what it published, but okay to hire people who will do the dirty work of using them for you.

      LOL

      Good for O’Keefe for further exposing the ridiculous of those who lead that paper.

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  14. The press of Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ, a family-owned newspaper/media group, announced yesterday that it is up for sale. For years there was speculation that Gannett would be interested in this operation. Any rumblings out there that Gannett would want The Press to destroy?

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  15. Oops! There are seven dog years in a people year, not seven people years in a dog year:

    http://www.lohud.com/article/20130115/NEWS02/301150081/Former-Rye-superintendent-gets-almost-dog-year-canine-sex-case

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  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  17. No, not all people. Though, data clearly shows a preponderance of people using urban schools don’t, as evidenced by failing test scores and how so many long ago purchased metal detectors and hired security for protection from everyday violence.

    A closer look would also show higher incidences of community violence, an increased unwillingness to work with law enforcement, greater reliance on govt aid and how strongly like-minded all are in their political views. Of course, few dare to connect all those dots, let alone publish it.

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Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

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