Wednesday, May 01, 2013

April 29-May 5 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

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58 comments:

  1. Louisville pressroom went down last night when the chiller system crapped out. Both the C-J & USAT were 2 & 1/2 hours late. Oh yeah, it is Derby week in Louisville. Let's see if our guy can get another promotion.

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    1. That would be the reason for the outdated USA Todays all over Kentuckiana, they were never delivered. Simmons will still enjoy his bonus though.....

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  2. Gannett CNY loses another good one...to the competition, no less. Hope Elmira's still paying attention to Corning these days.

    http://www.the-leader.com/topstories/x91993310/Husick-named-Leader-publisher

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  3. Flashback:

    Garson demands to know: “Who would provide the authoritative, insightful and informed commentary on politics and current events?” Tragically, the hapless publisher asked his question on the very day when most of his readers were looking to their Sunday paper for stories and photos of Louisville’s biggest deal: The Kentucky Derby. And commentary came there none (except via the verdammte internet).

    www.louisville.com/content/louisville%E2%80%99s-courier-journal-crashes-burns-again-opinion-arena

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  4. Charles Everett4/30/2013 1:00 PM

    Another black eye for Gannett! The Cincinnati Enquirer outed a teenage boy who tried to kill himself at his own high school. Even sent a "Breaking News" email blast about it.

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  5. The comments on the story today, Carolyn Washburn's explanation notwithstanding, are heavily opposed to the Enquirer naming the teen. Many readers are furious that the paper went against the family's wishes and named him. Generally, suicide victims are not identified. Would you have named him?

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    1. Hundreds of comments on the Enquirer site are opposed, but it's probably only one or two people trying to pose as hundreds to create crowd noise.

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    2. Impossible for one or two people to do that with Facebook comments. Nice try, Carolyn.

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  6. I think Washburn made some very good points in support of their decision. To say none of the other classmates were not injured is absurd, mental issues I'm sure will become part of this story for witnesses, and when those stories emerge should they too not be named. In our present society I can see the mental anguish civil suits stacking up against this young man already. Maybe we can pretend like it did not happen.

    This was not a suicide attempt in the privacy of ones home. Those go unreported daily. A very public suicide attempt is news and the individual should be identified.

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    1. Really if it was your high school child would you want their named published?

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

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

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

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    1. Thank you, Jim, for removing these personal attack posts. Some sick people lurk here.

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    2. Jim is one of them. If you only knew ...

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    3. Hello 11:42: Your is a perfect example of the snide, crude and often heartless comments that slip into the forum. I suggest that you focus on getting yourself some help.

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    4. 9:40, I guess Jim should do a better job.

      You sound like you need the help. Take control and improve yourself.

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    5. It's all "blah, blah, blah" when you don't use your real name in a post.

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    6. 7:51, almost no one other than the egomaniacs like Everett and Reinan uses a real name in a post.

      Can't speak for everyone, but I know I can't trust Jim to keep the attacks off the board, so I choose to stay anonymous. If Jim didn't suck, more people might use a name.

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    7. 7:51,
      Says the person who doesn't use their OWN real name in THEIR post.

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    8. Jim does a great job trying to monitor everything on a "live" blog. After all, he is only one person. And with this blog alone, Jim is doing a high volume of work for only one person. People are posting entries, here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Jim does an amazing job, and earns very little in exchange for all of his effort. It is a great forum and it represents all types of topics and perspectives. Sometimes the information is enlightening and very useful, sometimes it's just banter or water-cooler talk. But it is all part of what a blog is.

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    9. Thank you; I appreciate your support.

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    10. Nice try, 7:33. But Jim is, in fact, terrible in so many ways.

      The biggest problem is he has established an atmosphere of rumor, innuendo, and personal attacks. People know they have absolutely nothing to lose by being wrong or combative, so that's the way they are.

      This place could be so much more than what it is. That's the sad thing. In the beginning, Jim had a few somewhat reliable sources of small bits of information, but even those tiny streams have dried up.

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    11. Lucky for you, Blogspot pages are free this month so you can whip out your Gannett blog decrying personal attacks while calling people terrible.

      I checked, MyIronicGannettBlog is still available.

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    12. There's also that site named by former CEO Craig Dubow -- That Blasted Blog.

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    13. 11:22, it took you more than 12 hours to put in the uncreative "You should start your own blog!!!111!!!" response. Very poor response time.

      None of that is a rebuttal of the valid criticism, however. You must not have one. Thanks for playing.

      Jim @ 11:25, weak. Very weak.

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    14. Don't mistake your blathering as valid criticism, 4:29. There are no set standards for the blogosphere, and any imposition of your desires of what they should be are as valid and worthwhile, or vapid and worthless, as any other.

      To come piss in someone else's sandbox because you don't like how they chose to run their corner of the wild west? The only possible legitimate response is to tell you to go get your own.

      Quite obviously, Jim and much of his audience appreciates and is cognizant of what what Gannettblog is, and isn't.

      If you wish to tilt at windmills, by all means, go ahead. But know that your valid criticism means as much to this audience as my discussion of Kim Jong Un's wardrobe choices means to him.

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    15. So, 4:56, you're OK with people coming and saying things like the Lafayette paper is going to close, when there is no chance of this happening? Good to know.

      You also have no actual response to the criticism. You must not have one. Thanks for playing.

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    16. I'm totally ok with that. I realize that the information here exists in "an atmosphere of rumor, innuendo, and personal attacks. People know they have absolutely nothing to lose by being wrong or combative, so that's the way they are."

      YOUR personal problem is that you come here expecting New York Times sirloin, while everyone else here realizes we are getting grade B gristle with occasional morsels of something better.

      You want an actual response to your criticisms? THE AUDIENCE THAT IS TARGETED IS GETTING WHAT IT WANTS. If you are not getting what you want, it is NOT up to somebody to fix their FREE product so that you are happy.

      No matter how many times you might make your "valid criticism" that McDonalds does not carry spaghetti, and by god, you're correct - guess what. Ronald ain't ever giving you the meatballs.

      Thank you for playing. It's unfortunate you aren't worthy to enter the arena you've chosen.

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    17. None of that really made any sense. Anyone who reads it is dumber for having done so.

      You have no response, other than to cling idiotically to the idea that you are somehow getting what you want, so everyone is.

      Again, you have no actual response to the criticism presented. This is getting sort of tiresome at this point.

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  10. In reference to the Enquirer, I was informed the paper chose to withhold the name in print on Tuesday morning and explained it was to honor the family's wishes for privacy in those stories. Can someone confirm? If this is the case, are there seperate ethical standards for online and print? Is Washburn's explanation still enough? Just curious.

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  11. John Jackson, former VP of Digital at The Detroit Media Partnership has decided to "explore opportunities" after being thrust from his position at The Oregonian. I have never met a more arrogant, out of touch, individual in my multi-decade career. I am not a big believer in wishing ill will on anyone and perhaps JJ will take this as an oppotunity to grow. If he doesn't his head will continue to get snapped after wowing everyone at the interview. Here is to hoping a hollow man can reflect and grow.

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    1. Arrogant. Try the Indy V.P. of Advertising. Nobody tops him.

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    2. who is it?

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  12. Oh my. Sounds like he's perfect for Shreveport.

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  13. I was wondering if Stevie Wonder was going to be Publisher in Shreveport, you know, the blind leading the blind...

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    1. The Stevie Wonder thing is funny.

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  14. 9:27, here you go with some help explaining why Ms. Washburn changed her mind. The Cincinnati Enquirer, last summer, published the names of 4 young African American girls who were involved in a police chase incident. The passengers were age 14, 13 and 12. There was outrage in the community because the Enquirer made the exception to identify these young girls. The local African American radio station raised all kind of hell over it.

    Naturally, when the Enquirer didn't identify the white student who shot himself at school this week, another s--- storm was starting up. A big-name community leader threatened to take the fight straight to the top at Gannett. Believe what you will about why Ms. Washburn saw the light.

    This blog covered that other incident.
    http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/cincy-do-you-name-minors-in-police.html

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

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    2. Keep your racist bullshit to yourself.

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  15. Hmm. Latest head-scratcher of an email. Could this have anything to do with Kramer's wife being a Broadway producer?

    Yesterday, just past noon, we launched our first topic-specific app, Broadway's Best. You can dive deep into this year's Tony nominees, vote for your favorites, follow the latest Broadway news, view dozens of photos and videos and even buy tickets to a show.

    The app is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the app store. Download it here.

    A big group of folks from across the company — hopefully all recognized below — conceived of and built this experience in eight weeks.

    If you know a theater lover, please tell them about our app. If you download it and like what you see, leave us a comment. If you really love us, click on an ad from our sponsor, American Airlines, and buy a ticket.

    Broadway's Best is a pilot for similar projects. If you have comments or an idea for another app, you can send it to Scott Stein -- sstein@usatoday.com

    Broadway's Best Team:

    Alison Maxwell
    Elysa Gardner
    Rebecca Heslin
    Adan Perez
    Dennis Moore
    Sabrina Treitz
    John Elliot
    JY Wilson
    Steve Elfers
    Ramon Padilla
    Andres Quesada
    Kara Chiles
    Matt De Ganon
    Tim Carlson
    Ken Lucas
    Lou Schilling
    Rene Alston
    Keith Carter
    Robin Smith
    Arienne Thompson
    Yohana Desta
    Matt Andrews
    Matt Urbanos
    Kristen Contessa
    Samir Singh
    Majid Motevalli
    Todd Alston
    Hajar Nourozi

    + Ruth Wilson & the team at EachScape




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    1. Sounds as shady as the Michael Wolff deal.

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    2. Broadway? Talk about targeting a tiny audience. Only a sliver of Americans ever see Broadway productions, and I'm including touring shows, too.

      A Disney World/Disneyland travel app would make much more sense.

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    3. Yes, USA Today's target audience really loves them some Broadway shows and will be on pins and needles awaiting Tony awards.

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    4. It also could be called the Elysa Gardner app, because she appears to have written nearly all the content.

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    5. I'll never understand why this company has to spin every single thing that happens. Last year's Tony awards were a few weeks after Kramer joined Gannett. He attended the event with his wife. He started talking about this idea almost the moment he walked into the Crystal Palace. To say it was "conceived" eight weeks ago is total BS. I'm not surprised to learn, however, that it took them over six months to start working on it.

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  16. It's a pilot for similar apps.

    So the great Salinas and Fond Du Lac theater districts will be forced to somehow support the same level of content as the Broadway app, down the road.

    It's the dealChicken model, one size fits one.

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    1. In those cases, surely, it would be a more broadly based entertainment app.

      But if USA Today can only muster one reporter -- from all its much larger staff -- to supply this app, how can the community dailies possibly support one of their own?

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    2. Usa Today has two reporters covering stock. So your point os what, Jim?

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  17. What a silly string. It's an APP. It's the Tonys. My word you folks need a hobby

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  18. Taking an admittedly informal, unscientific poll here: Do any Gannett properties have source meeting quotas for their reporters? If so, who?

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    1. For the kids at Usa Today, sourcing is wikepedia, facebook and other news websites.

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    2. 9:42 here .. ha ha. But the question was serious. Also, anyone have other quotas, such as for story pitches, stories, daily calls to sources, A1 or B1 appearances?

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  19. Personally, I'm thrilled with the new app. Maybe hyper market makes sense for advertisers, not to mention deal chicken. If the costs of this app can be amortized over 25, and they draw a few thousand eyeballs each, what the heck?

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  20. Charles Everett5/02/2013 9:29 AM

    Today's unfortunate ad placement comes from the Gannett daily in Asheville NC. Don't click on the link if you've already had breakfast.

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  21. The real reason for the Tony app is to develop something for the upcoming Oscar/Globes/Emmy/Grammy seasons. The Tonys are niche enough to experiment.

    So the focus is on useability and form factor, not traffic. A first step toward a family of apps.

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    1. So they want the same reporters -- Elysa Gardner being the case here -- who already cover the awards for the paper, the website and for special edition tabs -- in addition to covering other topics on their beats -- to now provide content for these awards apps, too?

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  22. Announcement in Nashville that publisher is leaving & being replaced with the Des Moines Register publisher. Any info on this person?

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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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