Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Sept. 23-29 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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33 comments:

  1. Welcome to the final week of the third quarter. Any day now, Corporate will announce the schedule for releasing its Q3 financial report, one that will be more important than usual. It should be about mid-October.

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  2. Votes in favor of Belo's (BLC) proposed deal with Gannett (GCI) are above the threshold needed for approval "as of now," according to CNBC's David Faber, citing sources.

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    1. Still, I don't think there was ever a huge chance shareholders wouldn't go for the deal. From the start Belo's directors and top executives had committed to voting their combined stake of 42% in favor of the deal.

      So all Gannett needed was another 25% or so to get over the finish line. As Faber points out, Belo shares have now dipped back near the offer price after trading higher, indicating Wall Street thinks no third party is going to jump in and try to make a better offer.

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  3. I hear Cincinnati is hiring again. They supposedly added a new position of social media editor. They're also seeking a digital producer.

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    1. Anyone that applies for a job in Cincinnati needs to read this blog and talk to previous employees. Under the current leadership, most would say do not take a job there. The expectations and pressure are completely unrealistic. Annual raises that you can count on? Forget it.

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  4. Appleton having a meeting today to explain just how this "more local coverage" thing is going to work with USA Today providing all the national news.

    I'm thinking pretty much anything authored by the other Gannett papers in Wisconsin will be sucked up to fill the additional local space.

    Otherwise, the PC will have to a) hire more reporters and b) buy more Iphones for the additional reporters to shoot more videos that few watch.

    PS...the PC is only at about 58 percent of its monthly video view goal.

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    1. Or c) set a quota of local news reports on the existing staff.

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    2. There was a time when news happening 30-70 miles from town was considered regional, not local. I guess Gannett's expanding the definition of local.

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  5. Please share the strategy when you find out! Everyone wonders exactly how this will work...

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  6. Now that the SC rate will be $2.00, what will be the impact to the SC carriers? Will they be receiving an increase and will that increase cover the loss at the coin racks and the stores? Will we be seeing turnover and then more turnover with this carriers?

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  7. Interesting take on the new editor at the C-J.

    http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2013/09/23/rick-redding-the-cj-strikes-back/

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  8. Also note that the C-J announced this morning that venerable political reporter and columnist Joe Gerth's column will move to Sunday from Monday but appear in print.... every other week. Will readers really go online to find the other columns?

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    1. Does anyone give a shit? He is lucky to still have a job, especially when anyone considered "venerable" is "vulnerable" to a layoff.

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    2. If the readers don't bother to look for his columns, won't that tell you something?

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  9. Replies
    1. People who want to "improve" comments really just want to "improve" censorship.

      The only truly useful forum would be one in which the reader, not a censor, is sole arbiter of the material he chooses to see, and has tools to apply (or not) filters or sorts as he alone pleases.

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    2. Thank you for the link! I just posted a comment there describing public comment suppression at the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

      Does this happen at other Gannett websites as well?

      Here's my NYT comment:

      R. Katers
      Wisconsin

      I recently discovered a disturbing trick (?) that suppresses public comments and community debates in my local online newspaper, the Green Bay Press Gazette (Gannett).

      When a controversial issue is raised in an article, and begins attracting comments, the newspaper posts a COPY of that article on their website a few hours or a day later, or several copies over 2 to 3 days.

      The copies show "0 comments" and "0 recommendations" ... and because they are newer, the neutered copies show FIRST in search results when readers hunt for articles on that topic.

      Later readers, including elected officials, are given the false impression that "nobody cares," and they miss potentially valuable and revealing community discussions about local (or distant) issues.

      Writers are misled into wasting time on invisible comments.

      Here's an example, with details of my concerns:

      http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/comments/article/20130831/GPG0101/308310418/Bringing-bay-Green-Bay-back-from-death

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  10. Hey Argus Leader!! RB is leaving! Finally. Anyone willing to comment or are you still scared of the arrogant bully? GR should have been in charge after AG left. RB has no clue.

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

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    1. I remove comments where the author wishes someone would die. Please don't do that, even in jest.

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

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    1. And I remove comments that use the word "bitch." That's been a policy of mine for years now.

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    2. 5:31 a.m.: Grow up.

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  13. Jim- As per your policy, please remove your comment at 6:32am.

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  14. Shreveport Times: Great job circulation. Hundreds of TMC found in the dumpster of a business.

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  15. "Total Market Crap", that's what they are. Every paper that produces a TMC has that issue. I was visiting a carrier at his home back in the '80's and to my surprise 1/2 of his barn was filled with our TMC. Do your DSM's at Shreveport Times do "Audit Checks"? Call non-subscribers up to verify delivery of the product. Do a mass mailing to non-subscribers and do a survey. In the '80 I understand, today this is just down right unacceptable.

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    1. Once I found about 10,000 papers stuffed inside the under side of an overpass

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  16. Charles Everett9/24/2013 7:31 PM

    USA Today media editor Rem Reider takes on additional duties as features editor.

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

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    2. Geez, I never thought his AJR columns were very interesting. He's certainly not the kind of edgy person they need to breathe some life into the features section.

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  17. Shreveport Times have no DM's, they have all quit.

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  18. The investigation leading to the story of a murder suspect receiving favorable treatment from the judicial system brought kudos to The Desert Sun/Gannett.

    The Sun's editor wrote in Op-Ed that it was 'the most
    responded to story of the summer' and congratulated his writers
    describing them as 'seasoned journalists who dig deep to uncover stories.'

    How deep? Deep enough that their boast tempts me to raise an issue of ethical proportions – plagiarism; the conscious taking of credit for breaking or writing a story based primarily on previously published material.

    Detecting plagiarism between two articles is a matter for comparisons and common sense:

    1. EXAMINER story published July 10, 2012
    "PALM SPRINGS MURDER SUSPECT, OUT ON BAIL, RACKS UP THREE NEW ARRESTS"
    (http://www.examiner.com/article/palm-springs-murder-suspect-out-on-bail-racks-up-three-new-arrests)

    2. MYDESERT story published August 4, 2012
    "OUT ON BAIL PROSECUTORS SAY CANDACE DURAN RACKED UP NEW VIOLATIONS"
    (http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120805/NEWS0801/208050324/Accused-killer- ran-free-years)

    Plagiarism is presenting other's words, ideas and content as one's own.
    1. Slugs: out on bail, racks up new arrests, murder suspect
    2. Sugs: out on bail, racked up new violations, murder case

    A plagiarist re-writes and takes credit for work done by others. 1. Issue: "No other previous bail bonds, including the bail for
    murder have been revoked or amended. A bail bond or security note is often forfeited by defendants who re-offend, miss court dates or get arrested."
    2. Issue: "We found that no police officer ever asked for Duran's
    bail to be increased, and no judge ever ordered that her bail be revoked even though the murder case languished."

    Plagiarism is practiced when a story is declared as original first reporting, omitting citations due to lifted sources..
    1. EXAMINER: "Is this blind justice at work?
    2. MYDESERT: "Neither police nor prosecutors could explain why her bail had not been forfeited.'

    Another strong indicator for plagiarism is lack of source citations or explanation for story’s genesis.

    Plagiarism lowers accountability in the media and acceptance of it only encourages more of it. The practice of plagiarism
    lowers the value of work for all professional writers.

    Tom Hickey
    Freelance writer

    P.S>, I wrote TDS Editor Greg Burton about my suspicions; he replied back ‘news does not happen in a vacuum.’ Maybe not, but a self-initiated investigation does. So any comment, criticism or corrections due is appreciated – perhaps wisdom from your experiences can provide me with an answer as to the question of if plagiarism is practiced at the Sun.

    Thanks for reading.

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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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