 
Jtw
Member
Username: Jtw
Post Number: 182
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 5:41 pm: |    |
Two weeks ago the Sunday NY Times crossword was completely wrong. Later that week, instead of the Free Press, a copy of the Detroit News was delivered to my house! Last Sunday, the crossword clues' font/spacing was off so you can't even fold the paper in half. And now this week's crossword has the same font/spacing issue, and the far left column with the clue #s is cut off.
Anyone else having these problems? What gives? |
Bob
Member
Username: Bob
Post Number: 1593
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 5:51 pm: | |
I haven't had any problems. I would call them. Every time I have ever had any issue, they have always resolved it promptly. My problem I had was my delivery person was throwing the paper in a puddle when it was raining. I called and they apologized and it has never happened again. |
Ravine
Member
Username: Ravine
Post Number: 1506
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 6:51 pm: | |
Jtw, that must really frost your ass. One of the very top reasons why I must have the Sunday paper is my love for the puzzle they pick up from The Boston Globe. I would be painfully disappointed if that puzzle was missing or screwed up. You have my sympathy. |
Jrvass
Member
Username: Jrvass
Post Number: 283
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 7:06 pm: | |
Bob, you can call me "puddles" too.
How the delivery person thinks a micrometer of plastic can survive sliding on cement, is beyond me. More than once I've picked up a soggy "log" and thrown it in the trash. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 2150
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 7:43 pm: | |
Me 'n Jjaba never had customer complaints.
Anyone here want to subscribe to The Detroit Times delivered by one of us? We'll door 'em when it's raining or snowing. Guaranteed.
What? The Times folded in '61? Why don't folks tell me these things...... |
Waz
Member
Username: Waz
Post Number: 225
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 10:14 pm: | |
I've had the News delivered to me once a couple of months ago even though I'm a Freep subscriber. I figured no big deal, since it's all about the same fish-wrap.
My question is, whatever happened to the big changes that were supposed to happen when the papers were bought out a couple of years ago? The News was supposed to change to a tabloid style and be delivered in the afternoon only, but that hasn't happened. |
Pete
Member
Username: Pete
Post Number: 99
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 11:36 pm: | |
Jtw - Yeah, same problem with the crossword today. Got the 'On Point' section (or whatever they call the token News editorials) from my grandmother today for the puzzle, and I thought WTF? We should probably be bitching about this on PuzzlesYES!, though. |
Rhymeswithrawk
Member
Username: Rhymeswithrawk
Post Number: 977
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 4:28 am: | |
My question is, whatever happened to the big changes that were supposed to happen when the papers were bought out a couple of years ago? The News was supposed to change to a tabloid style and be delivered in the afternoon only, but that hasn't happened.
A lot of those changes were scrapped when Gannett bought the Freep from Knight Ridder and Gannett sold the News to MediaNews.
I think everyone can agree, however, that with the state of print journalism today, we are going to see A LOT of big changes in the next few years. Not all of them good (smaller papers and more refers to freep.com, for example). |
Ro_resident
Member
Username: Ro_resident
Post Number: 273
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 8:11 am: | |
I have noticed the changes in the crossword puzzle, too.
I was thrown for a loop a couple weeks ago when the grid didn't match the clues. It took me 15 minutes to figure out the mismatch was a bug and not a feature.
I also think they are going with the larger puzzle form to take up more real estate on the News' editorial page. That's the cynic in me.
I have also noticed the Freep has moved the Globe crossword from the classifieds to the Entertainment section. The video game reviews in the Entertainment section have been eliminated, too.
If it wasn't for video games, you would never know that the cake is a lie. |
Brian_fitzcarraldo
Member
Username: Brian_fitzcarraldo
Post Number: 7
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 5:46 pm: | |
Most people haven't noticed yet, but the News is actually a much better paper than the Freep now. Compare the two front pages next time there's a big story on the auto industry, especially dealing with the UAW -- the News's coverage will always be better, and in many cases they'll scoop the Freep entirely. The contrast between the two papers on the morning the GM strike ended is particularly telling. |
Waz
Member
Username: Waz
Post Number: 227
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 9:07 pm: | |
quote:A lot of those changes were scrapped when Gannett bought the Freep from Knight Ridder and Gannett sold the News to MediaNews.
Rhymeswithrawk, my understanding is that the changes were to take place as part of the sale of the papers. |
Focusonthed
Member
Username: Focusonthed
Post Number: 1411
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 9:25 pm: | |
I think the News has been more on top of Auto coverage for quite some time. |
Bvos
Member
Username: Bvos
Post Number: 2238
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 9:54 pm: | |
I've got to agree with Brian F, the Snews has been doing a much better job on many angles while the Freep resorts to the lazy journalism (if journalism still exists today) that the Snews was once known for.
I've given up on the Sunday paper all together. You'd think that the one time they'd have to put together a good paper with in depth articles they would, but they just publish a bunch of fluff. I can get more in depth articles on Detroit topics online or from the NY Times and Washington Post than our local rags. What's up with that? |
Rooms222
Member
Username: Rooms222
Post Number: 67
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 - 10:48 pm: | |
Gannett....killer of newspaper quality...When I was a kid, small cities got the Gannett treatment, like the Danville Commercial-News...Now big cities get the same treatment!•• |
Wally
Member
Username: Wally
Post Number: 327
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 11:47 am: | |
quote:Gannett....killer of newspaper quality
I couldn't agree with you more. |
Rhymeswithrawk
Member
Username: Rhymeswithrawk
Post Number: 990
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 9:56 pm: | |
Out of curiosity, what could the Free Press or the News do to stop their slide? Is it as simple as just doing good journalism and interesting stories? To go out and find real news and not stories about pancake breakfasts and senior quilting groups? What can they do online to keep readers' interest? It seems nobody is paying attention to anything anymore. You wouldn't believe how many people have asked how I got seats from Tiger Stadium. Shocking. Do you not read the paper or at least watch the news? Personally, I'd rather be on the DY! forum than the Freep forums, but what do you think of them? Can anything save the oldest business in Detroit (Freep)? |
Thecarl
Member
Username: Thecarl
Post Number: 1101
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 10:38 pm: | |
quote:Out of curiosity, what could the Free Press or the News do to stop their slide?
1. publish comprehensive, in-depth features and articles. go beyond the pablum, do research, be informative - particularly with business concerns. i often go to sites like wsj to get the scoop on "detroit" issues.
2. become the fourth estate to the nth degree. it seems that detroit print shied away from getting to the corruption in detroit's administration when kwame was re-elected. keep the information coming. |
Rhymeswithrawk
Member
Username: Rhymeswithrawk
Post Number: 998
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 1:50 pm: | |
Anyone else care to weigh in? |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 4509
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 4:17 pm: | |
A heads-up on Drudge today states that another report about steep declines in newspaper circulation will be issued next week.
(Message edited by LivernoisYard on November 01, 2007) |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1394
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 4:46 pm: | |
LY, always the happy camper. When newspapers are allowed to report total readership, including web traffic etc., the way TV and radio does, those numbers won't be in decline. |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 4510
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 4:57 pm: | |
Still, their ad rates are adversely affected by lower circulation... If they were doing well, they wouldn't be canning as many employees.
Yawn! Newspapers are indeed in decline, even with online versions. Myself, I don't read the online versions of either the freep or detnews often anymore. BTW, my block has almost no neighbors online (older folk or those w/o computers) and **nobody** here gets either paper delivered because there are no carriers. |
Rooms222
Member
Username: Rooms222
Post Number: 69
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 5:02 pm: | |
Circulation must be dropping like a rock....Several places have the daily for 25 cents and the Sunday for $1.....Meijer, Walgreens,WalMart....
If you buy a Sunday at one of those places, they have an offer card for the News on Thursday, Friday, Sat, and Sunday Freep for $2.56 a MONTH, home delivered......Just six months ago, they tried jacking up the renewal price...... |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1395
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 5:27 pm: | |
That $1/25 cent offer has been out there forever, Farmer Jack used to carry it at that price too. |
Rhymeswithrawk
Member
Username: Rhymeswithrawk
Post Number: 999
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 10:07 pm: | |
Myself, I don't read the online versions of either the freep or detnews often anymore.
But why? Cuz the content sucks? |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1396
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 10:42 pm: | |
So where do all the news stories linked to on this site come from? Original reporting on Lowell's part? Oh yeah sure. He did that big report on the city hardship committee granting tax breaks to the wealthy.
Right, nobody reads either paper. |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 4516
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 10:56 pm: | |
AP-sourced stories aren't limited to only two papers locally... |
Yvette248
Member
Username: Yvette248
Post Number: 1012
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 11:32 pm: | |
Detroit News has better auto coverage because they actually have experienced reporters who's job is to do nothing but cover the auto industry.
This is one area that companies can not play cheap. The guys covering the auto industry have been doing this a long time. If you don't pay them right, they will just go to another local or national paper that will.
(going back into my cave now) |
Yvette248
Member
Username: Yvette248
Post Number: 1013
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 11:32 pm: | |
Detroit News has better auto coverage because they actually have experienced reporters who's job is to do nothing but cover the auto industry.
This is one area that companies can not play cheap. The guys covering the auto industry have been doing this a long time. If you don't pay them right, they will just go to another local or national paper that will.
(going back into my cave now....) |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1397
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007 - 11:59 pm: | |
Right, the story about Detroit's hardship committee giving tax breaks to people who aren't poor was AP.
Go back and see where all the links come from, and count how many are AP. |
Hornist9
Member
Username: Hornist9
Post Number: 51
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 8:43 am: | |
Nice to see people bitching about how the Freep has gotten to be so lousy. I've subscribed for a very long time, and since Gannett has taken over that there is too much fluff on the sports page, and that major sports stories are buried in the section.
I was having delivery problems and really made some serious threats about canceling my paper, they worked hard to fix the problem. Now if they'd only fix the Sunday Comics page and the sports, I'd be happier. I still can't stand the Snews at all, it's too Republican for my taste. |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1398
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 9:00 am: | |
journalism 101: The Freep's content outside of its op-ed page is not "liberal," just as the News' content outside its op-ed page is not "conservative." Op-ed pages do nothing but confuse (some) readers into thinking an entire paper is "liberal" or "conservative." |
Raptor56
Member
Username: Raptor56
Post Number: 149
Registered: 05-2007
| | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 5:09 pm: | |
I just wish the News would go back to full size paper, and a full Metro section. Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, and Detroit all had their own pages with plenty of stories. Now they all share two pages. The business section has gotten a bit thin too while the Entertainment/MyWhateverDayItI s section is taking over. |
Rhymeswithrawk
Member
Username: Rhymeswithrawk
Post Number: 1000
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 5:39 pm: | |
Right, the story about Detroit's hardship committee giving tax breaks to people who aren't poor was AP.
Go back and see where all the links come from, and count how many are AP.
That was the News' story (though the Freep followed it, too). The AP "picks stories up" from newspapers. It was not because an AP reporter broke the story. |
Pffft
Member
Username: Pffft
Post Number: 1399
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 6:01 pm: | |
Rawk,
You weren't picking up on the sarcasm.
I know that story was in the News. |