 
Fnemecek
Member
Username: Fnemecek
Post Number: 1920
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 10:13 pm: |    |
Jacqueline & Crash67: Thank you.
I ran for public office once before (county commission in 1996). I might do it again some day. However, it won't be for awhile. I several other things that I need to do first.
Pinewood: I doubt that an endorsement will have any impact on the number of newspapers sold. This is about delivering services to Detroiters; something that Mr. Cockrel has proven himself to be uninterested in throughout his tenure in public office.
Bobby08: Yes, the Metro Times is endorsing our incumbent. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. We must all learn to love them in spite of their frailty.
Everyone else: You can find my endorsement and further commentary on this subject @ http://warrendale.blogspot.com /2009/02/endorsments-roll-in.h tml |
Spiritofdetroit
Member
Username: Spiritofdetroit
Post Number: 1226
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 11:19 pm: | |
Fnemecek - Cockrel is cutting the Mayor's budget by $2 million, and is in favor of cutting council's budget, though he cannot mandate it.
The spending projects you mentioned were all started under the former mayor. This isn't something that Cockrel can just undo.
So, because you don't think you are affected by COBO, it is useless? This was a heck of a deal, and much needed. You think city services suck? Wait till the auto show leaves. Lots of tax money is generated by the show, as you know.
You have not offered any solutions, only criticisms. I'm not the biggest Cockrel fan, but you can't discount what he's done in 4 months, and the idea that he is lazy is just unfounded nonsense. |
Pinewood73
Member
Username: Pinewood73
Post Number: 75
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 11:54 pm: | |
Fnemecek, I agree with your assessment.
Bing or Hendrix would work. |
Novine
Member
Username: Novine
Post Number: 1100
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 1:02 am: | |
The problem with people like Fnemecek is that they can throw out a mish-mash of numbers and "facts" and convince people that those represent a solution. But if you actually look into those numbers, Fnemecek's facts don't look so clear-cut. Let's start with this one:
"We are currently spending $19 million of City funds on the Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley project. Does anyone really want to tell me that we couldn't find a better use for those limited dollars? "
I'm sure you could. You should probably let people know that most, if not all, of those dollars come from my favorite vehicle for destruction, the DEGC and federal funds, which means that little, if any, of those funds are available for the purposes you suggested they be spent on (police and fire services).
"We are currently funding 5 different City agencies to work on economic development. None of them are doing a very good job of it. Those agencies need to be consolidated and overhauled. We can do a lot more with a lot less"
Except you left out the sticky little detail that these separate agencies exist for a reason. They are mandated by state law. So you just can't get rid of them as you propose unless you want to give up the funding that comes from those organizations. Which is it?
"We are spending $11.9 million on the Civic Center. I love Hart Plaza as much as anyone else, but until we can make sure that everyone 9-1-1 emergency call is answered, this needs to be cut as well. "
Except most of that line item goes to pay for operations at Cobo Hall, not Hart Plaza. Closing down Hart Plaza would "save" the city $1 million while costing it how much in lost revenues from events and spin-off activity from those events?
Any one can run through the city budget and pull out random numbers and claim that cutting this or that will save the city "millions" and that the money could be plowed into police and fire services. But stop trying to sell those as solutions when the facts show them to be nothing of the sort. |
Bragaboutme
Member
Username: Bragaboutme
Post Number: 606
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 8:57 am: | |
There were more than 17,000,000 calls placed to 911 last year alone. These numbers represent emergency, non-emergency, prank calls, ect. What is the solution? |
Fnemecek
Member
Username: Fnemecek
Post Number: 1921
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 9:46 am: | |
quote:The spending projects you mentioned were all started under the former mayor.
They were started under Kilpatrick - with Cockrel and the rest of the City Council voting to approve them. More importantly, Cockrel is keeping them around.
quote:So, because you don't think you are affected by COBO, it is useless?
I never said it was useless. I said it was a low-priority item.
quote:You think city services suck? Wait till the auto show leaves. Lots of tax money is generated by the show, as you know.
Even more tax money is generated by folks who live and work here every day. Residents are leaving because they aren't getting basic city services. Businesses are shutting down because they're tired of getting robbed and all of their customers have left.
This makes providing basic city services a higher priority item.
quote:You have not offered any solutions, only criticisms.
I've proposed:
* Reallocating our limited funds from low-priority tasks to higher priority one;
* Consolidating city agencies that have overlapping goals;
* Establishing a risk management policy to minimize the million of tax dollars that are wasted every year on court settlements; and
* Using the funds saved from those above points to hire civilian employees for DPD so certified police officers can be reassigned to police duties.
Yeah. Clearly none of those things could possibly be described as a "solution". What was I thinking?
quote:I'm not the biggest Cockrel fan, but you can't discount what he's done in 4 months, and the idea that he is lazy is just unfounded nonsense.
#1. There are also people who think that the idea of a round Earth is "unfounded nonsense".
#2. You might want to have a cup of coffee with them some time. I think you'd get along wonderfully with them.
quote:quote:We are currently spending $19 million of City funds on the Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley project. Does anyone really want to tell me that we couldn't find a better use for those limited dollars?
I'm sure you could. You should probably let people know that most, if not all, of those dollars come from my favorite vehicle for destruction, the DEGC and federal funds, which means that little, if any, of those funds are available for the purposes you suggested they be spent on (police and fire services).
According to an article in the Freep when Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley was announced, that is purely City funds. The $19 million is on top of the money that the feds are wasting.
quote:quote:We are currently funding 5 different City agencies to work on economic development. None of them are doing a very good job of it. Those agencies need to be consolidated and overhauled. We can do a lot more with a lot less.
Except you left out the sticky little detail that these separate agencies exist for a reason. They are mandated by state law.
Really? Please enlighten us.
What state law mandates an Office of Targeted Business Development?
What state law mandates an Office of Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization?
What state law mandates that the DEGC exist as a separate agency from the DDA? Except, of course, for the fact that previous mayors have wanted to have a way around the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Bypassing those laws has produced added expense, but what benefits has it produced?
quote:There were more than 17,000,000 calls placed to 911 last year alone. These numbers represent emergency, non-emergency, prank calls, etc. What is the solution?
The same as the solution in every other city. Answer them. |
Eastsideal
Member
Username: Eastsideal
Post Number: 322
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 10:01 am: | |
I think the Free Press just punted in an unpredictable election by picking a guy who seems to have no realistic shot but has enough of a record for them to hang some of their own editorial concerns on the endorsement. My guess is that the editorial board was actually split between Bing and Hendrix, and didn't want to take the chance of deeply offending anyone. If they had thought Evans had a real shot at it, then closer scrutiny of him, and particularly his ties and deep beholdenness to the Shrine, probably would have ruled him out. But they had to endorse somebody, and he makes a nice hook on which to hang an editorial about crime. |
Ashdetroit
Member
Username: Ashdetroit
Post Number: 60
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 10:06 am: | |
Eastsideal, you make some good points.
I, for one, am surprised the Freep failed to mention the argument betweeen Ficano and Evans--last year, Evans was threatening to CLOSE THE WAYNE COUNTY JAIL if Ficano implemented the county-wide budget cuts on his department.
This is our Law & Order candidate? As Charlie Brown would say, good grief. |
Gmich99
Member
Username: Gmich99
Post Number: 246
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 11:47 am: | |
Mayoral, well all city elections in Detroit, have been a joke for decades. Few capable or able people run for the positions. I can't imagine the City's position being much different whether in receivership, with a city government, or without a city government at all. |
Spiritofdetroit
Member
Username: Spiritofdetroit
Post Number: 1228
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 11:57 am: | |
You've still yet to back up with any information whatsoever that Cockrel is lazy and sits around all day.
A retort that some people still think the Earth is flat, and that I might want to have coffee with them doesn't help your cause.
You look quite foolish |
Fnemecek
Member
Username: Fnemecek
Post Number: 1922
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 12:22 pm: | |
I've provided lots of information to establish that Cockrel is lazy. I'll summarize again for those who don't want to read through the entire thread.
#1. He's been in office for 5 months and hasn't had any meaningful accomplishments.
#2. He's been in office for 5 months and hasn't had any meaningful accomplishments.
#3. He's been in office for 5 months and hasn't had any meaningful accomplishments.
#4. Did I mention that he's been in office for 5 months and hasn't had any meaningful accomplishments?
#5. Shall I continue?
As for looking "quite foolish", well, I'll admit that you are the expert on that one. You are the one arguing that Cockrel has no responsibility for the projects he voted to fund while on the City Council. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 929
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 12:48 pm: | |
Re: the Free Press: The Freep just got a new editorial page editor - a Black Detroiter. I bet it was his call. Maybe our shock is because we have been conditioned by all the previous editorial page leadership to expect a different choice - a more "business" choice.
maybe we will be shocked at how it all turns out. |
Ashdetroit
Member
Username: Ashdetroit
Post Number: 63
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 2:05 pm: | |
A Black Detroiter? What does race have to do with anything? Or where he's from?
"A Detroit native, Henderson graduated from UD Jesuit High School and the University of Michigan. He has worked as a reporter, editorial writer and editor for the Free Press, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun.
Much of his career has been spent writing about education, and he once spent an entire year chronicling how one first-grade class learned to read. But his immediate past assignment was covering the U.S. Supreme Court for Knight Ridder Newspapers (now McClatchy) from 2003 to 2007.
Henderson's work has been honored with more than a dozen national awards, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors' 2001 prize for editorial writing. The work that earned that honor can be seen in the book, "Best Newspaper Writing 2001." "
Yeah, he sounds like a really ignorant "Black Detroiter" making biased decisions that all the "previous editorial page leadership" wouldn't stand behind. Since all Black Detroiters are against people who are the "business choice."
Evans is a bad choice, I agree, but there's no need to be racist about it. |
Norm
Member
Username: Norm
Post Number: 77
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 2:41 pm: | |
Remember, Henderson was a vociferous supporter of Kilpatrick when he ran for re-election, than had to back track and apologize for being "suckered" by the former Mayor. |
Bobl
Member
Username: Bobl
Post Number: 508
Registered: 07-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 2:49 pm: | |
Well, if the City doesn't get it right during the next four elections in a year, why not schedule four more elections next year...
Or, perhaps there could be a revolving committee...
Please forgive my sarcasm. Had a bad day. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 930
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 2:52 pm: | |
I think Henderson may have a different perspective from the previous guys - that's all. That's why we celebrate diversity! He appears to think that crime is the key thing. Maybe he's right. bing is all about business. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 931
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 2:57 pm: | |
Gosh, bringing up that he's Black - that's racism? I never said that I didn't respect him or that he isn't a fine journalist. I just said that the endorsement may come from his world-view that is necessarily different than the guy with the unspellable name that was the editorial page editor before him.
I won't be voting for Evans (I vote in SW Detroit) and I think this endorsement was a mis-step. But I think it came from some philosphical place - it wasn't stupidity. |
Jacqueline
Member
Username: Jacqueline
Post Number: 42
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 4:37 pm: | |
Henderson is Charles Beckham's nephew and, the last I heard, Beckham is Bing's campaign manager. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 932
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 9:50 am: | |
So sad. i liked the guy and now I see that he is just another hack, hiding his ties to a candidate he endorses. Shouldn't he have said something "in the interest of full disclosure?" |
Spiritofdetroit
Member
Username: Spiritofdetroit
Post Number: 1231
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 9:53 am: | |
the freep endorsed Evans, not Bing. |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 933
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 11:10 am: | |
Oh, I got it wrong. I apologize and I'm back to liking the guy again! |
Bobby08
Member
Username: Bobby08
Post Number: 126
Registered: 09-2008
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 11:22 am: | |
People,
Exacly what kind miraculous turnarounds can be accomplished in just 4 short months? KK went to jail leaving the city with years and years of problems. The "cease-forclosures" move by Evans did not MOVE me at the least ,just another flagrant political move and he's tied to the KK administration as well. Wake Up! The Freeps endorcement only comes from the Editor and not the paper as a whole and the citizens should follow their own minds, yet I hope they do this go around.
I never base my vote on endorsements. Yet,this one has me scratching my head and banging it agasint the wall at the same time. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9012
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 11:31 am: | |
I'm giving him some slack, but now that I hear the familial ties (thanks, Jacqueline, welcome onboard) I wonder if it was the safe bet for him to cause the controversy and create the buzz that we're participating in...then find a reason to bump him very publicly in favor of Bing later!
It could be a standard crisis/reaction/solution setup... |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9013
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 11:35 am: | |
Bobby, watch those fingers...between a thick skull and a hard wall they will lose every time. |
Sehender1
Member
Username: Sehender1
Post Number: 11
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 12:27 pm: | |
Norm said:
"Remember, Henderson was a vociferous supporter of Kilpatrick when he ran for re-election, than had to back track and apologize for being "suckered" by the former Mayor."
Funny. I wasn't around when Kilpatrick ran for re-election in 2005. I was working in Washington.
So, I'm not sure how I could have supported him at all, let alone vociferously..
(And yeah, I love this forum and read it most every day! This thread has provided some of the most insightful response to our endorsement that I've seen. Kudos to those participating in the discussion.)
--Stephen Henderson
(Message edited by sehender1 on February 18, 2009) |
Fnemecek
Member
Username: Fnemecek
Post Number: 1924
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 12:47 pm: | |
quote:People,
Exactly what kind miraculous turnarounds can be accomplished in just 4 short months?
First, Ken Cockrel became interim mayor on September 18, 2008. He's been in office 5 months; not 4.
Second, and more importantly, I don't expect miraculous turnarounds in few months. However, I do expect to see some kind of meaningful progress being made.
Examples of what he could have done, but chose not to, include:
* Consolidate some of the various City departments. As I've said above, there are 5 different agencies working on economic development and none of them are doing a very good job of it. Use the savings from this to hire civilian employees for DPD so officers currently on desk duty can be reassigned. This could mean another 100 - 150 calls for police service being answered every day.
* Develop a risk management strategy so we stop spending millions of dollars every year settling law suits that could've been avoided.
* Reallocating funds away from low-priority projects (e.g., Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley and the Civic Center) to higher priority items like police and fire services.
These, of course, are only a few of the things that come to mind. There are almost certainly more. |
Downtown_lady
Member
Username: Downtown_lady
Post Number: 569
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 2:39 pm: | |
Hi Stephen -- I'm so glad you're here!! |
Norm
Member
Username: Norm
Post Number: 79
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 6:04 pm: | |
Mr. Henderson,
I apologize for getting my timeline wrong about your past support for Kwame Kilpatrick. Indeed, you did not "vociferously" support him in 2005 as you were still working out East. I was always shocked that you ever saw anything in the guy to like when you came back. And I remember your column where you said that you had come to support what he was doing for the city and were disappointed by his lying in the sex tape/whistleblower trial scandal. I just could never see anything positive about Kilpatrick, as I thought he was one of the biggest phonies around and was a consummate liar. So I guess I just inflated your support because you could actually like and respect the guy at one point.
Again, my apologies. |
Novine
Member
Username: Novine
Post Number: 1103
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 11:31 pm: | |
"This thread has provided some of the most insightful response to our endorsement that I've seen. Kudos to those participating in the discussion."
Not to sound like a knock against DY but that's hardly a surprise if one relies on the Freep.com postings as the benchmark to measure insightful responses. Many of the postings over at the Freep.com should be an embarrassment to the paper. For the most part, they are factually wrong, grossly uninformed and in some cases rife with racist and sexist insults and attacks. 95% of the postings would never make it to the letters section of the Editorial page. Yet the paper has no problem allowing this garbage to appear attached to every article that is published online. Why?
The almighty dollar.
Every idiotic comment generates 5 idiotic responses, each in turn generating even more page views, which leads to more ads being shown and more revenue for the paper. The paper could move those rantings of the insane to a forum format where those who simply want to read the articles wouldn't be subjected to the moronic blathering of the retreads who swarm the comments sections. But that would mean fewer page views for each article and less money. When I have to choose between a News and Free Press version of an article, I choose the News every time. While I don't necessarily agree with the political views of the News editorial page, at least I know I won't be subjected to some idiotic rant or insult when I reach the end of each article. |
Lmichigan
Member
Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 4143
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 1:26 am: | |
Novine, I sent the exact same kind of complaint to me local paper. I got some bullshit back about them wanting to provide a 'service' to the community by keeping the comments section with articles, and wrote them back letting them know that that was bullshit and that they allow it to bring in more ad money. I also let them know that anyone can write a letter to the editor, so taking away the comments wouldn't infringe upon anyone, and the cowards that post couldn't do it anonymously, which is a huge reason why people post comments, at all.
I even wrote them about switching over the the News format where one has the choice or being accosted by these ultra-nasty comments. Needless to say, they didn't reply back, this time. |
Sehender1
Member
Username: Sehender1
Post Number: 12
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 3:10 pm: | |
Novine:
I appreciate your comments. Believe me, the comments that appear under stories/editorials are among the most confounding issues I think we face at the Freep.
First, some clarification: This isn't really about money. Theoretically, you're right that the paper makes more based on the number of page views, but the financial model for the website doesn't quite take advantage of that in that way yet.
This is much more about a pretty grand experiment with a model of journalism that relies much more heavily on reader participation than the ink-on-paper model does.
In particular, on the editorial page site, www.FreepOpinion.com, it's about a fundamental shift in the way we approach our work. In the paper, we pretty much have the last word. Yes, we print letters and "op" views, but they never get the space or prominence that our editorials do. Thus the "ink by the barrel" saying.
But online, we go from having the last word on something to having the first word on it, and then watching it morph and grow according to reader response. So the comments underneath editorials, our blog posts at FreepOpinion, and even commentary submissions from outsiders become an integral part of the conversations we're trying to hold.
Now, I submit that we have not yet cracked the code for developing civil, intelligent conversation to the exclusion of the awful rants we get. But I also submit that at least in editorial, we're working pretty hard at it. We monitor our comments pretty vigilantly, and, even more important, we try to participate in the comments, which I suspect dissuades a lot of the foolishness.
By way of example, take a look at the responses to the blog post I made yesterday about national support for the auto loans. It's a pretty good conversation, with some very well thought out responses.
http://www.freep.com/article/2 0090218/BLOG2503/90218071/1068 /OPINION/Still+no+love+for+Det roit
We're getting there, is what I guess I'm saying. We haven't figured it all out yet, but that hardly puts us in unusual stead. I know of several big national blogs that have had to discontinue their own comment sections because of ridiculous and asinine posts.
Take a look at this recent post at one of the blogs I read daily:
http://www.volokh.com/archives /archive_2009_01_25-2009_01_31 .shtml#1233215010
One last thing:
I'd encourage you to participate in our comments at FreepOpinion.com. Because frankly, as an intelligent poster, you're the strongest possible antidote to the craziness. We can police them as much as we can, we can participate as much as we can, but I think the best comment sections are the ones that are somewhat self-policed...
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.. and sorry for the windy response! |
Lmichigan
Member
Username: Lmichigan
Post Number: 4150
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 10:29 pm: | |
Mr. Henderson, I must disagree. It may not specifically/only be about page hits, but it's certainly about hooking more people, or should I say hooking more potential customers.
And, that brings me to another point with print media, these days, and it's about their inability to lucidly speak to their customers and tell them the truth about why they must (or feel like they must) make the changes they are making to survive. It's always a work of obfuscation, and that is disrespectful to your customers and insults their intelligence. For instance, we know that the paper is a business, and thus we know that the comments sections weren't given to the customer and reader out of the goodness of your guys' heart. It wasn't primarily some magnanimous or idealistic gesture to provide your readers the ability to "get in the last word." Like any business, it's about the bottom line, period. When we are leveled with, than we can have better dialogue. But when businesses think that they can get away with lying to us about their motives, that's when they lose. It's exactly why I go to Freep.com much less, these days.
Again, if this was simply about allowing the last word, if you all were really allowing these comments pages for some grand, idealistic reason, you'd do what the News does and give your cusomters and readers the choice and the dignity to choose whether they want to be subjected to the comments section or not. Readers should have that choice. This isn't even an argument, really, on whether you should allow the comments or not, because, as you can see, there is a healthy middle, here.
Mr. Henderson, don't feel personally attacked by this. My rant was meant for all papers that continue to deny there readers the choice of viewing comments, I just happened to use yours as an example.
I'd like you all to seriously consider giving readers and customers of the Free Press the choice the News affords. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for listening.
But, to close, if I wanted to read, every day, about how inferior black people are, how nasty gays are, how terrible liberals are, or hear any and every woman referred to as a "stupid b&tch", well, I'd simply go find some Klan literature.
(Message edited by lmichigan on February 19, 2009) |
Professorscott
Member
Username: Professorscott
Post Number: 1816
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:47 am: | |
There have only ever been two reasons to run a newspaper, and there will only ever be two reasons:
1. To promote a particular viewpoint
2. To make money
Whereas historically most American newspapers were trying to promote a particular viewpoint, nowadays that takes a backseat to money. For the most part we do not any longer have wealthy families owning newspapers in order to put forth their political views.
Despite that, you can still detect a slight, and intentional, bias. In Detroit, for instance, the Freep is slightly left-of-center and the News is slightly right-of-center. In New York, the Times is a good bit to the left, and the Post is very far to the right.
For the most part, though, newspapers exist for the express purpose of selling advertisements, and the price of those advertisements is related to the number of pairs of eyes expected to see them. Since readership is plummeting, papers have to try harder to attract eyeballs.
Of course, newspapers have web sites, but the web sites do not make money; the bulk of any newspaper's revenue comes from the sale of print advertising.
So long as you are aware of that, you can filter what is printed. Newspapers will not print anything that will offend great numbers of readers, since they need those readers to keep reading. Therefore some controversial things will be avoided, or soft-pedaled.
Still, though, it is a damned shame that we keep losing newspapers. For all their warts, the print journalists in America are our best source of researched and edited information.
The Internet, God bless us all, is all publisher with no editor. My students cite Wikipedia in their papers as if that is somehow a credible source; Wikipedia is barber-shop conversation, writ large and put into writing. And as Nixon famously (and truthfully) said, television is to journalism what bumper stickers are to philosophy.
So may God save our newspapers, warts and bias and all. Rant on, fellow bloggers; the Professor must retire to the kitchen for a Labatt Blue. |
Novine
Member
Username: Novine
Post Number: 1110
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 7:27 am: | |
"Of course, newspapers have web sites, but the web sites do not make money; the bulk of any newspaper's revenue comes from the sale of print advertising."
I don't believe this is true. What's true is that they don't make enough money but from what I've read, the web operations of the newspapers make a profit, just not enough to cover the costs associated with the print side of the house. |
Bobl
Member
Username: Bobl
Post Number: 536
Registered: 07-2008
| | Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 12:52 pm: | |
Well put, Professor. As an impulsive writer with poor keyboarding skills, I enjoy concise and illuminating entries from more talented contributors.
One thing the internet does well is provide a quick method for comparing news stories and opinions. It is up to the reader to learn the difference between sources like Wikipedia, newspapers, and textbooks.
It is disturbing to read that university students have not learned this. Where were their high school teachers? Or parents? |
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