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New York, 9:25 AM
Wed Nov 25
49 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of harlows.landing harlows.landing
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    Although newspapers are "theoretically" affordable, they've gone from ubiquity to being a badge of luxury for oldsters and disposably-incomed literates.

    It would be interesting to see some detailed demographics on all of that lost circulation. Just how many subscriptions have vanished due to otherwise-loyal readers moving to nursing homes, Boca Raton, or their local cemeteries? #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle promoted this comment harlows.landing was starred harlows.landing was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    10/27/09

    @harlows.landing: The losses are at both ends: The olds are dying, and the youngs aren't replacing them.

    Cigarettes in the US are having a similar issue; not so much internationally. #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of Cynical Media Bitch Cynical Media Bitch
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    By itself, a drop in circulation numbers means bupkes. That's because in a recession/depression, you expect people to cut back on things like newspaper subscriptions, and that's doubly true today, since the news and the job listings are available online, for free.

    I'd be more interested to look at figures for circ vs. press run, because if that margin has tightened up, that could actually be a good thing for the business. But if a paper is still printing copies and delivering them to customers that are no longer paying (as I noted yesterday), then a lot of people are just kidding themselves.

    For years, the business model had subscribers merely covering the cost of printing and delivering the paper; most of the overhead was borne by advertisers, and single-copy sales contributed little, if anything. That has to change if newspapers are going to survive, but I don't see how that will happen, with possible exceptions to be found in the largest nationals (WSJ, NYT) and the most intensely local papers (eg. the Newport experiment). #printisdead
     Reply
    Cynical Media Bitch was starred Cynical Media Bitch was unstarred
    Image of BowlingForDollars BowlingForDollars
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    I love a newspaper because it's portable. It needs no batteries and you can take it anywhere.

    I think where newspapers have failed is to reach out to the next generation of newspaper readers. They have had an arrogant attitude of always "being an institution" and never marketed to younger readers. So those younger readers never came on board and their older readers are dying off.

    I don't know if that can be reversed at all, but I'd like to think that newspapers will still be around. It's going to suck to have to wade through my laptop for news every morning at the breakfast table. #printisdead
     Reply
    BowlingForDollars was starred BowlingForDollars was unstarred
    Image of lalie (apologetic mess) lalie (apologetic mess)
    10/27/09

    @BowlingForDollars: And as a 22-year-old off-and-on newspaper reader, I can tell you they are still catering to the old guard. Most of the articles, both news and interest pieces, are written to a baby boomer audience. That's not content that's going to make me buy your paper instead of checking the main headlines on Reuters.

    The arrogance also plays into their reluctance to adapt to the effects of new media. The 'news' parts are, by their very nature, going to be 'old news' by the time papers go to print. So why are they - I'm looking at you, Chicago Tribune - phasing out things like the Books section? That should be played up as unique content and used to gain more readers, since the news stories aren't necessarily going to do that anymore. #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle promoted this comment lalie (apologetic mess) was starred lalie (apologetic mess) was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    10/27/09

    @lalie (apologetic mess): Dumbing down is a death spiral. #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    10/27/09

    @lalie (apologetic mess): Dumbing down is a death spiral that doesn't end well. #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of BettyCrocker BettyCrocker
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    Not so fast. (I hope.)

    Not everyone can afford a Klunky Kindle. Those who can can't always download morning news in the mornings.

    There are grocery coupons online, but they're a pain in the ass. The Style section looks boring online, and it's meant to be read in your underwear in a dimly lit room on a Sunday morning, on a sofa with a cat and a big mug of coffee within easy reach. Try all that in a desk chair.

    Papers are tactile and don't flash the news in your face without giving you a chance to think about it. (Oh, wait.)

    Poor or older people can afford to inform themselves with the paper - it's free in any library. Where are they supposed to get their news? Fox? (Oh, wait.)

    Newsday, for all of its suckitude, does have a good local events section. The Times does too.

    Not sure how any of this can actually be replaced, and I'm guessing there will be some demand for some time. #printisdead
     Reply
    BettyCrocker was starred BettyCrocker was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    "It's completely understandable. It's just sad to see great papers and great reporters scurrying to cover disastrous news with soothing reportorial language and knowing juxtaposition of sentences. I'd almost prefer 'Holy Crap We're Fucked! Help Us! Buy This Paper!' to be splashed across each front page."

    This is part of why they're failing. Nobody believes or relates to that voice anymore -- the one you used to hear on 1010 WINS over the sound of the teletype, the one you used to hear on TV news, the one you used to hear in your head when you turned the newsprint smelling pages on the subway #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of notsofresh notsofresh
    10/27/09

    @If_I_Had_a_Poodle: This is a really good point, about the "old" voice vs. just the "old" physical medium. When I read the headlines in my local paper, I have exactly the same feeling I used to get when my grandparents would ask me to go to the icebox and get them the Oleo. #printisdead
     Reply
    notsofresh was starred notsofresh was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    10/27/09

    @notsofresh: Don't forget to close the light when you shut the kitchen door, hon.

    Old media have lost the credibility that was the underpinning of that Voice of God diction; the times, they have changed. #printisdead
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of scroll_lock scroll_lock
    10/27/09

    In reply to How Newspapers Are Wording Their Own Obituaries
    I knew things were shaky but I didn't think they had burn victims running the presses. #printisdead
     Reply
    scroll_lock was starred scroll_lock was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    10/27/09

    @scroll_lock: No silly, they simply outsourced their print operations to the Isle of Molokai. #printisdead
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of scroll_lock scroll_lock
    10/27/09

    @blix: I just got back from a great concert there by Def Leper. #printisdead
     Reply
    scroll_lock was starred scroll_lock was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    10/27/09

    @scroll_lock: You were there too? I went backstage to give them a hand. #printisdead
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of scroll_lock scroll_lock
    10/27/09

    @blix: You've really got to hand it to him- best one-armed drummer in the bizniz. #printisdead
     Reply
    scroll_lock was starred scroll_lock was unstarred
    Image of blix blix
    10/27/09

    @scroll_lock: Ack! First Brimley with the feet and now this. I wasn't going there in either case but I did tell the Mokokai hooker to keep the tip. #printisdead
     Reply
    blix was starred blix was unstarred
    Image of scroll_lock scroll_lock
    10/27/09

    @blix: No wonder you're so blunt. #printisdead
     Reply
    scroll_lock was starred scroll_lock was unstarred
    Image of Baroness Baroness
    07/26/09

    In reply to Is the Tragic Love of Bobby and Jackie a Hoax?
    To answer the question, yes. It's a sensationalistic angle for someone to pick the Kennedy bones, but woeful and placing way to much weight on rumor.

    Despite her tabloid fame (and secret enjoyment of it), sex seems to be the last thing ever on Jackie's mind. If she drew close to Bobby, it was because the entire nation demanded family continuity with the Kennedys. She'd had a pretty tenuous and mercenary connection with the family to begin with. While I believe Jackie did grow fond of JFK after many bumps in the road, Jackie exulted in being First Lady.

    I disbelieve rumors of an affair with RFK sheerly because he was such an unattractive wee bantam of a man. He wasn't Jackie's type at all. But after JFK's murder, I can see them drawing close- but as family. It must be the most underrated and underexplored trope of life and literature, the (non-sexual) bond that a man can have with his brother's wife. And heightened to the extent of the Kennedy dramas of those years- well yes, I can see a bond forming. They'd already been through a lot together, Bobby and Jackie were canny allies. They weren't fools. They probably talked and coordinated the aftermath of JFK's hundreds of infidelities.

    I think they had a bond there, they were friends. Imagining a romance in a tabloid way, - well people will do that. But Bobby was such a boring grind, Jackie eager to flee to her new life- I don't think it's likely. They had deep and fond affection for each other, as inlaws can. And when Bobby was killed, Jackie fled to Onassis for protection. She realized what a dangerous family she was linked to. What a sick deja vù Bobby's murder must have been.
     Reply
    Baroness was starred Baroness was unstarred
    Image of dtopping dtopping
    07/26/09

    @Baroness: I can't tell who does a better job of talking out of their ass, you or Heymann. You should totally write a book!
     Reply
    PandoraSpocks promoted this comment Edited by dtopping at 07/26/09 10:25 PM dtopping was starred dtopping was unstarred
    Image of PandoraSpocks PandoraSpocks
    07/27/09

    @dtopping: Oh piss off.
     Reply
    PandoraSpocks was starred PandoraSpocks was unstarred
    Image of Voyou_Charmant Voyou_Charmant
    07/27/09

    @Baroness: Whatever, lady! I want to believe in Bobby awkwardly fingering Jackie by the pool. I've already commissioned a painting of it -- it better be true or this painting will be silly!
     Reply
    Voyou_Charmant was starred Voyou_Charmant was unstarred
    Image of jenalicious jenalicious
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    im a little bothered by the fact that those photos are everywhere, especially on the cover of newspapers. people died. show a little respect, nypost.
     Reply
    jenalicious was starred jenalicious was unstarred
    Image of Iceland Spar Iceland Spar
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    I just want to put in a shout out to the legal community, who suffered a mini-black Thursday yesterday with something like 900 layoffs in one day. Wishing anyone affected the best.
     Reply
    Iceland Spar was starred Iceland Spar was unstarred
    Image of homoviper homoviper
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    Well, see, when the Phoenix New Times left a message with the NBA, they did say: "If you don't call back, that means it's true."
     Reply
    homoviper was starred homoviper was unstarred
    Image of TedSez TedSez
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    The Phoenix New Times is, of course, the flagship paper of the conglomerate that now controls most of the major alternative weeklies across the country, including the Village Voice. And it's not exactly news that they're a gang of idiots, intent on completely ruining whatever was left of those once-interesting publications.


    But I guess they make up for it with all the porn-star pictorials.

    [blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com]

     Reply
    TedSez was starred TedSez was unstarred
    Image of Leucadia Leucadia
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    Chuck Todd: Murray from FOTC?
     Reply
    Leucadia was starred Leucadia was unstarred
    Image of MrInBetween MrInBetween
    02/13/09

    @Leucadia: Yes!

    "Stuff you, Rahm. Stuff you, Gibbs. And stuff you again, Rahm."

    Rahm: "Why do I get double-stuffed?"
     Reply
    MrInBetween was starred MrInBetween was unstarred
    Image of uninspired uninspired
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    My favorite CT-based magazine: Why Are Our Major Cities So Undesirable?
     Reply
    uninspired was starred uninspired was unstarred
    Image of EleanorRigby EleanorRigby
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    Now Japanese women will never know which Loligoth looks are do's or don'ts!
     Reply
    EleanorRigby was starred EleanorRigby was unstarred
    Image of eatsshootsleaves eatsshootsleaves
    02/13/09

    In reply to Tabloid Crashes, Burns
    If alt-weeklies couldn't run stories where the person or entity they were writing about never called them back, alt-weeklies would not exist.
     Reply
    eatsshootsleaves was starred eatsshootsleaves was unstarred
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