The News Is The News
And it’s not good. A career-fearing FrontBurnervian writes:
Jim Moroney gathered the entire newsroom on Friday in a Hyatt ballroom, and delivered a 90-minute lecture on the state of the company. It was chilling to see the chart showing that the News has suffered a 50 percent loss in profitability since 2000 — and this is after the layoffs and shrinking of the paper. There’s no end in sight, Moroney was clear. He said at the end that there are no plans for further layoffs this year, but that he couldn’t make any promises, given the economic forecast. I think you’d have to be an idiot to have walked out of that meeting assuming that everybody there would be employed at the News by year’s end. But where do any of us go? Everybody at 508 Young St. has a theory about what the News ought to be doing better, and at least some of them are right. But which newspapers anywhere are doing significantly better? If I were in J-school right now, I’d think seriously about changing majors.
32 Comments to “The News Is The News”
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so who is the *****? i’am a bit confused.
On Saturday I went to dallasnews.com to look for an article on a murder that happened near my apartment. I did a few searches using “murder” and the cross streets. Nothing showed up. I tried again using other search values. Again nothing. I then went directly to the Metro section and it wasn’t included in the top 5 stories. So I clicked on “More Metro News” and I was redirected to a blank page. I attempted to do this several more times and each time I was redirected to a blank page. Completely frustrated I went looking for a feedback link. After a lot of searching I finally found link to a page and up came a page stating that Feedback was no longer available.
At that point I gave up on local news and went to the NYT and read an article on wind turbines in West Texas.
They should add more pop-ups to their website to increase revenue.
Andrew, your mistake was assuming that a murder near your apartment is news to all 6 million people in DFW.
The problem with the News is that it’s too big and tries to be all things for all people. It should divide into an intensely local Dallas city edition and an intensely local suburban edition.
The News is trying to maintain the myth that what’s good for Dallas readers is good for everybody.
But their current structure doesn’t serve all readers very well, and also doesn’t serve needs in Dallas.
As soon as your neighborhood murder shows up on AP or Reuters, you’ll see it in the Dallas Morning News.
Now had the murder been in a three mile radius of Fair Park, it would have been reported as a Fair Park area murder.
One reason it is loosing so much money is because the paper has a obvious Liberal bias that puts it out of touch with the people it purports to serve. No, it does not have to become a Dallas National Review, but how about allowing more diverse political opinions than the majority Leftist line it advocates?
Jonathan, you’re kidding, right?
Have you read anything by Rod Dreher lately? Or perhaps some of the other editorial bloggers who routinely stay to the right of center, or maybe the endorsement of Mike Huckabee?
Give me a break.
Mediawonk:
I am not kidding. Dreher is a CINO who refuses to promote any Conservative ideals and wrote their piece naming the Illegal Immigrant “Texan of the Year.” As for their endorsement of Huckabee, it has the effect of the New York Times endorsement of McCain. Also, remember they gave a more loving endorsement of Barack Obama. Of course my all time favorite was their support for the New York Times keeping the Pulitzer of Stalinist Walter Duranty. Not exactly Conservative belief Mediawonk.
Thank you, Jonathan Carpenter, for a much needed laugh!
For those of you who do not know CINO is an anacronym for Conservative in Name Only.
No thank you Eric for being so blind to the obvious.
How about a newspaper with NO political bias to either side of the aisle? When I went to J-School, the first thing we were taught was the importance of objectivity. Now objectivity has been thrown to the wolves and, not surprisingly, newspapers are going out of business.
If someone could promise me a paper product right now that had no political leanings and just reported the news, I’d subscribe on the spot.
Jonathan Carpenter is Frontburner’s new (pick one) Jack Jett, Alistair K. Abernathy, etc.
These posters grow like dandelions. You can pick ‘em, but another always grows back much to your annoyance.
CINO. He he. I love paranoid, conspiracy-minded baby boomers. JC… may I call you JC? Change your handle to Col Flagg or Frank Burns for maximum laughs.
Hank, I guess that is because I do not subscribe to your point of view or am apart of your clique? It is because of syocpants like you the New York Times is able to print hit jobs like they did to John McCain. Let us not forget those who enabled Dan Rather to run that BS Bush National Guard story. I am sorry Hank if I do not believe as you do that being a Journalist means never having to say your sorry.
Wonder how their ‘Quick’ product is faring? I for one dropped my DMN subscription once Quick and the other (since failed) morning free edition appeared at the DART station.
Otherwise, the best news if coming from this blog and a few others (Uncle Barky, Observer and Pegasus).
Jonathan
I think that your brilliance is only made brighter by your acronyms. CINO represents many. I love the fact that you are more than the sum or your name. Jesus was a Carpenter and doesn’t get enough credit for it. I was checking out your site and noticed that you spell conservative different than most folks. Is that the true way that real conservatives spell the word?
What can people like myself and Rod Dreher do to be more than just another CINO?
Jonathan Carpenter, let me put your mind at ease: I honestly don’t mind your obsessive man-crush on me. When you’re sitting there under the 40-watt bulb in your clos — er, garage, drinking warm Bartles & Jaymeses, reading old Popular Mechanics from the 1950s, and getting all sweaty thinking about HUAC, I’m glad that I can serve as a magnet for all your unresolved anxieties.
By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you: Do you think these khakis make me look fat?
My, but we’ve gotten off the subject, haven’t we? Let’s just say it like it is: The DMN is a sinking ship, and the Decherd clan will continue to toss journalists overboard in order to stay afloat until they look around and realize all they have in that newsroom is wire hookups. I had a career there once, and loved it; now I can’t tell you how lucky I feel not to be there. And, having sat through MORONey’s dog-and-pony shows before, I remember fondly what one former DMNer once asked Jim: “Do you think anyone in this room believes a word you say?”
Rod
You know what it is like to have a non-reciprocal man crush. You have had one on Jack Jett and Tim Rogers for years. So be nice, not snarky to Jonathan the Carpenter. He has a nice photo for you on his website. And no, those khakis do not make you look fat anymore than that beard makes you look straight. I do think that while we sit at our tables at Biernets, Bobs, and the French Room, we should not judge those that are lower on the food chain that us. I remember the days you use to enjoy both Bartle and James during a days (and nights) at Reverschon Park. Jonathan, like Jesus has taught us that behind every great newspaper editor is a hole of glory waiting to be plugged.
Rod Dreher, you are MY popular mechenic.
Wick, haven’t you already explained it already above?
“…the News has suffered a 50 percent loss in profitability since 2000 — and this is after the layoffs and shrinking of the paper.”
I see, by the way, that The Replacements are illustrating their contribution to the problem as well.
The real problem is that no one under the age of 50 reads an actual newspaper anymore. We all get our news online. OK, so how does the DMN address that? They make their online presence to be the most aggravating, useless, ad-ridden piece of crap possible. WHY oh why is it so hard for the tech people at the DMN to just go look at online newspapers like the WSJ, the NYT, or the Wash Post, and replicate that?
One of the things that cracks me up is how headlines are repeated, repeated, repeated througout the first page as well as on the side links. Why?
Prediction: the DMN will die. Pegasus News will become our city “news site.”
Replacements? Illustrating? As in, Chris Mars? Bob is dead.
Seems like all newspapers are having a difficult time. I saw where People Newspapers shut down a couple of their editions.
Somewhere, a CueCat is purring.
First, I want to apologize for not using spellcheck and screwing up my spelling of of acronym and conservative. Second, could we keep the Homoerotic references to a minimum? Mr. Dreher I would not focus on your paper if you actually allowed more diverse opinions than your own increasingly Leftist tripe. Gary Wills would be proud! I also would not have bothered with you and your paper if you had not treated me like the Elitist Jerk you are!
It might also help if your paper employed Conservatives who actually had a pair.Instead of the meally-mouthed schmucks employed by the People’s Morning News.
If you do not think their is bias at the DMN and its parent Belo Corporation explain the fact that WFAA’s Gloria Campos is on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood of North Texas?
http://www.ppnt.org/about-us/f.....letter.pdf
Yet you wonder why people talk about Liberal media bias?
OK, and what exactly do Gloria Campos’ extracurricular activities have to do with what goes on at The Dallas Morning News? Does she work for the DMN? Does she write any of the articles? Is she a member of the DMN editorial board?
You’re grabbing at straws there, Jon.
What Gloria Campos activities has to do with the DMN is that it reflects a Liberal bias tolerated by the Belo Corporation at the DMN and its subsidiary WFAA. Please dont tell me if Mrs. Campos was on the Board of National Right to Life WFAA would let her stay on. You cant be that blind Johnny. The Liberals are allowed to be open about their political beliefs and no one challenges their objectivity. Yet in order to work at the DMN a Conservative as Dreher used to be has to check their values at the door. As well as write pieces that are Liberal in nature. Where is the ideological diversity?
I cannot miss the chance to point out that the DMN endorsed Huckabee again today, making somewhat of a lie of all of those here and at DAllasBlog who have ranted about the DMN being part of the “leftist media”. What appears leftist depends on the perspective. If one is WAY right wing then a moderate position looks leftist. So much for DMN being liberal!
In reading the “Endorsement” of Mike Huckabee in particular and Conservatism in general; I am reminded of something Ted Koppel said. It was during the 1980 Democratic Convention when Sen. Kennedy “Endorsed” Jimmy Carter for President. Upon hearing that, Koppel observed “That was the most Underwhelming endorsement I have ever seen.” Then again what else should be expected from The People’s Morning News.