Jim Moroney III of The Dallas Morning News sees the print paper surviving at least until 2020, in part because it’s successfully raised the price of home delivery. In a talk to the Dallas Assembly today, the DMN publisher and CEO said classified and display ads have plummeted, moving to online venues, so the paper’s trying other things, like the subscription increase, to compensate for the lost dough. Next month, he said, it will make “free e-readers” available to subscribers. He expects the Obama Justice Department to ease antitrust restrictions soon on newspapers battling online sites that co-opt their work. And he doesn’t expect the DMN Web site alone to keep the operation robust. “We have a newsroom with 325 people–a $37 million annual investment–and we don’t make $30 million a year off digital ads,” Moroney said. “So … we’ll make the transition [to a sustainable model], but it won’t be just to dallasnews.com.”
You remember these classic pictures of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash after perhaps a few too many beers? Did we ever learn who the grinning guy in the ball cap was? If you know, hit me up directly.
The protesters’ signs have improved since I complained. But opposition to gas wells across from a park and a hospital in Denton doesn’t seem to have grown much.
I’m sympathetic to their cause — or at least, I like to see people get passionate enough about a cause to march on the Denton Civic Center. But it’s plain that their efforts would be more fruitful if the entire enterprise weren’t being spearheaded by college-age kids who seem to embody the worst stereotypes of flaky young liberals.
Watch the video and you’ll see: 1)A guy sporting the Jesus look 2) Dreadlocks 3)A guy sipping a latte while holding his sign and 4 ) They call themselves members of the International Socialist Organization.
Maybe I’m being too hard on them. Their hearts are in the right place. And, like one of them says “[The wells have] the potential of releasing cancer-causing agents into the air, so that’s, you know, like a very big hazard to people’s health.”
If you know the name “Stefan Merrill Block,” then you probably read his well-reviewed debut novel, The Story of Forgetting. If you don’t know the name, then no matter. You should read his essay from today’s New York Times about coyotes in Plano (among other things). Good stuff.
Three local blogs — In This Economy?, Five O’Clock Dallas, and I Live In Dallas — have teamed up to create a potential panel discussion at the Interactive portion of next year’s SXSW music/film/etc. shindig. (Topic: Citizen journalism.) Below is an entertaining video they put together to drum up support for the aforementioned potential panel. If you like it (there’s more information here), give them a thumbs-up at the link I just linked to and help send them on their way. And now, “Who is CJ?”
The DMN’s basically advised him to stay put. But now, Paul Burka and Unfair Park are reporting that, behind the scenes, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert may be exploring a race to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate anyway. Their reports mention a recent closed-door meeting attended by political consultant Carol Reed, so we put the question to her: Is Leppert getting set to run? “I’ll tell you what Tom says–he’s been approached about it, so he’s looking at it,” Reed said. Who approached him? “I’m not going to get into that,” Reed said. But, with heavyweights like David Dewhurst also contending, wouldn’t Leppert face tough sledding? “Special elections don’t come along very often,” Reed said. “So everybody’s looking at it.”
This UT-alum FrontBurnervian tells a story that is representative of four emails I’ve received:
OU has 196 National Merit Scholars this year. My daughter is one of them, and I was amazed at how much attention she got from OU and how little she got from UT, my alma mater.
OU sent a representative to her high school to sell the school to all the kids who made one of the National Merit levels. The OU people sent us many pieces of mail, made some phone calls, invited her up for a personal tour of the campus in which she met three potential professors one-on-one. UT invited her to a two-day colloquium, which we attended, and sent a few pieces of mail. The difference was eye-opening. OU said they’d love to have her. We got the sense from UT that it was the other way around.
The price difference amounted to about $6K per year, which in our case will be the difference between her graduating debt-free and not. I guess for future students the difference will be $9K, although I suppose UT will find a way to make offers to students it really wants.
I don’t subscribe to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, so I can’t read the entire article, but an alert FBvian points us to this report saying that six buyers are interested in the Rangers. I’m just spitballing, but Mark Cuban? David McDavid? Your speculation is welcome. Comments are on.
Jack Britton is a 24-year-old Dallas accountant who shows up in this WSJ story about how ridiculously long store receipts have grown. His quip:
“You feel like you have a very special document in your pocket, when in reality you bought a Sprite at a Best Buy.”
Well played, Jack Britton.
1. It looks like Tony Romo might be dating Candice Crawford, who happens to be the sister of Chace Crawford. She covers high school football for WB 33. You can watch video of her work right here. In my professional estimation, she is smoking hot. Furthermore, it is my considered opinion that — if the rumor is true — Romo deserves a high-five.
2. Ron Price, who has served as a DISD trustee since 1997, won’t seek reelection. He says he wants to spend more time with his family. No word from his family yet on whether they want to spend more time with him.
3. In related news, 921 American Airlines flight attendants are leaving the airline to spend more time with their families.