Category: Philadelphia Inquirer

Old Media Up To The Neck In The Tarpit

The old media has been slowly sinking in the tarpit and it appears that point has arrived at which the sticky stuff is to their neck.

In the case of the New York Times, it might that about the only thing above surface is its piggish nostrils.

The Gray Lady lost $39.7 million in 2011 compared with a $107.7 million profit from the previous year.

I have mixed feelings about the demise of the dinosaurs. While the print media has not had true dissenters of any significance from the philosophy of the country club elites as reflected by the Democrat Party, there are many, many reporters — and editors — with integrity and a sense of fair play and who took their vocations very seriously. I feel for them along with the working stiffs in the press rooms and in front of composing screens and behind the wheels of delivery vehicles.

But the ugly truth is that while inky newsprint may have been the most efficient means of disseminating timely information for the last 200 years or so, it is no longer by far.

And so the wheel must turn.

In related news, Procter & Gamble — which is described as the “world’s largest marketeer” — is laying off 1,600 staffers because it has determined that Facebook and Google can do better than traditional advertising media.

 

 

Inky For Sale Again?

KYW is reporting that the local white elephants The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News are up for sale again.

It is being alleged that Alden Global, a hedge fund that has a 30
percent stake in Philadelphia Media Network, the papers’ parent, is the
one pushing for the sale.

Alden Global owns the Journal Register Co. which is PMN’s main dead-tree competition.

Hat tip, Jim W.

Remember Poor State Worker This Tax Season

Remember Poor State Worker This Tax Season — The Philadelphia Inquirer, yesterday, Nov. 25, editorialized on the need to hike the fees on those planning on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.

Exactly! The state needs more money! Our bureaucrats and legislators are underpaid! And think of our poor teachers!!

But why should we stop the new taxes at natural gas drilling? How about a tax on newspaper sales? Why shouldn’t these consumer products be taxed while needy state workers suffer?

Or how about newspaper advertising? How about for every column-inch sold in the Inky, have 6 percent  go to the state? It’s only fair!!

Granted  Doonesbury and opinions as to whether Andy Reid should be fired are far more socially necessary than things like energy independence and home heating, but when it comes to paying those who keep our traffic snarled by manning toll booths and  decide the benefit packages of emeritus professors of physical fitness at our major universities, no sacrifice is too great!!

Remember Poor State Worker This Tax Season

Flea Party Vs Tea Party II

Philadelphia Inquirer carried a large, front page story, Oct. 7, about the “Occupy Philadelphia” protest near City Hall which drew about 700 flea partyers.

Contrast this to the almost non-existent coverage it gave the Independence Hall Tea Party’s 4th of July event which brought about 1,500 to Independence Mall and featured Herman Cain and John Bolton as speakers.

One’s sure they have their reasons for the stories they choose to play up.

Update: Teri Adams of the Independence Hall Tea Party tells us that the turnout on July 4 was actually over 2,000.

Flea Party Vs Tea Party II

Pitiable State Of Dino Propagandists

Pitiable State Of Dino Propagandists — The Philadelphia Inquirer, yesterday, Sunday Aug. 28, devoted the back page of the A section to an New York Times News Service article which it titled Irene Renews Debate Over Cause Of Change.

The article does not seem to be available at the Inky website, Philly.Com, so here is the first graf:

The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause more extensive damage on the Eastern Seaboard than any storm in decades, has revived an old question: Are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change?

The second paragraph was basically “yes” according to “many” scientists.

Now when one writes “could” one “could” write just about anything and still be technically accurate i.e. “my dog could fly if the laws of physics mysteriously changed.”
The magic of “could” is something one learns during the intense playground arguments of the  second grade.

Still, with  Hurricane Floyd occurring just a dozen years ago it was a silly thing to say. If one is making the claim of catastrophic climate change, does one really want one’s targets to remember the  storms of  past decades that spread havoc in the Northeast like Floyd or the Long Island Express of 1938 or Hurricane Agnes of 1972?

Really, when one’s goal is to convince one’s targets something new is occurring why allude to events that show it really is not?

But the real problem with the story, of course, is that it ran on the day the storm fizzled. They couldn’t just wait to be sure.

The truly great progressive propagandists like Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Goebbels would sneer with disgust at the new crew.

For your reference here is a link to a list of the great East Coast hurricanes.

 

 

Pitiable State Of Dino Propagandists

Pa.’s Liberal Dailies Form Cross-State Alliance

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News — which is now calling itself one publication with regard to circulation — announced, yesterday, Aug. 22, that it has made a formal agreement with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “will  result in more shared content and joint endeavors for both editorial and business purposes.”

Yes, this means they will be offering advertising packages.

This also said the will “work together to avoid duplication of stories.”

One foresees some more media layoffs in Pennsylvania.

The Inquirer/Daily News is the largest newspaper in the state with a circulation of 343,710 as of March 31.

The Post-Gazette is the third largest with a circulation of 187,237.

The conservative Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is second largest with a circulation of 190,625.

Last month, Alden Global Capital — the hedge fund with a “significant stake” in the corporate owners of the Inquirer/Daily News — announced it acquired Journal Register Co., the company that owns most of the newspapers in suburban Philadelphia.


Old Media Monopoly In Philly, Yawn

The hedge fund that owns a “significant stake” in Philadelphia Media Network Inc. which is the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, has acquired Journal Register Co. of Yardley, Pa. which owns just about all the other print publications in the Philadelphia area including most of the weeklies.

JRC banners include the Trentonian of Trenton, N.J., The Daily Times of Delaware County, The Daily Local of Chester County, The Mercury of Pottstown, and the Times Herald of Montgomery County.

The hedge fund is Alden Global Capital which has offices in New York, Dallas, Mumbai and Dubai.

Once, this type of monopoly would have been something to be concerned about but times change.

JRC and Philadelphia Newspapers LLC., which was the subsidiary of Brian Tierney’s Philadelphia Media Holdings, Inc.  that previously owned the Inquirer and Daily News,  filed for bankruptcy in the same week in February 2009.

There are decent people in both companies and I sincerely wish them all the best.

Old Media Monopoly In Philly, Yawn

Old Media Monopoly In Philly, Yawn

 

Kudos To The Inquirer

Kudos To The Inquirer

I was ready to nominate the Philadelphia Inquirer for the Walter Duranty Prize after seeing the front page teaser on  on its Currents section yesterday, July 10.

It read “The miracle in Venezuela” and had a smiling picture of Hugo Chavez who is that republic’s top banana.

It turned out, however, that the miracle described in an excellent story by Andres Oppenheimer was the way that extraordinarily oil-rich nation had become an economic basket-case under the direction of an ideological incompetent.

So, will the Inquirer endorse Barack Obama again in 2012?

Note the headline on the web version uses the phrase ‘reverse miracle’ so apparently others were preparing Duranty nominations as well.

Inky Circ Gets Uptick But . . .

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s average daily circulation for the six-months ending in March 2011 was 343,710 making it the nation’s 13th largest daily while its Sunday circulation was 488,287 putting it in 12th place in that category.

This is an increase of 1,349 daily and 10,701 Sundays from the period ending in September.

There is a caveat regarding any celebration because the Audit Bureau of Circulations which tracks these things changed its main metric from “paid circulation” to “total average circulation” which allows for inclusion of digital products and “branded editions” which means different nameplates with different content, which in the Inky’s case would be the Philadelphia Daily News.

The Inky actually has been taking advantage of the “branded edition” policy for a year, and, in fact, fell a few places  in this tally because other newspaper companies are starting to do the same thing.

For this tally, the Daily News readers inflates the Inquirer daily circulation by 71,128.

Philly Abortion Outrage Hits Sour Note

The headlines of today’s dead-print publications in Philadelphia were filled with outrage regarding the revelations of what occurred in the West Philly arbortuary of Kermit Gosnell. “Butcher” screamed the Daily News. The Inquirer put his orange-tan face beneath the banner and headline saying he had been charged with eight counts of murder. They did politely refer to him as a doctor.

The abortuary at 3801 Lancaster Ave. was named the Women’s Medical Society. It was the site of about 1,000 abortions per year and served a mostly black clientele. It had been open since 1979.

The charges were announced yesterday. Gosnell is charged with third degree murder for the death of Karnamaya Mongar 41, a native of Bhutan who traveled from Virginia to die in his clinic in November 2009 after being overdosed with anesthetics by an unlicensed staff member. Gosnell is also charged with murders of seven babies born alive who he killed by sticking scissors in the backs of their necks.

The babies were born during the sixth, seventh or eight month of the pregnancy.

Four staff members are also charge with murder either for the death of Ms. Mongar or the death of a baby.

One staff member is charged with performing an abortion at 24 or more weeks in violation of state law.

Three are charged with conspiracy and/or perjury and related crimes.

Pretty sick stuff. Maybe the outrage should be considered social progress. But then the memory of how these same publications fought like cornered rats to keep Pennsylvania’s late-term abortion law from coming to pass, and the vicious, and often untrue, attacks made on its proponents.  They deserve no honor or praise. Their late epiphany just leaves a sick feeling in the stomach.

A thousand babies a year since 1979.

Wonder what Tony Auth’s cartoon will be tomorrow?

And one wonders how President Obama feels about Gosnell’s prosecution.  Twice as an Illinois state senator , Obama opposed opposed legislation to
define as “persons” babies who survive late-term abortions.

Philly Abortion Outrage Hits Sour Note