Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Wasting Paper
I canceled my Saturday and Sunday local newspaper subscription.
The main reason was that the paper editorial staff is unapologetically liberal. Week after week, it’s an incessant parade of left wing nuttery on all positions local and national. The letters to the editor support the staff’s leftist tilt – bitch and moan – bitch and moan. These letters are not happy about anything! And it’s driving away readers like me in droves. This paper has never endorsed a Republican candidate at the national level since I have been a subscriber - so much for fairness in media. And its local coverage is basically cat-up a tree crap that HS journalism students would get C’s for penning.
And so goes the rest of the paper’s pieces in all departments – including the Sports page. The Sports editor is a Florida State alumnus and devout Bobby Bowden fan which means this section makes for instant recycling material!
Something else that has always bothered me about this paper is its reliance of the Associated Press as its main wire service. Apart from the news it routinely manufactures, the AP is a siren of liberalism that seems arcane in today’s world of alternate opinion in print, television and radio. Having the AP as the main news source also means that the folks at the paper don’t write many articles at all.
In essence, each Saturday and Sunday paper includes wire feeds from AP, little coverage of any local significance, few articles written by its staff and ads, ads, ads. And I’m not talking about physical inserts from Best Buy, Sears and JC Pennys. I am talking about whole pages of nothing but ads for doctors, car washes and restaurants.
Sitting in your house or apartment on a Sunday morning, thumbing through the paper trying to get to the editorial, sports and business pages, or my wife’s favorite past-time - shopping ads; damn it! there is something civilizing about that. Not anymore.
I guess it’s time to move to DC to start getting the Washington Times.
The main reason was that the paper editorial staff is unapologetically liberal. Week after week, it’s an incessant parade of left wing nuttery on all positions local and national. The letters to the editor support the staff’s leftist tilt – bitch and moan – bitch and moan. These letters are not happy about anything! And it’s driving away readers like me in droves. This paper has never endorsed a Republican candidate at the national level since I have been a subscriber - so much for fairness in media. And its local coverage is basically cat-up a tree crap that HS journalism students would get C’s for penning.
And so goes the rest of the paper’s pieces in all departments – including the Sports page. The Sports editor is a Florida State alumnus and devout Bobby Bowden fan which means this section makes for instant recycling material!
Something else that has always bothered me about this paper is its reliance of the Associated Press as its main wire service. Apart from the news it routinely manufactures, the AP is a siren of liberalism that seems arcane in today’s world of alternate opinion in print, television and radio. Having the AP as the main news source also means that the folks at the paper don’t write many articles at all.
In essence, each Saturday and Sunday paper includes wire feeds from AP, little coverage of any local significance, few articles written by its staff and ads, ads, ads. And I’m not talking about physical inserts from Best Buy, Sears and JC Pennys. I am talking about whole pages of nothing but ads for doctors, car washes and restaurants.
Sitting in your house or apartment on a Sunday morning, thumbing through the paper trying to get to the editorial, sports and business pages, or my wife’s favorite past-time - shopping ads; damn it! there is something civilizing about that. Not anymore.
I guess it’s time to move to DC to start getting the Washington Times.
It is probably enough that they write the "cat up a tree" articles; can you imagine with the papers liberal tilt that you refer to would be like on an international level?
Nice thing about AP is that the paper gets the choice for the stories; straight to the point leftwardly tilted short piece or full bells and whistles laying on its left side storys.
As far as your editorial staff? I feel the same way about the AZ Republic, all it's good for is coupons and politically correct soy ink stains on your fingers. Forget about the letters to the editors. 8 or 10 Left of reality.
Nice thing about AP is that the paper gets the choice for the stories; straight to the point leftwardly tilted short piece or full bells and whistles laying on its left side storys.
As far as your editorial staff? I feel the same way about the AZ Republic, all it's good for is coupons and politically correct soy ink stains on your fingers. Forget about the letters to the editors. 8 or 10 Left of reality.
And the numbers for the decline in readership across the nation continue to rise! Look at the circ figures of all national papers - they are in the gutter and will continue to fall due to what you and I have listed.
And isn't canceling your paper subscription good for the environment?
A 'novel' idea!
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And isn't canceling your paper subscription good for the environment?
A 'novel' idea!
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