Today's not Tuesday but when do facts matter? Here are a few Poynter tweets to amplify the fade of American traditional media. Reports on crime must first be weighed through a racial equity prism before a decision is made whether to publish. Because...optics over facts! "We don’t need to publicize the crime blotter simply because it fills airtime or generates clicks... Every decision we make about the details we include — and what we exclude — sends a message to our audience."https://t.co/WWaZAAl8qM — Poynter (@Poynter) June 23, 2021 Newspapers? Yep. Some people still read them until they wind up on the overpriced obituary page(s). Almost 40 journalists at the Chicago Tribune are taking buyouts and leaving the paper. That number includes some of the
Tag: newspapers
Hedge hogs ready to gut Gannett, newspaper business fiddled while Rome burned
Proofreaders? We don't need no stinkin' proofreaders! Nor do most American newspapers. Two more editors were among the newly RIF'd at The Courier-Journal in Gannett's slash-and-burn strategy. A few weeks ago, a Courier-Journal employee told me that the scant few remaining employees were shuddering at the prospect of a hedge fund takeover of CJ parent company Gannett. Sure enough, Gannett made another massive reduction in force across America this week as if to prepare for its unholy marriage with Alden Capital. Gannett slashed 400 jobs. Other media outlets also sent the Grim Reaper through employee break rooms. Even the snarky HuffPo kids took a hit. The Courier-Journal losses were light this time but it could be just a preview of more consolidation
Drawing on inspiration
As a little kid, I couldn't wait to open up the Courier-Journal and draw Hugh Haynie's political cartoon. I dreamed of growing up and making a living doing social commentary just like the late Hugh Haynie did. On September 30, 2013, I finally got a chance to peek into the long-vacated political cartoonist office on the Courier-Journal's 3rd floor. Mr. Haynie was succeeded by Nick Anderson, who went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for his cartooning. Anderson now works for the Houston Chronicle. Standing in this little office today, I imagined the swirling creative pressure that bore down on both Haynie and Anderson as deadlines approached. The Frazier History Museum is featuring a Hugh Haynie cartoon exhibit through