AJ-C puts out 4-page sports section; no more box scores

I don't give two shits if the pro sports box scores don't appear in the paper. But when I open up to the agate page and it says "Vegas line is not available" -- as it did today -- that's when I get pissed off.

 

I'd never want to run my agate page without the Vegas line.

But I would consider Vegas line as top priority to be a minority position.

 

Had that all the time at my first job out of college on Mountain Time. Lots of three-pagers with a no-jump policy. Front, scoreboard/briefs, roundups.

 

Did the NCAA back off their threat to not issue credentials to papers that ran the betting line on college games?

 

In Decatur, Ala., once when I was working the news desk, I had a regional front ... with no inside space at all. Didn't have to worry about getting the jumps right.

 

I like how they left an email addy for the readers to respond. Those would be interesting to read. Some of the reasons people already give for canceling subscriptions are entertaining.

 

Best reason I've read, I canceled because you suck!

 

Value. Hmmm. We're reducing the amount of chips in a bag of Doritos, but we hope you'll find some value in it.
If you're hungry, you buy food.
If you want boxscores, you'll go to ESPN now.
Next move: We'll let AP cover the SEC tournament.
But we hope you'll find some value.

 

Looks like the thread title is being a bit generous. Today's meaty section weighed in at 3 1/2 pages.

 

Good luck with that. Papers have been trying to "attract new readers" for 40 years, and a million ideas have been recycled over and over again. Usually, their efforts serve to run off old readers more than it does to bring in new ones.

 

I was in Atlanta over the weekend and picked up the AJC Sunday on my way out of its ever-shrinking circulation area.
I wanted something to read while I was at lunch. I tore the thing apart looking for the @ issue section, their opinion section, until I discovered it — among the rest of the A section. And only three pages at that.
It's a shame, but the best days appear to be behind the paper that once covered Dixie like the dew. Now, it barely covers the Perimeter.

 

Sweet Lord, opinion used to take up three pages on weekdays.