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Don't ever forget who runs your newspaper

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Rudy Petross, Oct 7, 2010.

  1. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    I just can't fathom how dumb this writer was to write this. You have to know it won't end well.
     
  2. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Competitive pricing, more advertising and better customer service?

    Brilliant! Of course, she can sit down in a real business, go over the books, and make that happen, right?

    Of course not. It's a silly platitude that doesn't work in the real world.
     
  3. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    She has every right to write whatever she wants. She has no right whatsoever to publication of said writings. And I say that separate from any sentiments I may have in this particular case.
     
  4. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Yes, but not having read the article in question, she should have framed it as this is what the chamber of commerce is saying and left herself out of it -- expect maybe to give an example of great customer service at a local business.

    We should not be cowed by advertisers but, hell, she is writing about them. Of course they are bound to react.
     
  5. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    So why not take up their concerns with the Chamber of Commerce? It's not like she made this stuff up, and it's not like the Chamber of Commerce is typically in the habit of saying negative things about businesses. (Well, except perhaps businesses that don't pay CoC extortion membership fees.)

    Maybe if these businesses recognized WHY they lose customers to Wal-Mart and Target, they'd be able to do something about it. But blaming the editor of a weekly newspaper is clearly far easier.
     
  6. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    This town complains about how its downtown was killed by Walmart but then won't shop downtown when a business tries to make a go of it there. Even the successful downtown businesses there are aren't on Main Street (and there are only two of those, an Ace Hardware and a Dollar General), which should be the focus of downtown. They're all over on a side street, which is wider and has better access and parking. One of the town's better restaurants recently gave up on downtown and moved out by Walmart.

    There's a strip mall opening here in (ironically, perhaps) the old Walmart building. One of the stores going in is Stage*, which pulled out of town about 6 years ago because no one would shop at its location downtown.

    The local chamber is comically inept, so downtown businesses get no help from it. And on Main Street, we've got nothing but photography studios, antique shops and second-hand clothing stores. This downtown has no shoe stores, no places to eat, no new clothing stores, no appliance stores (the last one downtown pulled out two years ago). Downtown here is dead and it has been for years.

    Our publisher is a member of the CoC. And even she acknowledges that this group is a major clusterfuck.

    * - Stage is a midwest clothing store chain (Kan., Mo., Okla., Texas; not sure about any other states).
     
  7. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    The problem with Chambers of Commerce is they take don't have any creativity. The Board of Directors is a big circle-jerk, since there aren't elections and the board hand-picks replacements when vacancies occur. The general membership usually just ratifies the slate.

    Everyone is hyping The 3/50 Project or "Business After Hours", which are just national efforts.

    Usually most of the employees are just those who jump from job to job around town, and land at the CoC in their final years in the workforce.
     
  8. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    And in fact, I ran it twice ... 20 miles from the square in Madison to downtown Stoughton ... once was one of the greatest runs of my life (I think I was 18 or so) and once was hot and absolutely horrifying...
     
  9. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    I'm willing to bet the town treasury is reaping the benefits of having a Walmart vs. the downtown businesses whose idea of promotion was a sandwich board on the sidewalk reading "SALE!"
     
  10. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    Les Schwab would tell you otherwise, were he still alive. So would millions of his customers.
     
  11. flexmaster33

    flexmaster33 Well-Known Member

    yes...Les Schwab is incredible and continues to get it right across the board...not many of those types around unfortunately.

    Years ago, I ran a heated column about cheerleading that had the locals calling for my job. Luckily, management at my paper supported me through that.

    Of course, another person at my office has a story of a drunk dad coming in on deadline and demanding a copy of that night's story. After being turned away, he calls the next day trying to get the person fired...an came close to succeeding (different management at that time). How sad is that?

    It's okay for newspapers to have a backbone, really.
     
  12. OnTheRiver

    OnTheRiver Active Member

    Gotta love Drunk Dad.
     
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