Conundrum

The bill for The News Leader has been sitting on my desk for a couple weeks - $133.69 for the annual subscription. My caller ID says they called on Black Friday. They'll probably call back today... and tomorrow... and later in the week. My conundrum - subscribe or not?

Today's paper is two thin sections, a total of 14 pages. Some days are a little bigger but not much meatier. About half of those pages are "news" or sports without ads. I say "news" because I don't consider things like road reports, restaurant inspections, TV listings, and horoscopes as news. Most days I spend 10 minutes or less with the paper.

Lots of pictures... is the one of the hunter on A3 recycled from a day or so ago? And the pictures, though colorful, are often huge and take up half or more of the page. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, but in the case of The News Leader I get the feeling giant pictures are used because the paper doesn't have enough words to print.

With the immediacy of TV and the internet, why do we need about a third of a page devoted to the weather forecast? By the time I get the paper, that section is out of date!

And then there are the ads... and lots of them. Taking up more space than text on some pages. Some days, there are ads on the font page. There are the sad foreclosures. Then there is the daily pumpkin or other three column x 5 inch ad by Francis Chester. He must have a sustaining membership. Doesn't he realize that sometimes less is more?

But, there are all the reasons for keeping the subscription... firing up the wood stove, cleaning windows, wrapping fragile gifts, and the valuable coupons. I think I saved $2 at the grocery store last week.... ah the math, $2 x 52 = $104. Almost pays for the subscription... that is if I remember to clip/use 'em!

But, there are so many other things to do with $133.69. A donation to The News Leader/Salvation Army's Neediest Families program, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, and the Augusta Regional Free Clinic will give much more satisfaction than 10 minutes a day kicking myself in the butt for spending so much on a subscription that delivers so little.

Conundrum solved.

Facts about the "Fact Book"

Each year The News Leader publishes its "Fact Book: a guide to Staunton, Waynesboro & Augusta County." The 2010 edition arrived rolled in a newspaper a couple of days ago. Was it bigger than the paper?

The first thing I noticed was that it is easily rolled, having shrunk considerably over the past few years. The 2010 edition is a total of 6o pages counting the covers; 12 of those pages are on glossy stock that, other than the front cover, are all full color ads no doubt demanding top dollar. Speaking of ads, the Leader's sales department, which must be their largest, sold 27 pages of ads. No wonder there isn't a listing of realtors - a bunch of them bought ads, mostly with pictures of themselves. Looks like a high school yearbook.... except more wrinkles and bald heads.

To my dismay, I next discovered there is no table of contents or index. I suppose such frivolous things take up valuable ad space. Okay, with only 60 pages I ought to be able to browse it easily enough. Damn, those newsprint pages keep sticking together.

So browse I did... hunting and pecking like an old rooster through the grist to see what I could find, or not find. Less than 10 minutes revealed:

• The listing for the Augusta County School Board is inaccurate;
• The Augusta County General District Court is AWOL;
• There is a long list of churches, but I have no idea how complete/accurate it is;
• There are only five Business & Professional Organizations in our community - groups like teachers, doctors, lawyers, dentists, car dealers, etc. are nowhere to be found;
• Other than a phone number, most listings have little information - usually no website or description. Exception - area colleges.
• The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce gets two listings - one under Business & Professional Organizations and another under Helping Agencies.
• Agriculture? What agriculture? I didn't realize all our farms have disappeared!

I'm sure another 10 minutes could double or triple this list of errors and omissions, but who really cares? While I suppose we should thank The News Leader for putting Fact Book 2010 together, the real fact is that it is virtually useless. Most of the listings for government offices, schools, and so forth are more easily (and more accurately) found in the local phone book. Almost everything in Fact Book 2010 is available online, more up-to-date, and quickly found by by our friends at Google. Even The News Leader has more and better information available in the Data Leader section of their website.

The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce is a "helping agency?" When you compare them to the other listings under that category - Red Cross, SPCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank - the chamber in no way qualifies as a "helping agency." Helping themselves! In fact, the Chamber of Commerce has become so blatantly partisan and FOXian in the last decade - deriding unions, spreading false information about climate change, trying to kill healthcare reform, attacking Democratic candidates - that it more accurate to call them what they are - a right wing lobby. Oh, I thought they were a wing of the GOP!

But, I digress... back to Fact Book 2010. I'll be putting this edition in the paper recycling. There is no reason to save it for reference and the paper can move on to another and perhaps greater use. TP? Besides, it has already served its true purpose of fattening the bank account of The News Leader.

Stop the presses

The Charlottesville Daily Progress announced six more layoffs, four in the newsroom. Just across the mountain in Waynesboro, the News Virginian (already a pretty small operation) is laying off one. And a few more miles to the west, a rumor became fact when the News Leader announced it is shutting down its 40 year old Staunton press and will outsource printing to the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg. The News Leader will cut eight full-time and 15 part-time jobs. Publisher Roger Watson says readers won't see much difference, only the printing will no longer be done in Staunton.

Editor David Fritz noted this is part of a nationwide trend hitting smaller newspapers as well as the large ones. Fritz said he didn't expect the News Leader to stop the print edition all together, but noted,

"I can't tell you the last time I've been thoroughly surprised by something I read in print. It's always a case where I heard about it earlier on the internet or on broadcast. Print has not been the medium for breaking news for quite a long time now."

My prediction - within several years, even if the economy improves, the Central Valley will lose at least one print newspaper (maybe a merger) or the papers will rely on their online edition with perhaps a weekly print compilation of local news with a large advertising section. The challenge will be to actually make money with an online edition - yes, that is much cheaper than running the presses, but will people actually pay for something they are now getting for free?

A bit of irony - newspapers' online editions are getting better and better, have interactive discussions, are more timely in reporting breaking news. Newspapers are helping to write their own obituary for the print edition - as more people get news online, fewer subscribe for the print edition and fewer advertisers buy space. Death by success?

As with most societal and economic changes, the ongoing demise of print newspapers has both good and bad consequences.

• Will newspaper boxes disappear along rural roads? Hardly seems economic or environmentally friendly to have someone driving all the back roads to drop off a skinny newspaper every morning.
• Will I have to use my own paper and ink to print vendors coupons? Will coupons even survive without a Sunday paper?
• What will I start the wood stove with? Just crumple up the laptop!
• Will we have to change laws about legal notices for public hearings? How about hiring a town crier to stand on the courthouse steps?

I grew up in a town with both a morning and an evening paper. Then the evening news on TV killed the evening newspaper. We survived that transition. Now, the internet and 24/7 news on TV is threatening to kill all but the strongest print editions of the daily paper. We'll survive this one, too.

Well, back to the newspaper... I mean laptop. Oh Hell, I'll just grab another cup of coffee and sit in the sun pondering how the loss of another print newspaper may affect my life. Or won't?

Shenandoah Valley Omelet

A couple items whipping up the eggs today (actually some of this is a couple days old - rotten eggs?):

The News Leader had a virtual orgasm covering all the gossip and scuttlebutt of the Augusta Republicans. They had reported that Kurt Michael would resign on June 7, but they never followed up to report that he actually did so and what would happen next. Coitus interruptus, for them I guess. The News Virginian did get the story about "Dr. Mikey's" resignation from Lynn Mitchell. Perhaps, Lynn hates The News Leader so much she delivered the scoop to their cross-county rival. At any rate, she has her own gushing orgasm over Kurt on her daily wingnut trivia.

Apparently, the temporary chair of the committee will be Bill Shirley. Bill's a retired teacher and football coach. Mild mannered and polite when compared to Kurt, but every bit as rabid a theocratic right winger. Is he the heir apparent? Or a bad yoke? Will the Hanger/Roller folks turn out the folks to control to the next caucus? Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Will Jim Bailey chair the caucus? NO! Unless he gets a crash course on Robert's Rules of Order. Guess we'll have to sit in the nest a while to see who hatches as the next permanent chair. 

Scott Sayre is the new vice chair of 6th District GOP committee. All of this underscores several points: 

• The old mountain-valley Republicans are a dying breed and have been replaced by the Grover Norquist/Federalist Society reactionaries who have taken over the local committees, the district committee, and the state party. They are scary people if they ever get power, but this rooster thinks this shift is good news for Democrats.
• Emmett Hanger is among the last of those mountain-valley Republicans.
• Sayre will challenge Hanger for the nomination in 2011 or Hanger may consider running as an independent or (cluck) a Democrat.

Harrisonburg independent Carolyn Frank seems to be between a rock and a hard place. The city is trending Democratic and will move to November elections. Because of those changing dynamics, she may be tempted to join the Democratic Party - but many of them seem to be keeping her at arm's length. Or, is she a secret religious-right Republican - she has connections with Greater Hope Ministries and has dabbled in GOP politics? If you live in Harrisonburg, you may want to vote in this poll about the city council candidates.

Sam Rasoul is holding a press conference on health care in Fishersville tomorrow, June 11 at 12:30 PM. Will be interesting to see if he gets media coverage - the local TV and print media has been mostly asleep on the congressional campaign. Yes, it is early and it is hot, but the Daily News-Record, The News Virginian, and The News Leader all seem to be taking a siesta when it comes to covering this race.