As I walked through the crowd I spotted a couple reporters. Without deaths, this fire wasn't going to make the 11 o'clock news I figured. But I'll bet Rachel Holliday-Smith will be here! You know, the intrepid local reporter for DNA Info that I link to three or so times a week? Except...I can't anymore. In fact, all those links are currently dead. Because...well, read for yourself.
Rachel's smart. She can write. She'll find another job and she'll nail that one too. But we just lost two of the most outstanding hyper-local news sources ever - DNA and Gothamist. After I started digging into the 60 Clarkson saga it was Nathan Tempey of Gothamist who really started to make the connections and nail the S.O.B. He was going longform on the story, and many others. These two reporters were among the young guns that you count on to make the Kleptocracy almost resemble Democracy. And with one fell swoop, billionaire Joe Rickets tossed 'em all out. Fact is, only billionaires can afford to run news organizations anymore. (maybe that's just the cost-of-living - it's always been a rich man's sport hasn't it Roop?). And Rickets wasn't doing it for his love of journalism. He saw a way to harness hyper-local advertising. But the fact is, we don't want to pay for content, do we? Like pretty much everything else, we feel entitled. Entitled to good journalism, good TV, free parking and regular trash collection that hauls our plastic and uneaten meat to the dump.
I'm going to eat a Halloween $100,000 bar and rue the day. THIS day. The one where two very different but somehow deeply related Electrical Fires hit home.
7 comments:
These two reporters were among the young guns that you count on to make the Kleptocracy almost resemble Democracy.
That would be the failed kleptocrat Hillary you're referencing? Visit a true kleptocracy for some understanding and balance. Russia, for one. Take your pick of sub-Sahara African nations.
And with one fell swoop, billionaire Joe Rickets tossed 'em all out.
Ahhh, not exactly. The employees said they planned to unionize. Having been in a similar situation, I'll say that the boss-man most likely warned the staff to drop that idea. But, they didn't, much to their own detriment. When you don't like the way the boss runs the shop, start looking for a new job, especially when you're in an industry that's taking a hammering from the Internet. Goliath wins, because Goliath is doing reasonable work, overall. But niches remain, and DNAInfo and Gotham occupied a niche, till the employees undermined themselves.
I wonder if some employees were opposed to unionizing and are now angry about going down with the ship the other employees torpedoed?
Fact is, only billionaires can afford to run news organizations anymore. (maybe that's just the cost-of-living - it's always been a rich man's sport hasn't it Roop?). And Rickets wasn't doing it for his love of journalism. He saw a way to harness hyper-local advertising.
No kidding? Wow. Who would have thought there was a connection between journalism and advertising? But, yeah, getting local advertising dollars for reporting local news is a strategy that works if the cost of news is somewhat less than the amount of revenue coming in from local advertising sales.
Soooo, it's evident the reporters failed basic accounting. And they failed the course in common sense. They weren't in a position to make Rickets an offer he couldn't refuse.
But the fact is, we don't want to pay for content, do we?
In fact we do pay for content when it has demonstrable value. The Wall Street Journal, for one. Some would say the NY Times is worth purchasing.
Like pretty much everything else, we feel entitled. Entitled to good journalism, good TV, free parking and regular trash collection that hauls our plastic and uneaten meat to the dump.
It's still true that there is no free lunch. It's also true that cheating can pay. And, generally, there's no penalty for lying. However, you've also made the case the liberals believe they deserve a free lunch and should enjoy the entitlements you mentioned, not that liberals have much of an eye for good journalism.
Hey man, Hilary was my favorite Kleptocrat. Didn't say she wasn't part of the rich ruling elite!
Interesting you mention Wall Street Journal, which has taken a major turn for the worse since enforcing its paywall.
I do purchase the NY Times. I figure I can afford one, and that's the one. Would I have afforded DNAInfo? Maybe.
The solution will look something like a "pay to click" model that works in online advertising. People don't want to pay for content they don't use (like, daily), but I think they will pay pennies per click, the way they toss of tips into the jar at the coffee place. You just have to make it unnoticeable. I think I bought almost $10 of stupid games for my kids last night and didn't blink.
This really isn't about liberals and conservatives, slappz. It's about information and who controls it. I don't care if you disagree with me, but I don't want you to shut me up.
That's why it's a bit hard to hear how college campuses have turned into censorship mills. But that's okay. Kids are always pushing the envelope and god bless 'em for it. When they get out here they'll see it's a lot tougher to shut down ADM than Humanities 101.
Bottom line...you barely disagreed with me Slappz. That's a first.
Man, I really enjoyed those sites. For a paper that was owned by a (anti-union?) billionaire, it sure had a reasonably liberal bent. Any recommendations on what to read in its place?
Bklynr and Brooklynian.com will likely get a little bump from the demise of DNA and Gothamist. ...but you are unlikely to get snarky articles that remind one of The Village Voice.
The solution will look something like a "pay to click" model that works in online advertising. People don't want to pay for content they don't use (like, daily), but I think they will pay pennies per click, the way they toss of tips into the jar at the coffee place. You just have to make it unnoticeable. I think I bought almost $10 of stupid games for my kids last night and didn't blink.
More likely a subscription plan. Americans don't seem to like open-ended payment plans. Cell phone plans, cable, Internet. A flat rate. Something like Spotify, Pandora, Tinder or Plenty of Fish, except readers won't escape advertising by paying. Everything for a few bucks a month. This model has now arrived in movie-land with MoviePass (now $10 a month, for access to one movie per day), though it's still unclear if it will save or kill the movie-theater business. AMC Theaters believes MoviePass is a death sentence.
The question is value. Given that DNA Info and Gotham and Neighborhood Square were up and running, there's probably a long-shot chance the Post or Daily News will look into making a deal with Rickets. But, only if the economics work.
This really isn't about liberals and conservatives, slappz. It's about information and who controls it. I don't care if you disagree with me, but I don't want you to shut me up.
Where does this nonsense come from? Until the recent emergence of lefty 1984 Big Brother Censors, there had been two decades of no controls, no restraint, no limits on any form of speech -- in the US. Thank you Internet. China? Cuba? North Korea, Islamic nations?
When there's money involved and people claim the battle is over information, it's about the money. Rickets undoubtedly saw a glimmer of a hint of a little profit from local ad revenue generated by the work of low-paid writers operating online. However, it's possible his enterprise was not yet in the black.
He could not care less about the political bent of the local news. Or "control" of information. But, he cares about the revenue. The stream of local ad revenue was probably enough to cover the meager paychecks of the writers. Maybe he even hoped his local news business would give some rookie reporters their first shot on their way to greener pastures? That's the sad reality of the value of news.
That's why it's a bit hard to hear how college campuses have turned into censorship mills. But that's okay. Kids are always pushing the envelope and god bless 'em for it. When they get out here they'll see it's a lot tougher to shut down ADM than Humanities 101.
When it comes to hammering into the heads of students a true understanding of Freedom to Assemble and Freedom of Speech, colleges are failing. Or maybe they are willfully acquiescing? Either way, a lot of little dictators are emerging from the groves of academe these days. As they age, they will work toward imposing an oppressive intellectual climate in the US. The groundwork has already been laid.
The previous comment notes the Village Voice. It boggles the mind to recall the price of a copy of the Voice way back when. A buck. Then there was a financial awakening. Aha. Free to readers. Financed by advertisers, specifically with ads for sex. Oh, the irony!
Virtual sex is now free on the internet, and you don't have the same risk of diseases and being robbed as when you buy the real thing.
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