Man buys a newspaper at the same newstand every day, glances at front page, throws it straight out. Day after day after day. Eventually, the news seller asks, “Why do you do that?” The man answers, “I’m just checking for an obituary.” “But obituaries aren’t on the front page.” ‘When the sonofabitch I’m looking for dies, it will be.”
Gannett, publisher of USA Today and hundreds of local newspapers, will stop using the Associated Press’ content starting next week, a significant blow to the not-for-profit wire service collective that still relies on memberships for revenue. Gannett will eliminate AP dispatches, photos and video as of March 25, according to an internal memo from chief content officer Kristin Roberts, obtained by TheWrap.
The WRAP
I recall that back in the day when I worked at non-Gannett newspapers, there were days, lots of days that I could not fill out the paper without the AP. We had some local stories on the Front Page, and on the front of our local section, but all the inside pages were from the news services, mainly AP.
This will be interesting, to say the least. And what about sports? I expect that these days there are other ways to get sports other the AP. But?
A Ridgway, Colo. man, Paul Choate, 41, has been cited on suspicion of petty theft after admitting to stealing 200 copies of this week‘s Ouray County Plaindealer on Thursday morning. He later returned the papers with an apology.
Choate’s motive, according to investigators and his own admission, was the front-page story detailing an alleged sexual assault at the Ouray police chief’s home. Copies were taken from 12 racks across Ridgway and Ouray.
Police used video surveillance and other leads to identify Choate, who owns Kate’s Place restaurant in Ridgway. While the stolen copies were eventually returned, the Plaindealer had already reprinted 250 copies due to the incident.
— Full disclosure, Bard rewrote the Plaindealer story because I’m too lazy to do so. If you want to read the real story, head over to the Plaindealer or the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking that (Washington Post Editor-at-Large Robert) Kagan be investigated and potentially jailed for writing the editorial, which Vance suggested could be “an invitation to ‘insurrection,’ a manifestation of criminal ‘conspiracy,’ or an attempt to bring about civil war.”
Generally, respected members of Congress and other political offices are forever know by their office titles until the day they die and for some time afterwards.
I wonder if the Associated Press has issued a ruling on what to call George Santos? Here’s my take on what newspaper style is:
Congressman: The aforementioned title given to respected politicians no longer in office.
Former Congressman: Technically correct.
Ex-Congressman: Also, technically correct, but, let’s face it, some share is being thrown here.
The Escambia County district attorney, Stephen Billy, brought the felony charges against Sherry Digmon, the publisher and co-owner of Atmore News in Atmore, Ala., and Don Fletcher, a reporter, based on an article that the newspaper published on Oct. 25. … Ms. Digmon, 72, and Mr.Fletcher, 69, were arrested on Friday and charged with one count each of revealing grand jury evidence in the article. They were released on $10,000 bonds.
NYT
They will win. It will cost them lots of money to defend journalism. I hope they get some financial assistance from bigger publications.
What is that pointsize? About a million? If there were a Newspaper box around to check, I’m guessing that this would cover everything above the fold. I guess the non-Atlanta Braves did something important in sports ball.
Breaking ground for US Newspapers: Mugshot of a former POTUS! Surprisingly, the mugshot was released too late to meet their deadlines (I guess)…. We’ll have to see how they run the second-day story on Saturday.
Kudos to the Times-Dispatch for working in JAIL in the hedline.
As always, Front Page are from my good friends at the Newspapers and The Freedom Forum
This story makes me so angry that I haven’t been able to write anything about it until today. This is abuse of power by the local power mongers.
MARION — In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home…
The city’s entire five-officer police force and two sheriff’s deputies took “everything we have,” Meyer said, and it wasn’t clear how the newspaper staff would take the weekly publication to press Tuesday night.
The raid followed news stories about a restaurant owner who kicked reporters out of a meeting last week with U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, and revelations about the restaurant owner’s lack of a driver’s license and conviction for drunken driving.
All I can say is that the entirety of US Journalism ingoing to land on the side of the Marion County Record .. and not just editorial support. I expect that there will be plenty of news organizations that will either support the newspaper’s legal fund of file amicus briefs — and those will be written by well-paid lawyers who know what they are doing, not some shitty podunk county district attorney who has limited experience (if any) dealing with First Amendment rights.
Stay tuned … spoiler alert: I know who is going to win on this one.
Wanna Buy a Paper, Mister? 