Tuesday, July 10, 2012

T-P reporter has had enough

and sends an email to her bosses:

Those of us laid off still have jobs to do until the 30th of Sept, but it’s going from bad to worse,” she tells Romenesko readers. “This newsroom is unhealthy, to say the least. I desperately want my job until October because I love it. But I also can’t just keep my mouth shut and pretend everything is okay, or that it doesn’t matter. So I sent this to editors/publishers/nola.com top brass this morning. Because I’m pissed.”.." Read the letter

Then a group of leading citizens of New Orleans asked the Newhouse group to sell the paper. A group of led by Tom Benson, Archie Manning, Wynton Marsalis, James Carville, and other notables purportedly have a buyer lined up to purchase the newspaper. Artcle.

Last but not least, there is our good ole Clarion-Ledger. No word on the new pricing model yet BUT a JJ reader posted this comment yesterday:

Anonymous said...

The latest. Got a letter today from the Clarion Ledger telling me my Sunday only delivery is going from $8.00 to $12.00 a month.

I then went straight to my account online to cancel, and guess what? You can do most everything to your account, but you cannot cancel online. Then I called the Clarion Ledger. They told me they had a large volume of callers and then gave me options as to what I wanted to do. One of the options was "Discontinue my Paper." I was put on hold, and stayed on hold about 15 minutes and was for some reason disconnected.

I immediately called back and the same thing happened. I was put on hold and stayed on hold for about 15minutes until a human finally came on the line. I was asked why I was canceling, and I told the lady I was not paying any more per month for my paper. She then went into a spill about not being able to read the paper online, too, if I cancelled, and I was then offered six months at what she called a "discounted" rate. I don't know what this rate would have been, because I told the lady I wanted to just cancel. She said OK.

So as of July 29, 2012 I will no longer take the Jackson paper after subscribing to it since 1968. So goodbye ole friend. I wish I could say I am going to miss you, but I already know I'm not.

July 9, 2012 4:15 PM


27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not saying the cl is worth a price increase by any means, but you have to admit it has improved a bit since they through out the stagnant minds (Hampton, Agnew, etc.). At lease the front page actually reflects a bit of relevant national news on most days rather than some irrelevant tabloid article.

Anderson said...

Yes, I had a similar experience when I cancelled the C-L, tho not with all the disconnections. Lovely approach to customer service.

Anonymous said...

Calling the C-L right now to cancel -- starting call at 9:35, we'll see how long it takes.

Anonymous said...

The reporter speaking out--took balls and she should be congratulated. The 2nd link to the group trying to buy the TP--wow, go guys! Their letter is very good.

The CL-one member of my family still gets the CL. She got her letter, the weekly subscription (7 days) went from $22 to $24.

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaaaannnnddd 17 minutes later, cancellation accomplished.

They offered to deliver to me just the SECTIONS of the paper I like -- that's just desperate.

Anonymous said...

Newhouse is like the Gannett power brokers, he won't sell because;

It would be a sign he is a failure

Someone just might make a success out of it and prove he is a failure.

Ego,pride,money,power all come before the fall.

Kingfish said...

Um, they weren't the ones who were killing it. The one who was was never fired and quit only a few weeks ago. The reporting has actually gotten better as Ruth and Brian are doing pretty good work lately. I don't think Brian will be there too long. Too good and too young, he will move up somewhere else. Marquita actually does a decent job with the education stories. The events I go to and see her covering she does a pretty good job of getting the basic story out.

JEB said...

My letter says $22 a month on the EZ pay plan. I live outside the metro area, so it's higher, I think. That's 7 days a week and access to a full digital version on the internet, plus smartphone access. Frankly, this isn't a bad deal. There ain't no free lunch. MY Wall St. Journal subscription is $343 per year and the New York Times also has a pay wall. Chicago Tribune is registering internet viewers and says it may go to a pay wall. This is the new norm. You've gotta pay for content. Free on the internet doesn't increase ad revenue, so who is left to pay. Easy answer, but I think it is fair.

Kingfish said...

$24 per month? X 12= $288???

Dayumn. Wall Street Journal:

Print only: $120 per year

Digital only: $260 per year

Combo: $311

Kingfish said...

And what if I don't want print, I want digital only?

Anonymous said...

Well, they got rid of Hampton and
Agnew, of course, but they still
have Bill Minor, and John Mayo,
I suppose, More work to be done before they reflect the viewpoint
of their readers.

Bill Dees said...

Since when are newspapers supposed to "reflect the views of their readers"?

Anonymous said...

Keep it up, folks. Maybe you will get your way and the CL will close. Will THAT make you happy? NO newspaper at all???

It may suck to you, and I know she ain't perfect, but it is here and beats the shit out of the Pravda, or 3 times a week.

I read it cover to cover every morning....have for years. Get as ticked as many of you from time to time.....BUT WE STILL HAVE A DAILY NEWSPAPER.

JEB said...

Kingfish: According to Hurst's letter you are paying for access to content. If you don't want the print edition it's still the same price. Not like the WSJ model where you can pick and choose. OF course, by putting the entire paper page by page online by 5 a.m. (that's what the letter says) they obviously are hoping you will drop the print edition, which is expensive to print and distribute.

Anderson said...

The C-L isn't the only paper that ain't tryin'. My wife got me a Sunday NYT subscription for Father's Day (America-hating socialist that I am). Sunday rolled around ... no paper. Went to church, came home ... no paper.

Called the NYT, and learned that mine was a "non-roadable" address. Being on the cell phone, I went outside to check ... road still there. I explained that even tho I'm in Mississippi, I'm in a remarkably paved portion of it, with a store right down the road (yes, "road") selling Sunday NYTs.

But the computer pronounced my address unroadable, so I had to cancel the sub. (Well, not "had to" - could've kept digital - but I wanted my dead-tree paper, dammit.)

Presumably they just don't have home delivery in Ridgeland, which would've been a much more intelligent thing for the lady to tell me. I could ask y'all whether anyone gets the NYT delivered in Ridgeland, but for obvious reasons I won't.

Anonymous said...

According to what the lady told me yesterday any subscription to the CL gets you online access. So if you want to read the online CL and don't care about getting it delivered daily then just subcribe to the Sunday paper and save yourself some money.

Also, 10:24, I am not interested in seeing the CL fail. I'm just not interested in reading it any longer.
There are many ways to get news these days, and you no longer have to depend on the local paper to get it. I'm just not interested in reading about the Jackson City Council, the Board of Supervisors, the sorry schools, and particularly about the thugs who run the streets killing and robbing people. As to national news watch TV or go on line. You can find everything you need to know and more there.

Anonymous said...

funny but true...i just called to cancel my 35 year long relationship with the clarion ledger over the $$$ bump. so, i spoke when promped saying "cancellation" and was put into a holding pattern..well, after 8 or 9 minutes there, i hung up, called back and said "new subscription" when prompted and heard "have your credit card ready" and 4 seconds later i had a nice young lady eager to take my $$$! hmmmmmmm.....

Anonymous said...

It's always sad to watch a newspaper die, and the C-L is dying. The "go to" writers, the ones like Rick and Bobby Cleveland and Orley Hood, whose byline would make you buy the paper for no purpose other than to read what they had written that day, are gone. Sherry Lucas is the only apparent holdover in the "true writer" column, and I just don't know how long she can hold out. My thin front section on Monday had three full-page ads and one half-page of a repeat Sunday crossword because of some glitch. Most of the news content is USA reprint, AP rehash or "local color" blogs. This is not journalism by any definition. I remain a subscriber only because I worry about the devoted young lady who drives through the dark streets each morning to deliver what's left of a once-proud paper. I remember the day the last Jackson Daily hit our sidewalk, never to return, and I'd say we're not far away from that with the morning paper.

Anonymous said...

So are you HAPPY 1:48. You sound glib and thrilled.

Anonymous said...

I have been a CL subscriber for many years. I pay $16.50 a month for home delivery 7 days a week. My price is going to $22.00, a $5.50 increase. I'm probably going to start taking it on the weekend only because I'm not going to pay that increase. I don't want to read it online while I eat breakfast at the table, and I don't want to run to a store somewhere & pick it up while wearing my robe. I agree with previous commenter about getting rid of Bill Minor. Can't believe they are still dragging him around. He is soooo out of touch, yet they still publish his dribble. Would much rather read Orley Hood any day of the week. Also wish CL would acknowledge holidays on the front page of the paper! Such as "Happy Fourth of July" or "Happy Memorial Day" with SOME explanation of what the day means. Right now, we get nothing except a few writers giving us a receipe or maybe a listing of where fireworks can be seen. Is that really ALL the CL can do when there is a major holiday? I would enjoy a few pictures the next day of what went on all over town. Nothing. Unbelievable. Has anyone noticed how some stories don't have an ending now? It's like the road to nowhere. Guess they've lost too many proof readers. They stopped the funeral home listings and started charging outrageous prices for an obit. And they (CL) wonders why no one is buying.

Anonymous said...

2:06: No, I'm not happy at all. A well-edited, well-written newspaper is a cornerstone of democracy, and ours are unraveling. Some of this is economics and due to a change in media options, but the C-L seems to have been unedited/unproofread for several years now. The worst was a headline that referred to a "Killed Child." "Killed" is not an adjective and any 3rd grade classroom newsheet would have caught that error.

Shadowfax said...

A woman who gets her man a newspaper subscription for father's day is like a man who gets his wife a new shovel for mother's day.

Anonymous said...

1) KF - frankly, you're wrong. The fish rots from the head, and Agnew and Hampton were a major part of the problem, although obviously not the only culprits.

I don't know who you're referring to as "quit a few weeks ago", but I don't pay attention to the details there anymore.

2)2:53 raises a good point. One of the major failures of C-L compared to good newspapers is their refusal to prominently list various closings on holidays. I'd sure like to know if my garbage should be put out on a Monday that's a holiday, because some Monday holidays they pick it up, sometimes they pick it up Tuesday, and sometimes they wait until the next scheduled trash day. The City of Madison is just as guilty for not posting these sorts of things on the city's web site as well.

Anonymous said...

Yep, Im just saying, TRUST ME ON THIS ONE, I KNOW Enjoy home delivery while it last....wont be too long and it will be a thing of the past.

Anonymous said...

My experience is pretty much exactly the same as that of the person whose comments were posted by Kingfish. There's just not much way to terminate a subscription. I suggest you simply terminate your payments.

Anonymous said...

mmmmm..I tried that one time in the past 7:32am... I called and canceled my subscription...and
"treminated" my payment as you suggested... well now, for some reason the paper kept showing up and before long I began to get collections letters and collection telephone calls...to protect my credit I payed up..grrrrr...

Anonymous said...

Listen The CL cant even make payroll right now, you dont even get a paper that is put togther anymore and now they want more $$. I refuse to pay for a newspaper that is too cheap to even put the sections where they belong.



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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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