Jackson Jambalaya

Hear, hear!

Times change. It is very difficult for people who grew up dreaming of careers as journalists, getting the "scoop" as an ace reporter,to accept the fact that paper journalism is becoming history. It happened so fast. Legal ads and notices were "published" in the newspapers because that was accepted as the primary source of contemporary local information. No more. The legislature will soon have to confront the fact that some communities will not have a periodic newspaper at all. Others may have a paper, but those will be low-circulation secondary sources of information. Legal "publication" will need to be made elsewhere to be effective if at all. Maintaining newspapers simply to have a vehicle for legal notices will prove impractical. Sorry Ace.

He’s right

I don't see this as a "government subsidy of sorts" if I'm (quickly!) reading this correctly. Didn't realize the legislature set the statewide rate for legal notices and that it hasn't changed in years while I was well aware of other revenues being sucked (think Ross Perot) from the traditional newspaper market.

Legal notice rates have not kept pace with inflation. The bank foreclosing on your house can afford it. All their other business expenses go up with inflation but they're protected by their Republican buddies in the statehouse on legal notice rates. Good luck getting it raised to an appropriate level with the clowns we now have running the show. It's not as if the newspapers want to gouge them, they just want to be fairly compensated.

There is already subsidized internet for low income families. If those families happen to be in a rural area, then it may not be possible for them to get high speed access. Other options are available like dial up (god forbid), cellular, or satellite service. I'm not sure if they have subsidized plans like AT&T and Comcast offer.

The argument that legal notices must be printed due to the lack of internet is not very strong. Obviously, he is right to have some bias, but I think the fact is printed newspapers have stopped making sense in our society. Maybe online only newspapers that aggregate the right material for the target market and make things easy to find like legal notices could be a niche product people would be willing to pay for. Like the other external forces mentioned like Craigslist, Facebook, Google, etc., there is also a green movement where people don't want the waste of printed material even if it can be recycled.

He's dead Jim. Adapt, evolve, or move on.

Wyatt Emerich, who has fought what he loves to refer to as "crony capitalism" almost every week for the past several years - pointing to any expenditure by the state government that he personally feels is improperly benefiting a company or individual that he claid has the right political connections - now wants those government benefits for himself. Government should spend more to support him and his onfustry, not for the public good but for HIS bottom line. Government shouldn't modernize and move into the new information age but should continue to use the system created over a century ago where he and his family have invested heavily and need this increased government support to continue.

I'm all for local papers. Appreciate the coverage that they provide a community. But to require legal notices to be published there, and to pay more for what is acknowledged to be reduced readership is crony capitalism at its worse.

One single state created, maintained and supported website could provide a no cost method for small or large communities to post RFPs, public notices, or any of the other dozens of mandated notices. To claim that citizens without access to Internet would suffer ignores the fact that citizens around the state without access to the Deer Creek Pilot, or the Simpson County Journal, etc. have no knowledge of those currently run legal ads.

As Wyatt has argued for years, it us not the state's job to maintain or benefit a particular private business. It appears he now thinks that concept should only apply to everyone except for him and his ondustry. Because - they are special, I guess.

Newspapers started publishing their opinions instead of the facts a while back.
People found out there were places they could get the facts instead of being forced to read the facts that one person or one newspaper decided were the facts.
Newspapers are outdated. Newspapers give a one sided view of everything.
Maybe if they would go back to posting the facts people would read them.
Most people do not want fantasy instead of facts. A few do but not enough to keep a newspaper going.

After allowing an article by Jim Fraiser back in 2013 that was a hate filled hit piece, I quit reading the Northside Sun. And after editor Jimmye Sweat told me that "MSU alums are trailertrash who could all go f*** themselves, and she didn't want or need their readership", I certainly realized his paper was not for me. And that from Ms. Sweat is a direct quote.

Mr Emmerich would you like some cheese with your whine?

The world has changed, and the physical newspaper is almost dead. This doesn't mean journalism is dead, but that the delivery mechanism is not going to be a paper dropped off at my driveway.

Stop asking to reopen coal mines, and instead understand you must change or die. For example, there is still a niche in online delivery of local news that could be taken advantage of.

Newspapers have been hit with a triple whammy......declining revenues, increased expenses, and the dying off of the "cup of coffee and a morning newspaper" folks. I live in a subdivision with about 250 houses and fewer than 25 have a paper delivered. On my street only one other house takes a newspaper. I think print will be obsolete in 5 years. Just like "house phones", print journalism will be replaced by on-line news sources. It's the same circular story everywhere....less money means reduced quality and reduced quality means fewer readers. However, it is not the responsibility of government to keep newspapers financially viable.
Just a personal note here. I was raised reading the Commercail Appeal and it was perhaps the best daily paper in the South. I was told that it was the most profitable paper in the USA. Now, it is only good for lining bird cages and wrapping garbage. The content is awful and the ink is so cheap that you have to wash your hands with lye soap to remove the stains for from your fingers. Sad.

The New York times admits it 's PRINT addition, Might last 10 more Years.

I am surprised that Cecil let Wyatt right this. I guess he sees this as the way to keep the media on his side.

9:49 for the win:

"One single state created, maintained and supported website could provide a no cost method for small or large communities to post RFPs, public notices, or any of the other dozens of mandated notices. To claim that citizens without access to Internet would suffer ignores the fact that citizens around the state without access to the Deer Creek Pilot, or the Simpson County Journal, etc. have no knowledge of those currently run legal ads."

There'd be a cost for someone to maintain the site, but it would be a fraction of the cost currently being spent. The "paper of record" is no more.

Two weeks ago, Wyatt shuttered the Monday editions at three of the daily newspapers he owns...Greenwood, Greenville and McComb. However, monthly subscription rates remain the same, even though subscribers are receiving fewer papers per month.

The consequences of efficiency and the unwillingness to adapt to the conditions that allow for that efficiency. Old business models are dinosaurs. I guess ole Adam Smith had no idea the world his ideas would create.

When you have phase 1 transformers creating not only efficiency, but doing most of the labor, you have to adapt or die. Even if you do adapt, you still might die out. Even traders on Wall Street are competing with robots.

If the objective is to stop all of this, then give these things human rights so they can’t be used as slaves. Maybe that’s jumping the gun. In 20-30 years from now, we’ll be able to create robots for global efficiency using DNA and nano tech. It’s already being done in labs. This presents a problem for most of us as unperfected A.I. is being unleashed already with in congruence with the tech being currently devoloped. It’s kinda creepy.

Forget an unsolicited alien invasion from space. We’re creating the damn aliens that just might decide we’re a danger to their existence. I think we’ll all figure out that this is a zero sum game after it’s too late.

I can't lie

I still like my Sunday Newspaper. I like turning the pages, the sales ads, of course to see what the closet yahoo's have to complain about in the Perspective section.

Plus our technology is not completely seamless. Websites crash, don't load properly, or you just can't get to the article for one reason or another.

Your own copy of a printed newspaper, you can turn to any page and just read. Unless you waste some coffee or beer on it.

FAKE NEWS

I look forward to the day the doors are closed on The Clarion Ledger.

It has been an insult to all non-colored citizens for decades.

Does anyone think there will actually be any savings if the legal notices are moved to a government website? It will just be going to some well connected cronies.

Agree, 12:45. While I get most of my news online or on television news before the daily paper arrives, the CL (even with its absence of editorial leadership and few quality journalists) is a morning ritual. The weeklies still provide a good community service - and it's nice to see your children's picture in the paper.
To the point of this post, Wyatt's hypocrisy is blatant. Always so quick to judge and dismiss from his narrow perspective - until it's his turn.

1:16, a state created and managed website could/would be managed by a state agency, i.e. DFA. The cost of developing it might go to what you consider a well connect crony - and that's just giving your concept the benefit of the doubt - but to maintain it would be so cheap it would not be beneficial to your crony claim.

It could be set up to be searchable - by RFPs vs. foreclosure notices; by location; by governing entity; etc. If you were only interested in bid notices, you could sort them and review them - daily. If you were interested in projects statewide, you would have access to all, including those in Tunica County along with those in Jeff Davis County, or those by MDOT or another state agency in Jackson. All with one search, not having to have all those individual local newspapers. Same with all other reasons for legal notices. If the state wanted to charge for individual (as opposed to governmental) notices, that would cover the costs and still be cheaper on the individuals than current newspaper rates but it would not be a requirement that there even be a charge since there wouldn't be any cost for the posting.

Realize it is a simple solution and provides much more transparency in all government - something that Emerich has claimed to support. The maintaining of "local only" notices does not provide the advantage to government of increased access or knowledge of procurements or settlements that such a statewide website would provide.

If newspapers are really losing money at the current rates, one would think they would be glad to give up this loss creator from their business - but no. Look at the fight that Wyatt has put up over the years to be able to print the legals from the City of Jackson, who place most of their legal ads in the widely distributed Jackson Advocate.

My original comment was aimed at the hypocrisy of Mr. Emerich's continuous argument against crony capitalism while now begging for it on his own behalf. The concept of how to make the system better is a better discussion that someone in the legislature should take up and solve this problem of legals not costing the consumer enough.

12:59 ...and prior to that it was an insult to all colored citizens. But they didn't matter back then anyway, did they?

In a perfect example of the flaws of Mr. Emmerich's claims, the house bill has since been subjected to a strike-all amendment to change the bill to exempt local governments from the asinine reverse auction requirements. It will undoubtedly get killed in the Senate. Congrats on staying topical, Mr. Emmerich.

We have been sending our legal ads to the NS Sun for years. State law requires publication for many legal actions. Publication is considered 'notice to the world' that a property is being foreclosed; someone has died and their estate is being probated; a person has died without a will and there is a search for known and unknown heirs;a tax sale is being confirmed or set aside; and many other legal reasons.
Now, whether the persons to whom the ad is directed ever sees the ad is doubtful. That is all except creditors. Businesses who loan money hire 'ad clippers' to scour newspapers for these ads so that they can file a claim against the estate of someone who has borrowed money from them.

Our office does a lot of estate and heirship work and Idon't recall ever having someone call or send a letter advising us that they are an heir to an estate or a piece of real estate. State law requires the ad whether or not we ever get a call. If we don't run the ad the required three weeks in a row the Judge/Chancellor will not allow us to close the case.

Now, for the three reasons why we use the NS Sun, first, it qualifies for legal ads; second, the cost is usually considerably less than the CL;and third, the ad print is large enough that people who actually read it can make out the words without the use of a magnifying glass.

From an editorial standpoint, Wyatt and I don't always agree (he appears to be about a 3 and I am about a 7.5 on a liberal to conservative 10 point scale) I still read his articles.

I get KF's point but there is a whole lot more money elsewhere that is being wasted.

In the mid-1980's I worked as a volunteer to lobby various state legislators to fund Public Radio in MS. I regret these efforts. The money the state spends on legal notices in newspapers is paltry to the money poured into public radio and public TV. The billions our country pumps into PBS is shameful. Felder is wonderful. Big Bird is fine. PRM/ETV locally, and PBS nationally have degenerated to the level of MSNBC.

Can you imagine the caterwauling if our government was pouring this level of money into networks far to the right of Fox News? We need to shutter PRM/ETV locally and PBS nationally. They have devolved into characterizations of themselves.

As much as I hate to introduce any rationality into the discussion, I have a couple of points:

1. While it is true that there are some people who do not have any reasonable/viable access to the Internet, most folks, even in Mississippi have some access to it (and those that choose to not access it should not be included with those who cannot reasonably access it). Moreover, most of those with literally no viable/reasonable method of accessing the Internet likewise have no viable/reasonable access to printed newspapers, either.

2. More importantly, there would be a VERY small subset of the population to which "legal notice" information was directed or applicable -AND- that information was published online only rather than in local newspapers -AND - would have received that information save for it was online-only. In other words, I doubt it makes a difference whether it is published online, in local papers or both. Those seeking it will find it wherever it is and those not looking won't find it, anyway. For example, even in Mississippi, I doubt many viable bidders bidding on projects or foreclosed homes lack Internet access and those being foreclosed upon are not (factually) dependent on the published notice, wherever it is published. Similarly, not many folks are searching the legal sections of every newspaper on the planet - OR - online notices hoping to make the timely discovery of the estate of a previously-unknown third cousin to which they may have a claim.

That said, I'm all for print media being able to make a living, but if the business model as a whole or individual outlets simply cannot sustain themselves without government (or government-mandated) support, then so be it. And count me in with those that will dearly miss newspapers if that should be the fate.