Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Zeroing Out the Messenger

I wonder if Craig's powerful electrical utility buddies are ok with this. If you don't like the data, kill the messenger.
RollingStone.com: The Enforcer : Politics

I wonder what he wants to do next. He seems to be the real deal and one that can do what needs to be done.
The Bush Hugger - How McCain gains by embracing Bush. By John Dickerson

Does anyone want to talk about mcCain's raw ambition? That's why he made the speech in SC and that's why he hugs Bush. He wants to be Prez and that's that. The DNC should be trying to tie Bush to McCain as fast as possible. W. will be the best anchor to weigh down McCain.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Dispelling the Myth of Readership Decline

Good look at what you get when you combine print and Web media. Newspapers are going to be around for awhile ....

Monday, November 28, 2005

Pride Goeth Before the Court:

"I pledge to walk in the shoes of my colleagues and refrain from name-calling or the questioning of character. It is easy to quickly sink to the lowest form of political debate. Harsh words often lead to headlines, but walking this path is not a victimless crime. This great House pays the price."

Mean Jean Schmidt .... This is rich.
Investors Misreading Future of Newspapers - Los Angeles Times

Another look at the profits that newspapers generate .... Not enough on the faddish reporting about the death of newspapers though. I do like the long-term perspective that family newspapers offer versus the publicly traded corporations. I would also like to see what the profits look like on the Web page advertising.
Revolting High Rises - New York Times

Warehousing poor folks is never a good idea. I'm glad to see that france is learning that too .....

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

:: rogerebert.com :: Scanners (xhtml)

I wonder if it's the medium or the writing? Movies and film have been noted to be director's mediums. Media where the story is secondary and the visuals of film have its day. The best films incorporate a basic plot or quest with fantastic visuals and some good acting.

Television's length (24 shows for seasons) drives it to be a writer's medium. One where the arcing plot of the last ten-fifteen years makes for for interesting stories. Although this is taken to extremes with Soaps (needing to fill an hour every day is not easy). At its peak, great television can expand and show us true character development and intricate plot lines. Combine that with some of the visuals willing to be heaped on TV has made it into a medium that has to be recognized.
The Blog | Jeff Jarvis: Who Wants to Buy a Newspaper? | The Huffington Post:

"First, buying a paper as it stands today is a no-win deal. Newspapers are not growth businesses. Though profitable, they are shrinking businesses."

You know what's a no-growth business, cigarettes. Yet at the same time, Altria is considered the best stock to own. This is a product that is literally killing off it's consumers, but is a pillar of the S&P 500. Check Yahoo Finance to see it's net profit margin and compare that to KR (MO vs. KR)?

The newspaper business is not no-growth. Growth is on the Web and presenting an interesting and established new articles while at the same time selling ads. Sounds a lot like what they do now .....

Newspapers have been under assault since radio, TV, Internet, magazines, Cable news etc. have started and they still seem to do well. Things change, but we still have books and board games. The point is that folks shift things over, but they don't abandon them like a bunch of lemmings.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

No Way Out for Bush and Co.

I love the question he asks. I'm a fan of the stop digging thing, but I'm not sure the Administration gets it.
Two Ejected From Bush Event in Denver File Federal Suit - New York Times

Dissent is bad .... I always thought W. was smart enough to put good people around him, but this is crazy. Who cares if these people are there? there are ways of quieting them that are not so obvious.
Opening the Door to Debate, and Then Shutting It:

"aides made clear there was not even the possibility of him taking questions"

The Bush-Cheney regime is reminicent of LBJ late in his first term. I can't remember the last time the Prez or Veep took questions from a regular crowd. They both only speak in front of highly partisan or military crowds (both which their excellent image makers make sure that there is no dissent). That's sad when the "leader of the free world" can't make a speech or have a news conference with crowds that are not vetted ....

Monday, November 21, 2005

Woodward? Google? A Plague Week - New York Times

Like many older mass media technologies, Radio and tV didn't kill of newspapers and books. Things move over a little. The problem is the uncertainty and retarded reporting by newspapers. It is a good time to buy newspaper stocks because they make money! Think about this, Altria which generates a ton of cash with cigarettes (something that is getting regulated and banned all over the place ) is considered a great stock. Profit margin? 16%. What about any of those other high fliers? Usually under 10%. Newspapers make 20% on average! Competition is a good thing and will make newspapers better (if they don't cut your nose off). The key is that they have to offer something different than the Web (maybe better than the Web). That's where they will make their money.
Journalist, Cover Thyself - New York Times:

"In fact, The Post has quite liberal rules regarding extracurricular work by its reporters and editors."

Compared to who? The NY Times? Maybe Kit Seelye sounds a little bitter about not being on TV enough? The profile of Kurtz earlier was pretty good about showing how hard he works. This piece is junk, I especially don't like the photo. It makes him sound like a creepy media hound like that Web freak. Kurtz hasn't done anything wrong and most media reporters are beat by this guy, why wouldn't they be bitter?

Friday, November 18, 2005

Questions, Answers on Newspaper Business: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance:

"Newspapers are still a very profitable business"

I'm not sure what Wall Street is thinking. If I were rich, I'd buy newspaper stocks. They make a ton of money and don't give people cancer. Not too bad if you ask me ....
An Unlikely Lonesome Dove

Interesting to see how they attack even when ignoring him would be better. I love the five deferments of Cheney line. Too bad no one ever hears that. Where's Howard?

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Bush, Cheney Denounce Democratic Senators Critical of Iraq War:

"I expect there to be criticism. But when Democrats say that I deliberately misled the Congress and the people, that's irresponsible"

It's also irresponsible to get U.S. soldiers killed for no real reason other than getting reelected.


"But we're not going to sit back and let them rewrite history."

The best part is that the Rep are rewriting history. They are the ones to plame for getting into this mess. They asked to send the military into Iraq, not the Dems. It's not like Congressional Reap from NY were screaming to go to Iraq. The president put it on the table. That's not rewriting history, that's asking for an accounting.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

The New York Review of Books: The End of News?

Fantastic look at the right wing-nut media and newspapers. Part one of two, the article is an insightful look at the relevence of newspapers and why they are still "important." BTW, the Tribune company should be ashamed about some the crap it does in the pursuit of profits.
Spoils Go to Party Most Apt to Adapt - Los Angeles Times

It's about principles? I lean that way versus a "vision" thing. While they are similar, they are not the same. I'd say that principles define the vision and the policy while at the same time the vision only offers an ideal.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Breaking Tradition Can't Weaken the Game

Hate Feinstein. Hate, hate, hate, his columns. He brings up this straw man of an argument that BCS is this terrible thing. First he doesn't cover college football and he loves college basketball. It's not tradition that stops college football from having a tournament. It's the nature of the game. College basketball is less physical and their are way more games.

College football is 10-12 weeks, and that's it. The bowl games are fun and their are some good games, but the college football season is essentially over around Thanksgiving. Most importantly, the 10-12 weeks are the playoffs. Every game counts.

If Duke loses to little sisters of the poor in the first week, they can still win the Championship. If you do that in college football you're done. Games that happen in September matter to national programs. The tension builds till the final regular season game.

In college basketball the pre conference schedule is fun to watch, but has no real bearing on the season. Even the conference schedule doens't matter that much anymore. The ACC gets in at least half its teams into the Tourney. The only thing that matters are the last couple of weeks in April. It's a free country, but I like the tension and persistant craziness of college football the way it is.
An Organic Cash Cow - New York Times:

"For some parents, cost does not matter."

Nice to be rich ....

More importantly, are those hormones bad for people? Is their something unhealthy about it? What about the FDA if it is unsafe? If it is safe, what's the big deal?
Mountains of Corn and a Sea of Farm Subsidies - New York Times

I like that it shows how distorting subsidies are, but it does not make sense by stating that third world nations only "complain" that subsides alter the world price on crops. They definately alter the price. 10 out of 10 economist will tell you that.
At Duke, 4 Men and the Babies

More fawning possible? Gee whiz, the guy is 22 and they make him out to be the old man on the mountain. What about those dorky coaches? I hope they implode on their goody two shoes.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Vision Check for the Democrats

For Dem slogans what about smaller government, lower taxes, personal freedom, and individual responsibility? The W's GOP certainly doesn't stand for any of those things.
Eagles Bench Owens for Season

Frickin' great. I have now lost all three of my top three fantasy picks and it's only half way thru the season. Sad day for Owens. He could have been one of the great ones. I'm not sure what he's missing, but something is not there. He makes more money playing a game and is acknowledged as a great player, if not the best at his position by the MSM and everyone else. Not sure what more he wants.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Is Bird Flu Drug Really So Vexing? Debating the Difficulty of Tamiflu - New York Times

I'm not so sure that Tamiflu is the best idea. Since their are so few bird flu person to person transmissions, using Tamiflu now would only allow time for the flu bug to adapt and make itself stronger. People of the world should wait till the bird flu makes its leap to start using Tamiflu. When it gets over that hump, then we will really be up the creek.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

MSN Money - This just in: Value investors value newspapers

Newspapers, if run right, should generate a lot of $$$. Growth is not where it's at for media companies. They are definately mature industries and can't have that type of rapid growth that everyone chases.

I'm still a big believer in quality and giving value to the reader. What those cost-cutting monkeys at the Trib don't get is that when they cut all the good bonuses and extras, I might as well then go to the Web. Their latest ploy of giving away hockey tickets is terrible. Associate yourself with one of the worst run businesses and brands in the City for marketing data? Idiots. They should spend all that money they are wasting on Subscriber advantage stuff on improving their Web site. They should lead Midwest newspapers in design and content. What do we get, see for yourself ....

Chicagotribune.com

It's boring and it doesn't add anything that yahoo or google has

news.yahoo.com

If you want to be in the arena, be the best with what you got.

On the content end, they get constantly beat by the sun-times for local news. The Trib is huge, they have the resources of a national TV network, local TV station, and get beat at City Hall by one reporter? Doesn't make sense to me.
An Old-Fashioned American Standby, Fish Sauce and All - New York Times:

"well worth the higher cost"

That is if you are rich enough to pay the money. I'm so sick of newspapers telling me that I should get some super egg or organic chicken. Is it that much better? Did they do a blind taste test? No, just the market effect of paying more for something. I trust Cook's Illustrated more than these weekly food writers.

What if you're poor? I mean really really poor and have to feed five kids? Is it well worth the higher cost then? Better to get two "inferior" chickens then go hungry.