BarbinMD sums it up:
Vote for a bill that has the overwhelming support of the American people or stand with Mr. 24% and endanger your own job security? What's a rubber stamp Republican to do?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
SCHIP re-vote scheduled today
And also a reminder from the children: no health insurance, no photo ops...
BarbinMD sums it up:
BarbinMD sums it up:
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The trouble with the newspaper bidness
Banjo and blogH cover the Chronic's latest woes: more staff cutbacks coming.
I posted previously about some of my newspaper experience; for the sake of full disclosure, I worked for a handful of Hearst's Texas newspapers, on the ad side, between 1981 and 1992.
The profit margin of an urban daily like the Chronicle probably averages something around 20-25%. It might have dropped into the teens lately. The general state of affairs in the newspaper industry -- going back twenty-five years to my time -- is that as circulation and subsequently advertising continually erode, expenses have to be reduced in order to sustain that margin. See, most newspapers don't cut staff to stay in business; they cut staff to maintain the highest profits for any business you can think of. Smaller "community" newspapers run higher margins; the Plainview Daily Herald ran 30% in 1987 and Hearst budgeted 33% in 1988. I know this because I prepared the corporate budgets both years. When the Beaumont Enterprise was sold to Hearst in 1984, the publisher at the time -- who was also the president of Jefferson-Pilot Publications, the seller -- bragged to the Hearst guys that he was running that newspaper at a 40% profit margin. Their response: "You're not paying your people enough."
"A position-elimination program" is the only way left to Jack Sweeney and his brethren at newspapers large and small, all across the nation, to preserve their bonuses and ultimately their own jobs. Just as it was a generation ago, they're all hoping to make it to their own cushy retirements before the really bad shit hits the fan.
Every now and then I get the distinct impression that the printed newspaper as we have all known it will be read only in a museum by the next generation. See, I grew up reading the funnies with my dad, sitting on his lap. When I was a teenager he would announce, as I ambled into the kitchen in the morning: "the Astros won last night". That's how I became a newspaper reader, not a newspaper employee. And that just doesn't happen any more. Kids get what little news they care about any place except from the newspaper. They're too busy texting to get ink on their fingers.
I have absolutely no idea who's going to pay to gather the news in the future. Those profit margins provided the hundreds of staffers to work city hall, the courthouse, the football games and so on. Newspapers have been paying that freight -- to go out and get the news and then get it to us -- for well over a hundred years. But they don't want to do it any more. Costs too much.
And that's where the breakdown will be -- make that, 'is'. The one between the truth and the spin. If the business model doesn't make it worthwhile to gather news, and everybody just prints or posts the press release, and something like net neutrality stifles the blogosphere ...
We can all whine about bias and lack of coverage and cutbacks, but when the newspaper business quits (more likely than going under), there's precious little in terms of infrastructure in the news business to fill the void. TV and radio haven't been doing that job for years (decades, in some cases).
Maybe the corporate media is lazy and too heavily influenced by its profit motive and its ultra-Republican managers, but it's the only thing most of us bloggers -- and citizens -- have. We kinda need them to hang in there.
I posted previously about some of my newspaper experience; for the sake of full disclosure, I worked for a handful of Hearst's Texas newspapers, on the ad side, between 1981 and 1992.
The profit margin of an urban daily like the Chronicle probably averages something around 20-25%. It might have dropped into the teens lately. The general state of affairs in the newspaper industry -- going back twenty-five years to my time -- is that as circulation and subsequently advertising continually erode, expenses have to be reduced in order to sustain that margin. See, most newspapers don't cut staff to stay in business; they cut staff to maintain the highest profits for any business you can think of. Smaller "community" newspapers run higher margins; the Plainview Daily Herald ran 30% in 1987 and Hearst budgeted 33% in 1988. I know this because I prepared the corporate budgets both years. When the Beaumont Enterprise was sold to Hearst in 1984, the publisher at the time -- who was also the president of Jefferson-Pilot Publications, the seller -- bragged to the Hearst guys that he was running that newspaper at a 40% profit margin. Their response: "You're not paying your people enough."
"A position-elimination program" is the only way left to Jack Sweeney and his brethren at newspapers large and small, all across the nation, to preserve their bonuses and ultimately their own jobs. Just as it was a generation ago, they're all hoping to make it to their own cushy retirements before the really bad shit hits the fan.
Every now and then I get the distinct impression that the printed newspaper as we have all known it will be read only in a museum by the next generation. See, I grew up reading the funnies with my dad, sitting on his lap. When I was a teenager he would announce, as I ambled into the kitchen in the morning: "the Astros won last night". That's how I became a newspaper reader, not a newspaper employee. And that just doesn't happen any more. Kids get what little news they care about any place except from the newspaper. They're too busy texting to get ink on their fingers.
I have absolutely no idea who's going to pay to gather the news in the future. Those profit margins provided the hundreds of staffers to work city hall, the courthouse, the football games and so on. Newspapers have been paying that freight -- to go out and get the news and then get it to us -- for well over a hundred years. But they don't want to do it any more. Costs too much.
And that's where the breakdown will be -- make that, 'is'. The one between the truth and the spin. If the business model doesn't make it worthwhile to gather news, and everybody just prints or posts the press release, and something like net neutrality stifles the blogosphere ...
We can all whine about bias and lack of coverage and cutbacks, but when the newspaper business quits (more likely than going under), there's precious little in terms of infrastructure in the news business to fill the void. TV and radio haven't been doing that job for years (decades, in some cases).
Maybe the corporate media is lazy and too heavily influenced by its profit motive and its ultra-Republican managers, but it's the only thing most of us bloggers -- and citizens -- have. We kinda need them to hang in there.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Watts will withdraw
Rio Grande Guardian:
After he didn't appear at the Harris County Democratic Party's Johnson-Rayburn-Richards dinner this past weekend -- having previously paid $10,000 for the privilege of introducing the keynoter, D-Trip-C head Rahm Emanuel -- rumors began to fly that he was considering ending his exploratory campaign. Apparently those rumors are accurate.
This blog has been harsh on Watts' senatorial bid. In the wake of his announcement today that stops his run for the US Senate, let me say to Mr. Watts: thank you for standing for public office. And I wish you would consider a judicial slot; we need better judges on the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, and you would be a fine candidate for either of those.
McALLEN, October 23 - San Antonio-based attorney Mikal Watts will announce this morning that he is pulling out of the race for U.S. Senate, the Guardian has learned.Watts, a Democrat, made calls to close supporters early this morning to explain his decision. He cited family reasons.
One of those Watts called was state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, one of the first lawmakers to endorse him.
“Mikal called this morning, around 7 a.m., and told me he was pulling out of the race. He cited family reasons,” Hinojosa said. “Mikal is very close to his kids and he has never held public office before. It can take a lot out of you."
After he didn't appear at the Harris County Democratic Party's Johnson-Rayburn-Richards dinner this past weekend -- having previously paid $10,000 for the privilege of introducing the keynoter, D-Trip-C head Rahm Emanuel -- rumors began to fly that he was considering ending his exploratory campaign. Apparently those rumors are accurate.
This blog has been harsh on Watts' senatorial bid. In the wake of his announcement today that stops his run for the US Senate, let me say to Mr. Watts: thank you for standing for public office. And I wish you would consider a judicial slot; we need better judges on the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, and you would be a fine candidate for either of those.
Al Franken in Texas tomorrow
Sorry Al, but all my money's staying inside the state, and my US Senate contributions will be solely devoted to Rick Noriega. Best of luck to you, though. Seriously. Love your books, loved the way you busted BillO's chops at the book fair, hope you kick Norm Coleman right out.
Just not going to make any more out-of-state contributions when we've got elections here that we need to win.
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