News-Record.com

In '08, endorse the Republican.

I may be slitting my own flack throat with this but I don't see the News & Record as a good business paper. I guess John and his gang won't return my calls now but it's not that I think they do low-grade work. I simply think they don't do enough of it.

I think the paper relies too heavily on AP and wire reports that have little relevance to Greensboro businesses. I am constantly appalled at the little things done by the paper that, to me, belittle the business section. Look at the tabs on your own front page. The "Money" section is behind Opinion, Sports and Life respectively. Bump up the staff and give us more business news. Don't make me go to the Observers to find out what's really happening statewide or even here in my own town.

Thanks, David, although that didn't seem to help the papers that endorsed President Bush in '04. Decreases seemed to follow no political trend.

Andy, appreciate the suggestion, too. We actually have a long list of things we should do more of. Any suggestions on what you want us to devote less time and fewer reporters to?

Now, does that drop in circulation count all those papers you guys give out for free too?

Now, you didn't say that we had to base our suggestions in the reality of newspaper business and payroll!

Since you are doing much better than the national average, my interpretation is that it would be difficult to demonstrate that the N&R was hurt, from a business standpoint, by the decision to discontinue the NY Times news service. Any feelings on that, John?

Give out for free, Zat? Which papers are those? We do give out papers at events, we sample papers in neighborhoods, papers are delivered at some hotels and colleges. Many of these are actually paid for in the room bill, the student fee or by sponsoring businesses. Some are counted; some aren't. (But it's apples and apple comparison. All the papers in the report mentioned in this post follow the same rules.)

Joe, I think we got about a dozen cancellations as a direct result of the Times cancellation. But there are many readers who are still angry with us for that decision. While they haven't cancelled, they feel less loyalty to us, and the bond between subscriber and paper is weakened. That's not good.

Find out what the top 3 complaints about the paper are, and change/address them. For example, I don't see many on the Left complaining about the bias of your paper, but there are a lot of people on the Right who do. So maybe you should listen to these complaints instead of making denials and excuses. Just a thought.

And a good thought it is. How about a return to investigative reporting? Even when it's embarrassing to your larger advertisers . . . or the politicians you endorse?

Example: Jim Black, Speaker of the NC House and up to his neck in the lottery scandal, recently announced that the NC House is forming a "Select Committee on Healthcare" . . . where different subcommittess will "debate" the need for legislative action or reform on a variety of healthcare topics (something I've been screaming about on your blogs - citing my own case - for months - to no avail except ridicule & journalistic silence). Of course, this is Jim Black, Democrat from Mecklenburg County, home of CMC and the "disproportionate share" scam that siphoned nearly a billion dollars out of the public's pocketbook (a Greensboro lawyer is a prominent player).

It sounds like Speaker Black needed something to divert attention away from the lottery mess, so naturally he turned to healthcare (because everybody know we're all just marking time on the Titanic). But the Speaker conveniently forgot about the healthcare black-hole in his own backyard. No one in Mike Easley's administration - not "Law & Order" Roy Cooper or DHHS Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom (whose husband sits on CMC's Board of Directors) have provided a good explanation for how this happened . . . or moved to hold anyone accountable. The newspapers in Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte have gingerly tap-danced around the story - but have yet to do anything that might equate to the press serving the function of holding our leaders accountable for how our money got gone.

It's all well good and fine for the (Democratically-controlled - by the candidates the News & Record endorsed) legislature to talk about these issues in subcommittee, but the question really is, will it be more than smoke and mirrors?

The paper has a role to play in that. And I KNOW people are interested. Where are you?

Here's another idea: Truly cover the geographical areas you say you cover . . . like Asheboro.

You've heard this all before John. And Mr. Spagnola is right on the money about the N&R's perceived bias. There have been lots of excuses offered . . . but I don't see anything happening.

Mr. Robinson,

Here are some ideas for the N&R. The paper I grew up with. The paper that has hung on many of my walls as a child. John Riggins and Dexter Manley along with jeff Bostic, Charlie Brown and Art Monk were fixutes on ym wall. Would not have been if not for the N&R. I have rushed to grab Greensboro's paper many a day. many a day. Even in far away lands I fight to get my copy. The N&R has masterfully covered many of my efforts without mentioning my name...until...Skip? Anyway here is my list

1. The forgotten epidemic: One year later...ummm you did not forget it did u? Maybe at least post the series on the blog so folks can see our great leaders in action one year ago and what their task forces and rehab centers have produced.

2. Inspections took 22 days to respond to a fire department inspection request. Why?

3. Did Skip ever have anyone fix any of the steps? Is it up to me to go see?

4. HUD inspected Saint James in June. Any mention of some steps in need of repair? It takes a big massive media outlet to crack HUD's wall of red tape.

I love the N&R. I love Greensboro. I would like to see the paper work more to fully report things besides the GTRC.

Keep up the good work...and by all means...respond...please respond.

5.

Excellent questions, Ben. We'll follow. Does #2 refer to St. James, too?

yes Mr. Robinson. Butch took 22 days to respond to the fire departments request to the broken stairs at Saint James....check this

http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com

all the records are there....look foward to seeing the forgotten epidemic...one year later...

Give me a FULL PAGE in the paper each day that is REAL, USEFUL, ACTIONABLE information.

Not just government reports that are helpful in the way they tell me the tax rate and how much the mayor rolled her eyes in the budget meeting. Or "think pieces" that explain the latest "trend" in whatever...

Tell me that there are 14 days until Thanksgiving, give me a web address for Thanksgiving recipes, tell me how bad the drought is, help me figure out what the common problems are for furnaces at the start of winter, let me know EXACTLY where construction is on roads (FULL MAP), tell me where cheap gas is...

You MIGHT do all this right now. But, I'd never find it. It's buried in a "hard hitting, biting" story that will get the journalist who wrote it their next job. It won't convey to me quickly what I NEED to know to run my life.

If you put it all on one page 1) I can find it and 2) it makes me *think* your whole paper is useful (maybe).

Also, don't blame the Internet. If people sitting at their computers at work all day and reading various news sites and getting their news for free is killing you guys, then WHY is Sunday circulation falling??? Because the product is simply NOT USEFUL.

“Which papers are those? We do give out papers at events, we sample papers in neighborhoods, papers are delivered at some hotels and colleges. Many of these are actually paid for in the room bill, the student fee or by sponsoring businesses.”

Mr. Robinson, about those free papers I know that at both of my kids’ school there are hundreds of papers delivered every morning. I was told they were free to the school, are you saying that Guildford Country Schools actually pay you for these papers?

Jim: Tried to e-mail you to follow up with questions on this point, and Yahoo claims your e-mail doesn't exist. Could you please give me a shout? (Anyone else with specific suggestions along the lines of utility that Jim raises in his comment is welcome to e-mail me suggestions, as well.)

Trish, papers distributed to schools are paid for from contributions by corporations and subscribers expressly for school students. The school systems don't pay for them.