So, its blowing HARD outside. The storm has moved in and it is the big one we were supposed to have gotten earlier in the week. Half the gang has no power so those that don't have it go over to those who do have it. As the wind blows around outside we start blowing a lot of hot air around inside and decide that should one of us win the lottery we will either buy the Daily Astorian, see if the Columbia Press is for sale, or start a paper of our own.
WHY? Because, a newspaper should tell us something about the area in which we live that we don't already know and a lot of the information should be new, factual, information that we, ourselves, can not get by doing a google search. ESPECIALLY a small county newspaper.
We WANT to know all of the plays in the area and we want a review of them. Yes, we even want to know if the high school should have worked a bit longer on the play or if its worth the seven bucks to watch it. We want to know what teen is the up and coming new thespian talent. We want to know what the swing band, the swing choir and the African Dance troupe out at the Job Corps is doing, how well they are doing it and when we can see them doing it. An aside here, what gives in that the refreshment stand is open for basketball games but not for intermission or before a play begins at Astoria High School? Well thought out strategy, no food in auditorium or too lazy for the arts but lets bring it on for the sweat?
How about Coaster Theater and River Theater as well as Liberty Theater and the Performing Arts Center, and throw in the Natal Grange? Give us a review of the stand up comics performing locally along with the local bands. What's coming up on all of their calendars and give us a review.
We want to know what the new piece of art in Lunar Boy Gallery's window is called and when will we be seeing a new piece of work from that author? Review her book. We'd get the drama teachers to all stick their names into a hat to review at least one play a year and "write a report" on it. Anyone getting paid for their craft should have a professional reviewing them - which is probably why the Daily A doesn't have columnists for reviews: cheap - cheap - cheap!
We would have a consumer page and not some random page that advertisers get to post answers to selected questions. Our readers deserve to know that QWEST is not REQUIRED to charge us all of those extra fees. That's right, my friends, PUC regulations are so that QWEST won't charge us too high of fees on those things it randomly selects to bill us for (although there are some things it must charge us, there is a cap on how much it can). We would do some comparison shopping for our readers and show them what people in Portland are paying for an average, no bills or whistles, phone connection and how much an average Warrenton customer is paying.
Who's the best internet provider? Our readers would know! The best place to get an iced carmel macchiato latte w/2%, hold the whipped cream? After our story every coffee stand in the county would be waiting for the chance to earn the title!
One of the cohesive tacs of a community is its papers. The Daily Astorian, The Seaside Signal and across the river the Chinook Observer are all owned by the same family, the same publishing company. The small Columbian Press and the Hipfish cater to different populations. Part of this community's seeming apathy comes directly from our paper. Look deeper and you find a community of people who might care with a passion but it's an unfocused, divided, caring. Certainly less troublesome when so fragmented.
Quick to be derisive, the Daily Astorian's political agenda is clear enough when it wants to be and is that fair to a community? Does everyone feel fairly represented? Hell, not even the sporting events get enough pages. If we want people to stay sober long enough to give a damn about something we have to let them know they're being noticed. Everyone, except those in the witness protection program and the mafia, like to see their efforts appreciated. That's what a community rag's for.
We think that, in part, is what a newspaper is about. Creating a sense of community. We think that, in that sense, the Daily Astorian has failed us miserably.
So, if one of us wins the lottery that is what we are going to do. However, until then, we think that we could work on something together. Each time someone who has an online access to the paper reads misinformation or inadequate information they could take a few seconds to let the Daily Astorian know the correct information, or at least how you feel about not having the correct information or the most up to date facts. It can't hurt. The worst that could happen is they take down their comment boxes. The best thing is that for a while we get some pretty decent articles, maybe people take notice and buy more papers and the Daily Astorian says, "Hmmmfph! So, this is how we make money. Sell more papers. Not increase price per paper or charge ridiculously HIGH amounts of money for classified ads!" They learn a brief lesson and we get a few real good issues that concentrate on community life.
We can all discipline ourselves to do this. It is just until one of us wins the lottery. We promise.
As a money saving bonus here's a bitta help. Instead of advertising in Daily A's classifieds try using:
Craigs'list
Freecycle
CCM's Free Classifieds (lol, I think Alex finally found a home for that dog but we're still looking for mug)
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6 comments:
Great topic. I did a review of the local papers back in June:
Rust
The problem with it being a publication in a small town is that it can become a ruthless bully or at least viewed as one. Remember when the Mouth of the Columbia, Richard Fensack’s food column did a less than favorable review of Pier 18? Richard’s identity wasn’t known at the time. He was honest in his review and I thought right on target, but the owners were really offended and accused the Daily A of being brutal, demanded they expose the writer and said they would no longer advertise in their paper. This is a delicate balance for a paper that relies on advertising dollars.
A good business would take the review and change what they are doing, but most businesses take it personally. Just one bad review can kill a business or a play. Yes, it would be good to protect the consumer. I guess they feel that if they just announce the event, word of mouth will make it swim or sink.
So as anonymous bloggers, are we willing to review a local business other than the Daily Astorian? I have a beef with several of them and could dedicate several articles to each. I have no affiliation with the Astorian other than being a subscriber. I have been critical of them in the past since I feel that they are fair game since they do editorialize, but should I talk critically about the incense stink that one store emits that smells up a city block? And how about another store that smells like wet moldy carpet? How about another store that can never get an order right? How about one that gives out a lot of false information, and you don’t realize it until you shop in the same franchise in Warenton that is owned by different people?
I went over to Rust and refreshed my memory. Yep, I saw it. You gave an overall to the rags we had even forgotten about! Of course, another good, provoking article. Hipfish does have to move forward. Where does it get its funding, do you know?
The reason most opposition to Daily A fails is because they must get that advertising dollar in order to float. Do you really think that the Daily Astorian, owned by the East Oregonian Publishing Company, of Pendleton, Oregon, needs advertising money to stay afloat? Honestly, I think that they may have years they are told they are supposed to stay in the black but if they go into the red it's just a tax write-off, don't you think?
The paper certainly can stand for integrity, if it chooses to. Loss of revenue because Pier 11 is pulling its advertising dollars because of a lousy write-up? Do a story on that, stand behind your words and behind your reporter.
I didn't even write about the lousy reporting they have, overall. They have a chronic problem with verifying their sources and double-checking their facts. Over and over they attribute quotes to the wrong person. It is poor quality reporting which must be a reflection on how the upper management views its news department and staff. In turn, the staff knows what is required of it and responds accordingly.
Any consumer has a right to let other consumers know how their relationship with a business is going. It kills me the amount of gossip and scuttlebutt that swarms an area, totally annihilating some person's character, yet the hesitancy people have in saying that they have had chronic problems getting good service from, say, (too easy to write "DMV," although its true) Radio Shack in Astoria. Or that Deals Only has now become Deals Dubiously. A couch from Deals Only for $700? That's a deal? Maybe if Daily A did an article I'd find out it was a special kind of leather or they do some tremendous act of kindness with the money they net. I don't know any of this, however. I do know I no longer trust Deals to have a good deal on anything.
Hipfish must get it’s funding from advertisers. I doubt they have any grants. I’m sure that is where the Astorian gets their funding as well.
Funny you mentioned their parent company, The East Oregon Publishing Co. They have a bunch of papers of which I get the Astorian and the Capital Press. In the recent Governors race, Forrester and Webb chose Kulongowski as their pick in the Astorian, and they choose Saxton in the Capital press. Talking about sucking up to their readers, it was worthy of a Sick Day post.
As for Deals, one can generally attribute the quality of the store to the quality of products they offer. Just seeing their blocked isles with all sorts of boxes of crap should be a big warning. There are places you enter, take a deep sniff of the air and can tell that there has always been a lot of screwing going on in there. Poverty causes many to make poor shopping decisions. People first should assess their needs and then pick a store like one would pick an employee. A business relationship lasts long after the goods are traded.
I have a similar theory about restaurants. The larger the sign; the worse the food. When we allow mediocrity into our lives and support it with our lucre, we end up with a whole bunch of mediocrity and that which is good is often left by the wayside as road-kill.
So we can blog about all this stuff anonymously, or we can put our names and writing on the line. Do any of us have the street creds to pull something like that off in this community? Personally, I don’t. I am not a journalist. I am just a dopey blogger whose ideas may one day become main-stream, That is if I can carefully smith and craft my words and brainwash the masses into seeing things my way.
I like Deals Only in the sense that it is so far to go to the dollar store in Seaside, gas wise. So, when in need of crafts supplies for the kiddies, or the stuff that was on clearance at Target, but that I didn't have a chance to see there before Deals bought it up. Some of the prices are good.
Then again, they have a brutal return policy and last night there were so many pallets in the aisles that we had to zigzag like we were going around the slide zones on 5th Street just to get from one end to the other.
We love Purple Cow. Having kids, you would expect that, but it's so much more special than shopping at a big box toy store.
Locally, I love Papa Jack's. Like Purple Cow, even if they do put in a pet-related big box, I'd never shop there. Plus, Papa Jack's donates ad space, gifts for charity raffles. Those people contribute.
The best restaurant, hands down, is Drina Daisy, of course. Service, food. Pricey, but worth it.
OH! And I'm stoked that Lucy's Books has that new used section upstairs where you can trade the books you're done with for credit toward other used books. Saves another drive to Seaside.
Thumbs down to Tyack Dental, though. I am having our records transferred out asap. Overpriced, and they have interesting marketing tactics. The dental work was fine, but I was sent a shaming letter shortly after finding out Princess had a pinhole cavity warning me that failure to get it filled tut suite could lead to this, that and the other thing. Problem was, I couldn't get her pinhole cavity filled until I paid off the other huge fee OVER what my insurance paid, and also, they won't bill you later, you've got to pay up front. So, if they were really that concerned that my daughter's head was going to rot off, they'd have allowed credit. NEXT!
Tyack Dental SUCKS!
My sister had a very similar experience, mom of three, and that was about 17 years ago when he was in Clatskanie. He cuffed my niece after saying she bit him (she was 6) while she was in the chair. He said he didn't cuff her, he "restrained her from further harming him or his staff". She says her jaw hurt from holding it open soooo long and she kept asking if she could close it and finally she thought he said yes and she did and when she met his hand she instantly opened again when he popped her in the face! I still don't know why my sister didn't persue a with at least a complaint.
Everyone, it seems, loves Drina Daisy's, even when you have to save up to go to it. I ditto your sentiments on Deals Only, its great for arts supplies. It sucks for almost anything in the basement. Especially blankets and chair covers, etc... Yea, Purple Cow!
Thanks!
Yours has some great links! You do a lot of research, don't you?
~ Sid
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