Friday, July 27, 2007
News Word: Reams of worry
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Fri, Jul 27, 2007 at 6:00 PM
This week, Creative Loafing Inc. purchased venerable alt-weeklies Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper. The Reader’s bloggers and commenters have, thus far, greeted the announcement with fear, sadness and dread.
"The Reader has been visited by one of the most common but dispiriting traumas of the newspaper business--new out-of-town ownership."
— Chicago Reader Senior Editor Michael Miner, posting to the Reader's News Bites blog
"I've been to Atlanta and I've read Creative Loafing. It's better than nothing, but it sure ain't no Reader (even when you take into account the Reader's own recent decline in quality)."
— A comment by "saddened and dismayed" on News Bites
"Would it be possible for readers to band together and buy the Reader from Eason?"
— A comment by "someone else who once loved the reader" on News Bites
"How surprised would anyone be if these comments are wiped clean in a bit?"
— A comment by "ugh" on News Bites
"Whatever Creative Loathing paid, it's too much. Face it, the Reader's been unnecessary since the mid-80s, when the owners and the board became greedy, conservative, and hopelessly out of touch."
— A comment by "Oy Boy-o" on News Bites
"And to the CL people who undoubtedly aren't reading this, here's what yer boss got for his 8 figures: He got a great brand with huge loyalty--that's bleeding money in a town with plenty of competition. Go ahead and drag the production down to Atlanta or Fayetteville or Bentonville or wherever--but once you flush your current readership, you'll be left with a pile of wet papers sitting in the doorway of He Who Eats Mud, attracting as much attention as the Onion's entertainment listings."
— A comment by "TLJR" on News Bites
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
I guess I'm concerned because I love Washington City Paper and -- frankly -- think it is a better product than Creative Loafing. That said, it strikes me as ironic that the group that has railed against the AJC and the "Coxopoly" is scooping up so-called "independent media" and creating their own conglomorate. Long live the Loafopoly, I guess....
like
dislikeThe correct hymn of praise is All The Hail The Mighty Loafopoly! Get your language straight or we'll send you to the John Sugg Camp For ReLoafication.
Hey, Sellout: this just means that many more Americans will come to know and love Andisheh! Plus, you know, the "independent" alternative newspaper business is ALREADY in the hands of corporations, including the venerable Village Voice, which is now owned by libertarian yuppie fucks who stand for nothing. "Independent alt weeklies" -- what a pathetic myth. THE WHOLE MEDIA HAS BEEN GOBBLED UP BY CORPORATIONS ... except for, what, blogs? Whoop de doo. Blogs!
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