Comment Archives: Stories: News & Views: Metropolis
Re: “Mao, Mussolini and, uh, McCain?”
Woo hoo John Sugg! You take a cue from John Lewis and call John McCain a communist (the very people he fought against in Vietnam) and a fascist.
How is that okay but you cannot say Barack Obama is a traitor? Double standard, anyone?
(BTW: Nobody said "Kill him!" Secret Service agents were at that same rally, and not ONE of them reported hearing that. Could it be we have a case of a liberally biased reporter offering complete fiction as truth, ala Michael Moore?)
Re: “Mao, Mussolini and, uh, McCain?”
Update: Leading GOP fundraiser jokes about Obama being killed:
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/top-tampa-gop-figure-circulates-joke-about-killing-obama
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
Curious minds want to know, John: was filing for bankruptcy part of the company's "game plan"?
Also, will Mara, Thomas or Scott be doing a feature on CL's debt owed to the Georgia Department of Revenue, or will that be handled in a snarky manor by Andisheh?
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
You are right! I work for a newspaper and we tell our advertisers that there are a certain amount of newspapers out there circulating throughout the city. Yet when you go to find them, they are not there. Fewer papers are placed in the vendor boxes, newstands, and grocery stores. The number of residental deliveries are often faked by the people selling subscriptions. Nespapers seem to be unwilling to circulate as much as they did before and yet I see people going to the vendor boxes and finding nothing there and it isstill very early morning. 12 newspapers and not even that number are placed in the vendor boxes. I have seen only 2 papers of a certain newspaper placed on a newsstand. Certainly it should be more. The newstands and grocery are the same so people give up and go to the internet. It is true newspaper shave become big conglomerates like the Chiago Tribune and at the end of the day, the owners, managers etc are more concerned with pleasing their investors than pleasing their customers. I heard one site general manager say once that she wasn't going to let the customers tell her what to do, she was going to do something whether the customers liked it or not and I said to her, If you don't listen to the customers then eventually you don't have a newspaper. It is the customer in the end that should be pleased. You're also right about as prices. They are simply outrighteous for what the advertiser is getting and when they don't get results, they don't renew. Many things caused the death of print and it wasn't all the internet. There is room in this world for everything if it is truthful and doesn't try to scam the customer.
Re: “Resurgens renaissance”
I actually think this is an idea that has strong potential of being worthwhile. Great minds think alike and two or a hundred are always better than one. Anything to make this world a better place is open to me. However, what worries me is what these developers actually know about their targeted market. Take Atlantic Station. A 2 billion dollar or so project (excuse the guesstimates, I don't feel like googling right now) ... I was ecstatic. A place in midtown that maybe, just maybe, I can find something to buy all in one place. Until I realized that instead of stores you couldn't find anywhere else in Atlanta, you have the common suburban strip mall. Not to mention the overly decorated, nonauthentic celebrity backed restaurant chains. If this community is planned around artists and scientists and those alike, instead of starbucks - how about a real cafe? instead of gap and banana republic - how about a vintage boutique shop? and instead of a pond and some green space - how about a small stream or canal with a garden? If you're going to spend the money, yours and mine, please do it right. And for the "affordable housing", proof of type-of-employment should be mandatory. Good luck and can't wait to see how this plays out.
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
D.A. King, who is either the author or inspiration for some of the comments, is simply wrong about the "mortgages to illegal aliens." The comments are racist on their face, and devoid of facts. If you Google Zamarripa and mortgages, you find King's fable endlessly repeated on ultra-right-wing, extremist, hate websites.
It's worth mentioning that the racist comments below come from those who cower behind anonymity. For them, screen names are a modern-day version of a white sheet.
The truth is that anyone can get a mortgage in this country, if they financially qualify. There is no citizenship requirement for property ownership.
What Zamarripa's United Americas Bank -- which, by the way, is a bank that has passed all regulatory inspections -- did was to insure that all mortgage applicants could PROVE their income and could PROVE they paid taxes. Let me repeat that for the slow-witted: United insisted its customers PROVE their credit-worthiness AND that they PAID TAXES. That's a crime?
Meanwhile, many, many banks did neither, and especially in not insisting on proof of income contributed to the housing crisis and mortgage fraud scandals.
The tax ID number is for non-resident aliens, who may or may not be here illegally.
As for Zam supporting giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens, let's think about that. They're here, they drive. I'd much rather have people with licenses and insurance on the highways.
The real issue with some of the comments is that the writers are racist. Sorry, no way to be polite about it. There is no discernible difference between their sentiments and other "white nationalists" and "aryans" I've written about over the years. (See: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A206566, or http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A142269 )
If Zam should run for mayor, having opponents such as D.A. King and his crowd would be a plus for the candidate.
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Oy Vay! An open borders, banker to the illegals as Atl mayor?
When people become aware of Zamarripa's dealings and positions on illegal latinos being put in front of black Americans in the line for taxpayer benefits, the tune will change.
Quick: who pioneered the effort to illegall externd mortgae loans to illegals and made bunch o bucks from encouraging the illegal immigration that has resulted in black American's jobs going away and their wages going down?
Si...Sammy Dollar sign. This guy is a total fraud and should be up for an Academy Award for best actor...not Atl mayor.
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Atlanta is certainly in a state of crisis but I do believe that we still have some competent people in this city who are dedicated to changing the status quo. I am a lifelong Atlantan and have watched many of the aforementioned people in action and some have impressed me much more than others. I am not a fan of Lisa Borders and believe that even though she has the family name, she has yet to impress me in office and pushed for change. I do want to say that I have watched Vincent Fort over the years and what has impressed me about him is his consistency and dedication to what is RIGHT, not what is always motivated by where the money is flowing. He is supportive of progress and business but he cares about the everyday Atlantan, regardless of race and economics. It seems as though he has made it his mission to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in what happens locally and statewide. Check his record. As a matter of fact, check all of their records and make your own judgements. Everyone has a responsibilty to make an educated vote.
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Maybe it's time we have a Mayor who works for the people and not the corporations and developers. Wouldn't that be a novel way to run this city for a while?
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
What makes a great mayor? Not Borders. I would not vote for her BECAUSE of her close association to developers like Tom Cousins, who is responsible for tearing down people friendly Atlanta and building fortress deserts, which we are now struggling to undo. Jackson? His hand was dipped into the concessions of the airport. Young? In the 80's, a 16 yr. old Cabbagetown boy was shot in the back by officer Oglesby on the corner of Boulevard and Memorial. Public outrage and nightly vigils brought Young out to promise a police civil review board to quieten them. As usual, as with all review boards in the past, they never really get off the ground and wind up dying by the wayside. The officer was not punished. Hartsfield? Oh, don't we all hear and read glowing reviews of him. Hartsfield was a shrewd and cunning mayor who destroyed Atlanta's streetcar and trolley coach system, in favor of freeway concrete and buses. As reported in MULE TO MARTA II (by Jean Martin) Hartsfield ably assisted Minnesotan John C. Steinbeck, an entrepreneur in interstate motor coach passenger operations, fashioning strong bonds of friendship on their frequent business trips taken of Steinmetz coaches, where Steinmetz swayed Hartsfield to support interstate construction. They became business partners in 1931 to buy streetcar lines in Rome Ga., Anniston Al. and Columbia SC, with the sole intentions of destroying and converting these lines to bus operations, but state laws blocked the sales, since streetcar systems were operated by power companies. Hartsfield and Steinmetz, were successful in fooling Atlantans, however, thus dismantling Atlanta's efficient, non-polluting electric public transport system which is now a laughing stock of a system for a city the size of Atlanta. So, what makes a great mayor? How do we know... we've never had one!
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Atlanta will take its place as an international city if it works. That is, if the next mayor will take care of basic services, manage the people's money properly and avoid scandal the city will be the global leader we all want. This will require not just motivational rhetoric and a slick resume but cool judgement based on tough life experiences.
WQ
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Sam Zamarripa for mayor? LMAO! OMG this is hilarious. This race is looking like a three ring circus. Zamarripa could barely be effective when he was a state senator. Lisa Borders was totally ineffective. She was more of a Shirley Franklin yes woman than an independent thinker. According to her bio on her website "Her community initiatives include increasing the availability of affordable housing, uncovering transportation solutions to address our region’s traffic challenges and promoting neighborhood safety and preservation." In my opinion she did just the opposite.
PS: John I love your writing but please stop treating these so called Mayoral Candidates with Kid Gloves. I mean you ripped Shirley Franklin before. It is time to hit them with the hard questions.
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
John,
How about we start with a "Turnaround" President? Clearly you are smart enough to know the effect the national economy has on the local economy. Once the national economy turns, so will the citys. Borders loved to ride the Mayor's coattail while things were going well. Now that the nation is facing a recession, and the city is facing a budget shortfall, she's stabbing her in the back. When are you going to start attacking Sonny for his budget "crisis"?
Re: “Help wanted: A world-class mayor”
Sen. Reed is the strongest choice. I have seen in him over the years an unwillingness to back down and the ability to make things happen. I think the fact that Sen. Reed has accomplished so much at his age and has such an impressive resume young voters will connect with him.
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
It's funny you write that you don't know why I'm confused, yet your response is an example of what I was referring to. My confusion came from trying to reconcile your optimistic comments about the online version of "CL of the future" with the possibility that CL might not survive.
Thanks for the circulation numbers. Obviously CL doesn't make it out to the exurbs, but there has still been a lot of population growth in closer-in suburbs, and Atlanta has added 100K since 2000. Again, I'm just saying that stable print readership in the middle of a greatly explanding market is not exactly great news.
I'm still curious about online numbers and growth.
I'm glad you finally acknowledged the subscription offer, which has everything to do with your original article. Since you want to carry this conversation on in private (why???) I'm not sure if you will respond to this post, but if you do I think you owe it to your readers to at least respond to the questions in my first post:
If someone out there actually paid $102 per year for a subscription to CL and did not like the cuts and changes made in news, opinion and arts over the past few years, would you also support their right to sue your paper? Most importantly, would their lawsuit change or accomplish anything?
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
Jay, not sure about your confusion. If any entity currently called a newspaper is going to survive, it will likely do so by totally migrating to the web in the not-too-distant future (with the possible exceptions of the national newspapers, whose print life may be a little longer). No one has figured out the financial magic bullet for that migration. I think all publications face huge hurdles. I believe CL has a better chance than some, and the basis of that belief is informed knowledge about the company's game plan. That's knowledge I have as a shareholder in the company, and it's proprietary. I'm not completely sure any print publication can survive the migration to online, CL included. But I think we're better positioned as an industry, compared to the dailies, and within the alternative industry, I think CL is ahead of the pack. Again, that's no guarantee, and like many in the company (especially among the editors) I don't think we're making the best decisions in terms of content. On the circulation, the weekly print distribution is about 120,000, and it varies based on marketing considerations. The monthly cume is about 800,000. Almost all of the circulation is inside the perimeter; thus the regional growth doesn't directly correlate with CL's circ. Yes, if you want to pay for a mail subscription, you can, but 99.99 percent of CL's distribution is free. Email me if you want to continue this.
Re: “A river runs through Cox land”
Apparently the Cox group uses the strategy of overwhelming its opponents with legal fees as a normal strategy. Look at all the news about Andrew Fisher, President of Cox Television and his S&M sex affair. I heard his wife is getting massacred with legal proceedings and motions as an attempt to legally hide the affair. I hope these guys get theres, and people don't cave in to their bullying tactics. Its time for the public to know who that the elitist attitudes that they show will not be tolerated.
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
I'm confused. In an earlier response you wrote:
"It will be awhile before we can replace the print revenue. But we will. And the CL of the future will be something far different than the print CL today."
However, in your last reply you wrote:
"I'm not at all confident any of the newspapers will survive. I think alternatives, including the Loaf, have deep institutional problems."
Are you either sure CL will survive in some form, or is there a good chance that it too could cease to exist?
I understand and agree with your argument that the AJC's decision making is strongly influenced by the money they have invested in production and distribution. Now that Cox has announced they are shedding all but three daily papers, it will be interesting to see how long they hold onto the AJC. Because I'm pretty sure it's a matter of when they sell it, not if they will. And what sort of changes will new ownership bring.
John, I'd love to see actual numbers for CL's print and online audiences. We both shake our heads at the drop in readership for the print AJC, and you point out that drop came amidst a metro population increase of well over a million people (I believe it's above two million). So if you're comparing apples to apples, is it really a great sign that CL's print readership has remained "stable" and "intact", while the metro population has increased by over 60%? And in this decade alone, the city of Atlanta has added 100,000 new people for a population increase of around 25%. Many of these new Atlantans should be CL's target audiences, yet print readership is only "stable"? And what are the actual numbers when it comes to big online growth?
I'll try again: If you don't charge for the paper, then why does it state that subscriptions are $102 per year at the bottom of the "staff" box on the table of contents page?
Re: “The death of the newspaper factory”
On last two comments. Tuck isn't an ombudsman, which means (or should mean) in the context of newspapers that she has a contract that guarantees employment for a certain period so that she can report without fear or favor of her bosses. She isn't anything like that. Her job is spin.
Jay, don't get me wrong. I'm not at all confident any of the newspapers will survive. I think alternatives, including the Loaf, have deep institutional problems. Generally speaking, they were every bit as bad as dailies in seeing what was over the horizon.
Moreover, they have abandoned much of their heritage; they are no longer the voices of national dissent. Indeed, the largest group, Village Voice Media (whose name comes from the granddaddy of dissent) flees from any sign of national debate; sucking up to Bush is due, at least in part, to anti-trust problems VVM ran into with the Justice Department.
What I argue is that the Loaf and many other alternatives don't own the huge printing factories and fleets of trucks that the dailies do. It's the difference between renting and owning a house -- much easier to cancel a lease than sell a home.
Add to that two other points: The Loaf has long been engaged in the migration to the web. And, Media Audits and other similar research vehicles show a stable audience even for the Loaf's print product -- the one I described, young, educated, etc. The dailies claim of expanded readership, based on combining print and online readers, simply isn't honest.
If it was my call, I'd be pumping money into content, hiring more writers, while the dailies commit suicide. Unfortunately, the alternatives are in the same slash and burn mode as the dailies.
Re: “Mao, Mussolini and, uh, McCain?”
MrMateo
No one could have made John's point better. I'm sure he's saying to himself, "I rest my case."
It's going to be fun watching all of you lumpen be ruined by the coming depression of your own making. Your support of this generation of Republicans has sealed your own doom - and you are too stupid to even recognize it.
Please keep up the entertainment. I can't wait for your next installment.