Tulsa World lays off 28 employees

[RecycleMichael]

Tulsa County news is generally covered by a different reporter. Kevin Canfield writes most of them.

Start your own newspaper, Inteller. Grumble away.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Tulsa County news is generally covered by a different reporter. Kevin Canfield writes most of them.

Start your own newspaper, Inteller. Grumble away.

you are reading it.

[dbacks fan]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Tulsa County news is generally covered by a different reporter. Kevin Canfield writes most of them.

Start your own newspaper, Inteller. Grumble away.

He'd never start his own paper, he would complain about having to spend money on crummy paper and bad printing equipment.

[Hometown]

Inteller is on target with his criticism of the World's journalistic standards or lack of them.  

Reporters are in a terrible spot because no one is more aware of their responsibilities than they are.  At the same time they've seen colleagues that had the gumption to do their jobs -- thrown to the wolves.  The only newspapers in the U.S. that back up their reporters are the New York and Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.  Most other papers are chamber of commerce spirit posters period.  No one is more aware of this than the reporters.

The Lortons are the problem with the Tulsa World.  Many of their reporters are very talented, creative people who do the best they can with what they have to work with.

I'm tired of this argument that "so and so" gave Tulsa X number of dollars so we are to be eternally grateful and cede all power and cease all criticism because we were paid.  That's the Tulsa World's primary argument for apologizing for the Good Old Boys.  We aren't that cheap.  We can't be had for so little money.  Tulsa is a world class city and deserves better.

Meanwhile, I bet a lot of these reporters were miserable at the World.  Getting laid off used to have a negative stigma, but now it is a positive one.  They look like totally loyal employees that would have spent their lives at the World if it weren't for the World's finances.  Laid off workers are sought after these days.

At any rate, we have earned a great paper, and the Tulsa World isn't it.

[Hoss]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

....

At any rate, we have earned a great paper, and the Tulsa World isn't it.

Still a damn sight better than the Jokelahoman.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Inteller is on target with his criticism of the World's journalistic standards or lack of them.  

Reporters are in a terrible spot because no one is more aware of their responsibilities than they are.  At the same time they've seen colleagues that had the gumption to do their jobs -- thrown to the wolves.  The only newspapers in the U.S. that back up their reporters are the New York and Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.  Most other papers are chamber of commerce spirit posters period.  No one is more aware of this than the reporters.

The Lortons are the problem with the Tulsa World.  Many of their reporters are very talented, creative people who do the best they can with what they have to work with.

I'm tired of this argument that "so and so" gave Tulsa X number of dollars so we are to be eternally grateful and cede all power and cease all criticism because we were paid.  That's the Tulsa World's primary argument for apologizing for the Good Old Boys.  We aren't that cheap.  We can't be had for so little money.  Tulsa is a world class city and deserves better.

Meanwhile, I bet a lot of these reporters were miserable at the World.  Getting laid off used to have a negative stigma, but now it is a positive one.  They look like totally loyal employees that would have spent their lives at the World if it weren't for the World's finances.  Laid off workers are sought after these days.

At any rate, we have earned a great paper, and the Tulsa World isn't it.

yes, don't you know it just pains them when they have to report dirt on their GOBs like their golden boy Kvisto.

[Hometown]

You have to read it in the NY Times or the Dallas Morning News to get the full story.  Say what you will about Tulsa's Good Old Boys, they control advertising dollars and an angry call to the editor means a pink slip for the offending reporter.

You have to spend money on attorneys to back up a reporter.

[sauerkraut]

At least Tulsa has a stong economy and the workers should be able to find new work soon.[]

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

At least Tulsa has a stong economy and the workers should be able to find new work soon.[]

er, something like that.

[RecycleMichael]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Inteller is on target with his criticism of the World's journalistic standards or lack of them.  

I am not defending the Tulsa World standards.

Inteller attacked a single reporter and not very cleverly called her a vulgar name. There is no high road for him.

I responded back because I felt he was wrong to anonymously attack her. She is my friend and does a damn good job and doesn't deserve his treatment. I defend my friends.

She puts her name on everything she writes and he cowers, hides and blogs behind a fake name. She is a professional and he ain't.

This was a thread about a local business and layoffs and he made it a vulgar attack on a person. He should apologize.

[Hometown]

Recycle Michael, You make a point of not shielding your identity and you are in a job that requires that you be political.  Because you have not shielded your identity, your remarks here on Tulsa Now are to one degree or another also political.

If my name was associated with my remarks I would also be political.  And something important (to me at least) would be lost.  In my case, honesty would get lost.  I would be tempted to do what I do when I relate to people face to face.  Be nice.  Tell white lies.  Make apologies for people.  Smooth everything over and spare people their feelings.

For me at least, the value of Tulsa Now is the opportunity to ditch being nice and do Tulsa the favor of being honest.

Both your stance and my stance are valid.  And you get different results from both stances.

I have contacted PJ Lasek before with a question and she responded with helpful information.  I have a favorable impression of her.  But she does not work in an environment where great journalism is encouraged.  She probably does the best she can do given difficult circumstances.

I don't know inteller's profession.  But I have been impressed with his knowledge of the oil business.

[PonderInc]

It worries me any time a paper cuts news reporting.  I didn't like it when the TW cut the community section, but this seems far worse.  While the sports section remains robust every day, the actual news keeps on shrinking!

Sure, the TW doesn't always get everything right.  But cutting news reporters will make it even harder for us to get accurate information  about our city.  (You can't get it in 30 second news stories on TV.)

For months, I've been noticing how the ads have gotten larger, while the number of column inches (of real reporting) have shrunk.  I've also learned to take news stories in the TW with a grain of salt.

But... compared to the Daily Oklahoman, the TW is the Washington Post!  If you're worried about our city lacking the in-depth jounalism necessary to keep politicians in line and citizens informed about important local issues...you need to look no farther than OKC for an example of the fate we must avoid.

The Oklahoman is like a high school paper run by religious zealots.  Scarily amateurish, lacking content, and full of right-wing bias.  It's an embarrassing excuse for a newspaper.  And we don't want Tulsa to find itself in the same pitiful situation as OKC.

Let's hope that the TW can manage to turn this thing around, and retain whatever dignity it has as a news organization.  I don't always agree with the TW or their coverage.  But a healthy city/state/nation needs good journalism to function as a democracy.

By the way, here's an interesting column by Georgie Anne Geyer about why many newspapers are failing.  The TW can't blame its problems on public ownership, but Geyer raises interesting points about the fate of journalism in the US.

[Double A]

deleted

[Wilbur]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

...

I will agree that the Tulsa World has an agenda. I don't blame them. There has also been power in media. They piss me off on a regular basis, but then win back my admiration when they do things like raise $400,000 for needy families during Christmas.

Newspaper have always had a bad reputation. Mark Twain said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed."  I don't think that The Tulsa World does a bad job of informing me, I just don't stop getting my information from them before making up my own mind.

Imagine the amount of readers they would have if they stayed neutral AND did the good stuff.

The Tulsa World's reporting standards are why many people no longer take the paper and/or advertisers no longer submit ads.  Until they realize that, their numbers will not grow, which is too bad since they are the only daily.  I wish they put out a quality document I could be proud to say I get delivered to my home.  I won't be one of those people who say the only reason they get the paper is because it is the only one in town.

I admit the Internet has cause many problems for the print media, but much of the Tulsa World's problems are brought on by their own poor reporting standards/slants, which (according to reporters I know who work there) come from the top.

[Wilbur]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Tulsa County news is generally covered by a different reporter. Kevin Canfield writes most of them.

Start your own newspaper, Inteller. Grumble away.

you are reading it.

That's funny!!
[}:)]