Tulsa World erects paywall

[Teatownclown]

The TW story made all the DC rounds and politalk shows yesterday.

Kudos TW.

[patric]

The newspaper industry is declining faster than any other industry in the United States, according to a report released last week from the Council of Economic Advisers. The best papers in the country are bleeding red; skilled editors, reporters, photographers and ad people are being let go to balance the books and please creditors.

So what? Well, as millions of people grow suspicious of government on one side, or Wall Street on the other, the news media is about the only place left that can consistently hold institutions accountable. You don't have a news business without people to gather it.

As the paper side collapses it's taking the news side with it.

What happened?

The loss of classifieds to the Internet, an investment community that played these institutions like poker chips and left choking debt in the wake, owners without an honest commitment to independent news in a democratic society, and newspapers themselves that were slow as readers flocked to the Web.

The days are long gone when all content can be locked behind a pay wall, as much as some wish. That doesn't mean news has to be free even if it is freely available. Licensing of content still makes sense. Limited pay wall models, like The Times', clearly show promise.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/20/opinion/barth-newspapers-decline/index.html

[Ed W]

And then there's this:

Janet Robinson, the New York Times Co. chief executive officer who was pushed out in December, received an exit package, including stock options and retirement benefits, of $23.7 million....which costs Times Co. more than the company earned in the past four years...Times Co. (NYT) stock plunged more than 80 percent during Robinson's tenure as CEO, which began in December 2004.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-09/new-york-times-s-robinson-s-exit-package-tops-23-million

[guido911]

Good riddance to an industry that made itself irrelevant.

[Conan71]

The only benefit I can think of for newsprint is to use for packaging the stuff I sell on eBay.

[patric]

Good riddance to an industry that made itself irrelevant.

Im not prone to rush to the Whirled's defense, but lets be realistic about one thing: 
Broadcasters just wont touch a lot of legitimate news stories until after the paper breaks the ice.

For instance, what would we have known about the Feds investigating our PD if it were entirely left to broadcast "crime reporters" reluctant to ask embarrassing questions for fear of cutting off the flow of sound bites (or missing out on the chance to look "hot" in a raid jacket).

Despite the interwebs crossovers, print and broadcast journalism are still two different animals, and we would be all the worse for it if we had only one to choose from.

[shadows]

The only benefit I can think of for newsprint is to use for packaging the stuff I sell on eBay.

...
The news papers are the last frontier that stands as a guard against political greed and corruption of our political system. 
Those reporting the news off times place the reporter's own safety in jeopardy.  They have caused several investigation that would not have happened were it not their employers struggling to keep this age old source of informing the public.. 
The public officials that derive their self-imposed salaries and perks, at the cost of the working poor have in the news paper a power that can bring these inequities out in the open.
It is a balance of power that can only be use by the printed hardcopies.  Internet does not enjoy the reporting but they only use the script gathered by on scene reporters.
If the TW restructures its methods in order to continue the operation exercised by many on a freebee basis, you will see a surcharge placed on internet to compensate for gathering the news. 
Do you honestly believe that the EMSA scandal would come into the light with internet?  Out of state Grand jury investigating police corruption?  PW?  Trash?
Be honest with yourself, the TW is the first line of defense defending your promised security against the power glut regardless of the cost.
All entitles of a free government must have outside investigators but most department want the their fox looking in the hen house door.           
.

[Conan71]

...
The news papers are the last frontier that stands as a guard against political greed and corruption of our political system. 
Those reporting the news off times place the reporter's own safety in jeopardy.  They have caused several investigation that would not have happened were it not their employers struggling to keep this age old source of informing the public.. 
The public officials that derive their self-imposed salaries and perks, at the cost of the working poor have in the news paper a power that can bring these inequities out in the open.
It is a balance of power that can only be use by the printed hardcopies.  Internet does not enjoy the reporting but they only use the script gathered by on scene reporters.
If the TW restructures its methods in order to continue the operation exercised by many on a freebee basis, you will see a surcharge placed on internet to compensate for gathering the news. 
Do you honestly believe that the EMSA scandal would come into the light with internet?  Out of state Grand jury investigating police corruption?  PW?  Trash?
Be honest with yourself, the TW is the first line of defense defending your promised security against the power glut regardless of the cost.
All entitles of a free government must have outside investigators but most department want the their fox looking in the hen house door.           
.

I could buy your premise of this if we weren't talking about the Tulsa World.  The same Tulsa World whose publishers were apparently investors in Great Plains Airlines.  The same family with significant interests in F & M Bank which also seems to benefit from bond underwriting for city and county projects. 

You'd be well-served to try and find another newspaper to cite as being honest enough to ward off corruption.  In fact, throughout American history, newspaper publishers, editors, and writers have been very much for sale for the right amount of money or the right cause.

[AquaMan]

I could buy your premise of this if we weren't talking about the Tulsa World.  The same Tulsa World whose publishers were apparently investors in Great Plains Airlines.  The same family with significant interests in F & M Bank which also seems to benefit from bond underwriting for city and county projects. 

You'd be well-served to try and find another newspaper to cite as being honest enough to ward off corruption.  In fact, throughout American history, newspaper publishers, editors, and writers have been very much for sale for the right amount of money or the right cause.

Not all of them. Enough to make movies about I'm sure. Shadows and I think similarly on this subject. Newspaper publishers are notorious for separating their lifestyle choices from their editorial pursuits. IOW, they know that they have an obligation to expose stories of abuse of power yet find no reason to disclose their own abuses. When there was more than one major newspaper per town they kept each other in check. Now, not so much. Nonetheless, it is a loss to have investigative reporters be limited to internet and electronic media. Not as reliable or professional and not willing to take chances.

The opportunity for real print journalism now lies with weeklies, tabloids and magazines. We have a couple of pretty good ones here but they don't have the power, contacts or money that decades of World domination provide.

[rdj]

I could buy your premise of this if we weren't talking about the Tulsa World.  The same Tulsa World whose publishers were apparently investors in Great Plains Airlines.  The same family with significant interests in F & M Bank which also seems to benefit from bond underwriting for city and county projects. 

You are correct the Lorton family has an interest in F&M Bank.  IMO, the story of how they became involved is a really cool one.  I'd butcher it, to say the least, if I tried to retell it here but it has nothing to do with the Tulsa World publishing their paper in a way that benefits the bank.  The end of the story is that as a result of many decades of friendship the Lorton's & the Davis' are inextricably tied in a way that I find very refreshing in a society that lacks loyalty.  I'm sure I'll be flamed for saying it, but how is a family like the Lorton's supposed to have friends if regardless of their actions or outcome they'll be attacked for showing favoritism?  Being in the media is one industry I'd never want to be in, you can do no right.

[shadows]

After scanning the morning paper and evaluating the pointing out to the public (between the lines) indicating the working poor are getting a royal screwing as the CEOs and head management are retiring taking with them the loot that Corporate-America has gathered.
In all honesty TW has served (even taking it into the court system) Freedom of Information request that very few person can afford.
The EMSA's, CEO, in all the years of existence, never has before been challenged of his expenders, cited that the checking the information before dual billings would consume too much time. 
Still we requested under the Freedom of Information Act a copy of the mainframe tape of all of the water meter accounts. 
Cost: $80 dollar set up and furnished the tape.
It would take less time to check the name or address from this source than getting a fraudulent bill typed up but TW has a very limited source in trying to educate the public.


       
   

[swake]

Still we requested under the Freedom of Information Act a copy of the mainframe tape of all of the water meter accounts. 
Cost: $80 dollar set up and furnished the tape.

Tape?

[Hoss]

Tape?

You obviously don't know how the Public Works Dept at the CoT works.   

We dealt with them when I worked at Bender and we were the ones printing their water bills.  I thought we were behind the times up there, but they were terrible.

[shadows]

Tape?

...
The city seems of outsource their records to another department to circumvent the FOI.
The FOI requires you to furnish a tape and they are required of put the information requested on your tape.   Since it is outsourced they can charge a search charge. 
These the search consists of taking the tape about 20 inches in diameter and ½ wide and cost from $15 to $30 dollars each from a book case and putting it in a main frame copier and push the button.  It discourages the average citizen from requesting hard copies which was .25 cents each.
Can you see internet going this route in order to furnish free information?
   

[Hoss]

...
The city seems of outsource their records to another department to circumvent the FOI.
The FOI requires you to furnish a tape and they are required of put the information requested on your tape.   Since it is outsourced they can charge a search charge. 
These the search consists of taking the tape about 20 inches in diameter and ½ wide and cost from $15 to $30 dollars each from a book case and putting it in a main frame copier and push the button.  It discourages the average citizen from requesting hard copies which was .25 cents each.
Can you see internet going this route in order to furnish free information?
   

What?  Doesn't matter if it's outsourced or not, they can still charge a search charge.  Internet, tape, floppy, stone tablet, whatever...  wow.