Anyone wanting to see how bad boosterism – the desire to push a local project regardless of sound arguments and actual experience to the contrary – can get should look to the 2018 ‘Warriors and Wizards’ festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Formerly a Harry Potter Festival, it was rebranded after Warner Bros. clamped down on obvious…
Newspapers
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Government Spending, Mendacity, Newspapers
New Developments About Jefferson, Wisconsin’s ‘Warriors & Wizards’ Festival
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are new, troubling developments concerning Jefferson, Wisconsin’s ‘Warriors & Wizards’ festival, an event about which this website has been consistently critical (for many sound reasons). One can wait a day or so to see what this new reporting shows (and how accurate and honest the reporting is, considering how wobbly it’s been). In the…
Babbittry, Mendacity, Newspapers, That Which Paved the Way
Iceberg Aside, Titanic‘s Executive Pleased with Ship’s Voyage
by JOHN ADAMS •
Despite ridicule from countless people, the Daily Union continues to deceive about the performance of Jefferson, Wisconsin’s the latest ‘Wizards and Warriors’ festival. Readers have this awaiting them: Weather aside, Cramer pleased by fest outcome. This is something like shipping magnate J. Bruce Ismay insisting that the Titanic‘s maiden voyage wasn’t too bad, except for…
Babbittry, Mendacity, Newspapers
What Else Would a Publisher Lie About?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Across America, newspapers and television stations often have stories on consumer protection, where readers or viewers can have consumer problems addressed. These stories are popular because they reassure readers that the paper or station is on the side of ordinary readers and viewers. Imagine the opposite posture: where a newspaper lies to ordinary readers to…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Government Spending, Local Government, Newspapers
Sad Spectacle in Jefferson, WI (and How to Do Much Better)
by JOHN ADAMS •
For four years, either Edgerton or Jefferson, Wisconsin has hosted a costume festival (originally a Harry Potter Festival, this year a Warriors and Wizards festival). Despite three years of disappointment, Jefferson held the festival again this year (after having – astonishingly – signed a five-year deal). I’ve followed the event over the years, and it…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Government Spending, Local Government, Mendacity, Newspapers, That Which Paved the Way
Found Footage: Daily Union Arrives on Subscriber’s Doorstep
by JOHN ADAMS •
See from the Daily Union Bus routes, security and parking addressed for Jefferson festival and Final preparations for Oct. 19-21 festival under way in Jefferson (reporter Ryan Whisner & publisher Brian V. Knox). But see Sean Biggerstaff’s thread on Twitter (“I am disappointed and also angered to say that I will not be appearing at the @WandWFestival in Jefferson,…
Bad Ideas, City, Culture, Government Spending, Local Government, Mendacity, Newspapers
Why Dirty Dogs Roam With Impunity
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about the foul mess that is the ‘Warriors and Wizards’ festival in Jefferson (formerly a Harry Potter festival before Warner Bros. shut that usage down). So, how is it that city officials, ‘development professionals,’ lying publishers, and bottom-shelf promoters get away with wasting tens of thousands in public funds each year while simultaneously…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Misconduct, Nepotism, Newspapers, Public Relations, University, UW System
No Ordinary, Unconnected Spouse: Public officials’ use of family appointees
by JOHN ADAMS •
Imagine a world where public officials appointed spouses to high-visibility positions in the very same workplace, over which they had supervisory authority, but then disclaimed any responsibility over those appointees when they committed acts of assault and harassment (“that wasn’t me, that was my spouse, brother, sister, or cousin,” etc.). They’ll rely on their own…
America, City, Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty, Local Government, New Media, Newspapers, Politics, Press, Resistance, That Which Paved the Way, Trump
‘A Free Press Needs You’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Following Trump’s repeated attacks on the press as the enemy of the people, hundreds of publications across America are today uniting in a defense of their right to free expression. The editorial board of the New York Times, in A Free Press Needs You, describes our heritage and the threat to it: In 1787, the…
Newspapers
Print: The Look of a Serious Commitment
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday’s post described Print’s Continuing Decline (and the Message for Digital) with an example of proposed changes to the Janesville Gazette, as editor Sid Schwartz described them. (See, from Schwartz, Objective: Preserve local journalism in the face of rising costs.) While the Gazette‘s announcement describes steps they’ll take to save money, it mentions nothing about what the paper…
America, Babbittry, Blogging, Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty, Newspapers, That Which Paved the Way, Trump
Print’s Continuing Decline (and the Message for Digital)
by JOHN ADAMS •
One can be a critic of newspapers (for their low quality and high boosterism), and yet feel a sadness at their decline. There’s a notice in the Janesville Gazette about downsizing of the daily print edition. See Objective: Preserve local journalism in the face of rising costs. Editor Sid Schwartz tells readers that the Gazette…
Newspapers, Open Government, Public Meetings
A Simple Truth About Open Government
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written recently about importance of open government, for itself and for its positive effects, but a simple truth about open government is that it requires a consistent policy of openness. Open sometimes, closed others, isn’t open government: it’s caprice. I’ve a draft of a series open government in progress, and in cases where openness…
Newspapers, Politics, Press, That Which Paved the Way
Small-Town News and “The Value of Accuracy”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at The Atlantic, David Beard writes about The Libraries Bringing Small-Town News Back to Life. The story’s not, to my mind, a recommendation that Whitewater’s library should publish a news site – Whitewater has digital and print publications in town and nearby. The story’s interesting for how important accuracy is to news publishing: When…
Local Government, Newspapers
Print Retreats to Print
by JOHN ADAMS •
Local print publications are struggling, and so they’ve decided to retreat to print publishing. See Twilight (Part 1 of a Series). At the Gazette, they’ve established a high paywall (after one three articles viewed per month), and as for ambitions for Walworth County, one need only consider what happened to that publisher’s WalworthCountyToday.com: At the…