There are four recent developments in the debacle that has been the October Warriors and Wizards (formerly Harry Potter) Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Despite problems during its two years in Edgerton, Jefferson picked up the festival, and the Daily Jefferson County Union touted the shabby festival even as residents were screaming about the low quality…
Newspapers
Babbittry, Newspapers, Press, That Which Paved the Way
Hedge Funds Have No Table Manners Whatever
by JOHN ADAMS •
Brian Stelter writes Gannett journalists anxious amid report that Digital First Media is circling the company: Cara Lombardo’s unsettling Sunday night scoop for the WSJ: “A hedge-fund-backed media group known for buying up struggling local papers and cutting costs is planning to make an offer for USA Today publisher Gannett, according to people familiar with the…
City, Local Government, Newspapers, School District
The Not-So-Daily Union
by JOHN ADAMS •
One reads that local Daily Union will begin delivery by mail, and that this will push forward the publication deadline by twelve hours. While the change of delivery matters to subscribers, the change in publication deadline will matter more. The Daily Union will no longer be able to get a story on an evening meeting or…
Newspapers, Press, Television, Trump
Press Coverage of Trump Isn’t Too Hard, It’s Too Soft
by JOHN ADAMS •
Crime, Culture, Newspapers
Weak Underneath
by JOHN ADAMS •
The was an armed robbery in Whitewater this week. Robbery is wrong and armed robbery especially so. There’s neither justification nor excuse for the crime. Radio station WFAW reported the crime in a straightforward way, but the Daily Union on Facebook crudely described the suspects not as black males (as would be conventional) but rather as male blacks. …
Babbittry, Blogging, New Media, Newspapers, Politics
The New Version of Old
by JOHN ADAMS •
Newspapers
Print’s Decline (and the Limits of a Digital Lifeboat)
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Journal Sentinel has experienced astonishing declines in subscribers, truly large numbers that show serious trouble for the paper (and for smaller papers nearby). Looking at the best available circulation data for public companies – those found in their regulated financial statements – the Milwaukee Business Journal reports Journal Sentinel owner Gannett sets new round of early retirements, Journal Sentinel print…
Crime, Mendacity, Misconduct, Newspapers
Daily Union‘s Story on Teacher Dragging Student Through Halls: Weak and Weaker
by JOHN ADAMS •
For years the Daily Union has failed readers by misleading residents about events in their own area, and today their supposed crime reporter Ryan Whisner and his editor (Chris Spangler) blow another story, this time about a teacher in Waterloo who allegedly dragged a small child down the hall of the child’s school (there is…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Government Spending, Mendacity, Newspapers
Predictable: From Boosterism to Bad Checks
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
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,…