Whitewater has a local government that taxes and legislates, and that hires officials who exercise authority over the city’s residents, in a nine-square-mile area. Our local government has its own municipal building, in which it holds regular public meetings, and in which officials can talk to each other and residents in person, by email, text,…
Press
Newspapers, Politics, Press, Sen. Ron Johnson
The Journal Sentinel’s Footnoted Reply to Ron Johnson’s Op-Ed
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Last week, the Journal Sentinel called on Sen. Ron Johnson to resign or be expelled over his repeated election-related lies and conspiracy theories. Johnson wrote in reply to the paper. In response to his reply, the Journal Sentinel footnoted Johnson’s reply with 19 specific refutations. A few remarks: If Johnson runs again, the Journal Sentinel won’t decide…
Conflicts of Interest, Elections, Local Government, Newspapers, Politics, Press, Press Release, School District
Campaign Conflicts of Interest at a Self-Described Local News Source
by JOHN ADAMS • • 5 Comments
The Whitewater Unified School District’s board will see a contested February primary and a contested April general election. Regrettably, Whitewater has no professional newspaper, print or electronic, to cover that race. A post from today at the Whitewater Banner, entitled “Whitewater Unified School District Returns to In-Person Learning; Tom Ganser Photos Show the Excitement at…
Blogging, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Politics, Press
After a News Desert
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
A news desert is a community without coverage from a daily newspaper. If coverage means timely newspaper reporting on a city’s principal public meetings and events, then Whitewater has been a news desert since the nearby Daily Jefferson County Union stopped reporting on Whitewater’s common council & school board meetings. If coverage means timely, insightful,…
America, Blogging, History, Newspapers, Press, Press Release, Public Relations
Sullivan on Public Officials as Reporters
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Editors of small-town newspapers sometimes lack the judgment (and self-respect) to remain independent of government. During these lapses of decision-making, one finds that elected or appointed officials become, themselves, reporters on their own stories. (For a case like this in Whitewater involving a school board member, see Public Officials Should Not Be Reporters.) Margaret Sullivan, of the…
Blogging, Newspapers, Press
One Paywall to Rule Them All?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Two days ago, I wrote about another local newspaper becoming part of the APG chain. See Another Newspaper in the Shredder. It’s possible that these acquisitions will lead to an area-wide paywall, and perhaps even a strong paywall (hard to get around even with advances in incognito browsing). The theory, one supposes, is that the…
Newspapers, Press
Another Newspaper in the Shredder
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One reads that APG has purchased another Wisconsin newspaper, the Beloit Daily News. A few reminders: 1. Advertising revenue won’t sustain most locals newspapers, in print or online. 2. Only desperate advertisers will pay for ads in local newspapers running mostly press releases. There aren’t enough of desperate advertisers. 3. Subscriptions (for newspapers or…
Blogging, Law, Liberty, Litigation, Newspapers, Press, Public Records 2, Wisconsin
Public Records Requests as Pre-Litigation Actions
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Wisconsinites submitting public records requests under the law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 et seq.) may do so for any number of reasons (and need not declare a motivation of any sort). Not everyone will have the same aims in mind. For someone who’s a publisher (newspaper, magazine, blogger), however, a sensible way to look at…
Politics, Poll, Press, Trump
Trump Asks, Pollster Answers
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
PublicPolicyPolling on Twitter We have polled on whether people think the New York Times or Washington Post have more credibility or you, and you lose out 51-38 and 49-38 to them respectively https://t.co/0tKqpOO6vs
Babbittry, CDA, Culture, Economy, Fortitude, Local Government, Marketing, New Media, New Whitewater, Newspapers, Politics, Press, Social Media, Writing
What Can Be Done About Rural Newspapers (Even Though It Probably Won’t Be)?
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Yesterday I wrote that Another Local Paper Changes Hands. With the failure of legacy publishing, what are rural communities to do? (Obvious point: FREE WHITEWATER is not an online newspaper – never aspired to be, never will be. This is a website of independent commentary: aligned with no faction, beholden to no faction.) A few…
Newspapers, Press
Fawning News Coverage as Fashion Photography
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
https://twitter.com/soledadobrien/status/1132602097994747909
New Media, Newspapers, Press
Lessons from a Digital Newspaper Now Making Money
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In late April, I wrote about The Media’s ‘Post-Advertising’ Future (advertising’s not enough to sustain publications, subscriptions will prove necessary for most publications, and “[t]he key lesson for publishers is to offer sharp (and sometimes sharp-tongued) writing, to see that content is king”). (A word about FREE WHITEWATER. This website accepts no advertising, requires no…
America, Babbittry, City, History, New Media, Newspapers, Press, Social Media, Writing
The Media’s ‘Post-Advertising’ Future
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Nationally and locally, the media (whether profit or non-profit) continue their significant transformation: the decline of print, the rise of (interactive) digital media, and the collapse of a middle-of-the-road partnership of boosterism between mediocre newspapers and middling officials. Print’s doomed, and so is digital that merely repeats the same banal style of contemporary print. Traditional…
Crime, Newspapers, Press
Clever? Not Really…
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One reads that the Daily Union, a local paper chasing alleged embezzlement first reported in the Janesville Gazette, has decided to grab the story and add a supposedly clever headline: Honest to goodness, how does editor Chris Spangler expect ordinary people to keep up with a subtle headline like that? One needs to take a…