Man, I love it when Randell Beck gets on his soap box, he should just start putting his column in the comics section of the newspaper. I think his latest column is more HYSTERICAL then his parody about Dan Scott;
I’ve said it before — and probably will again: The noise in today’s media-rich environment is nearly deafening. You and I have more information barreling at us, from more directions, than ever before.
And most of it, frankly, is junk — press releases, regurgitated on an organization’s web site as “news,†pretending to be journalism; hysterical claims, of one kind or another, from countless jokers with a laptop and an axe to grind; and Associated Press stories reworded to masquerade as “local†coverage.
Remember: When it comes to quality news and information — journalism — you get what you pay for. Or to put it another way: If it’s free, there’s a reason.
First off, I only have ONE axe to grind, it’s with corrupt politicians, and I think it is pretty good one to grind.
Secondly, let’s talk about ‘hysterical claims’;
Did you hear Costco is coming to town? Schwan reported that first.
Yes she did, but most people in the business community knew about it weeks ago, including myself. Is it an important story? Sure. Just like Applebees opening another restaurant. But not ground breaking, that’s why this hysterical blogger never bothered to write anything about it ahead of time.
Did you hear about the casino proposal to the city that the mayor turned down? South DaCola reported that first.
Did you hear the Democrats helped with De Knudson’s campaign and tried to help out other candidates? South DaCola reported that first.
What about the EC naming rights debacle? Yup, you guessed it, South DaCola tipped off the news media about that one to (that is still a developing story).
There is a reason why newspaper readership is down – why pay for breaking news when you can read it for free on a blog? In fact, ever since the Non-Free online newspaper started charging for online subscriptions I have more and more people tell me they read my site to get news about Sioux Falls including a mayor from another prominent city in South Dakota.
Do I sometimes ‘speculate too much?’ I do, and I have been wrong in the past, and have corrected those mistakes with updates. Some people ask me why I put certain speculation out there before I have the whole story? The answer is simple, I WANT YOU to ask questions of your elected officials, I want you to get involved, I want you to dispel the rumors, I want you involved with your community. That is why I started South DaCola and why I continue to blog. I care about citizen rights, and I know the MSM in SF doesn’t always cover the whole story. That’s where you and I come in. Be diligent, be informed, that requires an effort from you, unless you prefer to be spoon fed by our local media. I don’t sit in a high chair any more, and I’m sure you don’t either.
BTW, I wrote this post on a desktop computer. Laptops annoy me just as much as arrogant newspaper publishers.
I really detest his monthly 2000 word advertisement for himself, especially in an edition that had little else worth reading.
I see the online subscriptions must not be going that well, this whole month you can read the online version for free. They sure threw in the towel pretty fast.
A couple weeks ago the Argus called me and told me I could save a whole WHOPPING $2.00 a month if I paid by EZ pay, and I declined. I know people who paid for different things by automatic withdrawal or whatever you want to call it and all of sudden there would be a mistake in the billing and too much was taken out of the person’s checking account, by accident, which screwed up their checking accounts. When I got this phone call I thought “whoopty-do.” lol
Joan – Ironic you bring this up. I had a friend who got charged extra on her CC for a subscription w/o a notice. She protested and cancelled her subscription and is awaiting a refund.
Beck feels threatened.
I don’t think he does at all, he’s too full of himself to feel that way.
I didn’t see Beck’s article, since I didn’t get my paper delivered yesterday. I’m not making this up, it gets missed at least twice a month.
“…he’s too full of himself to feel that way.”
Says the moron that takes a random comment in a newspaper editorial and fashions it to be about himself. I can’t decide if you’re a) that stupid; b) that egotistical; or c) Beck’s description just really hit that close to home for you.
I mean, you probably have to realize it yourself, that you’re a “hysterical” (as in crazy, not funny) “joker” (person not to be taken seriously). Right??
The argus is dying a slow death. I suspect in time we will see a 3 day a week publication. Then one. Then none. Then the so-called NON PROFITS like Sanford and Avera can dump all their advertising dollars into kelo and ksfy.
Well Jimmy, he was either talking about me or Holsen, the ONLY two SF political bloggers.
And if I’m crazy, why are you reading my site and commenting? I don’t go to Nazi websites and I don’t watch FOX News for a reason.
“and Associated Press stories reworded to masquerade as “local†coverage.”
And that comment refers to KELO-TV. I have read Beck’s columns long enough to know his ‘veiled’ messages and warped sense of humor.
The Argus looks and acts like the March of the Dead. They are going over the cliff, doing the same things always done, expecting a different result as the dead pile up at the bottom.
I don’t subscribe to the Argus because it is not a community based newspaper. It is another vehicle used to suck money out of the community without giving anything back.
Take away Beck’s rants and references to his wife, then take away Lalley’s weekly column devoted to riding a bike, or talking about people who ride bikes, or discussing how rude people driving cars are to those who ride bikes, or about how much better he is as a human being since he rides a bike rather than polluting the environment with a car etc, etc… then take away the LTEs that are designed to inflame readership such as those from the same half dozen authors that get printed monthly… and what are you left with? A few ads for Sanford and a city notice legally required to be published?
I’m guessing the actual content of the Argus should be about three pages, but they fluff themselves up and repeat the same stories day after day to the point they can keep the presses turning. Over the past decade they have been part of the news almost as often as they report the news.
I for one have decreased my visits to their website by approximately 95% since they put up their paywall… and I’m one of the people who knows how to get around the paywall. The simply truth is, the news that actually matters comes from a number of different sources. The big events hit all the major news networks (where I can read about it for free), and the things I’m interested in (yet the Argus doesn’t seem to care about) are often posted on blogs like DaCola long before anyone else decides it is important enough to care about.
But the only question I have is why the Argus is free this month. If that is true, then Beck’s comment of “[i]f it’s free, there’s a reason” seems rather self-deprecating.
Also for the record Scott, I very much appreciate you mentioning things that haven’t been fully vetted yet. Perhaps “real” media organizations are afraid of doing so, but many times I think this helps get the real story out there faster because your readership is well connected which gives you the advantage of perhaps collecting some related info you otherwise wouldn’t have known.
Oh and as far as Costco… I knew about that at least several weeks prior to any of the media reporting it. I think Beck needs to invest in some new hats because I’m pretty sure his head has grown out of all the ones in his closet. The Argus is not the only game in town, and their one issue a day news cycle will never be able to keep up with bloggers who can publish at a moments notice. Newsprint is dying for a reason – it simply cannot keep up with modern society.
“then take away Lalley’s weekly column devoted to riding a bike, or talking about people who ride bikes, or discussing how rude people driving cars are to those who ride bikes, or about how much better he is as a human being since he rides a bike rather than polluting the environment with a car etc, etc”
LOL! God Bless Pat for riding bike and being an advocate for bike riders. I have rode my bike for almost 20 years in this town and have learned to be a defensive biker. I stopped bitching about bad and rude drivers years ago, they are not going to change. The irony of Mr. Athlete Lalley is that he hires someone to scoop his driveway . . .
“I think Beck needs to invest in some new hats because I’m pretty sure his head has grown out of all the ones in his closet.”
Reminds me of a convo I overheard the other day at a local coffeeshop. Beck was ‘consulting’ someone on how to contact Pat for a story. I need to start carrying a barf bag with me when I go out in public.
The Argus is stating that a paywall makes for better content, when in fact it doesn’t. The Argus is also providing their “news” with a paywall then double dips when it supplements their content with ads featured on their page.
What the newspapers don’t tell you is that they can thrive in a non-subscription based environment, but they choose not to, because they want to go back to the pre internet days of 30% (or higher) profit margins that they once enjoyed. They’ll stop at nothing to go back to outmoded business models that made sense in 1994.
BB – You are correct. Other news sources have figured out how to make money from their internet advertising so they don’t have to charge online. I do agree with one of Beck’s point, good news should not be free, what he fails to tell you is that only a handful of his reporters write good news, and ironically they don’t have journalism degrees. He also fails to mention that advertisers should provide the payment for this news. You can’t have it both ways.
After months of the the “Where’s Waldo” game every morning to find my paper somewhere in the front yard – I finally dumped them too. Even that is not an easy process, I’m not sure where the call center is that you talk to when you cancel, but its no where around here, and the “2 free weeks” wasn’t worth anymore mystery hunts before work, missing papers, or the wet sloppy mess that remains on rainy days.
Then they intro’d the paywall – that was when I quit hitting the AL for anything at all. Stormland or Dacola for local news. I definately appreciate the insight from City Hall the most am always entertained.
News should be somewhat entertaining? Shouldn’t it? I like being a bit off-kilter and I also tolerate a lot from my commenters, and they tolerate a lot from me.
I do want to say, I am not a genuine news source, I do agree with Beck on that, but I also want to say, if you take offense to something or my commenters say, then you should go back to reading the Argus.
@L3wis.
Randell Beck was doing nothing more than being an internet commenter in this so-called piece of journalism.
Pot meet kettle Mr. Beck.
I find it kind of ironic that I have to go through a paywall to see this man’s implied comments about South DaCola. And his column was just so out of touch with reality… and I’d imagine much of the Argus’s readership, what readership is left.
I guess I’m just not thrilled with the news in general here. I came from a media marketplace where the TV news anchors were pillars of the community, were celebrities in their own right and always had an enthusiastic and genuine look to them, whether you saw them on TV or encountered them somewhere in the community. The same could be said of the newspaper reporters. Here every anchor I see on TV has this glazed-over look of unhappiness, discontent or disbelief. I watched Paige Pearson last night rattle off every death that happened over the weekend. Car accidents, stabbings, drownings, sadly this isn’t a big state so we can’t afford to lose this many people this way! It was not stoic – it had more of the appearance of when captors make POWs read a statement that they are being taken care of and that they now give their allegiance to the captors… while the POW secretly blinks the Morse Code for “T-O-R-T-U-R-E”.
I’m not saying this to talk trash about newspapers. I LOVE NEWSPAPERS! But the Argus Leader needs to do something different. I don’t see much for provocative investigative journalism. If you want to sell newspapers MAKE CONTROVERSY! Unfortunately (I’m sure a lot of you will agree) the news media in this town makes no attempt whatsoever to shake or rattle ANY cages – they are bought and sold by even the littlest advertiser. They don’t do anything to make for anything but a slow news day everyday. But is this because of who has them in their pocket… or possibly that people here simply can’t handle controversy?
All newspapers are running into trouble right now, big and small. They need to find a way to make digital work and keep the lights on. It’s out there and I’m excited for them to find it. The coachmakers of the late 1800’s who accepted the change to internal combustion engines and away from horses made it. Those who didn’t perished.
They just need to return to being the 4th Estate and asking questions. Controversy creates itself.
I absolutely agree. If they start asking big questions like journalists typically do (and like to do) the controversy will follow. The news here doesn’t have anything exciting to report because they don’t seem to even look for it. Give me something shocking to read and expose the con artists that seem to run this town and I will gladly pay to read about it.
You mean riding a bike to is not controversial enough for Sioux Falls? The latest Sanford edifice project? Is there a new Chamber cheering session?
My travels throughout the world has allowed me to read amazing newspapers. Even Sioux City, Yankton, Mitchell and of course the Rapid City Journal in the recent past still have decent local newspapers worth reading.
In years past I would bring news or background information to Argus personnel. One of the first questions they ask is “How old are you?” who the f** cares? I am old enough to care. The next statement is “You have great information for this topic but we need to publish your name in the article.” Reporters are known to research and gather data. Their stock in trade is how they present it so background information does not require published sources. Why do I have to do all your work?
Since Dave Kranz left, there is no one at the Argus I have wished to read with regularity or assist. The current ‘reporters’ are wishy-washy with very poor writing styles. I have been asked to read a few of the current columnists and comment. It is painful.
Argus Leader management, I know you are out there lurking, take a bit of advice and grow a set. If you really want to save the paper, get out there and build a real news brand we want to read.
I started reading the front page of newspapers at six years old for the news. You have worked hard to make the Argus a paper appear to be now written by a six year old. I love newspapers in general but now yours.
Argus Leader management, did you start the paywall so you could die in privacy? Would Sioux Falls notice?
“Argus Leader management, did you start the paywall so you could die in privacy? ” Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Beck’s driven the Argus over the Sioux Falls and down river. First he killed the public market of ideas by muzzling the 2d best free exchange of ideas and commentary by requiring Facebook membership to comment. Give me a break. Second, he put the paper behind a pay-wall — long after that business model failed for much larger newspapers.
Then third, he has the gall to pretend the Argus is doing hard-hitting journalism. Give us a break. Where was the objective criticism of the welfare queens in Pierre, Fort Pierre, and Dakota Dunes for living in and then-rebuilding in the flood plain; where was the criticism of Senator Johnson’s puff-ball “non-questioning” this week in the banking committee hearing – after Johnson took J.P. Morgan’s tens of thousands in campaign donations?
And they never ever ask Thune hard questions. I could do a google search of Thune corruption and come up with oodles of stories about his association with religious groups and being against domestic violence legislation. Never see that in the AL. Even there interview of Noem recently was so boring, I shut it off half way thru. They just allow politicians to spurt whatever. Why?! I am baffled by this?