Many have asked me why I didn’t share some words about Beck’s departure. Well I have been meaning to. One reader was going to send me some ‘positives’ about his tenure, then I was going to counter.
Maybe they changed their mind.
While I do have a few positives things to say about Mr. Beck, let’s start with his AL career.
Since he has been publisher, subscriptions have plummeted. This isn’t entirely his fault, you can blame everyone from the internet to a bad sales manager to carriers that are robbing subscribers while they are on vacation. But he is in charge of the general news of the newspaper, and content has been anything but newsworthy, unless you ride a bicycle.
He also refused to accept the modern age, I think he called bloggers Nazi’s or KKK members, or something like that. I am neither, but don’t take offense. I have never looked good in uniforms or Halloween costumes.
I think where Beck lost his ‘edge’ (that I will get to in a moment) is when he wrote a hilarious parody about Dan Scott, and big bad Billy Bob Janks was gonna sue him, instead of letting this go to trial (which I am sure was advised by attorneys) Gannett settled out of court (would love to see that amount).
Beck also became cozy with local politicians, healthcare institutions and other entities that real journalists try to shy away from. He has been known to pull reporters from certain beats because cry-baby-arrogant politicians complained.
On a positive note, I always thought Beck was funny, a fine parody writer, who saw things as a cynic, I believe all those things changed when Dan Scott and Janks decided to sue a publisher over humor, well protected by the 1st Amendment. Beck also made amends with Janks before he died (how touching). Personally I would have asked for the settlement money back.
I have never met Beck, nor do I want to, I have heard enough stories about him that it doesn’t appeal to me in the least to ever be in his presence.
Not sure why Beck left, we may never know, but when you announce your retirement and a week later you are gone, that usually doesn’t mean ‘voluntary’. Maybe ‘Semi-voluntary’.
I wish him the best, the media industry is not kind, and it is probably a relief to him to get out of Gannett before the entire ship sinks.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmbw8OycJrE[/youtube]
Beck became cozy with local politicians, healthcare institutions and other entities that real journalists try to shy away from.
That about sums it up.
Let’s hope they bring in someone from the outside who has no local connections as their next publisher.
Doesn’t matter, they will bring in some company hack that will continue the ass-kiss.
I can’t even remember who Dan Scott is.
How are we going to get breaking news on the spill canvas now?
Breaking News: Patrick Lalley promoted to President and Publisher of The Argus Leader. The newspaper is being renamed to “Bicyclist Aficionado Daily” (which will be commonly referred to by the acronym ‘BAD’).
Taking a queue from Gannet’s more popular nationwide newspaper USA Today, BAD (Sponsored by the Sanford Health Institute of Tomorrow or SHIT) will feature a full color page of regional weather as well as two full pages of interesting tidbits from 65 of the 66 counties in South Dakota. Editor’s Note: Jones County isn’t participating because BAD was unable to find anyone in the county who could actually write.
BAD will also include no fewer than nine full page color adds dedicated to SHIT and everything that SHIT can do for the region. For those who don’t have as great of an interest in biking, there will be weekly columns related to swimming, kayaking, and running. In fact, Mr. Lalley himself will write a weekly column entitled SHIT Runs, where he will not only discuss the athletic components of running and runners, but you can expect interesting feature articles on training and targeted nutrition focused on the runner. Look for the SHIT sponsorded article “All about Corn” in an upcoming issue.
We know change is difficult, but with these changes in place we fully expect to keep pumping out much more BAD SHIT from 200 S Minnesota Ave for many, many years to come.
P.S. – In addition to 100% soy-based inks, BAD SHIT will be converting to a corn-based paper over the next year. This not only makes our paper 100% biodegradable, but BAD SHIT will actually be fit for human consumption and will include 600% of your daily fiber needs in each issue.
*Note: The preceding was intended to be a parody of a parody of someone’s sarcasm. Any relation to events past or present is entirely implausible… but also purely coincidental.
For a fleeting moment about a year ago I considered a digital-only subscription to Biker’s Daily, but then someone told me I could turn on the private browsing function on my browser and read for free.
And here I thought that was just for hiding porn sites from the SO…
I have no desire to read an entire paper online, it is too hard for my old eyes even with tri-focals, that are less than six months old. The current Argus delivery person for my part of town has a tendency to forget to deliver the paper, about once or twice a month. When I call and complain, do you want us to add it in with the next day’s paper or do you want credit? The last time that happened I told them I didn’t want either, it doesn’t do any good to get the paper a day late, and the last time I got credit from them I only got half of what I was supposed to. They should have somebody on had to deliver a missed paper. There are three of us seniors in this building that get the paper, and all three of us call and complain on the same day when we don’t get the papers.