Turtle Posted March 14, 2009 Report Posted March 14, 2009 Newspapers country wide in the US are folding fast. :doh: :) One aspect of this that got me typesetting is that city newspapers serve a legal function in printing public notices of all kinds. Is the web the de facto inheritor of this legal public obligation? What now? If not what now, what when? What who? Huh? :Alien: :) ABC News: Extra, Extra: Is It the End for Newspapers?Extra, Extra: Is It the End for Newspapers? Newspapers Teeter on Financial Brink; Rocky Mountain News Prints Final EditionThe 144-year-old, Hearst-owned San Francisco paper has survived fire and earthquakes but may not survive in the current economic climate. It has had to cut a third of its newsroom in the past two years and is desperately seeking a financial savior. "I don't think I'm safe, and I don't think anyone in that newsroom feels that they're safe," said C.W. Nevius, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Even the American Society of Newspaper Editors today announced it has canceled its 2009 convention, a first since World War II, concluding that "the challenges editors face at their newspapers demand their full attention." ... Will The Seattle Post-Intelligencer Fold On Tuesday?SEATTLE, WA (March 9, 2009) – Will Tuesday be the last day that the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer publishes a newspaper? Most of the newsroom employees think that it's likely. "Hearst has said there's no reason to keep publishing the newspaper when it's losing money, and tomorrow would be their first, earliest chance," a Seattle journalist told News Photographer magazine today. Tuesday is the 60-day deadline Hearst had set for a buyer for the paper to step forward, and there is no buyer at this point. When they made the announcement, Hearst said that if there was not buyer within 60 days then the printed paper would cease and the P-I would be published only online. "They're going to do like Scripps did with the Rocky. When it's time, it's time, they'll just shut it down," the journalist said. "They'll just walk away." ... Quote
freeztar Posted March 14, 2009 Report Posted March 14, 2009 There's an article in Time magazine that you might be interested in: How to Save Your Newspaper - TIME Maybe there's hope still! Quote
HydrogenBond Posted March 15, 2009 Report Posted March 15, 2009 Newspapers are declining because of loss of advertising revenue. This might be due to more people using alternate media for information and advertising dollars shifting to reflect the change in demographics. In the old days, there was more journalistic integrity. One depended on the newspaper to give the unbiased truth. Maybe with the rise of alternate media, there was more of a push to compete. Newspapers needed a gimmick. For example, many of the big papers are biased toward the democratic party. What you read is slanted in favor of one point of view. This is more emotional compelling, than unbiased information. Unbiased is more bland, since it stokes bias and then puts out the fire. This emotional slant was the gimmick to compete with the entertainment value of audio and visual media. Maybe the modern thinking is, if entertainment is being provided by the newspapers, one can get more of that by adding other forms of media to the diet. Maybe in the old days, if you trusted the unbiased opinion of a particular journalist, who would do all the research for you, and present the data in a well written way for assimilation, reading his column would actually be a time saver. But if emotional bias is the goal, alternate media provides more angles for that type of entertainment. One can quadruple the entertainment value using a simple random internet search. A simple guideline that could help the newspapers, is to make biased journalism for one political party, considered a campaign contribution. This would be tough love that would require the journalist get back to the basics of providing unbiased information. It would be novel, in this day and age and increase circulation. Instead of a niche, it will expand their demographics. But I also realize, National Enquirer journalism sells, so they would also lose some of that demographics. Quote
Buffy Posted March 15, 2009 Report Posted March 15, 2009 The dirty little secret here is that most papers that are being announced as being "on the verge of bankruptcy" are actually *making* money on an operating basis. The problem is that those profits are down, and unfortunately they were in most cases bought with gigantic amounts of leverage by big conglomerates that were basically looking to fatten their profit margins. Its the debt service on the loans used to buy them at silly top-of-the-market prices that are making them look "unprofitable"... The unions at the SF Chronicle actually agreed to changes in their deal with Hearst last week, so they're still in business for now... Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, :)Buffy Quote
Turtle Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Posted March 16, 2009 There's an article in Time magazine that you might be interested in: How to Save Your Newspaper - TIME Maybe there's hope still! Hope for news maybe, but not newspapers in that piece. ;) If a company doesn't actually print a hard-copy newspaper, then why call them a newspaper company? :hihi:...Under a micropayment system, a newspaper might decide to charge a nickel for an article or a dime for that day's full edition or $2 for a month's worth of Web access. Some surfers would balk, but I suspect most would merrily click through if it were cheap and easy enough. The system could be used for all forms of media: magazines and blogs, games and apps, TV newscasts and amateur videos, porn pictures and policy monographs, the reports of citizen journalists, recipes of great cooks and songs of garage bands. This would not only offer a lifeline to traditional media outlets but also nourish citizen journalists and bloggers. They have vastly enriched our realms of information and ideas, but most can't make much money at it. As a result, they tend to do it for the ego kick or as a civic contribution. A micropayment system would allow regular folks, the types who have to worry about feeding their families, to supplement their income by doing citizen journalism that is of value to their community. ... Harping again on the legal notices government entities under law must publish in newspapers like divorce decrees, property sales, suits, etcetera, how is the web going to properly fill that obligation if no hard-copy printed newspapers circulate? :singer: Quote
freeztar Posted March 17, 2009 Report Posted March 17, 2009 Harping again on the legal notices government entities under law must publish in newspapers like divorce decrees, property sales, suits, etcetera, how is the web going to properly fill that obligation if no hard-copy printed newspapers circulate? :)Paper is so 20th century. :) Everyone in the US has access to the internet. It might not be free, or convenient, or even easy for those unaccustomed, but this will change in time. Public notices could be posted on the internet, saving time, money, and resources. Another option is to remove the public notice responsibility from the newspapers. I've always found that an odd association. Local governments should, imho, provide public access to public notices. This could take the form of a catalog available at the local library, an addition to an already existing community newsletter, or a simple monthly postcard that announces public notices. In any case, it should be funded by the local government as a public service. If governments provided every mailbox with a simple monthly postcard, we might enjoy more civic action from fellow citizens. Not everyone reads the paper... Quote
Turtle Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Posted March 17, 2009 Paper is so 20th century. :D No no. :) Paper is so before the current era. :lol: Everyone in the US has access to the internet. It might not be free, or convenient, or even easy for those unaccustomed, but this will change in time. Public notices could be posted on the internet, saving time, money, and resources. Another option is to remove the public notice responsibility from the newspapers. I've always found that an odd association. Local governments should, imho, provide public access to public notices. This could take the form of a catalog available at the local library, an addition to an already existing community newsletter, or a simple monthly postcard that announces public notices. In any case, it should be funded by the local government as a public service. If governments provided every mailbox with a simple monthly postcard, we might enjoy more civic action from fellow citizens. Not everyone reads the paper... Will try to fit another ball into my juggle, :), and do some research on just what laws apply here. :) I really don't have any favor as to whether papers will or should die, rather wanted to point out that if they die, legislative bodies need to get doing what they get paid to do and change/ammend the laws to reflect the times. ( ) Gotta dot the i's and cross the t's as it were. :) This notice is to serve notice that a pending notice may be forthcoming and/or served, as no notarys notice unecessary negations. :eek: :D Quote
Turtle Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Posted March 17, 2009 Okaly dokaly. Hear Ye, hear Ye: In the matter of laws of legal notice, case #235634-426-234: Mr. Turtle vs. Whomever's Got A. Stick :hyper: Constructive notice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaConstructive notice is a legal fiction used in the law of both common law and civil law systems to signify that a person or entity is legally presumed to have knowledge of something, even if they have no actual knowledge of it....Another common example of constructive notice is found in the law of civil procedure. Where a plaintiff files a lawsuit, but is unable to effect service of process on the defendant because the defendant is in hiding, or their whereabouts are unknown, most states permit the plaintiff to give constructive notice by either posting an announcement of the suit on property known to be owned by the defendant, or by publishing the notice in a local newspaper. Even if the defendant never sees the notice (or, at least, if it can not be proven that the defendant saw it), the court will go forward with the case as though the defendant was fully aware of the proceedings. In such a case, however, the defendant can later challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case, at which time the plaintiff usually has to prove that he tried to effect service of process by other means, and was unable to do so. A "lis pendens" notice is a document filed in the public records which, according to the laws of many states, provides constructive notice of pending litigation which could affect title to the property. ...Various forms of constructive notice have been challenged in the United States Supreme Court as violating due process. While the Court has generally upheld such practices, there have been some exceptions to this, such as in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950), where the court held that notice must be "reasonably calculated" to reach known parties to a proceeding. Boldenation mine there. Freezy asserted:Everyone in the US has access to the internet. It might not be free, or convenient, or even easy for those unaccustomed, but this will change in time. I call for the respondent know as Mr. Freezy, to produce into evidence "reasonable calculation" in support of the above assertion. :eek2: I got onto "constructive notice" from "public notice" and so better cover that Wiki Pidiot article as it pertains, to whit & wherefore & voila: Public notice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPublic notice is a notice given to the public by a government agency or legislative body in a rulemaking or lawmaking proceeding. It is a requirement in most jurisdictions, in order to allow members of the public to make their opinions on proposals known before a rule or law is made. For local government, public notice is often given in a local newspaper by those seeking a liquor license, a rezoning or variance, or other minor approval which must be granted by a city council, county commission, or board of supervisors. This may also be required when seeking a broadcast license from a national broadcasting authority. Public notice can also be given in other ways, such as on a website (which is usually unofficial), or on radio or television. ... That's Lunch. :ud: Quote
freeztar Posted March 17, 2009 Report Posted March 17, 2009 Can you define "reasonable calculation"? Quote
Turtle Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Posted March 17, 2009 Can you define "reasonable calculation"? No. I mean, I think the way it works is you come up with something, anything, and submit it & call it a calculation, and then we rule if it is reasonable or not. I suppose we could try & dig up the transcript of the entire case cited in my quote and see if they define "reasonable calculation" for us. It is the Supreme Court after all & i would like to think they know how to define legal terms. So I think you have overestimated the number of people that have access to the internet. I mean by at least a little 'cause you said "Everyone in the US has access to the internet." Something from the Statistical Abstract perhaps? >> The 2009 Statistical Abstract Race ya! :hyper: I think it is an unreasonable calculation that an internet news/notice is as likely to turn up on the counter at the diner as is a newspaper. :eek2: Quote
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