I had a lot to post about tonight -- from Paris to dumb associates to heavy Cuban accents -- but instead I'm going to tell you how stupid the Sun-Sentinel is. That paper, which has always given the Herald a run for its money, had one of the young star reporters in South Florida: Vanessa Blum. And it fired her today.
Why?
Well, the Sun-Sentinel let Vanessa go today because it has partnered up with the Herald and decided that it could simply buy the Herald federal court coverage for its paper. The Herald will use some Sun-Sentinel coverage of local school board stuff for its paper. And on and on. Rumpole made the point about the dying newspaper business here when he was covering the Herald's firing of Susannah Nesmith:
Here's the point with the BBC stuff- if these trends keep up, local news will soon be gone. No one to report on County Commissioners doubling dipping into their expense accounts; no one to wander the hallways of the courthouse at 2PM and write about all the Judges missing; no one to write about the cops accused of misconduct and no one to write about the injustice of trying defendants over and over until the government gets a conviction.
We can function without Susannah Nesmith. We cannot function without the Susannah Nesmith's of the world. It's a scary thought that the free press is fading away not with an assault against the first amendment, but because the morons who made the business decisions for newspapers didn't see five years ago Craigslist was about to cripple their classified ad income.
President Obama recently referred to a quote from the nation's third president, Thomas Jefferson: "If he had the choice between government with newspapers or newspapers without government, he'd choose the latter." (Rumpole, I just cited to you, Obama, and Jefferson to make a point. What's wrong with that picture?)
Now, this is no knock on Jay Weaver and Curt Anderson, who are also friends of the blog, but they can't cover the entire District by themselves. And of course we have the DBR, which is committed to covering the federal courts. But while they are covering a big case in Miami, who will be tending the store in Lauderdale? What about Palm Beach and Ft. Pierce? And Vanessa broke her share of Miami stories as well -- the latest being the sealing issues in the Mutual Benefits case, which everyone is now looking in to.
I understand budgets and the crisis facing the newspaper industry. But what's the point of having a paper if you are giving up your local coverage? The whole reason people buy the Sun-Sentinel is because of reporters like Vanessa. Without that local coverage, why do we need a Ft. Lauderdale paper?
Vanessa will land on her feet -- she's smart, personable and a great reporter. I wonder where the Sun-Sentinel will land if it keeps this up.
21 comments:
I'll tell you what's wrong with that picture. Jefferson and I have been tested by fire. We have a record to stand on. Obama, with all due respect, was sitting in the back row of the Illinois legislature about 8 years ago, while I was trying death penalty cases. He may well join our august group, but the proof of the pudding is in the tasting.
PS. I never realized Vanessa was such a cutie.
I concur with Rumpole on BOTH comments.
Wow, that really sucks. I know so many local journalists out of a job, now writing blogs and hoping to freelance. The irony is more people are news-hungry than ever before.
Vanessa is a pro and will be sorely missed -- good luck in future endeavors.
Vanessa is an awesome reporter and HOT.
The Sun Sentinel is NOT HOT. I am canceling my subscription today.
Vanessa will likely be writing the new blog that we all flock too when David is in trial. I hear a well monetized blog can produce quite the revenue stream.
To the frustration and discouragement of many Democrats, House and Senate lawmakers and aides say it now appears likely that President Obama will this week sign into law a provision allowing visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons.
See you after church clinging to my gun in a national park.
I declare a Haiku competition!
Me and my AK.
Strolin' through the woods today.
Get out of my way!
For hunters and those of us with concealed carry permits, the rule change will solve a practical problem. I've never set out to take a gun into a national park, but where the mere act of driving through a national park with a gun in the car, or sailing through a national park with a gun onboard, would constitute a violation of federal law, trip-planning can be difficult.
Why is the bill concealed weapons? You, like the rest of the needle **** NRA crowd, really just need to admit that you feel more like a "Man" when your are strappin'. I wrote a poem for you:
You be a Strapin'
To feel like you be Packin'
Some Heat; that the ladies
Will think
is neat.
Why do liberals feel that 26 of the 27 Amendments should be read as broadly as possible to support individual rights, but then choose to read amendment #2 in as narrow a definition as possible?
FYI...I am a pro choice, voted for Obama, doesn't go to church, supports gay marraige, loves Jon Stewart, thinks the Cuban Embargo should be eliminated, member of the ACLU, enemy of the PATRIOT ACT, supports universal health care, voted for John Kerry liberal.
You may be a liberal,
But your Gun still be a thimble
Guns kill people
I believe that along with the 2nd, the 3rd Amendment should be read narrowly.
I believe the 2nd Amendment and Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution should have real meaning. Yuk Yuk.
Vanessa is cute
my gun makes me hot
together she and I can stir the pot.
"Guns kill people" is not a legal arguement. If your position is simply that you disagree with the law, then seek to change it. By the way, drinking kills people, frech fries kill people, Dick Cheney tries to kill people, abortions arguably kill people and heck even electricity kills people. All the same, I don't see liberals scrambling to attack regarding any of these issues (except Cheney).
Vanessa is a good reporter. The local papers are dying, as they should. They are not worth reading, especially on sophisticated topics like the federal courts. The reporters are pretty dumb (Vanessa excluded), biased, lazy, and poorly edited to boot. Stick to the NYT and WSJ if you want to read anything worthwhile. Vanessa should start a blog and take out the dumb bloggers as well
Vanessa Blum is a smart, talented and gifted reporter and writer whose talents will be missed. She will go on to accomplish other great things in life and never look back on the mistake made by the Sun Sentinel.
Big mistake of the Sun-Sentinel.
Vanessa is much too talented and professional for what the Sun-Sentinel is journeying to become -- a mediocre rag.
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