Friday, February 27, 2009

Today's financial tip: Avoid newspaper stocks

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"Hey Mike, miss you in the State Journal-Register," wrote Springfield-area reader Gary DeCourcy in an e-mail I just received. "What's goin' on?"

I've been getting about five letters like this every week, Most (but not all) have come from long-time loyal Central Illinois readers, who at first thought I was taking an extended vacation but gradually started realizing something was amiss.

I explained to Gary what I've been explaining to everybody: GateHouse Media, the cash-strapped company that owns the SJR and nearly 100 other newspapers, eliminated the Chicago sports columnist position and made me an official government statistic.

Unfortunately, GateHouse never let me write a farewell column. Also, the Springfield and Peoria papers, two of the largest to publish my stuff these last 11 years, were instructed by the corporate suits to reject a letter-to-the-editor I had hoped to write; I had planned to thank the readers. Heck, those newspapers weren't even allowed to print a paragraph explaining to readers where I went.

Shhh. Maybe if they could pretend I wasn't canned, nobody would notice.

Readers aren't stupid, though. And those who hadn't heard through the grapevine and who aren't regular The Baldest Truth readers started writing to ask me what I'd been doing.

Well, one of the things I had been doing was trying to self-syndicate my column. Based partly on the overwhelming support I have received from readers, I thought that if I could get enough newspapers to agree to pay a bargain-basement rate for my work, I'd do a couple of columns a week and syndicate them to papers around the state.

Because there is so little money available in newspaper budgets nowadays, however, that effort appears to have hit a dead end.

Truly, a sign of the times.

Just as Obi-wan Kenobe felt "a great disturbance in the Force" when the Death Star blew Alderaan to smithereens, I felt a great disturbance in my industry Friday, when Denver's esteemed Rocky Mountain News printed its final edition. 

I fear that scenario will be repeated over and over again in 2009 - and beyond. And, frankly, I'm a little worried about what it will mean for our country. Even with newspapers policing them, our politicians run amok. What will happen when most of our papers are blown to smithereens?

But hey, I don't want this edition of TBT to end on such a morbid note, so ...

I've decided to concentrate on helping those who are less fortunate, especially those who are having difficulty making ends meet in these troubling times.

That's right, I'm talking about Manny Ramirez.

Come on, Dodgers, cough up the dough. I mean, how is a man supposed to keep his braids looking good with deferred money?

4 comments:

  1. that is funny...i mean the last part...can you advertise?

    oh i believe the industry will bounce back once we get the corporate stranglehold off local papers. we need a regulation that says anyone person can only own ONE newspaper. this would keep the psychotic money grubbing corporations out of it... multimedia conglomerates out of it... the copleys were just fine with the profit they made and their place in the community. gatehouse just offered them more money than they could refuse....like all else deregulation and the failure to regulate the internet is causing the problems while the rich giggle and laugh like the high school freshman that they are....oh sorry this is a sports blog....

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  2. We all miss you, Mike. We take solace in at least having TBT to lean on. I want you to know I'm doing my part to attract readers, as I linked to TBT in my blog today (http://waittilthisyear.blogspot.com/).

    Your Tiger Woods statistic was just too good not to borrow, but I of course credited you with it. Keep up the good blogging!

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  3. heh i could to that too..do you have a facebook page yet? so could all of your fans...come on help the bald guy out...

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  4. I posted this on as a bulletin on my myspace.com/dougnicodemus page:

    Mike Nadel was terminated by GateHouse News one of the wrecking balls that is tearing apart the newspaper business. He is one of the funniest guys in the business today. I and He would appreciate it if you visited his blog and showed your support. He is at: http://thebaldesttruth.blogspot.com ....thanks

    i know i know i used proper printed english and thus it sounds fawning but heh...promotion always does...

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