The Citizen-Times, in its story today about the fact that its shuttering its printing facility and cutting 60 jobs, reveals its own hypocrisy in the way it treats the story. Here’s a quick look:
-The story is played at the bottom of the local news section front. I’ve seen the Citizen-Times give front-page treatment to stories with much less impact. This is a story about a local company shutting down an entire production facility and laying off 60 workers in the midst of a down economy, and it gets bottom-of-the-page, inside section front play. Also, the story is not linked from the front page of the newspaper’s Web site. Most local news stories have some presence on the newspaper’s home page.
-The newspaper has disabled commenting on the story. That’s a rare move for the newspaper, which claims that it wants an open dialogue with readers and Internet users. The Citizen-Times almost never automatically shuts off commenting, even when the people making the comments spew the most vile, hate-filled, racist and homophobic rants. Just look back at the threads on such stories as the Woodfin immigration raid from a few months ago.
But guess what? The comments are wide open (and, as always, moderated, as loyal reader Ali notes) right here at Ashvegas.
19 Comments
Cool, Huh?!
See? Your screen name is the greatest!
Standing down.
‘czech…I didn’t say he WAS sucking up…only that someone like the previous poster may have read it that way. Stand down, friend. I’m on YOUR side!
I am all for gatekeeping in journalism, if the gatekeeper is properly trained (which you are) and sensitive to the issues. A gatekeeper does not function as a censor, but if you’re hawking viagra in the middle of a political discussion, then one can make an arguement that a gatekeeper is essential.
Personally, I miss the days of trained journalists and gatekeepers. Then again, I miss the 70s era Esquire magazine, too.
Hey, Huh?, and Ash! Something going on behind the scenes at WLOS right now that might put this whole Asheville Citizen-Times thing in a bit better perspective. Remember when I referred to the term “Quid Pro Quo” recently? Like a day ago? Well, since then, six full-time employees at the television station received their pink slips. Cutbacks from corporate. Now six laid-off is nothing compared to the blood bath over at the newspaper, but no one will be talking about it on the record. It’s actually pretty simple and it happens more often than you know.
But as an admitted Frank Kracher fan, I do take exception to your remark about Ash and Ashvegas “sucking up” to the former News 13 anchorman. This local, current events website has kept us all posted since Frank’s departure from Asheville, his start as News Director up in Syracuse, his freak accident and brain injury, his long recovery and eventual return to the anchor desk in Upstate New York, then his decision to come back home to WNC and winding up volunteering full-time for the Barack Obama campaign here. Aside from that basic reporting, many Ashvegas participants took it upon themselves to comment, just like you did, Huh?. I love that name of yours, by the way! And keep in mind Frank worked at the TV station for seven-years, which is four more than his replacement Larry Blunt. And he lives in Asheville again. It is a no-brainer if ever I have seen one.
So it’s actually dozens of loyal viewers, former co-workers and others who had long appreciated Frank Kracher for his on-air qualities– along with his well known strength as a newsroom leader, mentor and good person. Those folks are not “sucking up”, nor is Ash. It is what it is. I have said it before, I will say it again. Do the right thing, WLOS. Bring Frank back into the News 13 family and back onto television screens in so many mountain households. Just ask around. You will find the majority of people would like to see Mr. Kracher in their living rooms again.
Oh, and no one has mentioned whats happening to the OTHER publications.
The little papers like Hickory Focus, OUT in Asheville. WNC Woman and the like that have a nice glossy cover. Quality may seriously suffer. I got to hope for the best… and plan for the worst.
Asheville Green Dragon: What’s wrong with him being "in place as gatekeeper?" It’s HIS blog! Let him gatekeep all he wants…Your mean dig got approved, after all.
As far as WLOS, I still see criticism here, but the news right now is the Citizen-Times. not Channel 13. (WLOS, get on the ball and do this story!)
And as for sucking up, kind words for Kracher doesn’t qualify (that’s all I’ve seen that might be considered "sucking up.") because he doesn’t work there and hasn’t for years.
The guy does this blog for free, on his own time, and still gives us more news than the dying daily newspaper. There’s no need for you to be a jerk about it…
The Citizen-Times has always been, and remains today, a very poor newspaper. There is no real local reporting or investigative journalism. The papers sections are weak, weak, weak….just look at the lack of Business news and the pathetic Lifestyles sections!
The only thing it had going for it was its long-time status as the major newspaper in Western NC.
I think we will all adapt just fine even if it disappears entirely. I rarely look at it even on-line.
Thank God for the New York Times!
Moderated comments puts you in place as gate keeper…who knows what comments you do not approve?
I liked you better when you mocked the WLOSers instead of sucking up to them.
About the AC-T. It has been two years since I purchased one of their papers. I get the Mtn X every week. Its free.
I predict:
* The Greenville News will print a Western North Carolina edition to try to retain the remaining subscriptions, circulation, readership and ad revenue. Even more staff will be eliminated in Asheville because the theory will be that the Greenville News folks can pick up the beats, the territories, the routes.
* When that model fails to thrive, the Asheville Citizen-Times will be sold to another newspaper or to a developer who wants the downtown land and the Sardis Road property (someone will buy the press.
* A paper that has had a long, storied history in Western North Carolina, a paper whose family routes still live in Asheville, a paper that had times when it did a damn good job of giving people compelling, relevant, inspiring content — this paper will cease to exist in print.
* The AC-T’s Web site will survive and possibly thrive.
Yes, yet another reason why the C-T sucks…a big surprise there…
jesus.
I read that another 10% percent is to be cut company-wide, affecting most sites, but that could be fear-based and not factual…I feel for all the folks at the paper, even those who drove me nuts (and vice versa). I hate to see the industry suffering like this, because print newspapers are still so important. ( I made sure to get my New York Times when Obama was elected!) It’s just sad all around.
We’ll just have to make bigger donations to charities this year, because we are so blessed to be employed, and healthy and living in such a beautiful place. I wish they could have held off on Sardis until after the holidays…at least for the kids’ sakes.
Letter to employees.
November 20, 2008
TO: Staff
FROM: Randy Hammer
RE: Consolidation of production departments
The Asheville Citizen-Times and The Greenville News are consolidating their production departments.
Asheville will begin printing its newspaper in Greenville in January. The Sardis Road production facility, where the Citizen-Times and its other products are printed, will close.
About 60 full-time and part-time positions in Asheville’s pressroom and mailroom will be eliminated. Employees in the Asheville operation will be offered opportunities to apply for a limited number of openings in Greenville. The pressroom and mailroom in Greenville are adding staff to accommodate the addition of Asheville’s products. Asheville employees who do not go to work in Greenville will receive a severance package.
Shannon Bullard in our Human Resources department will provide each affected employee a packet that includes terms of the severance and related benefits, a self-nomination form for transfer to Greenville, and job descriptions of the Greenville openings.
If you are interested in applying for the Greenville openings, please notify Shannon Bullard in our Human Resources department. Mike Gatherwright, the vice president of operations in Greenville, will visit the Sardis Road facility on Monday to conduct interviews.
Although a consolidation of the Asheville and Greenville production departments has been discussed for a number of years, I realize this is difficult news. Many employees will not be able to commute or move to Greenville. The decision to proceed with the plan has been forced by the difficult economic environment we face. Similar printing arrangements are being made across the country – both in and outside our company – where the geography makes sense.
The decision to print in Greenville is separate from the 10 percent staff reduction that was announced last month. Employees affected by that decision will be notified in early December.
Phil Fernandez, Gayle Smith, Jackie Stenseth, Vicki Harrison, Stacey Wasielewski, Lori Tomlin and Frank Shipman will begin meeting with their staffs immediately to work out the logistical details of printing in Greenville. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to share them with me or your department head.
Or, Deborah, should we say NOT HANDLING it?!?!
Is there any good news these days? This is so very sad and my prayers will be with the folks who are losing their jobs. It’s a tough time to be looking for a job, especially in WNC.
The AC-T was such a great paper when we both worked there and leaving was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. People like Virgil Smith and Bob Gabordi were such class acts. Seems like the paper has gone steadily downhill ever since those two left. And reading Melissa’s comments on another post on this same topic brought back fond memories of spending a Saturday night at the Sardis Road plant — watching everything roll to life around midnight. It really was something to see for a former broadcast gal. There are still so many top quality people in the AC-T newsroom. Let’s hope the worst of these cuts are over. They must be scared to death. And yes Ash — this is definately big local news, but I’m not surprised at the way they handled it.
I prefer moderated comment sites. The C-T’s threads are the gutter of humanity. Guess they decided it’s not fun to be the direct target on this story…Welcome to the world you helped create, Citizen-Times.
This is total bullshit, Ash! No other way to put it. First of all, thanks for pointing this out to those of us less in-the-know. I would have never even seen this story, the way– as you point out– it was buried in today’s edition. On the one-hand, it is amazing the "newspaper of record" for WNC would try to glaze over such a significant business story. But we cannot forget the powers that be over at the Asheville Citizen-Times consider this cost-cutting move to be "their business"– none of ours, that is. Keep in mind the fact that all corporations try to hide their dirty laundry and don’t want to criticized for economic decisions they make.
Newspapers and television/radio station news departments "seek the truth", poke around in everyone else’s bad news, but run-off and hide when the bad news is their own. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong on this, but I’m willing to bet you WLOS won’t touch this significant story. That’s because the next time the television station has some kind of problem, the staff over there would like to see the Citizen-Times stay away from it. Quid pro quo, I think it’s called.
You also mention the whole censorship aspect of this situation, the blocking of public comments both on the Opinion Pages and on-line. To say this move is unconscionable is an understatement. Let us not forget the First Amendment is a two-way street, protecting free speech for everyone, not just the news media.
But I guess in the final analysis, we shouldn’t be too surprised. In all honesty, no newspaper, TV or radio station, magazine, etc. will ever be fair in covering its own crisis. It is the corporate equivalent of human nature. It’s called denial. Hard to face the facts, when it’s you they’re making look bad.
Thank you for always allowing us to speak our minds here on Ashvegas, especially since it looks like that opportunity is threatened in the rest of the mountain media.
Ali, you’re correct — comments are clearly moderated here.
Acctually, the comments are not wide open here. They are moderator approved. Did you mention hypocrisy? Hmmmmm….