Once upon a time, there were two Daily Mails, one in London and one in Charleston, West Virginia, where I toiled for 30 years. There may be other Daily Mails but these are the two I am writing about. The one in London is a rascal that is so conservative that when Lord Kitchener, Britain’s war secretary died during the Great War,
Most "local" newspapers killed themselves and then blamed the Web. They simply stopped doing their proper job and started punching their customers in the face. That's a good way to gain Share Value when the venture capitalists are rich, but it's not a sustainable business.
The British DailyMail punches up, not down. If I want to know what's really happening right here, I usually read it in the DailyMail before I read it in "local" media.
The Daily Mail Online does a much better job of covering U.S. politics than American reporters. They don't shy away from covering the obvious and more.
Darned interesting, Don. As you know I've been following you since the first days of the blog before you retired. We sometimes may disagree, but I've never caught you reporting something that isn't true. Keep on truckin', my friend.
It strikes me that if the gubmint applied antitrust laws to the Daily Mail situation, it sure as hell ought to be doing the same with Facebook and Google.
The story of the Gazette vs. the Daily Mail reads to me as a microcosm of what we are witnessing today on steroids: the relentless pursuit for an ideology over common sense and just plain and simple reality.
While the Gazette owners were most likely motivated by greed, perhaps even jealousy, in part, to me it seems their leftist bent was at the root of their relentless battle. They were on a mission to silence the opposition!
What’s also interesting is how that decades long battle casts in sharp relief what eventually happens to all Leftist ideology. No matter how much their own idiocy and incompetence smacks them in the face, they just keep on coming, until they’ve torn it all down. They’re only capable of creating ruins out of whatever they touch.
All sounds very familiar, Don. I've seen a version of it in Canada regarding media, but didn't personally experience that. Like I keep saying, all the institutions are against the people who support them. I find that so shocking and such a betrayal, and I wonder how we got here. I guess it's the education system. One of my best friends worked for what was a major Thomson paper in Canada for 25 years. I worked for the better-off newspaper chain, Southam, some independents and then the wire service, Canadian Press. (We started out at the same small city newspaper together and have remained friends during our various media and post-media careers.) Great reporter. Old school. She took a buyout after numerous salary rollbacks and her pension in jeopardy at the once mighty Thomson, now owned by a hedge fund, I think. We still laugh about the Thomson days of her having to prove that her notebook was full and show her pencil stub before she could get replacements. Former newspaper chain owner Ken Thomson was a notorious skinflint, but he was not a lefty. He just destroyed the papers financially, which I hated but he kept his politics out of it as far as I can remember. I remember in 2008 having to cover the annual meeting of the Canadian Newspaper Publishers Association, which was still grappling with the effects of the Internet. It was sad and pathetic because they were men and women from another time who could not adapt to what was happening. Thanks for the memories. It was a quite
Interesting. They killed themselves by killing the coal industry. I often wonder who is going to buy all these products the woke businesses are selling if they drive us all into poverty.
Did you know there are at least two sides to every political story? Readers of the New York Times do not. They have no reason to believe there are. By giving coverage people would not get otherwise, the London paper is now No. 13 among News & Media Publishers — in the United States — online.
It parallels the decline of America. Offshore is a giant, growing larger every day from financialization of the core of America. And inside we are having petty fights that divide, weaken and eventually destroy all that made America powerful and great.
I just bought $2,000 of industrial bearings last week. I always bought "made in USA" because the cost of removing and replacing the bearings is always more than the cost of the bearings themselves. Now, after 30 years of buying these bearings I notice they no longer say "made in USA". In fact, they don't say where they are made. This is always, with 100% certainty, the sign that they are "made in China". Industrial Suppliers know that "made in China" is a bad thing to have on the package, so they don't mark them. So under U.S. law a large crate of, say, 100 bearing comes into the country. You mark the crate "made in China" but none of the packages inside are marked "made in China". Voila !
America is now West Virginia coal country, with 2 coastal strips of land blissfully living off Financialization, skimming and churning, while the host is dying.
Dean Singleton is quite the villain himself. under his aegis the Denver Post whitewashed the 1992 election night riots, despite the rioters having damaged the Denver Post's own building.
I think someone enjoyed writing this.
Fascinating fable!
Most "local" newspapers killed themselves and then blamed the Web. They simply stopped doing their proper job and started punching their customers in the face. That's a good way to gain Share Value when the venture capitalists are rich, but it's not a sustainable business.
The British DailyMail punches up, not down. If I want to know what's really happening right here, I usually read it in the DailyMail before I read it in "local" media.
The Daily Mail Online does a much better job of covering U.S. politics than American reporters. They don't shy away from covering the obvious and more.
Darned interesting, Don. As you know I've been following you since the first days of the blog before you retired. We sometimes may disagree, but I've never caught you reporting something that isn't true. Keep on truckin', my friend.
It strikes me that if the gubmint applied antitrust laws to the Daily Mail situation, it sure as hell ought to be doing the same with Facebook and Google.
The story of the Gazette vs. the Daily Mail reads to me as a microcosm of what we are witnessing today on steroids: the relentless pursuit for an ideology over common sense and just plain and simple reality.
While the Gazette owners were most likely motivated by greed, perhaps even jealousy, in part, to me it seems their leftist bent was at the root of their relentless battle. They were on a mission to silence the opposition!
What’s also interesting is how that decades long battle casts in sharp relief what eventually happens to all Leftist ideology. No matter how much their own idiocy and incompetence smacks them in the face, they just keep on coming, until they’ve torn it all down. They’re only capable of creating ruins out of whatever they touch.
All sounds very familiar, Don. I've seen a version of it in Canada regarding media, but didn't personally experience that. Like I keep saying, all the institutions are against the people who support them. I find that so shocking and such a betrayal, and I wonder how we got here. I guess it's the education system. One of my best friends worked for what was a major Thomson paper in Canada for 25 years. I worked for the better-off newspaper chain, Southam, some independents and then the wire service, Canadian Press. (We started out at the same small city newspaper together and have remained friends during our various media and post-media careers.) Great reporter. Old school. She took a buyout after numerous salary rollbacks and her pension in jeopardy at the once mighty Thomson, now owned by a hedge fund, I think. We still laugh about the Thomson days of her having to prove that her notebook was full and show her pencil stub before she could get replacements. Former newspaper chain owner Ken Thomson was a notorious skinflint, but he was not a lefty. He just destroyed the papers financially, which I hated but he kept his politics out of it as far as I can remember. I remember in 2008 having to cover the annual meeting of the Canadian Newspaper Publishers Association, which was still grappling with the effects of the Internet. It was sad and pathetic because they were men and women from another time who could not adapt to what was happening. Thanks for the memories. It was a quite
a ride.
Greed is the second of the seven deadly sins, behind only pride.
The Chilton’sngot what they deserved. Their employees did not.
Glad you had the safety net of your blog. I discovered it during the Daily Mail days with the Good vs. Evil posts.
The Chiltons have plenty of fellow travelers in like minded newspapers, especially in today’s America. Great story of a self-inflicted demise.
Interesting. They killed themselves by killing the coal industry. I often wonder who is going to buy all these products the woke businesses are selling if they drive us all into poverty.
Great commentary about the NYT (and WaPo too):
Did you know there are at least two sides to every political story? Readers of the New York Times do not. They have no reason to believe there are. By giving coverage people would not get otherwise, the London paper is now No. 13 among News & Media Publishers — in the United States — online.
Don, great, interesting story.
It parallels the decline of America. Offshore is a giant, growing larger every day from financialization of the core of America. And inside we are having petty fights that divide, weaken and eventually destroy all that made America powerful and great.
I just bought $2,000 of industrial bearings last week. I always bought "made in USA" because the cost of removing and replacing the bearings is always more than the cost of the bearings themselves. Now, after 30 years of buying these bearings I notice they no longer say "made in USA". In fact, they don't say where they are made. This is always, with 100% certainty, the sign that they are "made in China". Industrial Suppliers know that "made in China" is a bad thing to have on the package, so they don't mark them. So under U.S. law a large crate of, say, 100 bearing comes into the country. You mark the crate "made in China" but none of the packages inside are marked "made in China". Voila !
America is now West Virginia coal country, with 2 coastal strips of land blissfully living off Financialization, skimming and churning, while the host is dying.
Some of us were and around back then and can remember some of this history.
Thanks Don.
For years now I’ve wondered why American stories are carried better in a certain British newspaper.
Now I understand.
Dean Singleton is quite the villain himself. under his aegis the Denver Post whitewashed the 1992 election night riots, despite the rioters having damaged the Denver Post's own building.
If Pete Buttigieg ran the Gazette back then you would have had your 2 years severance.
The true story of the Toilet Paper . Thanks Don .