Comments on: Jilted by the New York Times

By: Susan Swartz

Susan Swartz — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:42:25 +0000

Oh Dorn, this is such a sad report. But so well said, like the journalist you are.

By: Bob Dorn

Bob Dorn — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:46:56 +0000

It’s possible to live well and intelligently without a real newspaper, like it’s possible to live without mom and dad, or one or two of those wise friends you had, or without having read one or two of those best books in your life. It’s possible because most of Merka’s been doing it for decades, though not necessarily well and intelligently (“Oooh, look. I gotta read this new story on Mitt Romney/Kardashian/Illegal Alien Invasion!!!”).
Down here in San Diego (3.3 million people) we have a franchise that went from a family that never saw a war it didn’t love to a financial flipper called, swear to gods, Platinum Holding, to the world’s biggest hypocrite, Doug Manchester (Sheraton Hotels, and malls) who bankrolled the attack on California’s gay marriage proposition at the same time he was supporting GOProud, the national gay Republcans in D.C. Our new owner monikered it with a new line just below the masthead (“America’s Finest City/The World’s Greatest Country”) and now says he’s going to dedicate the newly renamed UT San Diego (for the old Union-Tribune), to a campaign for a billion-dollar tax subsidy to build a new stadium so that the dead-last Chargers won’t leave town.
Will all of us down here get stoopid?
Nope, uh, uh. We just won’t read the newspaper any more. Damnit.

By: sophie jensen

sophie jensen — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:18:27 +0000

When the Times arrived at the Press Democrat, it was exhilarating–we became part of American journalism’s royal family, even if just second cousins, once removed. And I think we all did our best to live up to that. When I retired in 1990 I lived in a Pacific beach town in Mexico. An old-timer there, unofficial greeter of visiting sailboats, even less official local represenative of the US embassy, had a habit of making everyone he knew the best, the top person in whatever field they had once been in. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when he introduced me as “the former editor of the New York Times.” From former editor of the lifestyle section on a Times regional paper to that was the loftiest border promotion I’d ever heard.
Good luck to all our former colleagues and young replacements. May Halifax be kind to them.

By: Penny Hastings

Penny Hastings — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:46:40 +0000

Nothing like the NY Times giving employees at the Press Democrat a lump of coal and “don’t let the door bang you in the butt on your way out” note of cheer right before Christmas. Oh, I know, it was a blogger who let the cat out of the Christmas stocking, but really…the whole thing stinks. I’m worried about whether the ole PD will still be the outstanding paper it has been, even with diminished resources and staff layoffs they’ve already sustained…but mainly, I’m worried about my friends, the super-hard, dedicated reporters, editorial assistants (oh, I forgot, they’re long gone), advertising folks and all who get the paper out every day. Congrats and best wishes to all of you.