More news and notes for this week's offering.
An article last week in the SFGate reported last week that US newspaper circulation is down.
This news is no surprise to me but while articles like this seem always
to point the finger at the usual suspects, this one brought up the
Great Recession as a factor. I'm sure that there have been others
articles to connect the dots to the recession as a factor, but this is
the first that I have seen.
I thought I'd depress myself by Googling newspaper layoffs in 2010 and found out that nearly 2,500 writers have received
a pink slip or a buyout. Every reason that was stated in the SFGate
article are the same reasons journalists are in the unemployment line. I
wish universities would suspend journalism programs for the next five
to ten years so that the market isn't flooded with writers willing to
work for less than $20,000 a year.
Americans don't trust the media according to this Gallop Poll. Roughly 75 percent
of those polled don't have confidence in newspapers and television
news. Why is this relevant to this blog? If you don't trust the media,
why would you buy a newspaper or an online subscription.
I might just be throwing that against the wall to see if it sticks (and
some readers may consider it a big stretch), but it made me think and
it might be food for thought for media outlets to chew on.
OK, this article just knocked me out of my chair.
while grasping at straws during my research this week, I Goggled,
paying for blogs and I came up with this insane story. Apparently, if "you use Google AdSense or other ad services on your personal blog or website" as this article explains,
the city of Philadelphia (where I currently reside -- not by choice)
wants a piece of the action if you are make money. $50 a year or $300
for a lifetime tax to be exact -- so will my three followers please put
their check books away. The city is calling it a business
privilege license. I'm actually going to sensor myself for what I want
to call it. It is almost something you would see in the Godfather. Two
hoods that work for the city show up at your house and make an offer you
can't refuse. If you don't pay up, they start by pulling out letters
and the keyboard. Eventually, your computer gets rubbed out. Make sure
you read the comments after the article -- although I have not enjoyed
my stay in Philly, I do love the all too common cynics that reside in
the City of Brotherly Love.
With the decline of print newspapers and magazines, it only makes sense that news stands are shuttering across the U.S. This article offers six reasons for the decline, while this posting reports how Philadelphia's news stands
are staying in business -- that info is in the fifth paragraph of the
post, which follows a report about a disturbing incident involving some
moron tossing acid on a news stand worker as she was setting up her
stand. Like I mentioned before, City of Brotherly Love (can't wait for
all the hate mail I'm going to get if my comments are found online).
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