tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post2793206550696395719..comments2024-03-29T00:30:47.101-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Axe Falls at The Morning Call: 35-40 Newsroom Jobs Cut, Bureaus ClosingBernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-29705648469034577082008-07-23T18:17:00.000-04:002008-07-23T18:17:00.000-04:00" ... they need their jobs, Bill."Yes. I..." ... they need their jobs, Bill."<BR/><BR/>Yes. I know. I have friends at The Morning Call (I won't identify them; enough jeopardy flying around them already; no point in waving a FRIEND OF BV red flag at their bosses) so I realize the whole barrel isn't rotten. There are some good people there. And some good reporters, too. I keep canceling my subscription and then re-ordering it. I like the tactile-ness of a newspaper and a coffee cup. I just hope whoever is doing the firings this weekend fires the right wormy rotten apples. I want a meeting with the New & Improved Morning Call Editorial Board and I'd rather not have to make 139 polite requests again.Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-11748403154268881962008-07-23T17:18:00.000-04:002008-07-23T17:18:00.000-04:00Bill Villa,When I put Bill White's two statements ...Bill Villa,<BR/><BR/>When I put Bill White's two statements together, it was not my intention to question his integrity. If Bill White was not blocking you and your comments were being blocked, it necessarily follows that <EM>someone else</EM> is blocking your comments.<BR/><BR/>I suspect those orders come from the managing editor or editor. Glenn Kranzley would have no jurisdiction over Bill White's blog. <BR/><BR/>This weekend, when the phone rings at the homes of various good reporters, the calls will be coming from the people who are responsible for the paper's sad state of affairs. <BR/><BR/>I spoke to some good reporters today. They do not even know if there is a target on their backs or not. <BR/><BR/>True, some of these reporters won't answer you. But they need their jobs, Bill.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-19556827441251907022008-07-23T15:50:00.000-04:002008-07-23T15:50:00.000-04:00"I don't doubt their integritry" Bernie, I thought..."I don't doubt their integritry" <BR/><BR/>Bernie, I thought I was picking up some integrity doubting (just a little maybe?) of Bill White on 6/25/08 at LV Ramblings ;) no? <BR/><BR/>"Until recently, columnist Bill White has denied Villa's comments are deleted. "I have never deleted any comment by Bill Villa. If he tried to post a comment and it didn't go through, it's because of the same occasional glitch that has blocked me from posting comments on my own blog on several occasions, always from home." Yet just last week, Villa was again blocked from commenting on a Bill White blog. This time, there was a different explanation. "Mr. Villa is engaged in a dispute with our editors, and I'm not going to inject myself into it or make this a forum to debate it." So the local paper apparently is blocking comments from the father of a drunk driving victim while enabling the Aryan Nation. I have one question - are these people out of their frickin' minds?" -BernieBill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-80835255417015829992008-07-23T14:41:00.000-04:002008-07-23T14:41:00.000-04:00"David Erdman"I dunno, Bern ... awful big job for ..."David Erdman"<BR/><BR/>I dunno, Bern ... awful big job for one guy and he hasn't been there all that long. Plus, who's this effective, solo. But anyways, here's hoping he gets a pink slip FedEx this weekend ...Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-55622441256534388532008-07-23T14:22:00.000-04:002008-07-23T14:22:00.000-04:00Bill, I don't share your opinion re Micek, White, ...Bill, I don't share your opinion re Micek, White, Carpenter or kranzley. I don't doubt their integritry nor do I consider them aloof or unresposnsive, at least nopt by my own experience. <BR/><BR/><BR/>The person I consider most responsible - the bad guy - is David Erdman. I am prepared to be corrected about that, bbut all indication is that he is the one responsible for the atmosphere we all notice.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-57505930953008149632008-07-23T14:15:00.000-04:002008-07-23T14:15:00.000-04:00"I don't think the paper is dying bc off ..."I don't think the paper is dying bc off its editorial positions. I think it's dying because it has become aloof and arrogant."<BR/><BR/>Bernie, if MC rank & filers like Bill White & John Micek & Paul Carpenter are free from blame ... and #3 on the Masthead Glenn G. Kranzley is a peach too ... who exactly are the "aloof and arrogant" parties at the MC you refer to as killing the newspaper?<BR/><BR/>I've experienced a deeply ingrained corporate culture of aloofness and arrogance at The Morning Call ... one that certainly all 4 of the above-mentioned men embrace outwardly gleefully and that a high percentage of MC employees also cloak themselves in like a spoiled brat heir. <BR/><BR/>How do you see it? Who are the guilty parties at The Morning Call who are killing our hometown newspaper ...Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-24816921302265493282008-07-23T00:44:00.000-04:002008-07-23T00:44:00.000-04:00So I'm personable, too? Thank you.So I'm personable, too? Thank you.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-58670548061834266762008-07-23T00:22:00.000-04:002008-07-23T00:22:00.000-04:00What makes you think your different from Scott?I w...What makes you think your different from Scott?<BR/><BR/>I would consider both of you matching bookends?<BR/><BR/>Bernie O'Hare said... 9:28 PM<BR/><BR/> Hey Scott, you may be a Republican troll, but at least you're personable. That's a step up. I want to be just like you,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-75049889746614321672008-07-22T22:53:00.000-04:002008-07-22T22:53:00.000-04:00"Glenn is not on top."(!) Bernie .. Glenn G. Kranz..."Glenn is not on top."<BR/><BR/>(!) Bernie .. Glenn G. Kranzley is #3 on the Morning Call Masthead. Only Ardith Hilliard and Tim Kennedy are above him. And they're both out of towners. Kranzley's been a Morning Caller for 30+ years. <BR/><BR/>It is Glenn G. Kranzley who speaks for (and ignores for) The Morning Call Editorial Board. <BR/><BR/>It is Glenn G. Kranzley who is the newspaper's agenda framer and opinions gatekeeper. <BR/><BR/>It is Glenn G. Kranzley who decides which letters to the editor get printed and which ones ... do not. <BR/><BR/>It is Glenn G. Kranzley who over edits every letter so it reads like it was submitted by Glenn G. Kranzley. <BR/><BR/>It is Glenn G. Kranzley who embodies the worst qualities of The Morning Call: its arrogance, aloofness, ignorance, and infallibility. <BR/><BR/>Sam Zell, this weekend, make the best and most immediate improvement to The Morning Call you could possibly make: <BR/><BR/>fire Glenn G. Kranzley first.Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-61361607501736701732008-07-22T21:33:00.000-04:002008-07-22T21:33:00.000-04:00Hey Scott, you may be a Republican troll, but at l...Hey Scott, you may be a Republican troll, but at least you're personable. That's a step up. I want to be just like you, but I do like Kranzley. I don't think the paper is dying bc off its editorial positions. I think it's dying because it has become aloof and arrogant. Few of the staff are that way, but the people on top call the shots. Glenn is not on top.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-73660771024119070742008-07-22T21:28:00.000-04:002008-07-22T21:28:00.000-04:00Scott wile your personable, your more like a Repub...Scott wile your personable, your more like a Republican troll. <BR/><BR/>All roads lead to neo cons with you.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous said... 9:20 PM<BR/><BR/>Scott Armstrong<BR/>community activistsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-24067148204748813692008-07-22T21:20:00.000-04:002008-07-22T21:20:00.000-04:00Getting rid of Glenn Kranzley would be a step in t...Getting rid of Glenn Kranzley would be a step in the right direction. Through his actions Glenn has antagonized many community activists here in the city; our sin was to criticize the powers that be in Allentown. He has used his position as editorial page editor to be a cheer leader for the last two Democrat Administrations.<BR/> If you doubt me do the research, check out the “Call’s” editorials these past seven years. It is an appalling record.<BR/><BR/> Scott ArmstrongAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-23062695391693406562008-07-22T19:22:00.000-04:002008-07-22T19:22:00.000-04:00"What I have found out about Jim Martin and The Mo..."What I have found out about Jim Martin and The Morning Call will soon be in the hands of a state-sponsored lawyer review and disciplinary action board."<BR/><BR/>Excellent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-46993208416784027402008-07-22T18:11:00.000-04:002008-07-22T18:11:00.000-04:00Anon 5:11pm, thank you for your suggestions and yo...Anon 5:11pm, <BR/><BR/>thank you for your suggestions and you've hit one squarely: The Morning Call is definitely using "personal/vendetta" as their excuse for not meeting with me. They have told local elected officials who have offered to mediate my meeting with them exactly this. <BR/><BR/>I don't deny having a personal vendetta against DA Jim Martin. If Martin didn't even try to conceal his sympathy for the homicidal drunk driver who killed your only daughter, you might have one too. <BR/><BR/>But here's the thing: why would having a personal vendetta rule out the possibility that I also have excellent evidence against DA Martin? It was the personal vendetta that gave me the endurance and the persistence to hang in there against long odds and piece things together via interviews and investigation. It's been a great asset, my personal vendetta. <BR/><BR/>What I have found out about Jim Martin and The Morning Call will soon be in the hands of a state-sponsored lawyer review and disciplinary action board. <BR/><BR/>I couldn't care less that you don't care.Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-78041140856944523662008-07-22T17:11:00.000-04:002008-07-22T17:11:00.000-04:00TO: Bill Villa said... 3:37 PMRight or wrong it is...TO: Bill Villa said... 3:37 PM<BR/><BR/>Right or wrong it is their ink barrel. Personally I think any and all censorship is undemocratic. <BR/><BR/>Martin and Morganelli are both authoritarian thugs who would not survive in a truly democratic country. So I don't doubt their having inordinate support among big political players in the community like publishers.<BR/><BR/>It sounds like you have let this get personal which gives the paper the excuse to claim vendetta on your part and ignore you. I don't know who is right and don't really care. It is not the topic of this forum.<BR/><BR/>If you have claims on the paper that are not slanderous you can always buy an ad space and air your argument in the Morning Call or the Express. That is how it is done when the media is not giving up space to the causes of people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-78611192503069710132008-07-22T16:31:00.000-04:002008-07-22T16:31:00.000-04:00I am SO glad to be an internet blogger at this poi...I am SO glad to be an internet blogger at this point. It seems WE have readership than the Morning Call. Go figure...<BR/><BR/>AlfonsoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-83152487409175309492008-07-22T16:06:00.000-04:002008-07-22T16:06:00.000-04:00I sure wish the ax would fall on this clown's blog...I sure wish the ax would fall on this clown's blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-58884260315089442062008-07-22T15:37:00.000-04:002008-07-22T15:37:00.000-04:00"If you don't like their opinions that is..."If you don't like their opinions that is your problem. Debate them. Refute them." <BR/><BR/>Anon 2:42pm, <BR/><BR/>I'm speaking on behalf of everyone who The Morning Call treats like crap when I say: It's pretty hard to debate them or refute them when they ... <BR/><BR/>* Don't acknowledge your phone calls <BR/>* Don't acknowledge your e-mails<BR/>* Delete & Block your comments from MC blogs <BR/>* Delete your comments from TMC Forum <BR/>* Ignore your relevant Letters to The Editor <BR/>* Refuse 138 polite requests for a meeting <BR/>* Ban you from entering their building <BR/>* Don't have any reaction when DA Jim Martin bellows at you, "I'll come after you! I'll come after you in the media!Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-20494284262863193772008-07-22T15:14:00.000-04:002008-07-22T15:14:00.000-04:00... except for the Bill White part. Worth repeatin...... except for the Bill White part. Worth repeating, from LV Ramblings 6/25/08 ...<BR/><BR/>"Until recently, columnist Bill White has denied Villa's comments are deleted. "I have never deleted any comment by Bill Villa. If he tried to post a comment and it didn't go through, it's because of the same occasional glitch that has blocked me from posting comments on my own blog on several occasions, always from home." Yet just last week, Villa was again blocked from commenting on a Bill White blog. This time, there was a different explanation. "Mr. Villa is engaged in a dispute with our editors, and I'm not going to inject myself into it or make this a forum to debate it." So the local paper apparently is blocking comments from the father of a drunk driving victim while enabling the Aryan Nation. I have one question - are these people out of their frickin' minds?" -BernieBill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-73166332027160316482008-07-22T15:03:00.000-04:002008-07-22T15:03:00.000-04:00... well-said Bernie, I'm with ya ...... well-said Bernie, I'm with ya ...Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-72621554735247511522008-07-22T14:53:00.000-04:002008-07-22T14:53:00.000-04:00Bill Villa,I agree the MC upper echelon is arrogan...Bill Villa,<BR/><BR/>I agree the MC upper echelon is arrogant, condescending and unresponsive. They have been that way, not just with you, but many others. Their refusal to even discuss the hate on the reader forum is evidence of that. <BR/><BR/>But I would not be hard on people who are under orders not to engage you. Not everyone is independently wealthy. Some of us need jobs. It's pretty apparent that the deletion of your comments on MC blogs do not come from Micek or White, but MC management. Micek and White apparently did not even know it was occurring. <BR/><BR/>For some reason, management views you as a threat. And they should, because you've been on to them from the beginning. Whether you are right or wrong about DA Martin, you've cast a spotlight on an all-too-cozy relationship between MC management and the establishment. <BR/><BR/>But please don't punish good people who are doing as they're told. I realize you don't care for Kranzley or Bill White, but I think they basically try to produce a good product. And they are much more willing to accept constructive criticism than many of us, including me. If they were told to slime you or something like that, I think these workers would say no. I'm sure they don't like being muzzled insofar as you are concerned. It's not in their nature.<BR/><BR/>But management's attitude towards you is a reflection of what is wrong at that paper. Unless that attitude changes, the paper is headed for oblivion.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-79408725488106504082008-07-22T14:42:00.000-04:002008-07-22T14:42:00.000-04:00While I often disagree with Kranzley, White and Ca...While I often disagree with Kranzley, White and Carpenter....... That is their purpose. Provoke debate and encourage people to air differing opinions. This is how journalism engages the people in a democracy. <BR/><BR/>If you don't like their opinions that is your problem. <BR/><BR/>Debate them. Refute them. <BR/><BR/>Attacking them, denouncing them and wishing them ill, is mindless hate-mongering demagoguery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-3511852398435559032008-07-22T14:36:00.000-04:002008-07-22T14:36:00.000-04:00Bernie:I agree 100% on your 1:16 PM post. Especial...Bernie:<BR/><BR/>I agree 100% on your 1:16 PM post. Especially about the arrogance of the upper management. <BR/><BR/>That "liberal media" political bias in nothing more than left over McCarthyites who have demonized and turned the word 'liberal' into a slander. They screech 'liberal bias' at any excuse in their never ending effort to SHOVE all media to the right. Demagogues who are taken serious by the publishers and editors because they are so loud. <BR/><BR/>A friend, who was a web designer for the NYT in the 1990's, was among those who insisted that the public would never accept buying online content. the result is that it is far harder today for content producers to get the respect that their original product deserves by getting an online subscription for it. <BR/><BR/>I would like to see the paper explore distributing e-readers that subscribers could move around home or travel with as conveniently as a newspaper under the arm. But smaller, less functional and much cheaper than a lap top. This way people could sit at the kitchen table or on the porch with morning coffee. Its paperless. <BR/><BR/>The Inquirer is selling PDF only subscriptions. Its a new program so I don't know much about it. <BR/><BR/>I think that the auto-translation programs should allow the Morning Call to produce a subscriber based web site in Spanish, German and French with minimal live editing. <BR/><BR/>Since many really poor people in this community can't afford any news other than the hard copy paper. And many of them speak Spanish. I would use the resource of the Morning Call's targeted distribution system to include in the daily an abbreviated version of the paper in Spanish. This would be distributed to interested subscribers on a request basis. People can read it in Spanish and if they want the whole story they can get a family member or friend to read the full English version. As a subscriber request only product the newsprint use would be regulated while offering the paper to a wider audience.<BR/><BR/>No other business relies on a single revenue stream like the newspaper business depends on the classified ad stream. This is the demon that is chewing away at the soul of daily newspaper evolution into the 21st century. I believe that newspaper industry could and should wage a public relations war with the Craig's list free-be's and self-publishing job ads on corporate sites. Define the distinctions and advantages over depending these limited trust and integrity alternatives. Either that or give up on that revenue stream. Go on to something else already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-84251927179423169712008-07-22T14:35:00.000-04:002008-07-22T14:35:00.000-04:00"With the exception of Bill Villa ..." Whoa. Berni..."With the exception of Bill Villa ..." <BR/><BR/>Whoa. Bernie, I doubt many people would see me as an 'exception' to The Morning Call's 'rule' of doling out overall sweetness and light niceness. From what I've learned over the past few years, and oftentimes via your blog, The Morning Call treats a LOT of people jaw-droppingly shabbily, not just me. I've maybe articulated their lousy treatment louder and more persistently than most of their victims do. And possibly, that's having some effect. Also, in a world that makes sense, Glenn Kranzley and Bill White would be among the first to be fired this coming weekend but I wouldn't bet on it since smart managerial (or editorial) decisions are not TMC's forte.Bill Villahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11740332426144806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-3285050989794847552008-07-22T14:01:00.000-04:002008-07-22T14:01:00.000-04:00New Tribune Co. owner billionaire real estate mogu...New Tribune Co. owner billionaire real estate mogul Sam Zell telegraphed his intent to gut his newspapers' newsrooms on his tour around his news empire earlier this year. A man with no journalism experience but with a reputation for cutthroat business dealings, Zell has little understanding of what makes a good newspaper.<BR/><BR/>Two quotes from Zell's entry on Wikipedia:<BR/><BR/>"On January 31 2008, Zell hosted a Q and A session with the staff at one of Tribune's properties, the Florida Sun-Sentinel, as part of a good-will tour to all of the Tribune properties. After testily answering a question from a Tribune's staffer (who he refers to as "partners"), he was caught muttering an expletive under his breath which underscored his scorn for journalism."<BR/><BR/>"In a sharply critical June 2008 opinion piece for the Washington Post entitled, "The L.A. Times' Human Wrecking Ball", veteran Los Angeles-based editor and columnist Harold Meyerson took Zell to task for "taking bean counting to a whole new level", asserting that "he's well on his way to... destroying the L.A. Times."<BR/><BR/>The Morning Call has often been arrogant and self-righteous in my dealings with them over the years. They often abused their near-monopoly news media status in the L.V. to throw their weight around. <BR/><BR/>That said, they employed many good people over the years as reporters, folks who knew good journalism and were fair and thorough. I'm thinking of reporters like Dick Cowen, Ron Devlin (both now retired), Tim Darragh, Dan Hartzell, Steve Esack, Maddie Mathias, Geoff Gehman, Don Bostrom.<BR/><BR/>So, of course, it is those real journalists who will likely be the first to be axed by Zell's ruthless drones. I feel no sadness for what is happening to the M.Call as a corporate entity and often-bullying L.V. presence, but I am saddened by what is about to happen to a lot of good, professional reporters.<BR/><BR/>Let's hope online folks like Bernie and others can help fill the local news void that will be left when, as will no doubt happen soon, Zell's M.Call is sawed-up and its pieces sold for scap to further pad his billions.donmileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02262231700912730143noreply@blogger.com