Unlike the rest of them, I really hate to wear a suit and tie unless it's for a wedding, funeral or I'm a criminal defendant charged with a felony. I'm with the Israelis when it comes to business attire.
The dailies attempted to defend their failure to cover municipal meetings by stating their "metrics" tell them people are not reading those stories. They apparently think they exist to entertain rather than inform. "Your obligation is to give people not what they want, but what they need," was my response to Morning Call editor Mike Miorelli. "That's why you guys keep sinking further and further down. That's why every so many months, you let off more reporters. You're not thinking things through. You need to do your jobs. You need to tell people what's going on... ."
I provided an example. I received a news release from businessman Nat Hyman about his donation for an Allentown police substation. After confirming the story was accurate, I published it while simultaneously and very accurately observing that Hyman is possibly the worst Hearts player in the world. The Morning Call refused to publish the story at first because I had run it. Miorelli attempted to deny this but I have his words in black and white.
This simply kills me. He views a puny blog as a competitor even though this one-man operation exists only to complement local news coverage, not compete with it. He talked about "winning" and getting beat, which is ridiculous.
Nobody really gives a shit if you're first so long as you're actually doing your job and informing the public. The dailies are failing. The county governments are half billion dollar operations getting zero scrutiny, except from WFMZ and WLVR.
Incredibly, Miorelli indicated his paper is shying away from stories like Coronavirus pandemic because people are tired of them.
I guess stories about your favorite hamburger joint are preferable.
39 comments:
Bernie - your are dead on correct. The papers just don't get it. I can get national news all over the place and all day long. What I need the local paper for is LOCAL news. They keep covering less and less but then turn around and say that they have to make cuts because subscriptions are down.
7:13, I deleted you bc you are OT. This is not about Trump or Biden, but the lack of local news coverage.
Didn't watch, but curious whether anyone discussed the role of weekly newspapers, also known as community papers. Last time I checked their circulations were relatively stable, compared to daily papers like The Call, and the ones I read do in fact cover local events and municipal governments.
Bernie,
if you're a criminal defendant, I'll bring the chocolate cake.
Keep up the good work!
The weekly community papers are filled primarily with advertisements. What relatively few articles run are local feel good news.
"The dailies attempted to defend their failure to cover municipal meetings by stating their "metrics" tell them people are not reading those stories."
Hmmm, I didn't realize there was such a hunger for LGBT activism and such. Perhaps newsworthy, but full page articles once or twice a week to the exclusion of other local coverage?
I wonder if the mix of coverage for local "news" reflects the views of the folks that populate the newsroom and editorial offices rather than the community at large.
Of course, it's also possible that they've chased away all the people who are even vaguely moderate and certainly anyone who is conservative to the point that their only remaining subscribers do indeed reflect the politics of typical journalists.
There is no local news coverage because as you stated..they deleted all those reporters to improve their bottom line. I am disgusted by this abandonment of the people to the powers that be. The corporate take over of the local dailies was and is a blow to democracy as we once knew it. Sports and entertainment has replaced local governmental actions being undertaken out of sight of the public.We can't always attend these public meetings but we want to know what's being done in our names by duly elected representatives. This is borderline criminal dereliction of duty by the press. Bernie is trying to keep us informed in the face of disdain by the so called local rags. We need him on that wall!
I would have liked to hear the conversation between Iannelli and Miorelli vetting the guest list
Anon 951 IMHO has it backwards. The abandonment didn't follow the local reporters going away, it preceded it.
I stopped the paper version subscription at least 10yrs ago. It was a waste of paper. I do subscribe to the online version for work and the great job Keith Groller does on high school sports.
The Morning Call has become a shell of its former self, and that is a large loss for the Lehigh Valley. Shame on you Mr. Miorelli for your role in destroying this organization.
You schooled that pompous MC hack on the show last night. He wouldn't even admit that digital news will put print news out of business in a few years. Print news is the horse and buggy of our times. They are losing advertising revenue from every source. No more "want ads". Fewer panel ads. Obits are probably their only source of guaranteed revenue. Corporations run these newspapers. And they will collapse like a house of cards. You are a prophet, Bernie!
Probably all comes down to who (or what group) really controls the levers of the local management of the Call. Certainly agree with 5:49AM. The Morning Call has been put on the wrong path for several years. It’s not very informative about basic ‘living in the Lehigh Valley’ topics.
LOCAL INFORMATION is what the customer wants. Items unique to living HERE, not what goes on in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, etc. Cover what our neighbors, coworkers, schools, sports, theaters and special events have going on. Inspire readers to take advantage of what we have easy access to right here. Simple Calendar of Events listings don’t cut it.
No matter what Call officials claim, there IS a political spin, a wokeness, in most everything they present. I’m tired of it. But again, is the local Call management given enough latitude from the ‘real decision-makers upstairs’ to be anything different than what it sadly is now?
"I would have liked to hear the conversation between Iannelli and Miorelli vetting the guest list"
MM, You have taken the Morning Call to task far more than I over the years. Miorelli no doubt would have vetoed you. I am somewhat offended he allowed me.
You are right on target, Bernie. We have a new situation affecting the residents in our town, and a MCall reporter covered a meeting at which it was discussed. This matter will likely take up to a year to resolve, one way or the other. The reporter wrote an excellent article, with several quotes by concerned citizens in attendance. Someone contacted the reporter after the article was published, and was concerned to learn that the reporter's editor doesn't see the need to cover the matter any further! With staff working remotely, this communication may have been over email, and not even in the editor's office. This is an absolutely disgraceful situation. Editors believe people aren't interested in matters in their towns - where the hell are we headed?
The Home News does their best to cover municipal news with limited resources.
You kicked Miorelli and Falsone's asses, Bernie. All they did was make excuses. When they made the excuse that no one cares about county government news, even thought the budgets are nearly half a million public dollars, you slammed them with what had already been covered - that they aren't covering the municipalities. Miorelli came across as an out of touch dinosaur who needs to be set out to pasture. Someone who only cares about clicks. As you said, if they can't cover the news they should shut up shop. Good job!
The Home News paper out of Bath is less than half the number of pages it used to be.
I'm afraid you'll be beating them on local sports coverage at this point.
I guess the Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox in Israel don't count as Israelis? What a poor choice of things to joke about, especially religion.
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I was not joking, either. I have long admired the Israelis for eschewing the suit and ties worn everywhere else. They are unnecessary, and the Israelis get this.
" I do subscribe to the online version for work and the great job Keith Groller does on high school sports."
He does. He is a hidden treasure who has the respect of coaches and athletes. Unfortunately, there's only one of him.
Honestly, they could/should just merge the two "local newspapers" at this point, ditch the National syndicated stuff outside of the generic entertainment level items like comics, crosswords and horoscopes, and simply focus on and address truly Lehigh Valley news and issues.
The way NOT to compete or be effective on the internet today is being a generalist. There are hundreds, probably thousands of sites and sources that will cover world and national news from every imaginable point of view. A website needs to be SPECIALIZED in order to attract eyeballs.
Back to basic stuff - crime, fires, traffic, government/regional development, sports, & leisure. Keep it simple, who, what, when and why to keep the reader/visitor informed on what is happening in their backyard.
The Orthodox Jews have a code of dress to adhere to. Because of their attire, you imply they are not Israelis. Hopefully that was an oversight?
When's the last time The Morning Call broke a significant local news story, in this, the third largest metro area in the state of Pennsylvania?
{{{crickets}}}
Exactly. Thanks for playing.
Just watched the show. Great job, Bernard! Not only were you the prettiest boy on the panel, but you spoke best to the truth and facts about local news reporting in these times and it's future. Glad to see you rather quickly did away with the crossed arms thing, which is never a good body language sign. Plus no need to hide that six pack we all know is just behind the polo shirt you were sporting. And the on-camera leg lifts only reinforced your athletic prowess. Hopefully Nike comp'd you nicely for the logo ad? Great job, my man!
If it were not for concerned citizens posting about issues on Social media and blogs, Those of us in the Macungies would know nothing about many of the financial hijinks that have been attempted. The MCall has really gone to hell. Your point about giving us what we need, not what the metric says is profitable is spot on.
"The Orthodox Jews have a code of dress to adhere to. Because of their attire, you imply they are not Israelis. "
Your animus is causing you to make irrational (and downright butty) leaps of logic. I made no such implication.
Save the Trees!
The Times News over the mountain at least sends a reporter to many municipal meetings. Like used to happen in the LV.
I miss the police blotter and the court proceedings. Actually I would like to know how cases were resolved, locally.
Part of the problem with the news is that too many figured out how to utilize them for their benefit and manipulate the them through the SCOPE!. I have sat in numerous meeting with many of the more connected in the valley who years ago blatantly said call such and such a reporter they will help spin it my way or call so and so so they can get the scope because they write favorably about me. And then on the opposite I hear people say screw that reporter don't give them any information or let them ask any questions because they asked me a challenging question or put me in a bad light or they made my party or made my friend look bad. We all play those games in one form or another.
6:40 pm: I am in total agreement. I find it nearly impossible to navigate the DA’s website to find court dates, let alone resolution. It would be nice to have someone on a police beat or following up on happenings. Two things immediately come to mind — woman killed on Stefko was a one-day report. Period. No follow-up, no word whether it was a hit/run, true accident, etc. Second, the fire at Sherwood apartments on Johnston Drive in Bethlehem. What was the cause? Why is the building impacted not at least tarped? It is open to the elements and must be an issue for neighboring buildings.
We know NOTHING about our community aside from the myriad festivals, farmer’s markets, and advice columns. Both papers beg people to support “local” journalism. First, there is nothing local being covered and second, the journalists are long gone. This is exactly how local government wants things — keep the little people in the dark so governments can govern unchecked. Scary.
I repeat myself, Bernie was the ONLY one who reported meth in the courthouse. No newspaper touched it. As he explained in his article, we should ALL be worried about that report.
I’d love to get the Morning Call. However, even when I was a subscriber I couldn’t get it. Their delivery was so bad, I doubt if it has improved. The MC is owned by a non-local group that has to eventually give the investors a dividend. When I see an MC from years ago I’m amazed at their local coverage. Now it’s canned AP articles, paid obits and car classifieds. Their lack of coverage isn’t new, it’s just more immediately obvious now that they aren’t covering county or city meetings. The arts coverage has sucked for twenty years. The business coverage went to crap more than ten years ago when they started accepting press releases as factual articles and stopped following up. When the copy editors got canned English teachers could use MC articles as a examples of poor writing. When the MC gave up it’s presses and physical presence downtown it was the signal that “we’re done here.” The online version is goofy, too many old articles. The MC fails to use the immediacy of the medium and uses the online version like a file cabinet for days old pieces. The good news is that this leaves the field wide open for some smart people to form their own approach to new media, much as you, Mr. Molvinsky, and Saucon Source has. Goodbye MC, it’s been such a sad and lingering death.
Back in 2015, it became known that Nestle Waters was planning to take over a hundred thousand gallons of water a day from Eldred Township. There had been underhanded (corrupt) shenanigans by which the zoning ordinance had been changed that allowed Nestle's proposed use. A few citizens travelled to Allentown and spoke with the Watchdog at the MCall for an hour. He told them "there is no way I would cover this story - it is too much work." The citizens and town successfully defended themselves and Nestle went away. The only mentions in the Morning Call were when the project was announced, and when it was cancelled. MCall did zero to inform the community along the way. Just one example of how the dailies are failing our communities.
Excellent point, @9:41 PM They are in fact begging us (I get emails daily from LVL) to support "local journalism", yet there is no local journalism. Not by my definition. Falsone sarcastically mentioned the county buying lawnmowers isn't something that needs to be covered - how disgusting. Both he and Miorelli sat there and claimed they are covering local news, while also admitting that they no longer cover muni or county meetings. Thank God Bernie was there to call them out - the host didn't.
Wfmz does a good job reporting municipal meetings. They report the facts and leave out the self promoting commentary.
Let's face it. This wasn't a fair fight. The journos featured are the local scraps of what's left around here. Quality reporters left long ago. The mediocre followed. These are guys who weren't good enough to execute their escapes. The third string attempting to deny the pile of rubble directly behind them was funny at first; then, pathetically sad. At least the radio guy was honest about the decline and didn't attempt to defend it, like the two Peter Principle examples.
Both area newspapers could save some money and use it to hire a few reporters to cover local news if they stopped their inane delivery of a free advertising supplement each week. The independent contractors they hire to toss those items out of a van window create an absolute nuisance in all neighborhoods. The papers end up in gardens, on top of storm water grates, get chewed up in snow blowers, litter the streets, etc. When accumulating in or near driveways of vacant homes or vacationing residents, it’s a wide open notice that no one is in the home. The return on investment for that trash must be miniscule, if any at all. You can drive yourself crazy calling, texting, or e-mailing the circulation departments to stop the delivery which lasts until they change third party contractors. The municipality response to requests for assistance is that the papers have a First Amendment right to distribute. A specious argument at best for what essentially is widespread littering.
Be aware that the old Tribune Co. (owner of the MCall) was bought out by an aggressive private equity firm some time ago, same firm has been squeezing their papers, such as NY Daily News, Chicago Trib, Baltimore Sun etc. dry nationwide. Similar fate happened to the Reading Eagle, now owned by a DIFFERENT private equity.
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