Thu 9 Jul 2009

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29 Responses to “ Pink Slips handed out at the Gargoyle Leader today ”

Comments:

1. Warren Phear says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

   Pink slips???

   Tell us more.

2. Plaintiff Guy says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

   Yes, tell us more. I think I’m the only person who still takes the Argus. The price is outrageous but the delivery boy is phenominal. There must be another way to market this rag. Maybe a USA Today with localized flair?

3. redhatterb says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 7:17 pm

   I still subscripe to the Argus. I like to hold things in my hands while reading them. Also the daughter that lives with me doesn’t think it would be right for me to help her look up online, the things that she likes to read. It is getting awfully expensive and seems to be getting smaller all the time.

4. l3wis says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 8:12 pm

   Not sure who got walked, but it did happen today. Surprised that KELO or KSFY did not cover it, wait, maybe I am not.

5. Costner says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

   Maybe they fired their food critic…or the person who decides which letter to the editors to print since they seem to use the same authors about once per month. Seems clear to me that neither of these positions are filled properly, so they might as well get the axe.

6. hosepheffer says:
   July 10th, 2009 at 4:41 am

   I highly doubt they let go the food critic or the crappy link editor, as they usually keep the mean ones around and get rid of the ones who are actually pleasent to deal with. I was wondering why an unknown person resonded to an email to the usual rep at the AL yesterday, saying ’she’s out of the office, can she get back to you next week?’
   hum…

7. l3wis says:
   July 10th, 2009 at 5:59 am

   I hope they canned the ED Board, that would fix a ton of problems. And send Jana ‘Cupcakes’ Farley packing to.

8. l3wis says:
   July 10th, 2009 at 7:09 am

   Beck wrote an article in the paper today about the layoffs, 11 people. In actuality it was 21 because 10 people quit before the layoffs that they will not replace.

9. Plaintiff Guy says:
   July 10th, 2009 at 7:25 am

   The city nearly owns the Argus. It is the biggest advertiser (legals, etc.). For impartial city subjects reporting, it’s best to check other media but mostly blogs such as this one. I know they didn’t lay off employees who handle the city account.

10. l3wis says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 7:46 am

    $100 K a year. Those are some pretty expensive Pom-Poms, huh?

11. Sy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:05 am

    We used to spend 5 figures with them, two years ago it went to 4, this year I’m keeping it at 3. They send us a new sales rep. about every 6 months, none of them knowing squat about us, our market or even having clue one as to how to sell their product.

    Beyond my issues with the paper’s management, just about every department is in shambles over there. Stu Whiney is a complete tool who always seems to leave you wishing for those moments back you waste when you read one of his columns. The SF Bus. Journal actually reports salient business news for the community instead of where the next strip mall is going up. The restaurant reviews are at kindergarten levels, only thing missing is nap time.

    I like Dave Kranz and I think he’s a good writer, but he’s always been a Daschle/Johnson/Herseth cheerleader and rarely makes an attempt at a balanced viewpoint.

    Beck can blame the recession all he wants but I know many business owners who share my view and have also cut back with them or dumped them altogether. Beyond the rampant incompetance over there, Beck might consider his Paper’s constant railings against the wealthy, evil Republicans and maybe he understands now that many of those folks have simply voted with their feet, regardless of whether or not the recession is affecting them.

12. l3wis says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:30 am

    Agreed Sy about the advertising. When my work started an advertising campaign to hire 70 people the AL showed us sample ads even though we had already told them I would be doing the ads. The ads looked exactly like CitiBank ads. So me and a manager came up with a cartoon character theme, because it was different, it was a big success, but the AL poo-poo’d it at the beginning. My point is, you are right, they don’t have a clue about marketing.

    “The restaurant reviews are at kindergarten levels, only thing missing is nap time.”

    I miss Nap’s BBQ!

13. hossenpheffer says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:48 am

    cupcakes still has a job, but i did hear they let go of a business journal writer who is 4 months pregos….

    isn’t that a no no?

14. l3wis says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:57 am

    Depends? I think it is legal in the state but may be a Federal violation. They would have to prove she wasn’t carrying her weight.

    They have to keep ‘cupcakes’ around, who else is going to do reviews of C-Store Delis?

15. Sy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:57 am

    MMMMM…Naps.

    and hoss, SD is a right to work state. You really don’t need a reason to launch someone. She’d had to prove the reason she was let go was her pregnancy, then she’d have a wrongful termination/discrimination case.

    and ya know what, after further consideration it’s patently obvious that I am completely fuct on my prior anaylsis. The Argus starting going downhill about the time the stopped publishing a certain artist’s cartoons.

    Coincidence? I think not.

16. l3wis says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 8:58 am

    That’s what I keep telling people!

17. Plaintiff Guy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am

    If they close, the city could remove the traffic ticket camera at that corner. It was Argus and city collaboration. If nobody works there, few pedestrians and no problem with right on red. Makes to much sense. Therefore, not something the city will do.

18. Ghost of Dude says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Remember, PG, that camera was put there for $afety’s $ake.

19. Plaintiff Guy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    Dollar sign in ‘Safety’ says it all.

20. Costner says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Thanks for clarifying Captain Obvious.

    As to the layoffs, Beck can blame this on the economy all day long but that doesn’t make it true. Like it or not newspapers are a dying form of media. People aren’t willing to wait until the next morning to read their news these days – they want it within minutes.

    Advertising revenues are down because companies know readership is down. Then the paper decides to cut content or raise prices to compensate and it results in even few readers which in turn results is companies spending fewer advertising dollars with them.

    I don’t really think this is a content issue since the basic core of the AL hasn’t changed in decades. Oh sure they try to reinvent themselves from time to time by adding this feature or changing that feature – but the core remains, and the core is the problem.

    Reducing the physical size of the paper or making the decision to reorganize the sections or replacing comic strip A with comic strip B or making the call to focus upon Sioux Falls rather than South Dakota is all fine and dandy but it isn’t enough to make it a long term viable product.

21. Plaintiff Guy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Well put. I hope Argus employees see the writing on the wall and are looking.

22. Warren Phear says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    Plaintiff Guy says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am
    If they close, the city could remove the traffic ticket camera at that corner. It was Argus and city collaboration.

    Not so sure about that. But it is a SURE FACT the city manipulated the timing of city lights to usher in big brother at that corner. Why I. L. Weidemeyer and his lawyer have never approached it from that angle is a beyond me.

23. Plaintiff Guy says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    My understanding is that case is ongoing. Cameras have lost in at least 5 other states. The cities tactics are delay, obstruct, and wear them out. I’ve talked with Mr. Weidemeyer and respect what he and his class is/are doing. Once the city is forced to observe constitutional law, his case and others will be a problem liability for this city’s kingdom.

24. Costner says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    The cameras that have been removed in other states or found to be illegal aren’t the same as those in SF. In other states they were treating the violation as a criminal issue as if you were caught speeding or running a stop sign, so it went on your driving record.

    Here in SF, and in many other areas that use red light cameras, the offense is civil in nature and not tied to a specific driver. Instead it is tied to the vehicle just like a parking ticket is.

    Some people just need to get the hell over it. I have the same amount of sympathy for those who ran that red light as I do for those who park in a no parking zone or in front of a expired meter… which is exactly none.

25. Warren Phear says:
    July 12th, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    Costner says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    “Some people just need to get the hell over it. I have the same amount of sympathy for those who ran that red light as I do for those who park in a no parking zone or in front of a expired meter… which is exactly none.”
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&

    Blatantly running a red light is one thing. A thing I will NEVER be caught doing. On the other hand, manipulating the timing of controlled intersection lights is another. When the 2002 traffic study was complete our city’s controlled interesections were made MUCH more unsafe. When you live in a city where the “acceptable” speed limit on major arteries is 10 to 15 MPH faster than posted limits, lowering the yellow times by a half second only causes major indecisions and an influx of red light running.

26. redhatterb says:
    July 12th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

    The “food editor” that the Argus has might have more credibility if they only had one, but it seems like every time I decide to read a food review there is a different byline on it. I always thought the food editor should be more or less an expert, not just any employee.

    As far as letters to the editor go, I do think they have their favorite contributors and topics. Anytime that I used to write a letter to the editor, if it was a few words beyond the 200 limit, it would be returned to me, but I see many letters that are obviously considerably longer than the 200 word limit.

27. William J Reynolds says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 6:02 am

    Just remember to always smile as you drive through the intersection of 10th and Minnesota, in case your photo is being taken.

    Or skip that intersection. It doesn’t bother me, but I know plenty of people who have altered their route just to avoid the camera. When you think about it, you can get almost anywhere via an alternate route.

    In re the Argus Misleader: Increasingly irrelevant, a melange of tabloid celebrity gossip, gee-whiz local features (do they actually TRY to find the least flattering photos to put on the cover of the Life section?), and days-old “news.” Every time the invoice comes we ask each other whether we want to renew. One of these days the answer will be no.

28. l3wis says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 7:07 am

    Bill- seems to be a trend. I know Warren recently cancelled his subsciption.

    Red- The AL used to have a food editor, and he was really good, and funny, Doug Chapman. He used to own a 4-star restaurant in Boston, but moved to SF to be closer to his elderly mother. He was right on with his reviews, but so many restaurants complained about him that the AL stopped using him (he was freelance). I wish I could find an archive of his columns. He wrote this one about a girl making his chocolate shake with a fork, and the way he wrote it, I just about pissed my pants laughing.

29. John2 says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    The paper is dead. It just doesn’t know it yet.

    Read the last paragraph and read up on other dead business models which are enjoying a stay of their funerals.

    http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/07/13/morgan-stanley-intern-disses-twitter-shakes-up-industry/

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