It is clear the that the News-Herald has become not much more than a public relations firm for Lake County Governments, appointed boards (e.g. Laketran), and local charities.
A good example is today's article that sings the blues for Laketran: "One Year Later, Laketran riders Adjusting."
Fresh off Willoughby Hills City Council's latest stab at raising taxes, WH Council President Kevin Malecek, also President of Laketran's Board of Directors, should know now is not the time to go after some sort of tax increase to support Laketran's operations.
I mean c'mon Councilman Malecek, you haven't even gotten your tax increase in WH, yet! Some say you did not even properly consult the Willoughby Hills City Council Finance Committee before doing a first reading of the "...proposed amendment to the City Charter to provide additional funds for safety forces...." Read the proposed legislation from the special council meeting on 6/24/2010.
Anyhow...back to Laketran.
The article tugs at the heart strings of the few readers the News-Herald has by telling the story of one rider who claims his job was lost because of inconsistent transportation to and from a job. We certainly empathize with this man, there is nothing funny about his suffering.
However, Malecek and his friends on Laketran's Board can not expect the residents to keep opening up their wallets...wait a minute, he does.
A handful of cash walked down a dark Downtown Cleveland street at night is properly safer than your paycheck is from thugs like Kevin Malecek, appointed Board Members, local School Boards, and the like. See Malecek et al. use codified, legislative, and craftily concocted levy request to mug you every-time you get paid, or every time you buy a non-food item, or when you pay your property taxes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Once again, your blog would be more credible if you identified yourself. This is the second time I have made this comment. You failed to publish it the last time. I wonder why.
ReplyDeleteWRONG, WRONG, WRONG!
ReplyDeleteOnly one comment this year, from February 2010,went unpublished.
The previous comment you claim went unpublished did in fact get published a few days late.
No appologies for the anonymity!
Thus country was founded on anonymous political discourse.
A few more thoughts....
ReplyDeleteSteve, I suggest you read some earlier posts on this blog about political discourse and anonymity. A few days ago we wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled anonymous political speech is the soul of the 1st Amendment. This decision was in fact due to the Ohio Elections Commission's attack on free speech.
Have you ever heard of the Federalist Papers, Steve?
Moving along.
It's too bad that the News-Herald's circulation is so far down, somewhere around a quarter of Lake County, that it has to resort to kissing up to the local charities and government entities it should be keeping accountable. Too bad.
Being friends with Board Members in Lake County may get you some pats on the back from people like Kevin Malecek, Ellen Foley Kessler, Lorraine Fende, ...................., etc., but it won't get you more readers.
How about Lorraine Fende, Steve? Why did we have to inorm the public about her dissolved marriage to a suspected voyeur? Why? Is carrying Fende's water helping you and the NH? Is it helping the residents of Lake County?
How about Jim Brown, Steve? What about the conflict of interest that caused him to resign from the Port Board? Your editorial board did not see a problem with $100's of contributions to Commissioner Dan Troy, an appointment to the Port Board, the signing of the fixed operator agreement at Lost Nation Airport--and, resignation?
Ohhhhh. That's right. Classic Automotive Group is a big advertiser with the NH.
Not publishing comments? That's a laugh. The comment moderation committee has rejected one comment since last fall. One. 1. One.
The NH's censors on your website rejects dozens a day.
I didn't think you had enough integrity to reveal who you were.
ReplyDeleteIf you really read The News-Herald, you would find that I no longer work there and that my opinions in no way represent those of the newspaper. They are solely my opinions and unlike you, I am willing to let people know that.
ReplyDeleteYou, on the other hand, hide behind the mask of anonymity spewing innuendos and half truths that are often based on incomplete information or drawn from illogical conclusions.
I hope that you understand your anonymity will not protect you from the responsibilities that The First Amendment requires.
You may also be surprised to find how harsh the conesquences are for committing libel.
Thank-you for your frequent reading Steve. Keep on reading. Keep on commenting. Your readership, your comments, and the comments of local elected officials, movers and shakers, etc. make this project very relevant.
ReplyDeleteWe gotta wonder though, if you don't work for the NH anymore....then why do all your comments come from an IP address registered to Journal Register Company?
Don't even bother answering.
Libel? That's laughable. If you can't beat 'em...mischaracterize 'em!
Lorraine Fende's divorce records, linking her to an alleged voyeur are nowhere near libel...instead...its news that your former employers hides in the corner cowering from.
Do you and your former employer understand the harsh consequences of avoiding the news, carrying the water for local city councils and appointed boards?
Ahhhh. Yes...you guys do: plummeting circulation!
To: Mr./Ms. Anonymous
ReplyDeleteGiven the lack of comments to your posts, it appears that I am one of the few readers you have, and I just stumbled upon it when I was looking for the original "LakeCountyBlog".
What's laughable is your lack of intestinal fortitude and your insistence on anonymity. You should think about sticking to calling in to talk radio shows.
Finally, you have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to The News-Herald readership. While actual circulation is down, readership is up dramatically and climbing.
It has over 300,000 unique visitors who view appproximately 2.5 million pages per month, in addition to the daily circulation. I doubt that your numbrs amount to even less than one-tenth of one percent of The NH numbers. They must be doing something right.
Don't believe me? Call the advertising department, they will verify the numbers. Maybe you should think about running an ad promoting your blog!
This seems to be very disingenuous of Steve Roszczyk.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mr. Rozczyk can't answer the questions set forth by this blog because there is no good answer as to why the News-Herald is not doing the job I believe most of the public expects they should be doing.
Perhaps also Mr. Rozczyk needs to read the comments on the News-Herald's political blogs that appear to be few and far between. I have no doubt that people read those blogs as well as this one.
Finally perhaps if Mr. Rozczyk had spent more time working on the News-Herald it might be a better paper with less critics?
Its a good sign that your blog is getting under his "skin" and all he appears to be doing is to criticize and threaten.
Remind Mr. Rozczyk that opinion is a super constitutional right under the Ohio Constitution that exceeds U.S. Constitutional rights....oh but I suspect he knows that.
Signed interested blog reader who is also disappointed with the News-Herald.
@anonymous, thank-you! I am not going to keep duking it out with Steve.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you make some good points worth contrasting with the NH's political blog. I think this one post has had more comments than the NH's politics blog has had in the past several months!
Also, I would say at least half of the comments on regular news stories mock the NH's story, the NH itself, or joke about the content.
Believe, me. This blog does well enough in terms of traffic for only being in existence since 10/09.
I would never expect this blog to get as much traffic as the NH's website, but I am sure the traffic is similar to NH's politics blog.
Anyhow...I am not going to argue with Steve anymore.
WE at this blog are working on a BIG project!
Furthermore, if you check quancast's traffic estimates you will find that Steve is either badly informed or lying.
http://www.quantcast.com/news-herald.com
You will see that the NH gets about 75, 000 unique visitors monthly; that is nothing to sneeze at! That's some serious traffic--it's just a lot less than Steve is leading you to believe.
Oh boy, another anonymous blogger.
ReplyDeletePlease read this as clearly as you both can. I defend your right of free speech and the free expression your opinions. I have been doing that my entire professional life and will continue to do so.
However, when one person attacks another's reputation, I believe the "accuser" has a responsibility identify himself. How can we determine the validity of the "accuser's" comments if we don't know the source of those comments? It's similar (but not exactly) to using anonymous sources. The source's information is of no value if the source has no credibility.
Many newspapers do publish anonymous comments, including The News-Herald. I do not agree with that policy
Unless a writer identifies himself, we, the readers, can't be sure of his accuracy or credibility.
As for the numbers, The News-Herald has spent a considerable of money to ensure the accuracy of its numbers. I don't know how Quantcast gets to its numbers or how they are compiled, so it would be unfair for me to criticize. However, I will say that I believe The NH numbers are about as accurate as you can get.
All that being said, I still urge both of you to identify yourself and face your audience, however large or small it may be.
Have a nice holiday.