Great Editorial, Zero Impact

The Livingston Press and Argus has published several editorials this spring ripping Rick Snyder's totally unnecessary cuts to education. All businesses that care about having educated employees should oppose these cuts, but newspapers have a special stake in good schools. After all, people who can't read and don't care about reading don't buy newspapers, not even for the pictures.

But last week, the newspaper took things up a notch when it criticized not just Snyder or Republicans in general, but a local Republican lawmaker -- Republican Rep. Bill Rogers. Rogers not only voted for the unnecessary and deep cuts to schools, but he offered the head-slappingly stupid remark that if schools would have "planned" for the cuts, they wouldn't have any problem.

In its editorial Friday, the newspaper called Rogers' remarks "mystifying" and "bereft of facts and logic." It went on to note that the school aid fund has a huge and growing surplus, and that if planning for expenses solved all problems, why didn't businesses just "plan" for the Michigan Business Tax which they hated so much?

The editorial closed with this zinger:

"It's almost as though Rogers is saying that school administrators should plan ahead for legislative incompetence.

"Maybe he would have a point."

The editorial was directly on target (and in line with a post on Living Blue BTW), but alas, as excellent as it was, it will have zero impact on Rogers or his cohorts Cindy Denby and Joe Hune.

Unfortunately, the newspaper has no leverage with local Republican office holders because they know no matter how poorly they perform in office and no matter how well qualified their opponents, the newspaper will always endorse them. If just once the newspaper would endorse a Democrat -- or even withhold an endorsement of the Republican candidate at election time -- Republican lawmakers might pay attention and work a little harder to represent all local residents instead of only business interests.

Nevertheless, it was a great editorial, and very true.

It Pays to Advertise--Unless It's by Dems

It pays to advertise.

That's what newspapers tell businesses over and over. Take out an ad in our newspaper and your business will go up. Having a sale? Take out an ad and tell people about it. Running for office? Run an ad to tell people about yourself. Run an ad, run an ad, run an ad. Pages of newspapers have tons of ads and little holes left over for the news -- newsholes, they're called.

So I was a little surprised to read in the Livingston Press and Argus recently (Feb. 16, 2010) that the newspaper wants proof that the Pure Michigan advertising campaign, which is one of the loveliest pieces of state advertising I have ever seen, needs to prove that it boosts tourism in the state.

Funny, I've never been given that kind of proof when I place a classified ad in the local paper, or when the newspaper comes and asks me to place ads before elections. Not once was I shown a study that proved anything about the effectiveness of advertising in their paper as opposed to advertising for free on Craig's List or in the Marketeer.

But now that Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is placing the ads, the local paper is up in arms and demands proof that advertising works.

Wonder if they would be so suspicious if the ads were running in their pages?

Local Media Stiffs U.S. Senator, Gushes Over Celebrity

The U.S. Senate has been called the most exclusive club in the world -- only 100 people. They wield considerably more power than the 435 members of the U.S. House. They have the power to ratify treaties with our nations that can affect the global balance of power, deployment of our military might, the balance of trade, and the future of our climate. They say yes or no to presidential choices to head cabinet agencies or represent our nation abroad. They determine who will sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, with its broad powers to interpret the law of the land. And with the filibuster, and the ability of just 40 of them to block legislation, they have more than an equal say in the passage of legislation.

So you would think that when one of the members of this powerful body stops by Livingston County, it would be news. You would think that with health care hanging in the balance, climate change and clean energy legislation on the horizon, debate rising over U.S. policy in Afghanistan, and the recent horrific shooting at a military base still fresh, that a newspaper would want to find out what the U.S. senator thinks about such matters.

But, in the case of the Livingston Press and Argus, you would be wrong. The newspaper couldn't be bothered to rearrange its schedule when Sen. Carl Levin stopped in Livingston County to salute our veterans on Saturday, Nov. 7. What they missed was Senator Levin publicly answering any and all questions on matters such as health care, in public, without reservations.

Yet when a defeated Republican vice presidential candidate, whose campaign fled the state in humiliation a year ago rather than try to compete for Michiganians' votes, who abandoned the post of governor of Alaska that she campaigned for, shows up clear across the state to sell books in order to line her own pockets -- the Livingston Press and Argus thinks that is big news.

This is not the first time that the local newspaper has snubbed Senator Levin. It did the same in October 2008. Democrat or Republican, he still represents the state.

Onw wonders who sets the agenda for reporting at the Livingston Press and Argus -- and exactly what their agenda is. It certainly is not covering the news fairly.

Newspapers and the Web

I really would like to comment on articles on the Livingston Press and Argus' website from time to time.

But I am really tired of trying to log in and being told that my session has timed out. Over and over again. Day after day.

But if I could log in, I would comment on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners' inability to control its own staff, as shown by its decision to pay for a training session for an administrator that it had previously been told would not be charged to the county, referenced in this letter to the editor.

The $5,300 is almost as much as the $6,000 that the county commissioners had budgeted for veterans' relief, until they were caught by the county Veterans Commission ignoring state law and were forced to begin levying a small millage.

What a screwed up set of priorities and lack of oversight.

Life After Newspapers for Former P&A Editor

In case you have wondered what has happened to all the laid-off journalists in our area, here's an update on one.

Good Luck, Kris

Livingston Press and Argus reporter Kris Karol has moved on.

Sources say Kris is going to graduate school.

His last day was last week and he left before I had a chance to say goodbye. But if this reaches him in cyber-space, I want to let him know we appreciated his balanced coverage, hard work, and sound story ideas.

Kris, you'll be missed!

Anti-semitic Comment Should Be Removed

A house was damaged by fire in Genoa Township a few days ago and the Livingston Press and Argus put a story up on its website. Shortly thereafter, a comment appeared saying that the fire was the result of "Jewish lightning."

The comment is anti-semitic.

Why is it still standing? Did they lay off the people who were in charge of the web page?

Everybody Needs an Editor

We all make mistakes, bloggers included. To err is human, and all that.

Newspapers have always prided themselves on being superior to bloggers because they have editors. (Actually, plenty of blogs have editors, too.)

But the editors may have been busy elsewhere at the Livingston Press and Argus when its editorial noted in an article for Friday (May 1, 2009), that the Brighton Area School district is running a deficit "despite having the highest per-pupil funding in the state."

The highest? Higher than the Grosse Pointes?

Is Web an Opportunity for Laid-Off Newspaper Reporters?

Is the same phenemonon that is partly the cause of layoffs in the newspaper business a small opportunity for the people being laid off?

In years past, if a community was dissatisfied with the coverage of its local paper, readers usually had few options other than to complain or stop their subscriptions. And if employees were unhappy, well, the costs of starting up a competitor were prohibitive.

But now, freed from the price of printing presses, ink, and paper, it's a little easier.

Laid off reporters in Ann Arbor might consider pooling their expertise and setting up a web-based newspaper to compete with annarbor.com. The click-through ads can provide more revenue than one might think, given that the cost of a web page isn't anywhere near what a printing press is.

And who's to say that the annarbor.com product will automatically be superior or that it will automatically attract more readers than an effort started by spurned reporters?

Now that the Livingston Press and Argus has laid off two people, there would be the beginnings of a Livingston County news coverage organization, possibly taking in some of the folks from the old Ann Arbor News organization in Brighton.

Might as well try something. And for people who love to report and write about the news, it would be a way to keep doing what they love.

Oh, the Hypocrisy!

In the 2008 campaign, Democrat Bob Alexander accused Republican incumbent Mike Rogers of Michigan's 8th Congressional District of basically being a hypocrite -- talking one way in the district and voting another way in Washington.

Rogers more or less proved Alexander's point with the recent Omnibus Budget Bill which passed Congress recently week after being held over from last fall.

First, Rogers stuffed the measure full of earmarks for his district, and then he voted against it as wasteful. The Livingston Press and Argus has the story.

The head of the Livingston County Road Commission suggested we give Rogers a "big hug" for including money for an I-96 interchange. He didn't mention that we'd have to drive on some of the worst roads in Michigan to get to that interchange, but that's another matter.

Rogers needs to explain some of the earmarks -- like the ones for the private Cleary College. All he told the newspaper was that he had "no problem" with it. That's not explanatory.

And he needs to explain why his earmarks are for worthy products and why everyone else's are "wasteful."

Press and Argus' Moralizing Doesn't Go Over Well Everywhere

The Livingston Press and Argus' moralizing about how other people live their lives and choose to spend their time may sell papers in Livingston County.

But in the rest of the state? Not so much.

Check out the Michigan Liberal's comments on the paper's opposition to later hours for bars.

Actually, I suspect the paper hates the idea because Gov. Jennifer Granholm came up with it, more than anything else. I love the hypocrisy factor of their editorial, too. They're all for getting government off people's backs, not telling people what to do, blah, blah, blah, when it comes to what Republicans support.

Somebody Else's Turn to Pick on Perlberg

Livingston Press and Argus publisher Rich Perlberg is getting raked over the coals on somebody else's blog for his editorial in editions for Sunday (Dec. 21, 2008) on the smoking ban which failed in the 2007-2008 legislative session which ended Friday.

Perlberg's basic argument was that since casinos weren't covered, no businesses should be covered.

Michigan Liberal isn't buying it. And neither are the commenters.

Directing Friendly Fire at Michigan's Friends

The Livingston Press and Argus has a bizarre editorial in editions for Sunday (Dec. 14, 2008).

It's an attack (and a fairly juvenile one at that) on Sen. Chris Dodd, who has been working to push through a loan for the American auto industry. The writer attacks Dodd for having a full head of hair, for having divorced his first wife and then dating a couple movie stars (gee, didn't Ronald Reagan do that?).

The writer doesn't like the fact that Dodd wanted GM CEO Rick Waggoner to step down as a condition of the federal loan. But there's not a word of criticism for the Southern Republican senators who wanted to legislate 50 percent pay cuts for thousands of workers as a condition of the loan as a thinly veiled excuse to sink the loan.

Of all the people to criticize, Dodd is pretty far down the list. At least he voted for the loan.

Videos Show Livingston Diversity Council's Past

The Livingston Press and Argus has three well-done videos up on the history of the Livingston Diversity Council.

They are especially timely, given Barack Obama's 42 percent showing on Nov. 4 in the county. Safe to say that would not have been possible without the sensitizing work of the council.

The videos are on the local news channel of the Press and Argus's website.

POVERTY BY THE NUMBERS IN AFFLUENT LIVINGSTON COUNTY

What do numbers mean? What do dollars mean? In the recent election campaign, the Livingston Republicans put up billboards and ran TV ads boasting about how they kept taxes low and attained an AA bond rating by their one-party rule. But all is not well in Livingston County
.
In the Press & Argus, Rich Perlberg: By the Numbers Your Help Is Needed, Nov. 16, 2008, the General Manager of the P&A gives numerous statistics that prove the existence of grueling, awful poverty in this affluent county.

This is not news to those of us who understand that poverty exists along with affluence. It can be seen by those who open their eyes. If those of us who ran for the State House didn’t know it, we heard about it when we attended the Livingston County Human Services Collaborative Body forum last September 24. That is, we heard about it if we bothered to attend. Bill Rogers was evidently too busy counting tax monies to make it.

Perlberg writes:

“Those are some of the harsh numbers. They put into perspective the personal stories most of you hear — the neighbor who got laid off, the co-worker whose home is in foreclosure, the family that moved because there was no work here.
“The agencies that produced this report stressed how they are working together by seeking efficiencies, leveraging efforts for state grants and publicizing services, especially for those who have never before found themselves needing financial help.
“But they need your help, your money and your time. Look at it this way. If 3,000 homes were in foreclosure, that means 50,000 or more were not. Now more than ever, those are the folks who need to look past the numbers and help their neighbors — even, and perhaps especially, those they have never met.”

So what Rich is saying is what we saved on taxes, we should give to charity to feed the hungry, care for children’s medical needs and shelter the homeless. We should even give a little bit more to cover for the people who don’t contribute. Then we can feel good about ourselves playing Lord and Lady Bountiful. Yes, we can be generous and compassionate. What we are not is fair and just. Justice demands that we share resources with others. If we follow justice, the County may even borrow some money to help citizens of Livingston County – I think borrowing is one of the uses of an AA bond rating. Or we may even go so far as to allow our taxes to be raised a mill or two so that we can provide health insurance for the impoverished as well as the County Commissioners.

A new day is coming, a new political climate is blowing in the wind but we still don’t get it in Livingston County. Values are changing. Good government and low taxes are not synonymous.

Wake up! Livingston!

A Million Hits--But Still Something Is Missing

Congratulations to the Livingston Press and Argus for its thriving website, as noted in Maria Stuart's piece for Sunday (Nov. 16, 2008).

The column notes:

"For the first two weeks of November, we're closing in on almost 600,000 hits, surely helped a bit by the election. Even so, we're regularly averaging well over a million hits a month.

"More than a million hits!

"Never, in a million years, did I dream that livingstondaily.com would be averaging more than a million hits a month."

Sadly, the news media as a whole has been slow to figure out the whole internet-thing, but it's good to see that locally the media is now trying to catch up.

Stuart goes on to note that the Press and Argus regularly posts videos of events, including the two candidate debates it sponsored this election year.

Unfortunately, that's not the whole story. For the last debate, the newspaper put up video of only some of the candidates in its Oct. 30 debate.

Video of Democrat Donna Anderson's debate with Bill Rogers in the 66th House District and of Democrat Bob Alexander's debate with Mike Rogers never made it to the site that I could find.

Maybe the newspaper wasn't too proud of the way its two endorsed candidates performed against their Democratic opponents.

A Livingston Republican Concedes Defeat

The Livingston Press and Argus is full of newsy bits this morning (Oct. 26, 2008).

Let's start with the story on the $20,000 advertising buy for the local Republican Party. You've probably seen the billboards and maybe even the cable television ads touting all the "accomplishments" of local Republicans. Never a mention of the mess in Hamgburg Township or the Mission Hills matter in Green Oak. How I wish I had $20,000 to spend explaining all the effects of Republican rule in our county.

But most interesting is an admission from Mike Murphy, county Republican vice-chair.

According to the Press and Argus:

"Murphy said it's possible Republicans could 'lose a seat or two' this election to Democrats, and that the advertisements, which will run through Election Day, are intended to remind residents of 'how Republican leadership has made the county what it is today.'"

Twenty-thousand-dollars to avoid losing only "a seat or two" to Democrats?

Next item up is, of course, the Press and Argus' editorial endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president. A key portion of the endorsement says:

"It is Obama who has acted more presidential, resisting the temptations to react to cheap taunts tossed by his opponents.

"Some of Obama's positions need to be challenged. He relies too much on government solutions. His energy policies need to expand to fully use all sources, including nuclear, clean-coal, and oil-drilling both offshore and in Alaska.

"He has by far the better health-care plan, providing for the coverage of all children. His tax plan, far from socialist (more name-calling from the Republicans) is reasonable. McCain's plan is fine if you earn millions of dollars. It's not so good for the rest of us.

"While the McCain-Palin ticket seeks to benefit from a divisive campaign, Obama seeks to unify a nation needing solutions, comfort, confidence and leadership.

"'The true test of the American ideal,' said Obama, 'is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time.'"

The newspaper endorsed John Kerry four years ago, but generally it prefers to endorse Republicans, especially at the local level. It probably will take a hit from many of its readers for endorsing Obama so it was a brave thing to do. Also the right thing.

Neither the Republican admission of their fear of losing seats to Democrats nor the newspaper endorsement of Obama will matter, though, if local Democrats fail to get out and work this last week before Election Day.

Don't let up now. Let's make Mike Murphy's admission come true -- in spades!

Press and Argus Coverage -- Mixed Bag

Sen. Barack Obama out-raising Republican John McCain in Livingston County? The Livingston Press and Argus says it's true, in a piece for Sunday (Oct. 19, 2008).

The article goes on to suggest that the money race may mean many Republicans are "jumping ship" and supporting a Democrat for president.

Could that explain the billboards that Livingston County Republicans have erected around the county bragging about the county's bond rating and tax rates? Local Republicans having to spend money to defend their turf is a new development in Livingston County.

The Press and Argus is doing what it can to help shore up the GOP base, however. What it giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other. For while it mentioned Obama's lead in fund-raising here, the Sunday paper also featured a big spread on the local Republicans' unity dinner featuring Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Funny, but I don't remember seeing such a story when the Livingston County Democrats had a similar dinner two weeks ago featuring Sen. Carl Levin, Lt. Gov. John Cherry, and former Michigan Congressman Dave Bonioer, as well as many local candidates.

Local Republicans get together=Big News! Local Democrats get together. Not so much.

Lessenberry: Term Limits Helping Lobbyists Run Rampant

In his appearance Thursday night (May 8, 2008) at the Howell Opera House, well-known Michigan journalist Jack Lessenberry pulled no punches in describing the problems facing our state and placing the blame for them.

Term limits, lobbyists, and certain Republican policies are harming the state, Lessenberry said.

As Lessenberry explained it, term limits have caused gridlock and excessive partisanship in the Michigan Legislature by assuring that our state is run by people who know little and have their eye on the next job. Term limits are the delight of lobbyists because inexperienced legislators are dependent on lobbyists who know how the system works.

Last year's budget boondoggle hurt both parties, he said. That's the bright spot, in Lessenberry's view, because it's unlikely that members of either party will be willing to look so bad again.

As an example of the effect of term limits and lobbyists, Lessenberry pointed to the service tax, which was proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2007 to help balance the budget. The Legislature responded by placing the tax on every business that didn’t have a lobbyist. That left small businesses like ski lift operations, phrenologists, masseuses, and fortune tellers (no sympathy here, they should have seen it coming) to be taxed. The unfairness of this caused the Legislature to repeal the tax.

Lessenberry also cited the case of using the tobacco settlement funds to plug the hole in the budget. The state lost a half billion dollars because the Legislature didn’t have the courage to raise the income tax. To a Republican legislature, all tax increases are bad and all tax cuts are good.

Furthermore, Lessenberry said, Michigan prisons are overflowing because of the Republican idea of punishing criminals for minor drug crimes with a policy of "put them in and throw away the key." The result is a prison population that has skyrocketed to 51,000 today from 13,000 in 1982. Worse, it costs more to incarcerate a person than it would to send them to Harvard. Michigan spends more than any other state on incarceration while it cuts funds to higher education.

Lessenberry predicted that the year 2010 will be a year of great change. Not only will 31 out of 38 state senators be term limited out, as well as the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and others, but the ballot will ask the voters of Michigan if a new Constitutional Convention should be summoned.

Usually, LivingBlue likes to link to media coverage of events, but the Livingston Press and Argus didn't bother to cover Lessenberry.

Don't Miss 'Activist' Piece in Press and Argus

The Livingston Press and Argus had a great piece over the weekend from Sue Kelly with the Sierra Club here in Michigan.

Kelly defends the role of activists in a free society, writing:

"The reality is that the activists are as fundamental to this democratic machine as the soldiers, the corporations, and the powerful leaders are. An incalculable debt is owed to those who wear the uniform of our country, protecting our way of life with great honor and sacrifice. We all need to be aware of how delicate democracy is, how willingly some will forgo justice and the health of our families to increase their bottom line. Sadly, those in power will always characterize the people who challenge the powerful and their profits as radical, uninformed and unpatriotic."

Something to think about this summer as you decide whether to play golf or knock on doors for a Democratic candidate.