DAILY PILOT HONCHO WANTS YOU TO KNOW THE PAPER IS NOT THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER
(Photo is not of Brady Rhoades. Honest. It's Pee Wee Herman. Really.)
Brady Rhoades has a column in the DP today, in which he tells readers that the paper has received complaints about their National Enquirer-like story about a TV star and a beauty contest. LINK
But no sooner does one read Rhoades' column saying that the paper isn't a new National Enquirer than does one see a new story in the paper--"Beauty gives dating advice"--about a dating advice book written by a woman who is looking for Mr. Right. The author appears in a sultry pose with a come hither look. LINKHey, hey, Rhoad
es, how about a centerfold and stories about space aliens taking over Costa Mesa City Hall? Stick with us Rhoadsie, we'll help put the DP in the black. We know newspapers. We played a reporter in a movie once.Actually, the CM PRESS isn't criticizing Rhoades or the DP about trying to publish material that will draw readers. What we do criticize them for is trying to pretend that's not what they're doing.
The paper has to do something to get readers and advertisers or it's not going to be in business much longer. The old saws about "sex selling," and "if it bleeds, it leads," are just as true today as they were when they were first said.
You can't bore people into reading your newspaper.
Long before newspapers became "respectable" and stuffy, they published all sorts of wild things. Just read newspapers from the early days. They were all National Enquirers in their early days, and then they started taking themselves too seriously.
Remember, dear friends, the CM PRESS is a kind and compassionate blog and we like having a daily newspaper in our city--even if we don't read the paper version--so we're doing our part to help get readers over to the DP to keep it afloat. That's why we link to the paper from our much read blog, and why we often mention the paper in our columns.
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OBAMA SCREWING UP ON THE WAR FRONT
It looks as though the screwball neocons have gotten to Obama. George Bush's ill conceived wars are now becoming Obama's wars as Obama slows down the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and plans on sending more Marines to Afghanistan. LINK
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WESTSIDE FACILITATOR?
Some of the Improvers have been talking about the possible need for a Westside Facilitator (or, Ombudsman, Coordinator, Cheerleader) to reach out to developers and others interested in helping improve the Westside and to be there when they need help.
The present thinking is that such a person might be an unpaid volunteer (or volunteers) who can help developers find an easy path to developing on the Westside.
Thus, such a person or persons should be well versed in the real inner workings of local government and be on a first name basis with city employees in the various departments and agencies that would have some say in what needs to be done.
The idea is that developers would just have to make one phone call to the Facilitator to grease the skids to bring in what the Westside needs, and to avoid making costly mistakes along the way.
Maybe this should be sort of like a "Westside Desk" in City Hall, manned by a series of volunteers.
--Developing--
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NEW ARTICLE ON BISHOP WILLIAMSON
Pope turns into modern Grand Inquisitor. Hey, try water boarding. He'll say anything you want after that bit of non-torture torture. LINK
Even if you're not a Catholic this might be interesting to watch. We wonder if Bishop Williamson might make a complete split from Rome and start his own new version of the Catholic Church. Remember, he came from one such split-off to the present controversy.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
