SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
March 29, 2018
Sullivan’s
Salvos 4/3/18
In this edition:
*Happy
Birthday Jordan!
*Press
Citizen Debacle
*Dems
Hall of Fame
*Gun Hypocrisy
*Kaufmann Update
*Did You Know?
*Happy Birthday Jordan!
My daughter Jordan turns 24 on April 8th. Jordan
graduated a couple years ago from Western Illinois University, and is working
with youth in Memphis, Tennessee. More importantly, she is a really good
person. Man, am I ever proud! Happy Birthday, Jordan! I love you!
*Press Citizen Debacle
As you may recall, I
wrote a piece last week that was critical of the Press Citizen. That prompted
Katie Brumbelow of the Press Citizen to contact me and ask me to get a cup of
coffee. I followed up immediately, because I think good representative
government requires good local media.
Unfortunately,
the meeting was a disaster. I thought perhaps the Press Citizen was going to
make an honest, earnest effort to listen. I hoped they would make an honest,
earnest effort to improve. Instead, Katie wanted to lecture me as to how little
I know about the newspaper business.
Well,
I know enough to know that their paper is a joke. I know enough to know that
their readership, subscriptions, and advertising are all in free fall. I know
enough to know that whatever they are doing, it is not working.
Her
response SHOULD have been, “We’ll try to do better.” The minimum acceptable
response would have been, “Sorry.” I got neither. I got a line of BS about how
4-5 writers cannot possibly cover the School Board, City Council, and Board of
Supervisors.
Really?
Then explain to me how the Solon Economist does it with 2 writers? People who
read the Economist know exactly what is going on with the School Board and
Council there. Why is it that a 6 day per week paper with more staff in Iowa
City cannot accomplish what a smaller weekly does just 9 miles up the road?
(By
the way, I write these 1000-1500 word missives every week on top of a family,
volunteering, and a 40+ hour per week job. So forgive me if I am just not that
sympathetic!)
4
writers ought to, in theory, be able to churn out one article per day each.
With a 5-day workweek for each, that is 20 stories. (It also seems like a
pretty minimal expectation.) The paper runs 6 days per week. That means we
should expect 3 local stories every day, with an occasional 4th
thrown in. I showed her the paper. It had 2 local stories. As did the paper
right before it. As do most.
I should note – none
of this is intended to disparage any writers, past or present. The writers do
what they are told, and usually do it well. This is about management. Poor
management.
Katie
literally told me “people do not care what happens” at a School Board meeting.
I do not believe that for one second. Sure, if you post a School Board article
next to a bunch of Kardashian photos, it is entirely possible that more people
will click on the Kardashians. I do not find that to be the equivalent of a
scientific study demonstrating people do not care about the School Board.
More importantly, it
does not MATTER that more people click on the Kardashians! A big part of the
job of the paper is to tell us what we NEED to know. It may not be sexy, but it
is critical. That is the JOB, and they are simply choosing not to do it.
Here
is the really important point: Dating back to the dawn of our country, the
press has played a critical and irreplaceable role in the functioning of our
society. The Press Citizen has COMPLETELY and TOTALLY abdicated that
responsibility. And that is sad.
In pretty much any
other industry, this wouldn’t matter much. If a restaurant is lousy, there are
other places to buy a meal. If your gym doesn’t meet your needs, you can switch
to another. You can switch attorneys, banks, auto repair shops, etc. But local
media has no substitute. And without it, our civic institutions suffer.
The
Press Citizen is unwilling to do what it takes. Who out there will step up in
their place? Little Village? Economist? Gazette? Anyone? I will do my best to
help you!
As
for the Press Citizen? Shame on you! You have betrayed a sacred trust!
*Dems Hall of Fame
The
Johnson County Democratic Party is holding our Annual Hall of Fame Awards event
on Saturday, May 12 at 7pm at Brown
Deer. Please join us for coffee, desserts, and plenty of old war stories! A
cash bar will be available. Parking is free.
The
Hall of Fame inductees for 2017 are: Senator
Bob and Chairperson Sue Dvorsky. We
hope you can join us in recognizing this remarkable couple! In addition, this
year there will be a couple additional awards honoring local activists.
Tickets
are available for a $25 suggested donation. People who cannot afford that
amount should still feel welcome, but please call 354-7199 so we can get a
count.
Sponsorships are available
at the following levels:
$100 includes
two tickets
$250 includes
4 tickets
$500 includes
a whole table (8 tickets)
Checks can be mailed to:
Johnson County Democrats
PO Box 1773
Iowa City, IA 52244
If
you have any questions, please contact Rod Sullivan at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. We hope you will join us for a fun evening, and
lend your voice to those who are honoring these very deserving people. We look
forward to seeing you!
*Gun Hypocrisy
You
cannot take a weapon into the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
You cannot take a weapon into meetings of the Republican National Committee
(RNC). What – don’t they want to be safer?
*Kauffman Update
As
you may recall, last week I challenged State Representative Bobby Kaufmann to a
debate on HF2372. (I texted him the challenge before it appeared in Salvos.) I
have not yet received a response from Representative Kaufmann. I will keep you
posted.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Christian churches calculate Easter as the first Sunday after the first
full moon on or after the March 21 Equinox. That means the earliest possible
date for Easter is March 22, while the latest possible date is April 25.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 5:27 PM
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