Your daily news fix
Mark Waligore, Daily editor
I don’t know about you, but my mornings are pretty hectic.
I gulp down breakfast. Drink coffee. Walk the dog. Drink more coffee. Check my Blackberry. Then catch the train or brave traffic in to work. Sometime between waking up, taking Lola for a stroll around the neighborhood and all of that coffee, I carve aside some quiet time to read my morning AJC. Usually, I’m on my screened-in porch, with (you guessed it) another cup of coffee.
On most mornings, I spend 30 minutes or so with the paper.
Thirty minutes.
That’s certainly not as much time as I would like. But on most mornings, it’s all that time allows. Our research shows that most of our daily readers — and readers of other newspapers around the country — spend only 15 minutes a day with their morning paper.
Fifteen minutes.
Over the last few weeks, you’ve heard a lot about the Sunday paper and how Sundays are different. As the Daily Editor, I wanted to chat about the Monday-Saturday newspapers — and talk about the differences between the weekday papers and the Sunday paper.
While our Sunday readers have more time to spend with the newspaper, our weekday readers told us they want a newspaper that they can scan quickly to learn the most important news of the day.
While the Sunday paper looks at the week that was and the week ahead, the daily newspaper tries to answer three questions: What happened yesterday? What will happen today? What will happen tomorrow?
While the Sunday paper is a bit more relaxed in tone, the daily newspaper is all about efficiency: The goal is to quickly provide our readers with as much news as possible. While Sunday is about depth, the daily newspaper is about breadth.
But there are also similarities between the daily and Sunday newspapers: Each tries to deliver a robust national, international and local report. Each recognizes the importance of holding public officials accountable. And each places a high value on ensuring that our stories are fair, balanced and accurate.
You’ve now seen the changes we made to both the daily and the Sunday papers. And we’ve heard from many of you about those changes (thank you). But I’d like to hear your thoughts on the weekday paper. We can chat about anything — from the front page, to story selection, to the daily sections, such as Metro, Sports and Living.
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46 comments Add your comment
Bob
May 12th, 2009
8:56 am
I wonder how you go about picking which obituaries get “featured” guestbooks?
John
May 12th, 2009
9:21 am
I’ve been OK with most of the changes to the daily AJC. However, I do miss what I call the scores page in the sports section. I realize the MLB and NBA scores and standings are still there. However, I want the one page where I can see such things as golf tournament scores, college scores, high school scores, sports transactions, etc. at a glance. I know all of this stuff is online and I am an avid Internet fan. However, I may have to go to a lot of different sites and pages online to get this information. This quick sports read is an important part of a morning newspaper that you have taken away from readers.
kbg
May 12th, 2009
9:28 am
I’m still hanging on to the Atlanta Journal habit … and don’t read the morning paper til the end of my day. It’s really “old” news by the time I get to it … so I’m not looking at headlines — I get that online during the day as it happens (ajc.com and others). Probably most of what I’m reading is not really time sensitive, just general interest. Really bugging me in the last several months, and getting progressively worse: typos! — I spot several each day (need a proofreader? I’m looking for a job!)
MJ
May 12th, 2009
9:40 am
I understand that you had to make difficult personnel reductions, but please pay closer attention to the editing. As KBG said, stories are riddled with typos and just plain mistakes. (Example: “Then catch the train or brave traffic into work.” Should be: “Then catch the train or brave traffic IN TO work.” Shawn, did you read this carefully before posting? All that “While our Sunday paper xxx, the daily paper xxx” is a bit overwrought.)
Headlines don’t match the stories and Associated Press updates to local stories read like rough cut-and-paste jobs. The corrections read like a short story. Take the time to make sure loyal readers get a GOOD read. It really is frustrating.
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
9:45 am
Hi, KBG,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re spotting so many typos in the newspaper (and I hope I haven’t made any in this post). As you can imagine, we’re bothered when we make mistakes, and we’re working harder to try to catch more errors before they reach your doorstep. For instance, we just put a pretty rigorous proof-reading process in place at nights. Given all of the changes we’ve made to the paper over the last few weeks, coupled with the fact that we’re constantly making tweaks on the fly to respond to issues that have come with the redesign, errors are still sneaking in. That’s not meant to be an excuse, but rather, an explanation. We’re working on it, I promise. And you should begin seeing some improvement.
D
May 12th, 2009
9:46 am
What has happened to My Style in the on line version? I miss seeing our local trendsetters.
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
9:49 am
Hi, MJ,
I’m intrigued by your comment that “headlines don’t match the stories and Associated Press updates to local stories read like rough cut-and-paste jobs.” Can you be more specific or cite a particular instance? I’d like to know more about that.
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
9:50 am
Hi, D,
I’m not sure about “My Style,” but I’m checking with our online folks. I hope to have an answer for you shortly.
David Powell
May 12th, 2009
9:56 am
I really like the new tv guide, but someone needs to get the folds right. It is set up for a perfect 1/8 fold, but everything is off so it will not do right…
The Winter Soldier
May 12th, 2009
9:56 am
How about making the “Sunday Paper” a day of rest from all the America-hating, Christian-persecuting, Caucasian-bashing, left-wing, Obama Kiss-Up fest and have at least a noticeable degree of objectivity.
Also, in case you jokers at the AJC didn’t know (and you apparently do NOT by your lacking coverage), Atlanta now has a NHL Hockey Team that is celebrating its 10th Anniversary here. How about at least a weekly update on it?
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
10:01 am
Hi, John,
Thanks for posting your comment about the Sports section. I agree that the score board feature added a lot to the section, and I’m sorry that you’re now going to different sites to find this information. I can tell you why we did what we did, but I think the more important piece of information to relay is that we’re working on restoring that feature. I hope to have something firmer in the next several days. You’re not the first person to mention this, and given all of the feedback we received, it’s something we’re trying to figure out. As a sports fan, I miss it, too.
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
10:05 am
Hi, D.
I just chatted with my friends in ajc.com, and they tell me that for some reason, the updating of that particular feature slipped through the cracks. We hope to have some new material posted online soon — perhaps as early as next week. Thanks again for letting me know.
Larry
May 12th, 2009
10:15 am
If there were more content, I would be pleased to spend more time with the paper. It takes less than 15 minutes to read now, frequently because there is so much less content. AP feeds and wire reports do not make content. I can, and do, get that from CNN or the other talking heads. Putting effort back in to local content might help me spend more than 15 minutes with the paper. More time with the paper would of course increase the number of ads I see.
J
May 12th, 2009
10:29 am
(Larry just beat me to the punch, but here it is anyway – more local coverage please!)
Local sports & local government news are the only reason for a daily paper. You’re mostly good on the local sports, but I’m starving for local (Atlanta) government coverage. The big three for Atlanta should be crime, traffic, and education – I want to read something I didn’t already know everyday about one, if not all, of these.
We get the police blotter, but rarely do we get anything from the mayor/police chief (unless the citizens stage rallies – see ATAC). Regarding the press conference announcing the arrest of the Standard murder suspect – thanks for verbatim report, but there a huge stories to report. Report about the gangs and what APD are doing about them. Report about how our severely underfunded/understaffed criminal justice system took four months to piece the evidence together (and perhaps how many crimes this kid committed in the meantime).
Regarding education, the new small schools initiative is a huge deal. Perhaps struggling schools may benefit, but most of us believe the good schools that we are counting on are going to be hurt by this. Please dig a bit deeper and help us hold APS accountable for such a massive change.
I believe the AJC must do more on local coverage to become the citizen’s advocate – otherwise, it’s not very useful to me.
Mark Waligore
May 12th, 2009
10:30 am
Hi, Larry,
Thanks for the post, though I’m going to have to quibble just a bit. Look at today’s paper. On the front page, there’s our story on Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine saying he’ll return $120,000 in questionable campaign contributions — less than a day after we first reported on them. We have a story on a computerized phone scam (and who among us hasn’t been slammed with these pesky warranty calls?) Did you read April Hunt’s story on the changes along Buford Highway in Doraville? I haven’t even mentioned our on-going coverage of the “water wars,” or Jeff Schultz’s column on the Hawks, or David O’Brien’s insight and insider information in his “Braves notes” feature. Yes, space is limited. And yes, folks don’t have as much time to spend with the daily paper as they do with the Sunday paper. But I’d have to say there’s a lot of news in the daily paper — and quite a bit of unique local content that you simply can’t find anywhere else. I do appreciate the comment, and I’d like to ask one last question: Any specific thoughts on local stories we ought to be covering?
Mark Waligore
May 12th, 2009
10:32 am
I’m running off to a meeting to plan tomorrow’s paper, but I’ll be back shortly.
Springs
May 12th, 2009
10:53 am
Mark – glad to see you guys are still taking comments on the new version of the newspaper. The print is so small, I cannot read it. The columns are so close together, you cannot just sit and soak the paper in like a newspaper is supposed to be read. Most of the stories are nothing more than Associated Press articles. Your slant towards the liberals remains puzzling if you want the folks advertisers are interested in subscribing. Everyone I have talked to about the new newspaper is embarassed. Atlanta is a major city. The AJC looks like a high school project. If you don’t change, you will be out of business by the end of the year, and that is a shame.
Chad Straka
May 12th, 2009
10:55 am
Here’s my issue. The AJC has been reasonably honest about the dire straits it’s in and the severe cuts in resources. OK, readers know this and still want a newspaper that covers the community well. But how does it make sense that with the limited remaining resources you’re spending them on all this redesign stuff and having all these high-level managers address the public when the one thing you have to sell us is news?!?!? How does this redesign get us readers more news about the community? How is you, Mark, spending your high-level manager hours getting more local news in the paper? All of the constructive comments on this site have focused on that. Let me tell you something, if you just printed a black-and-white, six-column sheet with 3×1-inch woodcuts (say, like the WSJ of five or six years ago — the highest circ paper in the land), YOU COULD HAVE MORE SPACE FOR LOCAL NEWS!!! And guess what: More people would get the paper. That is what you’re trying to sell us. Some of the reporting expressed in photos and charts is interesting, but please ask yourself the marginal-cost/benefit of having another reporter being able to cover story/beat or another artist/photog/designer being able to create an image based upon a reporter’s work. It’s this sort of fundemental business analysis that seems so foreign to newspaper managers (because they operated as monopolists for so long, I suppose).
Newspapers have been playing the re-design game for what, like, 40 years now? When has it ever made a bottom-line difference? Never; not once. At most, it serves the purpose to distract readers from the diminisishing size and content (we’re not that stupid, by the way). I think the cliche “moving the deck chairs on the Titanic” will soon be replaced by “Redesigning the Newspaper” as emblematic of an ultimately doomed enterprise.
I will forgo a further point of what will be necessary for the AJC to compete in the online world, as that is another topic. But the lack of managerial focus on the fundemental news-delivery function of the existing newspaper does not bode well for the future.
chris
May 12th, 2009
10:56 am
The AJC lost its value and relevance for me as a subscription when it became common for the hired staff to aggressively hype their personal political agenda. They should set up a personal blog site for such hype rather than hijack the media.
I refer to the AJC.com on occasion, but it is still disconcerting that the trivial and trashy take up the most prominent space on the AJC homepage. The hyped political agenda still occurs, but it is not on my (subscription) dime any longer, and I am free to skip it. The note-worthy news is relegated to the lower half of the page or the tabs while top-billing space is devoted to has-been celebrities and their self-destructive antics.
I am glad to see that the AJC.com significantly improved the Search Engine. Finally, it is a useful tool.
RECOMMENDATIONS for AJC.com:
(1.) Clean up the AJC content, return to serious reporting. Chose to target a well-read audience
(2.) Report DAILY on health, technology, business, political, and financial news.
(3.) Update Articles and News more often.
(4.) Revive the lost skill of Investigative Reporting
(5.) Do Not Denigrate Your Brand by Competing with The National Inquirer. Celebrities have a marvelous platform on Twitter, MySpace, blogs, etc. Let that demographic gleefully text their little thumbs off about Britney Spears and XL-Obnoxious.
Thank you.
MJ
May 12th, 2009
11:01 am
Thank you for taking comments. Older print edition are locked in the archive, so it’s hard to pull them. I have tried. It’s also hard to search for old stories from the home page. I have to use Google.
From today’s story about the UGA professor on the home page: “Fullington said Zinkhan dug a 15- to 18-inch deep hole, pulled a pallet full of dirt and debris on top of him and then fired a single shot to his head with .38 handgun. A gray Puma sports bag containing clothes and .22 handgun were found with him.”
Shouldn’t it be “with A .38-CALIBER handgun. … and A .22-CALIBER handgun”? I know these are “quibbles” but the little things make a big difference.
Charlie
May 12th, 2009
11:13 am
Mark, my newspaper habits have changed over the years, yes, partly because of the Internet. I used to subscibe to the AJC and the New York Times 7 days a week, then just on Sundays, then just the AJC, then just the NYT on Sunday. Now, I don’t subscribe to any print newspaper. I spend the first part of my day in front of the PC reading several newspaper sites, first the AJC, a little of the NYT, and then onto CNN & Fox.
I’d like to tell you the Internet was the sole driver of this change, but unfortunately an equal consideration was the lack of content in the AJC on Sundays. For some reason, and I am unable to be very precise here, I just feel that there could be substantially more specialty and other content. An example that appeals to me personally is technology. It is now handled in two columns of largely commentary on the same topics over and over again by the same writer. Now, I don’t like it when people begin with “Now here’s how they do it in New York…”, but that newspaper has significant content and an overall broader scope in my opinion.
If I were designing a Sunday newspaper, I think I would get the NYT, along with the Chicago Tribune, perhaps the Miami Herald and maybe the Los Angeles Times and whatever the San Francisco paper is called, and look critically at them to see what combination of parts would be most appealing to Atlanta & Georgia readers.
Doing such a thing would offer more than can be obtained on any website, since the “shelf life” of such a newspaper would be longer than the first touch, i.e. pick up the paper in the morning, deal with it in whatever timeframe is appropriate to you, then out it goes. Elements of this newly designed newspaper would include glossy magazine sections, multi-advertiser coupon inserts for the week, printed on a heavier stock, perforated, a monthly Special Report on some topic that would be an insert, and of course nationally syndicated columnists and writers. And the local news of the week is covered as appropriate, put to bed in two stages, one for stories that can be reported on by Friday and the other to be in a later edition printed for home delivery and covering news through Saturday mid-day.
There would be two by-products of this…creation of jobs at the AJC and significantly increased advertising opportunities for local and national advertisers. The former is because of the increased requirements for writing and content and research staff and the latter because not only could the AJC offer “regular” advertising, i.e. ROP, but also advertising in the special sections that people would retain after Sunday to read later on in the week. At least I think this is how it would play out. Never designed a newspaper before.
Bob used-to-be-at-AJC
May 12th, 2009
11:16 am
Hi Bob,
You asked about the “featured” obituaries. I was waiting for Mark or one of the writers to respond, but here is my understanding. The featured obituaries must be timely and of general interest to the public. The person does not have to be famous or widely know, but their life and accomplishments should be noteworthy. Either the funeral home or an individual can notify one of the obit writers about someone of interest. The writer will confirm the situation with the funeral home and then find family and friends to interview. Typically a picture is needed that shows the person doing a hobby or some other activity related in the obituary.
Again, the story needs to be timely with regard to the funeral or memorial service.
I hope this is an adequate answer. If not, maybe a more complete answer will be forthcoming.
Mark Waligore
May 12th, 2009
11:27 am
Hi, J,
I’m now back from my meeting, and I wanted to respond to your post. You wrote that you’re starving for local government coverage. I’ll stipulate that we could always do more, but I feel as if we’ve really hit our stride in providing readers more meaningful coverage of their local governments. I would point to David Bennett’s work on the DeKalb County tax assessors or Eric Stirgus’ coverage of the Atlanta public schools budget. In looking at our Metro section today, you’ll see that we reported on new police officers in Sandy Springs, an upcoming hearing on alcohol restrictions before the DeKalb County Commission, city workers moving into new office space in Woodstock, and a happy-ending story between Gwinnett County and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. I would also point to Take to Task, which runs inside our Metro section at least twice a week. Talk about holding public officials accountable! So far, we’ve gotten hundreds of pesky neighborhood problems fixed. I’d also hold up our Government Scorecard and Weekahead features, which run on Mondays. Of course, not everything we write is a long story, nor does it need to be. But in looking closely at the paper, I feel pretty good with where we’re heading (and remember, I stipulated earlier that we could always do more). If you have some specific story ideas you’d like to suggest, please let me know.
carl m aven
May 12th, 2009
11:52 am
Good People ;
We are in bad economic times being nourished by the Keynesian financial stimuli that your paper endorses .That is your right ,but. a grev.ious error that will haunt all of us in the future.
Having said that,it places you in the position of having to support that philosophy and the recipients thereof.
My friends ..that is not your market …..the entitlement takers do not provide jobs..do not take the corporate risks…do not pay the brunt of the taxes in this country.
Truly Yours;
Carl M Aven
770-992-2092
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
12:07 pm
MJ,
Those typos you pointed out in on our online story have been fixed. Thanks!
C South
May 12th, 2009
12:22 pm
Please add Lacrosse scores in the boxscore section of Sports!!
Dump the local columns on Saturday and bring back a real editorial page – it’s one of my favorite sections of any paper and not having it on Saturdays ticks me off.
The AP is a biased source of right-wing malarky. Please disassociate yourselves from those yahoos.
It’d be nice to see some meatier reporting on local and state issues. Most of what you print seems to be straight from the PR junk the governments pump out on a daily basis.
Finally, add some more women to the sports page.
Mark J.
May 12th, 2009
12:35 pm
Why can’t the AJC provide a more complete TV guide? If not 24 hours, at least bring back a complete daytime list. I’m interested in daytime programming as well as what come on television after 6:00 PM. I understand most cable/satellite providers provide a program list but for me it has always been quicker to look at the TV guide.
ChrisC
May 12th, 2009
1:47 pm
1. I use the AJC primarily for local news. I’m interested in whats going on in the area not just Atlanta. I know the “A” in AJC is for Atlanta but you are the primary paper for the entire metro area. Please cover all of the local counties better.
2. The new format has some readability issues. I admit that i wear bifocals but I simply can’t read some of the text because of the small fonts and the way the different colors bleed into the paper. I’ve actually given up on the comics entirely.
3. I prefer to have the local business news easy to find. When it is buried in the A section I tended to not go digging for it.
4. Delivery has gotten terrible again. It is consistently late (i.e., after I’ve left for work).
Roger
May 12th, 2009
1:54 pm
I do not read the paper. I am too busy in the morning just trying to get to work. I do read the online http://www.ajc.com though at work. I enjoy it. As a whitewater enthusiast I am more interested in how much precipitation will fall and where than the actual weather. I am also interested in topics that involve bicycle commuting, green space, and etc.
Tyree
May 12th, 2009
2:41 pm
I have a sunday only subscription to the AJC. When it expires soon, I will not renew for another year. Because the new format is awkward in size and difficult to read. Leisure reading a sunday AJC on sunday is gone.
Mark Waligore, Daily Editor
May 12th, 2009
4:00 pm
Bob,
I’m sorry that I didn’t respond to your post sooner. Because it involved online “guestbooks,” I once again needed to chat with my friends at ajc.com. But first, let me talk about obituaries in general. On my desk, I keep a copy of “The Last Word: The New York Times Book of Obituaries and Farewells.” I refer to the book often, and it’s reminded me that the obituaries can sometimes be the best-written stories in the newspaper. What makes a worthwhile obituary? It’s simple: stories of ordinary folks who enrich the tale of life without shaking the earth. For the most part, that is standard we follow in the printed newspaper. Consider, for instance, today’s staff-written obituary on Joseph Kyle Orr, the local investor who ran the “Pot O’ Gold.” Or Monday’s staff-written obituary on Harold Elphingstone, the former Delta pilot who had many passions in life — mainly his love of birds and his love of flying. I’ve read that the best-written obituaries celebrate life — not death, and in the book I mentioned earlier, the obituaries of are referred to as “stimulants to sweet memories of better times.” As for the online guestbook, we promote that when the person is particularly well-known, such as Coretta Scott King, or when that person’s death has tugged at a community’s heart strings, such as John Henderson, the beloved bartender who was killed during a robbery at a Grant Park tavern.
Jane
May 12th, 2009
4:26 pm
Things started going downhill when you removed the “Dixie” from Sunday Living section, and “Covers Dixie Like the Dew” tag line.
Please don’t mess with the obits or the vent. They are the only reason I subscribe.
Mlee
May 12th, 2009
6:02 pm
I have been a loyal reader of AJC for many years. It has dismayed me to see AJC writers replaced by syndicated writers, such as Roger Moore, or AP wires. I like to read a paper and the content is not meaty enough these days for my habits. I swore that I would stick by the paper if the Food Guide remained the same. Alas, imagine my dismay when I opened Thursday’s paper last week to see very little in print and several features appeared eliminated or clearly shortened. I just sent in a subscription request to WSJ….and may drop AJC, just picking up my Sunday paper at the grocery for the coupons, etc. The AJC is no longer written for readers…what a shame.
Odd Thomas
May 12th, 2009
11:35 pm
Boy, the Editors writing in your blog section have thin skin.
Shawn McIntosh
May 12th, 2009
11:53 pm
Odd Thomas, why do you say that? I am curious to know more about your reaction.
Mark
May 13th, 2009
8:17 am
All the emphasis on Sunday leaves the week day paper looking like a has been. So many things got moved to Sunday, like the Buyer’s Edge Saturday section for one example. I can’t believe I’m paying for such a thin paper during the week.
It almost seems like you’ve screwed over the week day subscribers to please the Sunday crowd. I don’t like the narrower format as I can’t read it without glasses. I don’t see a 7 day a week subscription as a good value, though I haven’t cancelled yet. Heck, the food section was only four pages long last week and two of those pages were a Kroger’s and an Ingles ad. There’s just nothing left.
Clendon
May 16th, 2009
8:52 am
@Mark – The AJC wont be printing a weekday paper much longer. My friend works in the newsroom and says all the editors and reporters admit that the weekday papers are boring and useless.
BF
May 17th, 2009
10:36 am
I waited several weeks before deciding to add my two-cents’ worth of commentary about the new newspaper format. I’ve had enough, and will not be renewing my subscription. What I can’t fathom is that the AJC boasted that it spent over a million dollars to look like this. If this had done in any other line of commerce, I would think it would be labeled financial mismanagement. I must agree in part with Chris’ comments (May 12th). The AJC has indeed “lost all its value and relevance” for me. It looks like a USA Today wannabee, with the type set smaller and more difficult to read, and adopting all those full-color trashy trendy cutesy over-sized banners/captions to disguise the fact that AJC is printing a great deal less. I’m not getting my money’s worth. Chris also did a very good job on addressing AJC’s editorial policy of sensationalistic reactionary rhetoric. And the editor’s idea of what is worthy of being carried as news is certainly not mine. The AJC does indeed need to get back to the basics and better reporting.
conservative reader
May 18th, 2009
2:40 pm
thank you, thank you for running Thomas Sowell’s and George Will’s columns yesterday…. I simply do not understand how any logical person could argue against their views.
Jonathan
May 18th, 2009
10:21 pm
Mark –
Do you all seriously track the origin of your online audience and harass them like this? This is over the top.
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/62538
Serene
May 23rd, 2009
3:01 pm
It followed the link from Jonathan above and found the whole process of AJC reporters spying on blog posters and trying to silence them chilling. Let’s have the reporters and the editors who tried to suppress speech on AJC.com come out of the shadows and take responsibility for their actions.
The AJC would never accept “we explained our policy” as a substitute for accountability and we the readers should not either.
J Reacher
May 23rd, 2009
8:18 pm
Ah, but don’t you find it comforting when our ’superiors’, those arrogant elitists who always know what’s best for us turn out to be petty mortals?
Shawn McIntosh, AJC Public Editor
May 30th, 2009
11:25 pm
Jonathan, don’t know if you saw my comment at the bottom of the article you linked to; it might have been added after you posted the link.
And Serene, the AJC does not try to silence blog posters; comments are removed only if readers alert us to a concern or something objectionable like obscenity slips through. If you read the article, you will see the author was actually making the case that the AJC should pre-screen comments.
serene
June 2nd, 2009
8:23 pm
Shawn,
I went to the link and re read the story and your comments at the bottom. When the AJC looks up the IP address of commenters on the blog and then tries to publicly identify them because it might be “newsworthy” in their sovereign opinion, I think that is trying to silence people from writing freely.
Let’s have the editors and the reporters in this matter step out of the shadows and into the public light so we can judge their actions for ourselves.
Had someone in government followed a similar approach you would never allow the matter to end with “we reviewed our policy”. I would like to see the AJC come clean and explain the whole affair with names and reasons publically explained.
Mike
June 21st, 2009
9:36 am
Pathetic. This once-great Southern newspaper has wasted away — like a dying cancer patient on life-support. It’s not much more than a useless tabloid anymore. Paper has kept shrinking in small increments — they think nobody notices — there is less and less in it. Really who is going to pay to read this thing anymore? Certainly not me. They really just need to put this newspaper out of its misery and be done with it! It’s really time to pull the plug. RIP AJC.
Ken Bailey
July 22nd, 2009
11:53 am
Today I read an article that stated that white males in Georgia were more impacted by unemployment in the current economic downturn than any other group, but no information was given on the percentage breakdown of those other groups. Just over two weeks ago an article sourced from the Georgia Dept of Labor indicated that unemployment for white males in Georgia had reached 8.4 percent while unemployment for black males exceeded 16 percent. Which article is correct?