1. John C.

   Once again, where in all of this “a merger would save piles of money” talk is a discussion about what would happen to the quality of the content? If publishers spent as much time thinking about ways to develop more in-depth, compelling content without slashing their operations as they do “daydreaming” (as he put it) about saving money, perhaps our newspapers would be in better shape than they are now.

   I find it hilarious that he decries the “bean counting” ways of the S-T’s owners, when the very premise of his column is about ways to “save tons of money” while creating a monopoly on news …

   Sep 10th, 2008

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2. brandon

   I don’t think DMN has much to gain from those ideas. They’ve already made significant inroads into S-T territory, with coverage, subscribers, and distribution/delivery people and infrastructure

   I’m still a S-T subscriber, but I won’t be renewing when this 6 mos is up. I was unaware of much of their financial straits, but up until not too long ago, the content and presentation was still good. Now it’s sad watching them consolidate sections, and fail miserably at covering local news. I get the impression that they are just circling the drain.

   I wouldn’t want any piece of a sinking ship while it’s still sinking. I imagine DMN would just wait and participate in the salvage operation… cherry pick reporters, columnists, and assets if they want (or need) them. And that is a big IF, getting bigger.

   Sep 10th, 2008

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3. ears1foru

   Why buy when you can take it over for free…Wes Turner cared and finally gave up. Watch to see if they hire a Austin Bureau guy since the last one just left. If they farm it out look for Oliver Dyers ads to be in DMN Tarrant County addition.

   Sep 10th, 2008

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4. MartiniGirl

   From what I hear, DMN and Star T are already sharing some content and deliveries. (i.e. - DMN distributors are delivering the Star T to Dallas subscribers and vise versa.) Unfortunately it’s hard to think of the Star T sticking around for much longer when the quality has taken a sharp nose-dive since the first round of lay-offs and buy-outs. And now that another large group of people are in their last days from a second round of buy-outs, I don’t see how even fewer people doing the same amount of work is going to make quality and content any better.

   Sep 12th, 2008

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5. Diane Wolfe

   As I understand it, the history of JOAs suggests they do not work.

   Private equity groups and investors may know investing, but they don’t understand newspapers. Such a buyer was exactly what I feared when K-R put the paper up for sale.

   Fort Worth needs a paper that will cover the S-T circulation area as its primary market, not as a suburb of Dallas. The two metro centers are as different as they can be; I’ve worked in both.

   The Star-Telegram is a brand that has value. Maybe that’s the way we need to look at it. As a brand. Now, where does that take us?

   Sep 15th, 2008

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6. urbndwlr

   No way. Losing our local paper would be a huge tragedy. It is already sad that we, the 17th largest city in the nation, do not have truly local television or radio stations (rather regional ones we have to share with Dallas). Cities need local media to provide critical, in-depth local information to their local community. Regional media completely fails to do that as it covers far too much geographic area.
   Notice how infrequently the 4 television networks really drill down on local issues that affect Fort Worth and its citizens. Fort Worth is plenty large (and growing rapidly) to justify its own set of media. Does Baltimore share media with Washington DC?

   My suggestion is that anyone who values the service our local paper provides should support it by paying the modest amount for a subscription. Not only do I enjoy reading the paper (despite my gripes about it), but I view my subscription as a small gesture of support for this essential part of our community. I hope others will do the same..

   Sep 15th, 2008

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7. John MacFarlane

   Who cares, shut’em both down. In the age of cyberspace, who needs “paper” papers. Has anyone heard of the internet? And what about all the trees that die for newspaper production. Newspapers are NOT Earth friendly. LIVE GREEN!

   Sep 15th, 2008

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8. Foat Wouth, I Luv Yew!

   Actually, Baltimore and Washington do in fact now have the same media. There’s some local stuff, but the majority of big money media in the country is now regional. When I lived in Chicago, Rockford wasn’t really thought of as a distinct market, nor Gary, Indiana. There aren’t two different NBC affiliates serving Minneapolis and St Paul.

   Two papers made sense when we were two different cities. Now, with the growth of Arlington, North Fort Worth, Keller, Southlake, and the like, we’re kind of one distinct part of a megapolis. Admittedly, Fort Worth west of 35 considers itself to be completely and totally a different deal, but the feeling on the other side isn’t so mutual. If anything, in the opinion of Dallas, we suffer from a sort of benign neglect here. We’re an afterthought, a place with some museums, nice to visit for the day, and utterly charming. You know, a suburb.

   Sep 15th, 2008

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9. Kevin Buchanan

   If papers want to survive they will need to go intensely local in the future. The S-T should stop all coverage of anything not in Fort Worth city limits, for starters. What do I care what new restaurant just opened up in Burleson or Arlington or Hurst? I expend mental energy to *not* go to those places. Stop taking up space in the paper talking about the goings on in Fort Worth suburbs and Dallas. Fort Worth First and Only.

   Sep 16th, 2008

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10. urbndwlr

    In response to John MacFarlane’s post, I don’t suppose it would matter if the local news is deliverd printed on paper or electronically. The key thing at risk is the existance of companies that employ teams of journalists on whom we rely for our information on our community.

    In recent years we have seen much of society (including most people my age - 30s) abandon print subscriptions in favor of reading news online at no cost. When news gathering organizations can do a thorough job covering very local matters and afford to employ journalists, then we will have arrived at a time when the industry has sorted out the shift in medium.

    Sep 16th, 2008

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