The worm turns. Did some getting around this week and found myself in close association with a top circulation department guy at the Niagara Gazette and, in a different scenario, with a former friend of ousted Tonawanda News co-publisher Terry Shaw.
The stories weren't pretty. Apparently Shaw got the axe when it became known that upwards of 1,000 copies of the paper were being distributed straight to the dumpster. Since the News now boasts a measly circulation of 8,815 to begin with, a thousand copies represents significant padding.
Shaw is reportedly now safely working for his wife's family down in Tennessee, unable to inflict his special brand of "journalism" on any innocent bystanders.
At the Gazette, we hear that all those people who bought into the special reduced "football package," in which you were supposed to get the Saturday, Sunday and Monday papers at a reduced rate -- when really you got all seven days' papers for that one low price -- or those who had never subscribed and began receiving the paper and, subsequently, the bills, which they were told to tear up and forget about, have now lost their service.
Earlier this year, the Audit Bureau of Circulation put the kibosh to the circulation figures of all four publications in the Greater Niagara Newspapers chain. The Gazette was downgraded to a circulation of 20,367. Now that the audit is over, the freebies have ended, and the circulation of the county's "paper of record" reportedly stands at less than 15,000.
None of this would matter, of course, if the rates charged for advertising in the paper weren't directly linked to the circulation figures.
Down in Long Island, several top executives at Newsday are facing federal fraud charges for inflating circulation in order to wring more money out of advertisers.
Speaking of the Gazette, got my hands on one of the questionnaires they're sending out to candidates in the upcoming county Legislature contests. Aside from the fact that the questions themselves seem to be aimed at a third-grader, a casual read of the document would indicate that the writers over there rely heavily on the spell-check device to do their copy editing for them.
How else could you explain "If you're elected, what the first think you'll do?"
Unbeknownst to Gazette Publisher Wayne Lowman, it's this tragic lack of professionalism that has made his paper a local laughingstock. Lowman is far more concerned about sending money earned in Niagara Falls down to Alabama every day than he is about the product he's trying to sell here.
Given his special brand of "leadership," the paper might now be well titled the Niagara Obituary or the Niagara Police Blotter, since those are the only features anyone here actually reads.
The wall-to-wall coverage given to that nutjob down in Texas claiming to be the long-lost Russell Mort provides ample evidence of the paper's rudderless course.
Talked with Gary Parenti this week, and his campaign to unseat Francine Del Monte in the upcoming Democratic Primary for the 138th state Assembly seat seems to be gaining momentum.
Del Monte has distinguished herself by siding with Mayor Vince Anello in the obstructionist policy that's kept Niagara Falls from seeing a dime of the $12 million we were supposed to get from the casino cash revenue this year, and also by playing toady to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Silver's district in Lower Manhattan has reaped billions in state aid since the terrorist attacks four years ago, while Del Monte's district -- our district -- has withered on the vine, much of it only looking as though it was attacked by terrorists.
Come November, the race might be between Parenti and NFPD Capt. Ernie Palmer, who hasn't yet officially announced his candidacy. That would be a tough call for the Reporter, as both are fine candidates and either would certainly constitute an improvement over what we're living with now.
Finally, I got the chance to fire a large-caliber rifle that Jim Copia and I have been building over the summer. Went out to the LaSalle Sportsmen's Club, where I'm a member, with Roger Trevino, who's been staying weekends up here to oversee the operation at the Fallsville Splash Water Park.
Trevino's quite the shot, as you might expect from a Texan. I was just glad the thing didn't blow up in my face, as Jim and I are new to this rifle-building business.
Jim's laid up with a bad back and couldn't come, but I saved a few rounds out for him when he makes his recovery. He'll get a kick out of it.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Aug. 16 2005 |