Teaching Journalistic Misery
I can testify from experience that one of the surprises about trying to launch a new newspaper in these United States is the bizarre pre-emptive abuse you'll receive from the people who should theoretically be happiest about it: journalism professors and media critics. Today's example—Richard Hendrickson, assistant professor of communications at John Carroll University, heaping scorn on a The New Cleveland Press, a new broadsheet aimed at readers 50 and over, launched by a dreamer named Randy Nyerges.
"Like a lot of people who want to start a newspaper, he seems to be full of himself," Hendrickson said. [?]
"The op-ed pages are nothing more than a Web log in print. The font's too big. [Readers 50 and older] do have glasses."
As is often the case, these criticisms just make me want to read the paper more. [Link via Romenesko]
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Oh fuck him. Who’s ever heard of the “John Carroll University?”
It’s a college in northern Ohio, near Cleveland (if memory serves).
My best man/best friend is (1) from nothern Ohio and (2) is named John Carroll. It made for a pretty funny window sticker in his car and an easy way to remember where to shop for him …
Um, JCU is actually a pretty well-known school in Div III, and even more so among Jesuit colleges. Don’t extrapolate your ignorance to other people.
I applaud the effort — Cleveland needs something to counter the shitty Plain Dealer. But I wonder if the name is designed to appeal to readers for whom that damned Dick Feagler is too liberal.
I’m from Pennsylvania: it’s one of my foremost goals in life to remain as ignorant as possible of all things Ohio.
Yes, it is in Northern Ohio near Cleveland and is, in fact, a fine school.
Evan, that is one of the most foolish statements I’ve read in a long time; there is no excuse for one to choose to remain ignorant about a geographical region. This perhaps says more about you than it does Ohio.
And yes, the Plain Dealer is a dreadful rag.
If I lived in Ohio, I too would be tempted to subscribe.
Where the fuck is Northern Ohio??? Is it one of them Carribean islands? Maui, oahu, ohio….?
LiA,
Your joke would’ve been funnier if you had any accuracy in the post. Either pick islands that actually ARE in the Carribean or just say Hawaiian islands instead.
No sense of humor here.
Move along.
Move along.
We’re supposed to be dumping on bozo professors and critics, not on people who don’t know anything about Ohio. Nobody cares about Ohio except John Kerry’s campaign manager.
Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming,
we’re finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
No one cares about O-Hi-O.
The prof goes into turbo pit bull mode over a guy who cracked into his piggybank to publish a 12-page newspaper and misspelled a word?! Uh-huh. Methinks the prof might be a little better at the teaching thing than the doing thing and feels a wee bit sensitive about that. The viciousness of his attack was actually pretty hilarious. Kind of akin to going to an elementary school choir rehearsal and judging it like it’s opening night at La Scala.
Amy has a great web site– boink on her name and read it (I just did). I should get a TV or newpaper to keep up on these cool new pundits.