Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Down in flames

That's what is happening in the "news" paper industry.  Read about it on InvestorPlace.com.

Apparently the Fort Worth Star-Telegram isn't the best investment. 

Maybe if they did reporting, instead of free advertising for their friends downtown, that would be a different story.  It's all about content.  And intent...

Content stinks.

Articles are poorly written and researched, tackling topics that aren’t compelling, and often exhibit unacceptable bias. Journalists are not doing their job.

Here’s an example. I just wrote an explosive investigative piece on corruption at the Tarrant Regional Water District in Fort Worth, Texas. John Basham, a challenger in the upcoming Tarrant Regional Water District election, said he repeatedly told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram — which is owned by The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) — about this corruption over a period of five years … and never investigated.

Why am I, a financial reporter by trade, doing investigative work that a local newspaper should be doing? Maybe that’s why its daily circulation has crashed over 60% from 537,000 daily in 2007 to 201,000 today. Maybe that’s why the stock has lost 97% of its value since 2005.

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