Flablog

Your correspondent has been posting lightly lately because things have been a bit stressful and uncertain in his life lately. His employer, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, just laid off 99 of his friends and co-workers. Yes, this is happening all over and times are bad in the industry but that doesn't make it easier.

Since the N-J announced that it's up for sale, people outside the business talk about to your correspondent as though he has a sick relative. As in, "Oh, and how is your Aunt Martha? I heard about her and am so sorry to hear about it ... though, well, with the way she drank and all, I can't say anybody's not entirely surprised."

Hard times all around. Thanks to those who wrote to ask.

+ Almost 1,000 newspaper workers laid off around the country this week.

Labels: flablog, Media, World's Most Famous Beach

Editorials:
+ Florida Today: Here's a great idea: Let's do something utterly reckless that puts Florida's tourist-dependent economy and rich marine life at serious risk and does nothing -- absolutely nothing -- to cut the price of gas and end our nation's addiction to oil. Crazy? It sure is.
+ Lakeland Ledger: The former Florida legislator who was once known as "Chain Gang Charlie"... is now known as Gov. Charlie Crist. He's earned a new nickname as well: "Change Mind Charlie."

Columns:
+ Cerebino: This week, I had to find a new TV show to explain our governor. I couldn't use F Troop anymore. ...
+ Lane: This is the week that Gov. Charlie Crist went from being the post-partisan, post-Bush, New Model Republican phenomenon to just another loyal Bushie reading the old talking points. It's kind of sad.
+ Littlefield: That wasn't just any normal flip-flop. What Gov. Charlie Crist attempted this week was a triple back flip followed by a triple salchow.

Labels: Charlie Crist, Environment, Media

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal -- Crist's flip-flop on offshore exploitation is indefensible.
+ Fort Myers News-Press -- It’s time to open Gulf to oil, gas research. (Note: By "research" they mean "drilling.")
+ Gainesville Sun -- McCain and Crist appear to believe that there is a political advantage in offering voters the false hope of achieving lower gas prices and energy independence through offshore drilling.
+ Miami Herald -- Gov. Charlie Crist's stunning reversal of his position on drilling for oil and gas off the Florida coastline is all about politics and political ambition. Sadly for the governor and state residents, the abrupt switch has very little to do with sound energy policy.
+ Orlando Sentinel -- Vice presidential candidate Charlie Crist, formerly Florida's environmental governor, showed on Tuesday what drives him.
+ Palm Beach Post -- Floridians who thought the state might benefit from Gov. Crist's closeness to John McCain can forget about that. When the choice is between doing what's best for Florida and what's best for John McCain/Charlie Crist, the governor on Tuesday let it be known that he's going to make the call based on political ambition.
+ Sarasota Herald Tribune -- McCain and Crist appear to believe that there is a political advantage in offering voters the false hope of achieving lower gas prices and energy independence through offshore drilling. Clearer-thinking Republicans in Congress and in Florida should straighten them out.
+ Sun- Sentinel -- Offshore drilling isn't a short-term strategy for relief. It's a short-sighted strategy, period.
+ Tampa Tribune -- Sen. John McCain's reversal of his position on offshore oil drilling diminishes his reputation as a straight-talking maverick. On this issue, he is offering a false promise of quick fixes to today's high gas prices.

Columns --
+ Troxler -- Drilling advocates from some other states sometimes accuse Florida of thinking that it is special. You know what? It is. Yessir. It is too special to succumb to false promises of cheaper gas and "energy independence." Florida is too special to sell out its coast for a royalty check.
+ Rolling Stone -- I think most people know, on a gut level, that something non-supply/demand-related is going on with the oil markets. And that the answer to sky-high prices at the pump is not putting oil platforms off Daytona Beach.

Labels: Charlie Crist, Environment, Media

It is sad news, indeed, to read that The New Smyrna Beach Observer (formerly the News-Observer) is closing after 95 years. It had gone from five days a week to a weekly last year. Last time I looked, its circulation was under 5,000, delivered by mail (although you could still also get it in news boxes.)

Labels: Media

I hate, hate, hate those 3X3" stick-on ads we run on the front page. Readers complain about them to me all the time. They are the hard-copy version of pop-up ads. But as the T-U's reader advocate notes, advertisers love them and they get responses. That's what I hear as well. And anybody who advertises in print is a Friend of the Republic.

Labels: Media

As a rule, I do not post about the internal doings at the place we call "the little miracle on 6th St." Even though people have asked. And even though, yeah, it's a pretty amazing time here. The latest development, told in the story, "Cox objects to N-J execs payouts," speaks for itself.

And no, I'm not the wise guy who posted in the comments under the nom de commentaire "Lane." It's a pretty common name. Really.

Labels: Media, World's Most Famous Beach

Media Matters complains about a Sun-Sentinel story on Barack Obama's Florida visit for uncritically quoting Republicans slamming him on Jewish issues.

Labels: Media, Presidential race

The moment has come at last! Amazon has put up a pre-order link for my upcoming book, Sandspurs: Notes from a Coastal Columnist. (Don't ask me why there's no cover picture yet.)

Sadly, the book will not be available from the fine folks at Univ. Press of Fla. until Sept. 7. But if you pre-order it, you get an extra 5 percent off and enjoy a smug feeling of inner coolness by joining the tiny band of cognoscente who own a copy before hardly anybody has heard of it. And don't go lending it out, either. Those people never return your books. Make them buy their own damn copy.

Right now, it's selling on Amazon for the absurdly low price of $16.47, hardback.

Labels: Books, flablog, floridalia, Media, World's Most Famous Beach

It's bad news all over in newspaper land. New circulation figures are out and almost everyone's down. Florida is no exception. The Herald, long the largest paper in Florida, is, after years of circulation hemorrhage, now ranked third in readership. My own beloved News-Journal, which has had more of a slow-leak circulation drop lately, is down 5 percent. The Lakeland Ledger has a good report on the situation at other mid-sized and small papers. Their handy chart is below:

Labels: Media

In a not-terribly-shocking development, House Speaker Marco Rubio is telling the press other people are to blame for his lack of effectiveness , Democrats are whiners, and by the way, Goc. Crist is a policy lightweight who doesn't do his homework.

The Orlando Sentinel, feeling left out of the e-mailing and airing of the grievances, demands copies of the missives saying they're public records. The Herald folks responds that this is no big deal, contrary to what the Sentinel says, the e-mails were strictly on-the-record, so just read them on our Web site and by the way, correct your damn blog post.

Labels: blogs, Legislature, Marco Rubio, Media

Four Florida sites made E&P 's list of Top 30 Newspaper Sites for March. They are, in order of audience size:
St. Pete Times -- up 6 percent from last year.
Orlando Sentinel -- down 31 percent. (!?)
Sun-Sentinel -- down 9 percent. (Amid grousing about pop-up ads.)
Miami Herald -- down 13 percent.

Labels: Media, Web

By now some Flabloggers have noticed the story about how the newspaper where I work is for sale. I wish I could elaborate, but I truly don't know much of anything. This is, of course, the latest chapter in the Cox v. N-J litigation which has been going on almost four years now. (Follow the whole sad saga here.)

And be sure to scroll through all the venomous and resentful comments at the end of the story so you can bask in the glee with which a community celebrates the loss of an independent voice, starting with the very first post. It's the professional equivalent of being able to watch people dance on your grave. Ain't the Web and comment culture wonderful?

One of the good things about a locally-owned newspaper is that decisions can be made informally and with a minimum of committees and fuss. Thus, it was OK with everyone in 2001 for a columnist to do one of these new "blog" things out on his own. Whether any new owners think the same way is something we can't know. Frankly, I rather doubt it. So enjoy Flablog while you can.

Labels: flablog, Media

Florida Today launches a new site design this week. It uses the Gannett template just like Tallahassee Democrat's site.

The sites' designers assume you are using MS Explorer. Some features, like the blogs, come up blank in Firefox (a browser that accounts for 17 percent of the market and a third of Flablog readers). Doesn't matter; you will use the Microsoft browser if you want to come here. No soup for you! Next!

Personally, I think the Web 2.0 stuff on newspaper sites is way overhyped and will not be much used. Real Web 2.0 sites do this sort of thing better and faster over a bigger network. (Plus they actually allow you to use Firefox.) It's just not what people want from their local newspaper's site. They want news -- especially breaking news -- and don't want to navigate a lot of drop-menus with tiny print to find it. No surprise, then, that the reaction in the comments ranges from disgust to outrage with lots of complaints about type size.

Labels: blogs, Media, Web

The first time I was at an opening day of the Legislature (I think it was 1989, I remember that Tom Gustafson was speaker) I remember it was standing room only in the House press gallery. Reporters who weren't regulars with their own regular desk spaces were jammed shoulder to shoulder. Late arrivals were pressed up against the doors. That hasn't happened in a long time.

Steve Bousquet writes a piece on why it's easy to find a seat these days and why that's bad news. (Heck, even the row of newspaper machines outside the cafeteria is a shadow of what it used to be)

Labels: Media

I'm kinda enjoying the Giuliani campaign ad that attempts to turn the fact that no Florida newspaper has endorsed him into a good thing.

Rudy Giuliani is not endorsed by The Tampa Tribune. Not endorsed by the Orlando Sentinel. Not endorsed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In fact, he’s not endorsed by any of the liberal newspapers

Yup he's running against the "ultra-liberal" Tampa Trib, Sun-Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel.

Meanwhile, the Sun-Sentinel finally gets around to recommending somebody in the Democratic primary on the day before the primary.

+ Sun-Sentinel: What the nation needs most is someone with a good mix of experience, sound judgment and a potent dose of inspiration to move the country forward. Obama has what it takes.

Labels: Media, Presidential race

The last stragglers in the editorial page roundup:

Republicans

+ Lakeland Ledger: His straightforward approach to governance and willingness to work with members of both parties to do what is right earn The Ledger's Republican recommendation for John McCain ...

+ St. Pete Times: At 71, the white-haired McCain is not the typical face of change. He has the resume of a government insider. But his honor, integrity and independence set him apart. Among the Republicans, he represents the best opportunity for changing the culture in Washington, repairing our reputation in the world and rebuilding the trust many Americans have lost in their government.

+ Sun Sentinel: ... in a nearly hour-long interview with the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board on Wednesday, McCain showed energy and passion that suggest he's got the fire and desire to serve.

Democrats:

+ Lakeland Ledger: Her dedication to studying theissues deeply and understanding related consequences before taking action is what sets herapart from Obama and earns The Ledger's Democratic recommendation for Hillary Clinton...


Bonus:
+ The shorter Miami Herald: They all kind of suck except for Edwards who's going nowhere, but be sure to vote for somebody.

Labels: Media, Presidential race

. . . and everybody but The Sentinel loves Obama.

Editorial page recommendations, Republicans:

+ Gainesville Sun -- The Sun endorses John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination because he would return a principled, ethical leadership that has for too long been missing from the White House.

+ Orlando Sentinel -- Mr. McCain stands out, even in this year's crowded field. He has taken positions with which we disagree, but his qualifications to be president are beyond dispute.

+ Palm Beach Post -- More than any GOP candidate, Sen. McCain can improve the country's reputation around the world. . . . At 71, he is the second-oldest candidate seeking the presidency. Among the Republicans, he is the best prepared to take it.


Editorial page recommendations, Democrats:

+ Gainesville Sun -- The Sun endorses Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination because his message of positive change promises to unify the nation and engage a new generation of Americans in the democratic process.

+ Orlando Sentinel -- We don't see eye-to-eye with Mrs. Clinton on several issues, just as we don't with Mr. McCain. But she is the best qualified among this year's Democratic candidates.

+ Palm Beach Post -- Barack Obama has set the tone for the presidential campaign, which is why The Post endorses him in the Florida Democratic primary.

+ St. Petersburg Times -- In Clinton, we see the past; in Obama, we see a fresh start. Clinton is a divisive political figure; Obama's appeal transcends racial and party lines. She exudes competence; he radiates optimism. She came to the campaign with a sense of entitlement; he came to it with a sense of possibilities. She can be evasive, even misleading; he can be refreshingly candid about his own shortcomings and his political mistakes. She represents business as usual in politics; he at least offers the hope of something better.

Labels: Media, Presidential race

+ Bradenton Herald -- Yes. Amendment 1 is far from perfect, but it's all we've got. And it's a start. We urge a Yes vote.

+ Lakeland Ledger-- No. While property taxes need to be reformed, there is a better way to do this: The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission . . . . The commission should be allowed to do its work without the added burden of the Legislature's quick fix.

+ Miami Herald -- No. . . . in exchange for a small measure of relief, residents are guaranteed deeper cuts in local services. Meanwhile, the state's creaky, inefficient and archaic tax system will remain in place.

+ Sarasota Herald-Tribune -- No. It doesn't provide tax reform. It doesn't eliminate inequities; in fact, it exacerbates them. And it would further restrict the ability of local governments -- the governments closest to the people -- to respond to community needs.

+ S. Florida Sun-Sentinel -- Yes. So, what is on the table now is the best we can settle for, unsatisfying as it may be.

+ Tallahassee Democrat -- No. Amendment No. 1 is unfair, unclear and its fiscal impacts are unknown.

Labels: Constitutional Amendments, Media, Taxation

Mother Jones runs a piece about how, "as newspapers recruit "citizen journalists" to fill their pages, flacks and hacks find an opening. The example? The Tallahassee Democrat's web page.

(Via Romenesko)

Labels: Media

More editorial-page recommendations on Amend. 1.

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal-- No: The proposed amendment doesn't solve unfair taxation problems. It increases them.

+ Ft. Myers News-Print -- Yes: ...We feel it will help stimulate our troubled economy, force local governments to cut spending and offer some relief to property owners in Florida.

+Tampa Tribune -- No: The amendment would increase the inequities of the present system and by doing that, would splinter future support for true reform. Its one-sided approach to tax cuts is unsuitable for a state now taxing some folks half to death and leaving others only halfway taxed.

Labels: Constitutional Amendments, Media, Taxation

+ Florida T-U -- No: Everybody likes a tax cut. But this "ready, fire, aim" approach to the state's future is too risky to swallow.

+ Florida Today -- No: Florida needs, and must get, something significantly better.

+ Gainesville Sun -- No: Amendment 1 is, in short, a sham tax reform slapped together by politicians who cared more about pleasing voters than the consequences to Florida's future. In this case, the cure really is worse than the disease.

+ Naples Daily News -- Yes: Portability is the driver and we could use a lift. Let’s go for it.

+ Orlando Sentinel -- Yes: Amendment 1 would not make Florida's tax system fairer. But if it forces local governments to spend more wisely, all Floridians will benefit.

+ Pensacola News Journal -- Yes: We figure it's the best we're going to get for now. So it is in voters' best interests to vote for the tax "reform" amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot.

Labels: Constitutional Amendments, Media, Taxation

Here's the roundup of Florida editorial page recommendations so far:

Dems:

+ Bradenton Herald: Once in a great while, someone with a spellbinding personality sneaks up and captures the nation's imagination. Now it's the charismatic Barack Obama.

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal: John Edwards has the intellectual clarity, values, experience, good judgment and message to represent his party well against the Republican challenger in November.

+ Pensacola News Journal: If Democratic voters are leery of continuing the current dynastic trend of American politics, they want a new kind of leadership, and that's what Obama offers.

+ Tampa Tribune: . . . Obama gives the nation hope. And if nominated by Democrats, he would close the door on the Bush-Clinton era. Obama is a worthy contender.

Reps:

+ Bradenton Herald: With solid domestic policies and vital experience in foreign affairs, McCain is the right Republican candidate at the right time in history.

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sen. John McCain's candidacy stands out on several grounds: experience, a record of bipartisanship, moderation on critical issues (immigration, energy, global warming), less inclination to exploit personal faith or forced folksiness to political advantage, and more inclination to speak unpopular truths, even if it costs him votes.

+ Pensacola News Journal: McCain has earned voters' respect from his service in Vietnam and his experience in the Senate. In being himself, his essential integrity has shone through.

+ Tampa Tribune: McCain is a good and principled man who stands behind his beliefs. He would keep the country safe and secure. He is the right man for America.

Labels: Media, Presidential race

In a blog entry, The Palm Beach Post reporter and Jeb biographer S.V. Date notes two offhand claims made in a recent WSJ piece. Highly popular? Only middlin'; 11th Commandant? Whaddayanuts?

Labels: Jeb Bush, Media

The Gainesville Sun put up a page of tasered student links in no time. There's even a page at USA TODAY. CNN has a pdf of the Gainesville Police report.

Bad craziness and brutal police overreaction to be sure. But is this really, as Naomi Wolfe says in the Huffington Post, "an iconic turning point and it will be remembered as the moment at which America either fought back or yielded"?

Uh, my Magic 8-Ball says, "Very doubtful."

The Florida ACLU has a more measured statement calling for a full investigation and expressing concern about overuse of Tasers. (Locally, we had a case where a guy was set on fire when his lighter burst into flames as he was Tasered.)

Watch the MSNBC clip, where this is used as a segue to for some reflexive, old-time Kerry jokes: "Tucker, I think that's the most excited anyone's been at a Kerry speech." Yuk, Yuk.

And then there's the headline on esteemed former cable news commentator Michael Savage's Web site -- "BULL-DYKE FASCIST TASERS STUDENT WHO ASKS KERRY TOO MANY QUESTIONS".

This is a total YouTube event now.

Before the student was led away, his monologue touched on the vote in Ohio, Iraq, impeachment and the Skull and Bones Society, and there was, for me, also a local angle:

There are also voting machines, electronic voting machines in Volusia, that counted backwards ...

Folks, Volusia County has optical scan machines. In 2000 -- not 2004 -- one of ballot-reading scanners gave some bizarre readouts. I've written about this before. In election conspiracy lore it's called The Volusia Error and it didn't matter in the final count because all the county's ballots were re-counted by hand.

Andrew Meyer apparently has a history of being something of a campus controversialist thus creating problems for the other Andrew Meyer on campus. He also was also a Sun-Sentinel contributor, writing as a "Teentime correspondent."

Meyer is out jail and about 200 students held a protest around noon.

Labels: Bad craziness, Media

I think most columnists have a favorite angry correspondent. A person whose e-mails crackle with rage. Who can read deep hidden agendas in the lightest of your pieces. Whose pushable buttons are an exact match to your daily opinions.

There's this old guy -- I assume he's older, WebTV subscribers tend to be -- who sends me perfect howls of rage. They are nicely compact, at least when they aren't speculating on my sexual preferences. (Faggot! Sissy-boy!) Here's one reacting to a recent column touching on le affaire Imus. I broke it into stanzas to enhance its impact.

The only thing YOU'RE bigoted about

The only thing YOU'RE bigoted about
is your hated for your country.

Only the dumbbells don't realize
you commies were all told
to start equating Rush with Imus
who turned out to be a another victim of the Clinton steamroller.

Hell will freeze before
most Americans turn to whores like you
and "Pinch,"
and Couric
and Moonves.

Labels: Media

Editorials:
+ The Times-Union: PROPERTY TAXES: A state abuzz.

Officials must be careful not to make fixes that are worse than the problem itself. Officials should phase in changes so that adjustments can be made. ... Decisions should not be made in haste.

Columns:
+ Troxler: Big ideas, each with potential downsides.

Are they good ideas? The only honest answer this early is: Who the heck knows? But right off the bat, there seem to be good and bad angles to them.

+ Lindley: House of cards: The speaker's tax idea is perilous.

...in his earnest desire to ease the suffering of property owners, Rubio ought not push the pain off on other regions and renters, shoppers and merchants. Gentlemen and ladies, get out your carpenter's tools and start measuring the consequences. As TaxWatch chief Dominic Calabro put it, let's examine these tax reform proposals "with an eye toward evolution, not revolution."

And a cartoon at Fla. Today -- Jeff Parker

Labels: Legislature, Media, Taxation

More papers weigh in on the House tax plan:

+ Bradenton Herald: How to blow up local government.

What gives these legislators the right to overturn the essential foundation of representative government, a local elected board of commissioners or city council members making decisions they feel are in their constituents' best interests? These officials are directly accountable to their constituents every four years, and will be one-term wonders if they fail to hew to a fiscally responsible line. If this plan is adopted, the Legislature might as well abolish elected county commissions and city councils and simply designate an administrator to implement its policies in each county.

+ Sun-Sentinel: Legislature 2007
A really bold declaration here:

Legislative leaders in Tallahassee have proposed a sweeping overhaul of Florida's inequitable tax system. The plan must be scrutinized closely. But at least House Republicans have produced a starting point, and their proposal deserves a fair hearing across the Sunshine State.

Labels: Legislature, Media, Taxation

Response remains muted, though negative, to the House Speaker Marco Rubio's bizarre tax package. Are people still deciding whether to take it seriously or not?

+ The DB News-Journal: Turning tricks with taxes in Florida House of ill compute --

State House leaders are zeroing in on making Florida's property-tax plight even worse. A tax-cut proposal unveiled Wednesday could be a "starting point," says Speaker Marco Rubio. But it would be a stopping point for cities and counties, which could lose a good deal of local control. The plan would also further shift tax burdens to businesses, second-home owners and renters.

+ The Palm Beach Post: Temptation of tax plan also makes it dangerous --

Just when Florida needs responsible tax reform, the state House offers irresponsible tax reform. ... The House plan would set up lots of politicians for successful campaigns in 2008. It could set up Florida for a new set of tax problems that last long after 2008.

+ Tampa Tribune: Abolishing Taxes On Homes Would Create New Problems --

A higher sales tax in exchange for no property taxes on homes is appealing bait for a dangerous trap. The proposal, lauded by some Republicans in the Florida House as the biggest tax cut in state history, would be a reckless change in how and where revenue streams flow. A residential community with little commerce, for example, would be left with little means of support. Tallahassee would have to determine which community gets what, always a risky proposition

Columnists:

+ Goodman -- We've got a cockamamie tax system. Leave it to the Legislature to make it cockamamier.

+ Lane -- Some say the property-tax relief plan unveiled Wednesday by the leadership of the Florida House of Representatives is a bad idea. That kind of response doesn't give it credit. It is a harmonic convergence of bad ideas.

+ Littlepage -- A new state motto: The poor will always be with us. So let's tax the heck out of them.

+ Thomas -- With this change, Florida would set a new standard as a regressive tax state.

Labels: Legislature, Media, Taxation

Endorsement season has begun at Florida newspapers:

Republicans:

+ St. Pete Times -- Crist: Charlie Crist has a record of serving consumers and is willing to listen to all views. He is the clear choice for the GOP nomination for governor.

+ Palm Beach Post -- Crist: The Tom Gallagher of a decade ago would have been a good candidate for governor. This Tom Gallagher has disqualified himself. Charlie Crist has been surprising people since winning his state Senate seat in 1992. Surprise. Republicans should put Mr. Crist on the ballot in November.

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal -- Crist: Crist is more in tune with Florida's needs, and less in thrall to extreme political philosophies.

Democrats:

+ St. Pete Times -- Smith: Davis has a solid record as an ethical, thoughtful state legislator and congressman who understands the challenges facing Florida. Smith combines the same grasp of those challenges with a more dynamic leadership style and a clearer, fresher record of building mainstream coalitions that can successfully carry the day on tough issues.

+ Palm Beach Post -- Smith: Rep. Davis would return to Tallahassee with good intentions. Sen. Smith would take office knowing how to get good things done. He's conservative enough for many conservatives, moderate enough for many moderates and liberal enough for many liberals. Sounds a lot like Reubin Askew and Bob Graham.

+ Daytona Beach News-Journal -- Smith: Either Smith or Davis would serve the people of Florida well. But Smith, coming straight from the state Senate, has better skills to work with a Legislature almost certainly dominated by Republicans -- and innovative ideas worth fighting for.

+ Lakeland Ledger -- Smith: We believe Smith can appeal to a broader segment of the electorate -- that he can muster greater support in the Republican-leaning northern part of the state while still generating strong support in the urban areas of Central and South Florida.

Labels: Media

The conservative, Republican, libertarian-leaning Club for Growth is listing the nation's editorial pages that "promote economic freedom amidst the din of liberal hysteria". The only Florida paper to merit a listing? Yup, you know already -- The Jacksonville Times-Union. (Warning: Registration required, lots of pop-ups, slowish loading, doesn't work with bugmenot.com passwords ... the usual annoying stuff, but more or it.)

(Via NY Times' Opinionator. Yes, it's behind the TimesSelect wall.)

Labels: Media