Friday, January 27, 2012

DP quietly raises its price

Somewhat odd timing but the Dominion Post quietly increased its single-issue newsstand price to 75 cents effective January 9, 2012.

Issues immediately preceding the change mentioned nothing about it - no surprise there.

The DP is hardly alone in facing difficult conditions given the economy at large and specifically the newspaper business but such a decision is typically the product of closed-loop thinking wherein the publisher attempts to improve the bottom line by making a move that will almost certainly decrease already-dwindling circulation.

What is the DP telling its advertisers, one wonders? I doubt their rates will be adjusted in proportion to any improvement in revenue while their potential impression rate (eyeballs) will decrease along with circulation. A nice Catch-22 for the entities on which the DP depends most for revenue!

A weekday edition of this newspaper is typically 22-25 pages exclusive of special inserts (read: ads), TV guides etc. It's fair to ask what improvements, expansions of coverage, etc. if any, will result from this increase, given that the DP is hopelessly addicted to reprints of AP articles that most readers already saw on the internet on the previous day. No doubt this AP recycling program will continue, including the maddening practice of printing a lame 'quirky' story ('150 year old tortoise has birthday party') on the lower front page with every single issue. If the price increase is due to an increase in AP subscription costs then that is another reason - beyond the AP's bias, shoddy journalism and stilted style - to consider reducing the AP content.

Like most papers, the DP is happy to pat itself on the back whenever it receives some award from its mutual-back-scratching peers but their PR machine shifts quickly and quietly into silent running when it increases its price by 50%.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Good Riddance Rodney Pyles

Mon County Assessor Rodney Pyles selected a third party (Tyler Technologies) to perform the nuts-and-bolts tasks associated with new valuations of property in the county. Since the title of his office is a very large hint, you might ask what else he had to do with his time. And you would be right. But not in county government, apparently.

He went for the Cowardly Politician's Daily Double when he disavowed any knowledge of Tyler's methods or data and then refused to face the music when it became clear that Tyler had made a complete hash of things, including 8100% increases for small parcels of land. In many cases Tyler claimed to have visited properties and/or taken photographs but when challenged (by those lucky enough to obtain a Constitutionally-protected redress of their grievances) admitted that they had no such evidence.

An individual submitting an insurance claim for a nonexistent loss would be prosecuted for fraud and rightly so. But government (including contractors) feel justified in inventing property value numbers that have a immediate and permanent financial impact on the taxpayers.

Incredibly, some defended Pyles' actions and offered up the non-defense that he hadn't broken any laws. Perhaps, but he displayed an unconscionable level of sloth, arrogance and stubbornness when the full scale of the debacle was exposed.

Pyles says he will step down after this term due to 'pressure and stress,' mostly of his own making. Good riddance to another hypocritical public official too cowardly to clean up his mess.