Rob Rogers fired (Washington, Media, Republic: stations, Koreans, business)

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by Copanut

No surprise there. But, with so many people these days only listening to talk radio and TV for their news along with the internet, I guess it's just a matter of time until newspapers are history.

Which is a shame, because local TV news just isn't doing the kind of in-depth journalism that matters.

John Oliver's show did a really great piece on the importance of newspapers last year:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq2_wSsDwkQ

[norcider]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

Awards these days are political. Meaningless.

Do you mean today, or 1999 when he was a finalist for the Pulitzer? Just trying to work with you here since it seems you have an ax to grind.

[Copanut]

Pretty sure the Pulitzer doesn't hand out any participation trophies.

[norcider]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Pretty sure the Pulitzer doesn't hand out any participation trophies.

20 years ago, 40 years ago, all meaningless now...

[Goinback2011]

The pulitzer website lists him as a finalist in 1999, along with a guy from the Christian Science Monitor. Some guy from Seattle won that year. But I guess if finalists are considered "winners", then every cartoonist in America eventually gets a trophy.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by Geeo

If these were ordinary times, this wouldn't be a big deal. But these are not ordinary times. Political cartoonists are supposed to draw satire and lampoon. It's been done for hundreds of years. Those getting lampooned may not like it, but they don't attack the press and call them the enemy of the people, fake and dishonest. So when a political cartoonist does what he or she is supposed to do and the president has paper-thin skin and is friends with the owner of the paper, it calls into question whether that powerful person is on a campaign to not only discredit the press, but to make sure those criticizing him are silenced. This is not a good sign for the free press or the First Amendment.

I don't see a connection between national politics and this decision. The US doesn't have a centralized Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda, no matter how loudly the Progressive 'Resistance' screams that Sean Hannity (who I do concede is an idiot) may be the new Joseph Goebbels.

The paper as a whole is moving to the right.
Perhaps this is an attempt to capture the former market share of the Trib.
I don't imagine many younger, urban, left-leaning folks would have subscribed to the newspaper anyway. They'd be more likely to get their news from NPR, local blogs, etc. Or so I would think anyway.
Meanwhile, I'd think that older individuals would be more likely to subscribe to paper delivery - and that they'd be more likely to be conservative. So given that the Trib has ceased printing, perhaps the P-G's new ownership is trying to take the paper further to the right, in order to capture an available audience of potential subscribers.

[Tractor Face]

I'm going to guess that the paper got many complaints about Roger's cartoons as they always targeted the same political faction and came across as bitter rather than funny. Regardless, I suppose it's a business decision.

[Copanut]

I think it was more of a personal decision by Mr. Burris, who is a friend of President Trump.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I think it was more of a personal decision by Mr. Burris, who is a friend of President Trump.

Rogers was fired on Trump's birthday. It was clearly a gift to Trump. Like a cat putting a dead mouse on the bed.

[Tractor Face]

"Rogers was fired on Trump's birthday. It was clearly a gift to Trump. Like a cat putting a dead mouse on the bed."

Perhaps if this were the NY Times or Washington Post I might agree as I'm not sure Roger's is on Trump's radar. If Roger's cartoons are selling papers I would think they would keep him.