I wrote this to the President of Stephens Media: Owners of the Herald Democrat after years of shoddy journalism and lazy content.


"Stephens Media™ started with this idea: Give readers what they can't get anywhere else - hometown news. That idea grew into a multi-media company that anticipates what customers need and provides it.

Stephens Media™ is an industry leader that remains true to its roots, while looking to the future."~this is straight from your website.

I have this question, Mr. Frederick. Exactly what caused you to stray from providing local news to anticipating what customer's need? If local news was so important to your success then why change? And exactly what needs can you assess from out of state? Do you consider the local newspaper office leaders to be able to give you insight as to the inner workings of our local government and economy? I think not.
I took the time to study today's Herald Democrat newspaper and this is what I found.
Front page A1 consists of: a local reporter writing about a statue of some pope found in N.C., a plane crash in Montana, Obama discussing Afghanistan strategy, and republican predictions of "doomsday!" regarding Obama budgets. Four stories with NO local news. None.
Page A2: 3 stories based in Texas. One discussing a bill to make postpartum depression a legal defense, a bill to do a study of just how much women really know about the "day after" birth control pill, and one story about some guy who stole a bunch of money and the "Receiver in Stanford case working as fast as he can". You might call this local, but it certainly isn't. You have 5 newspapers in 4 towns in Texas and this is all you can think to focus on? Surely something happened in one of these towns worth mentioning in their own newspaper.
Page A3: A FULL PAGE ad for dish network. That probably made you a nice buck or two. surely half a page would have sufficed. No local company got that much space, which leads me to think that this paper is more interested in dollars signs then trying to "give people what they can't get anywhere else".
page A4: Opinions...this is what we need more of. News is created by people and if people are denied a voice then what was once news becomes tabloid and propaganda. Local news should have more local opinion.
Page A5: Dear Abbey, Dr. Paul, and Horoscopes....tabloid crap! Nothing local. We have a local psychic, lots of doctors, and plenty of advice givers. Let's give them a column.
Page A6: Obituaries. Now while I understand the need/desire to have these published for sake of informing the community of the deaths of friends and loved ones, I do not understand why we need to report on the death of a British reality TV contestant known for shouting racial remarks! Tabloid, Sherman. Sensationalist Tabloid.
A7: The Brits received a video of some guy that got kidnapped 2 years ago by those pesky arabs. The pope was in Africa and he's angry about the wars there. Pakistan is trying to work out their political differences, and the Americans killed some folks in Afghanistan. and Israel is talking to Hamas...still.
A8: weather and two stories. One about the space shuttle avoiding debris and one about a Texas fatcat who's going back to space. 35 million dollars sure would help a lot of people, Charlie!
B1,B2,B3: This may sound weird to you but sports isn't news. Sports pictures, sports statistics, sports NEWS isn't news. The overwhelming majority of people that follow sports don't do it through the Herald Democrat.
B4: Comics and crossword puzzle. This is the only page of this paper I like. It makes me laugh and it makes me think. Besides food, water, and being loved, that's all anyone really needs.
B5,B6,B7,B8: classified ads
It's funny how a company that claims to strive to give me what I cannot get anywhere else is giving me the majority of my news from somewhere else about somewhere else. You use the Associated Press like an eighth grader would for an easy grade on their essay paper. I sit each night and read the world news and try to peg which stories that Stephens Media will pick to present to the local newspapers as valid to their position in the world or even their own communities. Approximately 90% of this newspaper is from the AP!!! And that includes the sports!! Given the proper resources this paper could supply what you espouse to be your initial goal. Good, honest, local news about local events, local people, local government action and the citizens opinions of it all.
You're running a RAG, Mr. Frederick. Plain and simple. You are exploiting local citizens in an attempt to keep people uninformed, entertained, and in a position of "no say". And all this for only $138/year...that's a dollar a month more than last year, by the way. And speaking of dollars. How is that you can provide an entire year's worth of this newspaper through the AASP to people in nursing homes for only 1 dollar, but I have to pay $138 dollars plus THEIR dollar???? I suggest you take the dollar raise you gave yourself each month per subscription and donate it to the nursing home folks in the form of 12 newspaper subscriptions per subscriber you already have. You'd do that if you really cared. But I have serious doubts to your concern about the people in those facilities or the people of this community. The only reason I even receive this paper is because my 84 year old grandmother reads it for something to do and doesn't understand the ramifications of having a newspaper that lives off sensationalist media and hidden agenda. Maybe you should give her the paper for 1 dollar a year! I have to admit, though, it makes good tinder for the fireplace in winter. But seeing as it is spring I am considering not renewing at all.
-Justin K. McBride
Denison, TX