Stop the presses (the few that are left working as the newspaper industry – specifically the C-J – dies a hard, cold death in these techie times)!
The Courier-Journal’s John Mura just sent the most hilarious email:
Name: John Mura
Email: jmura@courier-journal.com
Subject: courier-journal front page in your headerMessage: Jake, please remove the header photo that has the
Courier-Journal honor box with our front page from your rotation. I
think folks could get confused about whose opinions are being
offered. Thanks, JohnIP: 64.8.46.4
HOST: 64.8.46.4
You read it correctly. The Courier-Journal is demanding that I stop using an image that features a photograph of the paper. An image (they’ll have to be more specific, as I have over 25,000 header images in circulation on various websites) taken in a public space on public property.
Does this mean they’ll be making the same demands the thousands of other websites that have featured the Courier-Journal’s likeness?
Like I told Mura, “No wonder the Courier-Journal and Gannett are falling apart. You think your readership is too ignorant to, you know, recognize they’re not visiting the Courier-Journal’s atrocious website.”
I couldn’t buy this sort of controversy and free publicity!
HAHAHAHAHA!
Thanks for the validation, Bennie & Keith.
UPDATE:
Maybe the Courier-Journal should never again mention my name or websites I own without my permission? I fear readers may get the false impression that the paper’s reporters might have actually spoken with me when they promote me and my websites in their stories.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE:
Actually, no, I won’t be removing the header images unless Gannett and the Courier-Journal sue me – giving me tons of extra publicity.
Why won’t I?
Because my websites feature nearly every news publication, station, outlet and forum in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Greater Louisville Area.
I will, however, photoshop the offending images to make it clear how terrible I think the the once great Courier-Journal happens to be.
HOPEFULLY LAST UPDATE:
Mura just sent me a screenshot of the offending image:
THE OFFENDING IMAGE
Unfortunately, I won’t have time for a week or so to spend the hours it will take to locate the image. A photograph taken in a public space on a public sidewalk, no less. But when I locate it, I’ll photoshop it to include some hilarious mockery.
13 responses so far ↓
1 Thunder Storm // Nov 23, 2009 at 2:43 pm
You mean this isn’t the liberal arm of the CJ and you aren’t a paid staffer? The sky is falling! My belief system is failing.
I hope you don’t cave and pull it from the rotation. You should add and image to your post so we can see the harmful image they want pulled.
2 jake // Nov 23, 2009 at 2:46 pm
TS: I’ll add it as soon as Mura tells me which of the eleventy billion images he’s talking about.
Of course I’m gonna pull the image(s). And then I’m gonna hype this up like crazy, for weeks upon weeks, to extract maximum value out of the story. I’ll also lobby people like Francene, LEO, Lexington radio folks, et al to whore it out for me. Because this is pure hilarity.
Of course, I’ll probably also need to write about this roughly once a week on at least two of my websites for the next several years.
Like I said, I couldn’t buy this kind of opportunity!
3 Rob // Nov 23, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I keep reloading you page and giggling with the hilarity of extending this logic to the other images: Crescent Hills Baptist Church, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge.
Eagerly awaiting protests from the pastor, the Governor, and, erm, George Rogers Clark.
Heh.
4 Thunder Storm // Nov 23, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Its shows the power and reach of electrons over ink. plus it doesn’t stain your fingers or clothes!
5 Thunder Storm // Nov 23, 2009 at 3:00 pm
To keep on my green rant today,
Hey CJ, What is the circulation and printed copies of your one use document.
How many trees are required for your annual numbers of printed pages?
What about landfill space?
How much fuel is expended delivering your one use document?
Do you use a soy based or oil based ink? if oil based do you support terrorism? :)
How much coal is burned to provide electricity for your huge presses to print your one use papers? AND
Is it illegal to read the CJ without paying for it. example, my friend buys a paper then I read it? should I mail in 50 cents to you?
6 Thunder Storm // Nov 23, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Love the headline of the image – “What went wrong” The CJ is spending time and resources reading a local blog worried about what I will think while I watch a scrolling image. That what went wrong.
What went wrong will end up to more publicity for a small company trying to be stifled by a huge media conglomerate. In this case electrons trump barrels of polluting ink.
I tracetrt’d the supplied IP address.
1 11 ms 14 ms 14 ms 74-143-0-25.static.insightbb.com [74.143.0.25]
2 23 ms 23 ms 21 ms 4.71.250.1
3 22 ms 21 ms 25 ms vlan52.ebr2.Chicago2.Level3.net [4.69.138.190]
4 50 ms 35 ms 35 ms ae-5.ebr2.Chicago1.Level3.net [4.69.140.193]
5 30 ms 31 ms 30 ms ae-12-12.car1.Louisville1.Level3.net [4.69.140.2
13]
6 33 ms 31 ms 32 ms THE-COURIER.car1.Louisville1.Level3.net [4.59.18
4.2]
7 33 ms 36 ms 32 ms 64.8.46.4
7 RHines // Nov 23, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Mr. Mura, you have got to be kidding?
I am a reader of PageOneKentucky. That’s a photo of a newsrack in a public location. If C-J would do a better job with coverage, blogs like PageOneKentucky wouldn’t be needed.
BTW, how nice it is that C-J is allowed to place rack on sidewalks, when other businesses are not.
8 tbrauch // Nov 23, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Do you ever think the NYT gets pissed off when a hostage holds up a current edition to prove he is still alive? Do they sue the Hezbollah or Taliban, afraid people might think the Taliban is officially sponsored by the NYT?
9 Roger // Nov 24, 2009 at 10:02 am
Maybe you should have a contest for the best altered Courier Journal image.
10 yourgypsy05 // Nov 24, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Having worked at a major daily newspaper (not the CJ, and as an ad-ho, not a newsie), I can tell you that you have no idea how much the newsies so care about other websites, and how far up it goes.
They resisted having their own blogs for so long that most of them missed the boat (except maybe the sports ones. ) And they think blogs are a detriment to the facts. Dinosaurs.
My opinion with newspapers and blogs and other news sites is that I may not always agree with their opinion, but defend everyone’s right to say it.
11 jake // Nov 24, 2009 at 8:57 pm
The sad thing: I’m still dumb enough to promote the Courier-Journal multiple times per day and constantly push their top reporters on our network of sites.
Maybe I should start ignoring 5th & Broadway entirely.
12 yourgypsy05 // Nov 24, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Nah, just scoop ‘em; revenge is the best reward;
13 Jerry // Nov 25, 2009 at 9:41 am
Maybe if the Courier spent more time actually, and ACCURATELY reporting the massive corruption in local government, they would be too busy to worry about some rotating picture, that nobody else notices.
While their circulation shrinks, their ego, and sense of self importance stays intact.
Perhaps that will help them find new jobs, when they are laid off due of lack of circulation
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