Dixie Fix

How Changing Business Models Change Our Everyday Life

There's probably no argument that the business model of a newspaper is outdated. Look around at the 20-somethings, 30-somethings and others who get their news on their mobile phones. They're not interested in reading today's news tomorrow; they're much more immediate than that.

Newspapers get most of their money from advertising. But advertisers are thinking of other, creative ways to get their message across -- leaving newspapers scrambling for dollars that used to just roll in by the truckful. Top of the food chain in ad rep land was the National Account. Those reps had their own fax machine and Macy's and Ford and all the big boys just faxed the ads from New York and the rep did the paperwork. No pounding the pavement for them.

But listen to what Kentucky Fried Chicken is doing to promote its new line of hot wings. Instead of taking out newspaper ads, they're going to City Councils across the country offering up their advertising budgets to paint the city's fire hydrants with their message. Fire, hot wings. get it? The city's hydrants get a fresh coat of paint (albiet with a "message") and the city -- drowning in debt and layoffs -- gets a chunk of money that was totally unexpected.

Think Qualcom Stadium, just taken to a smaller level. Totally doable, and probably fresh enough to create a buzz, which is really what advertising is all about. So that money, once in the newspaper's pocket, now belongs to a municipality, which actually might use it for something that benefits its residents instead of lining the pockets of print executives.

Newspapers large and small are scrambling and it is evident in Southern California that big changes are on the horizon. Take the venerable Los Angeles Times. Its "Idea du Jour" is to save money by allowing the Wall Street Journal to be printed on its presses in the late evening for a pretty penny. Great idea, right? Except that's when the Los Angeles Times usually prints its own paper, in time for delivery people to get it to us early in the morning.

The only solution was to print The Times earlier in the evening. Beginning sometime next month, all deadlines will change and The Times will "go to bed" at 6 p.m. A fourth-grader can see that is really stupid, since stories are reported in the day and edited in the night. Not to mention sports scores for night games. In a 24/7 news cycle, that sounds like information suicide.

The Bean Counters and executives know this, but it's not just about making/saving money. Now it's about Keeping the Doors Open. Are we doing something dumb? Yes, they answer. But we are keeping the paper open a few more months by doing it. Not only does the WSJ give the LAT money, the LAT can now layoff all those night editors, page designers and proofreaders because only the pressmen will work at night.

And what if a significant world event occurs at night? Well, they've come up with the LATE Wrap, a one page wrap-around that will carry the breaking news -- if it is deemed "significant enough."

So, if a paper like the LAT is that desperate, what will happen to the rest of the papers? And if newspapers go away, how will TV news survive? About 75% of television news is gleaned from morning papers...no time for "reporting," you know.

I just know the world is changing -- faster than I can keep up with!

Hanging Out With 'Olive Kitteridge'

Any book that wins the Pulitzer Prize and a zillion other awards is worth a read...and I must say, the title of "Olive Kitteridge" did nothing to make me want to read it. But when fellow reader Karen ("Sylia Plath") pressed it into my hand in exchange for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" I knew I would read it. But I knew, because it came from Sylvia, that it may not be "cheery."

We've all known an Olive, in our lives and small towns. She has good and bad qualities and we either like her -- or don't. Check. She has a complicated relationship with her older son. Check.

The genius of the book is that it is told in short story form. Some of the stories are from Olive's perspective, others are from those who know her. In short, we get that great all around picture of what others think of her vs. what she thinks of herself and how she perceives others see her. We should all be so lucky!!

At first I didn't really like Olive (the person) but by the end of the book I understood her a little better and was rooting for her happiness.

I would also recommend "Dragon Tattoo," and "The Help." I read Dan Brown's newest, "The Lost Symbol," and while it was a page-turner, I was disappointed in it, generally. Just too contrived, although it made me curious about the Masons. My father was a Mason and now I'm intrigued about the order.

My close personal friends on Twitter, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, both recommended "The Shack," so I guess that's next. On Tuesday there will be new releases by 2 of my favorites: Patricia Cornwell and David Baldacci.

'The Help,' Fall's Splendor, Shopping Local...

There are a lot of readers in my neighborhood and we have a book club -- we don't real the same book, we share what we're reading (or have read) and happily loan it to others if it sounds intriguing to them. That's how I started reading "The Help," set in Mississippi during the early days of the Civil Rights movement. A lot of the story is told from the voice of 'the help,' the black maids who cook, clean and care for the white family's children. It's a fascinating book and very well written. I love it when I'm exposed to something I might never have read, and this gem of a book is enriching my life for sure. 

A neighbor and I took his boat out on Scotts Flat Lake yesterday -- a sunny perfect fall day! Aside from one boat with 2 fishermen, we had the entire lake to ourselves and were able to soak up this gorgeous fall weather. It was Jackson's first boat ride and he seemed to enjoy it. Amazing the boat ramp is still open this late in the year. The lake is very low right now, exposing areas you don't normally see.

Recently some newer residents were telling me how they were going down the hill to buy some essentials (and a couple of pricy items as well.) I suggested a couple places where they could shop for the same items locally, only to be met with a puzzled look. What I should have said -- and didn't think at the time  -- was that by not shopping locally, we may not HAVE the convenience of buying those things in town a year from now.

No word so far on what our local Chambers of Commerce will do (or not do) since receiving less money from the Board of Supervisors. Is there a plan?