Submitted by R. Neal on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 10:22am.
UPDATE: KnoxViews asked Knoxville Voice publisher Dane Baker to comment on the news. Dane says:
"It's clear that Knoxville needs an independent voice now more than ever — we'll continue, as always, to report on stories as they affect ordinary people, eschewing the interests of massive corporations. A truly independent media, particularly at the local level, is vital for a functioning democracy, and we're proud to fill that role for Knoxville and East Tennessee."
There were rumors on the Blab that it was being sold to Clear Channel. Guess that didn't pan out.
This puts Knoxville Voice at the top of the heap as the only major independent alt-weekly left in town. The rest have been assimilated. (Some might argue that happened a long time ago, but that's neither here nor there.)
Brian Conley will stay on as Publisher. Interesting.
UPDATE: KNS article here. It says Knoxvile Magazine is also being acquired as part of the deal.
It also says the deal is "an arrangement that preserves the weekly’s independence." Hahahaha. Good one.
Leslie Wylie left the MP. Rumors are also flying that very interesting people have thrown their hats into the ring for the MP editorship. One candidate I know (that I will not mention because of that's not cool) would definitely put the MP back on track with investigative and policy analysis. The KNS hasn't squelched the Shopper, so the MP might just suffer it OK. I was doing some music reviews for KnoxVoice, but my editorial contact left them so I don't know their situation.
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
Submitted by R. Neal on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 11:00am.
The memo Silence posted says Conley will be "involved in the editorial direction of the paper." Don't know if that means editor or what. No mention of where Joe Sullivan fits in. Why did Leslie leave?
P.S. On KV, my impression is that they are being pretty aggressive, and trying some innovative things. I also get the impression that the publisher has some bucks to ride out the rough early days of a startup, but that's just idle observation, no real info to that effect.
Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 11:06am.
do you think enough residents will file suit after the purchase of the Halls Shopper and Metro Pulse as they did in Hartford CT in 1999? This also happened in Tucson.
Damn, makes the KNS buyout of the Knoxville Journal and KNS's payment of $40 million to Persis Corporation look almost quaint.
Although I haven't always agreed with the Metropulse's positions, and I think that there have been times that its newsprint could have been used for more worthwhile subjects, I don't think that the growth of monopolies in media ownership is a good thing, nationally or locally.
Submitted by Carole Borges on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 11:43am.
Metro Pulse will still be tops though as it has the name recognition & people are used to getting it. Life without the Metro calendar or the now defunct 520.com could be pretty sad. I hope Jack Neely remains. The literary quality of the Metro Pulse has always made it most interesting to me. Neely's articles read so well, always have a human or historical touch, and he's an outstanding writer. Too bad about Leslie, she seemed like a young-minded innovator. I wonder where she'll end up?
It's good news for Knoxville Voice though. They deserve a break like this. They work really hard. Hopefully their readership will increase.
As a point of clarification, Leslie Wylie's departure was unrelated to the sale of the paper. She notified us back-page columnists about a month ago that she would be stepping down, and she had given notice to the paper weeks prior to that. If I understand her new circumstance correctly, she will be competing in equestrian events with an eye toward the 2008 Olympics.
Also, there is one factor I didn't see mentioned yet that at least suggests hope for editorial independence: the News Sentinel owns a really expensive press that needs to run as much as possible to pay itself off. To a first approximation, they are buying a printing and distribution client, which is essentially the agreement they have with Halls Shopper. The Daily Times will lose Metro Pulse's business. MP joins Knoxville Voice as one of several local publications printed on the KNS press. You will be able to recognize the first KNS-printed issue by its smaller size.
I've looked a couple of times at the Knoxville Voice. The thing that struck me was how few ads there were. Like it or not, ad revenuce pays the salaries and printing. I don't know who supports it, but it didn't look like enough ad revenue to pay the freight.
The Shopper goes from Holston Hills to Halls, accross the North end of the county to Karns and now covers everything in West Knoxville out to Cedar Bluff. I'd be interested to see a comparison of the circulation of MP (which is available free in newspaper boxes and also at pick-up places like grocery stores) and the Shopper which I believe is delivered free of charge (like the Farragut Press-Enterprise). Though they are far different in style, content, etc., it seems to me that once West Knox people get used to it, the Shopper is the second biggest paper in these parts.
There is room for MP and community papers. MP may in fact grow with the help of Scripps (as the Shopper did after it was purchased by Scripps). From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
When you're owned by corporate media, you're no longer an alternative.
~m.
"From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read"
Having written for KV, they paid me most quick after I delivered the reviews. Don't know much about money side there otherwise. MP has been a mainstream publication for years.
I can tell you that Hartmann will summarily execute MP or any other of their holdings the moment those papers step out of line in any meaningful way. The guy sleeps hanging by his claws, upside down.* I'd love to hear from Rand on this development.
*oops. I forgot. He's a good Christian(tm), volunteers, fundraises, gives money to children and helps old ladies across the street.
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
Maybe, but I don't think West Knox Republicans (or suburbanites in general) are Knoxville Voice's target market. Or downtown real estate developers, for that matter. Which seems to be where MP has been going for a while. This just makes it official. But we'll see. It seems like an opportunity for KV.
"Goosip and Lies" has already disappeared from the Shopper. I'd keep an eye on MP's "Ear to the Ground." It was already pretty tame last week. More like a who's who society page and some powers-that-be press releases, if I recall.
Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 2:03pm.
< snark >In related news, it was overheard at a breakfast counter somewhere downtown within the last couple of weeks that R. Neal plans to release KnoxViews.com in north, south, east, and west Knox County editions, as well as editions for Blount and Sevier Counties.
They will be large, cumbersome PDF files with all of the ads you would find in the print edition, should you have the patience to load 48-page PDFs in your browser. None of the ads embedded in the PDFs will have clickable metrics, proving once again that there is indeed a sucker born every minute.< / snark >
you heard it here first. Hartmann, Clark and Conley are reportedly quaking in their...um...boots.
I agree MP has been a slanted toward 'downtown real estate developers' as RN suggests. It was not very subtle. The Pulse lost its 'edginess' the last several years, but it was still better than the NS. There seemed to be an internal paradox at MP the last several years. Articles with a different 'feel' within the same paper. Not saying thats bad. I usually picked up a copy and thought it had more objectivity than the NS for sure. The NS is frequently sort of like printed Muzak.
I guess the door is open for someone. Joe Tarr? Jack Neely? R Neal? Come and get it. Think you guys could work together?
I didnt start reading it until right before it went offline, but South Knox Bubba was the best news read in town, what little I saw.
Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 4:21pm.
I look forward to more original reporting from Knoxville Voice now that MP, Halls Shopper, and KNS are all owned by the same company.
There are too many conflicts of interest, political blood oaths, and other odd coincidences to believe that we any longer have a free and independent media in Knoxville.
I think perhaps that KnoxViews needs a new section akin to mediamatters.org so that the citizen journalist can correct the record on faulty reporting, whether they be sins of comission or sins of omission.
Submitted by StaceyDiamond on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 2:45pm.
This seriously has to be a joke. This is awful. The headline had might as well read the government takes over the papers. Thank God for Knoxville Voice and of all things even the Fountain City Focus. That being said some of us at the Daily Times in a way wish Scripps would buy them so we could have the union and the pay raise, but there is also something to be said for not working for "the man." I still hope this is a joke. BTW, I've wondered how Knoxville Voice as a start-up with few ads offers full benefits for it's workers. I've also wondered what happened to the Scripps motorcycle mag, it was kind of cool.
Isn't Brian Conley the pinhead that emailed a threat to SKB? With that idiot in charge, I don't see it as a great loss for Knoxville. Wouldn't that be the same as Bill Hobbs running an "alternative/independent newspaper?"
Submitted by Carole Borges on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 3:06pm.
it is so conservative that it can't possibly in any way provide the kind of news or editorial content I want to read. A great little community paper, but its heavy tilt to the right turned me off early on. I doubt if anyone outside of Fountain City would find it interesting.
Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 5:45pm.
Maybe I can pick up all the escort/massage/porn/swinger/strip club ads when Scripps bans them.
I noticed the young lady who works as a freelance umpire was already advertising in Washington DC a couple of weeks ago. She must have heard about the buyout before we did and decided to seek employment elsewhere.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs
Submitted by Sandra Clark on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 5:47pm.
Folks: Please relax. Knoxville didn't lose (or gain) much today when the announcement came of Scripps' purchase of Metro Pulse. The loss came on the day that Joe Sullivan sold MP to Brian Conley. Heck, maybe it came on the day Betty Bean quit writing "Ear."
As to the editorial independence of the Shopper-News, look no further than today's column. While reporters at other papers are seemingly content to go off on the Ragsdale p.r. spin -- "we're no worse than all the rest, hey, look at them!" -- I started tracking the so-called nontaxpayer funded hospitality account. There will be more next week.
I've published the Shopper every Monday since 1971. My name's on my stuff. If the day comes that my name is on somebody else's stuff, I'm out the door.
Biggest difference in pre- and post-Scripps? It's Monday evening and I'm home with my dog -- not out carrying papers because a carrier didn't show up for work. -- s.
Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2007/06/25 - 6:09pm.
no, when it comes to monolithic corporations controlling three (or is it six? when you count the different Shopper editions) print media channels in our local community, I don't think many will relax. In fact, I think we will be calmly watching, reading, and holding your feet to the fire.
Submitted by StaceyDiamond on Tue, 2007/06/26 - 5:08pm.
I think R.Neal should sell Knoxviews to Scripps and become a new section of the lovely yourhub.com. I'm curious as to why Conley sold the paper and if Leslie knew what was coming down when she turned in her notice to go work with horses?? Maybe now Conley can concentrate on the old building over by Rocket Squirrel's house. I didn't like the MP being owned by a developer but I still think it was one step up from what has happened now.
On the subject of local news, The Journal is not a scandal sheet any longer since Renee Hamby wrestled it from her ex, but it needs more of niche. I enjoy reading Colvin Idol and who got arrested but most of their hard news is a Sentinel re-hash. I read the Focus for the pictures, their news is blatantly country Repub slanted but I don't think they try to hide it or make excuses for it.
Leslie Wylie left the MP. Rumors are also flying that very interesting people have thrown their hats into the ring for the MP editorship. One candidate I know (that I will not mention because of that's not cool) would definitely put the MP back on track with investigative and policy analysis. The KNS hasn't squelched the Shopper, so the MP might just suffer it OK. I was doing some music reviews for KnoxVoice, but my editorial contact left them so I don't know their situation.
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
The memo Silence posted says Conley will be "involved in the editorial direction of the paper." Don't know if that means editor or what. No mention of where Joe Sullivan fits in. Why did Leslie leave?
P.S. On KV, my impression is that they are being pretty aggressive, and trying some innovative things. I also get the impression that the publisher has some bucks to ride out the rough early days of a startup, but that's just idle observation, no real info to that effect.
do you think enough residents will file suit after the purchase of the Halls Shopper and Metro Pulse as they did in Hartford CT in 1999? This also happened in Tucson.
Damn, makes the KNS buyout of the Knoxville Journal and KNS's payment of $40 million to Persis Corporation look almost quaint.
Although I haven't always agreed with the Metropulse's positions, and I think that there have been times that its newsprint could have been used for more worthwhile subjects, I don't think that the growth of monopolies in media ownership is a good thing, nationally or locally.
Metro Pulse will still be tops though as it has the name recognition & people are used to getting it. Life without the Metro calendar or the now defunct 520.com could be pretty sad. I hope Jack Neely remains. The literary quality of the Metro Pulse has always made it most interesting to me. Neely's articles read so well, always have a human or historical touch, and he's an outstanding writer. Too bad about Leslie, she seemed like a young-minded innovator. I wonder where she'll end up?
It's good news for Knoxville Voice though. They deserve a break like this. They work really hard. Hopefully their readership will increase.
Where did Leslie Wylie go?
Word on the street is that she is going to do what she loves: Horses.
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
As a point of clarification, Leslie Wylie's departure was unrelated to the sale of the paper. She notified us back-page columnists about a month ago that she would be stepping down, and she had given notice to the paper weeks prior to that. If I understand her new circumstance correctly, she will be competing in equestrian events with an eye toward the 2008 Olympics.
Also, there is one factor I didn't see mentioned yet that at least suggests hope for editorial independence: the News Sentinel owns a really expensive press that needs to run as much as possible to pay itself off. To a first approximation, they are buying a printing and distribution client, which is essentially the agreement they have with Halls Shopper. The Daily Times will lose Metro Pulse's business. MP joins Knoxville Voice as one of several local publications printed on the KNS press. You will be able to recognize the first KNS-printed issue by its smaller size.
The Sentinel prints the Knoxville Voice? Oh well, so long as the publisher doesn't dabble in downtown real estate...
their papers. Hope KV does its own distribution even if KNS is printing their paper.
Just sayin'.
I've looked a couple of times at the Knoxville Voice. The thing that struck me was how few ads there were. Like it or not, ad revenuce pays the salaries and printing. I don't know who supports it, but it didn't look like enough ad revenue to pay the freight.
The Shopper goes from Holston Hills to Halls, accross the North end of the county to Karns and now covers everything in West Knoxville out to Cedar Bluff. I'd be interested to see a comparison of the circulation of MP (which is available free in newspaper boxes and also at pick-up places like grocery stores) and the Shopper which I believe is delivered free of charge (like the Farragut Press-Enterprise). Though they are far different in style, content, etc., it seems to me that once West Knox people get used to it, the Shopper is the second biggest paper in these parts.
There is room for MP and community papers. MP may in fact grow with the help of Scripps (as the Shopper did after it was purchased by Scripps). From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
When you're owned by corporate media, you're no longer an alternative.
~m.
"From an outsiders perspective, KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read"
Having written for KV, they paid me most quick after I delivered the reviews. Don't know much about money side there otherwise. MP has been a mainstream publication for years.
I can tell you that Hartmann will summarily execute MP or any other of their holdings the moment those papers step out of line in any meaningful way. The guy sleeps hanging by his claws, upside down.* I'd love to hear from Rand on this development.
*oops. I forgot. He's a good Christian(tm), volunteers, fundraises, gives money to children and helps old ladies across the street.
True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler
KV will find it hard to overtake MP as the 'alternative' read.
Maybe, but I don't think West Knox Republicans (or suburbanites in general) are Knoxville Voice's target market. Or downtown real estate developers, for that matter. Which seems to be where MP has been going for a while. This just makes it official. But we'll see. It seems like an opportunity for KV.
"Goosip and Lies" has already disappeared from the Shopper. I'd keep an eye on MP's "Ear to the Ground." It was already pretty tame last week. More like a who's who society page and some powers-that-be press releases, if I recall.
< snark >In related news, it was overheard at a breakfast counter somewhere downtown within the last couple of weeks that R. Neal plans to release KnoxViews.com in north, south, east, and west Knox County editions, as well as editions for Blount and Sevier Counties.
They will be large, cumbersome PDF files with all of the ads you would find in the print edition, should you have the patience to load 48-page PDFs in your browser. None of the ads embedded in the PDFs will have clickable metrics, proving once again that there is indeed a sucker born every minute.< / snark >
you heard it here first. Hartmann, Clark and Conley are reportedly quaking in their...um...boots.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks, Rocket. Maybe I can pick up all the escort/massage/porn/swinger/strip club ads when Scripps bans them.
the gossip, lies, and ear to the ground.
Betty? hello-o-o Betty? What happened to "Gossip and Lies?" Care to comment?
I agree MP has been a slanted toward 'downtown real estate developers' as RN suggests. It was not very subtle. The Pulse lost its 'edginess' the last several years, but it was still better than the NS. There seemed to be an internal paradox at MP the last several years. Articles with a different 'feel' within the same paper. Not saying thats bad. I usually picked up a copy and thought it had more objectivity than the NS for sure. The NS is frequently sort of like printed Muzak.
I guess the door is open for someone. Joe Tarr? Jack Neely? R Neal? Come and get it. Think you guys could work together?
I didnt start reading it until right before it went offline, but South Knox Bubba was the best news read in town, what little I saw.
I look forward to more original reporting from Knoxville Voice now that MP, Halls Shopper, and KNS are all owned by the same company.
There are too many conflicts of interest, political blood oaths, and other odd coincidences to believe that we any longer have a free and independent media in Knoxville.
I think perhaps that KnoxViews needs a new section akin to mediamatters.org so that the citizen journalist can correct the record on faulty reporting, whether they be sins of comission or sins of omission.
This seriously has to be a joke. This is awful. The headline had might as well read the government takes over the papers. Thank God for Knoxville Voice and of all things even the Fountain City Focus. That being said some of us at the Daily Times in a way wish Scripps would buy them so we could have the union and the pay raise, but there is also something to be said for not working for "the man." I still hope this is a joke. BTW, I've wondered how Knoxville Voice as a start-up with few ads offers full benefits for it's workers. I've also wondered what happened to the Scripps motorcycle mag, it was kind of cool.
The headline had might as well read the government takes over the papers.
Corporate America is the new "government"... they are getting us used to this idea through the promotion of "quasi-governmental" organizations.
Isn't Brian Conley the pinhead that emailed a threat to SKB? With that idiot in charge, I don't see it as a great loss for Knoxville. Wouldn't that be the same as Bill Hobbs running an "alternative/independent newspaper?"
it is so conservative that it can't possibly in any way provide the kind of news or editorial content I want to read. A great little community paper, but its heavy tilt to the right turned me off early on. I doubt if anyone outside of Fountain City would find it interesting.
All we want is the best employees. Blount Today taking care of the rest.
Maybe I can pick up all the escort/massage/porn/swinger/strip club ads when Scripps bans them.
I noticed the young lady who works as a freelance umpire was already advertising in Washington DC a couple of weeks ago. She must have heard about the buyout before we did and decided to seek employment elsewhere.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs
Folks: Please relax. Knoxville didn't lose (or gain) much today when the announcement came of Scripps' purchase of Metro Pulse. The loss came on the day that Joe Sullivan sold MP to Brian Conley. Heck, maybe it came on the day Betty Bean quit writing "Ear."
As to the editorial independence of the Shopper-News, look no further than today's column. While reporters at other papers are seemingly content to go off on the Ragsdale p.r. spin -- "we're no worse than all the rest, hey, look at them!" -- I started tracking the so-called nontaxpayer funded hospitality account. There will be more next week.
I've published the Shopper every Monday since 1971. My name's on my stuff. If the day comes that my name is on somebody else's stuff, I'm out the door.
Biggest difference in pre- and post-Scripps? It's Monday evening and I'm home with my dog -- not out carrying papers because a carrier didn't show up for work. -- s.
The loss came on the day that Joe Sullivan sold MP to Brian Conley.
I'm still nervous about the consolidation of media ownership. But I'll also have to agree with that statement.
no, when it comes to monolithic corporations controlling three (or is it six? when you count the different Shopper editions) print media channels in our local community, I don't think many will relax. In fact, I think we will be calmly watching, reading, and holding your feet to the fire.
No offense.
I think R.Neal should sell Knoxviews to Scripps and become a new section of the lovely yourhub.com. I'm curious as to why Conley sold the paper and if Leslie knew what was coming down when she turned in her notice to go work with horses?? Maybe now Conley can concentrate on the old building over by Rocket Squirrel's house. I didn't like the MP being owned by a developer but I still think it was one step up from what has happened now.
On the subject of local news, The Journal is not a scandal sheet any longer since Renee Hamby wrestled it from her ex, but it needs more of niche. I enjoy reading Colvin Idol and who got arrested but most of their hard news is a Sentinel re-hash. I read the Focus for the pictures, their news is blatantly country Repub slanted but I don't think they try to hide it or make excuses for it.
Conley is no longer majority owner of Brownlow School. Jon Kinsey of Kinsey Probasco Hays is.
and the beat goes on, and the grass grows tall.
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