Instead of Monday’s March 9 Wall Street Journal folks who deliver newspapers in my neighborhood mistakenly tossed The Florida Times-Union in my driveway, providing me an opportunity to observe just how badly the metropolitan daily newspaper business has deteriorated.
Reading the Times-Union was a vivid reminder of why local newspapers are no longer relevant.
A 2024 Gallup poll said that trust in the media hit a record low of 31 percent. After flipping through the Times-Union it’s clear what late New York journalist Jimmy Breslin meant when he said: “Media, the plural of mediocracity.”
The issue I received consisted of four sections: a front section with what the paper considers major national and major local news; Metro with secondary local news; Life containing features and a Sports section for a total of just 24 pages. Picking it up at a local newsstand will cost purchasers $2.50, about $2.40 too much.
The paper is no longer locally owned. The masthead indicates it’s published by USA TODAY CO. There were no email addresses or phone numbers for local reporters and there were no editorials, editorial section, letters to the editor, or a capital bureau. There were no Associated Press, Reuters, Dow Jones, or any other national or international wire service articles, just USA TODAY material.
Fans combing the sports section for baseball box scores or even line scores will be disappointed. There aren’t any, only final scores in agate type, the smallest legible typeface. The paper’s sports section appears to be a one-man operation with reporter Clayton Freeman’s byline appearing on 11 of the 16 bylined local articles.
The Metro section contained mostly state-wide news and a standard USA TODAY colorful weather map of the U.S. and one of Northeast Florida.
The Life section had two articles: one about the deaths of adult children of national entertainers and a snoozer on pet care. The remainder of that section contained a couple of pages of comics, two advice columns, a crossword puzzle, a list of upcoming TV shows, and a daily horoscope.
I can’t help but lament the sad state of the Jacksonville paper as I’ve read it on and off for many years, starting in the 1960s when I was a reporter for the now defunct Tampa Tribune. But the fact that the daily Times-Union is still being published at all is a surprise considering the fate of most dailies in Florida.
A handful of dailies remain vibrant despite the public’s social media appetite for two-minute videos of car crashes, stunts gone wrong, gals in bikinis, neighbor’s displaying their lunch selections, cat antics, frantic look-at-me-look-at me screeds, and toddlers spouting obscenities to the delight and shock of distracted or oblivious parents.
The media doesn’t help itself by failing to admit when they were blatantly wrong e.g, with their Russia collusion lies and Joe Biden coverup stories. More recently USA TODAY reporter Mary Clarke chided the only US men’s hockey team, the first since1980 to win a gold medal, for talking to President Trump following its win and for laughing at his joke about the women’s hockey team. They just don’t know when to shut up.
That’s why Donald Trump is winning every time he points his finger at them and says: “Fake News!” They know he’s right and newspapers and journalism are now paying for the mess they created.
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A Democrat Who Could Earn My Vote: I am not a supporter of high taxes, open borders, sanctuary cities, identity politics, reparations, softness on crime, timid foreign policy, and other liberal beliefs. Therefore, I don’t vote for Democrats.
When asked what their vision for the future is, all Democrats do is launch into anti-Trump rants offering nothing of substance. They provide no alternatives, just hatred and anger.
If I were to ever consider the possibility of voting for a Democrat presidential candidate, it would be someone like 66-year-old Raham Emmanuel, Obama’s former Chief of Staff, former congressman (MI), and former mayor of Chicago.
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview Emanuel said he attributed his party’s dismal showing in the last presidential election on obvious progressive topics including being too focused on such things as transgender rights and not enough on economic issues. He also emphasized that his party’s fixation on Trump is hurting its chances in future elections.
Some say he is already preparing his bid as the 2028 candidate.
In recent speeches he said he favors a mandatory retirement age of 75 for presidents, cabinet officials, members of Congress and federal judges. He supports prohibiting children under16 from using social media platforms. And suggested a universal national service program for young Americans. He also called on all states to adopt a mandatory third grade reading standard. I and most Republicans I know would find these acceptable and even encourage them.
Democrat party decision makers should listen to this guy. But I’m sure they won’t because he makes too much sense. So, I’ve no reason to believe that a solid presidential Democrat presidential candidate will emerge from the liberal muck in that party anytime soon.
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The Best Pizza Hereabouts: I’ve never been asked, not that anyone is likely to seek my opinion on where on Amelia Island or nearby is the best place to get pizza, but just in case, I have a definitive answer.
Last week when I stopped to check out The Inkwell Art Bar, a recently opened pub at 1925 South 14th Street, I discovered the Savannah Pizza Company (SPC), a tiny joint directly next door that produces what I consider the best pizza I’ve eaten hereabouts.
The pizza joint and Inkwell share the space and address that once was Island BBQ, with Inkwell occupying the bar and dining room area and SPC the kitchen and a take-out counter.
They are run by two separate organizations but work together. SPC doesn’t serve booze and doesn’t have seating, and Inkwell doesn’t sell food, has a large bar and ample tables and chairs.
Customers can take the SPC menu to Inkwell, choose from a varied selection of offerings including a range of pizzas, call and place an order, and SPC will scurry next door with their selection.
Don’t let the name “Savannah” scare you as this kitchen could just as easily have been in Hartford, Connecticut according to a New England couple I sat next to at the bar. The two Massachusetts natives said they thought the SPC pizza was as close as any they enjoyed in New England since migrating South.
While scanning the menu, a boldface headline blaring “$5.99 PIZZAS! 6 Slices” jumped out at me. It offered a choice of three: sausage, pepperoni, or cheese. I picked pepperoni, added jalapenos for $1.49 and thin crust for an additional $1.49 bringing the total bill to an incredibly reasonable $9.97 including tax. It was ready before I finished my beer.
I liked it.…a lot. It was crispy on the outside and yet chewy in the middle and didn’t collapse in my hands, spilling the toppings onto the plate It was more than I could eat and I took half of it home.
It’s the best thin crust pizza hereabouts since Nick Hartly, son of Claude, the late owner of Sandy Bottoms, convinced his dad to install a brick oven. The most recent owners of the new Sandbar ended that, and their pizzas are now nothing to write home about, featuring droopy, gooey, tasteless slices.
There’s another pizzeria hereabouts that offers thin crust, new England style, which calls itself “Apizza” but is open only on Friday and Saturday. Based on what I’ve read and been told It’s a one-man show that doesn’t have a restaurant or bar and doesn’t deliver. Customers must become members and drive there to pick up their pizza. I’m not sure if he operates out of an apartment, or house or where it’s located. Reviews I’ve seen for these pies are excellent but getting one seems complicated.
In addition to pizzas SPC also offers a variety of sandwiches, wings, and salads. The Amelia Island location is its first outside of Georgia and South Carolina.
The Inkwell atmosphere was pleasant, beer prices reasonable, and the staff courteous and efficient. When I was there it featured a guitar and harmonica playing musician that didn’t have the volume turned up to “stop talking to each other and pay attention to me” level.
The place ditched the “No ICE” T-shirts it had been selling probably realizing that alienating a large portion of patrons wasn’t a good marketing concept.
Call SPC at 904/310-3961 or go to SavannahPizzaCompany.com.
I agree with you regarding the printed news media. However, I am finding most newspapers today are managed by liberal, left wing enthusiasts. A couple of local papers are good examples. I will never understand why Nassau County needs 5 different newspapers, either. They all repeat each others’ articles. News in today’s world cannot be trusted as being true and honest, unfortunately. I cannot agree with you regarding Emmanuel. He is a hard core Democrat who will say anything to get elected and then govern to appease the far left. Some local government representatives are good examples….say one thing during their campaigns and then support the opposite position once elected.
Wishing Savannah and Inkwell success! Please support these new businesses. Pi pizza( RIP) on 3rd street was my fav in years past. Lately I’ve been impressed by another newcomer, Decicco’s, next to Wildlight Publix. Worth the drive.
Newspapers? They still exist? That is news to me!
Emmanuel= Farrakhan – go back a few decades
Just because one makes one or two statements that sound like they make sense doesn’t change who they really are
Another great article, thanks Dave. I’m headed to Savannah Pizza Company just as soon as I find my pants.
Sen. John Fetterman – PA is the only Democrat I see espousing anything logical and containing common sense. He’s willing to work both sides of the aisle while putting our country above his party. Rare in the halls of Congress.
As a former New Yorker, I look forward to tasting SPC’s pizza; however, I will wait a week or more until all the kinks are worked out from being a new establishment. In the meantime, I do recommend DeCicco’s in Yulee (across from Wildlight) and my favorite, The Green Room, in St. Mary’s. The Green Room’s pizza is as close to NY-style as one can get, and the staff is very friendly.
Just the fact that they WERE selling No Ice T-Shirts means I won’t be going to that Pizza place. After living in the most left wing city in the south (Savannah) for 30 years, it sounds about right. Any place associated with that city is a hard No for me.
My favorite Mark Twain quote:
I am personally acquainted with hundreds of journalists, and the opinion of the majority of them would not be worth tuppence in private, but when they speak in print it is the newspaper that is talking (the pygmy scribe is not visible) and then their utterances shake the community like the thunders of prophecy.
– speech, 2/1873
The great and insightful Mark Twain also summed the matter up economically when he said: “If you don’t read the newspaper you’re uninformed. If you do read the newspaper you’re misinformed.” True then and now.
Tried the pizza and agree it’s great, however now knowing they were selling anti American tshirts makes me think the owners are libtards I will not support.
As Mark Twain wrote 159 years ago . . . If you don’t read the newspaper you’re uninformed, but if you read the newspaper your misinformed.
Seems like it didn’t I
Prove Ha Ha Ha!