SDPP is having more doubts about the "new" Argus Leader:
Looking around the blogosphere, it looks like the "new" Argus Leader is being met with mostly ridicule. People seem to get it--the Argus is run by a bunch of entrenched liberals. Just adding some color and some links doesn't change what these same old liberals and hacks like Dave Kranz write the copy. If the Argus wants a "conversation" blah blah blah, why don't they start by addressing the fact that all the decision-makers at the newspaper are liberals? Why keep giving a crusty bore like Kranz a liberal monopoly on news "commentary," which in the case of Kranz mostly amounts to cutting and pasting other people's work! Put him out to pasture and hire a good writer who isn't so enmeshed in the old political battles and isn't so obviously pro-Democrat. With a little effort, everything Kranz says can be predicted before his column even comes out. ok, Argus Leader, if you want something "new," how about hiring a political columnist who might actually surprise readers with something interesting/unique to say??
Another reader of SDPP notes that the Argus is essentially "unchecked" because of a lack of competition. I've written previously about the Argus monopoly problem. Also be sure to read this DVT post on the Argus monopoly. I know plenty of people who don't subscribe to the Argus Leader because of their bias and they think it's a poor newspaper (I'm an historian / news clipper so I can't give up hard copies, but their point is well taken). The biggest critique of the paper is it's lack of balance in political reporting. Since the paper is the largest in South Dakota, it's influence is large and has a tremendous state-wide ripple effect. The newspaper has been losing subscriptions and the format changes were an attempt to curb that. But executive editor Randell Beck has missed the point. If he wanted a real turnaround for the Argus Leader, he would adopt real reforms and create a better product and thus reduce criticism and boost sales.
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