It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town

Saturday’s local dailies present a nifty case study for those who worry that John Henry’s purchase of the Boston Globe will crimp the paper’s coverage of their kissing’ cousin Red Sox.

From yesterday’s Boston Herald:

Fenway franks to go?

Sox seek OK to sell food during non-ballpark hours

It appears Red Sox Nation can’t get enough of Fenway franks.

The team is seeking city approval for a takeout concession on Lansdowne Street, near Gate C, that would be open during non-ballpark hours . . .

The team’s takeout concept is the latest in a string of non-baseball game money-makers designed to make the most of America’s oldest ballpark, which Red Sox owner John Henry this week said has a shelf life of another 30 years.

Far longer (we think) than the shelf life of a Fenway Frank. Not to get technical about it.

Speaking of which, from Saturday’s Boston Globe:

Nothing, as of 1:39 Sunday morning.

But the hardreading staff will wait to pass judgment until the Boston Sunday Globe is published, because of this (via the redoubtable Dan Kennedy’s Media Nation):

• Boston Globe: Weekdays, 245,572 . . . Sundays, 382,452
• Boston Herald: Weekdays, 95,929 . . .  Sundays, 73,043

A piece in the Sunday Globe would get 50% more exposure than a Saturday piece, and roughly four times the circulation of Saturday’s Herald.

So . . . [snooze graf goes here]

At 11:45 Sunday morning we check out the Globe and . . . nothing.

Not good, Globeniks.

The concern people have about Henry’s Globe ownership is not so much whether Dan Shaughnessy will keep poking him with a stick, but whether the stately local broadsheet will be as vigilant about off-field matters such as these (also from the Herald):

[I]n December, the team won city approval to extend alcohol sales during baseball games and other events and to sell liquor on Yawkey Way.

The request to increase Fenway alcohol sales came less than three months after the Red Sox reached a controversial $7.3 million deal with the Boston Redevelopment Authority for an easement to shut down part of Yawkey Way for concessions during games and other events.

John Henry isn’t just a ballclub owner. He’s a real estate/media/financial mogul. The Globe needs to treat him as such.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 23rd, 2014 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.