Ask John Henry: What Exactly Does a COO Do?

January 9, 2014

Boston Red Sox/Boston Globe owner John Henry made a rare public appearance at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast yesterday and made news with his announcement that he might sell the Morrissey Boulevard property and will appoint a new COO of the Globe maeda_09henry_biz2now that publisher Christopher Mayer has stepped down.

The question is, what is a COO?

The Globeniks better hope it’s nothing like the chief content officer position Time, Inc. recently established for its publications.

As the hardtracking staff at Sneak Adtack noted last fall, Time, Inc. CCO Norman Pearlstein is now the person that both the business side and the editorial side report to, “leading some to wonder whether business interests would now trump those of edit.”

According to New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, Pearlstein “praised the model being developed by Forbes magazine, which includes ‘sponsored’ content alongside the work of its staff writers. He said that the business side would not be able to hire an editor unless he went along with it.”

Be afraid, Globeniks. Be very afraid.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Jacoby Ellsbury Hates the Herald

December 13, 2013

Three things we know for sure in this world:

 

• Jacoby Ellsbury has departed the Olde Towne Team

• Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy still has his hair

• The Boston Herald will always operate at a disadvantage

 

Exhibit Umpteen, from today’s Globe sports section:

 

Picture 4

 

The feisty local tabloid?

Whiffed.

So the hardreading staff just tweeted this at the erstwhile Sox centerfielder:

 

Picture 6

 

We’ll keep you posted.

2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Herald Stomps Down Squawkey Way

November 15, 2013

The Boston Herald is on a real-estate BRAmpage lately, starting with Wednesday’s hounding of Terrier-in-waiting Tom Menino over possible conflicts of interest between the outgoing mayor’s new gig at Boston University and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, 80% of which is appointed by the mayor.

Today the feisty local tabloid is still beating the Tom-toms.

 

MA_BH

 

Inside, the Herald calls the roll of tax-dodging prime downtown properties.

 

Picture 1

 

Picture 2

 

But wait! There’s more – a new skirmish outside Fenway Park.

BRA sued over no-bid deal with Sox on Yawkey Way

A sweetheart land and air rights deal between the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Boston Red Sox is now being attacked in court.

Everett businessman and attorney Joseph Marchese is suing the BRA over the recent $7.3 million agreement that awarded the Red Sox air rights for Green Monster seats over Lansdowne Street and an easement to shut down part of Yawkey Way for concessions so long as the team plays at Fenway Park.BI1E6414.JPG

Marchese said he had approached the BRA in May with his own offer to operate concessions on Yawkey Way under a proposed $3 million, 10-year deal, but the BRA never put the rights out for public bid.

“What we’re asking the court to determine is whether or not that contract should have been put out to bid,” Marchese said. A former restaurant owner, Marchese said he wanted to partner with local businesses to offer food on Yawkey Way in a “taste of Boston” atmosphere.

 

Then again, the sweetheart deal is a taste of Boston, isn’t it?

Postscript from our JohnHenryGlobeWatch: Nothing about the Fenway rumpus in the Red-Sox-owner-Henry-owned Boston Globe today. No big conspiracy theory. That comes tomorrow.

2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Globe Has Staggering Ad-vantage Over Herald

November 3, 2013

Once the Boston Red Sox – sorry, World Series Champion Red Sox – took Game 6, flooded the clubhouse with bubbly, painted the town Red for the rest of Wednesday night, and rode the duck boats into MLB history, it was all over but the touting.

Enter today’s Boston Globe 40-page Special Commemorative Section, which is one giant duck boat for advertising.

Representative sample:

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 1.09.24 PM

 

The ads come in three categories: bearded, beardless, and merchandise-hawking.

The bearded:

Mohegan Sun, Bank of America, Gosling’s Rums (“Official Rum of the Red Sox” – who knew?), Sullivan Tire, Budweiser, Fidelity, TD Garden, The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, Museum of Fine Arts, jetBlue, People’s United Bank

The beardless:

Dunkin’ Donuts, Village Automotive Group, Pepsi, Boston Celtics, Mayor Menino/Parade Sponsors, NESN, Wagner Team of Auto Stores, New Balance, Boston College Athletic Department, Roche Bros., Boston Ballet, Mapfre/Commerce Insurance, MLB, Stop & Shop, Showcase Cinema Deluxe, Xfinity

Merchandise-hawking:

Bob’s Stores, Caseworks International (“Officially Licensed MLB Tall Mirror Back Baseball Display and the Rawlings Official World Series Baseball”), Bradford Exchange (truly awful 30-ounce stoneware stein), Boston Globe (two ads for books ‘n’ collectibles), Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s

The hardcounting staff tallies 34 ads of various sizes, over half of them full pages.

Crosstown at the Boston Herald, the ad count is . . .

Four.

Xfinity again.

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 1.59.01 PM

 

Sullivan Tire with a new one.

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 1.59.35 PM

 

Bradford Exchange with a new one.

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 1.59.59 PM

 

Bradford Exchange with the same awful one.

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 2.00.15 PM

 

That’s it.

If the Globe/Herald Daily Bakeoff were a prizefight, they’d stop it.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Did John Henry Buy the Boston Times?

October 31, 2013

On a day that the Boston Globe has produced fabulous, comprehensive coverage of last night’s Red Sox World Series Championship win, it might be easy to miss (and churlish to note, some would say) that the New York Times provided 50% of the paper’s A section today. (Associated Press 27%, Boston Globe 22%).

Page A4 was entirely picked up from the Times.

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 4.36.01 PM

 

Don’t get us wrong: We realize the majority of the Globe’s A section has to consist of wire-service reports; that’s the reality of the Texas-chainsaw newspaper business. Beyond that, we recognize the Globe is a big local newspaper with a big local footprint.

Not every day, though, features a World Series win. Almost every day, on the other hand, features an A section that’s Times Lite. Given the financial relationship that Red Sox owner John Henry just ended between the Globe and the Times, the latter’s lingering presence seems, we dunno, weak. And 50% is a lot of lingering.

Media Nation’s Dan Kennedy made a strong case last week about  Why John Henry should dump Times content. Today’s edition only buttresses that.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (II)

October 31, 2013

From our Or You Could Just Set Your Money on Fire desk

Call us the halfreading staff today. Earlier this morning we got a call from a Heraldnik saying the fusty local tabloid was experiencing printing problems so we might get our home-delivered copy of the Boston Herald this afternoon or maybe (and more likely, we’re guessing) along with tomorrow’s edition.

Seriously? Then again, we have had these kinds of problems before.

Just for the record, here’s Page One of today’s Boston Herald (via their E-Edition):

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.37.52 PM

 

And in the interest of fairness, here’s the Boston Globe’s front page:

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.43.57 PM

 

That one we got at home.

3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

John Henry Is a Style-Drivin’ Man

October 28, 2013

Maybe it’s just us, but John Henry’s full-page manifesto in yesterday’s Boston Globe feels like the biggest self-indulgence this side of Shake Shack.

Here’s how it starts:

Why I bought the Globe

I HAVE been asked repeatedly in recent weeks why I chose to buy the Globe. A few have posed the question in a tone of incredulity, as in, “Why would anyone purchase a newspaper these days?” But for the most part, people have offered their thanks and best wishes with a great deal of warmth. A number of civic and business leaders have also offered their help. I didn’t expect any of these reactions, but I should have.7cb748e6869749269dc41b14cf239371-93906dba92494b9781882f912559498e-0

Over the past two months I have learned just how deeply New Englanders value the Globe. It is the eyes and ears of the region in some ways, the heartbeat in many others. It is the gathering point not just for news and information, but for opinion, discussion, and ideas.

Truth is, I prefer to think that I have joined the Globe, not purchased it, because great institutions, public and private, have stewards, not owners. Stewardship carries obligations and responsibilities to citizens first and foremost — not to shareholders.

 

Uh-huh. That’s what they all say at first.  It may or may not be different this time, but here’s what Henry says will be different in his restyling of the Globe:

• “The print newspaper will be attractive and easier to navigate. So too will BostonGlobe.com, which will provide subscribers with news updates and fresh information throughout the day.” Wait wait – back up. The print edition will be easier to navigate? What does that mean – fewer pages?

• “We will provide what we will call the Globe Standard when it comes to curated links that will ensure our readers do not waste their time when they click on news, reviews, writers, columnists, ecommerce, events, opportunities, and social engagement from any of our platforms.” Yeesh.

• “I feel strongly that newspapers and their news sites are going to rely upon the support of subscribers to a large extent in order to provide what readers want.” That sound you just heard is the price of the Globe going up.

The rest is a combination of oversharing and news media bromides. The one thing Henry does not promise is a firewall between the Globe and the Red Sox. Maybe because it was easier to navigate this piece without it.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

The Globe/Herald James Taylor Coverup (II)

October 28, 2013

As the hardreading staff noted the other day, both local dailies either missed or glossed over the National Anthem Flub by Sickly Sweet Baby James Taylor at Game 2 of the World’s Serious.

To its sort of credit, however, the Sunday Boston Herald did sort of correct the record (without actually acknowledging the omission).

From yesterday’s Inside Track:

After James Taylor’s mini-flub on the national anthem in Game 2 of the World Series, the pressure was on Game 3 singer Colbie Caillat to hit it out of the park last night — and the “Bubbly” singer was feeling it! . . .

Taylor, a grizzled veteran who’s done three World Series anthems at Fenway, had a little blip in Game 2 when he started singing “America The Beautiful” instead of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

 

No such recalibration in the Boston Sunday Globe Names column, though.

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-28 at 1.28.24 AM

 

The hardbetting staff is laying plenty of 8-to-5 there never will be.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever.

October 21, 2013

From our Or You Could Just Set Your Money on Fire desk

The hardreading staff had a neighbor some years ago who objected to our Boston Herald home subscription on the grounds that a Herald on our front porch “reduced property values.”

Yeesh.

But now we’re wondering about the value of the Herald itself.

Page One of Sunday’s home-delivered feisty local tabloid:

 

IMG_2453

 

Sports section Page One:

 

IMG_2447

 

(Photos courtesy of the Missus)

Sure, later editions (and the electronic edition) of the Herald sported this front page:

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-21 at 12.26.46 AM

 

But that didn’t do the hardreading staff any good.

The thing is, as home subscribers we’re the guaranteed money for the fusty local tabloid. And all 17 of us are getting lousy value for the dollar.

The hardreading staff, for one, is not happy.

2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

Herald’s Koji-tations Are Krazy

October 19, 2013

The hardreading staff gets it that Pennant Fever Grips Hub Tabloid (just check out pages 1 through 5, along with the actual Sports section).

But then the feisty local fanzoid goes overboard.

From today’s Back Page:

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-19 at 12.32.22 PM

 

Uehara among greats? Really?

The guy has 24 saves. Lifetime.

Including his five-out save Thursday night against the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series — which, with Game 6 set for tonight at Fenway Park, moved the Red Sox to within one win of going to the World Series — Uehara has a 0.52 ERA, 24 saves in 26 chances, and a ridiculous 70-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 48 appearances since taking over as closer in mid-June.

 

That’s a great year, no question. But then to start tossing in names like Eric Gagne (major-league-record 55 consecutive saves) and Trevor Hoffman (601 career saves, second-most all-time) seems a bit premature.

And not to get all such-small-portions on you, but how do you do a whole piece on great closers and never mention Mariano Rivera – the greatest of them all – once?

Chalk this up as a blown save.

P.S. Before anyone says the piece is based on catcher David Ross calling Uehara great (“Yeah,”  Ross said yesterday, “I’ve caught a lot of great closers in my career.” Koji Uehara? “Right up there,” he said, never hesitating), that means Uehara among greats should have been in quotes. Otherwise, the Herald owns it.

5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »