June 28, 2022
From our Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts desk
For the past few years, the hardreading staff has unhappily tracked the knee-buckling declines in the Boston Globe’s daily print circulation, while the Boston Business Journal’s redoubtable Don Seiffert has chronicled the Globe’s halting digital subscriptions.
But we were totally unprepared for William Turvill’s piece the other day in the UK’s Press Gazette.
Top 25 US newspaper circulations: Print sales fall another 12% in 2022
Our top 25 ranking, based on figures shared by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), shows that The Wall Street Journal and New York Times retain the largest daily print circulations in the US.
Gannett’s USA Today keeps third place, but is close to seeing its print circulation fall below Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post.
Here’s the top part of AAM’s newspaper circulation chart.
Boston Globeniks: We’re Number 14! We’re Number 14!
Everyone else: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
All due respect.
4 Comments | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: AAM, Alliance for Audited Media, Boston Business Journal, Boston Globe, digital subscriptions, Don Seiffert, Gannett, New York Times, Press Gazette, print circulation, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, William Turvill | 
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Posted by Campaign Outsider
February 18, 2022
This editorial cartoon yesterday in Boston’s faulty local tabloid went all in on the latest fever-swamp conspiracy mongering among right-wingnuts .
Not to get technical about it, but a) it wasn’t the Clinton campaign behind any monitoring, b) there was no spying on Trump, because c) whatever monitoring did (or did not) happen occurred when Barack Obama occupied the White House.
Some background from CNN’s Brian Stelter.
On Saturday night former President Donald Trump declared that he was the victim of a scandal “far greater” than Watergate. He called for criminal prosecutions and “reparations.” He said “in a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death.”
Trump’s statement made no sense – except to the Fox audience base that badly wants it to be true.
Four days later, Trump-aligned media outlets are still amplifying his bogus message far and wide and ranting about the circumstances of his 2016 election win over Hillary Clinton. Tuesday’s cover of the New York Post portrayed “HILLARY THE SPY.” The Wall Street Journal editorial page said “Trump really was spied on.” Fox hosts have called it a “bombshell” dozens of times.
One of those Fox News hosts, Jesse Watters, got fact-checked by PolitiFact, which arrived at this conclusion: “Durham’s filing never alleged what Watters falsely claimed: that Clinton paid hackers to spy on Donald Trump before and during his presidency, break into his computers, and then fraudulently frame him for colluding with Russia.”
But, as the Heraldniks might say, never let facts get in the way of a good cartoon.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Brian Stelter, CNN, Donald Trump, faulty local tabloid, Fox News, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Watters, Politifact, Vichy local tabloid, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
November 24, 2019
Ever since the Boston Globe’s Great Home Delivery Meltdown of 2016 and its 2017 move to a new printing facility, the hardreading staff has significantly lowered its expectations of the cheapskately local broadsheet. And the Globe has managed to fall short of even those.
What arrived at the door of the Global Worldwide Headquarters this morning was a sort of Globe Lite, given that the Globe Magazine and Parade were missing. Consequently, Two-Daily Town’s better half contacted what the Globe laughingly calls its Customer Service department to register our dismay and seek redress.
Alas, that was not to be.
The customer service rep said there would be no followup delivery of the missing sections and no credit for the foulup – not even an extension of our subscription, which the paper supposedly provides in response to a missed delivery. (The Wall Street Journal, by contrast, either delivers missing sections the next day or mails them to the subscriber.)
Is it any wonder, then, that there are currently 66 complaints against the Globe lodged with the Better Business Bureau, mostly from this year.
Representative sample:
Wait – we thought it was the Globe’s responsibility to respect its subscribers. We must be wrong.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Better Business Bureau, Boston Globe, cheapskately local broadsheet, Great Home Delivery Meltdown, home delivery meltdown, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
June 12, 2019
As the hardreading staff has previously noted, Juul Labs – the company that owns 75% of the e-cigarette market – has locally run ads like these exclusively in the Boston Herald.
Now, though, faced with numerous lawsuits, Juul Labs is in Defcon 2 as our kissin’ cousins at Campaign Outsider have deftly noted, not to mention this piece by Lachlan Markay and Sam Stein in The Daily Beast.
Juul Spins Vaping as ‘Criminal Justice’ Issue for Black Lawmakers
The company has embarked on a massive lobbying campaign designed to reach the Congressional Black Caucus.
The vaping industry’s unrivaled leader, Juul, is making a huge push to ingratiate itself with America’s communities of color, hoping that doing so will win it critical allies within the Democratic Party who can help it navigate a high-stakes legislative and regulatory minefield.
The company has hired lobbyists and consultants with deep ties to prominent black and Latino lawmakers, steered money to congressional black and Hispanic caucuses, and made overtures to leading civil rights groups. It has enlisted the services of a former head of the NAACP, a board member of the Congressional Black Caucus’s political arm, and the Obama White House’s top civil rights liaison. And it’s sought the support of National Action Network chief Rev. Al Sharpton.
Two Daily Town rule of thumb (pat. pending): Whenever Al Sharpton is involved, kindly walk – do not run – to the nearest exit.
Given all that, Juul has now embarked on a full court press of full-page ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe.
But not the Boston Herald.
Your condolences for the thirsty local tabloid go here.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: 21+, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Campaign Outsider, Juul Labs, Lachlan Markay, New York Times, Sam Stein, The Daily Beast, thirsty local tabloid, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
June 18, 2018
Coincidence? You tell us.
Four days ago Boston Globe reporter Mark Arsenault wrote about a new Suffolk University poll.
Plurality of likely voters say Wynn Resorts should retain license
Nearly 80 percent of likely Massachusetts voters are aware of the sexual misconduct accusations against former Wynn Resorts chief executive Steve Wynn, but a plurality want the company to remain the owner of its casino resort in Everett, according to a Suffolk University poll released Thursday.
The poll of 500 likely midterm voters, conducted by Suffolk’s Political Research Center, also showed a large gender gap in public opinion on the casino giant, which is building a $2.5 billion resort casino on the Mystic River.
Overall, 46 percent of respondents said Wynn Resorts “should continue to be the builder and operator of the Everett casino,” known as Encore Boston Harbor. About 38 percent said the company should not remain owner and operator, and about 16 percent were undecided or declined to answer.
Not exactly a full-throated endorsement. Beyond that, 48% of women wanted Wynn Resorts gone, unsurprising given Steve Wynn’s record of sexual harassment.
(To be sure graf goes here.)
To be sure, Wynn has left his eponymous company, but the sexual misconduct problems at Wynn Resorts Ltd. go far beyond him. Exhibit A: This piece in today’s Wall Street Journal.
But back to the Suffolk University survey. Hard on the heels of the Globe piece comes this ad, which appears in both the Globe and the Boston Herald today. (Its appearance in the thirsty local tabloid indicates how seriously Wynn takes this issue.)
No question those workers want to keep their jobs, but the smart money says they neither set up BuildingEncore.org nor paid for the two ads.
We’d certainly bet on it.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Encore Boston Harbor, Mark Arsenault, Suffolk Political Research Center, Suffolk University, thirsty local tabloid, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
March 10, 2017
In response to the hardtsking staff’s post yesterday that the Boston Globe was slowly becoming a sort of Adbnb after pimping out its front page on Tuesday and failing to label an editorial-looking ad on Wednesday, splendid reader Mark Laurence submitted this comment:
I don’t get your point. What is it about the Total Wine ad that doesn’t look like an ad to you? Did the graphics look too nice? There wasn’t a single sentence of text on the whole page, something you’d expect in a news story. If you want to complain about fake ads, how about the occasional Herald “road trips” to Florida or some other place that include advertising slogans and graphics in the middle of their reporter’s copy?
Well said, and an excellent opportunity to express some of the things we should have included in the original post.
All reasonable questions, Mark. I know it looks like an ad (although the Total Wine typeface feels kind of similar to Globe section headers), and there’s no text other than merchandise listings, etc.
But . . .
The Globe has traditionally labeled full-page ads that looked a lot more like ads with ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT across the top of the page. Beyond that, newspapers are getting into so many other businesses (e.g. the New York Times: Travel agency, educational institution, retailer, conference center . . . see here for further details), it could easily be the Globe selling wine on that page.
My point is this: Stealth marketing erodes editorial credibility incrementally, not all at once. Sort of the way authoritarianism erodes democracy, except not as serious. I’m more concerned with the Globe’s BMC sellout than any relaxation of ad labeling, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the latter.
As for the Herald, I’ll keep an eye out for the next time the paper sheds an adificial light on the Sunshine State.
That’s all for now. But more, we’re guessing, to come . . .
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: $tately local broadsheet, Adbnb, aditorial, BMCaddiction.org, Boston Globe, Boston Medical Center, Broadsheet Confidential, Dan Kennedy, Mark Laurence, New York Times, NewYork-Presbyterian, Shabbat notices, Wall Street Journal, WGBH News | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
March 9, 2017
As the hardreading staff duly noted, on Tuesday the Boston Globe pimped out – for the first time – its front page to the Boston Medical Center.
The redoubtable Dan Kennedy had this Broadsheet Confidential report at WGBH News.
Globe Editor McGrory Defends Placement Of Front-Page Boston Medical Center Ad
The print edition of [Tuesday’s] Boston Globe includes a banner advertisement that appears above the nameplate at the very top of the page. The ad, for Boston Medical Center, promotes that institution’s addiction services. The placement is unusual enough to have prompted a message to the staff late Monday night from Globe editor Brian McGrory:
Just a heads up to everyone that we have an unorthodox ad on the front page of tomorrow’s print Globe. There’s a copy of it at the bottom of this email. As you’ll see, it’s the same shape and size as our regular strip ads on the front, but it’s at the top of the page rather than the bottom.
We didn’t permit this lightly. The cause of fighting addiction is a noble and vital one. The institution involved, the Boston Medical Center, plays an important role in our community on this and many other issues. And we don’t intend this to be a regular ad position. This is part of a larger campaign that is important to the ad client and significant to the Globe.
Any issues or questions, feel free to raise or ask. Otherwise, thanks as always for your commitment to great journalism.
Brian
So the commitment to great journalism includes accommodating what’s “important to the ad client and significant to the Globe.”
Because they’re both on the side of the angels, right?
Except . . .
Yesterday’s edition of the Globe makes the $tately local broadsheet look like it’s on the side of the angles.
From Wednesday’s Food section, what at first glance looks like a two-page editorial spread:
Wait – where’s the ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT at the top of page G3?
Apparently in someone’s desk drawer at the Globe.
(To be sure graf goes here)
To be sure, the hardtsking staff can be a bit over-fastidious at times. But still, you have to wonder: How often will what’s important to the ad client and $ignificant to the Globe now dictate the aditorial content of the paper?
Or is the Globe content merely to be the Adbnb of whatever renters come its way?
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: $tately local broadsheet, Adbnb, aditorial, BMCaddiction.org, Boston Globe, Boston Medical Center, Broadsheet Confidential, Dan Kennedy, New York Times, NewYork-Presbyterian, Shabbat notices, Wall Street Journal, WGBH News | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
March 8, 2017
Metaphorically speaking, that is.
The hardreading staff’s memory isn’t what it used to be, but we can’t recall the Boston Globe ever selling the top of Page One to an advertiser.
Until yesterday.
Oddly enough, there’s no Boston Medical Center ad inside yesterday’s edition, the way you’d normally expect. Then again, the front-page banner might be just a teaser. (We’re writing this around midnight on Tuesday, so we’ll update in the AM.)
Coincidentally, yesterday the Wall Street Journal sold the same Page One real estate to another medical facility, NewYork-Presbyterian.
Again, we admit that we’re fast approaching our dotage, but we also don’t remember the Journal ever turning its top floor into a sort of Adbnb.
The monetization of newspaper front pages has evolved from Shabbat notices on Page One of the New York Times to full-fledged takeovers of front pages to whatever this new phase is.
Not for nothing, but NewYork-Presbyterian could only rent the basement at today’s Times.
A whole new version of Upstairs/Downstairs, eh?
P.S. No Boston Medical Center ad in today’s Globe. Huh.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Adbnb, BMCaddiction.org, Boston Globe, Boston Medical Center, New York Times, NewYork-Presbyterian, Shabbat notices, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
January 22, 2017
From our As the Globe Turns desk
When Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory recently trumpeted the coming reinvention of the local broadsheet (Hey! We can use John Henry’s garage!), the hardreading staff never imagined it would involve flip-flopping between formats for the paper’s Saturday edition.
A little over a year ago, the Globe introduced a new look on Saturdays, which we immediately labeled WSJr.
The Boston Globe unveiled a new look this morning, one that appears very much like a knockoff of the Weekend Wall Street Journal. (Sorry, no WSJ e-paper, so you’ll have to spring for one yourself, or – god forbid – take our word for it.) [Update: The Journal actually does have an e-paper now, praise God.]
Brave New Globe, Page One:
And we noted this editor’s note from McGrory.
So Metro, Nation, World, Business, and Opinion were all smushed together in the A section, while the new Good Life section was pure Wall Street Journalism.
But . . .
Yesterday, for reasons that went unexplained, the Globe reverted to its former format, with this Page One.
And say hello to the old stand-alone Metro section.
So, to recap:
The Boston Globe has a (relatively) new Saturday format.
Except when it doesn’t.
Okay then.
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Anything Can Happen Day, Boston Globe, Brave New Globe, Brian McGrory, e-paper, Globe reinvention, John Henry, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journalism, WSJr | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
September 22, 2016
From our Local Dailies DisADvantage desk
Yesterday’s Boston Globe featured this full-page ad from Chipotle, which is desperately seeking eaters after multiple food-borne illness outbreaks.
Whatever.
No such advertisement, however, appeared in yesterday’s spicy local tabloid (although it did run in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal).
Memo to Chipotle’s marketing nudniks:
Boston Herald readers eat crappy food too.
Smarten up, eh?
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bloomberg, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Chipotle, Local Dailies DisADvantage, New York Times, spicy local tabloid, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Campaign Outsider
It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town 