Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Report: Simpson out the door at Joplin Globe


On Jan. 1, 2006, the Joplin Daily came online and published its first print edition. A little later in the year, two Joplin business weeklies, Joplin TriState Business and the Joplin Business Journal started.
Former Globe reporter John Hacker is hanging in there with the Daily, quite frequently scooping the Globe on Joplin stories. Former Globe reporter Jeff Wells has pounded the Globe on business-oriented stories and is turning TriState Business into a successful stealth competitor for the Globe.
Sadly, former Globe Editor Tom Murray died earlier this year, but his Joplin Business Journal is still publishing and has lately been the beneficiary of a major ad campaign.

As 2006 comes to a close, it appears that the frantic competition between these publications for Joplin stories will lose a major figure. I have received a report from a reliable source that Edgar Simpson, who has been the Globe's editor for nearly a decade is on his way out.

Reportedly, Simpson is taking a job in the state of Ohio attorney general's office. Before coming to Joplin in 1998, Simpson served as metro editor and managing editor of the Tribune-Chronicle in Warren, Ohio, and dealt with incoming attorney general Marc Dann, a Democrat from Warren.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard anything about a Joplin Business Journal ad campaign. They must be advertising in the Globe.

Anonymous said...

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Why anyone would want to go to Ohio is beyond me.

Anonymous said...

Guess the CNHI folks aren't too happy with their crown jewel. Isn't that right, Eddie?

Anonymous said...

Critics have said that Edgar's new boss "sets himself up as an expert on state ethics laws, but his record shows otherwise."

Sounds like a good match.

Anonymous said...

Randy, is there any word on a successor. I've heard a couple of names bandied about, but nothing definite.
Big John

Anonymous said...

Here are the names I've heard mentioned, in no particular order:

1. Rick Rogers
2. John Hacker
3. Carol Stark
4. Robert J. Smith
5. Gerard Attoun

Anonymous said...

1. No chance
2. No qualifications
3. No desire
4. No interest
5. No way

Anonymous said...

Just think: If the Globe hired Hacker as its new editor, it could eliminate its top competitor at the same time!

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize Hacker worked in Springfield.

Anonymous said...

... And, it's kind of sad you own an 8x10 promo pic of Simpson there Randy. Kinda sad, because I'm sure you didn't go to the Globe web site and steal the image of Simpson off the Internet.

Anonymous said...

That picture of Ed is in the public domain. It's not copyrighted.

Anonymous said...

Defender - You must mean the 8x10 promotional pics, because, and I just checked, the entire Globe web site is copywritten.

Randy said...

Considering that the Globe has run three stories this week that were broken on The Turner Report, I didn't think anyone would mind my using Simpson's photo. Besides, I did not take it from the Joplin Globe website, and no, I do not own an 8x10 of Edgar Simpson. It should also be taken into consideration that I drive some traffic to the Globe website from this blog, which is certainly more than the Globe does for mine (though judging from my blog stats, I do have a large readership in the Globe building itself).

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Randy said...

I apologize for the last comment that was posted on this site. Someone with too much time on his hands apparently thought it would be great fun to insult some of the Turner Report readers under my name. Hopefully, this will not occur again. It takes a pretty low person to do that, but considering some of the comments that have been left on this blog, I cannot say I am surprised.

Anonymous said...

Randy - Here's a cross and three nails. Please, feel free to pin yourself up.

BTW - Do you often hang the 8x10 promo pic of Ed on the wall and continually push the button on the tape recorder that blares, "Randy, you're hired."

Anonymous said...

Any chance there might be more than one Randy out there? Just a thought.

Randy said...

It is very likely there is. But whoever the person was who signed his name "Randy" on the entry I removed was very definitely making it look like I was attacking my readers and using profane language to do so. It was a cheap tactic.

Anonymous said...

The Globe's ownership will send someone in from out of town.

Top Ten Suggestions for Improving "The Joplin Globe" --

1. Get rid of that ugly homespun masthead and go back to the original historical classy Joplin Globe type from years ago.

2. Reduce the total number of columns with pictures by at least 75%.

3. Wake up and smell the coffee: A paper that endosrses Jim Talent and comes out against everything that the American people and Missourians voted FOR obviously needs an editor whose olfactory sense for news still works.

4. Eliminate the Monday police/emergency services call page. "Kitten stuck in tree, 3. a.m., 12 and Main" means nothing. It's mere filler and we're SICK of mere filler.

5. End the "News at a Glance" repeat everything on the back of Section A travesty. It is also mere filler.

6. Hire someone who can write a decent feature story.

7. Put Pound on the editorial page. (And I'm not saying he's that great--but what he is doing works--like it or hate it.)

8. Get rid of right wing columnists like Jay Ambrose and William Rusher.

9. Get some FOCUS to the sports section. It's a hodgepodge.

10. Eliminate columns written by 12 year old kids designed to appeal to disaffected college dropouts.

10-b. Never use the word "Mum" again in a headline. 10,000 times since 1988 is enough.