Thursday, April 19, 2007

Graber, Davison out at Carthage Press, Buzz Ball named general manager/editor

Ron Graber, general manager and editor of The Carthage Press, and his Deputy Editor Michael Davison were fired today, with Neosho Daily News Managing Editor Buzz Ball moving over to Carthage to replace Graber.
John Ford, long-time associate editor at the Daily will take over Ball's spot at Neosho.
Graber had been at the press since August 1992, winning dozens of awards for his photography and also receiving awards for feature writing, spot news coverage, and investigative reporting.
I was lucky to have had Ron as my backup during the five and a half years I was managing editor in Carthage.
Davison had been at The Press for a year after being cut by the Joplin Globe.
As usual, newspapers, which constantly pressure politicians and businessmen to reveal everything any time news breaks, reveal little about their own inner workings. Just as when I was fired eight years ago, no mention is made of the reasons behind the departure.
The news release said:

Joining Ball as members of The Carthage Press editorial staff are Dennis Sowers, John Hacker and Cody Dyer.


It's as if Ron Graber and Michael Davison never existed.

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

Graber was kind of a douche anyway.

Anonymous said...

Nothing new how newspapers operate ... it makes me wonder why I stay in this business at all.

Anonymous said...

Graber was piloting a sinking ship at Carthage. Under his watch, circulation had declined dramatically. It's all about results in the newspaper business, which is the way it should be.

Anonymous said...

The great thing for Carthage is that it should be easy to find lots of people from the Neosho paper willing to drive to Carthage to work at The Press. I am sure everyone at the Daily is thrilled with the opportunity to get away from that circus.

Anonymous said...

I would much rather work at the Daily News than in Carthage. As an MSSU student who is looking for a job, I would much rather work for a quality newspaper like Neosho than at Carthage which, being from that town, has been a horrible paper for years.

Anonymous said...

These firings are no more than the culmination of what Gatehouse employees have seen coming for years. The leadership at the Neosho Daily has long frothed at the mouth at the possibility of taking over at the Carthage Press. They finally have their wish after installing one of their own to man the helm at The Press while giving Ron Graber the heave-ho.

The Three Stooges at the Daily (Publisher Rick Rogers, Buzz Ball and advertising manager Tommy Todd) had tried to bully Graber into becoming their puppet for quite some time. To his discredit, Graber had often been too quick to give into pressure and toe the line in hopes of not drawing the ire of the powers that be. But Graber also put his foot down when being pushed into making decisions that were not beneficial to the Carthage Press, its readers and its employees — a courtesy that will not happen on Buzz Ball's watch. Graber tried to be all things to all people, which ultimately led to his downfall. He caved in just enough to be seen as weak and incompetent, and stood his ground enough to be seen as a nuisance who wasn't a team player.

In reality, Graber was none of these things. The times in which The Daily got too distracted to meddle in The Press' affairs, Graber ran the newsroom with efficiency and fairness and showed great leadership and editorial vision. But he's not totally blameless in this ordeal. He saw the handwriting on the wall as well as anyone, but believed the problem would go away if he ignored it long enough.

The real loser in this deal is the people of Carthage, not Graber. The lone bright spot at The Press now is John Hacker, who has barely had time to unpack his bags after coming over from the now-defunct Jopolin Daily. Associate Editor Michael Davison was sent packing along with Graber in what appears to be a cost-cutting move, and sports editor Jacob Brower left for greener pastures a few months ago. Hacker is a strong journalist, but not strong enough to carry this entire rag-tag outfit on his back. And with Buzz Ball now at the helm, The Press may as well move its offices down to Neosho because the company line is now power trips first, the bottom line second, and the people
of Carthage third.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the problem lies with Rogers, Ball, and Todd. Sure, Rogers is ambitious, but that's an admirable trait. Ball is just a good 'ole boy. The problem is head honcho Chip Watson, who knows nothing about newspapers except that they're supposed to make stockholders a ton of money. One day, perhaps soon, Mr. Watson will be sent packing too. You heard it here first.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone really expect Hacker to stick around and work for these clowns?

Anonymous said...

Graber may have lacked charisma and drive, but at least he cared about the community. I don't think anyone left at the paper does.

Anonymous said...

It will be a weekly before the end of the year.

Anonymous said...

A few of these posters make good points.
First, the Press is headed toward weekly status.
Second, Hacker is good but can't carry the day.
Other than that, they are way off.
The Carthage Press has been riddled with problems. It's circulation is way down, it is riddled with errors in copy editing and it seems content with its mediocrity.
Rick Rogers is ambitious and he has a big ego. But he works his ass off to make these papers better. And, when he gets his hands on them, he does. Calling the Daily News staff "stooges" is the pot calling the kettle black. Those stooges produce good, quality community journalism. During the ice storm in January, Rogers operated out of a friend's house. Ball and Ford operated out of a shelter. They printed in Springfield. And they got the job done.
Meanwhile, the Carthage Press gave us such gems as "Perdue" beating Missouri in basketball.
Give me those stooges over the village idiots at the Press any day. And twice on Sundays. Amen.

Anonymous said...

You're all a bunch of meth-addled knuckleheads if you believe The Carthage Press has been anything better than subpar over the past five years. If you asked any Carthage Press subscriber when the paper's best era was, you'll find it was when Rogers was essentially running the paper in the late 90s and early 2000s. Dollars to doughnuts says subscribers are happy to see Rogers with some influence over that foundering rag again. And to begrudge Gatehouse for wanting to make money off the product is ridiculous and downright unAmerican. Graber may have been a sweet guy, but he's supposed to be running a newspaper and he never proved himself to be anything more than a decent photographer. Davison was obviously lazy and incompetent, otherwise they would have kept him around and he wouldn't have found himself out of a job in Joplin either. Hacker's lucky to still have a job too after the stunt he pulled with the business journal. Carthage ought to count itself lucky to have someone who cares about community like Buzz Ball now in charge of their news.

Anonymous said...

The Press hasn't lived up to its potential in recent years but, with a newsroom as small as The Press, its a wonder they've been able to get out a paper at all. I finally thought Gatehouse got something right when they brought Hacker in to provide some much-needed help to a newsroom that depended on a grand total of three people, but Chip "Ebeneezer" Watson couldn't stand paying a newsroom staff on par with the budget that's afforded to every other daily newspaper in America. One would think the failed Joplin Daily experient would have broken Watson of his cheapskate ways.

We've all seen what Graber and Davison are capable of doing with a little help. It's too bad Chip Wat$on didn't give this a chance.

Anonymous said...

Randy, how about providing some background information on Chip Wat$son? Where did he come from? What are his qualifications, aside from running the Big Nickel? Someone, he gained the confidence of Randy Cope, who has given him a free hand to play the Angel of Death?

Anonymous said...

Someone please explain the logic of getting rid of Ron Graber and Michael Davison. For some reason, Gatehouse thinks its a good idea to mortgage the future of The Press on Hacker and a pile of crap. They tried that at Joplin with a much better supporting cast, and the oversight of Rogers, and it still failed miserably.

Now, Gatehouse is finally going to get the newspaper it deserves. Carthage deserves better.

Anonymous said...

Watson has no idea what he is doing, Rogers is a bully, and yes - they are cheapskates. I work at Neosho and know about a former JoplinDaily employee (Levi Payton) who was fired for repeatedly asking for raises.
Payton made about 8 bucks per hour and was a one-man crew in the sports department. He worked a ton of hours (in fact, I'm not sure how he did it sometimes). Obviously he had a very good reason to ask for more money and I can't blame him at all. Jacob Brower was earning 12 bucks per hour while doing a horrible job at Carthage.
Payton had enough and was planning to quit when he was fired. Then Rick Rogers called and threatened him not to tell what happened or why he was fired or he would black ball him from ever getting a job in the media again. Rogers is a bully and you have to walk on eggshells around him. You never know when the beer guzzling "village idiot" that made the post about himself is going to explode.
Matter of fact, they better be looking to replace me soon.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like all of you have been out in the sun too long. First of all, since when did the newspaper industry become a non-profit organization that can hire and or retain as many editorial people as they want without justifying the revenue. Maybe, just maybe people like Chip and Randy answer to CEO's and stockholders who don't give rip if Hacker has to do a little extra work. Newspapers are in busines to make money. If Hacker and the crew are as good as everyone thinks they are, then tell them to put out a quality product that more people will want to read, then more advertisers will want to spend thier money with them. If that doesn't work for all you Newspaper CEO want-to-be's then I'm sure Southern can can give you a course on how business works. As for Levi Payton, I hear the reason he got canned was because his mommy took the car away too many times and he couldn't get to work.

Anonymous said...

Cody Thorn, were you online at 5:40?

Anonymous said...

Nick Parker, were you online at 7:08?

Anonymous said...

No that wasn't me online at 5:40 p.m. but thanks for asking
-Cody

Anonymous said...

I've been amused at the comments to this post, but as someone who has been around the Joplin area and watching the newspaper scene for years I think the bigger picture is being missed. The destrution of the Carthage Press at the expense of the Neosho Daily News has been going on since Hollinger bought the press from Thomson in the 90s. I'm surprised Turner has not mentioned this since he played a big part in what happened.While Turner was editor at the Press, it was a flawed newspaper, but it was a good one and I'm not talking about all of the awards either. I'm not sure those mean much of anything. Turner, Randee Kaiser, Amy Lamb and Ron Graber did some quality work. During those years, the Press was ten times better than the Neosho Daily and there were times when it was better than the Globe des;pite its small staff. The Daily at that time was a weak, poorly written newspaper and with the exception of John Ford it has remained that way to this day. That all started to change when Hollinger took over. All of the money was poured into Neosho and the operation at Carthage was gutted, something that it has never recovered from. The publisher was fired, though he hurt himself by being asleep at the wheel when his bookkeeper embezzled a bunch of money. Neosho sent in Randy Cope's cousin Ralph Bush to run the newspaper and he did, right into the ground. During his first few years, it didn't show much because Turner and Graber kept it at a pretty high level during that time, most of the time with inferior help because it was all they were allowed to hire. Somehow Bush let Turner bring in Rick Rogers, John Hacker and Jo Ellis, and as someone who was subscribing to the Press during that time I can tell you that was the best written, best designed small town newspaper I have ever seen. What Rogers did with the design was nothing short of incredible, and there may never have been two better reporters on a staff in this area at the same time than Turner and Hacker. Turner was never a sit in the office type of editor. If he wasn't digging up something out of court records, he was at a school board meeting or a basketball game, and Hacker had the same nose for news he showed during his time with the Globe. Graber didn't get much credit for the things that happened during that time and that's a shame. His photography was always excellent, but he also made it possible for Turner to do what he always did best and that was report. I laugh at those who are talking about how good the Neosho Daily is today. When compared to the Press during that short time when those five reporters were together, the Daily is pitiful. It was certainly a sign of everything that has come since then, when Bush fired Turner and Hacker, real reporters, and put Rogers in charge of the paper. Rogers will never admit it, but he needs someone with an ego as big as his to save him from his worst character flaws and Turner had and has that ego. When Liberty chose design over substance 10 years ago or however long ago it was, that Hacker and Turner were sent packing, it set in motion everything that has happened in the years since. As for the person who suggested any subscriber would tell you that the Carthage Press's best era was when Rogers was running it, I doubt seriously there would be more than a handful who would say that. Evidence suggests the Turner years, as much as I hate to say it because as I mentioned before he does have a big ego, were the best years the Press ever had. However, my guess would be the stick in the mud oldtimers at Carthage would say things were better when Marvin VanGilder and Jack Harshaw were running the show.

Anonymous said...

Buzz Ball instead of Ron Graber? Let me get this straight. Ron Graber has always had a reputation for honesty and hard work, while Ball has coasted on the fact that he's Bill Ball's son for years. And wasn't Ball the one who let Moark pay for a trip to Colorado to write about a wonderful method of eliminating odor, but never told his readers who paid for that trip until Rick Rogers ordered him to? So much for honesty and integrity at the carthage Press.

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of crap! Turner, a great reporter? Comparing him to Hacker is sacreligious. While Turner was hogging bylines at The Press, other people were doing the work and making him look good. My God! Turner is yesterday's news and doesn't have anything to do with real journalism. That's why he is teaching today. You know what they say---those who can do and those who can't teach.

Anonymous said...

Watson must have something on Randy Cope. I hear that Cope was fired as publisher at the Fayetteville Arkansas newspaper because he refused to fire Watson as his advertising manager when his higherups ordered him to.

Anonymous said...

Classes at Southern aren't needed to figure out how to make money at a newspaper:
Money provides the ability to hire staff. Staff helps put out a quality product. A quality product draws readers and advertisers. Readers and advertisers equals more money.

Perhaps no one has told the good professor one of businesses oldest sayings — you gotta spend money to make money. Chip Watson's "something for nothing" business philosophy is flawed, to say the least.

Anonymous said...

The Globe staff must be sitting back and enjoying this drama.

Anonymous said...

The Globe has nothing to worry about as long as Gatehouse continues to destroy itself. Somebody put a tent over that circus

Anonymous said...

Rick Rogers is a good man and a good journalist. Apparently, you are neither.
I wish you would identify yourself and put up your dukes, because I want a swing at you.

Anonymous said...

Rogers got to the top by putting style over substance. I'm starting to think most of his readers would eat a plate of crap if it were served to them on fine china with a sprig of parsley.

Anonymous said...

In response to Chip Watson's background....He has been a part of this community his whole life. He cares about all of his papers, and if anyone really knew him, would know that he cares about all of his employees. If anyone got fired, it is because they were not doing their job, or because the CEO of the company gave him no choice. Maybe those spoil sports should spend more time looking for a real job than slandering good citizens of the area. Get a life!

Anonymous said...

Maybe if GateHouse employees - both rank-and-file and management- spent more time working and less taking shots at each other on here they would produce a better product. That said, everyone loves to watch a wreck. Keep up the good entertainment.

Anonymous said...

This is an amusing debate about little fish in a little pond. Not good enough to work at the Globe, not good enough to move on with their careers like Jim Suhr or Robert Smith.

Who cares about these little papers? Kids, they're all going under!

Anonymous said...

You're clearly narrow-sighted. Suhr and Smith moved on for money. There will always be a niche for community newspapers, they just have to adapt technologically.

Someone needs to tell Buzz, he's not witty and it comes painfully across in his columns.

Anonymous said...

Come on!

Graber was fired for NOT covering a news story, as I heard it. When other papers chose to print certain information, Graber chose to sit on it, thereby depriving Carthage Press readers of any mention of the story.

In fact, Randy Turner probably knows quite well what went on. It's fairly common knowledge. But Turner's "refreshing honesty" is less than refreshing on this issue.

I'm not asking ANYONE to agree--including Graber, Davidson or Turner--with DETAILS of what happened. All that remains to be seen. But suppression of a news story does not befit a newspaper's leadership or its reading audience.

The straw that broke the camel's back is well known. And, I must say, the paper has already become better under Ball's "leadership" (at least for the time being).

Of course, the issue at hand, I don't believe, has been mentioned even in "The Press."

Ron, as I recall, was a photographer, not a print journalist from the beginning. Print journalism requires dealing with touchy material. Working as a journalist can LOSE friends as well as make them.

Anonymous said...

I might add that Ron was also a hell of a nice guy.

Randy said...

As much as I appreciate the idea that I know everything that is going on, that is unfortunately sometimes far from the truth. Since The Carthage Press' website was sporadically updated, and I only saw one or two print editions per week, I have no idea about any story being held back.

Randy said...

As for the comment about all little newspapers "going under," in fact, it is the little newspapers, at least the well run ones, that have the best chance for survival, as long as they keep on top of their franchise for local news. The ones that do it on the cheap will continue to prosper as long as their companies can continue to buy newspapers with no competition and cut costs. Once new sales prospects vanish, and there is nothing left to cut, however, this shortsighted approach will eventually ring the death knell for many of those newspapers. Of course, by that time, the owners, many of whom are not journalism people, will have moved on to the next business they can plunder.

Anonymous said...

What has been the deal with the Carthage Press site? At least Graber made sure the Web was updated during the week. Way to dig that trench to the 20th century, Buzz.

Anonymous said...

The stories around the water cooler may be wrong but the word on the street is that Graber was canned for keeping the story about the fired bankers out of "The Carthage Press."

He would have done this (again according to the story) to keep from embarrassing one of the men's family members who are well known and well respected in Carthage.

Rather than covering the story, the story was completely suppressed, handing it over to "The Joplin Globe" and other news agencies.

I don't know that it's true: But that's the 1,000 lb. elephant in the room.

(And the company was admittedly top heavy. What was it Nixon said? "I gave 'em a knife . . . . "

Anonymous said...

Graber ran the Ellefsen story before anyone else, so if he was trying to protect Carthage's rich, snobby elite, he didn't do a good job of it.

Perhaps he was just waiting for actual charges to be filed against the bank folks to bump up the news content in the story since the bank wasn't a Carthage bank and Rosenthal hasn't lived in Carthage for years.

Anonymous said...

Some insight from someone who knows (and a note to cut all the players in this scenario some slack):

From the top:
Gatehouse — A newspaper company like any other that wants to make money and is willing to make cuts in order to do that. Can't fault them for that, and everyone involved with The Press and Joplin Daily could see the writing on the wall for years: the company didn't believe in either of those papers. Liberty kept the papers afloat, Gatehouse is making the tough decisions.

Randy Cope — A savvy businessman with a lot of connections and a lot of money who delegates power to Chip and keeps himself clean because of it. He's more corporate than local. Rick has his nose well within Randy's butt and will probably be Randy in another five to ten years.

Chip Watson — A businessman first and foremost, but one with more integrity than he's been given credit for. He's a huge supporter of both College Heights school and church. Much of the money he makes goes directly to the church/school...and sometimes to the Indian casinos. Many of you probably don't know that he used to run the Turnaround Ranch with his wife before he went to the Big Nickel.

Rick Rogers — Rick is an ambitious workaholic. The Press was good during his years because he was working 60-80 hours a week. He had a good staff during that time, especially when Jo was still around, but couldn't keep them because instead of paying for that staff, he used them to get raise after raise after raise. Also, he'll never acknowledge that Ron Graber was the yin to his yang. Rick was the face of the paper, Ron was the manager behind the scenes. Rick got to where he is today by taking the credit of others' work and pointing fingers when things went wrong instead of taking responsibility himself. Blind ambition is his best descriptor. Some would consider that a credit to his character, others would say he's a man lacking in integrity. You can't deny the success he's had...nor the fact that he's a family man - even though the job usually comes first.

Ron Graber — Ron gets less credit than he deserves. He has efficiently run The Press for years, mostly from behind the scenes. He is not a flashy guy who needs the limelight, he's a guy who does the job he's paid to do, and has never been paid well for it. He's a manger, not a publisher or even really a chief editor. He doesn't push for news like Rick did, he does enough to make sure the paper runs. He's a great photographer, a genuine nice guy who is well respected in Carthage, and an unfortunate victim of the system. He's no dummy - he knew what was coming, and he'll probably be the first one to tell you that he lasted longer than he thought he would.

The Press staff — simple enough: Gatehouse gets what it pays for. You want a quality product, you need quality people. You want quality people, you have to pay for it. If you aren't willing to pay, your product will suffer for it...and probably eventually die, like the Joplin Daily.

(caveat)
John Hacker — Underappreciated as a reporter (probaby the hardest working reporter in the area), but not editor material. He needs to always be working the beats and will always be a credit to any paper he works for.

The Press — Will never compete with the Globe. Most people in Carthage consider The Press a joke, and only the handful who still subscribe recognize its importance to the community. Ron recognized it, but was unwilling to be the workaholic that Rick was in order to see the paper be what it needed to be, and good for him. He's always chosen family and friends over work. A weekly is a decent idea and will probably happen sooner than later. Advertising has always been the paper's weakness, and Tommy Todd is the furthest thing from a motivator to the sale's staff. There's money in Carthage, somebody savvy needs to get out there and put it in the paper. And Chip, Rick and Randy need to listen to the ideas of their employees and run with some of them.

Buzz Ball — Has everybody really overlooked the obvious answer to why Buzz is now in Carthage? Rick has sole control over Neosho now. Rick has been chomping at the bit to get Buzz out of the way, and this is finally his excuse. And poor Buzz doesn't even realize what he's gotten himself into, he just sees it as a good opportunity. Buzz is a Neosho-ite, and Carthage knows this. They'll never embrace him. He'll always be the outsider.

Anonymous said...

The long winded poster said Carthage will never embrace Buzz. Randy, that last comment should be removed.

Randy said...

The comment has been deleted. I do not allow that kind of language to remain on this blog.

Anonymous said...

You let potentially libelous statements remain on your site, but remove an innocuous swear word. Your priorities are (expletive deleted) up, Randy. I used to have a modicum of respect for you, but this bull(expletive deleted) has gone on long enough. You're a bitter hack whose day has long passed him by. The rest of you (expletive deleted)holes talking (expletive deleted) about the staff who remains need a (expletive deleted)ing reality check. If the ousted had done their jobs the way they had been ordered to do them, they'd likely still be employed. If Rick Rogers, John Ford, Buzz Ball and the others stop doing their jobs to the satisfaction of their bosses, they'll be on the unemployment line as well. But history has shown that they are outstanding at their jobs, spare Buzz's moment of retardation when he took the free flight out to Colorado. However even in the worst case scenario, they might be able to find career refuge in the Joplin school district; apparently they'll take any washed up piece of (expletive deleted) to help sculpt the minds of the city's children. And to the whiny little (expletive deleted that rhymes with runt) who asked Randy to remove my previous post because of the naughty language, way to go Stalin, you succeeded. Randy, I dare you to delete this post you (expletive deleted).

Anonymous said...

I fail to understand this reverence that so many seem to have for Rick Rogers. He pushed out Buzz Ball at Neosho, just like he greased the skids for Turner at the Press. Someone wrote earlier that what Turner did best was to stay out of the way and let good reporters do their jobs. That was true. Turner was a reporter's editor. It might be noted that Turner attracted good reporters and was able to convince several to come to Carthage for low wages, including Rick Rogers and John Hacker. As for the last anonymous comment, I know nothing about Turner's ability as a public school teacher, but I do know that he brought out the best in many young reporters and he always had the reputation of being a good teacher in the news room. Rogers was a disappointment at the Press. He avoided hard news like the plague and spent most of his time writing about his family. He had a newspaper that looked good, but had little substance. Turner's Carthage Press, though not always successful, was the last newspaper in this area to provide consistent, intelligent coverage of the news. Turner worked with many reporters over the years. I have yet to see one ever criticize him on this blog or anywhere else.

Anonymous said...

Then please tell me why Turner is teaching junior high kids and not working for a paper somewhere??? If he is as good as he thinks he is then why hasn't someone hired him back? COuld it be because he is just like the people in the posts that you talk so much about? He wanted to do what Randy wanted to do, not what his superiors told him to do. That's why he can't get hired anywhere but the schools. Award winning journalist?????? I don't think so.

Anonymous said...

Wow. This has been the most entertaining thing I've read in a long time.
I have a few thoughts. Perhaps after Ralph Bush left a few years ago, the paper should have been allowed to hire an actual publisher, not that schizophrenic they allowed to take over. They when she was finally relieved of her position, why did they not hire an actual publisher? Ron Graber is a nice guy and I think a great photographer and good reporter. If he had been allowed to simply be a "news guy" I doubt it would have come to this junction today. You try to consolidate too many positions into one and put all that weight onto one person, you're going to have disaster. I don't care how much money you think you're going to save. I doubt that the Carthage Press has increased it's profits much in the last few years despite efforts to do so. Why couldn't the paper just been left alone to produce a nifty little paper that the people of Carthage like to read because it's theirs, just theirs.

Anonymous said...

p.s. I doubt the Carthage Press will ever "go under" as long as there are old people who want to read the obituaries.

Anonymous said...

Let me try to explain the "reverence" that many people have for Rick Rogers. For starters, he was one of the best editors MSSU's student newspaper The Chart has ever had. The Chart won its only National Pacemaker Award the year Rick was editor-in-chief. And after graduating from MSSU, he did not return to St. Louis but elected to stay in the area. As co-editor of the Carthage Press along with Ron Graber, the newspaper reached new heights and became a model of what a community paper can accomplish with a small staff and a meager budget. After stints at KODE and with the Liberty special publications division, he became one of the youngest publishers ever of a daily paper, the Neosho Daily News. Just as he did with the Carthage Press, Rick has taken that paper to an unprecedented level of quality.

I also have to point out that Rick has remained very loyal to The Chart and MSSU. He never turns down a speaking or judging invitation, he helps financially (both personally and professionally), and he hires our graduates and students. Some day, perhaps, MSSU will recognize Rick Rogers as one of its outstanding graduates.

Anonymous said...

Well said Chad.

Anonymous said...

Wow... I love how many of people will get on here and bash the men they don't even know. You will are going to listen to some stupid person, who obviously couldn't do his job, or he wouldn't have gotten fired. I was an employee for Chip Watson and Randy Cope for 3 years, before I had to move away, and I can honestly say that I have never had bosses like them. They cared more about me than anything else, and while I had to be reprimanded for things I was doing wrong, I knew it hurt them to have to tell me I was doing something wrong. I have worked many jobs since then and I have never had a boss, like Chip Watson, who was willing to throw himself into his work 100% everyday, but who obviously knew that his family and friends were ten times more important than what you losers think about him.
All of you obviously don't understand that many times Chip and Randy don't have any control over when they have to fire someone or talk to them. Everyone thinks it would be so easy to run a newspaper efficiently, but when you have CEOs breathing down your neck and demanding the impossible, it is a very difficult job.
While all of you think Chip and Randy are inconsiderate jerks who only care about themselves, you obviously don't know the real men, who love their families, their emplyees and who have enough integrity to not get on here and talk crap about all of you. I am sure they know who is talking bad about them and I'm sure they could do the same, but they don't obviously don't need to stoop to everyone else's level. So, since they won't.... I WILL!
If you guys are so great at what you do and if you are award-winning journalists, why the heck are you guys not in a big town writing for some newspaper that you think is awesome?!?!? Why do you have to come on here day after day talking about how great you are and how horrible eveyone else it? (Some people are obviously insecure in themselves if they have to do that...)
I will honestly say that I think Randy and Chip were the best bosses a human on earth could ask for, especially Chip, since he is the one I worked with one-on-one the most. However, if you don't feel that way... NEWS FLASH!!!! Welcome to the real world, where everything isn't fair and you don't always get your way.

Anonymous said...

You're right about Rogers' past accomplishments and he does continue to be a strong supporter of MSSU. However, his ability began taking a backseat to his ego a long time ago, and he has now gotten to the point where he is a liability to Gatehouse instead of an asset, though I doubt few in that organization would admit it outside closed doors. As for the person who made the post about Chip and Randy, I think you need to put down the crack pipe. Chip and Randy, and increasingly Rick for that matter, represent everything that is evil and wrong about corporate America. The minute this branch of Gatehouse/Liberty started putting the almighty dollar ahead of quality journalism marked the end of its relevance. Don't get me wrong — there's nothing wrong with making money in journalism. In fact, the more money you can make, the better! But they're going about it the wrong way. In my business experience, I've found that, if you open up your pocketbook in order to make your product the best it can be, customers (i.e. money) will not be far behind. Instead, Gatehouse has never missed an opportunity to shortchange the people of Carthage. As long as Gatehouse continues to pinch pennies to the detriment of the this fine town, Carthage's readers and advertisers will continue to withhold their business in kind. I promise you, this is a game of chicken Gatehouse will not win.