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Thursday, February 12, 2009

A Furious Daily Times Customer Writes Salisbury News

To: gbassett@smgpo.gannett.com; rscott@dmg.gannett.com
Cc: alberobutzo@wmconnect.com
Sent: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 9:52 am
Subject: Fwd: Daily Times Rip Off!

When I picked up the paper this morning and noticed the absolutely unreasonable price, for virtually three sheets of paper most of which, is often inaccurate information, I was appalled. Not to mention the quality of print that ofter appears to leave the reader feeling, as if they have double vision.

There is no need for details, because, there is no doubt in my mind, that the publisher and staff know exactly what I'm talking about.

Its bad enough that the paper has been reduced in size, reduced in coverage, reduced in classifieds, but, now to see the paper is $1.25 , is completely unreasonable.

I am 45 years old and I have lived in Salisbury my entire live. It is now my mission to encourage, absolutely everyone I know, everyone, I come to know and every business I associate with NOT to utilize this paper in anyway.

DO NOT PURCHASE THE DAILY TIMES, DO NOT PURCHASE ADVERTISING WITH THE DAILY TIMES, DO NOT PLACE CLASSIFIEDS….!

THIS IS MY MISSION AND MY INTENT IS TO CONTINUE UNTIL CHANGES ARE MADE OR UNTIL THE PAPER FOLDS.

This is no less, as irresponsible, as the CEO of major banks that are excepting millions in bonuses and displacing and ripping off consumers and tax payers acrossed our nation.

Today in this "Cripple Economy" it is inexcusable, that the head of this publication would choose to make such and outrageous and unexceptable rise in cost.

Everyday, my 78 mother would save her 75 cents to get a paper….there is no way possible on a fixed income, with todays economy, that she can afford $1.25 a day.

I hate to guess what the cost of the Sunday paper will be.

I assure you this mission is just getting started!

From today forward, I will no longer pratronize any business that contiues advertising throught the Daily Times, and I will encourage everyone I know to do the same.

NOTE: I will also be forwarding this information to every contact, personal and business that I know!

Anonymous

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

inflation sucks joe. but we need to help the ceo and presidents of the bail out crowd. just pay the $1.25 so someone can go on a cruise.

Anonymous said...

Joe you should have announcements on here like engagement, wedding, deaths & funeral notices ..stuff like that too.

I remember when you could get a paper for 50 cents and sunday paper for 75 cent. 1.25 thats just insain.. you know it doesnt cost them that much to print papers

Anonymous said...

I love your passion and what seems to be commitment, but when you fire off like that you gotta sign or it dont mean nothing.

joe albero said...

Doug, they did. They sent it in an e-mail and asked me to keep them anonymous. I did not put up their e-mail address in which Bassett and others can reply to. Look again at the very beginning of the article and you can clearly see they sent it from their e-mail address to the Daily Times and Salisbury News.

Anonymous said...

You said yesterday that the letters and such had to have names to be posted didnt you? Maybe I mis-understood. What are they all afraid of???

Anonymous said...

I stopped my subscription. There is nothing in the paper. It is so small and for the price it isn't worth it.

joe albero said...

Doug, no, I never said that at all.

Anonymous said...

Well Im not the sharpest tool in the shed, I was wrong.

Anonymous said...

While Im here a good buddy of mine stopped by last night and told me that his father had finally had enough after about 25 or 30 years that he cancelled his subscription to. My buddy(who is a case by himself) likes to read books all the time, but when over here he has been interested in articles on Salisbury News and has told his father about it. So if your listening Floyd welcome aboard. My buddy also said I told my dad that by the time he reads it in the slime,"its old news anyway". Trust me Im not making this up, I cant do that. Thats some funny shoot isnt it.

Anonymous said...

Joe Why are you letting the gossip flow when you have already been notified that the price was a typo?

Anonymous said...

Thats right folks. Support everyone who wants to put the citizens of Salisbury, who work at the Daily Times out of work. Also, not wanting to support the people who advertise in the Times. Lets just buy everything online, and put as many Salisbury businesses out of business that we can. Once again, Joe what you are promoting is a way of holding people hostage to Your way of thinking

Anonymous said...

your kidding me, $1.25 for that rag? LOL

Anonymous said...

So here we have another poster/letter writer who is not going to do business with a particular business for some reason.

Let me tell you something. If this is the type of person you are, then you just go shop somewhere else.

We HAVE to advertise for our business in ANY form we can, ESPECIALLY in this economy because if your name is not out there, you are dead in the water!

I really should not be surprised by this person's arrogance, but I guess I am!

It's one thing to fault a certain business (DT) for doing something wrong to you, but the other punishment you are doing to other businesses is partly the reason the economy is as slow as it is right now....because people won't spend money!

OMG! I will stop there. My blood pressure is sky high right now.

Anonymous said...

If you hate Salisbury so much take your business to Deleware

joe albero said...

Let me explain something to those Daily Times Employees who have been attempting to send in comments with a ton of curse words and personal attacks.

First of all, the Daily Times has done everything in their powers to bring down Salisbury News. They have bashed me personally, my Wife, my Father in Law, you name it. So while it seems OK for them to try to destroy me, it's not OK for me to EXPOSE their $1.20 weekly paper today????? Are you people that dumb?

I'll add, I keep saying this month after month, if YOU haven't been looking for a new job while a HUNDRED of your other Co Workers have been laid off, that's your problem. Stating that I have no heart for those of you about to lose your jobs, GET A GRIP ON LIFE! The company you work for is delivering at least 50% less news and information, they're way behind when it comes to expoing anything, they're NEVER at events any more covering stories, THEY DON'T CARE ANY MORE!

ONE MAN has gone up against them because of their slanted Pro Tilghman stories and ONE MAN has crushed them. The advertising at Salisbury News will start soon enough and they'll be done. You have been warned, GET A JOB SOMEWHERE ELSE BEFORE YOU GET FIRED. They know it's coming, now you do too.

Anonymous said...

The cost to advertise in the daily times is outrageous. Nobody is bringing them down except themselves. Nobody wants to put more people out of work but you can't sell a product that really offers nothing for a high price and expect people to continue buying. People are tired of paying high prices for nothing.

Anonymous said...

10:16 This is what I've come to expect of the intellect posting on the Internet. Geeze, I remember when I could buy a gallon of gas for 27 cents a gallon. "... you know it doesn't cost them that much to print papers." Break it down for us, how much exactly does it cost with raw material costs, utilities, taxes, and labor costs to print papers?

The reality is, many print media corporations and papers are in serious financial problem. Many have been sold; many have filed for bankruptcy protection, and many have simply folded. A paper's largest source of income is through its classified section. With sites like Craigslist offering free listings for almost everything under the sun, why would someone selling a car pay a local paper $35 to a run an ad for four days? Additionally, in this economy, many of the commercial sources of advertising income for newspapers, ie car dealers, real estate agents and agencies, as well as companies looking for help, have come to a trickle.

Personally, I enjoy the sensory experience of holding and reading a newspaper in the morning while sipping my morning coffee. Reading the news on the Internet would be a lot like reading a classic novel digitally. As popular as the Internet has become, half the adults in the US do not have Internet access, and 57percent of non-Internet users are not interested in getting online
according to research conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Internet is not everything to everyone.

joe albero said...

anonymous 12:03,

While I'm certain some would agree with your way of thinking, touching, holding and reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee, they're also aware it is becoming useless. The Internet provides real time news and information and can tell you more about a story than a newspaper.

It's important to recognize that the Daily Times has shrunk to next to nothing every day, yet they're charging 50% more.

Look, I see my numbers here every single day and let me assure you, the Daily Times is failing faster than you want to believe and it's no joke. Your statistics are not exactly accurate but as every year passes more people are reading their new on line than they are in a newspaper. It's a reality many of us never wanted to believe would be possible but it's true.

When I stated a while ago that I do things Italian Style, it means that I go at it very slow and easy. Then, out of nowhere, when they least expect it, BAM! We go in for the kill, (again, a figure of speech) and hit them with everything all at once. They'll never know what hit them and they'll never know when it's coming. However, they know I'm out here and they know I have the traffic and means financially, it's just a matter of time. They will not be in business that much longer. Ad Agencies are calling on Salisbury News, not the Daily Times.

Anonymous said...

Joe, those statistics didn't come from me, they came from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. If you don't agree with their numbers, or those numbers don't support your agenda, take it up with them.

The last time I checked, The Times not only prints a daily newspaper, but also posts its news online. And while I know you like to bloviate and fancy yourself some type of journalist and consider this grapevine experience legitimate news, I find it to be mostly replete with bilge.

joe albero said...

Yet you're here every day?????

Notice how you stayed away from the rest of my reply. Oh well, change is a very difficult thing for many to accept. My numbers tell me differnt and YOU are one of them.

Oh, their on line news is just as slow as their paper. Face it, they have failed and are falling behind so rapid they can't keep up.

Weather you're drinking your cup of coffee or enjoying a fresh cold beverage, the fact that you're here clearly shows I am right and you are wrong.

Anonymous said...

Then why are you here?

Anonymous said...

this site "replete with bilge"??? have you been to delmarvanow.com??? where is the local non-biased journalism??? I beg of you, please direct us to it. Please don't send links to letters written by the public, police reports, AP copy/paste, or other non-DT creations.

THIS IS A BLOG THAT REPORTS NEWS THAT WE CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD.

The fact is, the DT is NOT providing REAL journalistic services to the community that supports it. If they had QUALITY news, we would pay $2 for it. I know it is tough in the market these days to publish and sell anything in print, but there are many many papers out in markets identical to ours that are prosperous businesses providing a REAL value in news. It all comes down to who is running the show. It's just like a McDonald's that is clean and one that is filthy. Same burger and fries but a huge difference in revenue.

Anonymous said...

The paper says the pricing was a typographical error. Go see for yourself.

Anonymous said...

So, I'm asking, what's good about the Daily Times?
Anyone care to comment? Honestly comment?

Anonymous said...

Alright I have to admit it. SBYnews is a better . . . in fact . . .much better media than The Daily Times.

SBYnews has Real live news streams, real live facts - (not made-up news) - unlike their other competitor (DT).

It's no wonder that SBYnews has been labeled the BEST THING GOING.

Bottom line. . it is the best media going.

drive4success said...

i keep seeing that the price was a typo. Does that mean everyone with a paper purchased off of the news stand gets a portion of their money back?

if this was a typo, what is the price?

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:18,
What's good about the Daily Times is that they do put the news out to us in a professional fashion. Sure, some of the news we may have already heard about from sites like these. (Thanks Joe) Of course their news is after this site, it's on paper. We find out about all the activities around town, and also who passed away, got engaged, married, etc.
Plus you can't forget sports info, interesting lifestyle stories and of course the coupons! :-)
They may be biased, but I haven't heard of many news sources that aren't. And plus they ask for Joe's opinion on things and print his response, they can't be all bad!
I will not stop buying/reading the Times, but I also look at this site mainly to see the breaking news, which Joe is always on top of. And that is my two cents...
Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Does Doug have his hand up your skirt Joe. Oh I get it he will be selling advertising for you

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading this blog everyday to see people's different opinions and views on certain topics, as well as to get a good laugh at the backwards thinking and outrageous comments that some people make. With that said, I have to call you out Joe. What exactly is your intent? Do you want to be a legitimate, informative news source? Or a glorified grapevine to rival DT?
Your comments like "ONE MAN has gone up against them because of their slanted Pro Tilghman stories and ONE MAN has crushed them" bring me to arms. Is your goal to destroy DT, and bask in glory as your ratings go up? You are fighting politics with more politics. That doesn't make you better than them. It may drive your precious numbers up, but it certainly does not make you a better non-biased news source.

Rob S

Anonymous said...

Boy you sure do love to stir things up doncha Joe.

Anonymous said...

I don't see the big deal here. Between the internet and blogs like this one, newspapers are becoming obsolete anyway. The Daily Times is just doing what they can to cut costs and survive. It's just a matter of time before newspapers, all newspapers, become things of the past. This type of thing always starts off with the smaller city newpapers first, to be followed soon after by the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post...etc.

Anonymous said...

2:58 I dont really think you want to go up against the morals and values that I base my exsistance on. Joe and I have never met, to tell you the truth I think were to alike to share the same room. As far as the advertising goes maybe Ill buy some.

Anonymous said...

If you don't like the price or the paper....don't buy it, that simple. Sheezzz.

Pile some of that hostile energy onto something a little more worth while.

Anonymous said...

Reference to 3:02 Comment:

I've got news for you dude. I remember when The Daily Times was trashing Joe and his electronic media. I remember seeing them all over his ass and writing about it in the newspaper. What would rather do see SBYnews do nothing and go extinct. 'What's good for the goose should be good for the gander'

Now lay off it. What goes around comes around. The DT day of reckoning has now come.