Saturday 27 January 2024 15:03:47 1706389427
Was gonna talk about people talking about stuff in the local area, as I said news is pretty much useless these days.  Watch the TV news channels it's either the Alphabet organizations dishing out the official story from the government and the social engineering organizations they're in bed with or Fox giving it almost straight - they have to stay just a couple degrees off or leave stuff out entirely or a kangaroo court in some blue cesspool state [1] will send them a billion-dollar bill. 

No matter, the underground media has it first and accurate and who watches TV anyway?  Stream it from their websites if you want to see it but you might as well find some reliable sources and see what they have. 

Locally it's not much better.  Almost all the TV and newspaper outlets are owned by big companies from who knows where and all they're interested in is the money.  And not getting on the wrong side of the government and whichever sociopath agitators are able (or are perceived to be able) to hurt their bottom line. 

I live near Jonesboro, which is just big enough to have a TV station.  Didn't watch it much ten, even twenty years ago.  Turn in on when there's some bad weather, see where the tornadoes are.  They do that pretty well.  With three or four meteorologists they should.  Checking out their website today, lessee....

OK, big wreck on I-55, a blood drive, something about a bad ice storm fifteen years ago, two or three regurgitated servings of alphabet soup (AP). Only one marginally interesting was he one about the Navy being so desperate for recruits they're taking high school dropouts (not even requiring a GED) but I knew that yesterday from the unreliable (vast right wing conspiracy donchaknow) alternative news guys. 

The local station is owned by Gray TV, a company that has about 180 stations.  It seems they also own one of the Memphis stations.  Given that the websites don't seem to be producing a lot of revenue (no ads) I'd have to guess they rely on TV ads.  That's not a growing market.  Making money with website ads is dirt simple to implement and sell (personal experience) and local ads are by far the most lucrative if you know how.  A company with 180 local markets could seriously enhance profits with little investment. 

Moving on, there's a newspaper in Jonesboro.  It (and the one in Pargould) are owned by Paxton Media, a company in Kentucky that has a few dozen (hard to say, they don't seem to have a website) small town and small cities (Jonesboro looks to be about the biggest) newspapers mostly in the south.  I look at the Jonesboro Sun rarely and when I do it doesn't take long.  I used to get the Sunday paper, probably fifty to sixty pages and a pound or so of advertising inserts.  Now the daily (buck or a buck and a quarter, I forget) is a couple of thin eight to ten page sections.  Being as most of one is sports there isn't much of interest.  The classifieds that used to be a separate section, ain't any more.  It looks like the only way you see ads on the website is if you'er a subscriber.  Weird. 

Going to the website I find the "Featured Stories", a BIG slideshow of... well, today it's basketball.  Depends on the season but I don't remember what they have when it isn't basketball or football season.  Maybe they have some actual news then.  They do have an editorial page, usually with a lefty cartoon, a Trump-basher usually.  Like today.  There was an intelligent comment on the invasion in Texas so maybe there is some intelligent life there. 

There is some kind of news site that has pretty up-to-date blurbs about local stuff.  They're just that, enough info that you can google and find out some more.  It's just Wordpress site and probably gets enough clicks to make the owner some money.  Strangely he does occasionally have something before the others.  Which is what I was gonna talk about but I've gone a little long. 

Catchyalater. 






[1] Like the crazy witch suing President Trump in NYC where a favorable verdict and insane judgment is a done deal Dominion sued Fox in the almost equally corrupt state of Delaware.  Faced with a billion dollars or more if it went to trial Fox cut their losses.