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Goliath's March to the Sea
This site chronicles the local media's fight to fend off the Gannett Corp. in Jackson, Miss.
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Local Media vs. Gannett Corp.
The Charleston City Paper recently reported that its city is facing a scheme similar to the Gannett Corp.'s struggling TDN distribution scheme to control local free-publication distribution in Jackson and other cities. The JFP's Todd Stauffer, who has helped lead a national effort to push back TDN and to educate consumers about the anti-competitive implications, is quoted in the article:
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Read GoliathBlog here for background details.
Big news today on the Clarion-Ledger/TDN front: Today the Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance placed red multi-boxes in six PMG Chevrons in prime locations in the metro, joining Mac's Gas and Conoco/SuperStop chains, which recently invited MIPA papers back into their stores. The six locations were originally on TDN's list of exclusive distribution spots, but the management reconsidered its agreement with TDN, opting to allow local publications to once again distribute in the locations. All six of these stations are new distribution spots for the Jackson Free Press. Please stop into the stores, spend a few bucks and thank these businesses for supporting locally owned media. The stores are at the following locations:
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(The following appears on page 2 of the Sept. 21, 2006, issue of the Jackson Free Press.)
Dear Mr. Newhouse:
We are writing in response to your “OPEN LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER” dated September 17, 2006, printed as a full page advertisement in the business section of the Sunday Clarion-Ledger. We are dismayed, Mr. Newhouse, at the accusations you appear to have made against members of our organization, the Mississippi Independent Publishers’ Alliance (MIPA). Pursuant to Mississippi law, we call upon you to publish a full and fair correction, apology and retraction in the same section and in as conspicuous a place and type as your original “open letter.”
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Updated.
On Sunday, Sept. 17, Clarion-Ledger Publisher John Newhouse ran a full-page house ad on the last page of his paper’s business section with a letter that appears to target the Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance, a group of publishers that came together in response to The Clarion-Ledger’s “The Distribution Network” (TDN) scheme.
In his letter, Newhouse revealed publicly for the first time that the Mississippi Attorney General is now interested in TDN.
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 by Todd Stauffer
September 6, 2006
Pictured: After Polk's Discount Drugs on Spillway canceled their TDN contract, inviting local publications back to their store, The Clarion-Ledger removed its green multi-box and re-"cluttered" the storefront with the first four boxes pictured from the left. MIPA's large red box, containing nine independent publications, is visible on the far right.
As students return, the arts go into high gear, and the temperatures finally drop for autumn, the Jackson Free Press has great news on a different front—distribution. Thanks to our partners in the newly formed Mississippi Independent Publishers’ Alliance (MIPA), the JFP has gained about 40 new high-profile distribution spots in the past two weeks, many of which expand our reach into Jackson’s suburbs and surrounding communities. Now, you can get the JFP at nearly all Mac’s Gas locations, as well as at participating Super Stop convenience stores (most of the Conoco stations around town), participating Polk’s Drugstores and other locally operated convenience stores and gas stations.
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A Citizens' Guide to Fighting TDN
Sept. 5, 2006: The Clarion-Ledger's "exclusive" TDN contract with Jackson-area Conoco/Super Stops has ended. The company has opted to allow local publications to distribute in MIPA's new large red boxes in front of locations throughout the metro. The Clarion-Ledger says that it does not want to "co-exist" with MIPA publications and will remove their large green boxes from those locations.
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Update, 8/21/06 The Jackson Free Press has learned that Clarion-Ledger Publisher John Newhouse is now himself talking to businesses that have rejected the TDN distribution scheme to control free distribution in Jackson. This big-gun approach comes as the Mississippi Independent Publishers Alliance has started the roll-out of our own nine-pocket boxes in businesses around the Jackson metro. The big difference? The MIPA box does not require an exclusive agreement and does not prevent the businesses from distributing other free publications of their choosing. Stay tuned for more details on the MIPA roll-out.
Meantime, read an editorial in the national newspaper trade magazine that tells The Clarion-Ledger to bring their scheme "to a halt" and stop trying to force free publications to pay them to be distributed ...
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See the JFP's GoliathBlog for background on The Clarion-Ledger scheme
The Billings Outpost, an independent newspaper in Billings, Mt., is reporting today that the Gannett Corp. scheme to make locals pay them for distribution is striking in their state. The article holds up the Jackson Free Press' battle against The Clarion-Ledger as an example of where communities are fighting back against these unfair competitive schemes, and quotes publisher Todd Stauffer:
Our colleagues at the Butte Weekly reported last month that the two biggest newspaper companies operating in Montana are putting the squeeze on independent newspapers that rely on free distribution. “It’s the first shot in a one-sided battle to run these newspapers out of business, and in so doing, eliminate competition for the advertising dollar,” the Weekly wrote.
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Reminiscient of The Clarion-Ledger's attempts to take channels of distribution away from free publications in Missisissippi, the Gannett Corp. has struck in Iowa. Here's what the alternative newsweekly, the Des Moines City View, has to say about our Jackson battle (which is far from over; stay tuned):
The most talked-about fight is the one between the Jackson Free Press and Gannett's The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. A few months ago, The Clarion-Ledger offered retailers a nine-slot outdoor box under the premise of cleaning up the "clutter" of free papers.
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by Todd Stauffer
May 9, 2006
Want to know how far The Clarion-Ledger/Gannett Corp. is willing to go to control the competition? Keep reading.
This past Monday, I sat down in Cups in Fondren with Lee Warmouth, the circulation director of The Clarion-Ledger, so that he could tell me about an “exciting new service” that his company has devised for free-distribution papers like the Jackson Free Press.
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Recent Comments :: |
Mar 14, 08 | 1:38 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
David McCarty: Sorry, just throwing this out on an old thread--but Harper's has a small blurb about Gannett's continuing financial problems:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002627...
Dec 11, 07 | 8:49 am
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
ladd: You're welcome, smooth. I hope my point is clear: The Internet is the great equalizer, or can and will be, for smaller, independent publications such as ours that put a lot of effort into good work (and search-engine optimization). ;-)...
Dec 11, 07 | 8:32 am
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
smooth: Thank you Golden Eagle for the info.I will go to that site an look at the numbers. I believe it must be a independent web site and not influence by no one. and thank you Ms. Ladd...
Dec 10, 07 | 7:06 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
golden eagle '97: Can someone enlighten me on how do the news media know how large they are on the internet. Is it some way that it is counted or is it a independent audit.
You can check out alexa.com. Go to the front page on the site and all the way over...
Dec 10, 07 | 6:08 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
ladd: There are various ways to measure *traffic* online, and it doesn't do a lot of good to publish it because it changes constantly, as you can imagine. We used to post updates on our traffic on the site all the time because it was growing so fast....
Dec 10, 07 | 4:59 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
smooth: Oh, and we're the same size as The Clarion-Ledger on the Web, with the same potential reach, don't forget. And they know it well. That's why they've tried to copy so much of what launched doing online five years ago. ;-)
Back to the Home PageTop...
Sep 12, 07 | 9:34 am
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
L.W.: If you guys did a wire service "summary" that would probably fall into place, seeing as how that is more or less what CL does.
I like the sound of that. Is that feasible?...
Sep 11, 07 | 7:13 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
pikersam: Send them the iTodd! ...
Sep 11, 07 | 1:36 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
blu_n_a_redstate: "for rent" signs in many of the windows because they can't get major non-Gannett publications to sign on? I almost feel sorry for them, but I don't, of course.
I hope they, CL, lost money and continue to lose money on their evil...
Sep 10, 07 | 1:17 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
ladd: Oh, I hear you on broader coverage. For instance, I would LOVE to cover Rankin and Madison county politics and government, but I don't have the resources. Yet.
Otherwise, I agree with everything you said. Gannett is already causing enmity here,...
Sep 10, 07 | 1:14 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
GLewis: Ladd by "size" I mean broader coverage etc.....If you guys did a wire service "summary" that would probably fall into place, seeing as how that is more or less what CL does. I quit subscribing to the CL like 7 years ago and I'm sure more people...
Sep 10, 07 | 1:03 pm
Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted
ladd: This part from the above link about "The Chain Gang" is interesting stuff to ponder in the media-literacy vein:
Startling case histories of the dubious tactics practiced by Gannett, unsparing insights into the newspaper industry, and harsh...
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