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Clarion-Ledger Buys, Renames ‘JFP’ (April Fools)
[Jackson, Miss.] The Jackson Free Press and The Clarion-Ledger announced the acquisition of the Jackson Free Press, Inc., by Gannett River States, Inc., the holding company of the Jackson-based Gannett property.
The new publication will be named "The Jackson Ledger."
"We're very excited by the opportunity," said Jackson Free Press publisher and co-founder Todd Stauffer. "We've felt a little like an Ole Miss sorority girl without a date, particularly ever since the C-L bought VIP. I mean, as if."
The Clarion-Ledger purchased VIP Magazine for an undisclosed sum in 2007. Since that time, the VIP has slowly been rolled into the C-L stable, primarily by increasing the number of automotive and Chinese buffet ads in the high-society publication.
"Let's face it," said Ronnie Agnew, executive editor of the Clarion-Ledger. "[The JFP is] kicking our butt on city reporting. We bought the damn thing just to get Adam Lynch. We've tried to hire him away before, and he wouldn't budge."
"Between you and me," Agnew continued,"...and this is off the record...I can't stand Donna Ladd. The second I find out we're on the same advisory board or panel discussion, I walk.
"But I will say this...and don't tell anyone I said this...at least she's no (Clarion-Ledger Metro Editor) Grace Simmons," Agnew said, laughing heartily.
The purchase of the Jackson Free Press fits the overall Clarion-Ledger strategy of "hyperlocal" free publications and acquisitions, aimed largely at cornering the market on print advertising, while persistently cutting the resources devoted to news gathering and enterprise reporting. The goal is to maintain the high profit margins that buoyed Gannett's stock price in the 1990s.
"Quite frankly, I'm just stopped here on my way to a group presidency," said The Clarion-Ledger's newest publisher, whose name wasn't available at press time. "I'm sure I approved this acquisition, but that's because I rubber-stamp pretty much anything that seems to fit this year's corporate strategy for remaining relevant."
Although plans are still sketchy, the renamed Jackson Ledger will remain a weekly, but will replace The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson households, where circulation is down. The Clarion-Ledger will concentrate largely on untapped exurban markets such as Morton, Miss., and Vaiden, Miss., where crime coverage, in particular, requires less nuance.
Editor-in-chief and co-founder Donna Ladd seemed surprised by the news.
"He did what?!" said Ladd, who also shares a home with Stauffer. "He sold the %$^# paper? He told me he was going to a damn MIPA meeting!"
"He is sooo dead!" she continued.
The Jackson Ledger will also forgo using the Gannett-sponsored "Pluck" for its Web presence, in favor of an in-house solution developed previously for the Jackson Free Press. Rollout on that new site was expected within days.
Reaction from the staff was mixed.
"Oh great," said Maggie Burks, assistant editor. "There's goes our Christmas bonus next year."
COMMENTS
posted by golden eagle on 04/01/08 at 09:37 AM
posted by ladd on 04/01/08 at 09:39 AM
Yeah, it seems they're in love with that Reagan-era font. What's it called? Deco or something?
<sniff>
posted by ladd on 04/01/08 at 09:46 AM
posted by L.W. on 04/01/08 at 09:57 AM
OOOOH MY goodness...I am so glad this was a joke!! It is a joke right! It's an April Fools Joke right. I mean that's like blasphemy, isn't it. Somethings just should not be joked about. :-)
posted by Queen601 on 04/01/08 at 10:05 AM
This is even better than the Score 620 this morning fooling everyone that they changed from a sports station to a love-songs station.
posted by golden eagle on 04/01/08 at 10:34 AM
Ladd and Itodd took the money and bought a McMansion here in Madison just down the street from the Shell station.
While the good citizens of Madison always welcome new neighbors, we are a little concerned about them upsetting our racial balance...
posted by Rico on 04/01/08 at 10:41 AM
I felt VERY angry and VERY left out until I looked at the Calendar. Although, the logo doesn't suck..that bad.
posted by Lori G on 04/01/08 at 10:55 AM
You expect to fool anyone on the net today? Ha!
It's April First on the internet, all the (censored!) are out in full swing.
posted by Ironghost on 04/01/08 at 12:27 PM
The best April Fools day joke ever pulled on me...LOL. I literally stopped breathing, until I got to the Ladd comment... Then I knew it was a joke. Ladd would never publicly admit to murder before or after the fact. Thats the first thing they teach you in journalism school.
posted by dd39203 on 04/01/08 at 12:39 PM
posted by ATLExile on 04/01/08 at 03:24 PM
posted by L.W. on 04/01/08 at 07:06 PM
Sorry, L.W. Corporate locked me out of the back end. I can only post like the rest of you now.
Oh, and I had to throw rocks up at Todd's window to get inside this morning. My key wouldn't work.
posted by ladd on 04/01/08 at 07:11 PM
posted by ladd on 04/01/08 at 07:11 PM
Okay, as of this writing, you have four hours and 22 minutes left to enjoy this little shenanigan. Things better be back to normal when I get back, or I'll be on Old Canton Road with my switch.:-P
posted by L.W. on 04/01/08 at 07:38 PM
By then, I'll be packed and gone, L.W.
Believe it's a joke if you want ... you know how corporate media operate: Steal distribution channels and buy out the competition.
Party at 2 Carter's Grove tonight, I hear.
posted by ladd on 04/01/08 at 07:41 PM
posted by L.W. on 04/01/08 at 08:22 PM
posted by L.W. on 04/01/08 at 09:47 PM
posted by L.W. on 04/02/08 at 10:19 AM
L.W.: What is your definition of normal? And how does normal differ from April 1st? :D I, most certainly, am not normal. And I'm darn proud of that.
BTW: did you read yesterday that SkyTel got sold again?
posted by Lady Havoc on 04/02/08 at 11:17 AM
Sorry, LH, I should have been more specific. I was talking about putting the old logo back.
SkyTel sold again? No, didn't hear about that. I wonder how much longer they're going to last.
posted by L.W. on 04/02/08 at 11:35 AM
SkyTel sold again?
For $8 million. Gee, if I knew it would be that low, I would've gone to the bank, got a loan and bought them.
posted by golden eagle on 04/02/08 at 03:28 PM
Funny. Within a week of our parody of their horrendous online logo, unveiled in the most recent of many Web re-designs, The Clarion-Ledger replaced the Reagan-era-font logo today on its Web site—with another logo that has nothing to do with their actual newspaper logo, which is also on the front page, showing that they are caught in logo-limbo. What is up with them? It couldn't possibly be that they are trying to come up with a "younger" logo, could it? They are going to have to do a ####-ton more than come up with a juvenile-looking logo in order to revive readership among new generations.
The funniest part to me is the dot.com on the end; don't they get that online readers, uh, know they're ONLINE?!? Newspapers have no reason to have a different online logo; that's why decent newspapers don't. At this point, doing that is like referring to the Web as the "Information Superhighway."
Wonder if they do that in staff meetings!? Don't answer that. I really don't want to know.
They also now have logos for their suburban newspapers on the front page, too—seeming to co-opt the news section. The front page is now more frustrating to navigate than ever.
And alas, they did not retire the baby-puke yellow. Sigh.
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 11:24 AM
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 11:33 AM
posted by Ex on 04/09/08 at 12:29 PM
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 12:31 PM
Um, I was wondering who told them they were "Mississippi's #1 website"?
They don't get out a lot, do they?
posted by Lori G on 04/09/08 at 12:31 PM
Well, Gannett is into Orwellian statements that are the opposite of reality. I mean, imagine calling yourself an "information center." Eek. Have they ever read BOOKS?
The truth is that people inside the paper and readers have complained incessantly since this latest redesign (and all that Pluck idiocy), and they have lost interactivity that they had built up. And it's not the first time.
Meantime, they erased their archives of old reader commentary in order to post the current terrible site, just like they did the last time corporate sent down a Web redesign. And remember that we reported recently that Gannett newspapers are *losing* Web traffic.
Now, why would that be?
So, the logical answer is to call yourself "Mississippi #1 Website" and hope somebody believes it. Why would readers believe when people inside that building don't???
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 12:37 PM
According to Google, mississippi's #1 website is WHJT STAR93FM.com. The Clarion-Ledger website ranks 29th.
posted by Ex on 04/09/08 at 12:38 PM
posted by Lori G on 04/09/08 at 12:47 PM
I have noticed that the JFP spends an awful lot of time discussing the failings of the Clarion Ledger, yet the Ledger never says anything about the JFP. Just an observation.
posted by Ax on 04/09/08 at 01:53 PM
Well, don't you have the sharp eye, Ax!?!
Of course, the Ledger doesn't acknowledge us ... often ... publicly. Goliath should never be seen acknowledging David. They take it so far, though, that they simply cut us out of stories about our own events, to ridiculous proportions. Like there are two sponsors of an event; they name one, but not us. That kind of thing. But we love it.
They also target us in their sales pitches, and even lied about us in their distribution scheme. And they've set rates for their Weekend section specifically close to ours, considering how much bigger they are supposed to be.
Part of our stated mission is corporate media criticism and increasing media literacy in Jackson. That is working wonderfully, and won't change because it is so important.
BTW, you're sounding a whole lot like Constitution, who posted here for a little while, seemingly only to criticize the JFP. If that's your only trick, you ought to branch out a bit. This site isn't for trolls.
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 02:04 PM
I have noticed that the JFP spends an awful lot of time discussing the failings of the Clarion Ledger, yet the Ledger never says anything about the JFP. Just an observation.
Its hard to talk badly about perfection, Ax. :P
posted by Lori G on 04/09/08 at 02:05 PM
What's funny is that Ax is doing the same thing he accuses us of doing: obsessing over a media outlet he doesn't like!
At least we back it up with something real.
posted by ladd on 04/09/08 at 02:07 PM
Revisiting this topic to beat a dead horse again... The Clarion-Ledger site actually states it's Mississippi's #1 web site-- not website. In this case, the C-L ranks fifth according to Google. STAR93FM.com is still #1.
posted by Ex on 04/10/08 at 06:40 PM
I think the correct way to type it is "Web site" because Web is short for the World Wide Web, which is always capitalized, and "site" is an additional noun to narrow it down to one site instead of the entire Web. I checked webopedia.com and CNET, and both tech sites type it this way.
Now who's anal retentive? LOL
posted by L.W. on 04/11/08 at 11:29 AM
For those of us who got bored with such attention to details way back in 10th grade, what's the difference?
posted by Ironghost on 04/11/08 at 11:29 AM
posted by L.W. on 04/11/08 at 11:31 AM
Dang, too many comments to reply to at once.
Then how come, oh illuminated ones, why is it Fifth according to one person and another calls it in at #29?
posted by Ironghost on 04/11/08 at 11:38 AM
That I can't answer, Iron. The ones who came up with the rankings will have to explain how they got them.
posted by L.W. on 04/11/08 at 11:44 AM
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