I got my journalism start at the Daily Reporter in Derby when I was still in high school. It was strange, because there were several times when I would pitch in a baseball game for the high school, then write about that pitching performance for the paper. I painted a very rosy, and accurate, picture. In fact, I believe I chose myself to the All-Ark Valley League team.
Anyway, the Daily Reporter remains dear to my heart, embarrassing as that rag has become.
Forgive me for criticizing another newspaper (I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be done in the business), but the Derby paper is really suffering.
I was in Derby on Monday night visiting my buddies. One of them, Ron Keller, brought a copy of that day’s Reporter. He told me to look at the front page and tell him what was missing. Well, what was missing was any coverage of the Sunday shooting of a Mulvane man by a Derby police officer in the Dillon’s parking lot on North Rock Road.
Nothing. Nada. Not a mention.
So I called the Reporter to ask why and was told the newspaper pre-prints its Monday edition on Saturday. As I have been known to say on my radio show: Are you kidding me!
This kind of news breaks and the Daily Reporter lacks the flexibility to get a story in its Monday edition? Incredible. Embarrassing. Humiliating. Insert your own word.
As a former employee who once made $1.50 per hour, I must say these are sad times for Derby journalism.
2 Comments
You know, Bob, this is all a result of the Reporter losing the Wichita Legal Notices business back to The Eagle. They probably had to cut costs way back without that windfall.
Besides…print is dead, long live the blog!
I used to “pitch then write”…I wrote feature stories on the school plays for my high school newspaper…right after I acted in them.