Charlotte Observer Going Under Due To Partisan, Biased Reporting

Surprise!

Losing more subscribers, losing more money and cutting more jobs is what a news publication like the Charlotte Observer gets when Editors continue practicing Partisan Political (Democrat), Biased reporting.

Charlotte Observer leadership staff have tried (unsuccessfully) every gimmick in the book to stay afloat yet their still sinking in debt and drowning.

Here are 3 reasons why:


1.) Firmly pushing Straight Ticket Voting for Democrat Charlotte Mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx and after his election becoming his personal, partisan cheerleader even though he hasn't done a darn thing for Charlotteans.

Foxx has done plenty for himself (2 new high paying jobs, etc.,) but nothing for his constituents.

Mayor Foxx's new employer Design Line Int. also comes into question for donating $4,000. to his campaign prior to hiring him.

Design Line than hires Foxx as a Full-Time employee even though the company manufactures buses for the City of Charlotte. (Conflict of Interest)

In fact he was hired to work as a Civil Litigation Attorney to represent Design Line in a Lawsuit despite his role as Mayor. (Definitely Conflict of Interest)

How can Foxx represent Design Line (a company which manufactures Hybrid buses for the City of Charlotte), in a lawsuit when he's the Mayor of Charlotte??

Has the Charlotte Observer dug into this story?

No!

If Foxx were a Republican the Charlotte Observer would be eating him alive!

Last year while on the campaign trail everything Foxx accused Republicans of doing poorly (helping Charlotte's Homeless, not devoting enough time for effective City Management, better Job Creation, rebuilding Charlotte's Business image, improving Mass Transportation, remaining loyal to Voters, etc.,), he's now doing poorly.

Charlotte Observer Editors where's the fairness in your reporting practices?

Its NOT a newspaper reporter's job to tell voters how to think or force a candidate down their throats.

Just present the FACTS (all of the facts) and let us think for ourselves.



2.) Printing lying, biased, partisan (Democrat-based) articles especially as it relates to stories about Democrats vs. Republicans.

I am a registered Democrat (Moderate) but loathe reading Partisan, Biased articles.

In other words like all legally free Americans I desire the TRUTH!

Not half-facts written ONLY to appease N.C. Democrat Senators or NC Gov. Bev Perdue.



3.) Refusing to publish anymore stories about Political/ Public Corruption running rampant in North Carolina or within the City of Charlotte.

In other words since most of North Carolina's Corruption is being committed by Democratic leaders, the Charlotte Observer refuses to print factual articles about those events.

Whenever Charlotte Observer Editors do publish such stories you can rest assured they will leave out tons of facts just to make Democrats look favorable.


So there you have it!

Who wants to waste their time buying or subscribing to the Charlotte Observer when the only stories published are status quo, partisan crap anyway?

Please!

Perhaps when their doors are closed for good and their all unemployed, Charlotte Observer Editorial Staff will get a clue as to why they so foolishly allowed this once flourishing newspaper to become a Democrat-controlled press box of lies.

Hey!

What am I talking about?

Maybe Mayor Anthony Foxx will be able to call up his "buddy" Pres. Obama and save the Charlotte Observer from obscurity!






(January 19, 2010)
Charlotte Observer Is Cutting More Jobs


Faced with shaky advertising revenues and lingering economic uncertainty, the Charlotte Observer will eliminate 25 full-time jobs, the latest in a string of cuts, the company announced this morning.

The cutbacks include the equivalent of 11 full-time newsroom positions, affecting 15 full- and part-time workers, Observer editor Rick Thames told employees. The announcement follows a similar one at sister paper The (Raleigh) News & Observer, which cut 20 jobs last week.

Despite encouraging signs in recent months, the Observer's ad sales remain weak, publisher Ann Caulkins said. Coupled with last year's numbers, the losses are staggering, she said.

“We really aren't where we need to be,” Caulkins said. “… This has been one of the hardest-hit economically, as far as cities in the United States.”

The changes come as the Observer reaches more readers than ever, thanks to the Internet. Yet the newspaper, like others across the country, hasn't been able to generate comparable revenue from its online product.

Advertising makes up more than 80 percent of net revenues at the Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy Co., the Observer's parent company, according to its 2008 annual report. In the third quarter, ad revenues were $266.1 million, down 28 percent from the year before.

McClatchy, which has slashed jobs companywide, is also struggling to repay nearly $2 billion in debt from its purchase of the Knight Ridder chain, which added 30 daily and 50 nondaily newspapers.

The Observer has already shed costs by merging some business and news-gathering functions with other McClatchy papers, such as the News & Observer and The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald. The latest cuts involve more collaboration, Caulkins said.

In the Observer newsroom, the cuts reduce the staff to 150, Thames said. That's down from around 250 a few years ago, he said.

There are hopeful signs going forward, Caulkins said. In the last few months, ad sales have improved slightly. When McClatchy announces its latest earnings, it is expected to report that fourth-quarter revenue fell by a percentage in the low to mid-20s, down from the 28 percent drop in the third quarter.

And there's been good news in Charlotte, in the form of fewer layoffs from the banks and other companies and the recent announcements of major companies moving their headquarters – and new jobs – to the area, Caulkins said.

“I feel like consumer confidence is improving,” she said. “The more confidence people can have, the better.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(March 24, 2009) Charlotte Observer Slashes 14.6 Percent of Workforce


Faced with sharply declining revenues in the recession, The Charlotte Observer will cut its staff by 14.6 percent and reduce the pay of most remaining employees, the company announced Monday.

In addition to the 82 companywide layoffs – 60 full-time and 22 part-time employees – the Observer will reduce the hours of some employees.

The moves come after the Observer's parent company, Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy Co.,, said this month it would slash 1,600 jobs and reduce salaries to lower operating expenses.

Advertising makes up more than 80 percent of McClatchy's net revenues but dropped nearly 18 percent to less than $1.6 billion last year, according to the company's 2008 annual report. McClatchy also is struggling to pay down debt following its $4.6 billion purchase of rival Knight Ridder in 2006.

The Observer announcement is the fourth round of staff cuts in the past year. The company's workforce had shrunk to about 675 full-time workers before the latest cuts.

Sixteen full-time newsroom staffers and 11 part-time employees are part of the layoffs, Observer Editor Rick Thames said. Fourteen full-time newsroom employees will have reduced hours, said Cheryl Carpenter, managing editor.

Among remaining employees, pay for those earning at least $25,000 a year will be reduced, said publisher Ann Caulkins, and “top earners get more of a pay cut.”

The Observer already has shed costs by merging some business and news-gathering functions with other McClatchy newspapers, including The (Raleigh) News & Observer and The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald – both of which also announced layoffs recently.

The changes come as the Observer reaches more readers than ever, thanks to the Internet. Yet the newspaper, like others across the country, hasn't been able to generate comparable revenue from its online product.

Caulkins and Thames said the Observer won't stop publishing newspapers on certain days of the week or make the Observer available only online.

“The print product is not going to go away anytime soon,” Caulkins said, adding that McClatchy executives feel the same way.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, MSNBC, Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, Google Maps