In Touch With You!

[Media-ish] Our favorite faux-weekly, the ever-sexy In Utah This Week from local mom-and-pop print shop MediaOne, is asking what you like and dislike about their product. Actually, they're not asking their target readers--who, according to In's advertising index, are all 18-34s who make $150,000 a year while still attending college and buy BMWs on a whim.

Since those folks are far too busy with their local supermodel and/or pro snowboarder careers, In sent a survey out to "influential" people in local entertainment and business. No, City Weekly wasn't on the list, but one was forwarded to us--and now we're bringing it to you. Why should you be excluded from having an opinion about a publication read by dozens of local heiresses and Hot Topic models?

Just answer the following inquiries, copy-paste and e-mail to jshoemaker@mediaoneutah.com. We've included a few of our own answers; feel free to write over 'em:

IN is now in its third year. What are your general thoughts?
About In or the carbon footprint of three years of wasted trees?

What do you like most about IN?
It doesn't make my brain hurt from too much "thinking."

What don’t you like about IN?
Not enough articles about kitties.

Complete this sentence… I would either start advertising with IN or increase my advertising presence with IN if they…
Lowballed prices to the point that other local publications without the backing of a multi-million-dollar corporation couldn't match them. Or threw in some kitties.

In your own words how would you rate these features? Which is the best? Which do you not care for?
* Sexy in SLC: It's like jury duty for friends of the staff, right?
* Scene in SLC: Slightly better than reading a resume.
* Scene Team Photo Page: Slightly worse than going to The Hotel.
* Club Grid: Lists almost a quarter of the clubs in Salt Lake--and most are still open.
* Sarah Nielson’s “That’s What She Said”: Clever title, never heard that one before.
* Restaurant Guide: See "Club Grid."
* Bar Guide: See "Restaurant Guide."
* We Ate It: It's so edgy I have to look away.
* Coffee Break: Random questions to random people? Genius!
* Classifieds: Do the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News know you've reprinted their Classifieds?

What coverage would you like to see that you don’t currently see?

You're neglecting the 3-12 demographic; more woobie coverage, please. And more repurposed articles from the Tribune would be great, too.

Even though the comparison can sometimes be unavoidable because they are both weekly newspapers, how would you describe IN’s difference from City Weekly?

I don't feel the need to commit to In beyond 2009; it's quite freeing. Not like the separation pain of losing the Afternoon Buzz.

Where else do you use your marketing dollars?

Flush them down a solid-gold toilet, due to my immense disposable income.

As far as distribution goes, do you find IN is available to you at the places you frequent? Where do you think IN should be that we’re not?

It's usually conveniently stacked on top of City Weekly racks, with plenty of previous weeks' In issues lying around untouched.

IN has a opt-in texting program, are you familiar with this type of marketing and do you think it’s of interest?

As long as I get instant info about kitties and woobies, sign me up!

IN has thought about doing a glossy cover. Do you think you would find more value in advertising with IN if it had more of a magazine, high-end look?

Like wrapping a turd in gold foil? Sold!

Remember: Answer, copy-paste and e-mail to jshoemaker@mediaoneutah.com.

They Still Make Newspapers?

[TV] Hard to believe a docu-soap set behind the scenes of a high school newspaper--Cyprus Bay High School’s The Circuit, in this case--would be remotely interesting, but The Paper wins entertainment points for hyper-earnestness (“Journalism is the most important job in the world!”) and WTF? hyperbole (“This is the Vietnam of newspapers!”). The latter refers to the epic, tearful battle to become The Circuit’s editor-in-chief, a job these teens should later learn, if the newspaper industry still exists by then, no one wants. Super-serious.

The Paper debuts tonight on MTV, and it's exactly the way things are behind the scenes at City Weekly--here's a taste:



(Bill Frost)

Media None

[Media] Main Street has been infested with yellow-jacketed drones handing out copies of Afternoon Buzz, the Newspaper Agency Corporation/Media One's latest waste of perfectly good trees.

If you've not had one forced upon you, the Buzz is free news and entertainment stories boiled down to insubstantial micro-paragraphs that leave you feeling approximately 60 percent dumber for having tried to read them. It's pulled off the heretofore impossible feat of making the craptastic In Utah This Week look like The Village Voice.

So we'd like a volunteer or two to stand next to the yellow-jackets outside of the City Weekly offices and hand out copies of our paper. When anyone asks, "What's this?" just say, "It's free like that, only with actual content and local relevance--oh, and you get to keep your soul after reading it." Any takers? (Bill Frost)

Vente Vexed

[Media] Cry us a river of Frappucino: Wisconsin alt-weekly Shepherd Express has been tossed out of Milwaukee Starbucks locations because of a deal struck between local daily newspaper Journal Sentinel and the coffee giant. Says the Express:

"After the deal with Starbucks was completed, one of the Journal Sentinel's free weeklies ran an ad claiming that they would now be the exclusive free weekly in the 48 Starbucks locations throughout metro-Milwaukee. This is simply another bullying, anti-competitive tactic by the Journal Sentinel."

So why can't I, as a fellow weekly-newspaper guy, muster up much sympathy for the Shepherd Express? Because City Weekly has never been allowed into Salt Lake City Starbucks; at least the Express had a foot in the door for a while. Now, just as SLC residents have for years, Milwaukee-ites will have to sip their overpriced Charbucks while reading an inferior knockoff of a weekly that has an exclusive, paid-for In. There are plenty of local coffee shops with better brew--patronize them, whether they have a stack of City Weeklies up front or not.

Remember: Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks. (Bill Frost)

First, Find a Truly Independent Jurist

[Media] Let's get one thing straight. We love Salt Lake City's McCarthey family. We really do. The longtime former owners of The Salt Lake Tribune are looking better all the time since William Dean "Dinky" Singleton took over the paper with his Media News corporate robots (all the glassy-eyed top editors, recruited elsewhere from Dean’s chain, consistently refer to the Tribune as "the product" – even in casual conversation. To them, it might as well be a revised line of microwave popcorn or a new brand of pantyhose. Need any more evidence of automaton management?)

So we were especially happy to get a news release this week announcing an essay contest in conjunction with the annual McCarthey Family Lecture Series: In Praise of an Independent Press. Last year, the McCartheys brought in former UPI White House reporter Helen Thomas to extol the virtues of speaking (and writing) our minds; this year, the Oct. 20 headliner is blogging diva and one of John Saltas’ favorite Greeks, Arianna Huffington. Should be a great speech.

The 400-word essay contest, according to the news release, must be an original response to the topic “What Independent Journalism Means to Me.”

We did find it a tad bit ironic that the judge’s panel for the contest is made up exclusively of current and former mainstream, daily newspaper journalists. Nary a one has written for an altie paper. Not a political blogger among them, either (cripes—what would Arianna say?). The panel is: Vern Anderson, editorial page editor of the Tribune; Lois Collins, staff writer and editorial page columnist for the Deseret Morning News; Lex Hemphill, retired sports writer for the Trib; and Nancy Melich, retired arts writer for the Trib. Hemphill and Melich are now actively engaged in community, artistic and progressive causes.

Mary Kay Lazarus, a spokeswoman for the lecture series, responded to my query about “where are the indie journalists on the judge’s panel?” with a courteous e-mail:

“We did not define 'independent' as 'alternative' but rather as reporting in terms of integrity, courage, and talent - attributes shared by those (including certainly yourself) in both mainstream and alternative press. Arianna (like Helen Thomas, our first annual speaker and Anderson Cooper, our next), is certainly mainstream now but remains one of the most independent representatives of reporting we have.The only print advertising we did - as an FYI -was in City Weekly and we shall do so again this time because of the wonderfully independent spirit, mission and readership of your publication.”

But I think she misunderstood. It isn’t the speakers whose independence I challenged. It’s the judges of the essay contest. Wouldn’t at least one indie blogger be welcomed on the panel? It’s supposed to be a big tent, after all. (Holly Mullen)