Free Republic

I'm sorry to have to tell you about Ken Towery's death. But I'm honored to be able to tell you about his life.

For the second year in a row, and third out of the last four, being a newspaper reporter ranks as the worst job in America. The Jobs Rated Report has been compiled by CareerCast since 1988, and ranks 200 U.S. jobs based on a wide range of criteria that includes income, outlook, environmental factors, stress and physical demands. Just ahead of newspaper reporter is the job of logger/lumberjack, which finished at number 199 for the second straight year after being dead last in 2014. Another media-related job—broadcaster—came in at number 198, with an equally glum outlook for the future. For...

Mystery solved, but we still do not understand why it was a big secret in the first place. For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada's largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but Fortune has learned from multiple sources familiar with the situation that it is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of casino operator Las Vegas Sands ... So while the big question has been answered, plenty more remain.

Several media watchers, including NYU professor Jay Rosen, questioned the timing of the purchase given that it's election season. "One of the first thoughts I had was: Nevada is an early primary state. The Review-Journal is the largest newspaper in the state. Was it sold to a player in that event, or people who want to be players?" Rosen asked. "That slightly conspiratorial thought may be way off base. Of course, there is no way to know as long as the ownership remains hidden. That's the point."

I dropped my newspaper subscription awhile back. No need for it. I get all the info. I need from the internet. And certainly the best source for political news is Free Republic. All the other stuff here (gardening, etc.) is just a nice bonus. So it occurred to me. It only seems fair to send that old yearly newspaper subscription money to FR instead. I'll be taking care of that this week.

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Because it is syndicated, by nature this column attempts to connect with a diverse national readership. And while the subject of this "untimely death" is about a very specific community and their loss, it meets that "national test." After all, what's more American than a man named Joe? Wherever you live, someday your time on Earth will come to an end as the endless cycle of life continues its march through time. But imagine if you were still relatively young and had children in high school or college. Imagine that you were in the prime of your...

A newspaper in Harrisburg, PA, PennLive/The Patriot-News, informed its readers yesterday that the paper would no longer be accepting anti-gay marriage letters or op-eds. After nationwide outrage was expressed, the paper revised its policy slightly; you could submit anti-gay marriage tracts for a limited amount of time. Daily Caller: After receiving strong pushback, the newspaper’s editorial board, which is overseen by Editorial Page Editor John Micek, quickly revised its policy. Freedom of speech will be allowed — but only for a “limited” period of time. Micek explained on Twitter: “Clarification: We will not foreclose discussion of the high court’s decision, but arguments that...

it’s possible that the attention the ad revenue charts were generating on the Internet may have contributed to the decision by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) in 2013 to suddenly stop its long-standing practice of reporting quarterly advertising revenue data, and switch to releasing only annual data ... In a 2013 interview, NAA CEO Caroline Little was quoted as saying that she and the organization’s board decided it was time to stop beating themselves up four times a year with the negative numbers. ... Newspaper print advertising revenues of just $16.4 billion in 2014 fell to the lowest level...

For the last several years, I’ve been regularly posting charts like the one above showing the history of US newspaper advertising revenue back to 1950, based on quarterly and annual data from the Newspaper Association of America. Those charts have been noteworthy for several reasons. First, more than any of the hundreds of charts and graphs that I’ve created and posted on Carpe Diem over the last seven years, the newspaper ad revenue charts have received the most attention by far. Those charts have been featured on so many other blogs and websites that a recent Reuters article referred to...

In the speech at a celebration of Saddam Hussein's birthday in 2001, the Oak Lawn man praises the Iraqi ruler as a "great'' and "inspirational'' leader. A federal judge ruled Friday that prosecutors can show jurors a videotape of Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi's remarks at his trial on charges that he acted as an unregistered agent of the Iraqi government. The trial begins Monday in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors accuse Dumeisi of spying on Iraqi opposition members in the United States. Federal judge Suzanne Conlon agreed with prosecutors that the speech, made at the headquarters of the Iraqi Mission to the...

Alleged spy seen in video calling Saddam 'our inspired leader' ILLINOIS -- Prosecutors say he spied on dissidents, reported to U.N. mission honeycombed with secret agents. By MIKE ROBINSON Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) -- Jurors watched a video Tuesday in which a man accused of spying on Iraqi dissidents for Saddam Hussein's intelligence service described the dictator as "our inspired leader" and spoke scornfully of "American colonial imperialism." "A light has illuminated our path and our procession toward the struggle and the liberation," Khaled Dumeisi said in describing Hussein at an April 2001 birthday party for the dictator at...

Guilty verdict in spying case Tue Jan 13,11:14 AM ET - Chicago Tribune By Matt O'Connor, Tribune staff reporter A federal jury deliberated less than three hours Monday before convicting a suburban Arabic-language newspaper publisher on charges he acted as a secret agent of Iraq before Saddam Hussein fall. The government alleged that since 1999, Palestinian-born Khaled Abdel-Latif Dumeisi provided information to Mukhabbarat, the Iraqi intelligence agency, about Hussein opponents living in the U.S. Prosecutors said Dumeisi betrayed the U.S. out of admiration for Hussein's support for the Palestinian cause and to get money for his cash-strapped publication, though he...

The Danish newspaper famous for its decision a decade ago to publish cartoons mocking Islam and the prophet Muhammad, said Friday that it won't republish cartoons from French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo because it's afraid of being attacked. "It shows that violence works," the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, explained in an editorial.<> Islamic terrorists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris Wednesday, killing 10 journalists and two police officers in the process. It is widely believed that the murderous assault was revenge for the magazine’s satirical portrayals of Muslims.

Not exactly Je suis Charlie, but it’s also not entirely different from it either. The Santa Barbara News-Press found its offices vandalized yesterday morning, spray painted with slogans such as “THE BORDER IS ILLEGAL NOT THE PEOPLE WHO CROSS IT.” The attack has not changed the minds of the newspaper’s editors, who plan to keep using the term: A California newspaper will continue to use the term “illegals” to describe people who enter the U.S. without permission, despite an attack on its building by vandals believed to object to the term.The Santa Barbara News-Press’s front entrance was sprayed with...

The two men suspected of attacking a newspaper in Paris have stolen a car and reportedly have several hostages. A car chase is under way on the N2 motorway, and police sources say shots have been fired. The car is now on the outskirts of Paris - close to Charles de Gaulle airport - and several helicopters are reportedly hovering overhead. Sky's Ian Woods says the police focus now appears to have turned to an industrial building near to the airport. Two people with gunshot wounds have been taken to hospital in Meaux.

12 DEAD IN PARIS MASSACRE: Islamic gunmen execute French police officer as he pleads for his life after terror attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo at centre of Mohammed cartoon storm Masked gunmen storm Paris headquarters with AK-47s shouting 'Allahu akbar!' and 'the Prophet has been avenged' Stalked building asking for people's names before killing the editor and cartoonist during weekly editorial meeting Horrific footage shows a police officer begging for his life before being shot in the head at point-blank range Killers fled in stolen car across eastern Paris after a 'mass shoot-out' with police officers and remain on...

The Boston Herald received a wave of criticism Wednesday morning after publishing an editorial cartoon about President Obama that many have deemed as racist.

Tyler Durden09/11/2014 Bidet sales across Venezuela are set to soar as just months after running out of toilet paper, AP reports that Venezuela's oldest newspaper is shutting down due to falling advertising, mounting inflation and a lack of basic materials. In addition, at least nine Venezuelan regional newspapers have stopped circulation because of the shortages. Of course, this is likely great news for President Maduro who can now manage his people's minds direct from his Twitter feed... welcome to socialist utopia. As AP reports, Venezuela's oldest newspaper is shutting down because of a lack of newsprint and a difficult economic...

Keith Olbermann is mad as hell at the Daily News for its Wednesday front page featuring the gaunt face of the late Robin Williams, which included the headline “HANGED” and subheads detailing the police report. The current sports Gasbag, and former political gadfly, said as much during a Wednesday rant on his late night ESPN2 show. Boiling his melodramatic soliloquy down to a few words, the front page was too graphic for him. It offended his sensibilities. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/raissman-keith-olbermann-trashing-ny-daily-news-robin-williams-front-page-reveals-hypocrite-article-1.1904100#ixzz3APqs0STa

"The Billings Gazette," a Montana newspaper that endorsed President Obama over John McCain in 2008 (but went with Romney in 2012) admitted Friday that they were wrong -- Obama is in fact worse than his predecessor, George W. Bush. Apparently, the potential collapse of Iraq (and the disastrous worldwide consequences sure to follow) was the last straw. "[W]e were wrong," the editorial page notes,"We said things couldn't get much worse after the sub par presidency of George W. Bush. But, President Barack Obama's administration has us yearning for the good ol' days when we were at least winning battles in...