Newspaper Nicknames: The Good, the Bad and the Scatological (FR Mentioned)

Poynter Online ^ | October 28, 2003 | Chip Scanlon

[Timesink]

Poynteronline
Posted, Oct. 28, 2003
Updated, Oct. 28, 2003

Newspaper Nicknames: The Good, the Bad and the Scatological
By Chip Scanlan (more by author)

I began my newspaper career at The Milford Shitizen.

After several years toiling for small community newspapers, I finally hit the big time. I landed a reporting job with a major metropolitan daily, the Providence Urinal.

After eight years, I moved on again — this time to sunny Florida and the staff of the St. Petersburg Pravda.

Most newspapers have another identity, usually a pejorative one, in addition to the one gracing the front page nameplate.

Sometimes they're an inside joke, the play on words providing an escape valve for staff frustration.

But in my experience, the source of a nasty nickname is more than likely customer-based -- disaffected readers and viewers who christen their local news organs with monikers selected to highlight perceived journalistic failings.

Consider the recent posting on FreeRepublic.com, which bills itself as a "Conservative News Forum."

To bash St. Petersburg Times columnist Willliam Maxwell, a poster named "dawn53" trotted out a familiar nickname for my old paper, the publication that lands at my door every morning, the one owned, it should be noted, by The Poynter Institute which depends on its success to fulfill our mission "to teach and inspire journalists and media leaders." 

That Maxwell is a liberal is an understatement. He writes for one of the most liberal papers in the country, the St. Petersburg Pravda (Times).

Renaming newspapers is a national pastime. (I imagine a similar tradition exists in broadcast news.) Witness this admittedly incomplete litany gleaned from an informal survey of reporters and editors gathered last week for a Poynter seminar:

The Dallas Morning Snooze

The Gnarley Trombone

The Indiana Daily Stupid

Ravenna Wretched Courier

The Daily Repeater-Herald

Virginian Pile-it-on

The Daily Salt Mine

Newspaper nicknames have their value. They toughen our skin against slings and arrows, always useful in a field where newbies are routinely advised, "If you want to be liked, you're in the wrong business."

And I always like to point out that there's an advantage to starting out at a paper known fondly around town as "The Shitizen." From there, everything's uphill.

[ What nasty names do folks call your newspaper or station? ]

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http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=52802

[martin_fierro]

The San Francisco Chronic.

[Revolting cat!]

Now what was the nickname again for the

?

[RiflemanSharpe]

The Houston Comical

[AnAmericanMother]

You beat me to the Atlanta paper . . .

but nobody's mentioned the Richmond Times-Disgrace (Times-Dispatch).

[eureka!]

Looks like the fishwraps have been covered. As to the reporters:
Clymers
Presstitutes
Pressholes
Mediots
Traitors to the Fourt Estate
Fifth Columnists
come to mind.....

[eureka!]

Fourt=Fourth (note to self-preview carefully)....

[Corin Stormhands]

but nobody's mentioned the Richmond Times-Disgrace (Times-Dispatch).

I was scrollin' thru the thread to add that. It's also referred to as the Times-Distress But Disgrace fits best 'cause their offices are on Grace Street.

[ILBBACH]

Can we also mention the tv shows?

Meet the Depressed is the only one that comes to mind. (Thanks, Rush)

[AnAmericanMother]

I didn't know that they were on Grace Street - it's just what my husband always calls the paper.

He's from Richmond, and we visit family back there regularly. Nice town, very strange mix of the old patrician and the howlingly liberal. But the museums put Atlanta's attempts in that department to shame.

[Corin Stormhands]

The RTD has never been quality, and they're drifting more to the left.

Michael Graham (local talk radio jock) is discussing the embarassment that Richmond is. The local police chief just came out and blamed violence on gangs...doh! Last month he (chief) said it was the people's fault.

[Malsua]

Newark's Star Liar (Newark Star Ledger)
The Bergen retch-up (NJ, Bergen Record)

And the Anti-Semites, White supremiscists(of which I vehemently am not!), call it the Jew York Times.

[Califelephant]

TV political shows?
I like "Washington Geeks" on PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/

[Corin Stormhands]

Has anyone mentioned The Roanoke Slimes?

[ForOurFuture]

The Baltimore Scum

[sitetest]

Before canceling my subscription some years ago, I used to write out the check to the Washington Lying Thieving Post.

They cashed the check every time.

I took it as an admission of guilt.

[dalereed]

"LA Slimes"

When I canceled the "paper" in 1966 I called it Stalin's PR firm and the LA Red Press to the person on the phone.

[MinuteGal]

Don't forget the Chicago Fibune and the Chicago Spun-Times.

Leni

[Prodigal Son]

I used to have a friend in the factory where I once worked who became the foreman. He came up to me one day with a big grin on his face and said "I made the sh!thouse walls, I must be doing a good job!" He took the obsene comments angry workers had left on the toilet stalls as a compliment.

I wonder how many columnists like this fellow lurk at Free Republic looking to see what we say about their lastest offering? If you think about it, it's probably the closest thing they can get to instant gratification. Who cares if the guy who works in the newsroom with you says "nice column Bill"- of course he's going to say that. But with FR a columnist can get instant criticism of his work and ideas from the people that actually matter- his readers. Even if they're readers from the opposite end of the political spectrum, it must be gratifying to see how it pisses 'em off.

[oyez]

Did they include the Memphis' The Banana Appeal?

[mewzilla]

Don't forget USA TOADY

Or it's aka McPaper.