NYT advertising revenue continues to plummet
There’s some pretty grim revenue news coming from the Worcester Telegrams parent, The New York Times Company, today.
New England Media Group - Advertising revenues for the New England Media Group decreased 31.4%, and excluding the additional week, decreased 17.7%. National advertising revenues decreased due to weakness in telecommunications, pharmaceutical/packaged goods, technology and travel advertising. Retail advertising revenues decreased primarily due to weakness in the jewelry/watches, department store, records/books and computer/office supplies categories. Classified advertising revenues decreased because of softness in real estate and help-wanted advertising.
Outside the New England region the numbers look equally terrible with advertising revenues down 13.8% in December from 12 months earlier and just over 6% for the year. Interesting business model ya got there.
A fun and somewhat related anecdote: While at the START Holiday Arts fair this past December I had a T&G employee tell me “it is a proven fact that nobody actually reads news online”. So If you’re reading this and it was news to you, please go back and forget the experience immediately.
Equally fun and anecdotal, advertising revenue here on RB for the same period is up 345.74%
What the hell is going on here?
Still confused? Let me help you with that:
“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because…ah some…people out there in our nation don’t have maps and…ah…I believe that eh-education such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should….our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or-or should help south Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our gen…”
Ok, so that didn’t help one bit. Can someone please explain this to me?
Barnyard buggery in the Bay State
Since we in Worcester can always use another reason to fight the slow absorption into Metro-West, how’s this one for a back-up.
People in Metro West fuck sheep.
A Sherborn teen was charged yesterday with having sex with sheep at a farm near his home, and police reports suggest the encounters may have gone on for nearly a year.
Between 3 and 4 a.m. on June 27, according to police, the camera captured and filmed a person identified as Roger Henderson II.
The man grabbed a sheep by its hind legs and dragged it to the corner of the stall, according to police. The man removed his clothes and appeared to have sexual relations with the sheep. After finishing, the man put his pants back on and left the barn with his shirt in his hand, according to the report.
See kids, great public schools and a median household income over $120,000 can only lead to one thing, getting caught in the barn with your pants down making sweet love to a startled but otherwise well to-do sheep. Personally I’ll settle for a $35,000 median household income and a few banged up, $20 hookers from Webster any day.
What’s in a name?
Todays T&G has a bit on one Kelly Hoose who had charges of possessing child pornography against him, dropped Dec. 19 in Worcester Superior Court. Justice served and all that, end of story. Except there is an interesting side note that didn’t seem to make the paper. Hoose was apparently in possession of pics of Melissa Bertsch, a Dr. Christine Barron determined that some of those pics constituted child pornography. Bertsch never worked in porn as a minor, so this would be a mistake on the part of the good Doctor. It happens.
But how can it happen? A quick google search reveals a similar case played out involving pics of Bertsch in Belfast 18 months ago, does a Doctor trained in forensic pediatrics not know how to use google? This story reads like Hoose was trying to report child porn and ended up getting busted for it; maybe he is a dirt bag, but if not, thats a pretty big hit to ones reputation. Especially if a simple google search could have saved the courts, Hoose and Bertsch the trouble.
UCLA Student Tasered by Campus Police in Library
This is a pretty graphic video, so you may want to read the back story before taking a look.
link
What blows my mind is you can hear the tasers being used at a few points while the police are demanding the kid ’stand up’. I’m no expert on the subject, but it would seem the use of taser might get in the way of following commands that require coordination and motor skills. Maybe UCLA should provide the operating manual to its officers.
Mommy, when I grow up…
From the ‘oh, I am so happy to have a son’ department comes this tale of one Cheshire woman’s battle to keep her daughters from working at Scores. The Peekaboo pole is… well it’s a pole. A stripper pole if you want to get technical. A stripper pole that had been for sale at Tesco, Britain’s number one chain in the children’s toy section. You know, for those early bloomers in your life. From the product description:
“Soon you’ll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars”.
Look, I love strippers. I love strip clubs. I prefer that strip clubs be full of strippers. But I also like to live with the myth that all beautiful strippers are plying their trade to pay for law school. It would bring some serious creepiness to the table if I had to imagine 5 year old girls being primed for stripping by their well meaning uncles via this particular Christmas gift. Seriously, what the fuck? I demand to meet the genius/idiot who got this through a planning meeting.
In fairness to Tesco, the product is now only for sale online and will be sold as an adult fitness item. That would make this a perfect companion to the personal massager you just bought.
Because knowing is half the battle
Obviously Americans should be up to speed on American foreign policy, right? So then why is it that the US gets a different Newsweek than the rest of the world?
This weeks US site.
This weeks site as the rest of the world will see it. (notice the world covers in the sidebar)
The stories inside remain the same but it’s better this way, we wouldn’t want Americans to develop a complex. Or something like that.
(via metafilter)
Like sands through the hour glass…
I just noticed that this retarded mess of rants I like to call Radio Ball turned 2 on July 12th. Go me!
I think this may be the longest I’ve stuck with anything, hopefully my son will be so lucky.
If only we listened to Kyle Reese
The technology for remote-controlled light aircraft is now highly advanced, widely available — and, experts say, virtually unstoppable.
The dictionary is wrong
food•ie
n. Slang.
A person who has an ardent or refined interest in food; a gourmet: “in the culinary fast lane, where surprises are expected and foodies beg to be thrilled” (Boston Globe).
This is not the definition of foodie. Sorry to break it to those of you who’ve latched on to and grown to love this foolish term. The actual definition is:
Person who feels defining themselves based on their culinary snobbery will convince the rest of us to ignore the fact the ‘foodie’ is overweight.
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