Saturday, October 15, 2011

Finally, a Use for the Emptyprize !! (By Bob Guerin)

Finally, a use for the Emptyprize !!
It’s official. Whatever the Sandwich Enterprise is, it is NOT a newspaper.

This week the front page of the Enterprise is dominated by 2 articles about the High Schools’ open, part-time, Athletic Trainer position. Amazingly, one of the two Athletic Trainer articles is just “the first of a three part series.” I don’t think the Washington Post needed 3 parts to report Watergate and topple the Nixon adminstration.

Let’s not forget too that last week’s Enterprise contained a lengthy Editorial about the High Schools’ open, part-time, Athletic Trainer position also.

The rest of page 1 provides yet another listing the 50 or so private roads and dirt pathways the Town will not plow this winter. Really. That’s Page 1 of the so-called newspaper.

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think any of this is “news” and I certainly don’t think any of this represents the most interesting, most impactful or most useful facts and information that could have been written about this week in Sandwich.

A newspaper is, according to Merriam–Webster, “a paper that is printed and distributed usually daily or weekly and that contains NEWS, articles of opinion, features, and advertising.”

Whatever else is in there, it is hard to say that the Enterprise contains “news.” It’s NOT a newspaper. But, maybe, that’s not news to anyone either?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I won't buy the foolish paper -- but I check whatever stories they put online. I laughed when I saw the two trainer stories as the "Biggest" news of the week. It's pathetic. They must be lost without their daily rumors from the School Department!

Anonymous said...

Of course it's not news. It is stirring the pot, which is what the name of the Enterprise really should be. Seriously, it is sad that this paper doesn't realize it's true potential. The gossip, snipping, stirring the pot stuff appeals to a very small percentage of readers and frankly I don't think it accomplishes anything! And the quality of writing from some on staff is embarrassing. Too often too much, narrow minded spin is not a good formula for a weekly local paper. Thank goodness the editorials are decent. It really is sad.

When I first moved here I was told that you had to read the Enterprise because that's how you knew what was what. Within a few months, I thought, this is crazy. It's really gossip, innuendo, subtle and sometimes not so subtle character assasination, chauvinistic, and really poor reporting much of the time. Clearly the old High School trainer must be a friend of either JK or MS. That's how it works. For some reason those are the people who supposedly have their pulse on the community.

Anonymous said...

the editorials are as slanted as the "news" stories! I bet as many people read Randy's blog and this one then the foolish Enterprise.

We have been laughing at thr trainer "crisis" also --- obviously he was a friend of the paper's staff!!!!

Anonymous said...

If the former Supt. Of schools walked across the surface of the damn swimming pool, the enterprise headline would have been, "Johnson uses pool without membership card".

That paper is a joke.

Anonymous said...

SO ISN'T THIS BLOG. WHICH PUBLISHES GOSSIP,SNIPPING,RUMORS AND OPINIONS

Anonymous said...

A blog is a blog. The paper is suppose to at least be up to other small paper's standards. I've read many small papers. Sadly our weekly doesn't measure up very well. Look at this weeks Broadsider. Though the articles are few, the writing is so much better. I wonder if the Enterpirse even belongs to professional associations for small newspapers. Seems to me I was told the overall publishers are in it for the political spin. The blog has a point of view. A paper is suppose to report both sides. The fact we have to have thousands of words devoted to inane topics when there are good ones out there of interest in general to citizens of the town being ignored is aggravating. Bob S. is right. Could we have some decent articles about important issues more frequently as opposed to articles about the latest flare up for MS or Jk's peeps.

Bob Simmons said...

The Caps Queen is back -- same flawed logic, same bad spelling and punctuation!

The huge difference between the Emptyprize and a blog (any blog) is that a blog is clearly labelled as opinion. It is the opinion of its publisher --- certainly no appearance of impartiaity here!

Bob Guerin said...

As usual Caps Queen has it all wrong. Not only is her ability to muster facts suspect, her ability to apply logic is severely challenged too.
The fact is that over the last two years (and perhaps longer) almost every news story of genuine interest and concern to Sandwich residents has been explained in significantly greater detail, with more facts and data and with greater clarity and crisper writing on the pages of this blog then by the so-called reporters and editor of the Enterprise.
This is a demonstrable, provable fact and not a matter of opinion.

Anonymous said...

AND ALL YOU POMPOUS ASS ARE ALWAYS CORRECT.

Anonymous said...

I hope she didn't go to Sandwich High.