The Los Angeles Times continues to beg readers to cancel their subscriptions altogether.
Their latest plan: Dump the progressive, interesting, non-white comic strips.
Last week, the Times decided to dump both Candorville, whose strip we’ve been running here from time to time — the only one, mind you, that we’re aware of which dealt with the e-voting issue directly. La Cucaracha, the paper’s only Latino-based strip (in LA!), was dumped at the same time.
The latter was re-instated after a flood of reader complaints. So far, no return of Candorville, however, the last African-American related strip of note in the once-great Los Angeles newspaper, now gutted by its conservative Chicago Tribune owners/rapists. The Trib also recently canceled the strip as well.
We’ve gotten to know Darrin Bell, the strip’s creator, a bit over the last year or so. He sent The BRAD BLOG the following announcement a few days ago on the latest corporate-media idiocy, noting that though his strip has been dumped, “Blondie and Marmaduke are still safe” at the Times.
The only good news in the bargain: The world’s unfunniest “comic strip,” Mallard Fillmore, has been put out of our misery. Finally. A dead duck we can all be happy about.
“Without at least one of these two papers,” Bell writes in regard to the cancellations at both the Times and the Trib, “Candorville can’t continue to annoy the knuckledraggers in two of our most important cities, and the strip itself may not be long for this world.”
He also asks that complaints be sent to readers.rep@latimes.com. We join him in that request, and are happy to post his note in full below…
As have all of you, Candorville has been a steady thorn in the side of Americans who’d rather believe what they’re told than what they see. Two years ago, I got wind that a concerted effort was underway to get Candorville booted from the conservative Chicago Tribune. A couple months ago, if that was the case, this effort succeeded, and as of two days ago, Tribune-ordered cuts at the LA Times (yeah, media consolidation was such a great idea) forced them to, coincidentally, drop Candorville. Meanwhile, Blondie and Marmaduke are still safe.
Without at least one of these two papers, Candorville can’t continue to annoy the knuckledraggers in two of our most important cities, and the strip itself may not be long for this world. Papers operate on a herd mentality, and a couple large cancellations (even if both papers belong to the same conservative corporation) will surely prompt more. The LA Times just restored La Cucaracha (which was also cut) thanks to reader feedback, and they may consider restoring Candorville to the paper if they hear from enough readers. I’m hoping you would consider mentioning this on your blogs. If you do, readers should contact the Times here:
Please contact:
Los Angeles Times Readers’ Representative Office
E-mail: readers.rep@latimes.com
Telephone message line: (877) 554-4000
Fax: (213) 237-3535
Postal mail: 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Best,
Darrin Bell
Cartoonist, “Candorville”
http://www.Candorville.com
UPDATE 3/12/07: Editor & Publisher picks up on our coverage of this issue…
Darren Bell,
We all indulge in delusion. That is, we all have a limit to what we can take emotionally and psychologically before we become psychotic and break down mentally.
The Times they are a changin … and you represent that portion of reality they can’t handle.
We love and respect your american views …
Do not be surprised if the Times also moves to UAE alongwith Halliburton and the less known fascists.
The Mallard Fillmore news is good. I’ve only seen a couple of them, but what I did see defines dull. That doesn’t mean that I hope the guy gets drunk and drives. That will be up to him to make that decision.
I sent a friendly E-mail asking them to keep Candorville.
Nuthing new..no longer fitting the bill of objective truthful journalism the corporate controlled mass media news rags who contol the shit no longer have a place for any voice of dissent against the (Shhh) complete multi-national corporate takeover of the game. No stories about the truth of rigged elections at the time, only bushit spins thereafter. The entire take on 9/11 arabs armed with boxcutters story and complete lack of intellectual criminal investigation of steel concrete buildings falling down in 6 seconds and the rest of the official government version warrents you a loon. right…
This is a small part of the ugle Fascist takeover of America and this is just a tiny baby step in the wake of 9/11, Katrina, war in Iraq, Patriot act, illegal torture in secret jails, and the worst anti-environmental stance (over 250 laws and standards reversed!) under the watch of a sitting president. All in the wake of most dangerous impending Global Warming disaster less a response to bushit wars and failing policies with other dangerous nations.
O.T. Brad Delp, singer of the band Boston passed away this weekend. Those boys made some great music!
Yeah, I sent a letter of complaint, too. Not that they’ll listen — they didn’t care about subscribers’ complaints when they fired columnist Robert Scheer, so why should they care when they gut the rest of what used to make the LA Times a great source of objective information? So much for that “liberal media”.
Why on earth the owners of the LA Times think that limiting coverage would bring in MORE readers, and thus increased revenue, is beyond comprehension — it’s so illogical as to be absurd. It looks like I am going to have to cancel my subscription after all.
Greed leads to dumb choices. The Tribune Co. owners are only interested in their bottom line, and they prove, unequivocally, that local ownership of media needs to be restored. We need to keep the pressure on the FCC, and continue to fight against corporate consolidation of all media.
All they are doing is driving away their base of subscribers who can now self-select the media they want to receive by going to the web, FOR FREE.
Serving money instead of serving customers is the first step to a dying business model.
BTW, the LA Times has a story on the decline in newspaper revenues, and the stupid choices that media corporations are making: “Media’s Focus Narrowing, Report Warns”.
Not that they’ll listen. (even though it’s in their own frackin’ paper)
Basically it says that this narrowing focus, brought on by sagging revenue and budget-cutting, will probably NOT help.
Once again, they are getting it wrong, but stupidly do not ask their customers what they want.
Hey gang, when empires die there is a lot of … what shall we say … mis-cue, mis-understanding, mis-takes, … mis fucking everything …
it is a f**king mis-adventure …
And get this … our empire is going to die. It is happening now. Go with the flow.
So … as the empire dies from its own suicide … the right wing will say it was justified in dying … and we on the left will continue to say it should not die … because we can do better.
That is why we cry at funerals. Nobody really won.
Grab a shovel full of dirt, throw it on the coffin … and experience your claim to fame a la Marylin/Anna?
Sometimes i think Anna Nicole Smith was the symbolic life and death of the United States of America.
They’ve been making the case that the MSM has to include fluff to keep their sales up. If that’s true, why do they keep losing audience to the blogs. Because it was a lie in the first place to make sure people didn’t get involved in politics.
Unless, of course, it involved private sexual matters which is supposed to be the only thing we dumb, stupid Americans care about.
So, what about it MSM. It turns out we DO CARE about other things in government besides sex. What do you intend to do about it? How about throwing a big thick, and juicy impeachment for treason steak on the table.
Drool…