Posted on 08/01/2009 7:30:24 AM PDT by LA Woman3
Thirty-six years ago, Cox Enterprises announced the purchase of the Waco Tribune-Herald from the Harlon Fentress family. A new era was born, and as with any new era, great debates have been inspired due to opinions expressed by various publishers.
Cox Enterprises has well served the broad Waco community — brought the news into the new century — and its legacy will long endure. The Fentress family owned and operated the Trib for 50 years before the Cox sale. Its long and successful ownership was created by honest and fair reporting, expressing opinions on hot issues generally homogenous with the opinions of readers in the universe it served. The Fentress family is and forever will be remembered for its service to our community.
This is the first edition of the Trib under the ownership of the Clifton Robinson family. The new experience of newspaper ownership is exhilarating, exciting and entered into with certain trepidation, remembering quotes of “Stick with what you know” and “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
The Robinson family has lived in the Waco area since shortly after the Civil War. Our early business interests involved general stores, rentals, farming and insurance. Current interests include insurance, investments and real estate. Philanthropy is also an important mission, supporting animal rescue, civic projects, scholarships, McLennan Community College and Baylor University.
The newspaper business is currently undergoing what can best be described as the perfect storm: The failing U.S. economic conditions coupled with the digital age have caused advertising revenues and subscriptions to decrease.
Change is the byword of our modern society, and such is the case of the Trib. It’s time for a change, and hopefully our values and opinions will be well received by our advertisers and readers. It will come about slowly but surely with the first change being printed on this paper’s front page, where it will remain during the tenure of our ownership: In God we trust.
The question most often asked is, “why would anyone want to own a newspaper in these times?” Our simple answer is that our entire success has been in operating out-of-favor businesses. The Waco Tribune-Herald is far and away the most trusted news source in Central Texas and needs local ownership and tweaking as it moves into a new age. Newspapers as we presently know them will survive long into the future, during which time they will be integrated gradually into the digital age.
Our mission is to offer a community news service dedicated to truth, honor and integrity, and to this mission, we will not fail.
— Clifton Robinson
Chairman, Robinson Media Co. LLC
We’ll see. I bought my last Trib on 5 Nov 2008.
They have Ted Nugent as a featured columnist. I bookmarked the site for future reference.
Local ownership was the norm on most GOOD newspapers for many years. Until the purchase-downsize-LBO mania thing took over the MSM. It was done in the name of the efficiencies that AP was to bring. They no longer thought that they needed people who could think, they would simply purchase content cheaply.
Did not work. Was suicide pact for the newspapers.
The only way off the newspaper death watch, is to create local content that is worth reading.
AP = Always Propaganda
Found this interesting:
Looks like Clifton is a character. I like that.
—
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/16/ap6664464.html
Clifton Robinson announced that retired Tribune-Herald publisher Dan Savage will succeed publisher Belinda Gaudet on an interim basis. Cox officials say Gaudet will retire. In a memo to employees, Cox Media Group Executive Vice President Doug Franklin said all other Tribune-herald employees will be retained.
Waco-born Clifton Robinson and his son had sold their Waco-based companies based in the city, National Lloyds Insurance Co. and American Summit Insurance Co., to Englewood, Colo.-based Affordable Residential Communities ( ARC - news - people ) in 2007.
“I looked into starting a newspaper 25 years ago, but it cost too much,” he said.
HEY! The Waco trib printed my first negative review as a candidate. If you don’t get run down by the Trib, you aren’t a real conservative! In that vein, I took it as a high honor:
Surely the liberal editors won’t have to go job hunting?!
Nice to see you on FR! Good luck with your campaign....Chet is in serious trouble and should be very concerned!
Yesterday was John Young’s last day at the Trib!
Clifton Robinson
...any relation to Jim Thompson?
I wonder what kind of Culture Shock Austin TX would have if Clifton bought that paper?
That might be fun to watch, the “Left Coast” of Texas go into spasms.
As some of my friends say, Bring on the Popcorn.
I do not watch sports, I know many others do. Have never seen the point. For me a total waste of time.
And I have a relative who is head Coaches at the College Level.
But I wish the new owners of the paper well.
Really? I thought it was, "The People's Republik of Austin"...
Either title is appropriate.
There are many more “descriptive” terms for Austin.
The seat of power for any government is allways the most corrupt and distorted.
Keep the print readable - newspaper readers are older - if the paper's good, the young will grow into it... if it's not you'll never get them anyhow.
Explore new technology - Bill Gates can design a down-loadable flat sheet - don't fight technology - bend it to your needs.
A newspaper is not a stage for “art-teests” to prance upon - it's a medium to bring information to readers.
Readers interaction with your paper happens at the circulation level - monitor that department with your life...
Vanity circulation doesn't help the people who are buying ads and supporting the paper. Don't give into it. You offer value and must honestly give value.
Reporters and editors should be fired if they make up quotes, accept gifts ( that included coffee - make it water).
Mix in the best national columnists - again - the paper's not a stage for local talent - it's a vehicle for disbursing quality information.
Some of us think breakfast is coffee and a newspaper - we want to be here for you ...
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