It’s not every day that we put someone on blast for publishing a column full of comma errors, run-on sentences and typos. Then again, it’s not every day that the author of such a pitiful piece serves as the publisher and president of the Tulsa World.
In a 370-word post published Monday under the digital headline “Ledger to close,” Bill Masterson Jr. announced the shuttering of the Broken Arrow Ledger, one of several community newspapers the Tulsa World purchased in 2015. Ironically, Masterson’s letter to readers simultaneously emphasizes the importance of smaller metro newspapers while exhibiting why more people are choosing to ignore them.
To put it nicely, Masterson’s column contains several sentences that make no grammatical sense. From graphs three and four:
In the end, we could not bring in to profitability even with stripping out all costs except that actual salaries, printing and distribution.
This is a huge loss to the Broken Arrow community that while loyal readers will notice immediately, the community as a whole may take awhile.
No one likes a grammar Nazi, but the irony of Masterson’s wounded prose should embarrass him and anyone associated with the newspapers he publishes. Worse, one wonders how such sloppy copy found its way into ink and pixels.
In “stripping out all costs except that actual,” did Masterson lay off the entire copy desk? Did he outsource those journalism jobs to an oblivious computer? Did his piece somehow circumvent the World’s standard editorial process, either by intent or accident?
Let’s read more for potential clues:
In this era of instant gratification, social networking world where “fake news” has become more and more part of what gets broadcast and shared, the local community paper is now more important than ever.
Is it? What fresh hell is about to befall the fine people of Broken Arrow now that you’ve decided not to print a few thousand blurry copies of the BA Ledger once a week? Do you know if there’s another newspaper in the area to which they can subscribe? Will they have other options for digital news if you redirect www.tulsaworld.com/communities/brokenarrow/ to … your own website?
In the end, the Tulsa World and the free market killed the Broken Arrow Ledger, and those culprits cannot be separated at trial.
The World bought The Ledger, by God, and you no longer have to cut out newspaper pictures “to put on your refrigerator.” Facebook is the world’s largest refrigerator, and its photos don’t turn yellow and attract silverfish.
Then again, maybe taking The Ledger to task for its demise is a bit unfair. Bill?
The BA Ledger and other community papers aren’t the big left wing or right wing national publications that we like to take to task for sometimes perceived bias reporting.
Yeah, doggone those big national publications that have “sometimes perceived bias reporting.”
Good writers need good editors
The primary stigma hurting local newspapers has haunted them for more than a decade. As staff sizes have shrunk and institutional training has deteriorated, small newspapers have been filled with terrible writing, uninspiring graphics and depressing weekly reminders. There’s always an eighth-grade basketball team just barely missing the playoffs, you know, and people are always dying.
What newspapers now often lack and what all publications constantly seek are one and the same: interesting and intelligible voices. Even further, publications need devoted, empowered editors who help make their writers better and help keep the Emperor from wandering out in public sans clothes.
To that end, when the very own publisher and president of the Tulsa World prints a half-hearted, grammatically challenged rendition of “Taps” for newsprint, someone in journalism had better say something.
Today, that job fell to me and Josh McBee. You see, I wrote this, but he edited it and helped me think it through.
So I’m sorry, Bill. People need to know the difference between quality journalism and poor corporate PR that undercuts your good journalists’ credibility.
After all, it’s “something you can’t determine in a sound bite [sic], text or Facebook post,” right?
(Editor’s note: In case the Tulsa World edits it, the piece has been pasted below as it appeared in publication Monday.)
Ledger to close
By BILL MASTERSON JR. President & Publisher Tulsa World Media Co.
It is with great disappointment that I am announcing the closure of the Broken Arrow Ledger.The BA Ledger was part of several community newspapers that Tulsa World Media Co. bought in 2015. Even though most of the papers were operating at a loss, it was my belief that with the help of the Tulsa World resources we could make the papers profitable.
In the end, we could not bring in to profitability even with stripping out all costs except that actual salaries, printing and distribution.
This is a huge loss to the Broken Arrow community that while loyal readers will notice immediately, the community as a whole may take awhile. Community newspapers are the soul of small towns. They are the ones who cover the sporting events and the bake sales, they take the picture that is cut out and put on your refrigerator, they are the ones who cover your city council meeting and let you know how your tax dollars are really being spent.
In this era of instant gratification, social networking world where “fake news” has become more and more part of what gets broadcast and shared, the local community paper is now more important than ever. The BA Ledger and other community papers aren’t the big left wing or right wing national publications that we like to take to task for sometimes perceived bias reporting. They employ your neighbor who works lousy hours to make sure that your child’s name was correctly spelled and attached to the right photo from the 8th grade basketball game. They are the ones who are up early on a Saturday taking pictures of your church’s pancake breakfast or up late that Saturday night writing the story and copy editing it so it can go to print on time.
Newspapers will continue to evolve and additional small community newspapers will close because the financial support is not there. It’s too late for the Ledger but I want to encourage you to read a newspaper … ANY paper. It is important to stay informed and engaged with your community. People need to know the difference between real news and fake news, something you can’t determine in a sound bite, text or Facebook post.
