There are certainly a number of actions that occur over at the Arizona Daily Star that befuddle us here at the Weekly, but yesterday we heard through the grapevine something that was even beyond our general confusion. Apparently, an email went out to about two dozen employees requesting that those reporters turn over their Twitter passwords over to management. Now, unless the Star is getting super vigilant about social media grammatical errors among their staff, it would seem Tucson’s daily wants to keep an extra bit of control over their writers, perhaps to keep Josh Brodesky from emotionally hashtagging again. Still…for a paper that collects staff tweets online and has active tweeters like Tim Steller, Becky Pallack and the Finleys on the sports side, it’s a weird move and one the staff can’t be thrilled about.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2012.
Has Lee Enterprises done this at its other properties, err, newspapers? Is this part of some whack prep for ADS going to pay to view online? Weak research, Dan Gibson.
As an aside, Lee’s stock continues to trade for around half the cost of a convenience store Sunday edition of ADS…
Shucks, and your pseudonymous opinion means so much to me, Red Star.
This might only be my perspective, but I consider stories reported on The Range to be works in progress. I’m not shutting the door on trying to figure out what’s happening and why, although I have put a significant amount of effort on that front already. Stay tuned (although I assume you will).
Has the number of Tweets from Star staff dropped in the past few days? That could be telling.
Well, Dan Gibson, try concluding a post such the instant with the “developing…” device. It reassures readers that you are on the case and its hidden dynamics. Toiling away. If you tell them you will be there for them, they’ll probably come back for developments.
Sorry to learn that you distract yourself with personal attacks on Red Star.
Red Star: Remarkably, people seem to come back to our site, even without those specific clues, but your advice has been noted and filed. I certainly hope our readers feel like my curation of The Range is like a warm, vaguely journalistic hug.
Also, your idea of a “personal attack” is somewhat odd to Dan Gibson, but perhaps my perspective has been skewed by my time here. So many mean people out there in this cruel world.
A question: why so few comments from Red Star on TucsonSentinel.com? I appreciate the loyalty, but perhaps you have your reasons.
“A question: why so few comments from Red Star on TucsonSentinel.com?” (Posted by Dan Gibson on 08/03/2012 at 2:45 PM)
A: There aren’t any comments there from the real Red Star. We hope Wick’s Dan Gibson will focus on journalism, be open to critique, and not try to pick fights with readers.
Is this a fight? Color me confused. I aim to interact, not to engage in confrontation. I hope that much is clear. Still, I have a rule to only accept critique from those who offer it sincerely. I’m sure you understand.
Why don’t you guys just hire Red Star already? He seems to know everything there is to know about journalism. A regular J. Jonah Jameson. One almost suspects he used to have a newspaper job somewheres.
We are hiring, but I’m sure Red Star is involved in a lucrative line of work already.
Aug. 1 Tweet:
Jose Merino @fakeAZDailyStar
The ONLY reason we ask for reporters’ Twitter passwords is so we can DM their followers and beg them to buy the paper. Cut us some slack.
At what point does invasion of privacy and personal space cease?
It’s getting to the point employers think they own you (rather than compensating you for your labor) and before you know it employers will demand access to all of your online accounts including banking, credit cards, and demand entry to your home, root through your belongings, analyze everything in your computer, on and on, to see what you’re up to.