Thursday, June 15, 2006
Alan K. Stout takes a look back after a year at the Weekender
Even the Weekender is muckraking, Alan K. Stout reports, because it did a story about boob jobs.
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June
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- Goodbye Brian Malina, Tom Mooney at the TL
- It's confirmed: $65m for the TL
- Incremental news (again) in CV libel case
- How the CV did it
- How the TL did it
- TL, CV, abandon downtown offices
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- Incremental news in CV libel case
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- Eff you, "strongman boss Tony Ridder"
- Done deal: Former TL publisher Connor buys the paper
- Renita buys it: TL sale to the Lynetts isn't going...
- CV to spend $1.5m on press upgrade
- TL says Walzer lawsuit is full of it
- A bit of evidence added in Joseph/CV libel case
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- Golas to TL newsroom: You're the best
- TL continues with Sunshine Law suit
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- Stop the presses: Religion columnist to stay at TL
- Consolidation at WYOU/WBRE
- Union at Harrisburg paper is dead
- Plains Township woman loves the TL
- "No feature writers wanted"
- Newspapers are profitable, according to local biz ...
- Alan K. Stout takes a look back after a year at th...
- Former TL publisher Rich Connor still interested i...
- CV says BIlly D. indictment makes its allegedly li...
- Former TL designer Rob Fucci checks in
- Louis DeNaples talks with the Scranton Times
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- Iseman writes of the bureau, lesbians, and gargling
- Letter writer: I love the Times Leader
- The TL's story on how it's the last KR orphan
- WYOU down to five reporters
- Read the TL's lawsuit against Skrep and Vonderheid
- And then there was one
- Stacy Brown of the Scranton Times gets a plug
- TL goes after Luzerne County in FOI suit
- Was Sembrat a virgin?!?
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- Steve Corbett, en espanol
- The words "Renita Fennick" appear on Romenesko
- TL is hard-hitting, CV easy to read while pooping
- Diamond City editor: We love our bosses
- McHugh leading group to buy TL??
- Todd Meyers, Jon Fox quit the TL
- CV letter writer: I like two newspapers
- Idea: The CV closes while the TL lives on
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25 comments:
Does anyone at the TL realize that no one reads the Weekender any more. Younger kids stay away from it like the plaque. Their core readership are their readers from years ago that have stuck with them. The Weekender today is a boring read. It was much better years ago.
That may be so, but the real jewel of the "Rearender" this week is the back page where they claim some thief is STEALING their FREE newspapers. Paranoid guys?
So kids today not only hate the Weekender, they brush their teeth in the fight against tooth decay?
Gee, one would think that a young hipster like Alan K. Stout would attract the youth readership with many thoughtful and relevant stories about KISS.
... and boobs.
And don't forget the f'in Badlees. AKS is not longer, and never has been, relevant to the younger generation. And no one is stealing the Weekenders. I bet the drivers dump them instead of delivering them because they get so many back. There was a time the Weekender got rid of most of their papers. No more. Too bad the advertisers don't realize this.
If they are getting dumped, why doesn't Diamond City -- or the Voice -- do a story on it?
Probably because the Weekender has the market cornered when it comes to writing about trash. Ask Alan Stout - he thinks his story about buying boobs was something good.
Stout is a good journalist, and I like a lot of what he's done to the paper. And he's still hip to what's hip to the younger readers ... always has been. I like his stuff and his style, and he seems like a decent guy.
I know Stout. He's a very good features and music writer, and he's done a ton for the young readership of the TL and Weekender. Sure, he wrote a few stories about Kiss 10 years ago when their big reunion tour made them the No. 1 concert attraction of the year, and he covered the Badlees very well when they were on the rise, but that too was a huge story at the time. I think, through still reading his stuff, that he's moved on quite well and has stayed in tune, and I think he even wrote the recent cover stories about new bands such as Spit Can and Panacea. He also started the old Sound Choice readers' poll, which was huge for young readers, plus he founded the Concert For A Cause, which is a huge event for young readers, and founded the Waterfront Original Music Series. He also was the first to write about Breaking Benjamin - that's how I found out about them - and he still does a radio show every week. I can see why the TL eventually put him at Weekender. He probably should have been there years ago, and I think he's doing a nice job with it. And if you ever met him, you'd know: he's a good guy.
He's not qualified to run the Weekender. He's older than the people they're trying to reach. The paper is a dull version of its former self. The only thing he did was spice up the model of the week. And that was a no brainer. That's what people remember (the model getting hotter), not his stories or what he does
To the first poster: Do you mean PLAGUE? Perhaps you need a few Crest Whitestrips to clean out your crusty dentures. As for Alan K., those of us in the biz who know him know him to be a consumate newspaper man -- sadly, a dying breed these days when editors are bought off left and right, pandering to advertisers. Let's hope if the TL does go down, they keep Alan as the editor of the weekly entertainment publication. He truly cares about the area, about the people he covers and the arts and entertainment scene in general. And he covers them all with integrity and class. Again, he's a dying breed ......
If the TL goes down, Alan will NOT be Diamond/Electric City's editor. What's going to happen is that the Times will kill the Weekender and then combine DC/EC and put out one paper. They won't get rid of Padden. He's a major reason that DC is winning away long-time loyal Weekender advertisers. And a major reason that DC/EC is making money. EC was not making money until 2002 or 2003. With only a hybrid DC/EC paper in town, entertainment fans can only hope someone will come along and fill the void.
Padden? Pa-leeze. His smugness alone turns most readers off, and besides, the DC is still filled with ads mostly from Scranton, and the paper does not - as it had hoped -have its own identity. It's still pretty boring, and its distrubution is only about 1/3 of The Weekender. And word is that the "editor" actually tries to sell ads and has told potential advertisers that he wants to be their "whore." (His word.) And when they buy into this nonsense, he then kisses their ass with favorable editorial content. Disgraceful. It's hard to believe he once supposedly worked in a real newsroom. Ethics? None.
The Times/Tribune, once the sale clears the feds, will absolutely combine all entertainment papers into one. The only reason they started Diamond City was to chip away at the Weekenders ad base and although it has -- it hasn't chipped away enough. The DC editorial content is a joke at best and the Weekender's name recognition is ten times stronger than ec/dc combined. Prediction? A new Weekender North (Scranton) and a Weekender South (Wilkes-Barre). Having Alan K. lead both would be a wise decision on the Lynett's part since he is so well respected in the industry, has all the local entertainment connections and is an all-around nice guy. Padden, on the other hand, is not well liked, is not respected by his peers and is detested by most of the bands in the area. You do the math.
This just in ...
Times-Tribune folks taking a good look at this board. While the upper echelon management types thought Padden was an asshole amongst themselves, they didn't realize the whole valley thought so as well. How ironic he may walk the walk with his former TL brethren.
Just a random memory for what it's worth. Several years ago at Hops and Barleys- where they keep Weekenders and ECs on the counter by the front foor- a waitress was trying to fix a wobbly table in the front corner. She looked at the two papers amd then grabbed an EC, folded it and placed it under the leg. True story.
There are way too many Weekender workers commenting on this board.
I don't think there are any Weekender workers on here because if I worked at the Weekender and saw criticism I would be inclined to comment. There has been no comment on the dullness the Weekender is. Younger kids need action, edgy and sex. The Weekender (or DC for that matter) does not do that. Everyone is commenting on AKS and Padden. What do people actually think about the Weekender as a whole?
Both papers are awful. Terrible. Good for band listings, back-page tittie shots and little more. I mean, the stories couldn't be any worse if you tried. The Weekender's current cover story is a doughy advance piece on Riverfest in Wilkes-Barre ("Don’t worry landlubbers, the free festival has much for you to do as well"), while Diamond City writes an advance piece about some awards ceremony that Fast Eddie is hosting at the Kirby ("Wilkes-Barre's artistic community has united once again"). Snoozers both.
Here's a contrarian opinion about Alan K. Stout and the Weekender: Others have complained that he is old and out of touch with the Weekender's demographic. I would argue that, in fact, Stout -is- the Weekender's target demographic. Age 25-44, settled down a bit, has a day job, but is into music and drinking and having a good time at the bars.
The "younger kids" that Mr. Plaque referred to don't exist in Wilkes-Barre, or at least they don't exist in numbers that matter. I'm not 22 and have no idea what I would publish in a newspaper targeted at the 18-25 crowd ("Myspace: The next big thing"). But I think the Weekender is shooting for the 25-44 I-have-a-job-but-still-like-to-booze-it-up crowd.
Also, running a big enterprise like the Weekender (if you think it's a small enterprise for the editor/general manager, shadow him for a day) takes someone with maturity and experience. Stout has that, and he's a known quantity in town. It's less likely that someone from Cafe Metropolis could get that paper out every week.
Disclaimer: I have never worked at the Weekender, though I know Stout (and Padden).
I'm not arguing the Weekender isn't a large enterprise. It has come a long way from almost being shut down in 1997. But I believe the original intention was for it to target 18-34 year olds, not 25-44 year olds. Hence the titties.
This is all very funny. I know Stout and I know Padden as well. I think what nobody realizes is that those guys are basically the same guy even though yes, Stout is much older. They love their jobs and they probably don't get paid enough to put up with everything that comes with it.
What's more, they're actually good friends and if you actually ask them about this sort of stuff, they will tell you the times they have helped each other out even while working for rival companies. I can' even tell you how many times I have seen those two out at bars talking about baseball all night.
The fact is, and you will all have to understand, is that Weekender and the Diamond City are community newspapers for their respective companies. We'll never have a true alternative weekly like a City Paper, not while they're owned by dailies in tiny, insignificant markets like ours.
When I talked with Alan when he took the editor job a year ago, he said his focus was on covering the local arts and telling people where to go out, because he said that's what the other paper was doing so well. I have seen Padden write countless times how his job is to write arts & ent. and I think they both do a fine job at it.
To the poster about the bad cover stories, again, I think you forget these are community newspapers where a feature story on a community event can make a big difference in its success
I suggest you call Alan to verify if he's all warm and cuddly in regards to Padden. Padden -in his usual M.O. - slammed Alan and his newspaper a while back while crowing about how great DC is. I know for a fact that Alan is livid over Padden's lowlife qualities as an editor. It's fine to compete but when you take it to a personal level and basically lie, then the gloves come off.
To say Stout cannot reach the demographic because he is no longer part of it is ridiculous.
I bet the editors of thw tween magazines are in fact tweens, right?
I will conceede though that as a recent the stories of the Weekender have gone downhill. From legit stuff about the crime in Wilkes-Barre to "Fashion on the Dancefloor." Com'on.
thought the 'fashion' story was good call. it got a local fashion story into the weekender, which it would seem they might not always have the chance to do, plus it was a benefit for ALS,a horrible illness, plus - since it was at TWIST - it showed an openess to the gay community, which an alterative weekly should also do.
probably one of their better cover stories.
Can we all agree that the Weekender is NOT an alternative weekly. Those papers go after the institutions that the TL and CV kiss ass. The Weekender is a glorified edition of The Guide.
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