High drama in Lithonia: Where was the AJC?
April 8, 2008 at 9:32 am by Scott Freeman in NewsThe lead story on this morning’s AJC website is a report on the high drama last night between the city council and the mayor in Lithonia. Mayor Joyce McKibben fired the police chief, only to have the council reinstate him minutes later.
McKibben’s staff then locked themselves into City Hall. Once the building was unlocked, the city council booted the mayor out and had a locksmith come out and change the locks to the building.
Wow. Clayton County comes to Lithonia.
The AJC story is attributed to “television news reports,” which means at least three local television news stations knew the confrontation was going to take place and sent reporters to cover it.
That leaves two scenarios for the AJC: Either they knew about the meeting and decided not to send a reporter, or else had no idea what was going on and saw it on the 11 o’clock news like the rest of us.
Either scenario is an embarrassment to the AJC, as it is the city’s major daily publishing a story based solely on television news reports. Not only that, the AJC story has two by-lines. What’s the deal with that? Did one reporter watch the news while the other held the remote and flipped channels?
The newspaper industry is undergoing a sea of change. There are cutbacks going on at almost every paper in the country because of the intrusion of the Internet. Every paper in the country, including weeklies like Creative Loafing, is being asked to do more with less.
Still, that is no excuse for the city’s major daily to be so unaware of what’s going on in its own community. Three of the four local news stations — WSB-TV and WXIA and Fox — sent reporters even though they have a vastly smaller news staff than the AJC.
For Fox 5’s report, click here.
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April 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
As much as I believe Atlanta needs some media criticism, this preaching is silly. If the TV news folks want to make Jerry Springer-type news out of some retarded, small town power struggle, let them. (I grew up in L-town and know all about the idiocy there. By the way, Lithonia’s population is estimated to be about 2,200 people. Big city!).
If we’re going to be mad at the AJC, let’s be mad that they covered this at all. Better yet, let’s be mad because no one at the downtown paper seems to give two shits about covering a city more than 200 times larger than Lithonia. Atlanta’s crime is out of control, we have a $120 million budget deficit and two absentee leaders (mayor and police chief), but no one seems to care to figure out what’s going on here.
If the AJC won’t do it, I say CL should. Please and thank you.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Mr. T, I knew there was a hidden agenda — Lithonia wants Jerry Springer to do a special on them.
Your points about the AJC are well-taken. Still, the AJC put this on their web site as the lead story and based it solely on what they saw on television.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Exactly, Mr. T, exactly.
Has CL recently looked at the ‘Mayor’ and ‘Police Chief’s’ schedules? I’m curious how often they’re actually in the City of Atlanta supposedly doing their jobs. To say that Shirley has been absent recently is an understatement. Also, do you think that her proposal for 25% cuts among all municipal departments will affect her travel budget? I highly doubt it.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I gotta say that while I see your point Scott, this is the kind of stuff that makes better TV than print. Overall, though, your point is valid: the AJC has abandoned the bread and butter of journalism — Beat Reporting — and is trying to do more with less.
And one fine point: It’s “sea change.” Not a “sea of change.” If you’re gonna use cliches, get ‘em right! ;-)
April 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Yikes, Sellout! I’ve got to proof-red these things better … I did not say “sea of change” on purpose.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
None of you clowns gives a hoot in a holler about Acworth and we’ve got a damn beach! Name one other city in the metro area with a REAL BEACH! PLUS the PIONEER DAYS festival! I’ve been looking for an excuse to punch Mr. T and this may very well be it!
April 8th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Listen here, Acworth. I am only slightly intimidated by your threats, mainly because you’d never travel all the way from Acworth to the mean streets of the ATL just to menace little ole me. Think of the gas you’d burn.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
What about Cobb Transit?
April 9th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Buses are beneath Mr. Acworth Beach!