To say that it is tough to publish a newspapers these days is a big understatement. The pressure comes from many different angles: owners/stockholders who want to make more money, digital competitors trying to take audience and diminished use of traditional print by consumers just to name a few.
Add in a crack-pot politician threatening to go against the First Amendment of the Constitution, and you've got the situation being faced by the Frederick News-Press in Frederick, Maryland. Local councilman Kirby Delauter decided recently to threaten court action if the local newspaper printed his name. Nevermind the Constitution which protects the press or any other rational thought, Delauter felt he was above the Bill of Rights.
Delauter has since apologized for threatening the reporter and the newspaper. But the lesson learned is in the reaction that the newspaper had to the initial issue. Their editorial, which they actually released online prior to print, was intended to achieve two goals; both of which they knocked out of the park in my opinion.
First, they wanted to send a message to Delauter, and any other hack politician for that matter, that the Constitution still matters, and the local newspaper still matters. My guess is this stand has been a huge win for the News-Press in their local marketplace. Like the politician or not, people tend to rally around when an official tries to bully people, or institutions in this case.
Also, this has been a huge plus for the newspaper with marketing. I'm in Indiana blogging about this, and found out about this situation from a local TV station. The web traffic they have been able to harness from this on some level has to mean money. More than money is the opportunity to show staffers and advertisers the power of their digital platform.
To truly appreciate the creativity put into the situation, you need to read the official editorial published about four days ago. You can read it on the Frederick News-Press website, at: http://m.fredericknewspost.com/news/politics_and_government/kirby-delauter-kirby-delauter-kirby-delauter/article_da85d6f4-fa3c-524f-bbf6-8e5ddc0d1c0a.html?mode=jqm
It is a great editorial with some hidden jabs in it. For instance, if you take the first letter of each paragraph they form the name of the politician, Kirby Delauter.
Brilliantly done. Kudos.
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