Hey, Diane (Winnemuller) . . . Did The Courier Miss A Story?

People watching the Courier Tribune and scratching their heads at its recent dive behind a paywall (an incomprehensibly STUPID decision) . . . and before that, the banning of commentary from long-disenfranchised citizens like, say, me . . . are wondering . ..

. . . is Diane Winnemuller (the new publisher) just sitting back letting Ray Criscoe finish running all resemblances of credibility - indeed, the entire operation - into the ground (so he can be sacrificed to the greedy gods running the parent company at a later date) . . . or did someone at corporate in Nevada put a muzzle and leash on her (because one or more of "the right people" complained)?

I'm thinking it's probably a little of both.  I don't envy this woman.  She landed in a snake pit . . . as homey and hearthy as it may first appear if you're a newbie who has had one-too-many at the Pig.

My good friend Buzz Armfield-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields actually sent an e-mail to Diane on Monday morning after picking up the "News & Heckler" in his driveway:

I think your newspaper just missed a major story about Asheboro.  One of your local banks made the front page of the News & Record this morning.  It must be something major, I could see the ominous headlines while the paper was still in the wrapper. At any rate, you may still have time to report on it.
 

Good luck,
"Buzz" Armfield

Buzz really wanted a response/explanation.  I told him to get in line.

The Courier, of course, didn't get up a story on its website until yesterday afternoon.  Even then, it was only a clearly-very carefully-worded-by-a-Sun-Trust-banker blurb that was buried this morning on page four under announcements . . . and the other was a tid-bit on JM Ramsay jumping ship.


I've heard that, as news trickles through the community, there are a number of very important people who are unhappy with the Courier Tribune's Pravdaish tactics . . . and its Editor/publishers clearly circling the wagons around those who piloted Community One - and our community itself - into Forbes magazine as one of America's fastest dying towns (as opposed to Reader's Digest).

Being completely honest, I'm not exactly sympathetic to their plight.  It was a real hoot for these same people hee and haw and point and laugh at Dr. Mary Johnson when her life-in-her-own-hometown was destroyed for saving a baby's life . . . and it was real cool to snicker at Pat Bradshaw as she went toe-to-toe with city government over unfair business practices.  But it's not so much fun when they themselves are losing their shirts while Mike Miller teaches the next generation how they too can lose 250 million dollars in three years and totally get away with it.

If I ran in these people's circles, I'd tell them to GET IN LINE too.