Tuesday, August 12, 2008

12 AUG 08: THE PHENIX CITY STEALERS



If you simply glanced at the billboard while driving down the 13th Street Viaduct, you might get the wrong idea. It's a sign promoting a local newspaper - and that's nothing unusual. All sorts of news media advertise on billboards. Only WRBL hasn't posted Harmony Mendoza's giant picture, the way an Atlanta TV station has with "Dagmar."



But this billboard is surprising for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it shows "The Citizen of East Alabama" - not on the 13th Street Bridge across the river, but the viaduct east of Veterans Parkway. Blame this on those rural Russell County fireworks stands. Bottle rockets and that newspaper are equally hard to find in the heart of Columbus.



I took a closer look at that billboard recently, and discovered a second surprise. The Citizen of East Alabama is NOT seeking subscribers with it. The newspaper is looking for advertisers, and boasting about its 20,000 weekly readers. Some think the day is approaching when the Ledger-Enquirer will try to boast about the same number....



In fact, that's what makes the billboard so interesting to me. An East Alabama newspaper is making a blatant attempt to grab some Columbus newspaper advertising, and putting up a billboard well inside Columbus to boot. No, I did NOT suggest this approach to the Russian government over the last few days.



The billboard is a bit different on the Phenix City side of the river. Drive north on U.S. 280 toward Wal-Mart, and the Citizen of East Alabama simply states it now has 20,000 subscribers. But then again, if everyone in Russell County is getting the paper in the mail for free....



(Of course, having 20,000 subscribers does NOT always mean every last one of them reads your newspaper. The other day, the East Alabama "Redneckin" blogger indicated he uses the Citizen of East Alabama primarily to keep a bird cage clean.)



But anyway: the Citizen of East Alabama is clearly trying to seize on a weak time at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The daily newspaper has trimmed its number of pages, asked several long-time staff members to take early retirement - and in fact, I won't be surprised this fall if it reduces the college football rankings back to a Top 20.



The Ledger-Enquirer is trying to keep a positive spin on things. The newspaper started an "insider" blog a few months ago, which says circulation is up this year. And imagine how sales have soared this summer, since Kaffie Sledge stopped writing so many columns.



For all the efforts of the Citizen of East Alabama to take newspaper advertising dollars away, the Ledger-Enquirer probably would point out it still has more than twice the circulation. It's down about eight percent from the early 1990s - but a slow-moving bloodstream still can keep a heart ticking.



The Ledger-Enquirer also would point to its web site. After all, it has one. For some reason, the Citizen of East Alabama does not. Really now - the Columbus newspaper has a gaggle of blogs. All the Phenix City newspaper needs to do is start one.



TODAY'S BLOG OLYMPIC MOMENT: As we post this, Fort Benning's Jeff Holguin has just won a bronze medal in Olympic shooting. He competed in the "double trap" competition. Well, I think that's what he did -- but then again, the double trap might be a new defense being debuted in Madden NFL '09.



(We congratulate Jeff Holguin on his success -- but hopefully he'll understand if local judicial candidate Stephen Hyles doesn't send him a greeting card.)



>> Have you checked our latest blog? It's about poker, and a little bit more. Visit "On the Flop!" <<



E-MAIL UPDATE: Perhaps we all should stop from time to time, and take a good look around....



It looks like Google did their Street View shots of Columbus on a Monday or Thursday in December.



go to the end of Hillbrooke Ave 31909 and see the Christmas decorations, garbage cans (and the AT&T van)



It has also been noted that the satellight shots are from a Sunday morning. Look at Peachtree Mall which is deserted but the churches have lots of cars.



I hadn't tried the Street View version of Google maps until this message came in. Sure enough, there's a phone company van at the cul-de-sac end of Hillbrook Avenue (be sure you use that spelling) -- and that driver actually can prove he didn't park alongside a fire hydrant.



The 360-degree Street View perspective of Columbus is amazing, but it's very different from the overhead satellite pictures. Peachtree Mall's parking lot indeed is empty from overhead, but it has plenty of cars from the Street View camera. Do you think a mall employee was hired to take that picture?



I couldn't resist checking the Street View shot of my home block. But alas, my car wasn't in its usual parking spot. Unless, unless.... uh-oh. Did someone from Google Maps steal it for a picture-taking joyride?



Did you hear about the complaint Google faced because of Street View? A Louisiana family's home was snapped while a teenager was in the driveway - and the parents feared a pedophile might see the picture and pay them a visit. As if those convicted sex offenders aren't spending their time at X-rated web sites....



Now let's peer around some Monday news headlines:


+ The principal of Talbot County's Alternative School was suspended for mistreating a student. This is why professional wrestling troupes need to start "rapid response teams" - to set up a ring, and promote these fights as fundraisers.



+ WLTZ reported state budget cuts might force the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Columbus office to close. Wow - even before it's named after Mayor Wetherington?!



+ Instant Message to the people of LaGrange: Your sister city in the embattled Republic of Georgia is Poti - and I'm told it's pronounced POH-tee. Please do NOT say the Russian army is getting potty-trained.



SCHEDULED WEDNESDAY: It appears some long-awaited numbers finally will go public....



In the first half of 2008, our number of unique visitors jumped 23 percent from last year. To advertise to our readers, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.



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The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.



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