* Some goofy company named Spirit Airlines is publicizing a “Slammer Sale” with a Rod wig on Abe’s head…
Yeah. Nothing like appealing to state pride to boost sales…
But hurry… You don’t want to get convicted for missing this seat-selling sale!
The airline also has something called “Santa’s Red Light Specials.” I hope that isn’t what I think it is.
* This could turn out to be a dumb idea, but for now it’s just a set of numbers…
Starting today, Sun-Times Media newspaper websites will offer an online subscription plan for those seeking unlimited access to all our sites.
Website users will get 20 free page views at any Sun-Times-affiliated site every 30 days, but will be required to buy an online subscription for additional access. Visits to newspaper homepages and section fronts — such as the pages that index the top news and sports stories — won’t count toward the 20 pages. Advertising-based sections will remain free, such as cars, real estate and death notices.
Online subscriptions will be $1.99 per four weeks for home-delivery customers. Digital-only subscribers will be charged $6.99 every four weeks, or they can pay $77.87 for yearlong access.
* Back to Rod for another number. Well, actually, it’s a date. Eric Zorn plotted Rod Blagojevich’s February 16 prison report date, factored in good time credit and then calculated the former governor’s release date…
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Oof.
* On to a few quotables. Mark Brown…
While I will shed no tears for Blagojevich, I do believe that by the year 2020 a lot more folks will be asking themselves whether he still belongs in prison.
That, or they’ll have forgotten about him by then.
* Gov. Pat Quinn…
“It is a very stern sentence….It is a sad chapter and it is closed, the book is closed. “Illinois has to make sure that the world knows we have a reform governor who believes in honesty and integrity at all times,” Quinn told “Morning Joe.” Noting that former Gov. George Ryan was also in jail on corruption charges Quinn said, “we want to make sure this never happens again.”
* You could hear some great quotes in these two videos, but, wow are they full of the most vile and disgusting profanity ever. From a press release…
Tuesday evening, Matt Harrington, Campaign Director and Senior Advisor of several campaigns past and present, left threatening messages on the answering machine of State Representative Candidate Tom Swiss, including direct threats of physical attack.
“The insiders still haven’t received the message. They still feel entitled to all government positions. These phone messages are disturbing for two reasons. First, the threat of extreme violence and second the use of public resources for personal or political gain.”
Do not click those above links if you are offended by profanity or if listening to such things would get you in trouble at work. Seriously. Disturbing stuff.
- dave - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:23 pm:
Does anyone else question if those Harrington messages are real? I mean, it isn’t like Swiss has any credibility. It just doesn’t seem to pass the smell test.
- John Bambenek - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:23 pm:
I would imagine Blago won’t go to Club Fed on Feb 16. He is entitled by right to an appeal and likely his surrender date will be stayed during the appeal.
- Its Just Me - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:26 pm:
Rich, people already lost pride in their state government a long, long time ago.
- Because I say so... - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:30 pm:
I voted for Pat Quinn but felt a good deal of anger yesterday listing to his presss conference on the Blago sentence. Governor Quinn, as Blagojevich’s TWO TIME running mate, why didn’t you speak up when you had the chance!?!
- Cal Skinner - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:32 pm:
You will note that the Sun-Times started charging for content on Pearl Harbor Day.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:36 pm:
Is there some A. Lincoln descendant out there who can reclaim his image and stop the abuse it constantly receives? It’s disrespectful and stupid, and that goes for those awful Civic Committee pension billboards, too.
No class, Titans of Illinois Industry.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:39 pm:
Should be free for the home delivery subscribers; they are what’s keeping the newspaper’s mostly afloat today. As a hard copy paper subscriber, I’ve refused to pay access to the online version of my hometown paper.
If you really want access, as long as they allow some free viewing, there are ways that bypass the newspapers attempts to count your accesses, using either search engines or anonymous IP addresses …
- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:42 pm:
I heard that all Illinois license plates are now made by Illinois Governors. True, Rich?
- Newsclown - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:42 pm:
The State Journal-Register has a system like the Sun Times. I’ll read it for the 20 page views until they put up the paywall, Then I’ll go read something else until the next month re-sets the counter. I bet thousands more do as well. They are leaving and going to a competitor or just forgetting about the paper.
Paywalls don’t work. AD walls might. Adwall in this case being a full screen ad you must sit thru for at least 5 seconds before you can close it and click thru to the story. You see this in many YouTube videos now, and it is not a huge burden.
The positive point, from a revenue standpoint, about adwalls is: they let you tailor the ad subject matter to subjects likely to be part of the story. So if the story is about senior citizens, all the ads in that story’s adwall will be targeted to seniors in some way, and thus also more likely to be READ and not ignored.
Google shows you the way: when you do a keyword search, google guesses what you might like based on the search and the side bar fills up with shopping suggestions.
Sun Times and SJ-R, you should try adwalls before paywalls.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:44 pm:
===Paywalls don’t work. AD walls might.===
Paywalls are working for the NY Times. Just sayin…
They also work for me, but that’s a different animal.
- anon - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:48 pm:
in months past you were able to print any article blocked by the paywall at the SJ-R.
- Cheryl44 - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:51 pm:
Who still has an answering machine now? Hasn’t everyone gone to voicemail?
The Sun-Times asking for $$ isn’t the same as the NYT. I already don’t read Roeper–I’m not paying to skip him.
- Dirty Red - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:57 pm:
Miller, I think you could write the book on pay walls. I’m guessing I’d almost be a spotless system if direct e-mails that can be forwarded weren’t necessary.
Amazing Fax this morning, by the way. Glad you’re here and do what you do. All the GateHouses, Lees, CSTs, Tribunes, and Paddocks just show how lazy they are when a solution has been starring them in the face for the last 20+ years.
Oh well, bank for you
- Dirty Red - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:58 pm:
it would almost be a spotless***
- Totes Magotes - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:03 pm:
Matt Harrington’s not even good at profane threats. It’s like he sat in a bar with some profane and threatening Chicago Irish precinct captains a few times and is now aping them. Like an Ivy League blueblood actor auditioning for a role on The Wire. Poorly.
- mokenavince - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:05 pm:
If the State would have voted for JBT we surly
would not be putting up with Quinn. The fact is Blago was a guy who really hated his job, he was just addicted to fame.That said we elected him twice along with Quinn. Our State’s a mess because the people of Illinois have to get more involved with Government. This blog is a great sounding board, but think of the apathy of people
who never get involved in the dissussion.I don’t
believe they teach civics in school.We need ethics
to be taught along with music and art.
- Secret Square - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:14 pm:
“Is there some A. Lincoln descendant out there who can reclaim his image and stop the abuse it constantly receives?”
No, because Lincoln’s last direct descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, died in 1985.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:18 pm:
Thanks, Secret.
- Wensicia - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:26 pm:
I’m not surprised that newspapers are moving to a fee system for online use, but I don’t understand charging print subscribers when they’re paying more than online subscribers would have to pay under this system, even before their online charge kicks in.
Eric Zorn figured it out:
“That price point seems reasonable, though it does seem that home-delivery subscribers (who pay $3 a week or $156 a year) ought to have free digital access as well instead of having to pay and additional (52/4 x $1.99) $25.87 a year. The digital-only access price multiplies out to $90.87 a year, but when customers buy a full year at a time they get a $13 (14 percent) discount and pay $77.87.”
- Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:29 pm:
Be careful what you wish for. One of the great uses of a paywall is to remind me how much I don’t care about the content of some publications and that I should go do something productive instead of browsing them.
- Statesman - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:30 pm:
Looks like Mr. Harrington is a hack that is looking to flip sides much like he accuses Mr. Swiss of doing. His command of the vernacular is impeccable!
- Tim - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 1:35 pm:
I signed up for the Sun-Times Media Group online access today. The key for me is that it provides access to the whole group of papers.
I’m already locked in at 50 cents/week ($2/month) for home delivery of my local paper, which is one of the STMG publications. Another $1.99/month to get online access to my local paper and the Sun-Times is a no-brainer for me.
- Cuban Pilot - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 2:20 pm:
– Wednesday, January 10, 2024 –
I can just see the irony now. In January of 2024, Rod may get out of prison in just the nick of time in order to be there in person when Gov. Lisa Madigan wins the Iowa Caucus.
- Mom - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 2:24 pm:
This video of Matt Harrington speaks for itself. It’s hilarious in a clown car accident kind of way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8CC59I805s
- dupage dan - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 2:41 pm:
Thanks, Mom, for the post. I couldn’t finish listening - it was just too much. Now I know why he used such profanity in the voice mail recording. His prose is,well…………lacking.
- Streamline - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 2:44 pm:
I listened to Mr. Harrington’s well reasoned message and I think we should consolidate dog catcher and that other job into one office. We need leaner government people!!!
- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 2:48 pm:
Any word on how the Daily Herald is doing since they went paywall, Rich?
- k3_Spfld_Chi - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 3:00 pm:
Oh man, those videos on YouTube are terrible. It was tought to listen to the videos and the answering machine message. The guy is done.
- Dan Shields, Springfield, IL - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 3:16 pm:
- John Bambenek - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 12:23 pm:
I would imagine Blago won’t go to Club Fed on Feb 16. He is entitled by right to an appeal and likely his surrender date will be stayed during the appeal.
Why would any Judge give an appeal the time of day? Before a Judge at his sentencing he admitted guilt and apologied for his guilt. Can’t see what appeal he has, or does common sense not apply here?
- wishbone - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 3:23 pm:
“Paywalls are working for the NY Times.”
There are so many ways around their paywall that actually paying is essentially voluntary.
- OpenlineBlog - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 5:47 pm:
Mr. Harrington, who apparently moved to Aurora from Chicago or Cook County, recently attempted to run various offices, but had some “problems” with his petitions and following the rules.
Recently, he made some bizarre statements on our blog because we dared speak about the corruption overseen by the Daley’s, whom he admires (a bit odd for someone claiming to be part of the tea party).
The voice messages are obviously are threatening, over the line, improper and perhaps unlawful.
We will be doing a story as well so the people of Aurora can draw their own conclusions.
- langhorne - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 6:15 pm:
we signed up for the online sjr. it is ok, but no great shakes. you can read articles, but not the sunday parade. and, go figure, you cant access comments w the online paid acct. you have to go back to the public site. my wife doesnt like the online version and wants to go back to dead tree.
- Truth - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 6:18 pm:
We all know that is Matt’s voice, this is not the first time he has lost it. Wonder how Judge Jessie Rayes is going to take this…
- Newsclown - Thursday, Dec 8, 11 @ 7:13 pm:
Rich, your site and paywall are a bit different, and may not be the best argument. Much of what you post that is for subscribers only, you release some time later, so if I’m a cheapskate and can afford to be a little behind the curve, I can still get the content for free, after everybody else has had a turn. Or I can just enjoy the great free content alone. Also, there are plenty of folks reading your private subs-only content for free in certain offices where the xerox machines run free, let us say. Need I say more on that, I think not.
Bewteen a paywall and an adwall, I’m much more in favor of the adwall.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Dec 9, 11 @ 12:27 am:
===so if I’m a cheapskate and can afford to be a little behind the curve, I can still get the content for free===
Not for most of it.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Dec 9, 11 @ 12:31 am:
To explain further, big scoops are usually followed up on by others. However, reporting on legislative campaigns and lots of other Statehouse business never gets covered elsewhere because they just don’t do that. If everything I did was MSM stuff, I’d be outta business. People who pay for it know this.