UVa’s Declaration features a piece in this week’s issue about the C-Ville / Hook split that is really quite critical of each publication. Author Wesley Hottot points out that “[f]euding periodicals of any circulation below 200,000 are entertaining for approximately forty people,” declares The Hook’s status as “the product of Charlottesville’s top creative minds” to be “bullshit,” and that he doesn’t “see anything different, nothing consolidated, revamped, [or] improved.” You can read “Hooked” on the Dec’s website.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
four six and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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He was dead on about the Matthew Farrell screed. But his complaint of nothing new belies the success of C-Ville in a world where most paper of this ilk are dead.Why does it have to be something totally new. Perhaps if the Progress didn’t suck so much Hottot might have a better point. The fact he even thinks to compare the Hook to the Village Voice shows something.
Should there be no chest thumping at all?
It looks like something has flared up recently between Punchline and Style (2 free weeklies in Richmond), with a much more obvious cultural difference between the two rags. Read ‘Dear Style Weekly’ at http://www.punchlinemag.com.
Monticello and UVA are redeveloping the old Blue Ridge Hospital….whhooo hooo, that’s only been in the works for, oh maybe 12 years!
it’s new to them!
yikes!
H?
ohmigod is this funny…. From the article, “So what happened is Spencer got forced out after having helped found C-Ville in the first place, forced out by these two evil guys named (appropriately) “Rob Jiranek” and “Bill Chapman” who own all the advertisement campaigns that
get pushed on you like Blue Ridge Outdoors and Real Estate Weekly, who are trying to play the “hardball” that this guy they met at a conference of publishers said he played in New York. They’re small men with big plans and H. Spencer was in the way.
ROB and BILL….perfect names for these two. I’m still laughing.
jte
Ok you armchair critics…lets hear YOUR ideas for good investigative journalism.
I would DEARLY like to see the questions I posted in this thread answered. And it doesn’t require “investigative journalism”, but rather just basic reporting of an important local story.
First, perhaps they should consider going outside of the city limits. They do manage to do this on occasion — why not make it a part of the story?
Secondly, there are things that both papers could publish without even resorting to long term/high cost investigative journalism (which I know is going to be an excuse as in “We can’t afford to do this”) — ideas include restaurant health department codes (wouldn’t YOU love to know which restaurants have official problems, I know I would), do a little research into the land speculation (haven’t you wondered how much land does the Virginia Land Company or whatever that radiologist owns in the area) and so forth using public records. And God knows how many events these people get invited to and how many press releases are sent out.
Even a half-witted attempt to cash in on scandals in the paper could be useful for the papers. How about checking into crematoriums around town? Gosh, they could do a story on the black funeral homes around the area — I bet there is a lot of history involved in that. And it could play into a story on race relations in the town/county.
How about a story on these pregnancy centers in C’ville?
How about the effect of the welfare reform act on people in C’ville?
Or even for Pete’s sake, a follow up story on some previous events — like the UVa workers fired and then rehired. Did they make through probationary and still have their jobs?
They can’t even take a success story like their personal ads and do a story on it.
It strikes me as being lazy but then it’s more fun to slam someone, toot your own horn (or your wife’s), or other forms of self-promotion.
I guess these aren’t trendy enough or an easy slap at someone (did anyone find it ironic that one year [the annual contest] C’ville said that the place for peoplewatching was at Golden Corral and in the article slammed every person in there for being an obese porker from a surrounding county and THIS year, the place to take your folks in C’ville Annual Contest was Ponderosa? I guess the trendy city buffet eaters go to Ponderosa).
Let’s see. It’s almost 1 o’clock and I thought of these stories off the top of my head. If they want to hire me as an assignment editor, let me know.
LW
What I meant about the personals ad, they had an ad announcing the marriage of one of their personal ads. I know of at least another marriage through the personal ads. Why not talk about it in their own paper. It’s self promotion but at least it might be interesting to people who have thought about it, etc.
Also, what I meant about the welfare act is that with the recession and the end of the time period, are there any success stories or failures? What about the safety net or lack thereof. The current budget crisis — how does that play into welfare reform.