‘Visually plagiarizing’ Kansas daily changes A1 format
The High Plains Daily Leader, a brand-new, 7,000-circulation p.m. daily in Liberal, Kansas, has changed its A1 format.
Its first edition from May 4 is on the left. On the right is the Monday, May 12 front:
Some of you are applauding (I hope). Others are wondering: What’s the big deal?
A brief recap:
1) Corporate wanks of Lancaster Management Inc. knock back The Daily Times of Liberal, Kansas, from daily publication to printing only three times a week.
2) Earl Watt, the colorful editor/publisher of The Times, walks off the job to start his own paper. Most of his staff follows him.
3) AP writes about the effort. We blog about it.
4) A kind staffer sends us a front page jpeg of the first edition. And that’s when we find that the new paper — The High Plains Daily Leader — has pretty much ripped off the look and feel of the Alan Jacobson-designed Idaho State Journal of Pocatello, Idaho.
Much grousing and gnashing of teeth — especially my own — follows.
5) Larry Phillips, the managing editor of The Daily Leader, posts a comment to this blog claiming visual plagiarism isn’t really plagiarism:
Theft is the greatest form of flattery… always has been, always will be. There is no law against that.
6) More tooth enamel cracks. More comments are posted.
So today:
7) Tina Bridenstine, our plucky correspondent from the Daily Leader — and to whom I definitely owe multiple beers for dragging her into this whole mess — e-mails us again. On the record, even.
She writes:
The publisher was concerned when he saw the reactions people had to the first front page, so he changed the design around. I’m sure he’ll play with it more in the future, but for now, my editor (Larry) asked me to e-mail you the jpeg of the front page as it looks currently.
Thanks,
Tina
No, no, Tina. Thank you! And again: Our best wishes to you, Earl, Larry and the whole staff there at the Daily Leader.
I disliked very much finding another newspaper’s design had been copied for the first Daily Leader editions. I disliked even more the way the ensuing conversation developed. (And you should see some of the comments I did not allow to be posted here!)
What I regret most of all, though, is the way this little shortcut took away from what my original intent was in the first place for writing about the new paper: What this staff is going through; the sacrifices they’re making for their readers is astounding.
I hope like crazy The Daily Leader develops into a huge success.
The newspaper readers of Liberal, Kansas, deserve it.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:27 am
The ads at the top of the page and top of the rail have me a little hesitant, but you know what? I’m glad to see that there’s someone who believes in daily newspapers who’ll put their money where their mouth is.
Heck, I’d go so far as to offer my assistance from a distance, if it’d help them kick ass.
Let’s ensure that we keep an eye on this paper. And best wishes to ‘em in Liberal.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:13 am
The changes give the paper more of its own look and I wish the staff the best. Controversy aside, it’s heartening to see a print product launch.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Mr. Apple,
I find it interesting that the automatic conclusion is that Earl Watt and his crew are doing the right thing just because they are supposedly “battling” corporate America. I am disappointed how quickly you have passed judgement.
Lancatser Management is actually responsible for taking two of the most recent U.S. newspapers from multi-weekly to daily in Georgetown and Pikeville, Kentucky. Earl Watt was the publisher at the Southwest Daily Times for nearly nine years and was unable to keep it a daily. And while he was sabotaging as publisher of The Times and plotting a walkout and start of his own publication, he was gladly accepting a paycheck from Lancaster Management.
In fact, Lancaster recently spent more than $2 million on a new press for The Times. This does not sound like a corporation sucking the money from a company or a community. Instead, they have invested heavily in the newspaper, but it clearly lacked effective local leadership.
Stealing a front page design is the least of Earl Watt’s sins, but it is an insight into how he operates.
Before passing judgement, do a little research.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Why, Mr. Scogin. You wound me.
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I admit, I don’t know Earl Watt at all. For all I know, he may indeed be a saboteur, a thief and an ineffective manager.
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But I see corporations gutting newspapers. I see decisions being made with stockholders and rich newspaper owners in mind, rather than with readers in mind. I see our readers receiving a diminished product.
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And I’m not talking about Lancaster Management. I’m talking every-damn-where.
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So when a publisher quits and walks out and his staff — I believe Tina said that 18 of 22 employees — follows him out the door to open a risky-as-hell competing enterprise… well, I’d say that’s pretty GOOD leadership. At least it APPEARS to be, on the surface.
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Yes, I find inspiration in this story. Sounds to me like there are folks in Liberal, Kansas, who really care about their product and about their readers. The story helped me make it through another stressful, worrisome week. I could use more inspirational tales like that one.
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Do I need to conduct a huge investigation in order to admire what they’re doing out there in Liberal? After all, Mr. Scogin, all I’m doing is citing an AP story and posting a sample of the paper’s front page. I’m not writing the definitive biography of Earl Watt.
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(And, in fact, that’s all I really ever meant to write about him and his venture. When the page-one format was found to be lifted from an Idaho paper and then Watt’s managing editor chimed in… well, the story, admittedly, grew a little bigger than I had bargained for.)
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But this is MY blog, written in my home on my laptop in my own spare time. And if I want to cheer on what appears to be a little-guys-against-the-corporations story, then I’ll cheer them on.
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I need not your approval. Nor do I seek it.
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In fact, I would not have even approved your comment for publication had I not found it so amusing.
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I hear you ask: What was so amusing?
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Because, Mr. Scogin, I indeed do a little research on the things I post here. Yes, I found pretty quickly that you’re the president and publisher of the Georgetown (Ky.) News-Graphic. Which is a Lancaster paper. Meaning your comment is accompanied by the distinct sound of an axe grinding.
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And also because… well, Mr, Scogin, I don’t know how to put this delicately but: Have you ever Googled yourself?
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Have you ever noticed the VERY FIRST ITEM that appears when you Google yourself?
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Just wondering.
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Thanks for reading the blog, sir. Best wishes to your staff and readers, as well.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Mike you’re a good guy, but you clearly don’t have any perspective except from the top these days.
My experience with Earl was when he was mad, he was always right and it was just.
A new press without quality operators is totally ineffective so your point is moot. People make the paper.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
As a advid reader of news papers I find the Daily Leader to be lacking in content.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:42 am
To quote Martin Gee’s Inspiration hand out, “Talent borrows. Genius steals. If that’s the case, I’d rather be a dumbass.”
Me too.
November 26th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I find it funny how everyone assumed that Earl was some sort of hero in this matter. When several of his Ex-employees have admitted he lied to convince them to leave. Earl is an old friend and I was disappointed in his choices. Unfortunately, it is catching up with him. He lost a major lawsuit against Landcaster (settled out of court) and can no longer keep employees. It has even been reported that his employees’ paychecks have been bouncing! Even his editor and long time friend, Larry Philips, felt betrayed enough to finally call it quits. I always commended Earl on what he was trying to do, but how he went about it was despicable and, quite frankly, illegal. Hence the reason I didn’t get involved. I was one of the few who saw through the stories and his smile. No, I never worked for Earl, but I looked into the matter enough to know I wasn’t going to be part of the community that invested in him and The Daily Leader. I just didn’t fully trust what he was saying or doing.
Contrary to what I would like to think, the Big Cooperate “Monsters” were not the bad guys in this scenario. Instead, the small town “Leader” did some seriously bad things to get what he wanted. The fact is, Earl drove the Times into the ground. Big Bad Cooperate reduced it from a daily to help it survive. Now Earls talent, or lack there of, as a leader is effecting his own paper. I just hope it doesn’t permanently tarnish his name.
Lastly I will say this; I have followed this blog since it began. I was extremely disappointed that, as a journalist, you didn’t take the time to interview the other side. As a journalist, you KNOW there are two sides to every story, yet you lacked the interest to pursue it. It wouldn’t take much to realize that Earl story didn’t ad up. Now it is all coming to light and he can no longer hide what truly happened or is happening.
Still, Earl leaving The Times was probably the best thing for The Times. I’ve been a follower of The Times since childhood. Over the years I saw it turn into a dieing paper with little chance of surviving. I hoped Earls new project would save Liberal from loosing it’s paper…and in a way, it has. The Southwest Times is now better than ever. The new staff has not only turned it around, but made it one of the best community papers I have seen in a long time! I have even had the pleasure of meeting some of the new Times Team. They are all local people that love their local paper. Corporate isn’t what they are about. They are about community. I’m proud of what they have overcome and where they are heading. Good luck Times on a successful future. And Good Luck Earl on saving what little you have left.
November 26th, 2009 at 8:42 am
In addiction, I am not criticizing you as a person Mr. Apple. I have read several of your blogs and have found them well written and entertaining. I also realize the appeal of the under dog story. David taking on Goliath if you will. But this wasn’t the case. I just wish you and A LOT of other people would have look more deeply into the story before “choosing a side.” I did, and I didn’t like what I saw.