Hot News!
• Tea Party leader gets grilled by NAACP membership
On today's date in The Beacon archives, we published:
•Smitherman still saying the issue is about a “streetcar” (2009)•More on Amy Goodman’s Arrest and the Struggle for a Free Media (2008)
•Journalist Amy Goodman Unlawfully Arrested At RNC (2008)
•Seizing Illegal Guns—Thinking About 2% (2007)
•Information or Advertisements? (2007)
•Nick Lachey: “I have never supported George W. Bush.” (2007)
Contact Us
v mail: (513) 685-0678
e mail: click here
Friday, July 10, 2009
Downsizing Enquirer drops “Cincinnati” from its name
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Photo courtesy of here.
Drowned out by all the layoff-related noise coming from the Enquirer the last two days was an “adjustment” that could ruffle a few feathers in the Queen City. As of Thursday, the newspaper dropped “Cincinnati” from its masthead. The paper now calls itself The Enquirer (as if to suggest that it no longer restricts itself to mere local news). The city’s name is now relegated to second billing in a sub-masthead, Cincinnati.com.
This is a significant slap at the city. After all, The New York Times didn’t reduce itself to The Times after launching national delivery. The nation still has The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Middletown Journal, and among other Gannett-owned papers, The Louisville Courier-Journal and The Indianapolis Star. The only newspaper pegging itself to Cincinnati now is The Cincinnati Herald.
Dropping “Cincinnati” from its masthead could be sign of what lies ahead for the rapidly shrinking – and outsourcing – Enquirer. Already the paper has shipped its customer service and finance functions to other states and ceded some executive functions to Louisville and Indy.
What’s next? Moving news-gathering operations to some other Gannett city where reporters and editors can juggle news from different locales from a single, consolidated newsroom? Hiring workers in India to rewrite press releases, tweet police blotter entries and report on Web-cast City Council meetings?
Publisher Margaret Buchanan cites the paper’s longstanding commitment to the city in letters to readers, advertisers and employees. “The Cincinnati Enquirer,” she wrote, “has been around for 168 years – making it one of the oldest local institutions in Greater Cincinnati – and has survived 19 economic downturns, including the Great Depression.”
Only now we know that The Cincinnati Enquirer did not survive. It’s just The Enquirer. And it’s a travesty that Buchanan used the occasion of mass layoffs to slip its name change past the very citizenry for whom she claims to stand.
• Share This Article! | Listen to this article |
|  |
Register
Anonymous comments are allowed, but you can create an account above to stamp your name and to avoid typing the anti-spam code.
If you are not familiar with our rules for leaving comments, click here! The Cincinnati Beacon is not responsible for the contents of any comments. Comments do not represent the views of the moderators of The Cincinnati Beacon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
10 Jul 2009 at 12:12 pm | #
I just sent this:
Ms. Buchanan:
Can you explain why the paper is no longer called “The Cincinnati Enquirer” on its masthead, which features, instead, a downsized title reading simply “The Enquirer”?
Thanks,
[The Dean]
10 Jul 2009 at 12:45 pm | #
This “The Enquirer/cincinnati.com” banner is something that’s showed up on a number of other occasions in the past, well before the layoffs (i.e., a few times in the past month or so). As far as I can tell, it’s just part of that whole nebulous “rebranding” thing they’re perpetually doing.
As for moving operations to other areas, I heard a rumor somewhere that they might be moving printing for the Enquirer and a few other papers to Indy. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I heard that, though. Also, don’t feel like looking it up this very moment. Probably gannettblog or gannettoid, I’m guessing.
10 Jul 2009 at 01:26 pm | #
I heard that Peter Bronson was dumped… Can anyone confirm this?
10 Jul 2009 at 01:33 pm | #
Have you been out of town Coleman? Yes, he was dumped and today is his last day. Praise God!
10 Jul 2009 at 01:40 pm | #
Yep. It’s true. I think that just about every blog in town has a bit about it. Beacon included.
10 Jul 2009 at 01:42 pm | #
Yes, I have been. That’s good news, though I hear it was rolled-up into the Cincinnati Enquirer’s 100+ staff cuts.
10 Jul 2009 at 02:25 pm | #
He did have some good points in his final editorial,
“This is just a bad time for newspapers. And that’s bad news for all of us.
Without strong newspapers, the Tower of Babel will rise higher, brick by blogger brick; without strong newspapers, government and other bureaucracies and institutions will be less accountable, and more likely to treat the public like gum on a shoe; without strong newspapers, consensus is crippled and everyone is less informed.”
10 Jul 2009 at 03:15 pm | #
The paper in Cleveland is called The Plain Dealer. Cleveland is not part of the name.
10 Jul 2009 at 03:41 pm | #
The Plain Dealer has always been called that, without the name of the city. It didn’t just suddenly drop its city name, as Enquirer dropped “Cincinnati.”
Truth is, people who live outside of the city limits don’t want to be considered a part of Cincinnati, which is quickly becoming the rathole of the nation.
I have a home in NoKY. People in Northern Kentucky do not consider themselves a part of Cincinnati.
10 Jul 2009 at 03:45 pm | #
I was getting ready to post this cartoon (but first I noticed you posted something already today in editorial section) and then I saw this posting. Hilarious as I must have been thinking what the next move of the Enquirer would be.
Are they trying to become the National Enquirer…isn’t that already taken?
10 Jul 2009 at 03:48 pm | #
I would argue that laying off Peter Bronson makes the Cincinnati Enquirer a “stronger” paper. These may be good points that we can all agree with, but I don’t think that Bronson acted to strengthen the paper. In fact I felt his more recent articles smacked of whining and complaining, mostly in reaction to his worldview gradually being rejected by more and more people. The Franken thing was merely a nationally-publicized embarrassment following a string of more subtly or locally embarrassing gaffes he’s made in recent years.
10 Jul 2009 at 06:55 pm | #
Laying off Bronson does not make it a better paper. It is like you are saying that we can’t tolerate opinions that we don’t like.
The Enquirer had, over the years, allowed its quality to deteriorate to such a degree that its reputation is worthless as far as credibility goes. Without credibility, the paper is too expensive to wrap fish in. It offers what news it offers to get people to pick it up so that the advertisers will think that it is still a viable way to advertise. Now it is really too late to do what they should have done years ago and that is to restructure, strip down and refocus on its credibility and integrate fully into the internet and another media channel such as tv and not emphasize things that are often referred to as “breaking news”. They did and still have cincinnati.com but cincinnati.com reflects the mentality that has essentially killed the Enquirer in the first place. To get an idea of their interest or faith in the internet, one only has to experience the slowness of cincinnati.com servers.
I used to do cincinnati.com daily and it may be every month, if there is something I feel the just might have in the way of details and every time, I am disappointed.
10 Jul 2009 at 09:05 pm | #
Dieter: Laying off Bronson does not make it a better paper. It is like you are saying that we can’t tolerate opinions that we don’t like.
False assumption in the second sentence and I disagree with the first. Bronson was the paper’s only columnist and, as a result, cast a huge editorial shadow of neo-conservatism. If there was some political counterweight to his POV, your second sentence would make sense, but from what I heard Bronson reflected Callinan’s personal political views so Tom the moron eliminated all voices but Bronson’s. At least now there’s a vacuum which perhaps may be filled by a wider range of opinions than that silver-tongued, silver-haired turd, Peter Bronson.
10 Jul 2009 at 09:32 pm | #
Rick, what in the world are you basing that on? Anyone who has collected signatures for any city elections or issues can tell you that most people in the Greater Cincinnati area consider themselves to be living in Cincinnati.
I was asking people just yesterday if they were registered to vote in the city of Cincinnati. Many said yes and wrote down Butler County etc. They think of themselves as Cincinnatians.
I know people that live in Northern Kentucky and if they travel to LA, NY, Chicago or any other place across the country they will tell people they live in Cincinnati. What the hell is great about Northern Kentucky? Nothing really, the best thing it has going is the fact that is so close to a real city.
You all should be thankful you live near our great city. I hardly ever go over to Kentucky because there’s nothing going on there. People are embarrassed to claim they live in Kentucky. They have to tell people they are flying into Cincinnati to get them to come there. How pathetic is that?
10 Jul 2009 at 10:25 pm | #
Is this a bad thing that The Enquirer doesn’t have Cincinnati as it’s name? The quality of the paper has gone so far downhill…that it may as well have National in the place of Cincinnati.
10 Jul 2009 at 10:45 pm | #
Justin !
You are so wrong.
Whenever I go to my (Cincinnati)high school class reunion those that have not moved completely out of the area (by 50 miles or more) all say they live in Cincinnati, but in fact only two have I determined actually live in the city. It is just easier to say Cincinnati because it deters further innocuous questions.
As to Kentucky, your obvious contempt or snobbery shows your ignorance. While Kentucky wasn’t part of the post civil war industrial revolution, the people there are still proud of there state. And Appalachia in Ohio is no different than Appalachia in Kentucky. To judge people based on their wealth or residence is not any different than racial snobbery. I feel certain there was similar snobbery by Clevelanders and Chicagoans for hick Cincinnatians during the same periods.
Would you like to compare Cincinnati PBS with Kentucky’s PBS? Or maybe the recent gains in education? Kentucky is a relatively poor state but is the only criteria that you recognize is that of wealth? If so, should you be talking?
10 Jul 2009 at 10:59 pm | #
.
They plan on peddling the right-wing rag in Butler, Warren, Clermont counties.
We’ll start reading more about Sheriff Jones and how he now enjoys his own parade blow-up doll.
.
10 Jul 2009 at 11:07 pm | #
.
Ricky, put your shoes on and walk across that purple people bridge for some sporting action.
.
11 Jul 2009 at 02:30 am | #
I call bullshit on Rick Hines rant. I grew up in NKY, Taylor Mill to be specific. I went to Kenton County schools and graduated from Scott High School. I always considered myself to be living in the ‘Greater Cincinnati area’, as did all of my family and friends. I bet that Hines is one of the Cincinnati hating trolls who haunt the Enquirer’s comments section.
11 Jul 2009 at 08:49 am | #
WOW talk about snobbery.
I really don;t have time right now to get into this in depth.
Freedom walk over the bridge if you want to see a movie, go to the aquarium, get some liqour and cigs that aren’t overtaxed, get on a duckboat, and more!
11 Jul 2009 at 09:35 am | #
The common use of the moniker “Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky” is a wide acknowledgement that people in NoKY don’t consider themselves a part of Cincinnati.
“Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Airport”
“Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Car Dealers”
“Kentucky Enquirer” “Kentucky Post”
etc etc
11 Jul 2009 at 09:56 am | #
As CincyNation has noted numerous times, with regard to the northern Cincinnati counties—Enquirer is rapidly losing its “influence” there because the Cox Newspapers have an aggressive foothold in Butler and Warren Counties with their Hamilton Journal News, Middletown Journal, Mason Pulse-Journal and even the Dayton Daily News.
11 Jul 2009 at 12:26 pm | #
“Freedom walk over the bridge if you want to see a movie, go to the aquarium, get some liqour and cigs that aren’t overtaxed, get on a duckboat, and more!”
Don’t like going bare-foot, but if we want too liquor-up, we Head to monmouth street and challenge the ‘brass-ass’ dixie-chicks.
On the budget, that personal property tax is tighter than a mouse’s ear and ends up soaking you.
.
11 Jul 2009 at 02:31 pm | #
That’s nice, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s nothing really going on in Northern Kentucky. And it’s funny that you didn’t say anything about Rick Hines’ contempt for Cincinnati. I didn’t call Northern Kentucky the “rathole of the nation”.
Cincinnati is a real city that is known across the country. Newport and Covington Kentucky aren’t. I like Louisville, but Newport and Covington are not Louisville.
I didn’t say anything about Appalachia or poor people. Rick Hines isn’t poor.
Wolfie, I go to see movies at the Esquire where I get all kinds of choices to eat great food affordably. There’s so much more to do in Cincinnati than there is in Northern Kentucky. We have world renowned arts, sports and architecture. I can’t believe anybody is trying to argue otherwise. The only thing we are missing is much of a view on the other side of the river.
And the fact is that people that don’t live in Cincinnati claim they do. Nobody that lives in Cincinnati claims to live in West Chester or Kentucky.
Just because the Enquirer sucks doesn’t mean that the city of Cincinnati is “the rathole of the nation”. Only somebody that doesn’t get out much would say such a thing.
11 Jul 2009 at 03:24 pm | #
CC as usual is full of shit. Previously he went to Finneytown High School, now he’s a N Ky boy. This guy is so phony that he’ll claim to live or have lived anywhere just to prove his “neighborhood cred” on any particular topic.
How’s your dead cat doing?
11 Jul 2009 at 03:35 pm | #
Yeah so much so Cincinnati is the Tourist mecca of the Midwest. *chortle*
11 Jul 2009 at 09:13 pm | #
oh yeah, as if Newport is a big tourist destination. Give me a break. I was actually surprised how many people were in town from all over the place when we were petitioning around Fountain Square.
12 Jul 2009 at 08:26 am | #
Not sayin Newport is a BIG Tourist destination. Just don’tmake Cincinnati out to be more than what it is. Dayton is kewler than Cincy.
What petition?
12 Jul 2009 at 02:30 pm | #
I’m not making Cincinnati out to be more than it is. I said it’s a real city that has world class arts and sports etc. Dayton and Newport aren’t real cities and they aren’t better than Cincinnati.
12 Jul 2009 at 09:16 pm | #
Actually I was talking about Dayton OH.
And just the fact that you call Dayton or Newport “not a real city” just proves how much of an elitist snob you are.
12 Jul 2009 at 09:28 pm | #
Justin, you are an aware person. You know about the recent national survey that Cincinnati is ranked the last city where people would move to live.
You’re aware that it is the 3rd most poverty-stricken city in the nation. You’re aware that the insurance industry says OTR is the most dangerous neighborhood in the nation.
You also know that the city usually is at the bottom tier of all those “best cities” lists. It isn’t even on the radar as a magnet city for young professionals.
I could go on, but I think the above makes my point.
13 Jul 2009 at 05:48 am | #
Two things here. First, Cincinnati hasn’t had “world class” sports in quite some time. The closest thing we have right now is the Cincinnati Cyclones, which is a great team in independent league hockey. Second, what’s the measure of a “real” city, and did anyone say that anyplace in NKY was “better” than Cincinnati? I’m fairly certain that Northern Kentucky informs the greater consciousness of Cincinnati (especially Downtown) more than you’d like it to, but so what? Why not just say, “RickHines, you’re kind of a douche,” and just leave it at that? You’re trying to make points that don’t really matter.
13 Jul 2009 at 10:20 am | #
Gee, I didn’t know that. If that is so, what has been the reaction of the present city council and mayor? Where is the infamous Detroit in comparison to Cincinnati? I would like Justin’s thoughts on this because he has to know about these claims.
13 Jul 2009 at 03:47 pm | #
Wolfie, get a grip. Most people across the country have never heard of Newport Kentucky or Dayton Ohio. They don’t have many of the things that major cities have.
Rick, why don’t you provide some links? I’m aware that Cincinnati was ranked the tenth most impoverished big city in the nation. That’s not good but it hardly makes it the “rathole of the nation”.
I’m aware that the data they used was highly selective and flawed. The insurance industry isn’t known for being honest.
Kevin Osbourne reported, “The site used crime statistics from 2005 to 2007 and only for a small area near Central Parkway and Liberty Street. As people who frequent Over-the-Rhine every day can tell you — and I’m one of them — that area is a mostly vacant industrialized strip.”
Cincy also got some good press that week in the New Yorker for its anti-gang efforts.
How does not being ranked the best make it “the rathole of the nation”?
Are you implying that Northern Kentucky is?
I said “real” as in major city and yes Rick Hines did. Cincinnati has one of the best park and library systems in the nation. We have major league sports and world class arts. It is a great city.
What is the greater consciousness of Cincinnati and how do you know what informs it?
13 Jul 2009 at 05:19 pm | #
Justin!
I really can’t believe that you are relying or denying these declarations.
What is it that you think this city needs? There has to be something or the population would not have dropped and/or you wouldn’t have to be so defensive. The fact that you are arguing so defensively gives merit to the claims and you are beginning to sound like those people at city hall that act arrogantly like the whole world is wrong and city hall is right.
So, is there anything the city needs? List the top five and we can discuss them rather than argue the merits of a list drawn up by someone who took a quick visit through the city. You are much more informed and should be able to present a more accurate assessment of this city. I would like to know what features you think are necessary to be a real city. And does everyone need a real city in order to find a fulfilling life?
13 Jul 2009 at 06:43 pm | #
Magazine: Cincinnati 1 Of 10 Unhappiest Cities In Nation
http://www.wlwt.com/health/18842874/detail.html
Cincinnati Rated 3rd Poorest City
http://www.wlwt.com/news/13998131/detail.html
13 Jul 2009 at 07:31 pm | #
Wolfie, the link I used that said Cincinnati was ranked 10th most impoverished was more recent than yours. I don’t put much weight in how Business Week judges happy cities. Dayton and Newport didn’t appear to make the list because they aren’t major cities.
This city needs plenty and I never said it was perfect. The population hasn’t been dropping recently.
That is utter nonsense. Rick Hines is wrong and Cincinnati isn’t becoming “the rathole of the nation”.
Major cities should have things they are known for and be known across the nation. Cincinnati has world class arts, major league sports teams and good college teams. Major cities should have good parks, schools and services. Having a rich history is also good.
Not everyone needs to live in a real city to have a fulfilling life, but they can’t live in a crumby little town in Northern Kentucky like Rick Hines does and talk shit about our city.
13 Jul 2009 at 10:23 pm | #
Why, sure they can. That said, they apparently can’t without you flying off the handle. For the record, I’ve asked a few people what they think of when they think of Cincinnati, and the answers I’ve gotten back are, in order, the Pete Rose scandal from the 80’s, Jennifer Marlowe from WKRP, and the fact that Carson Palmer has screwed Fantasy Football owners two years in a row. How is that not embarrassing? No chili, no world-class sports, no abundantly beautiful and diverse architecture, no major hub in the Underground Railroad—all things Cincinnati could, and perhaps should, be known for. Just Les Nessman and a bowl-cut wearing jackass who couldn’t help himself around a sportsbook.
Question: what is the measure, ultimately, of a good city? Remove Cincinnati, Newport, West Chester, Middletown, Dayton (OH), Covington, and the name of any other city from your mind and answer that question alone. What truly makes a city good? I’d be hard pressed to take any answer you could possibly give and find that many cities, be they major or not, have some of the criteria you name. You’re hitting your minor points, but your central argument sags because really, there’s nothing behind it. Cincinnati could be great; it has been great in the past. Cincinnati’s getting better again, we’re improving. But IMHO, we’re just not there yet. Not with a crumbling news media, petty arguments in government, and a number of unfinished projects.
Wait. Wasn’t the original post about the Enquirer? Didn’t today’s edition have the full “The Cincinnati Enquirer” at the top? I can’t say I paid particularly close attention this morning.
13 Jul 2009 at 11:10 pm | #
I didn’t fly off the handle. I just called Rick Hines on his BS. I don’t really care who you asked what. The fact is that many people claim Cincinnati though they don’t live in Cincinnati. I don’t believe anybody claims Northern Kentucky that doesn’t actually live in Northern Kentucky.
Was there a show about a radio station in Northern Kentucky? No, there wasn’t because nobody cares about Northern Kentucky and the best thing they have going is that they are next to Cincinnati.
Cincinnati can be better and so can every city. Cincinnati is a great city with a lot to offer. It has great history, architecture, arts, sports and a low cost of living for a major city. That is a big reason why we have so many fortune 500 companies.
What major city doesn’t have that?
14 Jul 2009 at 12:46 am | #
If Cincinnati fails to grow at the rate of other growing areas, it is in effect dropping population. If it loses absolute population, it is worse.
14 Jul 2009 at 05:25 am | #
What city period doesn’t have that?
14 Jul 2009 at 06:33 am | #
I had hoped for much better from you, Mr. Jeffre. Your snobbery is, if nothing else, notably misplaced.
You make wide-ranging assumptions about the reasons people may use Cincinnati as a landmark when they travel. Did you ever entertain the idea that we live in a country chock full of geography idiots?
Telling people you are from Kentucky narrows it down about as much as telling people you are from Ohio. I say I live in Newport, KY, and then I tell them it is a 15-minute walk to Cincinnati. A good portion of the time people respond with, “Oh, OK. I’ve heard of Cincinnati.” Heard of, though. Just heard of.
I usually then further qualify my home by saying we’re about 5-6 hours southeast of Chicago. Then people get it.
You contructing your little wall between the areas ignores the undeniable fact that the entire region is comprised of people and land from three states. We have governmental organizations that realize this, and act accordingly. Local universities do as well, offering reciprocity to residents of bordering counties.
You may not visit NKY often, or even ever, but plenty of your proper Cincinnatians do.
I’d challenge you to use those research skills of yours to find out how many NKY residents work in your fine city, and what economic effect our region of our state has on you and yours.
Until then, scale back your assault. You’re better than that, or at least you have been.
Maybe you’re just getting tired, though. But don’t worry, if that’s true, there are plenty of us out there to pick up your slack.
14 Jul 2009 at 09:59 am | #
I agree, Wes Crout.
Right now, I’m in my South Florida home. (I also have a home in NoKY, but was born in Cincinnati.) When I tell people I’m from Cincinnati, they simply say, “Oh, OK.” No comments thereafter to advance the conversation.
Bringing up Cincinnati is a sure conversation-stopper.
When I say Kentucky, we get into conversations about horses, etc.
14 Jul 2009 at 12:44 pm | #
Enough name calling, perhaps JJ communicated his point in a way that made certain people defensive, get over it. His point was simple and indisputable, NKY takes the backseat to Cincy. NKY is part of Cincinnati’s MSA, end of story.
17 Jul 2009 at 10:31 am | #
I just want to say I like perfect timing:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/travel/19hour.html
Funny how a NYT’s writer can grasp the concept of the area as a whole, and even choose to highlight a few establishments over here in the unwashed backwoods of Podunk, Kentucky.
Hell, even local restaurateur Jean-Robert calls Newport home. Yeah, we’re kinda neighbors. Now if I can just get him to invite me to a dinner party…