Official boycott of the Herald & its advertisers

[Concerned]

The Seymour Herald has ceased being a respectable publication, and frankly, it’s become an embarrassment to our community. Until 3 or 4 months ago it was decent. Not great, but decent. I might not agree with some of their stories, but at least they had some journalistic integrity in their writing. The paper looked legitimate, and it seemed to be written by intelligent people – for the most part. Well, all that has changed. Twice in the past month there have been typos in the above-fold headline, and their website is riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes. I picked up a copy recently just to see how bad it had gotten, and I was appalled by the number of blatant mistakes. There were typos and grammatical errors in EVERY story; graphic items and captions were misplaced on the page, sometimes sitting in the middle of text; there was no consistent style or formatting; two volleyball pictures were followed by “write someting (yes, it was misspelled) here later” and then lines of jibberish; and the print quality was horrible. Not wanting to make a snap judgment, I also picked up the next issue. It was even worse.
Now, while I used to be content just to ignore the publication and laugh it off, over lunch with friends a few days ago, we got to talking about how bad it looks on all of us. We all had similar stories of running into people from other communities who, at the first mention of Seymour, brought up some crazy antic the Herald had pulled. That's when we decided something had to happen.
In Seymour laughing at the Herald may be a running joke, but to anyone from the outside, it’s a poor reflection on our entire community. My kids go to Seymour High School. When they graduate and move on to college, I want them to be proud of where they’re from, not deal with a stereotype fueled by this publication. As it is currently operating, the Herald comes across as a very uneducated and unprofessional operation, and as I’ve seen, that stereotype is spreading.
Now, getting to my point. As I can see from other recent discussions, many of you have a strong dislike for the Herald and its publisher Joe Karl. We need you.
I’m calling for a boycott of the Herald and its advertisers. I know a lot of you already boycott the Herald, but subscriptions and individual papers aren’t where a paper makes money – it’s with advertisers. The only way to bring about change is to hit Joe Karl in the wallet. Now, I’m NOT calling for anything illegal – no stealing paper boxes or egging cars. The last thing we want is him on the evening news again.
We need to spread the word and inform advertisers that we are not doing business with them because of their support of the Herald – send emails, make phone calls. I know most of you don’t want to buy a paper to do this, so I’m going to pick up another paper and will start posting a list. There really aren’t that many advertisers, so even if we get half of them to pull their ads, it should be enough to get our point across. Also, voice your support of a boycott and concerns with the Herald in this forum so that potential advertisers can see the number of people offended by this paper.
Let me clarify, this is by no means a personal vendetta. It’s simply an attempt to bring about change in a publication that is reflecting poorly on all of us. With any luck, the Herald will decide to be a respectable publication, hire real journalists, and provide unbiased news. I’m not saying that’s likely, but at worst, the Herald will be forced to be a more professional organization in order to regain advertising support, and that’s better for us all.
Now, spread the word to all your fellow citizens who aren’t internet savvy!

[Phil]

Count me in. This sounds like a much more effective option than everyone just complaining on here. Get us names and email addresses for advertisers, and we'll get something done about this.

[Tojo Yamamoto]

I'd like to build a reality series about the Herald. They'd be filmed just as they are to get the product they consistantly offer.
They'd also have competition nearby to compete for the big stories. The Tri-County News? No, if there's no competition it's no good for TV. Besides the best moment with them happened years ago when Marti was caught throwing stacks of Joes papers in the trash. I think I'd set him up to go against the Middle School kids. I'd give the kids a leg up to have exactly the printing set up Joe has and watch the results. No doubt the kids would win but the big winner will be the community of Seymour. Suddenly Seymour gets to look good all over the country, everyone benefits and I'd bet Joe might even get his paper in order with the help of the kids. Cool or not??

[Jenna]

Sign me up for the boycott - it's not like I haven't been doing it for months already. As far as the reality series goes, I might need more details before I vote in favor. The Herald and Joe Karl's personal battles might lend itself more to a soap opera than a reality series. I don't know that I want the entire nation to know how crazy that man is.

[Ray]

Boycott? Where do I sign?

[All Vol]

I think it's great somebody is actually taking the initiative to do something about that rag. I don't know if anything will get Joe Karl to act like a grown up and print a respectable paper that isn't full just of his own opinion, but if anything will, it'll be the money. Best of luck and consider me part of the team!

[Sam]

I'm in. I've mailed a few letters. I hope someone else is too so I don't look like a jackass.

[Phil]

Hey what happened to the email addresses and phone numbers for their advertisers? I saw them up earlier, but now they're gone. I have an email ready to send, but I can't without addresses. Help?

[Herald Hater]

Concerned wrote:

The Seymour Herald has ceased being a respectable publication, and frankly, it’s become an embarrassment to our community. Until 3 or 4 months ago it was decent. Not great, but decent. I might not agree with some of their stories, but at least they had some journalistic integrity in their writing. The paper looked legitimate, and it seemed to be written by intelligent people – for the most part. Well, all that has changed. Twice in the past month there have been typos in the above-fold headline, and their website is riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes. I picked up a copy recently just to see how bad it had gotten, and I was appalled by the number of blatant mistakes. There were typos and grammatical errors in EVERY story; graphic items and captions were misplaced on the page, sometimes sitting in the middle of text; there was no consistent style or formatting; two volleyball pictures were followed by “write someting (yes, it was misspelled) here later” and then lines of jibberish; and the print quality was horrible. Not wanting to make a snap judgment, I also picked up the next issue. It was even worse.
Now, while I used to be content just to ignore the publication and laugh it off, over lunch with friends a few days ago, we got to talking about how bad it looks on all of us. We all had similar stories of running into people from other communities who, at the first mention of Seymour, brought up some crazy antic the Herald had pulled. That's when we decided something had to happen.
In Seymour laughing at the Herald may be a running joke, but to anyone from the outside, it’s a poor reflection on our entire community. My kids go to Seymour High School. When they graduate and move on to college, I want them to be proud of where they’re from, not deal with a stereotype fueled by this publication. As it is currently operating, the Herald comes across as a very uneducated and unprofessional operation, and as I’ve seen, that stereotype is spreading.
We need to spread the word and inform advertisers that we are not doing business with them because of their support of the Herald – send emails, make phone calls. I know most of you don’t want to buy a paper to do this, so I’m going to pick up another paper and will start posting a list. There really aren’t that many advertisers, so even if we get half of them to pull their ads, it should be enough to get our point across. Also, voice your support of a boycott and concerns with the Herald in this forum so that potential advertisers can see the number of people offended by this paper.
Let me clarify, this is by no means a personal vendetta. It’s simply an attempt to bring about change in a publication that is reflecting poorly on all of us. With any luck, the Herald will decide to be a respectable publication, hire real journalists, and provide unbiased news. I’m not saying that’s likely, but at worst, the Herald will be forced to be a more professional organization in order to regain advertising support, and that’s better for us all.
Now, spread the word to all your fellow citizens who aren’t internet savvy!

That "newspaper" has has been making my blood boil for years! Joe Karl feels like the fact that its his opinion means it's a) fact and b) newsworthy. While I feel like you're intentions are good, you're never going to make that sow's ear into a silk purse. As long as Joe Karl is in charge, it's going to be a muck-raking, dirt kicking, all-around piece of shit publication.

[Someone]

Looks like he pulled all the ads off his website including his own. That's a start I guess. Of course, there were only ever 3-4 actual (paying) ads on the website while the rest where his own.

[Concerned2]

Phil wrote:

Hey what happened to the email addresses and phone numbers for their advertisers? I saw them up earlier, but now they're gone. I have an email ready to send, but I can't without addresses. Help?

Somehow the lists that were posted on here were deleted, and now it won't let us repost it, so please see the list of advertisers in the seperate forum titled "List of Herald Advertisers to Boycott." thanks for the support and keep it up!

[Angela]

I acutally think that the South Knox Seymour Times does a great job... maybe we should all get behind them.

[Witch pleeze]

Angela wrote:

I acutally think that the South Knox Seymour Times does a great job... maybe we should all get behind them.

..........And push that shit into I 40 traffic during rush hour!! You really do reap what you sew! Going to the list of advertising right now!! Sign me up! Pleeze

[Tananda]

Angela wrote:

I acutally think that the South Knox Seymour Times does a great job... maybe we should all get behind them.

Seymour Times never looked so better!! I agree to Seymour Times (not herald)