16 Responses to “Tri-City Ledger, Atmore Advance Receive State Awards”

1. Jerry Simmons on May 29th, 2009 9:01 pm

   Yeah what HE said

   WTG TCL

2. Current TCL Employee on May 29th, 2009 4:37 pm

   I’m not entirely sure what I want to say here or, to be honest, if I SHOULD say anything. I’ve sat here for a few minutes now, reading and re-reading the comments for this particular article, and I find myself both annoyed and encouraged by what people have said about my paper. I say “my paper”, not because I own it but, after having worked at The Tri-City Ledger for 9 years, because I have a great sense of pride in the product we provide to our community each week.

   Some of you complain of typos…of course there are typos. It is a fact that, for any written medium (including blog comments) there will be misspelled words, misplaced punctuation and improper grammar used. Do we try to avoid as many mistakes as possible? Of course we do. Do we have a dedicated copy editor to catch such mistakes? With a staff of 5 full-time employees, no, that is not a practical option. As has already been stated, we each read stories and advertisements to catch the errors before we go to print but, as is bound to happen, mistakes still make it on to the printed page. Please do no think that I defend such mistakes or that I think they should be completely overlooked. What I do ask is for understanding that we are, in fact, human and not infallible in our proofreading.

   I also ask that readers do not compare newspapers to media outlets such as NorthEscambia.com. It’s been mentioned already, but it bears repeating, that there is no fair comparison to be made. This website is for immediate news and information, something with which a weekly (or even daily) newspaper cannot compete. Whereas, virtually, as soon as news happens William can have it posted on this site, we have to wait until the next week’s edition to print our coverage. Also, mistakes made on websites can be corrected in mere seconds but a printed paper is permanent. If corrections are warranted, they are posted in the next week’s edition.

   I, for one, sincerely applaud William and what he’s been able to do for this area. His is not an easy job, but I think he does it amazingly well. In fact, when NorthEscambia.com was still relatively new, my mother (who lives in Molino) introduced me to it by sending a link to an article about the Historical Society in Molino. Included in that article was a picture of my grandmother and her sister. I remember telling my mother then that I thought this site was a wonderful idea, and that I was thrilled to see the coverage William was offering.

   I know many people are bound to complain about Joe Thomas and the work he does with The Ledger. It is not, however, fair or at all accurate to claim that Joe does not thoroughly research his stories or that he refuses to print retractions if he has made a mistake. Joe is a “news man” above all things and, as we’ve all been told many times, he’d put his mother on the front page if she did something to warrant that attention. He is unbiased and unflinching in his news coverage, traits which are coveted in a news editor.

   To everyone who has been supportive of us, who has congratulated and encouraged us, I say thank you. We all work hard to deliver a quality product each week, and I know the staff at The Atmore Advance (and other papers in the county) does the same.

3. concerned2 on May 29th, 2009 3:27 pm

   The former ledger editor wrote “Since 1971 The Ledger has provided the people of north Escambia, Fla…a news source that is unequal to any other.”

   Huh? They don’t cover Northview High School. Or Ernest Ward Middle School. Or Molino Park. Or Cantonment. Or Walnut Hill. Or Bratt. Or Molino. Or McDavid. Or Cottage Hill. Or Barrineau Park. Or the Escambia County School Board. Or the Escambia County Commission. Or fire consolidation. Or governmental consolidation. Or taxes. Or politics Or…the list just goes on and on of the things they don’t cover in north escambia.

   They cover Century, and crime in Century. That’s it. They do a pretty good job of covering Atmore, Flomaton, Jay & Brewton, I suppose. And Century. That’s their niche, as you say. But they don’t cover north escambia. That’s why we love northescambia.com so much, because north escambia is their niche.

4. Former TCL Lifestyle Editor on May 29th, 2009 2:45 pm

   Congratulations Joe Thomas and Janet Cooper and the entire staff at The Tri-City Ledger (Jodie Salazar, Donald Wright and Amanda Boyd). Winning these types of awards only confirms the dedication these journalists have toward providing accurate and honest news, sports and lifestyle coverage.
   Since 1971 The Ledger has provided the people of north Escambia, Fla., north Santa Rosa County, Fla. and all of Escambia County, Ala. a news source that is unequal to any other.
   Each news source has its own nitch. Northescambia.com is a great source for getting the news “right now.”
   Print media provides readers with news today and a source of research for generations to come.
   Keep up the good work guys! Can hardly wait until next week’s edition comes out.

5. concerned2 on May 29th, 2009 1:28 pm

   newspapers -declining circulation, declining revenue, declining physical size, declining revenue. The Atmore Advance and Tri-City ledger to a good job of providing a historical record once or twice a week of the things that have happened in the past week.

   online news — increasing readership, increasing revenue, increasing content. Up to the minute news that a modern generation wants.

   The ledger and the advance reach 3,000? 5,000? people per week? What about a website like north Escambia? 20,000? 30,000 or more per day? It’s easy to see who rules! (William care to answer how many?)

   Sure papers follow rules from the Alabama press association. But does it make them better just because they are members of the APA? Nope. Atmore News is member and I don’t think they won the first award. The Atmore advance and ledger did because they worked for it.

6. THE DOER on May 29th, 2009 1:09 pm

   To Expect a Little Bit More: Please understand that we have one local area newspaper, and that’s our Tri-City Ledger. Although William’s blog is excellent for quick information and up-to-date news, he is not governed under the same guidelines that the written newspaper is. If there are grammatical errors in the newspaper (and there are in all newspapers, magazines, blogs, advertisements, etc.), please remember that our local newspaper does a fabulous job of providing factually researched news. Their awards speak volumes for not only the paper, but for our community as well. So before you criticize, remember to use commas to separate independent clauses in your comments, and also — sentences shouldn’t begin with “nor.”

7. Harvey Webb on May 29th, 2009 12:27 pm

   As a former newspaper publisher, I understand the accountability involved in publishing a newspaper that the Advance and Ledger face daily. Unlike Web sites such as this, newspapers are governed by an association and have to follow certain rules about things they write. I’ve worked with members of the Advance and have seen first hand their professionalism in reporting accurate information. Keep up the good work.

8. Kay on May 29th, 2009 10:21 am

   The Advance has taken great strides over the past several years to improve their product and I commend them for that. Projects such as their “shop locally” campaign really make an impression in a small town. Keep up the good work.

9. Rick on May 29th, 2009 10:09 am

   The Atmore Advance does a great job and is well deserving of these awards. In fact, the paper won 15 total awards, the five advertising awards won earlier this month were not listed. As for the comment about beating the paper to acknowledge their own awards, I personally know the staff and they are not the type to “pat themselves on the back” and not report important news. They will announce their triumphs in due time.

10. Willene on May 29th, 2009 10:04 am

    Congratulations to both News Papers

11. not concerned on May 29th, 2009 9:49 am

    To ‘concerned2′: Did it ever occur to you that the two newspaper stated above didn’t print anything about the awards because they didn’t want to “toot their own horn”? As the saying goes…”You’re darned if you do, you’re darned if you don’t!” Congrats to The Atmore Advance and the Tri-City Ledger!!

12. Expecting a little bit more on May 29th, 2009 9:13 am

    I should also have added that William does an awesome job here at NorthEscambia, and we are very proud and privileged to have him here! As others have asked, where do we nominate you for recognition of that?

13. Expecting a little bit more on May 29th, 2009 9:11 am

    I don’t understand how the Ledger can win any awards. They can’t even SPELL properly. Their grammar is atrocious and they still haven’t mastered simple punctuation and capitalization rules. They misspell names, omit key words, drop entire lines of print so that you are left guessing, etc. Nor do they care about improving. I offered to proofread for them free of charge. Joe said, “We take turns proofreading.” Well, of course they do. That’s why it’s so bad that my 2nd grader can spot the errors!

    They also have a bad habit of printing stories without bothering to check any of the facts FIRST. Then, when the true facts are proven, Joe refuses to print that. They would rather ruin a person’s reputation with supposition than restore it with a retraction or even a simple clarification.

    I call that irresponsible journalism, and that is NOT anything to be awarded.

14. LuvinOki on May 29th, 2009 6:32 am

    Good for them but…if they can get that many awards then imagine the possibilities for Northescambia! Where can we sign you up William?

15. KV on May 29th, 2009 6:15 am

    I’m not being messy or sassy and I’m just as much of a North Escambia fan as the next person BUT………. There are releasel dates and the ledger only prints once a week, not daily. Way to go Ledger!!!!!! Also, good job William for staying on top of DAILY news.

16. concerned2 on May 29th, 2009 4:03 am

    Does anyone else find it funny that northescambia.com beat the Tri-City Ledger & the Atmore Advance in reporting about the papers’ own awards?

    We all know who the real newspaper is around here — NORTHESCAMBIA!