I get the online charging thing. But, charging for obituraries? Are you kidding me?
As far as I know, these obituraries are paid notices for public viewing. LMT now has the indecency to charge the public (including out of town relatives and loved ones) for these viewings. To hell with you LMT. Going broke is the least your worries.
Feel free to contact LMT's editor (small e) Diana Fuentes over at dfuentes@lmtonline.com or 956 728 2581 if you have something to add to this..
14 comments:
son pu**s los del LMT
Actually, obituaries are paid by family members to be viewed by a paper's readership.
If said paper wants to charge for that, it's their prerogotive.
That's the beauty of the capitalist system, private businesses are free to make bone-headed decisions such as this.
Let's have that editor of theirs defend this decision. Would love to hear her take on this new level of stupidity.
Oh wow, the Washington Post has free access (with simple sign up) to their obits: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/metro/obituaries/
So does the Austin American Statesman:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/
It must be that LMT is more distinguished than the Washington Post or the Austin American Statesman.
LMT is a daily shopping supplement, if you want
current news use your computer. otherwise you are paying to hear whatever is spewed forth from the government agencies and REPORTED by LMT.. LISD<
UISD,police, WEBB, CITY OF LAREDO,, useless tripe
Way to go LMT, nothing better for business in tough times than to piss off an already disengaged public.
Hmmm, are they going to start double-dipping with the online ads too?
LMT = El Empty = Dumbest Newspaper Staff of All Time.
Anon -
haha on the pissing off the disengaged public comment.
Reminds me of whatever boneheads at the LEC came up with this doozy:
BH1: We're not making enough money, no one coming to concerts or hockey games anymore.
BH2: Yes, revenues are down. Let's increase them by CHARGING for parking!
D'oh!
Boos and hisses in El Empty's general direction..
The obits are where it's at.
Gotta double dip with those.
Why are you all surprised? This paper has been a POS for the longest time nothing new. Maybe when the LMT finally dies , LareDOS can write a obit on them for free... RIP LMT.
Hate to be the Constitutional geek, but....
If obits are now commercial, that could mean that the papers have to concede they were not really "public matters".
Since Gertz, obits and the like have been considered public matters concerning private people, thus constitutionally protected.
If not, a small but significant chunk of their 1st Amendment protections would have to be retested at SCOTUS.
Anon- how would your legal analysis affect the concept of "public notice" requirements, which are often met by publication in a newspaper, which historically have charged for the print edition long before online?
Post a Comment