If you really want to know about the history of something, you can look it up. But most people don’t. That’s why having people around who provide institutional memory is critical, especially for the paper of record in our town – The Mercury News.
That’s one of the many reasons we’ll miss David Yarnold. He provided three decades of knowledge and perspective at the top of the paper. He helped put the news of the day into historic context.
There are a handful of Mercury News reporters who do this, too. The most visible is columnist Scott Herhold who seems to have served on every beat there is at Ridder Park Drive. But with the critical changes in the industry and with the Mercury News on its third publisher in 3 months (okay, it only seems that way), experienced hands matter.
So, here’s hoping new publisher George Riggs chooses historic perspective over fresh perspective. We’re going into a critical mayor’s race next year, and experience should count for a lot when choosing Yarnold’s successor.
Yarnold once told me a story about the value of his years here being reflected in an editorial announcing Bob Caret’s departure from San Jose State. Yarnold remembered that when Caret took over, one of his first acts was to get the windows washed. I guess it had been awhile and people loved it. Yarnold made the reference in an editorial to demonstrate some of the impact that Caret had on the campus.
You don’t get these tidbits unless you have reporters and editors who have been around awhile. Of course, colorful anecdotes can’t replace good reporting. But they certainly make articles and editorials more interesting to read. You can look it up.
Uh-oh – there’s a reference to “SJ State” in Jude’s article. Can a multitude of posts with ref’s to “sacks of pennies” and “puddin’” be far behind?
Get over this guy. Move on. There are more pressing issues.
The Mercury has developed the look and content of a tabloid and has made front page news out of stories that belong elsewhere. The convenience of flipping the front section over to continue reading a front page story has been abandoned so that Fry’s can have a daily full page ad on that back page instead. This even though Fry’s often purchases the entire “B” section for its advertising or at a minimum has full page ads running elsewhere in the paper. On the front page of the “Drive” section each Friday we now have below the fold an ad for everybody’s most despised VW dealer. This type of pimping out of prime spots in the paper make it look like a cheesey tabloid and degrades the reading experience. I understand that advertising revenue isn’t what it used to be. The classified section has shrunken down to nearly nothing. But basically the Merc has put Fry’s interests and convenience above those of its readers.
As a long time subscriber to the Mercury I dislike turning to page 19A to finish what I’m reading on page 1. They spoiled me with continuing front page articles on the back page and I want my back page . . . back! Apparently Fry’s owns it now, along with who knows how much else at the Merc.
All this glorification of the murky news is ridiculus. They endorsed the take-over of San Jose politics by the very clowns they now criticize. They still haven’t produced a comprehensive article on SBLC, its rise to dominance, and its corruption. Little Metro did a better job.
The average voter in SJ doesn’t have a clue about what has gone on and the murky news isn’t telling them. When RonGo got caught with his mistress and ran back down to San Jose to attend church at my parish under the advice and sponsorship of the “Napoleonic martinet” to cover his tracks, it was treated by the murky as a “personal” incident. By the way, he had never been in that church in his life before.
When are you people going to wake up to the fact that personal morals matter. A man who will cheat on his wife will cheat you. And the guy who covers his tracks will lie to you. If life experience is any teacher, this is the tip of the iceberg. However, the investigators are so weak that I don’t expect to ever find out what is in the iceberg. It will just get passed along.
By the way, the only person who has showed any “class” in this is Jude, who quietly resigned from this corrupt band of cronies.
Actually, we hope to avoid reading posts by people to scared to use their well names, like Reader Alert, who is cowering in his cubicle right now. The only other good thing about Yarnold was his guts. He put his name on his opinions, however wrong they were.
Ps, does Rich give you vacation time, Reader?
Boring and poorly written articles. No depth, no investigation. Written for a 5th grader.
BOYCOTT the POOP MERC. READ BETTER PAPERS.
Part of the problem: stayed way too long. Hope you cleaned out the till before you left. I’m sure you have.
any good newspaper like the Washington Post, LA or NY Times, or Wall St. Journal would ever hire this futz Yarnod?
Ha ha ha. You can bet the house, NO!
mercury news stinks
It’s all about advertising. Look at the other crap papers Knigt Riddance publishes. Same garbage writing with a lot of junk advertisement
A. The Mercury News has some problems.
1) Knight Riddeer has had a TERRIBLE REPUTATION in handling the pernsion benefits of retired workers and their widows. Boy we can sure discuss this the next time the Mercury News wants to slam City Hall.
2) The Mercury News demands knowledge of retationships concerning business and city hall. Will the Mercury News, or ex editors of the Mercury News acknowledge today any past family ties to any city council member?
B) I still like the writing, abilities of their reporters and columnists. I still admire the amount of effort each reporter gives to stories and I still commend people like Yarnold for admitting he was wrong about the roundtable on higher education. I still like the effort they make on the Brown Act and I still think their education reporting is good.
C) why are all the critics of the Mercury News scared to death about using their names?
Knight-Ridder, Inc. is a newspaper publisher with products in print and online. It publishes 31 daily and 53 non-daily newspapers in 28 United States markets, with a readership of approximately nine million daily. Its Internet operations develop and manage its online properties, including Real Cities, a national network of city and regional Websites. The Company has two business segments: Newspaper and Online. In February 2004, it completed the acquisition of Alliance Newspapers. In May 2004, it acquired ownership interest in CrossMedia Services, Inc. It also acquired the Budgeteer News, The Pine Journal, The Daily Telegram and the Lake County News-Chronicle. In June 2004, the Company acquired ownership interest in CityXpress. In August 2004, the Company acquired The Messenger, a bi-weekly. In February 2005, it acquired Priceless, LLC, a group of five free-distribution newspapers with a daily circulation of more than 55,000, located in the
The NY Times, Washington Post and the LA Times?Who says that they are good newspapers? All of them are inbred just as the Merc has become inbred and left of center since the Hayes Family sold out to the Ridders. They all kowtow to the union interests, but at least the Merc is only a leftie on its editorial pages!
Now, if the new publisher of the local will just get after the city officials who need “participation” before approval of a project, San Jose’s reputation might be restorable!
The other thing that could help the city would be the Merc returning to the city center and end its isolation out there by the creek. None of the staff associates with regular people, only with themselves! Oh for the days when we could see the Mercury Herald and the Evening News staffers in all of the local saloons and have the pleasure of their company!
Jerry
For those of you who are complaining about the Mercury News – your complaints are not unique.
Check out this op-ed from today’s NY Times.
Jude makes some very good points that seem to be overlooked in the Merc-bashing: Will the newspaper replace David Yarnold with someone who knows the recent history of San Jose?
If I were conducting the interview here are a few of the questions I’d ask:
1) Who are: David Runyon, Claude Fletcher, and Al Garza?
2) Why wasn’t BART built to San Jose during it’s initial construction?
3) Name San Jose’s last 3 City Managers.
Anyone who can’t answer those questions has no business writing editorials for San Jose’s major newspaper. Of course that would just scratch the surface of what an editor should know.
Damn, you people got complaints about the Mercury News being a bad paper? You should try reading the Chronicle! The Merc ain’t the greatest newspaper in the world, but it’s certainly the greatest newspaper in the Bay Area. Faint praise, perhaps, but praise where praise is due.
So true about institutional memory. Too bad the city sees institutional memory as a negative—just look at all of the senior level people who left under this administration either being forced out by the Mayor or because they could no longer work under these conditions. Hopefully, the Merc will understand the importance of institutional memory and its relationship to reporting what goes in within the city. David did a very good job bringing attention to the good and the bad inside the walls of City Hall. For the sake of all of us the Merc should replace him with someone of similar focus and history.
I agree with Mike on #16. The Chronicle is a joke and always has been. The columnists are the only reason anyone has ever bought that paper. Just the opposite of the Merc if you ask me, where good columnists move on to other papers—anybody remember Steve Lopez who now writes for the LA Times? Now there’s a straight shooter of a guy who you’d enjoy meeting up with in a downtown saloon as Jerry has suggested in #13. Leigh Weimers makes me sick, but at least he knows it’s San Carlos Street and not San Carlos Blvd. The Merc needs to have people who know this town, and right now it appears to have very few of those on its staff.
Dear Silicon Valley Steve:
You are right——the merc news is merky.
However, it is never too late.
The articles in the SJ Metro are just the tip of the iceberg. The Merc can start some real investigative reporting and blow the lid off the SJ scandals.
You know the old saying “where there is smoke there is fire”. In this case the saying should be “where there is a five alarm fire, there is an incredible story of city officials and union bosses corruption just waiting for the printing press”.
Teddie
I’m sorry I can’t recall one article / editorial Yarnold has written and I don’t think it is me.
Here’s another name for your San Jose Murky-News editors litmus test:
1). What long-time San Jose city councilman had himself and an old Chevrolet hoisted atop the uncompleted 101/680/280 interchange to protest the lack of progress by Caltrans on finishing the roadway?
PS – He was also known as “Mr. No”.
Speaking of the local dishrag/fishwrap – back in December, the editorial board took upon themselves to excoriate SJS for firing the hapless football coach Dr. Fitz Hill (quite possibly (along with Joe Kapp) the single most unqualified individual to head a football program at any level. Anywho, the Merc literally made Fitz Hill out to be a saint who deserves a shot at another Division 1 football HC job. So, I fired off an email to the editor opining that if the Merc thought dear St. Fitz was so deserving of another chance, why don’t they promote for the then recently available head coaches job at Stanford.
Funny thing, they didn’t print my letter. Fancy that.
Joe Colla was the guy who parked the car up there.
What Knight Ridder executive will not comment on gossip that he is related somehow to a member of the San Jose City Council???
By the way, the gossip is not true, but we can’t get any help here.