The dangers of fracking
New major study finds “no evidence that fracking can be practiced in a manner that does not threaten human health”
From EcoWatch:
A team of researchers on Tuesday released a "blistering" report on the serious public health threats—from headaches to asthma to cancer—posed by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process of injecting a mix of water and chemicals into rocks to release oil and natural gas.
The study—described as . . .
Posted in: fracking
Politicizing baseball: Pittsburgh Pirate mascot shows up at a Republican rally
Bob Nutting's baseball organization becomes a team player in supporting Ogden newspapers' backing of the Republican Party and its rightwing candidates
On Thursday night, the Pittsburgh baseball club's mascot, the Pirate Parrot, and its president, Frank Coonelly, appeared at a Republican function that also included Kellyanne Conway and the Republican candidate for the hotly-contested special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, Rick Saccone. From KDKA Pittsburgh:
. . .Posted in: bob nuttingpittsburgh pirates
“Think about where we have come from and where we are”
The Wheeling Intelligencer highlights the latest speech from Representative Bill Johnson
The local Republican congressman from Ohio, Bill Johnson, apparently likes to give speeches and since he’s an Ogden favorite, the speeches are usually featured in our local papers. Having some background in rhetoric, however, I’ve found that Johnson’s speeches (at least as they are reported) are not as well-organized and thought-provoking as . . .
Posted in: bill johnson
The “noxious media weed” (Sinclair Broadcasting) takes a big step toward becoming Trump TV
Going way beyond the “Terrorism Alert Desk” and must-run Epshteyn and Hyman commentaries, Sinclair Broadcasting is now requiring local news anchors to attack national media for fake news and bias
CNN is reporting that Sinclair-owned stations (like local Channel 9 WTOV in Steubenville) will require their news anchors to participate in the creation of promos that will attack the “fake stories” found in other news outlets:
The promos are supposed to start airing on local stations later this month. The instructions sent to . . .
Posted in: sinclair broadcastingwtov
Huntington Herald-Dispatch makes winning bid for the Charleston Gazette-Mail
Instead, Ogden Newspapers buys Virginia newspaper chain
From WV Metro News earlier today:
Ogden Newspapers is out as a bidder for the Charleston Gazette-Mail, leaving Huntington’s Herald-Dispatch as the apparent new owner of West Virginia’s Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper. . . .
Ogden, which owns newspapers in several West Virginia cities, had been considered the stalking horse, . . .
Posted in: charleston gazette-mailogden newspapers
With plenty of condescension, today’s Wheeling News-Register editorial warns public school employees not to be used by politicians
The damage control begins
From the first paragraphs of today's News-Register editorial/lecture, “Don’t Be Used by the Politicians”:
Public school employees in West Virginia should be outraged, not to mention suspicious, that their record-length work stoppage is being used by some for purely political reasons.
Democrats in the Legislature have . . .
Another look at Ogden's business plan for baseball and newspapers
Baseball and newspapers on the cheap 2
Two months ago, I wrote a post about how Bob Nutting essentially runs the Ogden newspaper chain and the Pittsburgh Pirates the same way: do it as cheaply as possible and don’t worry about the quality of the product -- the profits will be there.
Here’s an update on how that business plan is working for the Nutting-owned Pittsburgh . . .
