[PRCo] Re: Power Company fights government in 1935

Thu Sep 23 11:42:05 EDT 2010

Mr.Schneider;
There are a number of old sayings that come into play here aren't there:
"Believe only 50% of what you read, none of what you hear."  1940s and before.

"Newspapers write to sell."  Much sensationalism isn't there.  This has been
the case since newspapers were first printed.  Lowest common denominator
is the human element;  'humans' write newspapers.  If the human condition
has changed any over the millenia it is toward the downside isn't it.  That is
essentially the thrust of your observations isn't it.  "In our day we relied on 
the
papers for.....  whereas people today are misinformed."  And our parents and
their parents said the same thing:  "Times were so much better 'before.'"
Therefore, from these observations, one can state society is on an
endless downhill slide can't one.

There is a media obsessive-compulsive reaction to the 'alleged' administration 
'shake-up:'

"Summers' Exit Yet Another White House 
Shake-Up"http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130041722&ft=1&f=1014

They make it sound like the end of the world don't they.  Big deal; people come
and go in all walks of life.  He is not a 'god' and his position is hardly 
sacrosanct.
This is an excellent example of media thinking to highly of self, causing a stir 
to
generate sales and garner ratings.

People in the 1960s and 1970s often lamented the 'media' and specifically the
papers as contributing to if not causing the skewing of information to suit 
their
needs.  It was felt by not a few that there was an agenda which they pushed
that could undermine freedom for many.

There is also an extremely fine line between  'news'  and  'gossip'  isn't 
there.
Much of the 'news' is little more than the latter; it seems the endless 
speculation
around this 'alleged' media shakeup falls into this category doesn't it.

I know agnostics who prefer the 'Christian Science Monitor;'  I haven't read it.
Maybe some good writing there.  As Mr.Lybarger said the Journal provides
better information than many but I would still be on my guard.  Just because
it is in print doesn't make it gospel does it;  in many cases it is just the 
opposite.

'Change' is the biggest constant in life;  if it weren't we would still be 
rubbing two
sticks together to cook.  Column width has changed with the inet which makes
reading easier.

 Phil

________________________________
From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Sent: Thu, September 23, 2010 10:51:29 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Power Company fights government in 1935

I am making a jab that most people today do not read; they watch sound bites.   
A few seconds on television instead of reading ten column inch story in the 
paper.   Pittsburgh lost the Press and the Sun Telegraph and in its place has 
gained Dick Scaife's Tribune Review but no one has the newspaper circulation we 
had years ago, not just because the population is down but also because we 
simply do not read.   Even here in Lancaster where the population is double what 
it was, the circulation is down and has reduced sales from two papers to one.    
We have also lost all our county weekly papers.    

And they probably don't even watch television news.   I suspect you have 
millions more watching some idiot getting voted off an island than watching 
news.  

Remember when a 12-year-old could make a decent income from a first job 
delivering papers?   I got a penny and a quarter a paper and had to tote over a 
125 weekday papers plus almost as many Sunday papers.   I had the evening 
paper.   About 70 percent of the homes got it.   The rest got the morning 
paper.   Today they are motor carrier routes because so few homes get it that 
you get a neighborhood kid to carry them.   (And the kids are lazy.)   I can 
only think of one neighbor around us who gets the paper!  

Sad too because as the circulation drops, the quality of the reporting goes 
down.   It has simply become a summary of press releases and police reports.  
There is almost no real reporting in our paper any longer and very limited 
national or international news.   Why bother to print that.  No one cares about 
a flood in Pakistan or a Israel blocking deliveries by ship to the Gaza or wind 
generation in Denmark.   Hell, the fools do even know where Iraq is (you might 
recall one of the late shows where some idiot pointed to Australia and said, 
"There it is") and don't ask them to spell Afghanistan.  

Sorry, Dwight but you push my buttons.

On Sep 22, 2010, at 10:32 PM, Dwight Long wrote:

> Fred
> 
> So what do residents of da Burgh read?  Since there is no more Press,  do the 
>read the Cleveland Plain Dealer?
> 
> And, what other papers are there in Pgh other than the Post Gazette?  The Press 
>and Sun Tele are gone.  I suppose there is the usual plethora of freebie sheets 
>geared primarily to the entertainment industry, but what else?
> 
> Surely they don't all import the New York Times?
> 
> Dwight
> 
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Fred Schneider 
>  To: Pittsburgh-Railways at Dementia.Org 
>  Cc: Ed Lybarger 
>  Sent: Wednesday, 22 September, 2010 22:01
>  Subject: [PRCo] Power Company fights government in 1935
> 
> 
>  This item is priceless because it shows two things....
> 
>  1)  It is a utility company fighting the government attempts in the Depression 
>to break up utility holding companies and to take away their profits.   In this 
>same week utility stock values crashed to an all-time low. 
>
> 
>  2)  It's an advertisement against the government by Associated Gas and 
>Electric holding company in the Pittsburgh Press.  Their nearest operations were 
>in Johnstown and Altoona.  You don't advertise in Pittsburgh unless that paper 
>is sold in your market area!   Imagine Johnstown and Altoona people reading the 
>Pittsburgh papers.   Today Pittsburgh people don't even read Pittsburgh papers.  
>
> 
>  The rest of the story will follow in a few days including the fight to force 
>Duquesne Light into a 30% rate reduction.
> 
>  
>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AXEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kUsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5725%2C3425979
>