What Has Happened to Folio Weekly?

[johnny_simpatico]

What has happened to Folio Weekly? This week's "Backpage Editorial" supporting Mitt Romney is a rehash of opinion pages from right-wing publications. When an alternative weekly's opinion page lavishly quotes from the Wall Street Journal editorial page it's no longer an alternative weekly.

[fieldafm]

Backpage editorials are written by members of the community who are invited to submit 1200 word editorials.  They are by no means written by staff. DenisE Reagan has an editorial every week which reflects staff views on certain issues.

I think Folio's content will be a little less slanted going forward with Reagan and former AP writer Ron Word on staff.  Sam Taylor is stepping in for Dave Brennan (whose last day was Monday, frankly Jax lost a good citizen with Brennan's departure) and will assure that Folio remains an alternative weekly however.

[johnny_simpatico]

I assume somebody is responsible for selecting, editing, and fact-checking Backpage Editorials.  Me? I'd prefer to stick with the good old Times-Union for my reader-submitted right-wing talking points. I always relied on Folio for tough investigative reporting and opinions that countered the decidedly far-right tone of other local media. 

Investigative reporting has disappeared  from Folio only to be replaced by the who, what, where, when, why, and how model of journalism; T-U alumna Denise Reagan's editorials are wishy-washy; and somebody in control is allowing the heavy penetration of right-wing talking points.

Less slanted?  I call it mediocre.

[RockStar]

I'm pretty sure "Folio" is Italian for "birdcage liner"...or is it "fish wrap"...I forget. There's not even good hooker ads in the back to make it interesting (ala VV, LA Weekly...).

[fieldafm]

Back page editorials in Folio (just like readers letters in the TU) are not fact checked nor selected for print based on whether the editorial staff agrees with their premise or not... They wouldn't really be soliciting community feedback if they only printed what they felt aligned with their own personal views. 

[Dog Walker]

So we've now had a complete turnover of the Folio staff?  Susan Eastman is gone too.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Not completely turned over...   AG Gankarski is still there and has been given the leeway to completely politicize his Sportstalk column.

It was typically hit and miss, but I read it every week.  After the past 2-3 months, I don't even read the column anymore.   

[fieldafm]

So we've now had a complete turnover of the Folio staff?  Susan Eastman is gone too.

Dave left to go back home (Lousiville) to become a publisher of three different titles up there, Anne left to go to First Coast News (replaced by Denise) and Ron replaced Susan.  They also got a new art director.

The rest of the production crew is still there. 

After the past 2-3 months, I don't even read the column anymore. 

Agreed.  That column has become pure junk.

[copperfiend]

I don't read Folio much anymore. Went downhill pretty quickly. Their "sports" column was always the worst. It is just anti-Jaguar hot garbage.

[fsujax]

I only look at Folio to see what's going on for the week at local bars and clubs.

[Tacachale]

Like the Times-Union, Folio was something I didn't really appreciate it until it declined. What's sad is that so far nothing has been able to make up for the loss of either of those papers. Even as great as Metrojacksonville is, it just can't replace teams of trained, professional reporters.

[copperfiend]

I only look at Folio to see what's going on for the week at local bars and clubs.

Same here. I look at the concert calendar and toss it in the recycling,

[JFman00]

I'd agree with that sentiment. However great The Economist is, it's not Foreign Policy. They're both great and informative in different areas, but what one lacks in depth it makes up for in breadth, and vice versa. Correspondingly, I read both Times Union (website) and metrojax.

[funwithteeth]

Does Shelton Hull still write anywhere? If so, does he have a better editor than he did at Folio? Or any editor? Reading his Money Jungle column made we wonder if the only thing that went on during the editorial process was running the Spell Check feature in Word.

As for Metro Jax, I definitely pick up more here than either from TU or Folio. I still check the former's website on a regular basis; I'd probably do the same for the latter if they had a site that is actually worth visiting.

[Tacachale]

Like the Times-Union, Folio was something I didn't really appreciate it until it declined. What's sad is that so far nothing has been able to make up for the loss of either of those papers. Even as great as Metrojacksonville is, it just can't replace teams of trained, professional reporters.

Meh.

Ive been around a while tacachale, and the process here is just different.

In terms of actually communicating and educating a community about the issues and news of the day, Metrojacksonville generally does a better job than traditional media.

The main difference is that the way an issue develops on our format is spread out and consists of multiple points of view from many posters.

Another primary improvement here at metrojacksonville is that the reporters themselves are not having to struggle to understand the subject material, missing important points and facts in the interim.  The bulk of the posters are usually professionals in the field being discussed, and in some cases are the actual source material in the stories which are being covered second hand by a trained journalist who simply does not understand the field of inquiry.

Take for example the coverage of transportation in this city (which metrojacksonville excels at) do you think that the trained journalists of the times union or folio do a better job of covering the subject?

There is a lot of reporting on the minutia and details---perhaps a better record of sequences----but not a lot of depth of analysis.

I feel really really proud of what and how metrojacksonville does, and I think that we are doing a better job in many respects than print media is doing.

As well you should, and there are many things Metrojacksonville does better than any other source. But there are things Folio and the FTU at their peak did better as well.