How old-school is the venerable Treetops Tattler Tribune, the broadsheet in "Shoe" that appears to be on the verge of financial ruin? Judging by today's comic, the paper has no presence online.
Why else would a bullying reader wtih a chip on his shoulder wander into the newsroom to complain to the editor? If the paper were distributed digitally, this oaf could simply type in some blistering commets underneath the editoral, rather than stumbling into a newsroom and asking to speak to the editor in charge.
Really, who does that anymore? Perhaps in some of the nation's smallest papers, newsrooms are places where readers can gnash their teeth over a local editorial or news story about the latest Board of Education. Indeed, this writer recalls visiting the Arlington, Texas, bureau of the Fort Worth Star Ledger back in the mid-1990s and seeing a sign asking visitors to keep their firearms out of the newsroom, just in case an irate reader wanted to settle the hash in person.
Yet in the vast metropolis served by the Treetops Tattler Tribune, you'd think a robust electronic infrastructure and readily available broadband would mean the paper had a robust online edition.
No wonder this broadsheet is in such dire straits! For weeks, we've seen occasional episodes of "Shoe" in which the paper's ongoing descent seems all but assured, as readers defect and management gingerly tests new ideas without much enthusiasm. But we never guessed they were so behind the curve! Imagine facing severe circulation declines without any of the potential revenue gains from publishing a digital product.
This newspaper is destined to publish its last issue within days if they don't get a buyout offer soon.
To reach the Comics Examiner, email me at bristei@aol.com or follow me on Twitter @bristei
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