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Michael Jackson: old-timers, like me, missed his greatness
June 29, 2009It took our newspaper three editions before a story about Michael Jackson's death finally made the front page.
Back in 1977, when I was news editor, I filled our front page with Elvis' death every day for about a week.
Finally, one morning Rhea Howard - the owner and publisher of the Times Record News - called over to the editorial department and ordered:
"I don't want to see that hippy on the front page anymore."
Michael Jackson was a superstar, his music loved by a lot of people.
But I completely missed his greatness.
This old man remembered little Michael singing a love song to a rat named Ben.
I also remember his crotch-grabbing at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII.
But Michael Jackson was another generation's Elvis.
I realized that as I watched all the TV coverage the past few days.
Still, I am stuck further back in time.
Back in 1970 and 1971, we lost three rock superstars in a span of 288 days.
Jimi Hendrix died on Sept. 18, 1970.
Janis Joplin checked out just 16 days later, on Oct. 4, 1970.
Jim Morrison left us on July 3, 1971.
Strangely, all three were 27 when they died.
Michael Jackson's death is a sad thing, but at least he lived 50 years.
Posted by at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Never trust a preacher named Dollar; The champ's a chump
June 25, 2009Not long ago, I saw Evander Holyfield on ESPN talking about how he would pay this tithe to the church before he paid his bills.
Selfish souls like me have always admired givers.
But my Bible says God loves cheerful givers.
And there is nothing cheerful about losing your house.
The former heavyweight champion of the world was not content just living in a house.
His home is a 54,000-square-foot mansion in suburban Atlanta.
It has 109 rooms.
17 bathrooms.
Three kitchens.
And a bowling alley.
A bit much, don't you think?
Sounds more like a Joel Osteen church.
Holyfield, however, could afford to live in such a mansion.
According to the ESPN report, he has given more than $20 million to Creflo Dollar's World Changers Church in Atlanta.
No doubt about it, Holyfield is a guy who has been punched in the head way too many times, but you only need about half a brain to know you should hang on tight to your billfold anytime any preacher named CREFLO DOLLAR starts asking for money.
The "prosperity gospel" works -- but only for Brother Dollar and his buddies.
The champ is just a poor chump.
Posted by at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Globetrotters have a draft; Generals have 'Fashion'
Real basketball fans are interested in what will happen in the NBA Draft tonight.
The lowly LA Clippers will make OU's Blake Griffin an instant zillionaire. Then when he gets good, he can go play for the Lakers.
The NBA Draft doesn't get the same attention that the NFL Draft gets.
But it's a whole lot better than the "other" basketball draft held this week.
Griffin also went No. 1 in that one, only it wasn't Blake.
His older brother, Taylor Griffin, was the top draft pick of the Harlem Globetrotters.
I'm the sports guy for this newspaper.
I'm supposed to know everything.
But I didn't know until this week that the Globetrotters even had a draft.
And I still haven't figured out why.
A one-team draft?
Where's Mel Kuiper?
Do they have a war room?
If you wanted to trade down, wouldn't you also have to trade up?
"The Harlem Globetrotters have traded their first round pick to the Harlem Globetrotters for two third-round selections."
Aside from Taylor Griffin, the team also drafted a couple of college slam dunk stars, a soccer goalie and somebody else you have never heard of.
So tell me do the Washington Generals also have a draft?
Or do the Globetrotters draft for them?
When I took my grandson to see the Globetrotters this year, the Generals had Ricardo LeCompte from Channel 3 and Mayor Lanham Lyne on their roster.
Heck, they probably would have asked me to play if they could have found a 3X jersey and a designated runner.
I was glancing at the Generals real roster on-line and saw where they have a player who attended FIT of New York.
The Fashion Institute of Technology?
So which do you think is a better bet == the Generals beating the Globetrotters or the New York Fashion Institute of Technology getting to the Final Four?
My money is on FIT.
Posted by at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Goodbye, Ed McMahon; Which old star will flicker out next?
June 24, 2009Goodbye, Ed McMahon.
TV's No. 1 sidekick left us yesterday.
After living 86 long years, he joined old-timers Paul Harvey (90), Bea Arthur (86) and Ricardo Montalban (88) on the 2009 obit list.
Now who's next?
Which of TV's old, old farts will join Ed at the Pearly Gate?
The best bets are:
Phyllis Diller.
This old girl's original face died 50 years ago, but she has been around for more than 90 years.
They should give here an Oscar for appearing in the most awful movies.
Pink Motel?
Dr. Hackenstein?
The Silence of the Hams?
If she makes it to July 17, she will be 92.
Betty White.
This five-time Emmy winner showed up on my TV screen it seems about the same time we had a TV screen in our living room.
She is best known for her roles in the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, Password and Match Game.
She is 87.
Bob Barker.
It seemed like he was Mr. Price Is Right for all my life, but I remember first seeing him on Truth or Consequences.
He is 85.
Andy Griffith.
Quite possibly the greatest TV show of all-time bore his name.
But after he left Mayberry, Andy went to law school and had a long career as Matlock.
He is 83.
(Gomer is 79, and cousin Goober is 73)
Tom Bosley.
Andy Griffith was Ron Howard's most famous TV dad.
Tom Bosley was the next most famous.
Mr. C on Happy Days made Bosley famous.
He is 81.
Dick Clark.
The "world's oldest teen-ager" finally got old.
The host of American Bandstand has never been the same since his stroke five years ago.
He will turn 80 in November.
Honor Blackman.
OK, many of you may not know this actress by her real name.
But in 1964, she had what I consider the greatest name in movie history.
She was Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.
Pussy G. is 83.
Now that makes NIcky G really feel old.
Posted by at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Just call me Joe Brown Jr.; I want my pica pole & glue pot
June 23, 2009Throughout my newspaper career, I have welcomed change.
Technology has made my life much easier.
When I started in the business 37 years ago, I would bang out a story on an old manual typewriter, then dictate it to some minimum wage person back at the office who wouldn't know a football from a Milk Dud.
E-mail is wonderful.
And instead of going to the public library and doing hours of research, I can now - thanks to the Internet - get all the information I need in a matter of minutes.
And never leave my desk.
But when I came to work on Monday morning, I felt like Joe Brown Jr.
If my pants hadn't been zipped, I would have sworn I was Good Old Joe B himself.
God bless him - Joe still hasn't figured out how to transfer a phone call.
The Internet? You can reach him at www.dumbass.com.
I now know how Joe feels.
I was him on Monday.
I was on vacation last week when our world at the newspaper changed drastically.
I was lost.
But I will figure it all out.
By the end of the week, I will be an old pro at this new system.
But what about poor Joe?
He still hasn't figured out our old system.
I understood how he felt on Monday.
For awhile there, I longed for the day when we all had pica poles and glue pots.
Posted by at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Today's newspaper is a historical issue
June 22, 2009If you are reading this, you probably don't read the newspaper.
But if by some chance you are one of those old fogies who still enjoys a paper with your morning coffee, you had to notice a big change in the Times Record News this morning.
It was a historical issue.
For the first time ever, the paper was not designed in Wichita Falls.
Last night, a group of page designers in Corpus Christi put the paper together.
We still have people like me here in Hooterville who write stories and others who take photos, but technology now allows us to e-mail all that off to Corpus and let a Scripps "universal desk" physically put out the paper.
It's the same with Scripps papers in San Angelo, Corpus and Abilene.
The only big difference is San Angelo no longer has a press to print its paper like the other three. The San Angelo Standard Times is printed in Abilene.
So in San Angelo, the writers and photographers there write stories and take pictures, send them to Corpus where the paper is designed. Then Corpus sends them to Abilene, where they are put on a press and printed. Then Abilene loads them on trucks and sends them to San Angelo where they are delivered.
It has to be a cost-cutter.
That's the main reason for a lot of corporate decisions these days.
But if you saw our paper today (and if you haven't, please do), you will see a much better looking product.
The TRN had become really stale.
The new look is refreshing.
Now if we can all just learn to spell.
Posted by at 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Why wasn't Ed Barnett writing letters during King George's reign?
June 12, 2009I consider Ed Barnett a friend.
In fact, I tell people Ed is the reason I got into the newspaper business.
As a kid, I used to hang around the pool hall downtown, and every day Ed and Marvin Penrod would come in around lunch time and stay all afternoon.
My daddy never had a job where he could shoot pool all day.
So I asked the guy who ran the pool hall where Ed and Marvin worked.
He said "the newspaper."
Right then and there, I decided I wanted to work at the newspaper. Hell of a job.
I didn't know at the time that Ed's granddad owned the paper.
Having said that, I am getting pretty sick and tired of my friend's letter writing.
Ed is smart and his writing is clever.
But it is all B.S.
Ed is a Fox News robot, programmed to be far right and far wrong.
Today he has a letter to the editor saying how the government has become way too powerful in controlling our lives.
"Isn't that Marxism? Isn't that tyranny?" is the way the letter ends.
Everybody has a right to his or her opinion.
I respect that.
But why wasn't my friend Ed writing letters during the long eight years that King George was in power?
Ed, turn to Page 9A of today's paper and read about the Iraq veteran who committed suicide after seeing what he saw fighting George's war.
Ed, we are just six months past the worst president in the history of this country.
This guy sits in his luxurious Highland Park home (that we the taxpayers are still paying for) with blood all over his hands.
Plus, my friend, our economy was in the toilet when Obama took office.
Why didn't you write a letter about the tyranny of King George?
Could it be because Fox News didn't program you to do it?
Peace, my friend.
Shuffle up and deal.
Posted by at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Top 10 Cowboys who have no prayer at Ring of Honor
June 11, 2009My buddy Matt Ledesma wrote a column on the 10 most favorite Cowboys of all-time.
Today, I counter with the 10 former Cowboys who have no chance in hell of ever being in the Ring of Honor.
(10.) Curvin Richards. The backup running back lost a couple of fumbles in a meaningless regular season finale against Chicago in 1992 and was immediately cut by Jimmy Johnson and missed out on a Super Bowl ring.
(9.) John Roper: This Aggie was kicked off the team by Jimmy in 1993 for sleeping in a team meeting. Another Super Bowl ring missed.
(8.) Jackie Smith. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his career with the Cardinals. In Dallas, he is known as the guy who dropped a touchdown pass and lost a Super Bowl.
(7.) Everett McIver. Best known for being cut by barber Michael Irvin during Scissorsgate at training camp in Wichita Falls.
(6.) Quincy Carter; Staring quarterback cut in training camp for drug problems.
(5.) Nicky Sualua. Instead of rushing former Cowboys offensive lineman Mark Tuinei to the hospital, this guy put him in his car to let him sleep off a high. Tuinei died in the car of a heroin overdose.
(4.) Rafael Septien: Nine years of great kicking was wiped out by sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl.
(3.) Sherman Williams: went to prison on three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and passing counterfeit currency.
(2.) Dwayne Goodrich: former second round draft pick serving prison time for hit-and-run accident that killed two people.
(1.) Ryan Leaf: Facing charges of burglary, seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance after allegedly breaking into an injured player's apartment while he was quarterbacks coach at West Texas A&M.
Posted by at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
$89.24 a month for TV? Dish Network is ripping me off
June 10, 2009I really don't ever want to go back to the days of getting three TV channels.
But I also don't need 400 of them either.
Right now, I could be really happy with say 10 channels.
But DISH TV doesn't offer that.
Their cheapest package is $19.99 a month.
For that you get no ESPN and no Fox Sports Southwest.
No Monday night football - which used to be a freebie.
No Texas Rangers baseball.
But they do throw Fox News in on the Family Plan.
I would pay $19.99 a month to never have those right wing brainwashers show up on my TV screen ever again.
I paid $89.24 for Dish last month.
No HBO or Showtime with that deal.
But I did get about a load of shopping channels, plenty of preaching, people who don't speak English, cartoons and yodeling.
My "Classic Gold 250" package is advertised at $57.99 a month.
But by the time you get it, another $30 is tacked on.
Don't ask me how or why.
I don't need a channel showing 24-hour soaps.
I don't need to build my abs.
I don't want to cook or clean or fix up my old house.
I don't want to watch people hunt and fish.
I don't want soccer.
I don't want slick-haired guys telling me I am going to hell.
I don't want Sponge Bob and his buddies.
I don't want around-the-clock Law and Order and CSI.
I don't want "Como esta usted?"
I don't want to see the Devil Wears Prada every frigging night.
I don't want any channel with only one letter in its name - like E or N.
I don't need a weather channel or any 24-hour news.
I have a radio. I don't need TV for music, please.
Damn it, I want ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, one ESPN, the Golf Network, the NFL, TNT, TV Land, the game show network.
And with it, I would like to get about 60 bucks back every month.
ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX should be free. God gave me the right to these networks.
I will pay $5 for each of the other six ad-ons.
That's $30 plus tax.
Time Warner or Direct TV, do you want a new customer?
Call and make me an offer.
Posted by at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
It's 'Texoma's Best' time; Vote for Nick and his friends
June 8, 2009Texoma's Best is back.
If you don't have a ballot, run to the bird cage or the trash cash and get Pages 6 and 7A of last Sunday's paper.
The rules say you have to fill out 75 percent of the ballot.
So say if you are like me and not really sure where's the best place to buy a manufactured home, you can skip it.
Is this an advertising driven election?
Well, check out the ballot and decide for yourself.
There are 33 ads on the page.
Most of them are there trying to influence your vote.
I didn't buy an ad, but I am also trying to influence your vote.
The deadline for voting is 5 p.m. Friday.
This week I am going to give you my endorsements of some of my favorite "bests."
Best Local Writer: Most of the time, this goes to somebody who pimps for local businesses. The only time Texoma ever got it right was back in 2006 when I was the winner.
Vote for Nick.
Best Beer: Cold Bud Light
Best Imported Beer: Tsingtao (I discovered it in Beijing last summer; Koch's is the only place I know that sells it here in Hooterville.)
Best Light Beer: (See best beer)
Best catfish: Bill's in Waurika
Best chips and hot sauce: Casa Manana.
Best hamburger: Pat's Drive In.
Best French Fries: Pat's Drive In
Best Onion Rings: Pat's Drive In (These girls deserve the hat trick)
Best Fried Chicken: Bar-L
Best Pizza: Papa Murphy's.
Best Sports Bar: Parkway Grill
Best Place to Gamble: Comanche Red River Casino
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Auto Salesperson: Hershel Coleman
Best Bartender: Jimmy at On the Border.
Best Boss: Darrell Coleman (I'm not stupid)
Best Chiropractor: Mark Brown
Best Dentist: Trey Williams
Best Doctor: Lesley Serrano
Best Golf Instructor: Scott Anderson
Best Insurance Agent: Donna Adams
Best TV Personality: Joe Brown
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Air Conditioning/Heating Company: James Lane
Best Auto Body Shop: Gilmore's
Best Bank: Chase
Best Credit Union: Union Square
Best Dry Cleaners: Comet
Best Internet Provider: Clearwire
Best Public School: Wichita Falls High
Best Television Station: KFDX Channel 3
Best Workout Facility: Parkway Grill
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Garden/Nursery Store: Smith's Gardentown
Best Jewelry Store: Nacol's
Best Liquor Store: Koch's
Best Pharmacy: CVS on Jacksboro Highway
Best Place to Buy a New Car: Four Stars
Best Place to Buy a Used Car: Four Stars
Best Service Station: Dearmond's
Best Television Station: KFDX Channel 3
Best Supermarket: United
Best Tire Store: Discount Tire
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Posted by at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Kudos to Channel 7 weathermen; We got the NBA with our 'hurricane'
The weather guys up at Channel 7 caught all kinds of hell a few weeks ago when they continually interrupted an NBA game to tell everyone it was raining.
Weather is what this station does best, and on this particular day, they were going to make damn sure all of us knew it.
Obviously they learned their lesson.
On Sunday night, the weather guys up in Lawton did their job well and still let us watch the NBA Finals.
Although they were reporting possible "hurricane force" winds in our area, they did it without making us miss any of the drama of the game.
Now if they could only find a way to have those winds blow away courtside reporter Doris Burke and all of those Kobe lovers from ESPN, that would make it even better.
One final thought - did you ever think what might happen if a big tornado hit Wichita Falls at noon on the first Monday of the month?
With the sirens blaring, people would just shrug it off and say, "Oh, it's just that time of the month" and get blown away eating lunch.
Posted by at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Nothing like a good cat fight and a honey barbecue chicken sandwich
June 5, 2009I was really disappointed when I opened up my Times Record News this morning and didn't see the Lunch Lady.
After yawning through Clayton Hein's weekly "Hot List," I flipped the page, anxiously waiting to see if the Lunch Lady and the Taco Mayo manager were going to square off in a cat fight at the KYC.
Call me, ladies. I will be glad to promote it.
Heck, I'll bring the mud.
Maybe sweet Bambi -- the humiliated Mayo employee -- would like to join us.
But, as I was saying, there was no Lunch Lady today.
If she wasn't the Lunch Lady, I would say she was "out to lunch."
Whatever, the paper said: "The Lunch Lady will return next week. Until then, following TRNLunchLady on Twitter.com for the scoop."
Twitter with the Lunch Lady?
Twitter with the Taco Mayo manager?
Twitter with Bambi?
Three twitters for the price of one.
My first reaction to the Bambi vs. the Taco Mayo manager vs. the Lunch Lady battle royal was:
Who eats at Taco Mayo?
As long as Taco Casa is around, I definitely won't.
We fat boys know a good taco when we see it.
Since the Lunch Lady is fasting this week, I -- the Lunch Lady Wantabee -- have decided to sub for her.
Go to Whatabooger and order the honey barbecue chicken sandwich.
I had seen the commercials -- fried chicken strips with cheese, covered in barbecue sauce on a hot bun.
Hey, beats anything Pasqual has to offer and you can get lots of fries and a big drink with it for under seven bucks.
You never need a reservation at Whatabooger.
Just drive right through, order the honey barbecue chicken sandwich meal, take it home and enjoy the NBA Finals like I did last night.
No fighting. No fussing. No tipping.
Just really good eating.
Yummy. Yummy.
L-L-Loved it.
Posted by at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Osama bin Butthead: Why can't we find this thug?
June 4, 2009Back in my younger days, I spent one evening at a favorite watering hole drowning myself in Budweiser.
While doing so, I met a "closing time" beauty queen and asked her if she wanted to go to my place and see my goldfish.
She agreed.
Along the way my hands decided they would rather feel her than the steering wheel.
While doing so, my car crashed into a parked van.
My first reaction: Get the hell out of Dodge.
I drove home, locked the door and believed I had got away with my hit-and-run.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Two cops were standing there.
I just had to ask:
"How did you guys find me?"
I lived about two miles from the scene of the crime. It was around 2 or 3 in the morning and pitch dark. To get to my garage apartment, you had to drive down and alley and park in the back.
"We followed your radiator leakage," one cop answered.
Wow. If some drunk had run into my car, they would still be looking for that sucker.
We need that same kind of Wichita Falls police work in the mountains that border Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These two cops would have caught Osama bin Butthead before Ramidan 2001.
He would be roasting marshmallows in hell with Saddam.
Instead this 6-5 terrorist carrying a breathing machine -- the most wanted terrorist in the world -- has evaded everything the USA has tried to hunt him down.
Some people believe he is hiding out with Elvis.
There could be some validity in that.
Elvis has sold more records since his reported death that he did before it.
Osama, it seems, has had more air time on Al Jazeera than Karl Rove gets on Fox News.
His latest appearance was earlier this week just before President Obama's visit to the Middle East.
Bin Butthead accused Obama of following in the footsteps of George W. Bush -- which, to me, is about the worse thing you could say about a president.
If being compared to Bush doesn't piss Obama off enough to go find this thug, then nothing will.
The president is on a peace mission to the Muslim world.
What does bin Butthead want -- a personal visit to his cave?
Next thing you know he will demand the president to name his first grandchild after him.
Osama Obama.
That would make the First Lady "Osama Obama's grandmama."
I'm getting a bit goofy here, huh?
In his latest Al Jazeera gig, bin Butthead again warned all of us infidels that he would continue to terrorize us.
It's time to go get Dog the bounty hunter and go find this turd.
If Dog's not available, I know a couple of Wichita Falls cops who might find him.
Posted by at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Other ideas for Hawk Ridge land -- how about a golf course?
June 3, 2009The top story in your Times Record News today was about the city council thinking about buying the Hawk Ridge land off Loop 11.
Charles Elmore says he envisions it as a park -- possibly a place to go throw Frisbees.
The taxpayer cost, as I read it, would be in the neighborhood of $800,000.
I know a decision needs to be made quickly -- before the knuckleheads running our school district decide they want to force another elementary school project down our throats.
But before spending that kind of money on another park, I have some other suggestions our wise city leaders might want to consider.
(1.) A giant artificial crepe myrtle.
The beautiful one that the birds crap on in Harold Jones Park is no longer enjoyed by people driving through our city -- thanks to the overpass.
So break out the PVC pipe and build us a big un --- A REAL BIG UN -- so the people driving in from the north on 287 will know what we here in Hooterville Falls are all about.
(2.) A swine flu clinic.
Our town was caught off guard by the recent deadly epidemic.
Hootervillans don't want to be off snipe hunting when the next outbreak happens.
We must be alert and better prepared for the next outbreak.
(3.).Jerry Lueck Coliseum.
What if our city ever had the problem that Denver had a couple of weeks back?
The WWE had a big sold-out wrestling show scheduled in their big coliseum, and the NBA scheduled a Lakers-Nuggets playoff game for the same date.
You never know when two yodelers might want to come to Hooterville on the same night.
And one mismanaged 8,000-seat coliseum with awful acoustics just won't be enough to accommodate them.
(4.) A golf course.
Poor boy golfers in Hooterville need a place to play.
These guys cant' afford to join the country club.
Weeks Park's rates are even a little too high for their budget.
And if gas prices keep going up like they have been, they can't afford to drive to Archer City and Burkburnett.
This land would be just right for 18 holes.
We could call it Hawk Ridge Golf Course.
What a great idea!
Posted by at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Making that final car payment: It's one of life's great joys
June 2, 2009Today is a big day for me.
I am going to do something that I have only done once before in 62 years.
I am going to pay off my car.
When I make that last payment today, I will be the proud owner of a 2001 Mazda Tribute. All 119,000 miles of it will be mine.
You may be asking yourself: "What's a big-time newspaper columnist like you driving a 9-year-old car with almost 500 round trips to Dallas on its odometer?"
It's what I could afford.
I had owned a brand new fire red Mustang, but some fool ran a red light one day and put that middle-age crazy testosterone toy of mine in the salvage yard.
While I was without transportation, a good friend let me drive his little SUV.
I loved it.
Bought it.
Made payments on it for 30 months.
Paying off a car is one of the great feelings in life, one that I admit I never had until I was well into my 50s.
And today, I am enjoying it once again.
This little Mazda may not be a Mercedes.
Heck, it's not even a Mustang.
But it is all mine.
Posted by at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
What's showing at Cinemark? I don't know and no longer care
June 1, 2009I don't sell ads.
Although advertising does help pay my salary, I don't pimp businesses or products with what I write.
In fact, some people will tell you that more ads have been pulled rather than purchased because of my prose.
I said all that just so you would know that I am not writing this to sell an ad to Cinemark Theaters today.
When Cinemark cut back its newspaper advertising a few weeks back, I quit going to their theater in Parker Square.
It wasn't a protest.
It's just that when I am thinking about going to the show, I always grab a newspaper to see what's showing where and what time it starts.
Cinemark no longer offers that information in the Wichita Falls paper.
Sikes Senter still does. But the mall theaters are not nearly as nice as the newer Cinemark ones.
The decision to not buy an ad showing movie schedules must be a local one.
I was in Fort Worth this weekend, and Cinemark theaters there still have ads in the Star-Telegram.
I am proud of the Times Record News for continuing to do movie reviews and offering movie information on films being shown at Cinemark. This shows we put our customers first, even though this advertiser may not.
What is Cinemark saving by cutting back their ad size in Wichita Falls - the price of a large bucket of buttered popcorn?
The decision, I am sure, was to drive people to the Cinemark Web site.
But all it's doing is driving me to my TV set.
If there is ever a movie I want to see, I'll just stay home and wait for the DVD.
Maybe I'm just an old fart out of touch with modern times.
But in my lifetime, I have seen two movie theaters built and shut down in Parker Square.
Customer-unfriendly business decisions like Cinemark's could make that three up, three down pretty darn soon.
Posted by at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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