Fired on Main Street - plight of the carriers

Considering making extra money as a newspaper carrier at the Register & Bee? Better ask someone who's done it...or talk to Pat - a carrier there for five years.

Pat says she never missed a day, took a vacation or called in sick. As a reporter I know she called in dozens of story tips - many which made the front page of the paper. She did it because she loved her job and loved being part of the community. You may remember a story about a swarm of bees in a yard in Danville that a local bee-keeper was called to remove. That was a Pat tip. When a local church was flooded, a dog needed rescuing, or whatever it was, Pat was often the person who gave us our first heads up.

Shootings, an arrest of a naked man outside a hotel, a business closing....Pat was our woman on the street. She brought good news as well as bad and loved her job. She had the worst route in town - through bad neighborhoods where she was confronted a time or two with guns, gangs and threats. Many of her papers were stolen after she delivered them - and she had to pay for each one!!! Because if someone calls The Danville Register & Bee and says they didn't get their paper - the CARRIER has to pay for that paper!! If your neighbor steals it, or it's under a bush - or whatever happens....the carrier must eat the cost. And Pat paid for a lot of papers she delivered.

Well, Pat was fired recently. But no one told her. She showed up for work only to find someone else had taken her papers and her route. No one would tell her what was going on. Then later that morning she was on Main St. and her manager saw her driving and told her NOT to come back to work, that she was fired for "being a bad carrier." FIRED ON MAIN STREET?? WHAT kind of jackasses are running the newspaper that they fire their carriers or any contractor when they run into them outside of the business??? Just how far up their butts are their heads over at Media General??? Not only that, she was told not to set foot on the property or risk being arrested. Other carriers have come into the Register & Bee offices - one paper carrier who was arrested because he shoved an employee WHO WOULDN"T GIVE HIM HIS PAYCHECK! Media General forgot to tell him that they CHARGED him for every rubber band and plastic bag used on the papers!!

Three days later she got a letter telling her she was fired. In the meantime, she said, she never got the $1,000 she says the newspaper allegedly owes her. She's preparing her paperwork and looking for a lawyer to file against the paper. If you are a current or former newspaper carrier - you know who she is. Contact her with YOUR story about YOUR TREATMENT at the paper. It would help her, you and future carriers protect themselves.

Reasons not to carry papers for the Register & Bee

You're a contractor - not an employee. You are responsible for your own taxes, insurance and supplies. You don't get mileage. You will drive hundreds or even thousands of miles a month and will need to factor in your cost of insurance, repairs, tires, gas and risk - remember - two carriers have been killed and others who deliver in so-called "rough" neighborhoods have been threatened.

You will have to sit around and wait on your papers - often in the cold and dark and in a high crime neighborhood

You will not have access to a bathroom while waiting. But hey - the world can be your urinal....or at least the R&B parking lot carriers say....

If a neighbor or stranger STEALS the paper from someone you've just delivered it to - YOU will be required to pay for the paper. If the resident just doesn't like you and calls and complains and SAYS they didn't get their paper, you will still have to pay for the paper.

You can be fired at any time for any reason, without even knowing what is going on...and maybe even get fired on Main St., like Pat.

The Register & Bee cannot give their side of the story - they'll cite "Employee confidentiality. But the fact is, they treat their employees poorly and no one is safe. Ask anyone who was recently laid off if THEY had any warning their head was on the chopping block.

Our sympathy is with Pat - who was and is still very supportive of the news - who has given tips to Susan Elzy, Denice Thibodeau, myself, and Arnold. She has saved a life, stopped flood damage to buildings by sounding the alarm during early morning hours when no one else was awake and she was delivering papers. If anything - the city or someone ought to be giving her an award for her tips - not firing her in passing on Main St. Geesh Steve.....don't you TRAIN the managers you hire? Leadership in action...Steve Kaylor and Media General....pissing off and screwing over as many people possible as quickly as possible.

A world stage

The voting isn't over until tomorrow, but it looks like I'm going to England on an all-expense paid trip to attend the 2009 TED conference, thanks to Seth Godin's endorsement today. He is an amazing marketer and an even more amazing man. I've been a member of Triiibes.com for more than six months now. Triiibes is a social media network Seth established this year just prior to the launch of his book, "Tribes" - which is an INCREDIBLE book and you should definitely go buy it (see it on the right of this blog and click on it for more info).

Anyway - I recently became a finalist in the Johnny Bunko writing contest (one of three out of hundreds of entries). The winner is selected by popular vote. Go here to vote. Vote for "Stay Hungry".... The race was tied at 40% 40% 20% last night. Then this morning I got up and checked and wow! At last count, thanks to Seth's blog post below - I'm at 64% and climbing!! Looks like I'll attend the all-expense paid trip to England to the TED conference in July!! I know a LOT of you guys have voted for me and I thank you!! So, just wanted to pass along the good news that "Things get BETTER when you LEAVE the Register & Bee." You won't read the news about my trip in the paper - they're pretty lousy that way...so spread the word!! You read it here first!! P.S. Download the FREE comic book I wrote and my friend Martin Whitmore illustrated to help win this thing! by going to Seth's blog.



Traffic magnets

Here's a trick that's as old as the web: Run a popularity contest with public voting. It could be anything from a listing of the top blogs to a creative contest for best tagline or ad.

The nominees run around like crazy, hoping to get their friends to vote. Which of course brings you more traffic. This is a large part of the strategy behind Threadless.

I get invited to vote in these all the time, to participate as a nominee regularly and most vexing, to post them here as a way of helping this person or that person achieve some sort of nirvana.

My feeling is that most of the time the cause is too thin and the prize is too lame. If your blog gets picked as the most popular woodworking blog by some other blog, it's really unlikely that you'll find many benefits other than a nice smile for your ego. On the other hand, if you can offer a great prize and/or be useful and relevant, this is a permanent tool in the web toolbox for you.

As I've said, I don't promote these. But, just this one time, I'm breaking my rule for Becky, who didn't even ask me to mention this, and for my friend Dan Pink, who has written another terrific book. If you'd be so kind to visit Dan's site and vote for "stay hungry," it's quite likely that Becky will win a paid for trip to TED UK, which she deserves and will benefit from.(She's only a hundred votes out of first place as I write this).

I promise to do something like this no more than once a year, so wait unto 2010 before you send me a note about your contest! Thanks.


Oh - late breaking...one of the members of Triiibes.com put together this video and posted it on YouTube.com. It's GREAT to get such support!! And the comic book made the FEATURE page of SLIDESHOWS last night too!



Amazing what is possible when people are positive, focused and CARE about people rather than simply wanting to exploit them, ridicule them or treat them with disrespect isn't it?

No car ads???

Gee....economic downturn? or advertisers beginning to show the Register & Bee they're serious about how upset they are with the newspaper's bias and treatment of readers, employees and Virgil Goode?

Except for a couple of Barkhouser car ads on Sunday - there was a conspicuous absence of car ads from Woodalls Automotives in Sunday's paper. Hmmmmm....

Will the real estate folks be next? What will it take to make the Register & Bee realize that readers and advertisers are tired of being treated like they are? The Register & Bee's management obviously believes that they can print whatever they want, be as offensive, sexist and arrogant as they want....and remain the only game in town.

Is it time to let Publisher Steve Kaylor know his arrogance and mismanagement style isn't working? Not like he cares or anything. Remember....he LIED to the woman his reporter abused - claimed he knew nothing about the incident - although emails I posted here show differently. Will he LIE to you? How can you trust a manager who is supposed to represent what is honorable when he takes the side of managers who laugh at women, and a reporter who thought it was funny to humiliate and degrade women, who will keep on an EDITOR who had 13 police charges, including three DUI's and an evading police charge....while keeping all that out of the paper.... THAT is "leadership"?

Danville needs a NEW newspaper, new leadership and a new vision. Danville needs change. Who will step up to the plate? Is there anyone? Anyone at all?? Maybe the Star Tribune needs to hire a few folks and expand THEIR coverage into Danville. From what real estate and car dealers have told me - they'd love to put their ads into a new venture - one that covered local news. The opportunity is out there. Who's going to invest in Danville?

Get Medication

"Sarah Arkin is not a Democrat. We've probed. Let it go. Get medication." If you check the comment boxes you'll see that's the message Kang has left. (see post below too). Thank you Kang. Kang also told me, "You realize you are totally insane."

That's so sad!!! How dare you talk about mental illness in such a demeaning and negative way when there are people at The Danville Register and Bee on "TERMINAL" doses of Prozac, clinging to life and happiness and bringing smiles and giggles to their co-workers through the sheer miracle of modern medicine. The Register and Bee wouldn't get produced every day if not for serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Play nice now. If the Register and Bee had "done the right thing" and apologized to its readers for allowing reporter Mac McLean to film the breasts of a local businesswoman (and advertiser - yes, see how they treat you for spending money there) without her consent and flashing the video around the newsroom for managing editor Arnold Hendrix, Bernard Baker and Robert Benson to laugh at....and for publisher Steve Kaylor to deny it....well....maybe things would be different. But they're not....

Do check out Mac's website. He has a pretty photo of a sunflower. Guess that was in the days before he was taking photos of women's breasts.

Ah.....then half of Danville must be insane too, because I have so many readers who consistently tell me how glad they are to have this blog and how much they wish someone would start another newspaper. The Piedmont Shopper seems to be doing very, very, very well. And Danville Business, the FREE online news and info site for local businesses, is certainly picking up steam.

CBS News apologizes - R & B should too..

CBS News apologized for a vicious column penned by one of their freelancers about Sarah Palin. Obviously THEY listen to readers - unlike The Danville Register & Bee who continues to allow their reporters to inject bias in the political stories they cover.

Will we continue to see anti-Goode articles by the PRO-Bama, PRO-Dem Register & Bee? Or can ALL readers expect to see "fair and balanced" just-the-facts reporting? Time will tell, but I'll guess that the ongoing bias extends not only to political life, but to issues of race and business as well. I know when I worked there I was told "too many stories about Blacks pissed off white advertisers..."

Sad. Sad. Sad.

Register and Bee accepting Adult Ads now?

It's not enough for The Register and Bee to videotape women's breasts and demean women. Now they're running adult ads on their website! Todays Register and Bee shows an ad of a "Bad Kitty Adult" costume with a woman in skimpy clothing and a leather whip. Also advertised, a "Bunny French Maid" adult costume. Maybe we ought to call The Register and Bee the Raunchy and Baudy??

This is a Terry Jamerson's answer to increasing revenue? A "serious management decision" regarding the new direction of Register and Bee ads. Has she ever really spent any time in Danville? And school children have access to this??

Died twice?

Thanks readers! Since I don't read the Danville Register & Bee I depend on my readers to update me about what's happening. Several wrote today to say: "Check out the obits in todays paper. All these people died once in
August... now they are dead again."

One of those readers said, "I sent potato salad and fried chicken not knowing Bert was already dead and buried. Now I've upset his widow and I want to know if Steven K. is going to reimburse me for all my unnecessary expense and trouble!"

Well, knowing that Publisher Steve Kaylor LIED to the woman (a supposed friend even - someone he knew AND AN ADVERTISER) about knowing that one of his reporters had filmed her breasts AND shown them around the newsroom....and STILL HAS NOT APOLOGIZED nor fired the reporter involved, I'd say the chances of you getting an apology or reimbursed for your expense and trouble is slim to none. Most likely close to NONE. I'd like to know if readers also got billed twice for the duplicate obits. If you were billed twice, please email me and send me copies of the invoices. I'd be more than happy to post them here! For all of you who sent flowers and food around, blame it on the newspaper. That's what happens when you send your local newspaper out of town (the obits are done in Lynchburg, along with the ads. And I understand some of the editorial is going to India for copyproofing.) As long as advertisers continue to support the newspaper this is the kind of thing you'll continue to see. Quit buying ads and the newspaper will go away and some other publication will step in to fill the void.

In the meantime, remember what Steve and Arnold Hendrix and Media General told you months ago, "CONVERGENCE is GOOD! By consolidating services we'll have a better product." Write me, but write and call the newspaper too! If you need Steve's email again, it's skaylor@registerbee.com.

Labor Day for Newspaper Carriers?

Labor Day is fast approaching and as America celebrates all the American Worker has done, The Danville Register & Bee newspaper carriers are still forced to urinate in the parking lot. Publisher Steve Kaylor can afford to sponsor all kinds of events around town, but doesn't seem to care about the very people who put his product into the hands of the community. Why? We know he is a Rotarian....does this mean the Rotary, a public service club, doesn't care about people either? What does it take to ask one of your members to unlock a door so these carriers, many of them with health problems or elderly, can go to the bathroom indoors?

We know Publisher Steve Kaylor doesn't want old people in his publication, "All About Her" because "All About Her," is, in Steve's words, "all about youth." We know he doesn't care about his employees because he is sending the printing, the obituaries and the ads OUT OF TOWN. Advertisers - your money is going to Lynchburg and soon to India...not to Danville. Is that what you want? And did you see all the newspapers being dumped in the recycling bins NOT EVEN DISTRIBUTED? Those are YOUR advertising dollars going down the drain....along with the urine of the newspaper carriers. Please...somebody do something....send the man a roll of toilet paper....something...