Will The Villages Daily Sun improve its accuracy and professionalism?
 

We have a newspaper that thousands read faithful daily. Yet it is not as informative or professional as it could be. Most articles leave out valuable information such as today's article about places to go raft riding. They mention 3 places. It would be nice if they told us how far they were from here. They also just copy what other people write whether it is right or wrong. An example Sports Stanley cup finials " Canadiens Upset in overtime". Anyone who glanced at that would assume the Lightning won. No Montreal won that game.
We have a good paper. I would just like it to give more facts and become more accurate. Which I believe would make it better.

Won't find an answer here........................call them. :icon_wink:

Only a 'feel good' developer slanted newspaper.

Ask yourself...is TDS intended to be a "news"paper or is it an advertising/sales instrument of the Developer?

Typical media, what's the surprise ?

REALITY-any news source can be so criticized and it has always been so.

It's cheap and you get what you pay for. A "real" newspaper would be a lot more $$.

All news sources have a bias. The staff quickly discovers what will be printed, broadcast etc and what won't. Even as a stringer, freelance reporter, you know who will buy what story. This is not new. It has always been so. OP is interested in sports. For me great liner for my bird cage.

We moved here in June of 2005 and The Villages Daily Sun has improved a great deal over that time frame.

Best to communicate with them directly though.

You obviously know how to go online, so way are you depended on a Developer Sales Tool for your news?

Gary Corsair of The Villages Daily Sun at that time did an article on me on Memorial Day in 2007 (May 28 on a Monday) and got a lot of facts wrong like I went to the U of Denver Graduate School in Librarianship and Information Management (Class of May, 1984) after I dropped out of BYU Law School in 1982. The I went to the U of MN Law School after working in a publishing company that sold products to libraries-- Information Access Company. I was Class of 1989 at the U of MN. I think he messed some schools and their dates up.

He wrote about my advocacy to get the Florida Victim Services Directory linked to the Lake, Sumter and Marion County Library systems' web-sites.

After that he wrote a lot on sports and Big Foot. Chasing the myth of Bigfoot | News | thevillagesdailysun.com

Mr. Corsair is a very good writer. Think that the atmosphere back then in 2007 at The Villages Daily Sun probably threw him off his game so to speak. He had Googled me and got some blow back from the trolls on the Snopes message board. They get a weird e-mail and then seem to post it on their message board where their regular Peanut Gallery can take shots at it. And do not let the person who sent the e-mail get on that message board to defend him or herself. Mr. Corsair found that garbage. But still had the paper run the article after talking with me on the phone to check what was going on there.

Mr. Corsair wrote a very good book on The Groveland Four and something recently on the Wildwood HS Football team . Cats With 12 Lives

The developer owns it and uses it as a sales tool.

If I was a serious journalist why in the world would I want to work there?

The Daily Sun is a poorly-veiled excuse to advertise the Villages. It is not serious journalism. Don't expect the copy editors to give a flying patootie on quality of writing.

A "real" newspaper would have more content, less advertisement. The Daily Sun isn't a newspaper. It's an advertising rag with a few syndicated op-ed pieces and a couple of quasi- or non-essential news on the cover with REALLY BIG pictures that take up space so they don't have to fill it with actual information.

Home

Gary Corsair moved on from The Villages Daily Sun to find better opportunities.

The main reason for the paper is to sell houses. As for the rafting article they peaked your interest enough to look things up on the web for additional info.

The developer just opened the new building with a brand new printing press in TV's industrial park, so they appear to be making money, unlike 98% of the print media.

Just wondering does The Villages Daily Sun actually call itself a newspaper? Or do we just assume it is because it seems to have the same format?
Still blatantly misleading readers about a sport game is not a good idea because people reading the paper will wonder how much misinformation there must be in the advertisement of the homes for sale too.

So what newspapers do not depend on advertising revenue? The issues seem to be that when the advertising revenue goes away the subscribers make up the difference. Newspapers are failing, the fact the the Developer's large scale builds create jobs for smaller business's who also advertise and apparently do a nice business here, and that the DS provides an online presence for those looking for homes that don't live here seems to be working. For those that want less advertising and pay more for the paper you will be disappointed unless you subscribe to a paper someplace else....until they too begin to disappear.

Anybody who doesn't agree 100% with what the developer does is part of a vast conspiracy to bring down The Villages, according to one long time poster who has built numerous houses in TV.

For $84 a year it suits its purpose. I subscribe more for information about The Villages and recreational activities than for actual news. You can get news anywhere.

When the purpose of the paper is to help sell houses you do not necessarily need to make a profit do you?

This is a developer sales tool. Maybe 3 articles are local in nature. The rest is USatoday or ap reprints.

They did an article on my Dad a few years ago which I liked. It was about his being a caddy at one of the golf courses that had some kind of tournament at that time. And then how his college roommate later in his life had taken a drink out of an open soda can and got stung by a bee. He had an allergic reaction and died.

They have many nice articles about people who live in the Villages.

Your BS statement piqued my interest.
In today’s DS by my observation there were 14 articles of local interest.
Do you even subscribe? Why?

My wife likes the crossword and I mainly look for restaurant and golf coupons. I read the Kansas City Star online every day for news. It is also good to drain bacon and French fries.

I stopped delivery after the first year we were here. What I saw was an advertising paper, coupled with one sided political messaging.

How unique is that?

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I find TDS a light and refreshing read and enjoy it very much!

Funny! Your reasons are close to what we use it for. We "unsubscribed" for several months last year when the Pandemic hit. I really missed it for placing hot pots on the countertop. My husband loves it for the crossword puzzles.

You can also get information about the Villages and recreational activities for FREE - oddly enough, on the Villages Daily News website.

If you're paying $84/year for something you can get for free, well...I'll just say that's not my first choice as to how I'd waste $84.

Re: serious journalist.
The path to success and a reputation for many,"serious journalists," is to work for spit and to go into places that sane, normal people dare not go. My dad worked for CBS on a news crew. I met Walter Cronkite. He rose to fame in WWII. Aside he was one of the few at a company picnic who went out of his way to make this at that time kid feel welcome.

As far as the developer owns it. It is shocking to me how much of our,"news," is owned by Disney. In the 1960's the major news was owned by about 50 different companies. Today it is FIVE.

As opposed to "real" newspapers, like the NYT and the WaPo...

Same as paying for books online when they are available at a Library right?

You know you can borrow e-books from the library - you don't have to GO to them at all. I've downloaded books from the public library when there were some I wanted to read.

But I have google play rewards, and I use the rewards to buy my books. So I never pay for books out of pocket anyway. Same thing with Amazon - I earn points from survey companies, and use the points to get Amazon credit. I never actually pay out of pocket for anything I get on Amazon.

No News Window Dressing
 

Always a Villages promo rag, The Daily Sun cratered years ago to only slightly news but mostly promote and protect the developer. Simply put, it’s primary function is to sell new homes. OK, find a newspaper today that presents real objective news content; there are very few. Good journalism mostly died years ago. Sad, but true.

I would expect this paper to promote TV. I subscribe because it has a lot of really good info about what’s going on in TV. Just look at the name of the paper!

For other news, there are a zillion other sources out there.

Its a local Village gossip paper. If you want facts, get the Orlando or Ocala paper

Dropped them a year ago, not a loss.:):)

It is a Villages product. Unfortunately some folks might actually think it is a newspaper. It is not.