Whew. Rough week in my old bidness.
The New York Times croaked its sports department, and McClatchy sacked three Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists — Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee, Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kevin Siers of the Charlotte Observer.
Having worked in one sports department and drawn more than a few editorial cartoons, I naturally view with alarm. Wit is without value but witlessness is rewarded?
When The Washington Post asked for comment on McClatchy’s abrupt erasure of three Pulitzer winners, the company — owned by Chatham Asset Management — supplied this gem from opinion editor Peter St. Onge:
“We made this decision based on changing reader habits and our relentless focus on providing the communities we serve with local news and information they can’t get elsewhere,” the statement said.
Ho, ho. That’s not the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s definitely on today’s leaderboard.
What local news and information that can’t be gotten elsewhere might McClatchy be relentlessly focused on providing in Sacramento at 3:10 p.m. Thursday Duck! City time?
And who says there’s no such thing as good news!
“The stories you’re seeing on the homepage are chosen by our local editors with help from an AI algorithm. The display includes the day’s important stories and recommendations for readers like you.”
Anyway, here’s a random selection from AI’s random selections courtesy of your friendly neighborhood carbon-based life form:
• “Cirque du Soleil returns to Sacramento this summer: Here’s where, when and how to get tickets.” Sounds like a free ad to me, but maybe the AI got comped tickets.
• “More than 40% of Californians say they were affected by recent extreme weather, poll finds.” Do tell. I imagine the other 60 percent stayed home or attended an air-conditioned showing of Cirque du Soleil.
• “Prime Day is over, but there are still deals galore.” Any cut-rate Cirque du Soleil tickets?
Well, thank Boss Tweed there ain’t none a them damned pictures taking up space on the Bee homepage. There’s not much to read, either. But then the only reading that interests hedge funders and asset managers is of the bottom line, and McClatchy certainly seems to have gotten to the bottom of something here.
• Addendum: Speaking of bottoms, pour one out for Anchor Brewing, which is going down after 127 years, the final few under a disastrous foreign ownership. Anchor Steam may have been the first proper beer I ever drank, and the porter was superb.
Mad Blog Media 
Huzzah!!👍
PO’G: Rim shot, tip of the old sombrero, etc.!! Well played and truly a synopsis of the endgame for many creative human enterprises.
Here’s my question: If the world’s humankind population is expected to grow until it peaks in 2086 at 10.4 BILLION (see UN estimates below), what are all these people going to do as mechanization, IT, and AI continue to supplant their jobs? Revolt? Kill each other off in the fight for scarce resources? Other?
Projections of population growth – Wikipedia
The UN Population Division report of 2022 projects world population to continue growing after 2050, although at a steadily decreasing rate, to peak at 10.4 billion in 2086, and then to start a slow decline to about 10.3 billion in 2100 with a growth rate at that time of -0.1%.
And then let’s throw global climate change impacts on top of that just to add another dimension.
But “making money”, the religion that has and continues to unite even the strongest enemies and most hated adversaries, will surely come to the rescue?
That said, I’m optimistic. Why” Because as Oscar Wilde said: “Life is too important to be taken seriously.”
Or as Alfred E Neuman said: “What, Me Worry?”
It’s gonna get real interesting real fast, I think. A lot faster than some of us are ready for.
Kevin Drum, a blogger I read regularly, posts regularly about AI and what its rise means for MeatWorld. He thinks natural intelligence is a bigger threat to Earth (since we lizard-brain types might use AI to destroy civilization just ’cause, and also engage in other self-destructive behaviors).
He also thinks the Illuminati or whomever will have to cough up some sort of universal basic income for all the filthy meat-things who suddenly have too much time on their hands because AI is doing all the heavy lifting and deep thinking.
Me, I dunno. I read too much apocalyptic fiction as a sprout and it colors my perceptions. I don’t see a lot of people urging that we apply Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics to the Terminators. And based on what the insiders are saying about the Hollywood strike(s) — the rich studios will wait it out as the poor writers and actors lose their homes, cars, laptops, phones, TikTok accounts, etc. — I don’t have much hope that the folks who own the AI will shower us with alms. More likely they will shower us with something else entirely.
Remember the Morlocks and the Eloi from “The Time Machine?” Or “Soylent Green?”
Aaaah …. Soylent Green. Recycling at its most efficient, eh??!
Robots were supposed to pick our crops so we can sit around and write poetry. But they looked at the hours, effort, and pay, and said, screw that, sign us up for writing screenplays, lawyering, and figuring out how to get around the First and Second Laws.
I was going to comment earlier today about Anchor Brewing but I just didn’t have the steam. A little humor to placate the sadness of the time. Yes the Porter was good, long before most other porters were not around. With a thought toward financial viability, I’m not sure I’d want the responsibility to be scratching my head trying to figure how to keep a brewery going. But as P.T. Barnum probably thought, anything is possible.
Regarding communication of information to the general public in today’s society, I believe the responsibility of the reader to inform themselves more thoroughly has diminished enough to effect past media communication methods. If the information takes too long to be acquired (read), then the reader (general public) refrains from accessing it in favor of more expedient summarizing methods. What results is a more influenced and easily manipulated general public. Something that leaders of business and society are comfortable with seeing develop. Let us hope that our educational system is able to recognize this now and see that our youth are instructed in their duty as citizens to seek out as much information about a matter as is possible.
What? Hey don’t kick over my beer keg! I was just gittin’ started…
Shawn: Agree, but I couldn’t take the time to read your entire soliloquy! 🙂
Badaboom, badabing!
Speaking of beer, anyone remember Red Hook Double Black Stout with Starbucks’ coffee, from the Before-Times, when Starbucks had yet to achieve total global domination? That was a drinkable beverage. Get you hammered and wired at the same time, which led to a wealth of other similarly bad ideas.
Ooo that does sound deadly. As much as I like beer and coffee, I really don’t always like when micro breweries mix the two. If it’s subtle that’s ok but some are a bit overwhelming. Thinking of flavored beers, I do recall having a green chili beer in Taos one time back in the early 1990’s.
From our family cookbook:
“A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.” Mitch Radcliffe
With respect to the thought of AI and its’ (their?) affects, perhaps English professors will now look for the student essays that are the most bizarre. They will be the essays that were actually written by the students.
Conglomerates, like Sapporo, private investment and hedge funds, social media companies, and AI firms only care about one thing, the bottom line. The citizens united didn’t require them to be good corporate citizens. And, as far as schools preparing students to be critical thinkers and consumers, we need to revisit George Carlin. It’s a race to the bottom, and we are damn near there.
Gotta say … weird how the fortunes of Sapporo purchases vs Kirin’s acquisitions have done. Sapporo looks like they’ve tried to leverage and manage and finagle, while Kirin has mostly just written checks to erase previous mistakes. Sapporo needs a Lion to run interference, but it’s not happening.
I disagree, Pat. There is no bottom.
My guess is that like in 2001, the AI robots will find us troublesome and given how the dumb-down gene is propagating wildly, they will wipe us out.
Oh my, you mean it gets worse? I know it’s not 10 o’clock yet, but can I open the bar?
OMG! Anchor Steam Coffee Porter, back a few years ago when it was still available, was the ruler by which all other coffee porters were judged. This leaves a big hole in my every-other-month beer haul. I still have a few regular Anchor Porters in inventory that I got on sale a week ago. The pace will now slow so I can savor the remaining bottles.
AI’s. Maybe they can do cartooning too? Badly, I’d bet, as they aren’t ready to replace us just yet. The day will come though. Wait until the Tesla Bots, AI’s, quantum computing, plus drone swarms all get together. We’ll be screwed.
How about AI actors, including live ones? The ones on strike better check their contracts.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/union-fears-hollywood-actors-digital-doubles-could-live-for-one-days-pay-2023-07-13/
I wonder. I recall a blockbuster movie where a cgi character up in the colesseum crowd looked a lot like me. Maybe I ought to give a call to my old Hollywood lawyer friend. “I would like my one days pay please. With interest thank you very much.”
But with humorous thought intended, I really do appreciate the Writer and SAG/AFTRA labor disputes. I believe the discussions about AI, and repercussions that result, will reach well beyond Hollywood.
Uh, Dave. Can I stop by for a beer sometime? Perhaps something of a musky Northern California varietal?
Regarding Intelligence artificielle, do you think after they take over that I’ll still be able to get those Cirque du Soleil tickets?
Oh yeah, and Happy Bastille Day !
A shiny guillotine is a happy guillotine.
Relentless focus?
I always like to relent my focus now and then and indulge with a cartoon or sports piece.
Yes. That’s what I’d call it when it’s zero dark thirty and I’m on the throne with constipation. “Relentless Focus”.
Maybe you should stop eating so much cheese.
Always liked Anchor Steam. But there are sufficient craft breweries in Fanta Se that it has been a while since I’ve drank any. I’ve been trying to buy local craft beer and it is pretty easy up here.
Still, this is sad news.
Ayuh. When I was still drinking my go-to was Bristol Brewing in Bibleburg (the nitro IPA out of the tap in their itty-bitty tasting room next to the Blue Star was particularly good, as was the Yellow Kite pilsner (great hot-weather beverage). I’d haul a growler home after downing a couple-three glasses straight from the source.
If I wanted an out-of-town beer it was pretty much Lagunitas IPA or a Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.
Now it’s strictly the NA from the boyos at Athletic Brewing. Their Run Wild is my fave.
Yep, I also like the local brews these days. For an ale, it’s the Barrio Brewing Rojo, for lager the Four Peaks Golden Lager, and for stout, only at the brewpub, it’s Copper Brothel’s Brewing Felina’s Oatmeal Stout. You wash one of their Cubano sandwiches down with a Felina’s stout, and you are close to heaven.
Phoenix is down right dangerous the next few days. 115 degrees for a high the next three days with lows in the low 90’s.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=33.4483&lon=-112.0758