Author: Mike

First Sunday of Advent, 2010

IMG_1820Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of four weeks of Christian preparation for Christmas.

Most Catholics I know have some sort of wreath, with purple, pink, and white candles. (Today we lit a purple candle.) Those with kids usually have an Advent calendar as well.

The US Bishops have some online Advent prayers and resources. This year, with barely any time between Thanksgiving travels and Advent, we improvised a bit more than usual, and used an Advent “psalm” from a book that was handy, Fr. Edward Hays’s Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim.

Advent is one of those times, like Lent, when we laypeople are especially encouraged to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation; my Advents are usually not heavy on penitence, but I’m considering making that a focus this year. For the first Advent in many years, I was a lector in my parish, and the Second Reading (Rom 13:11-14) got me examining my conscience.

. . . not in orgies and drunkenness . . .

Doing good on these counts.

. . . not in rivalry and jealousy . . .

Here, not so much.

Msgr. Scollen, in his homily, noted that the First Reading was about “nonviolence,” the second, “personal lifestyle.” I’ll be meditating on them more this week and discerning the steps I should take this Advent.

Jeff Barnard, RIP

Jeff
Jeff Barnard: December 8, 1948- November 28, 2010

Just got word that my friend Jeff Barnard passed away today after a long battle with cancer.

Like so many newcomers to Worcester, I first got to know Jeff though his writing on Wormtown Taxi. We became friends after many a Friday morning talking for hours on the phone for the 508 show, and after all-too-few hours talking face-to-face over a coffee or a beer.

I will remember his generosity, eloquence, and good humor.

We will miss, you, Jeff.

T&G circulation down 9.3 percent; other papers down 5 percent

New York Times:

Figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed that overall weekday circulation at 635 newspapers declined 5 percent from circulation in the same six months last year. The decline last year was at more than twice that rate.

Boston Globe:

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, daily circulation at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette fell 9.3 percent from 73,207 last year to 66,397 this year.

This is not as bad as the declines at the Globe and other papers, but the T&G is still dropping fast. I’m looking around to see if there’s an explanation forthcoming–the paywall, for example.

Update: Joe presses me on the paywall issue, and on second thought the paywall probably helped their circulation numbers. At least, when they turned off their paywall a few years back, they lost like 6% of their circulation. So if they’re still using the same formula to calculate circulation, the paywall presumably helped total paid circulation. Dan Kennedy thinks it will. And supposedly the T&G’s unique visitors went up with the paywall!

That said, I don’t know anything about the subtleties of circulation calculation, and so I’m still waiting for the T&G’s explanation here.

Continue reading “T&G circulation down 9.3 percent; other papers down 5 percent”

Street newspaper comes to Worcester

The first copies of Spare Change: Worcester Edition were dropped off this morning at the Network Center by David Jefferson, Executive Director out of the Cambridge office.

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David Jefferson and Bob Flanagan, Worcester Manager

I was happily surprised to see that the Worcester Edition contains Worcester content! In this issue, Bob Flanagan, the Worcester Manager, introduces the paper, while Dave McMahon, Claire Schaeffer-Duffy, and Arnold Hamm share their perspectives on homelessness in the city.

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Carlos Cruz is ready to sell some papers.

There are a few vendors lined up to sell Spare Change on the street. The cover price is $1; the vendor keeps 75 cents of this, and pays 25 cents for the paper. (Obviously, tips are OK, too.) If you know where and when a vendor has been operating, please share in the comments below.

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