Sans Soul

By Kleinheider Posted on March 22, 2009 at 6:14 pm

Former Tennessean columnist Tim Chavez on the current editor’s thoughts on the health of Nashville’s last daily printed publication.

One of the saddest things in Silverman’s piece was his claim that his staff is the best in Tennessee. Not even close. It has lost too many good and talented journalists for that to be true, and that number does NOT include me. Columnists are a dime a dozen. How many names do you still recognize in the newspaper?

The best newspaper staff is the News-Sentinel in Knoxville. The best group of journalists in Tennessee are at NewsChannel 5 here in Nashville.

The bottom line to all of Silverman’s silliness to distract from the obvious is this: he did not quote any newspaper subscriber numbers. They are disastrous. GM execs are making the same contention about their company, while sales were down 53% in February. The American people are not stupid. Neither are Tennesseans. They buy with common sense. They can smell a phony a mile away.

A good newspaper with enough fight and staff to make a difference in people’s lives used to be something every community needed and every journalist wanted to work for.

Now, as Silverman writes, The Tennessean is viable because it makes a profit.

But, folks, it has no soul.

I am so blessed that I am no longer part of the walking dead.

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Tags: 1100 Broadway, Mark Silverman, newspapers, Tim Chavez  

Life After Death: Former Tennessean Columnist Reflects On The Layoffs

By Kleinheider Posted on December 4, 2008 at 8:32 am

Tim Chavez consoles his newly sacked former colleagues with his story of life after Gannett:

First, God, saved my life. So my my life is dedicated to his will and the people around us in need. Yes, I write a blog that no one really reads. I am a nobody and technically a failure at 50 years of age. I can’t help people like I could when I was a columnist in a newspaper that reached a lot of people.

But God still provides us opportunities. Yes, I’m still a failure. I make little money compared to what I did as a columnist with a long career. I feel shame and am glad my parents are not alive to see me this way. But I still believe God kept me alive for a reason.

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Tags: Gannett, layoffs, Tennessean, Tim Chavez  

Gotta Go To Kmart

By Kleinheider Posted on May 26, 2008 at 10:24 am

Former Tennessean columnist Tim Chavez asserts that the retirement of the longest serving leader of a legislative body in modern history from the Tennessee State Senate is really not that big of a story:

Too much attention in the local news media has been focused on the retirement of state Sen. John Wilder for being in office since Abraham Lincoln was president. He also had led the Senate since George McGovern ran for president. Gee, if longevity is so newsworthy, I’m wearing underwear I’ve owned for 10 years as I type this blog post. Anyone want a picture and an interview?

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Tags: context, history is news, John Wilder, Respect, Tim Chavez