After reading Carson City’s official local newspaper and their editorial endorsement of the continuation of the downtown ice skating rink, it must strike any thinking human being why they would be so motivated! No one denies the value of an ice skating rink. No one denies the allure and romance of an ice skating rink. But at a cost of over $14,000 a week to the taxpayers of Carson City and to draw primarily young people who won’t and don’t shop downtown, and while the rink gobbles up precious parking spaces to the DETRIMENT to downtown businesses, and while downtown sidewalks and many building facades are getting old, tired and worn, and with an increasing number of vacant store fronts in the downtown, THERE MUST BE SOME OTHER REASON FOR THE ENDORSEMENT.
Everyone knows that the Nevada Appeal is no longer a daily newspaper. Declining revenues. Everyone knows that the Nevada Appeal is smaller in size. Declining revenues. Everyone knows that newspapers in general are on steep slide downward on subscriptions and readers. Declining revenues.
So, a reasonable assumption is that Nevada Appeal’s endorsement could be coming from a column of numbers that accompany the ice skating rink’s proposed budget. AD-VER-TISING! Thousands of dollars in AD-VER-TISING.
Desperation is never attractive. But when the Nevada Appeal, or any newspaper, tries to slow its own financial slide by desperately grabbing advertising dollars and then giving the source of those ad dollars a kiss on the cheek is…well…bad journalism, AT THE LEAST.
This community deserves better from its “newspaper of record.” And it’s not sour grapes on our part. NewsCarsonCity.com would not accept one dollar of advertising for such a public boondoggle that doesn’t even begin to provide the benefits to the downtown that it’s supporters claim it does.
A contributing column by writer Guy Farmer appearing in the Nevada Appeal provides a far more inciteful viewpoint on the rink. And Carson Station owner Clark Russell’s letter to the editor hits it dead on!