Onetime Eureka Reporter managing editor Glenn Franco Simmons has become a man of many blogs. His pink blog, as previously discussed on the Humboldt Herald, has now become a “Blog Portal” which links to no less than seven separate blogs by Simmons.
But the Portal doesn’t list his contributions to the Bleacher Report, which focuses on sports.
Simmons’ bio on the Bleacher Report includes an intriguing comment about the old ER:
Since graduating from college with honors as a journalism major in 1985, I’ve edited several weeklies and co-founded and managed a now-defunct 24,800-circulation daily.
For several years, I was a publisher/managing editor until our publication became too large, and I went back to what I love most: editing.
It became too large?
Simmons sports articles appear to be enjoying a large readership. The feed for the Bleacher Report is posted on CBSSports.com.
He makes it sound like 24,800 people paid to get his newspaper. He fails to mention the Eureka Reporter was free, and it always failed its claimed circulation audits.
Why should we trust the Arkleys (who owned the Reporter)? Rob Arkley said repeatedly he would never shut down the Eureka Reporter. Yet as soon as the Times-Standard filed a legal action, Arkley buckled, going back on his promise, and shut down the Eureka Reporter.
When the Arkleys bought the Balloon Track, Cherie Arkley, Rob’s wife, went on the record promising they would not build a big box store on the waterfront site. A few months later they went back on that promise, announcing they want to build a Home Depot.
This Eureka resident doesn’t trust them anymore.
Yawn. Find something new to vilify Arkley with.
He was the subject of many posts on my blog.
I miss him.
Sniff.
Dean Singleton, owner of the Times-Standard, has more balls than Rob Arkley.
The answer is obvious to anyone familiar with ER’s history…
24,000 free print subscriptions is too large to be financed by a single person for long unless that person wants to piss away his life’s savings.
The original free web site with no print edition — way way less expensive for a single person to finance.
Back when I was a publisher I promoted Glenn to his first editor position because I could see he was very talented.
I still keep in contact with Glenn who moved down to the Bay area.
I’m not surprised to see he’s doing well writing as it was always his strongest point.
Whatever someone wants to say about his time in the Eureka Reporter is fine…just keep in mind he was always fair and honest. He was in a bad situation with Arkley and I’ll leave it at that.
Oh great attitude, 8.50am.
Singleton has more money than Arkley. Singleton has never donated one dollar to Eureka, Arkley has donated tens of millions of dollars to Eureka & organizations located in Eureka. Singleton employs fewer Eurekans than Arkley & Singleton’s employees are much lower paid.
Singleton’s profits leave the area, Arkley brings a lot of money INTO our area.
But nincompoops like you villify Robin Arkley & praise Singleton ?
The infantile comment of 8:50 reminds me of the old days when trolls ruled the comment threads of local blogs.
What CPR finds wrong with 8:50′s comment is beyond me.
Fred, you’re beyond all of us.
Didn’t Arkley say he was changing residence to Louisiana so he wouldn’t have to pay new taxes coming our way in California?
Such a local guy.
He did rebuild a nice theater and boardwalk and didn’t take them with him.
That was nice.
As far as Mr. Simmons goes, it is my opinion that he decided to work for the dark side when he signed up for the news job at am 980.
Tom, I’ve heard some rightwing opinions expressed on your favored station. Dr. Laura is as loony as they come, positioned in a prime time slot. And Bob Brinker is pretty darn hard on Obama.
Do you have specific criticism of Simmons’ work at KINS or are you just profiling?
Singleton’s company is on the verge of bankruptcy. I doubt he has more money than Arkley.
That said, here is the beef I have with Rob: He throws his wife under the bus and hides behinds his daughters.
Cherie is a decent person and was good on the City Council. But when she said “trust me,” there isn’t going to be a big box on the Balloon Tract, and later Rob made a liar out of her, it hurt her reputation in the community. He doesn’t seem to care…his vendettas are more important than his wife’s reputation.
He sends his daughters in to confront Larry Glass. And when that didn’t work, he hires a hired gun to go after Larry in the press. He doesn’t have the guts to do it himself. Except for when he has his 6-foot-5 hired henchmen around, then he has the nerve to give Larry a little shove. Probably after he slammed down a few scotches for extra courage.
Fred, why don’t you explain to me what “Dean Singleton…has more balls than Rob Arkley” means. What does this moronic conjecture have to do with Glenn Franco Simmons?
Who cares if the arkley’s want la citizenship to avoid illegal taxation that is slavery? Good for anyone who resists the federal reserve and their henchmen who collect taxes- let them all return to england where they belong!
Black Flag apparently believes that he’s on Fred’s blog.
CPR asks, “Fred, why don’t you explain to me what “Dean Singleton…has more balls than Rob Arkley” means?.
My apologies. I misread the comments. I saw 8:50 mentioned on High Finance’s comment and, without looking closely, thought he was 8:50 when he was responding to 8:50.
I withdraw my earlier comment.
To clarify my comment on Bleacher Report: The Eureka Reporter was successful as an online-only publication because it was affordable and focused on Eureka City Council and the Board of Supervisors.
When I was hired, I was told we would not branch out to Arcata, Fortuna, McKinleyville, etc. The operation was to stay small.
That was the initial agreement I signed up for.
It changed. It is no secret going to print was a waste of millions upon millions upon millions of dollars.
As far as my critics contend concerning circulation, you give me no credit for not repeating the lie of a 25,000 circulation, yet all the other Eureka Reporter employees did.
Since I doubted the circulation totals the spring I resigned, then found out all kinds of papers were ending up being dumped, stored in houses, etc., and when the publisher refused to remove defamatory comments from The Eureka Reporter’s Web site (which the owner finally agreed with me and forced their removal), and when I was told (NOT by the owner) to fire an employee whose “long” “hair was unkept” and “because he wore his beany to his desk,” and when I refused, and then I was told “find a way,” I went home, talked to my wife, and then sent by e-mail a resignation to Rob Arkley II.
If the North Coast Journal were a real newspaper, and if it had a real media critic, it would have found out this information.
In terms of circulation, the highest circulation figure I saw, of circulation that spring was 24,8– something.
If you have proof that number is wrong, then I will change my total on BR. I get no credit for not restating the 25,000 lie, which it took several years to determine.
If you don’t have a real figure, then that says a lot.
Additionally, when Dean Singleton sat or sits on the audit committee or board (I’m not sure which or if that is still an accurate statement, as I don’t care anymore) of an auditing company that audits his newspapers’ circulation, are you telling me you believe the Substandard’s circulation claim?
As for Tom Sebourn, you are exactly what’s wrong with Humboldt County and reflect the partisan trap that I allowed myself to get entrapped in, and which I regret.
Too many people in Humboldt County are so tied into the partisan political game that once you are away from it, you realize how close-minded some people are.
I include myself in that category.
Such a small area with so much divisiveness, of which I was a part of for some time, is depressingly a reality, still, I see.
I regret being a part of it and fanning the flames that I am responsible for fanning. I was wrong.
However, I did a lot of good, too, which is often overlooked, and no, I don’t believe the ends justify the means.
What I mean is that humans are complex, with good and bad, and that life is a journey, not a destination.
Working for KINS and whatever it carries as talk shows had nothing at all to do with the news.
The dark side is KINS?
Please prove to me, Mr. Tom, ONE time the Papsteins told me to twist the news. One time. No, Tom, I am sorry to say, but you have basically lied because you have no proof.
By saying dark side, you are implying the news was fixed, that it reflected someone’s ideology. In this case, whose? Barb’s? Hugo’s? Brian’s? Mine?
I tend to think of the dark side as people who murder others, genocidal governments that persecute people, etc.
Just because Americans disagree about policies and have different values, does not mean the “left” is dark or the “right” is dark, and if I have demonstrated anything over my career, Mr. Tom, who doesn’t even know me, I have demonstrated a willingness to be independent.
I believe The Eureka Reporter came out against the surge in Iraq and supported same-gender marriage under my watch. Guess who wrote the editorials, Mr. Tom.
Glenn Franco Simmons of the darkside, Mr. Tom.
In Fortuna, two different congressmen, one a Republican, one a Democrat, tried to get my boss to fire me at different times when I was The Humboldt Beacon’s editor.
Why? Because I’m independent and called them on their broken campaign promises and their fiscal policies that put this nation further into debt.
The Papsteins who own KINS, never, ever once interfered with my newscasts, unlike another superior who did it all the time, which I successfully resisted and then resigned when I saw the lies about circulation and had other issues.
Also, do you think the T-S is on the dark side, since I hired and started out James Faulk, the T-S city editor?
James is a very fine person, despite my feelings that the Substandard is back to its old self.
However, when I say that, it is a criticism of the lack of support the T-S editorial managers receive from a moribund parent corporation that guts newspapers.
James is an ethical man, so is he to be castigated because he worked at KINS?
Is he to be slimed, as you have slimed me, while not offering one shred of evidence of how I, I guess, manipulated news at KINS? Without one shred of evidence of how I, I guess, manipulated news at The Eureka Reporter?
Anyway, Humboldt Herald, I had Bleacher Report initially listed on my blog portal, and your statement that for some reason it isn’t listed is so funny.
Hilarious, since I JUST took it down last week. The reason is simple: my blogs, two religious, and the rest travel, are my own. I control what goes on them.
I don’t with Bleacher Report, and although I write there, the people who come to my blogs are there to read about my religion, or about my travel-related posts. I can say with confidence that most don’t give a darn about my sports idiocy.
Does that make sense? Or I am up to some secret nefarious conspiracy, Humboldt Herald?
The evil Glenn Franco Simmons is up to it again.
You know, the perp who worked for the evil “billionaire” Rob Arkley.
The evil Patrick O’Dell, who never once interfered with me.
The evil Papsteins, who never once interfered with me and are wonderful people and were the best employers I ever had.
I suppose you should go one step farther and say I worked for the mafia, since I’m Italian and I was general manager of Eel River Disposal.
Yeah, I did that for about six years and was a radio morning anchor and helped a local weekly. While at ERD, I instituted vacations for the first time, holidays, a savings plan and a safety plan with an emphasis on protecting employees.
Yeah, the evil Glenn Franco Simmons.
Geez, Humboldt County, grow up.
But thanks for the publicity and laugh. I think it got me five Eureka hits, my 10-minute average for the few days after I post a new blog.
Apparently, I am just not newsworthy anymore, but now you have most of the story about my myseterious ways.
And, no, North Coast Journal, I’m not hitting the bottle. I’m happy in my Bahai community in the Bay Area, and I love the diversity of culture, religion and everything else here.
We got a weed-infested yard that is now a garden paradise with orange trees fully stocked with oranges, we have six squirrels with more on the way, we have four cats, 16 doves, 20 pigeons and so many songbirds we can’t keep track.
It’s sunny every day and the temperature, due to global warming, has been about 20 degrees below normal, which made it easier for me to turn our weed-infested dead lawn into a verdant green lawn.
The jasmine and rosemary down here smell so much better on a warm, 85-degree evening at 11 p.m. in our patio.
So, I’m doing great, Humboldt County. I appreciate the interest but it’s rather silly. Down here, I’m an ant and would generate a sentence in any media.
And, thank you, Dave for your kind comments, and for those of you who called Mr. Tom on his darkside hypocrisy.
Woops, the editor from the Darkside made an editing error. I meant to say, I would NOT generate a sentence, or even a verb or noun for that matter, in media down here.
I’m just really an unimportant guy now, and it suffers my soul so much to be so anonymous!
Oh, and my many blogs are exactly what I absolutely love doing. I am a natural writer. I can out write most people, so why not have blogs on subjects that interest me and that give me pleasure?
Don’t read ‘em, if you don’t like ‘em.
“Yawn. Find something new to vilify Arkley with.”
Why waste time looking for something new? The old reasons to vilify the Arkleys are still valid.
“Dean Singleton, owner of the Times-Standard, has more balls than Rob Arkley.”
What? More? Three?
Glen, people make judgments about people based on the company they keep. You chose to work for kins at a time when this country was being lied to by the Bush administration. The news you did was not so slanted as it didn’t counter the lies told on the station almost 24/7 by the right winged blow hards that Hugo has on the air.
I will give you kudos for leaving the station. I also sent you an email while you were at the Reporter, thanking you for one of your editorials. I can’t remember the topic, but you seemed to see through the B.S. that time.
I thought your comments about Jake Pickering loosing an election were childish.
I am glad you are having a good life now. I am also glad you are not in the news business. I hope things work out for you.
Just remember to resist the dark side and you’ll be fine.
Glenn, thanks for your comments. Really, I enjoyed them and appreciate you setting the record straight.
But don’t diss me on the traffic I sent your way. I count 27 hits so far to your links. As you know, Sunday is a slow blog day.
Anon,12:41, I took an hour of Dr. Laura and put it at 2 am. I recently, in the last month removed her first hour all together. She has one hour live and one overnight. Does my competition put anyone on the air that balances their programming? Even two hours a day? No. As I have said before about Dan Squire, the local news there isn’t bad, it’s the talk shows.
As for Glen Franco Simmons, I was just profiling. He is far too complex to fit any single mold.
Heraldo, when I click the link on my name, it sends me to the magnacartablog. I checked and the link looks good. Maybe it’s a bug from the dark side.
Dear Glenn Franco Simmons, Thank you for the principled stance you took against the wink-and-nod racism of the Confederate Stars and Bars at Ferndale High School. You helped Ferndale reassert its support for the values of the U.S. Red White and Blue over those of the Confederate Stars and Bars.
Reading your opinions on that and quite a few other issues, I was glad to find you were much more even-handed in your judgements than some people I know on the left had led me to believe you would be.
So thanks. I’m glad you are living a fulfilling life in the arms of a loving community. Good luck with your future endeavors. Thanks again for articulating some of the highest, most humane values of our civilization during your time at The Eureka Reporter.
Isn’t that your url?
Tom, why are you demeaning fellow human beings with whom you differ in philosophy?
This is called scapegoating of the same type Michael Savage does when he calls people “vermin.”
Calling people the “dark side” is scapegoating, filled with stereotypes and a gross over-generalization, Tom.
In short, it’s repugnant.
We live in a free country, don’t we? At least for now it’s free.
That means there are multiple views of all issues, Tom, not the “right” or “left” pabulum that the alphabet soup TV and radio channels give America, or print media, for the most part.
I suggest reading the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist Papers, etc.
You might learn about freedom of opinion and see how far apart the Founding Fathers were on many issues, yet they formed this union.
“The company I keep.”
By that I take it you mean the Arkleys, Papsteins, etc. are bad people. If not, you imply that. Don’t try to wiggle out of that.
They have no redeeming qualities. They are part of the conspiratorial and evil “darkside.”
That’s what you are implying, and worse.
I suppose they helped Bush take down the Twin Towers, eh?
My goodness, Tom.
My goodness. How sad.
The Arkleys aren’t perfect, but they are not evil.
What’s your beef with the Papsteins? They run a competing station?
Oh, I get it.
Now they are evil too?
Are you sure your motives are purely ideological, Tom?
I suppose by attempting to disenfranchise KINS’ listeners and advertisers, you are trying to hurt its advertising, correct?
Does your station stand to gain advantage by talking down your competition?
Isn’t that really beneath you?
I mean you run a competing station and you are blogging about the competing station’s owners’ darkside?
Could you have a commercial interest in hurting KINS, Tom?
That’s really not very ethical nor admirable, unless you admit to the fact that that is what you are doing.
Then it would be called HONEST.
You see, Tom, I stayed at the ER until my integrity and honesty would have been compromised by staying any longer. What is surprising is how many managers stayed until the very end.
I left with mine intact; they didn’t.
But, yes, I made mistakes.
Sure, my comments about Jake were totally childish, I agree, but those were not the only foolish comments I made.
Nor will they be the last.
I’m not perfect, and I’m honest to a fault, but I was good to my employees.
Why don’t you pull out more red herrings?
If I could choose, I would start the Glenn Franco Simmons is of the mafia since he once had an uncle in a mafia-controlled union, which my family called “the business,” and his Italian family is from North Beach, and he worked for Eel River Disposal. You know how those dirty Italians are, scumbags!
Just like those worthless little dweebs called Republicans.
Except I’m not a Republican, but I’ve seen myself described as such hundreds of times.
Actually, Tom, I can e-mail you a list of my shortcomings, my errors, my moral failings, my own hypocrisy, my short-sightedness, my waywardness.
It might be shocking, but I actually made really bad decisions on occasion at The Eureka Reporter.
I’m sure there will be future bad decisions.
I wish I could be as open and perfect as you, Tom.
In fact, my faults could fill a book, so if that’s what you are looking for, there ya go.
And, I’m NOT out of journalism or news.
Please get your facts straight, which you are definitely challenged by.
You just don’t know what I’m doing, nor what you are talking about.
Nor will I say.
So move on. Get over it.
Uhmmmm, before I move outside to my 92-degree sundrenched yard with the doves cooing, let me say this about the state of American journalism:
Until this nation has owners and/or organizations that do not have an ideology, then nearly every journalist in America is working for an organization that could be deemed “right” or “left.”
And not everyone can work for nonprofits.
That’s why I ended up working for KINS, Tom.
I’m from Humboldt County, except for a few years as a young boy before my family moved there.
It was not my job to counter what Hugo had on the air.
My job: report the news from city councils, the board and local communities. I did that without favor.
I was hired to specifically report on LOCAL news only at KINS.
I did not cover REGIONAL, NATIONAL or INTERNATIONAL news, except in a rare circumstance.
Now I know that might be a shock that my two-person (counting me as one) news crew could not cover the Pentagon, Iraq, Sacramento, Washington, D.C. etc., and I’m so sorry to disappoint you.
I guess I did a horrible job, huh? The hours my news was on went through the roof.
Jealous?
Also speaking to my independence is the fact that Larry Glass credited me and another reporter with being the fairest in Humboldt County in reporting on his issue with Rob Arkley.
Remember, Rob was my boss, too. Do you understand the pressure I was under? Do you realize that that very issue goes to the heart of my independence?
So save your holiness for someone else, Tom.
Find a new straw man.
Glenn Franco Simmons doesn’t matter anymore.
Move on.
Thank you anonymous, that is awfully kind of you, and very, very moving that you remember my stance on the Confederate flag.
That still haunts me to this day, as I am on a number of skinhead and racist Web sites, to which I was alerted by a researcher in Texas, who is writing a book that may have been recently published.
My stance on that issue, racism, anti-Semitism and scapegoating illegal and legal immigrants are never mentioned in Humboldt County, until now.
Thank you.
I stand corrected and humbled, Heraldo. Before I opened my mouth, err, had my fingers typing, I should have checked Statcounter, which I didn’t!
Glad to see you are doing well.
Heraldo, that’s my url. It probably works for other people. I think I am being directed to one of my followers. Must be on my end.
Oh, I must state that I told Rob Arkley and his person working with me from SNSC that going to print was a big mistake. That is one reason I was not liked by ER management.
Hey, Herald, if you could only get those GFS hits to go to my other blogs, I’d appreciate it.
Just kidding.
One other thing, Tom.
You know that little e-mail to Jake?
You missed something.
I was not only childish, but I was extremely and foolishly VERY arrogant.
I doubt Arkley appreciated your reporting on the Glass Avalon assault either Mr. Simmons. He probably expected some serious slack during the whole ordeal. Thank you for the honest reporting.
Glen, the statement about the company you keep was not about the Papsteins and I should have made that more clear. I was referring to Rush, Hannity and the others on that station and their support of those that would torture and go to war under false pretenses in our name.
Torture is pretty dark. Someone has to speak up when things like this are done. People like you and I are in a position to say something. If that’s not our job, than who’s is it?
Also, just trying to keep up with you today, I can see that you are light years ahead of me in your journalistic capabilities.
You type faster than I can even think.
As far as the news business, I am not even in your league. I do however have my own set of principles and they almost got me fired a few weeks ago. I didn’t give in though. That’s something we do have in common.
Glenn…where did you think Rey-Rey was going to end up? Who did you think was going to draft him?
The big lie about the Eureka Reporter’s circulation figure is that it was off by almost 200 papers? I think I’m missing something here.
I think the circulation numbers had more to do with this quote: “then found out all kinds of papers were ending up being dumped, stored in houses, etc.”
On top of that, the paper was free, so can you really be so literal with your printing/circulation numbers?
Glenn was just being honest…
Glen,
They’re just baiting you…leave it alone..move on..
a friend..
Wow, I think Glenn just received a threat.
Glenn,
I remember when the Eureka Reporter penned its editorial on Gay Marriage and I thought it was you. You really made my day. I always thought that your “editor’s notes” were very honest and I miss your journalism. I’m glad that the Herald has pointed me back towards your writing!
Cool shirt, too!
I like Tom and I like Glenn. I don’t listen to KINS.
Wow! Fascinating.
I’ll have to read all of this more carefully later when I have time.
Bahai? Cool. I know they don’t prostylize directly, but during my residence in the State of Washington I was invited to a meeting and met some great people while being introduced to delicious Persian cuisine. My impression was that they are to Islam what the Unitarians are to Christianity.
I would say Bahá’í is to Islam as Christianity is to Judaism. There was that Bahá’u'lláh dude and whatnot, sorta like Jesus and Mohammad. Unitarianism didn’t exactly make up a new set of beliefs… those people seem to believe whatever wacky shit they want and still manage to get along.
I personally think they are all nutjobs ignoring the power of Ra. I mean what do they think, Jesus bosses around the sun? I don’t think so, Ra would burn that ass up quick.
So Singleton has more balls than Arkley. But, does he have his own personal ball washer? Rob does.
Glen uses more words than I do.
Glenn said, “Calling people the “dark side” is scapegoating, filled with stereotypes and a gross over-generalization, Tom.”
Hope it’s not too off-topic, but I would note that some people in recent history have taken to that label voluntarily:
“We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will….It is a mean, nasty, dangerous dirty business out there, and we have to operate in that arena. I’m convinced we can do it; we can do it successfully….”
–Dick Cheney, Meet the Press, Sept. 16, 2001
Ah, Darth Cheney!
There I go again.
It probably hurts Seabourns rep on this board by me saying this…but….he and KGOE are the heartbeat of community media in the area. A fine fellow, an outstanding organization.
What kind of squirrels?
Mr Nice,
It’s not common knowledge, but Jesus was misquoted. He said “I am the son of man, the Sun God” (as in, “we have within us the power of God”). The scribes wrote, “I am the son of man, the son of God.” The rest is history.
Or something like that. Hoo-ra.