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Will the Star-Observer’s new and partial focus continue to be light on the nightlife you want and need? You betcha! Unless of course there is ad money to be made. You won’t see actual reviews there, not a regular or deemed prudent practice by those past Republicans; and a message to HudsonWiNightlife, put more of them in when the music comes back.

The local, if I can call it that, news remains the same, even though there is yet another acquisition of the Hudson-Star-Observer, as much ballyhooyed in their latest round of weekly lead stories — and maybe even placed above the fold ahead of the once ethically forbidden ads at times taking up space.
The latest buyout will undoubtedly bring more of the same, just packaged differently under the guise of a “hyper-local” news focus that claims to go after, in part, the burgeoning Hudson street scene. This could be seen as a comparison I’ll make, to the classic metal album, back in the days before CDs, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son — and do the new powers that be and their alleged nightlife focus even know what I’m talking about? In the beginning there was the Star-Observer, which begat Western Wisconsin Publishing, which begat Rivertown News, which begat Red Wing Publishing Company, which begat Forum Publishing, which now begat O’Rourke Media Group, and then begat Moonchild Intergalactic News (again are they clueless about the music metaphor I just made up? And they think they have the chops to report on entertainment?)
Christ where does it end? It’s like the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel being bought out by Gannett as part of the deal to possess a randomly estimated 62 percent of the dailies In The State And Beyond, so free content for all practical purposes can be spread around.
<<News break: This added take on the political and journalism world and how it is viewed, the decisions, decisions these days, as seen through the eyes of the National Guard and the choices I assume they have to make — go northeast or northwest from Hudson to serve the massive need, you can’t do both. As Dire Straits sang: “Two men say they’re Jesus. One of them must be wrong. There’s a protest singer, he’s singing a protest song.” So, more on “hope” if you reference the Notes on the Beat department, and the last and I hope final political silliness, on a person to person level, under Uncatagorized.>>
Corporate Journalism is, again, alive and well here. And the reporters and even associate editors will tell you, on the QT, they hate what it has become.
Case in point: The hallmark of their what is old is now new again twist is a lengthy series on water quality as it is effected by, basically, corporate farming. (Is this the stained pot calling the same kettle black?) Good journalism, I’m sure, but there is nary a farm to be found in the Hudson area, so why is this on the front page of Star-Observer? Back to the future, as has been complained about at length by so many readers, for example, that the latest hiccup in hoidy-toidy Woodbury politics is of no interest to someone in even more hoidy toidy Hudson, and indeed that says something. Yet this is all we are fed here because, as you already know, it it getting by on the cheap, regurgitating something “regional” for free because it came from an affiliate. And they are everywhere!
I know all this because I used to be a big part of the public face at the Star-Observer, being the guy with the great big camera at all the local festivals, when the alleged main photographer always bailed and I would cover for her — but then after 16 years I got downsized. But people still associated me with the local rag, and I don’t know how many times a quiet evening out was very compromised by somebody bitching to me about why it is has fallen from grace and is not nearly what it used to be, and Joe can you do something about the scenario?
So it I’m sure will be, again, more of the same. You know it, and I know it, and they know it. The corporate game is to hope readers will not so distressed and distraught about the lack of true local news that they actually cancel their subscription. It is garbage in and garbage out, and apathy wins. Really want to get your game back on? HudsonWiNightlife will fix your sorry corporate butt for a small consultant fee, say the less than $16 an hour I made after 16 years on the job.
And this is not sour grapes, rather giving the public something they want, and that is a great read. Everyone likes to see the powers that be get taken to task. Its not personal, just business. And all you corporate hacks can surely understand that one.
Oh, this just in. This city of Hudson issued there annual water quality report, more postage and paper to all the souls that are within their jurisdiction, saying everything in Mayberry is just fine. But there was that local little old lady who found a grimy red drip out of her faucet, so maybe reporting that as far as the above criticized series does indeed make it local.
With that last bit of satire, lets see if the new Star-Observer can keep up with, in specialized content, HudsonWiNightlife. I will say, they are much better at being on top of new business stories that include nightclubs than I — since my website is more like a magazine than a breaking news, newspaper as far as timeliness — as then they can send one of their cutie pie young ad reps to wink at the owner and thus seal the final deal to extract advertisement dollars. And they did indeed be the first to point out that one of the latest dead men in the northern parts of Minneapolis was once a Hudson resident. Kudos to them for finally localizing it! Just don’t expect it on any kind of regular basis.
It takes all kinds in the publishing world; even they have their niche. It takes a village? Maybe that will help, between all of the various publishing outlets, to bring baby back the cool nightlife scene that was Hudson.

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