European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 16, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday october 16, 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page 23__.__ in " " -. ". Could Usa toddy re pledge stars d stars and stripes m a change shape in the next couple of years. Or if you like worst Case scenarios it could conceivably drop off the radar screen Al together. Given the budgetary Bellyache now affecting the entire military there Are inevitable questions about whether stripes can t do its thing More economically or whether stripes could be replaced for example by an off the shelf substitute like Usa today. A newspaper management expert has just begun a study of the possibility of consolidating the two stripes papers european and Pacific into a single head quarters perhaps located in the United states. Could such an operational merge provide troops abroad with satisfactory Hometown papers and save five or 10 million dollars in the bargain results of the study May be ready Early in 1995, in the meantime this is an Effort to examine some of the Botton line implications of that other idea eliminating stars and stripes and replacing it with Usa today. Is that workable for some years stars and stripes has been distributing both stripes and Usa today to military Newsstands in Europe and the Pacific. Stripes Sells for 50 cents a copy Usa today for 75 cents a., stripes loses Money of that 50-cent Price and requires therefore a govern ment subsidy. But according to David Mazzarella president of Gannett inter National Usa today is also losing Money at its higher 75-cent Price. The Price Kofusa today on civilian Newsstands abroad runs from $1.50 to �3.00 or More -. _ if stripes went out of business Jandusa today replaced it Usa today s losses on its overseas military sales would be even worse than they Are now. Be cause instead of piggybacking on the stripes delivery system it would then have to set up its own separate Organiza Tion of distributors. Or. Mazzarella is the executive in charge of the 20-Page International Edi Tion of Usa today the Only edition available for distribution to Europe and the Pacific. The Gannett company he says is not pursuing the idea of Usa today replacing stripes. But if it were Ever to enter into a Long Range contract to do so he says the company would understandably prefer to make Money not lose Money obviously for Usa today to replace stripes and make i a profit it would have to raise its Price to at least $1 or $1.25 a copy probably More in places like Japan. Neither the Congress nor the Pentagon is Likely to favor providing Usa today to american military people overseas at a Price of $1 or $1.25 when they re used to getting paper designed specifically for them at 50 cents. -. A nor would it make much sense to Abol ish stripes then take its authorized government subsidy and hand that Money Over to the Gannett company to try to Getus a today s Price Down to 50. Cents. Be cause beyond the Price differential Sepa rating the two papers there is an even More compelling Issue the Basic differences in editorial Content. Stripes is designed to be the Clos est thing possible to an american Home town paper for troops overseas. Us today while highly respected As Ameri Ca s Only mass audience National newspaper was never intended to Bra anyone s Hometown paper. It is designed As a Sec Bill Monroe ombudsman Ond paper a supplementary is edited for rank and file Mem Bers of the military. Usa today s inter National edition is edited for an affluent primarily civilian audience consisting chiefly of american travellers and English speaking foreign is Only a single editorial category in which Usa today has an Edge Over stripes Stock Market and business Coyer. Age. in regard to hard news stripes editors keep the interests of military readers i mind when they select each Day s nation Al and world news from the associate press and other wire services. Usa today editors understandably Cater to their own quite different readership. As to news of the military Community itself the european and Pacific editions of stripes have a combined total of40 full time reporters and photographers covering military units in the two Thea ters. Usa today is not geared to cover ing the local news of the overseas Mili tary. It has Only part time stringers abroad not a single full time foreign Cor respondent. Stripes and Usa today both allocate major space to National and world sports. But stripes own sports reporters an writers also cover the events and games of the military Community in Europe an the Pacific. Usa today does not. Strides has other elements common to full service Hometown papers but absent from Usa today elements conducive to a sense of Community Comfort factors supporting continuity and Quality of life for the american away from Home. These include comics More than 20 different strips from Beetle Bailey to Calvin and Hobbes. -. ". " advice columns dear Abby and Ann Landers. Letters to the editor forums for a wide spectrum of sometimes Strong Opin ions on military matters local problem Sand National issues. These Are often checked regularly by top military Leader interested in what the rank and file Are rapping about finally Usa today is a workday paper published five Days a week. Stripes a family paper comes out seven Days a week including color comics and special sections on sunday. The sunday paper has the heaviest readership of the week. None of this is to take anything away from Usa today a trailblazing american newspaper. It is successfully aimed at one audience. Stripes is Success fully aimed at another. Some 85,000 military americans counting both Heaters seek put stripes daily most of them buying it at news stands. They pay something like $14 million a year for it out of their own pockets. They buy it in preference to Usa today by a margin of 30 to share it with friends and family for an estimated total readership of 200,000 plus.". Xxv -. / could Usa today provide a satisfactory substitute for stars and stripes the dubious economics of the idea stripes military focused Hometown newspaper Content and the overwhelming Market place vote for stripes by service member Sall seem to say in decisive language no it could not. Monroe As ombudsman is an inde pendent observer of the editorial process involving this newspaper and the military Community it serves. His personal views on issues of interest to our readers will appear Here from time to Lime unedited by the newspaper. � \ letters to Bill Monroe should be addressed to Trio Ameri can forces information service 601 a Fairfax St.,.alexan Dria. A. 22314, what n Espa pers Are saying at the following editorial excerpts Are selected from a Cross Section of newspapers throughout. The United states the editorials Are provided by the associate press Scripps Howard news and other stateside Syndi Cates. A a times Union Albany,. How should the Clinton administration react to Saddam Hussein s latest provocation in the persian Gulf. By not taking anything for granted least of All the intentions of Saddam Hussein. Los Angeles times challenged by Iraq s menacing military moves toward Kuwait the Clinton administration responded with a resoluteness and decisiveness in both word and deed that do it credit Linton and his aides immediately and clearly saw what had to be done. Their judgment was sound their actions effective. Journal american Bellevue Wash. Senate majority Leader George Mitchell who is retiring at the end of this year agrees the Public has a right to be impatient with Congressi s time for members of Congress to come Home and explain to voters what they did and did t do. Star Tribune newspaper of the twin cities Minneapolis St. Paul the fatal blow dealt in the . Senate to a Bill regulating lobbyists and Banning their gifts to member of Congress would almost be laughable if the outcome weren t so sad for the wonder americans have Gro a weary and cynical about their government. .-.," Sun. V " Baltimore the 103rd Congress has now gone Home to face the voters after an extraordinary burst of bipartisan wrangling that marred an Early record of fairly solid accomplish nent. Republicans Are in an exultant mood even glorifying themselves As the guardians of gridlock in anticipation of big gains in the nov. 8 elections. Carlsbad . Current Argus us. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy contends he done nothing wrong but still he resigned his Post effective dec. 31the perception exists that Espy was on the take. To government officials at every level there Are no free lunches. Omaha neb world Herald a new Suweyn offers a View of americans sex live that might Surprise anyone who believed the entertainment Industry s depiction of normality. The study seems to offer a More realistic View of american sexual habits than has been seen elsewhere in recent years a View that is both appealing an traditional. Most people s lives never matched the silly excesses depicted on the tube. Now the study has indicated that those who live their lives modestly faithfully and sensibly Aren t alone. Thank goodness St. Petersburg Fla times maybe Congress had finally had enough of business As usual at the Central intelligence Agency. Congress has been urging Cia director James Woolsey for the last 18 months to take bold Steps to restructure the intelligence Community but the suggestions have been ignored so Congress is taking the matter in hand. Pittsburgh Post Gazette Given the extraordinary Effort made to preserve the. Natural environment of National Parks it is incongruous to permit the peaceful chirping of wild Birds to be overpowered by the noise of Low flying aircraft taking visitors on Aerial Tours
