The first of the post cards have arrived today 4/12 and I am busy addressing them to post the first tomorrow. The initial batch are going out to the media, City and County elected officials, the nice folks at CBS TV (telling them to keep up the good works) and to neighbors in our development.
-----------------------------------------------4/15/10
The latest outgoing post cards are to the AJC advertisers
Previously post cards have been sent out to media, City and County elected officials, homeowners and also several businesses are passing them out to their patrons. 500 post card are in the initial received order and another 500 will arrive shortly.
This is a consumer/homeowner unfriendly newspaper and until they change their nose in the air attitude such unfavorable publicity will continue. CBS TV continues with its efforts to get the AJC's attention, however, the paper seems intent on ignoring public opinion.
I believe that the next step is a picket line in front of their building.
Tell them to 'knock it off' and keep their trash off your property!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AKA: Evening Edge) 72 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, GA. 30303
Senior Management:
Publisher - Michael Joseph, 404-526-5889, mjoseph@ajc.com
Editor - Julia Wallace, 404-526-7679, jdwallace@ajc.com
Senior Vice President, Circulation/Production/Technology - Bob Eickhoff, 404-526-5011, beickhoff@ajc.com
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer - Todd Cregar, 404-526-5125, tcregar@ajc.com
Senior Vice President, Human Resources - Susan Davidson, 404-526-5377, sdavidson@ajc.com
Senior Vice President, Sales - Moya Neville, 404-526-2009, moya.neville@ajcmediasolutions.com
Vice President, Sr. Managing Editor - James Mallory, 404-526-5325, jmallory@ajc.com
Vice President, Marketing - Amy Chown, 404-526-7214, achown@ajc.com
With various contact info via:
Home Delivery/Circulation (404) 522-4141
listen@ajc.com,
customercare@ajc.com
Editorial Staff Karen Park, Editor, (404) 526-7526 kpark@ajc.com
Newsroom: (404) 526-7003 newstips@ajc.com
Advertising: AJC Media Solutions, (404) 526-5775
AJC Reach:
Erica Singleton (404)-526-5079.
Misc:
ajcclass@ajc.com
letters@ajc.com
insideajc@ajc.com
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Cobb: Atlanta Newspaper Breaks The Law
Code: Must Stop Delivery At Resident RequestMABLETON, Ga. -- CBS Atlanta has learned that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has broken Cobb County's litter law, by refusing to cease delivery after residents' requests. "It's just pathetic," said resident Jewel Woolridge.
Jewel Woolridge lives across the street from a Mableton home that has more than a dozen copies of the AJC's Reach and Evening Edge circulars piled in the driveway. Common sense would say, if the house looks vacant, don't throw trash in other people's yard," said Woolridge.
Patrick Oakley agreed. Every week he said ads blow off his neighbors' lawns and into the sewer. "Those letters go into the drains and straight into the river," said Oakley. He started calling the AJC two months ago, and asked to be taken off their delivery list. "It took me at least five or six phone calls," said Oakley. "I would call every Monday, and every Monday it would show back up again."
On one of those calls, Oakley was told the driver would stop delivering and pick up the old papers, so he said he left them in his yard for a few weeks. "I got a letter from my homeowners' association warning me to pick up the trash in my yard and on my driveway," said Oakley.
Cobb County litter code states that any newspaper that continues to deliver "after having received notice from a person to be removed from the distribution list," is in violation. Code enforcement officials said, after several complaints, they called the AJC, who sent a representative to talk to neighbors who wanted off the list. But management for Oakley's subdivision said they've called the paper repeatedly, and even sent two cease and desist letters to the AJC, but got no response.
"I feel like I should take them all and dump them on the AJC's front lawn.," said Oakley. "I don't see the difference." The AJC did not respond to requests for an interview, or questions about the pile at the Mableton home.
See story at: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/23071052/detail.html ========================================================= 2/25/10
AJC Promises to the BBB to STOP Dumping Their Advertising Sections on my Property are Broken!
"We have received a request to stop Evening Edge at 3236 Summer Stream Lane, Kennesaw, Ga 30152. We have stopped all Circulars at this address. I apologize for the delay in a response to your complaint. However, please be assured that we can and will pick up any circulars in your driveway or on your lawn that we have delivered in error. Your request to have the Evening Edge stopped at your address for good has been properly noted and received. Thanks for your Patience."
Keep in mind that this reply was sent to the BBB on Wed 2/17. On both Thursday 2/18 and today 2/25, the Evening Edge was tossed into the driveway! So absolutely nothing has changed.
I note that they say they can come out and pick up the flyers if I call them. You might recall that a large part of my complaint is that I am gone a considerable part of the year from the Kennesaw residence, thus I am not home for weeks/months at a time and won't be able to call to have the accumulation of unwanted papers removed, so that assurance is absolutely worthless.
Reply to my BBB Complaint
The AJC finally replied and said they would stop dumping the Evening Edge onto my property. I suspect they will, for a few weeks, then they will be back tossing it onto my driveway again.
MY COMPLAINT:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a Thursday handout which they have tossed into driveways, or on lawns or sidewalks.
The contents are just advertising flyers and sections of the AJC which contain advertising. There is no 'news' value to these throw downs.
These throw aways are NOT wanted by me. I do not subscribe to the paper, do not read it from the news boxes etc. I have no interest in the AJC and in particular I am not interested in their advertising crap landing on my property.
I have complained to them (on 12/3/09) and it stopped for 2 Thursdays, then today it started up again today, one in my driveway, one at the curb in front of the house and a further wrapper only which seems to have blown in from elsewhere on the block.
I am a firm supporter of the 1st Amendment and rely on its protection as a citizen journalist with over 90 blogs of my own. I do NOT believe that the 1st Amendment gives the AJC or any other publication any cover for tossing litter on my property and certainly NOT after having been told not to.
On 12/3 I thought I had the problem taken care of, seems like I don't. In addition to owning my little quarter acre I also own an artificial heart valve, disabled parking tags from 2 states and a real poor disposition when it comes to morons who want to toss crap on my driveway and lawn which I have to go out and pick up.
An additional reason for my annoyance is that I have an out of state residence and spend about 1/2rd of my time there. As I have now twice pointed out to the AJC Executive Office, the piling up of such uncollected throw aways is a major tip off to the criminal element that there is no one in residence.
I don't want to come back after being away for 8 weeks to find my house cleaned out because the AJC has been tossing these things on the driveway and made it apparant to the burglars that no one was home.
There are now 4 sites about this problem, soon there will be considerably more:
http://atlantajournallitterproblems.blogspot.com/
http://atlantajournalconstitutionsucks.blogspot.com/
http://www.atlantajournal-constitution.blogspot.com/
http://eveningedge.blogspot.com/
==================================
This is a problem nationwide with other newspapers and you can find this info at:
"How Can I Make The Newspaper Stop When I Don't Subscribe?"
Go to: http://consumerist.com/2010/01/how-can-i-make-the-newspaper-stop-when-i-dont-subscribe.html
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Thurs. Feb. 18, 2010
At 8:55 a.m. the Evening Edge was in the driveway, by 9:40 a.m. the surveillance camera shows it being blown down the street.
2/13/10
Away for a week and I come back to find that they are still dumping this Evening Edge onto my property. They just don't listen!
2/4/10
Despite complaints to the AJC and to the Better Business Bureau, the junk papers keep coming. This Thursday there are 2 instead of the usual one.
Better Business Bureau
1/23/10
Double click for larger image
======================================================It is time to stop the AJC Litter!
Jan 1, 2010
The Marietta Daily Journal had for years the same sort of Thursday handout paper. I complained about this 'trash isssue' to them at least 10 times and each time it stopped for varying periods of time. I don't know if the AJC is running a similar handout or if they simply took over the Daily Journals operation. Whichever is correct the same issue exists: neither paper has any 'right' to throw trash on private property and in particular NOT after having been advised not to do it.
------------------------------------
Jan 22, 2010
UPDATE:
Despite being told that the AJC would discontinue throwing their trash handout advertising section on my property, here they are still doing it.
I have complained again and no one has been in contact. A Better Business Bureau complaint is going out tomorrow.
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Residents: Driveway Drops Litter Our Neighborhoods By Lesley Tanner, CBS Atlanta Reporter 10/17/09
ATLANTA -- A group of Atlanta residents say the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's weekly ads are littering their neighborhoods.
David Eckoff pointed out the litter that he said he finds in front of dozens of Virginia Highland homes. "Week after week they are piling up," said Eckoff.
The advertising circular, called the AJC Reach, is delivered weekly to driveways across Atlanta. But Eckoff said many delivery drivers throw it onto the sidewalk or into the street.
The publisher, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, used to deliver the ads by mail. They wouldn't answer CBS Atlanta's tough questions on camera, but a spokesperson said the rising cost of postage forced them to make a change.
"It's unacceptable to reduce cost for a company by increasing litter throughout my neighborhood, and many others throughout Atlanta," said Eckoff.
Those neighborhoods include the Kirkwood area, where Jeffery Childers lives. "Every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I simply dread," said Childers. "When I'm out walking the dogs, my litter pickup is two to three times greater than it is on any other day."
AJC officials admitted there have been problems with the national delivery company they hired. They put a phone number on the front page for residents who want to cancel delivery to their home, or vacant homes in the neighborhood, but Eckoff said it's not enough. He started a Web site, StopAJCReach.org, to urge residents to boycott Reach advertisers.
"It's one point of economic pressure we can put on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to make them stop," said Eckoff.
The president of Pro-Carpet, which advertises with Reach, told CBS Atlanta he agrees with residents' concerns. He said he even asked the publisher to go back to mail deliveries, but was told they didn't have the budget.
If you have a question about Reach delivery in your area, or want to cancel delivery, call 404-526-9473.
====================================
From:
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/23017222/detail.html
Are Atlanta Newspaper Ads Breaking City Law?
Ordinance Regulates Ad Circulars On Private Property
By Lesley Tanner, CBS Atlanta Reporter
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/index.html
l
ATLANTA -- Winnie Currie said she spends her afternoon walks looking for the AJC Reach advertisements that litter her street. Currie said the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's delivery methods are annoying and illegal.
"It's not the proper way to deliver fliers," said Currie.
City code states that handbills, including ad circulars, can't be thrown onto public property. CBS Atlanta found several on public sidewalks and in the street. And even the ones on private property must be "placed or deposited in a manner reasonably designed to prevent the handbill from being blown or drifted about."
CBS Atlanta tried to ask officials at the AJC tough questions about the law, but were asked to turn off the cameras and leave the building. A spokesperson came outside to speak with the reporter, but said no one would be available to do an interview.
CBS Atlanta also contacted the Department of Public Works, which enforces the law, and officials there said they contacted the AJC, and if changes aren't made quickly, they'll start writing citations. Residents like Currie are skeptical.
"When the fliers start showing up on the porch, and not on the sidewalk or in the front yard, I'll believe it," said Currie.
In a written statement, AJC officials said they are working closely with local government and residents to comply with city ordinances.
=======================================
Almost gave up on the guy. I guess I should call the AJC and tell them that their spy was late for work!
Arrived 9:53, Left 4:05
Honda Civic BKL 344
My initial thoughts were that it was some sort of private surveillance of a home in the subdivision, perhaps it was even Dog The Bounty Hunter Jr. My efforts to get info from the local PD were at first less than successful. Yesterday I emailed the Chief of Police Westenburger and this morning I got a personal call from him about what was going on.
The people/cars in front of my house were there courtesy of the AJC to keep an eye out for any misdelivery of their papers from the route carriers they use. I have 4 blogs critical of the AJC and have made a bit of a pest of myself so I guess it a case of 'the wheel that makes the most noise' getting some attention.
Obviously I am pleased to know that there is nothing sinister being investigated in my neighborhood and I am also a bit amazed that the AJC has gone to this extent to monitor their carriers. I will leave any editorial comments to others to make as I am still scratching my head over the information.
Top: On the job from 8:58 am to 12:53 pm, then lunch and back at 1:10 pm until 4:27 pm.
The photos here are not from my camera system but from a personal camera I used once the activity came to my notice via the fixed cameras.
The problem with a single guy sitting in front of someones house for 7 1/2 hours is that it attracts attention. Here is a neighbor who has his daughters with him asking the guy what he was up to.
Monday and Thursdays the Atlanta Journal Constitution supplies a watcher to sit in front of my house. Must be a boring job, but on this particular day it is suppose to be the hottest day of the summer.
