On April 30th - CBS-TV Atlanta has reporter Harry Samler, (Harry.Samler@cbs46.com) doing a 6 a.m. segment on complaints on this issue from a Kennesaw reader.
Interviewed was:
MR. GERALD COOPER, 2150 TOWNE MANOR DR.
KENNESAW, GA. 30144
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION - The largest source of litter in Georgia
I note that a Kennesaw resident has complained to CBS 46 about the vast amount of litter that the AJC tosses into driveways, lawns and sidewalks in Kennesaw.
On Monday 4/30/18 reporter Harry Samler, Harry.Samler@cbs46.com will have a report on this at their 6 a.m. slot and from my prior experience in being on local TV it will be repeated about 4 times over 2 days with slight changes of verbage. And YES I was on TV with this issue ten or so years ago, don't recall which network it was.
I wish them well, however, without having seen more than the promo pluggins the report I have to say that my expectations are that the AJC will fob them off with phoney references to a ‘Do Not Throw List’ that citizens can register for by phone.
Does this work? From experience I can give you a firm ‘maybe’.
It should take 5 or so weeks for your address to filter down the the regional manager and get added to the list. Said list is only good if the retiree or college student doing the drive by tossing of papers bothers to look at it, some don’t, particularly if they know they will be leaving shortly.
I went back and forth with the AJC for years while living in Kennesaw. See: https://atlantajournal-constitution.blogspot.com/ I made up post cards, magnets etc and passed them out endlessly.
Now and then the Summer Stream development I was in had deliveries of this crap stopped, then it would start up again.
As usual the City of Kennesaw elected officials of that time were completely useless and would not touch the issue with a ten foot pole. Probably they wouldn’t get involved even now with a new crew rowing that leaky ship.
The entire issue pits ‘Freedom of the Press’ against an individuals right to their quiet enjoyment of their property (ie: not having to go out and pick up useless crap that dipshits toss onto your property).
Property owners simply lose on this issue. Not just in Kennesaw but all across the country.
I looked into getting a TRO issued to stop the littering of my property, the cost for an individual, or even an HOA, is prohibitive. Cox, the parent company of the AJC has deep pockets so there is little that individuals, even HOA’s can do. They will run out of money before Cox does.
Where I am now, I understand that 2 sections of the 663 home subdivision are getting the junk tossed onto their property and 2 sections are not. Fortunately I am in one of the sections that this is not happening in.
Go take a look at the blog site. Maybe you or CBS can come up with a solution, I and others were not able to do it.
----------------------------------
1/21/16
New Name For ACI Media Group, it is now 'ACI Last Mile Network'. ("From print to parcels, we are the last mile".)
This is the 3rd rate firm that delivers the junk flyers for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
See: http://acilastmile.com
Jan 21, 2016
You have to start some place on this long running trash tossing issue. The AJC's delivery firm is, for now, at the top of this blog.
If you don't want to read about this incompetent ACI bunch and how bad a job they do, then just scroll down and get to the info on the AJC.
------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a little aside about ACI and how they are screwing up in Boston.
Again, if you are not interested then keep scrolling down for more about the AJC/ACI in metro Atlanta.
Globe staffers prepare newspapers for delivery in Newton.
Credit: Craig LeMoult
How The Globe’s Home-Delivery Woes Morphed From An Annoyance Into A Crisis
January 4, 2016
Boston Globe owner John Henry now has a full-blown crisis on his hands. Before Sunday night, the Globe’s inability to deliver newspapers to its paying customers looked like an annoying but manageable problem—provided it was solved within the next few days. But the stunning revelation by the paper’s new distributor that it could take four to six months for home delivery to return to normal changes everything.
Following Sunday night’s devastating story by Globe reporters Mark Arsenault and Dan Adams (it’s also on the front of today’s print edition if you can find one), it’s clear that there is going to be an ugly—and very public—standoff between the Globe and the new distributor, ACI Media Group of Long Beach, California.
Earlier claims that only 5 percent of customers were being affected have given way to reality. The Globe’s chief executive, Mike Sheehan, now says the number is 10 percent, citing ACI’s own figures. Anecdotally, that still seems low. As of this morning, people living in 112 zip codes are still experiencing delays. Or, as many customers have been complaining, no delivery at all.
Other than the four- to six-month timeframe, I thought the most mind-boggling part of the Globe story was a quote from Jack Klunder, the president and chief executive of ACI, who claims he told Globe executives exactly what to expect:
“I said ‘I cannot describe to you how painful it is,’ ” Klunder said, recounting his warning to Globe officials. “I used the expression ‘massive disruption.’ ... You’re going to get thousands of calls, emails—social media is going to be blistering you. The news media is going to be blistering you. You’re going to like where you are at the end of this cycle but you’re going to go through this.”
Sheehan essentially denies being told that, saying the problems of the past week go “far beyond any reasonable definition of disruption.”
Incredibly, Arsenault and Adams also report that ACI can’t be held liable for any performance problems during the first three months of the contract.
A final point. If you feel tempted to snark about the Globe’s dependence on print circulation some 20 years into the digital age, you need to understand a few things about the newspaper business. Digital is both the present and the future, of course. But print is still where the money is, not just for the Globe but for nearly all newspapers. Online, advertising is ubiquitous and therefore cheap. In print, advertising remains a lucrative if declining source of revenue.
- See more at: https://news.wgbh.org/post/how-globe-s-home-delivery-woes-morphed-annoyance-crisis#sthash.JzhHGhUj.dpuf
This is one of several sites set up to inform the public of just how bad the littering problem is with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and ACI(American Circulation Innovators) throwing 88,000,000 advertising circulars around the metro Atlanta area each year.
If you want some info on ACI's 7 month tenure in Dallas and how they mis-handled their Dallas Morning News 'Briefing' distribution in 2008 and 2009 go to: http://www.unclebarky.com/dfw_files/a70b4e96a296f071988315444de53acb-1022.html and also: http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2008/december/briefing-dmns-latest-struggling-experiment
The AJC admits that this is done 'to save money', originally they mailed out these pieces of junk mail, but for the last 4 years have had ACIemploy 800 housewives, retirees and college students to drive through our metro Atlanta area neighborhoods and throw these circulars onto our property.
Take a look at the site and then hopefully you will cancel any subscription you have with the AJC (they only have a circulation of 231,094) and Boycott anyone advertising in the circulars.
NEW NAME FOR ACI Media Group, it is now ACI Last Mile Network.
(From print to parcels, we are the last mile.)
Note: In a new addition to my own years old fight against AJC littering in Metro Atlanta there is now a new site which is updated and replaces an old 'dot org' pay site which was set to be deactivated. My 4 'old' sites remain.
Here is the link to this new site: http://stopajcreach.wordpress.com/
Have complaints? Contact -
Willie Leonar, Buyer’s Edge Select / AJC Reach program at AJC (wleonard@ajc.com);
Robert McDonaldm ACI Circulation 404-849-1337; (rmcdonald@acicirculation.com)
--------------------------------------------------------
Before we get to the complaint here is some relevant info FYI:
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION CIRCULATION FIGURES
Households in Metro Atlanta 2,619,912
Home Delivery Daily Average:
Home Delivery Daily Average:
Sun. 170,490
Mon. 76,914
Tue. 77,028
Wed. 76,998
Thu. 112,366
Fri. 101,891
Sat. 104,711
Mon. 76,914
Tue. 77,028
Wed. 76,998
Thu. 112,366
Fri. 101,891
Sat. 104,711
----------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately the AJC is now back to an A+ rating despite complaints like this that the AJC stimply fluffs off - why not put in your own complaint about them?
Complaint Category: Delivery Complaint Issue
Complaint: I have been trying for several years to get the AJC to stop throwing their unsolicited and unwanted advertising supplements (AJC ********* AJC ************) in my yard.
Despite repeated phone calls and repeated promises, they continue to do so. I want this stopped permanently and immediately. This is trash and I do not want it. I am trying to solve this problem permanently.
Initial Business Response
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with me. I apologize for the inconvenience and delay in response. This is certainly not the level of service we want to provide to our community. In regards to stopping the deliveries and honoring your requests, the BBB report has been sent to the marketing manager, we are aware that this has been an ongoing issue for you and we are committed to having the deliveries stopped permanently.
Final Consumer Response
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As soon as I receive the written response I will consider this specific incident closed. Until then it is not resolved.
Final Business Response
The written communication was sent to Mr. ***** on february 26, 2014.
Complaint Resolution: BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/newspapers/the-atlanta-journal-constitution-in-atlanta-ga-1226/complaints#sthash.H6kDGhxt.dpuf
ALSO: Some residents in Chicago are taking the matter up and it might be worth keeping an eye on what they accomplish. Here is the article titles:
"Residents Of Chicago Neighborhood Sue To Stop Weekly Plague Of Coupon Circulars"
In addition to having the contract to deliver the AJC advertising supplements, American Circulation Innovators distributes the YP phone
books in some areas and lists them as their client on the ACI web page.
See:
http://www.acicirculation.com/partners.html
For larger image right click on document and open in new window-
=================================================
article at:
http://consumerist.com/2013/05/21/residents-of-chicago-neighborhood-sue-to-stop-weekly-plague-of-coupon-circulars/ and also see: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-tribune-sued-over-shoppers-20130521,0,4088592.storyIn addition to having the contract to deliver the AJC advertising supplements, American Circulation Innovators distributes the YP phone
books in some areas and lists them as their client on the ACI web page. See:
http://www.acicirculation.com/partners.html
The below is one strong argument why most local
jurisdictions are not willing to take up the issue of unwanted advertising
supplements which are dumped onto our lawns and driveways.
Unfortunately the 1st Amendment
seems to trump individual property rights and most cities back down from any enforcement of 'litter' ordnances fearing that the 1st Amendment will make such attempts an expensive legal black hole which will suck up scarce taxpayer money.
Unfortunately the 1st Amendment
seems to trump individual property rights and most cities back down from any enforcement of 'litter' ordnances fearing that the 1st Amendment will make such attempts an expensive legal black hole which will suck up scarce taxpayer money.
The Consumerist had the info and quoted the LA Times
article, here is the link to that article: http://consumerist.com/2012/10/15/judge-rules-its-yellow-pages-constitutional-right-to-be-chucked-at-your-door-subsequently-thrown-out/
and their article leads to the below item:
Yellow Pages protected by 1st
Amendment, court says
Los Angeles
Times - October 15, 2012
Phone books,
the hefty tomes of telephone numbers that invited consumers to “let your
fingers do the walking,” are protected by the 1st Amendment, a federal appeals
court ruled Monday.
A three-judge
panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a Seattle ordinance
that required publishers of the directories to obtain permits and pay fees
before tossing the thick books on driveways.
The fees were
supposed to pay for a program in which residents could opt out of receiving the
books, but directory publishers said the regulations were unconstitutional.
The 9th Circuit
acknowledged that the Internet has replaced phone books for many consumers, and
some residents may no longer want the directories.
“The Yellow
Pages telephone directory was once a ubiquitous part of American life, found in
virtually every household and office,” wrote Judge Richard R. Clifton, an
appointee of former President George W. Bush. “But times have changed, and
today phone books, like land-line telephones themselves, are not so universally
accepted.”
Still, phone
books, like newspapers, are protected by free-speech guarantees, the court
said. “The 1st Amendment does not make protection contingent on the perceived
value of certain speech,” the court said.
To see this
brief article go to: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/phone-books-the-hefty-tomes-of-telephone-numbers-that-invited-consumers-to-let-your-fingers-do-the-walking-are-pr.html
Here is what the Cobb County Attorney has to say about the issue.
For larger image right click on document and open in new window-
Time to put in your BBB Complaint!
As of Oct 20th The Atlanta Journal-Constitution BBB Business Review is being updated by BBB.
One very minor bit of info is that after years and years of A+ ratings from the BBB the AJC is was 'down' to a B+ for a few months for its failure to reply to complaints and failure to satisfy other complaints. As of mid-August 2013 their rating is again at the unjustifiable A+ levelSo while I usually refer to the BBB as the Better Cover Up Bureau it just might be worth while to file an online complaint with them. A reader did contact me with the information that when he did not get satisfaction from the AJC itself that a complaint to the BBB got results:
BBB of NE Georgia
503 Oak Place, Suite 590
Atlanta, GA 30349
www.bbb.org
The quickest way is online at: http://atlanta.bbb.org/
Customer Complaints Sumary
131 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years.
The Atlanta BBB has recently started putting complaints online so you can read them on their site. There are about 7 up so far but only three are about throwing the junk flyers, here it is and I am sure that many more will follow:
09/26/2013 Delivery Issues | Read Complaint Details
Complaint Category: Delivery of unordered products
Complaint: I do not subscribe to the AJC. I continually get their free Evening Edition newspaper thrown onto my lawn or driveway. They distribute them to every house in the neighborhood, including vacant and abandoned houses. The Evening Edition is only supposed to be delivered to AJC subscribers. I have called 4 times now to complain about the delivery. It creates an obsence amount of litter and mess in my neighborhood. People don't pick up the "free" papers so they get wet, smeared all over the roads, it's such a waste of paper.
Initial Business Response
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with me. I apologize for the inconvenience. This is certainly not the level of service we want to provide to our community. The address provided has been removed from our marketing list.
Final Consumer Response
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
As long as the AJC sticks to their statement this time I will be satisfied. Supposedly I have been removed from their marketing list for the last 4 months but I have continually had their litter thrown in my yard. I wish they would cease the delivery all together unless an address opts in. My neighborhood is not the greatest- there are abandoned and empty houses. These free coupon papers junk up my entire neighborhood with mounds of them lying in front of houses. The papers get wet, driven over and smeared all over the roadways. It looks horrible and is the main source of litter in my neighborhood. They are not a responsible company when it comes to caring for the environment.
09/20/2013 Delivery Issues | Read Complaint Details
Complaint Category: Delivery of unordered products
Complaint:
Several years ago, I lodged a complaint with the BBB regarding the Evening Edge, a non-requested delivery publication of the AJC. It took more than 5 months to get them to STOP the unwanted deliveries. Starting last week,they have started throwing them in my driveway again, advertising when I am out of town or unable to retrieve them for other reasons. It is a waste of trees, money, and in my opinion, a way for the AJC to advertise their consumer base as being much larger than it is. Our neighborhood organization, ***** has also been notified of this unwanted delivery by numerous residents of our neighborhood. PLEASE STOP DELIVERING THE EVENING EDGE FOREVER!
Initial Business Response
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with me. I apologize for the inconvenience. This is certainly not the level of service we want to provide to the community. I have contacted the Marketing manager to confirm your address is not on any distribution lists and informed the new carrier to stop all deliveries. This process usually takes two weeks to get the papers completely stopped but you will not have this issue going forward.
09/16/2013 Delivery Issues | Read Complaint Details
Complaint Category: Delivery of unordered products
Complaint: I have called for 13 consecutive weeks to get the Sunday supplement paper stopped. I have asked for someone in management to call and no one will return my calls. I don't understand why it is so difficult to stop this paper. I spoke with someone last Monday that guaranteed me this paper would be stopped, I got it again today. It is delivered by a different carrier than my Sunday paper. You would think after 13 weeks this paper could be stopped!!! The problem is when I stop the Sunday paper when I go on vacation, this paper is still delivered, which is a big problem telling everyone NO ONE is home. I am hoping you can help in getting this paper STOPPED!!!
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2013 AJC Circulation Figures -
Circulation averages for the six months ended 3/31/13 compared to one year ago figures:
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA (M-F)
2012: 180,592 2013: 231,094 (up +50,502)
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA SUN
2012: 402,602 2013: 644,287 (up +241,685)
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA AVG (Sat)
2012: 174,251 2013: 163,721 (down -10,530)
Phone: (404) 526-5151
Fax: (404) 526-5023
223 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE, Fl 5
Atlanta, GA. 30346-1301
==============================================
Misc. Update for Readers:
Now and then I get a reader contact about their own problems with the AJC trash, unfortunately there is really no good news to report. The AJC continues to toss their crap all over Metro Atlanta with no regard for what homeowners think about the matter.
I continue to be amazed that the BBB still (as of today 12/13/12) gives them a rating of A+. As you can see I complain to them from time to time but the volume of complaints is only "103 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 35 closed in last 12 months".
The only minor suggestion I have at the moment is for the readers here to also put in a complaint, takes about 20 minutes doing it online, AND THEN print out a copy for your records and send it to the AJC brass at their email addresses which was updated 5/26/13:
aglennon@ajc.com, kriley@ajc.com, bcooper@ajc.com, jason.smith@ajc.com, mneville@ajc.com, jmckinnon@ajc.com, achown@ajc.com, dmiller@ajc.com
(note: if you find the name of an AJC employee but no email address try contacting them by: first initial, last name then @ajc.com, ie: John Smith would be jsmith@ajc.com)
Their full names, titles and phone numbers etc can be found at: http://www.scmaonline.net/georgia.htm
You might also post on consumer complaint sites such as: http://www.ripoffreport.com
=================================================
Yeah, I've seen just how well this works-
Subject: Response from AJC Publisher Mike Joseph
Date: 9/28/2010 10:29:36 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From: JPetty@ajc.com
To: Consumer2010@aol.com
Dear Mr. Harris,
On behalf of the AJC, I wanted to respond to your e-mail to Publisher Mike Joseph on Monday, Sept. 27.
REACH has served customers and advertisers by delivering valuable savings every week for nearly 20 years. It provides effective advertising solutions to both small and large advertisers across metro Atlanta as well as every week offering hundreds in savings to consumers.
Moving to driveway delivery is a decision that we, along with many others in metro Atlanta and across the country, have made due to rising postal costs and the need for guaranteed day-of-week delivery. That said, we will always honor individual requests to discontinue or move delivery back to the mail. Residents can e-mail reachee@ajc.com, or call to request a delivery change: 404-526-9473. This number also is printed prominently on the REACH product itself.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Petty, Public Relations Specialist, AJC
================================================
Years of complaints have been ignored!
Above ACI Distribution Center
Despite years of complaints to the AJC, to the BBB and setting up several blogs like this on the subject, the Atlanta Journal Constitution persists in throwing their unwanted advertising flyers onto my property.
After some months with no such activity today Oct 4th, they are back at it. The whole subdivision (54 houses) now have these advertising flyers on their lawns, sidewalks and driveways. In my case I DO NOT want them but they pay no attention. It is time to boycott the AJC!
Updated 10/14/12: The below 10/11/11 post referred to the BBB having taken down the AJC info at this time last year. Today I looked at their site again and it was down again with the notation: ""BBB's information on this company is being updated, and no report is available at this time."
It will probably be back up shortly and my guess is that they will keep their unwarranted A+ rating.
If you have ten minutes you can put in your own BBB complaint at: bbb.org
Note:
An excellent summary of the AJC problem by Brian Easter is found at: http://www.neboagency.com/blog/art-of-garbage-marketing/
10/11/11
Why no BBB report for their long time member?
This is one of several sites set up to inform the public of just how bad the littering problem is with the Atlanta Journal Constitution and ACI (American Circulation Innovators) throwing 88,000,000 advertising circulars around the metro Atlanta area each year.
The AJC admits that this is done 'to save money', originally they mailed out these pieces of junk mail, but for the last two years have had ACI employ 800 housewives, retirees and college students to drive through our metro Atlanta area neighborhoods and throw these circulars onto our property.
Take a look at the site and then hopefully you will cancel any subscription you have with the AJC (they only have a circulation of 183,000) and Boycott anyone advertising in the circulars.
2 Mailings are being prepared
10/7/11
Some of the readers of this site will soon be receiving a mailing containing a collection of informational post cards and magnets along with the below text. The first mailing was sent out 10/6/11.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
250 Informational packets, such as those enclosed
here are being sent to:
1. AJC/ACI employees
2. Media representatives
3. Homeowners
4. AJC Advertisers
A further 250 will be mailed later in the month.
Various internet sites are online dealing with the
AJC/ACI’s massive littering of Metro Atlanta.
Subscribers are asked to cancel subscriptions and
advertisers are asked to boycott the AJC until they
cease their massive littering campaign.
Here are my 4 blogsites, plus one other put up by other annoyed consumers:
http://www.atlantajournal-constitution.blogspot.com/
http://atlantajournallitterproblems.blogspot.com/
http://atlantajournalsucks.blogspot.com/
http://eveningedge.blogspot.com/
and also see:
http://stopajcreach.wordpress.com
Here is one of the people responsible for tossing all this crap around Atlanta!
Below are the people that run ACI, find their home addresses and dump some crap on their lawns and see how they like it!
John G. Walsh, Executive VP and COO, (died July 26, 2012)
David Morel, Vice President/Operations,
Randall Brant, Vice President/Sales and Marketing,
Amin Ahmed, Director of Information Technologies,
Tony Traven, Director of Home Delivery,
Heather Buscombe, CPA, Director of Finance/Controller,
Hank Meyer, Director of Alternate Delivery
Here are some email addresses for the ACI brass above, tell them what you think of their company:
ksomers@acicirculation.com; ttraven@acicirculation.com; rbrant@acicirculation.com; ksummers@acicirculation.com; jcraig@acicirculation.com; dmonts@acicirculation.com; aedwards@acicirculation.com; medge@acicirculation.com; ejo@acicirculation.com; tsanchez@acicirculation.com, and don't forget one of the AJC people: JPetty@ajc.com;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torrey Sanchez
News Media Circulation Manager at American Circulation InnovationTorrey Sanchez
Drop him a line and tell him what you think of all the litter they are throwing around Atlanta:
Torrey Sanchez3380 Town Point Dr., NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Take a look at the ACI web site at: http://www.acicirculation.com/
September 2009 – Present (2 years 2 months) Greater Atlanta Area
"I work closely with the Market Director and lead a team of sixteen employees and nearly eight hundred Independent Contractors through a weekly distribution of 1.3 million copies of Atlanta Journal Constitution media products weekly."
===================================================
AJC/ACI Wants YOU!
Hurry over and bring your SSN card, vehicle insurance, drivers license and sign up for a minimum wage job tossing crap onto peoples property!
This pictured one is located at:
ACI Dist. Center at
3380 Town Point Dr., NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
The other 2 are located at:
South Fulton (Atlanta)
5295 Buffington Rd. Ste. 200-I
College Park, GA 30349
North De Kalb (Atlanta)
675 Park N. Blvd., Ste. 100
Clarkston, GA 30021
ACI Sites FYI:
http://www.acicirculation.com/, and also http://www.acicirculation.com/core-tech.html
The below advertisement is typical of all ads for ACI:
"BBB's information on this company is being updated, and no report is available at this time."
The info has been updating for at least 2 months, my below 8/4/11 post also mentioned this. Why is it taking so long to 'update' the information? My guess is that the BBB has had so many complaints about this 3rd rate newspapers littering that if they actually rated the AJC they would have to downgrade the usual A+ rating and of course that might make the AJC decide to quit the BBB. The AJC has been a dues paying BBB member since 1952.
Take out a few minutes of your time and put in your own complaint about the AJC littering problem. You can do this online in just a few minutes or you can write via snail mail. Here is the contact information:
BBB of NE Georgia
503 Oak Place, Suite 590
Atlanta, GA 30349
www.bbb.org
The quickest way is online at: http://atlanta.bbb.org/
===================================================
Aug 4, 2011
The AJC has been a dues paying member of the BBB since the 1952 and normally they have gotten an A+ despite the many complaints about them. I see that now the BBB is 'updating' the AJC report.
I suspect that this means that they don't want to downgrade them and lose the dues the AJC pays them to be a member so they put up the info that the firm is being reviewed. These days absolutely no one would believe that the AJC would deserve an A+ rating.
===============================================
I suspect that this means that they don't want to downgrade them and lose the dues the AJC pays them to be a member so they put up the info that the firm is being reviewed. These days absolutely no one would believe that the AJC would deserve an A+ rating.
Q) So just what keeps the AJC in business?
A) Advertising, but NOT the advertising in the daily papers.
What black ink the AJC has comes from 2 advertising flyers that American Circulation Innovators distributes on behalf of the AJC. The ‘AJC Reach’ on Monday/Tuesday and the ‘Evening Edition’ on Thursday/Friday.
For economic reasons the AJC believes it has the right to throw
The Atlanta metropolitan area (see map) spans 28 counties in north Georgia and has a total 2010 population of 5,268,860. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an average readership Monday through Friday of only 184,000.
Two years ago these flyers went via US Mail. The AJC admits that they now use the ACI firm to distribute these in order to save money.
The AJC should either return to using the post office to deliver their advertising materials or just quietly go out of business. Their desperate attempts to stay afloat come at the high price of being the major source of litter in metro Atlanta.
====================================================
8/5/11 Scroll down to view text of the document or,
Click on for larger and more readable document:
8/12/11: Immediate response and corrective efforts were made on the day of the report of unwanted delivery and continue to be made. An immediate dispatch to confirm no paper remained on the property was made on the day Mr. Smith made us aware of the issue. A complete review of events was conducted and an immediate corrective plan put in place based on findings. We regret any inconvenience this has caused Mr. Smith. We are committed to responding and resolving reports of delivery concerns as quickly as possible.
We will continue to monitor results and confirm no delivery is made to the Smith property.
====================================================
The BBB invited me to comment/reply to the AJC:
Who is this "Mr. Smith"? My name is HARRIS, I am the same HARRIS that has been complaining about the AJC tossing unwanted sale flyers onto my property for nearly 2 years.
I think you must agree that this reply is just a slap-dash sort of reply and has no merit at all, very typical of the AJC. They can't even get a boiler plate reply done correctly so you can't expect that they 'checked the property' - whose property did they 'check'? I see that your BBB site is 'reviewing' their rating. It is usually an A+ as they have been a dues paying member of the BBB since 1952.
I expect you will want to keep them as dues paying BBB members so you will probably continue to rate them at A+ and this will just shoot your BBB credibility in the rear. No one in metro Atlanta thinks that the AJC is an A+ business and a continued rating of A+ will just show people who look them up that you are totally in the bag for this bunch of incompetents.
=================================
From the 'cheap shots are a terrible thing to waste' department:
"At least we can be pleased that this bunch is only running a newspaper and not a nuclear reactor."
5/24/12
I made it clear to them last year that if/when it happened again that I was going to hire an attorney to go after them. Now they are back tossing this garbage onto my property. They did the whole Summer Stream subdivision today. I am now looking for a lawyer to take up the matter.
7/28/11
Another BBB Complaint is filed:
OK, I admit it is a waste of time to file another BBB complaint, but I don't want anyone saying I didn't take all options open to me. You might see below my first complaint. The AJC promised the BBB that they would stop tossing their crap on my property. Obviously they have started up again, so you can't believe them even if they swear on a stack of bibles that they won't keep doing it.
Also you might want to consider that the BBB rates this firm as an A+, that the AJC has been a dues paying member since the 1950's and that the BBB isn't going to downgrade them as long as they keep paying dues. The AJC pays $ each year for 'membership', I don't. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
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7/20/11
Contact infor for the AJC and ACI
(note this info was correct at the time it was put on the blog but you might want to check email addresses and names as there is alot of turnover at the AJC and all papers)
Publisher - Michael Joseph, 404-526-5893, mjoseph@ajc.com
Editor - Kevin Riley, 404-526-2161, kriley@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, mneville@ajc.com
Vice President, Sr. Managing Editor - James Mallory, 404-526-5325, jmallory@ajc.com
Vice President, Circulation - Amy Glennon, 404-526-7237, aglennon@ajc.com
Vice President, Marketing - Amy Chown, 404-526-7214, achown@ajc.com
If you want to contact other AJC employees or mass mail them this link will take you to their email addresses: http://tinyurl.com/4yzcelv
For ACI, here are some email addresses FYI:
JKlunder@acicirculation.com, BSomers@acicirculation.com, HWoldt@acicirculation.com, MProebstle@acicirculation.com, SCassidy@acicirculation.com, HMeyer@acicirculation.com, BBerg@acicirculation.com, DGrossman@acicirculation.com, ESutton@acicirculation.com, ttraven@acicirculation.com, rbrant@acicirculation.com, ksummers@acicirculation.com, jcraig@acicirculation.com, dmonts@acicirculation.com, aedwards@acicirculation.com, medge@acicirculation.com, ejo@acicirculation.com, tsanchez@acicirculation.com,
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7/8/11
As a Consumer Issue . . .
I would have expected more community indignation over 1.7 million pieces of junk advertising supplements being thrown onto private property each WEEK.
Over the last 20 months there have been protests here and there, several blogs set up, at least two confrontations with the thugs hired by ACI to deliver this crap, but no real uprising of interested community activists.
Where are all the tree huggers when you need them, the Save the Whale folks are also out to lunch. There is no one in metro Atlanta doing more damage than the AJC in respect to littering our community. The AJC has been doing this since they transitioned from mailing out the garbage supplements to dumping them on citizens lawns, sidewalks and driveways.
Corcerned individuals are having problems finding others to join in the protests. The AJC simply dosen't care who likes it or who dosen't, they are going to continue dispensing this litter as long as they can make money doing it. Speaking of which, it may well be that the only black ink on the AJC ledgers comes from this advertising, clearly they are not making money with M-F circulation of 183,000.
Since the AJC won't stop of its own accord, continues to ignore citizen complaints and won't even provide any comments on the situation to the Atlanta media you might well ask just what can be done to halt this littering of Metro Atlanta.
I move up the blog my earlier comment on this FYI:
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We need some Legal help, where are the activist lawyers in Georgia when you need one!
In early 2003 the bar reported 26,936 active members in Georgia. Attorneys in Georgia are not equally distributed throughout the state. More than two-thirds—almost 18,000—reside within sixty miles of Atlanta. Forty percent work in one county, Fulton.
Now the AJC distributes 1,700,000 of these toss away advertising supplements each week to homes (not apartment houses), so logically there would be at least 12,000 lawyers who are getting these unwanted flyers in their driveways, or on their lawns or sidewalks.
7/15/11
MORE PROBLEMS WITH THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
While my own subdivision in Kennesaw has no recent problems with the distribution of the 2 'junk' throwdowns, it is clear that the rest of the Metro Atlanta area continues to be plagued by the rude and foul mouthed scum employeed by the AJC to toss down their unwanted advertising sections.
The matter is NOT going away unless someone goes to court asking for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to keep their HOA or even just their own home free from the AJC littering.
Readers of one of my 4 blogs will recall that I have threatened to do just this is even 'one more' of their trash publications ends up on my property. This warning by me to the AJC resulted in several months of my home in Kennesaw being staked out by AJC people to make sure that none of their drivers mistakenly left me a little present.
I am still entirely willing to take them to court if I do get another unwanted gift and I would be pleased to join into any class action suit by other consumers.
Here are my 4 blogsites, as direct links, plus one other put up by other annoyed consumers:
American Circulation Innovations Advertisement for delivery people:
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