Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
It was [url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/cfmbb/messages.cfm?messageid=3C4A8533-24E8-5ED2-F17221C1F9B9FDAA#3C4A8533-24E8-5ED2-F17221C1F9B9FDAA]nearly two years ago[/url] that I wrote in this Forum: “Looks to me like the Tico Times is on its last legs, it gets thinner and thinner each week and someone told me they’re going non-profit, is that true? If they can’t make enough money to survive as a for-profit business, who and why would anyone support them as a non-profit? Has that worked for other newspapers?”
They have obviously been running on fumes for years.
In [url=http://www.ticotimes.net/Current-Edition/Top-Story/A-56-year-legacy-comes-to-an-end_Friday-September-28-2012]yesterdays Tico Times[/url], they write about how “Management observed diminishing revenues. Circulation that once reached 15,000 was cut in half, and then dropped even further.”
“The dominoes tumbled as the global economic crisis eliminated advertiser after advertiser. The paper could not conceive of ways to get back those advertisers nor the revenue streams. The main response was to downsize, but that only created an overworked staff and errors, not profits… Tico Times Business Manager Olman Chacón “also noted that faced with the changing times and the flight of advertising, the paper suffered from continuous lack of vision. “It was badly planned and had poor business strategies for years,” he said.
So the solution to this “continuous lack of vision,” bad planning and “poor business strategies for years” according to the [url=http://www.ticotimes.net/Current-Edition/Top-Story/Donate-and-help-save-The-Tico-Times_Friday-September-28-2012]Publisher Dery Dyer[/url] is for people to “Donate and help save The Tico Times.”
In her begging letter Dery Dyer says that: “To survive, The Tico Times needs your donations. In coming months, the company will create new revenue models and modernize the online product, but we are going to need your help. To keep telling stories in the region, and to keep our small group of volunteers out reporting for you, we need cash. If you still want to see The Tico Times continue and evolve into something better than before, push the donate button.”
It’s probably too late but don’t you think she should have been trying to run the newspaper like a business rather than a charity?
Would you agree?
With less than 7,500 readers seems the Tico Times has less readers than this site, is that right Scott? How many readers do you have?
We sure do have a bunch of old women in this forum some days.
I am not 100% sure but I guess Scott makes money with his consulting with real estate developers and stuff so it is natural that he wants his home (Costa Rica) to look good but I reckon that DavidMurray and many of other people that are so helpful in this Forum (who don’t get paid and who don’t sell anything) aren’t so totally brain dead to live here in Costa Rica if they seriously thought their lives were in danger.
Scott’s new article made me chuckle. “0.016438356616 American citizens slaughtered daily in Costa Rica in 2010.”
Might just be me but after checking the facts from reliable sources like the Department of State and many of the articles on this site which nearly always refer to good factual sources and people still moan about crime, I can’t help but think to myself PLEASE, PLEASE stay where you are.
Wherever you’re from in the US there’s a city or town within easy driving distance from you right now which has a crime rate FAR higher than anything Costa Rica has.
Puravida!
I recently had quite a different (better) experience than Dave Tans or Bill Maes with the “Rent a 4×4 In Costa Rica” company.
My wife and I just returned from Costa Rica and we rented from this 4×4 car rental company that we found at http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com. Our experience with them was quite good. They gave us a 1997 model year 4×4 GEO Tracker that we used for almost a month. The vehicle worked fine, was in good condition, and they met us at the airport just as promised. We also referred some friends to this company who are in Costa Rica now renting a 4×4 from this company, and they say everything is going well.
The vehicle we had was not brand new, but far from “junk”. For the price and the great service, the vehicle was more than adequate and performed very well. My wife liked the vehicle’s air conditioning and CD player, and I liked the fact it didn’t use much gas, had great tires and plenty of 4×4 power. We are returning to Costa Rica in August to finalize the purchase of our property, and we plan to rent from this company again.
Anyway, I love Costa Rica and can’t wait to go back!
Frank Burns
Attorney at Law
New York, NY
