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jtogyer	Post subject: And Away Goes News Value, Down the Drain Posted: Thu May 13, 2004 1:54 pm
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2003 12:01 am Posts: 57 Location: McKeesport, PA	<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr> Roto-Rooter's Ditty Turns 50 The Cincinnati Enquirer For Capt. Stubby and the Buccaneers the tune was one of many they sang to pay the bills. But in the half-century since the group's recording of the Roto-Rooter jingle, it has become one of the longest-running in commercial advertising. With its familiar tagline "Call Roto-Rooter, that's the name, and away go troubles down the drain,'' the ditty recorded by Capt. Stubby and the Buccaneers, an Indiana-based novelty band, 50 years ago this month has become one of the best-known advertising jingles.<hr></blockquote><p>Worth mentioning in the features section? Maybe.<p>Worth letting a columnist work up a kitschy item? Perhaps.<p>Worth making it a 988-word story on your Thursday business page? Uh ....<p>[ May 13, 2004: Message edited by: jtogyer ]</p>
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majorbabs	Post subject: Re: And Away Goes News Value, Down the Drain Posted: Thu May 13, 2004 2:40 pm
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 744 Location: HuskerLand	But what a great piece of trivia for parties...
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JPSheehan	Post subject: Re: And Away Goes News Value, Down the Drain Posted: Thu May 13, 2004 2:51 pm
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 101 Location: Inner Baltimore	Even in the opening paragraph (which kinda says it all, you'd think), the reporter is piling on the crap. 988 words? Sounds like somebody needs some pipes unclogged.
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Mike Billings	Post subject: Re: And Away Goes News Value, Down the Drain Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 4:40 am
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 37 Location: San Francisco, Calif.	Maybe all the other stories for that day went away down the drain. Although, it does sound like a Jeopardy question. The plumbing company whose ditty just turned 50.
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davidb666	Post subject: Re: And Away Goes News Value, Down the Drain Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 9:50 am
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:01 am Posts: 122 Location: Nashua NH	Maybe I've had too much coffee this morning and it has drowned my grump-o-meter, but I thought this was a perfectly fine local-pop-culture story - albeit with a lousy lead. It's got a good chunk of interviews, touches several bases (e.g., the appeal of jingles), and concentrates on the local angle. Nothing to be ashamed of - and certainly beats the hell out of yet another thumb-sucker about reality TV, which is what usually passes for fluffy copy on slow days. <p>(If nothing else, I bet it was read more than 95 percent of what was in the paper that day)
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