CONSEQUENCES: Gateway Media folds three IL newspapers. Is Pontiac Daily Leader next?

The era of shrinking markets, circulation and advertising revenue marches on for domestic newspapers as Americas turn away from the old media and to the Internet and other media outlets for their news and information.

In recent days, Gateway Media has announced they are closing three Illinois newspapers, as reported at the 309: Central Illinois Information, News & Talk.

The Daily American in West Frankfort, the Murphysboro American, and the Money Stretcher, a weekly free shopper distributed in several Southern Illinois communities will publish their final issues in early May 2015.

Is Gateway Media’s Pontiac Daily Leader heading towards the same fate? It certainly wasn’t made popular with the community following the vicious attack story published Saturday, disparaging almost ninety local businessmen, professionals, and honorable residents for nothing more than meeting to promote and defend the ideals voiced by our nation’s Founding Fathers.

The story, written by Paul Westermeyer, started off by suggesting it was a meeting of alcoholics handling guns while intoxicated. Westermeyer might be particularly sensitive to someone drinking in a social setting. He might also be very well-versed in roadside field sobriety tests.

It’s been reported that he’s got a DUI conviction in his past and a second DUI case pending. In Illinois, a second DUI can be a felony. If convicted of a felony, that would preclude Mr. Westermeyer from even touching a firearm for the rest of his life, much less owning or shooting one, under penalty of years in pound-him-in-the-backside prison.

At 5’7″ and 132 pounds, he better make sure he has a good source for soap on a rope if that ever happens.

He also lamented of the ilk of people present – and by extension, like-minded local residents who support those evil “tea bagger” values like respecting the Constitution, shrinking the size of government, all the while fantasizing of being judge, jury, executioner AND secret agent with a gun.

Nothing like insulting the majority of residents in your town of 11,688.

The town you depend upon for subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Perhaps Paul Westermeyer fantasizes of moving out of his mom’s basement someday and getting job more fitting to his superlative intellect than working part time selling Bimbo bread (of all brands) and as a scribe for a small-town newspaper covering stories like leaky liners at the municipal swimming pool and and waste recycling events.

Paul Westermeyer is destined for greatness in investigating blockbuster news stories like exposing Ted Cruz’s secret passion for Haitian teen boy homosexuals, Marco Rubio’s hatred of white people and outing George W. Bush’s bribes to the Supreme Court to rule in his favor when Al Gore really won the 2000 presidential election. Yes, he craves to be have the next Deep Throat source – or something like that.

In his mind, anyway.

He’ll be lucky if he’s still driving a year from now. Legally anyhow.

We’d all do well to avoid him if we see him behind the wheel.

Or call 9-1-1 if we notice him driving in a manner which would suggest impairment.

From Mothers Against Drink Drivers, here are some helpful hints to identify potentially drunk drivers:

While we work hard to turn cars into the cure and eliminate drunk driving forever, families must continue to be vigilant on our roadways. You can help protect your family from drunk drivers by looking for these signs of intoxication among other motorists: