The AJC (AKA: Evening Edge and AJC Reach) has offices at: 223 Perimeter Center Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30346, 404-526-5151. (http://www.ajc.com) In order to save money, in 2009 the AJC changed from mailing their weekly 1,700,000 advertising flyers to throwing them onto lawns, driveways and sidewalks. The AJC is a major source of litter in metro Atlanta. Contact me at: consumer2010@aol.com
I set up several sites on the same topic. I did this so that the google spyders will register the titles of the blogs so that when you put in search terms about the AJC that there is a greater chance of my sites being located. There is one main site and several others, like this one, to direct you to the 'home site' for this complaint. Click on this link to go directly to the main blog site: http://www.atlantajournal-constitution.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACI is the distributor for the AJC litter, they are having serious problems in Boston, here is the info FYI:
Monday, January 4, 2016
Globe splits deliveries between two companies
JOHN IOVEN/GLOBE STAFF/FILE
The Boston Globe has rehired a former distribution partner to help fix its delivery problems.
The deal with Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc. follows an unexpectedly difficult rollout for the Globe’s new distribution firm, ACI Media Group Inc., which left tens of thousands of newspapers undelivered in its first week after taking over distribution within the Boston region on Dec. 28.
PCF will take over the routes starting Monday, and may help with delivery of this Sunday’s paper. Sheehan predicted “an extremely rapid return to 100 percent deliveries and improved customer service.’’“We can’t apologize too much,” Sheehan said, moments after the new deal was consummated.
Maryland-based PCF has agreed to resume Globe deliveries throughout a swath of territory defined roughly as extending from the Cape Cod Canal to Boston and west to Wellesley and Weston, as well as territory north of Boston from Peabody to Newburyport, and east to Rockport. This territory includes about 50 percent of the home delivery customers in the greater Boston market, Sheehan said. Globe, new distributor trade blame The day ended with no clarity about when all subscribers could once again count on getting their newspapers. ACI will ideally devote its delivery resources to fewer subscribers in more confined geographic areas, places they’ve avoided significant problems, Sheehan said. “This simplifies things for them and will allow them to be successful,” Sheehan said. The distribution areas shifting to PCF are the ones where ACI had experienced the most problems making its deliveries, Globe officials said. The move comes after two days of negotiations with the companies, during which ACI agreed to take the reduced role, Sheehan said. “These were not at all contentious negotiations,” Sheehan said of the talks with ACI, a Long Beach, Calif., company In a statement, ACI president Jack Klunder said, “We understand how important The Boston Globe is to its subscribers and the community at large, and this will help restore delivery dependability as quickly as possible.” Klunder apologized for “disappointing some readers as we entered the market.” ACI officials acknowledged in interviews Sunday that after a week on the job, they still did not have enough drivers to cover all the routes. The company said it was aggressively trying to hire more, but faulted the Globe for not properly warning its readers about the disruptions that would come with the switch. The Globe has about 115,000 daily subscribers and 205,000 on Sunday. About 90,000 daily and 190,000 Sunday subscribers live within the territory ACI took over last month. The breakdown of home delivery triggered overwhelming frustration and anger from readers, who flooded the paper with complaints that so overwhelmed the telephone system it made it difficult for reporters to place calls from the newsroom. Globe staff from departments throughout the organization volunteered to deliver the paper last Sunday, the largest distribution day of the week. Sheehan said Globe executives came back to PCF “to get newspapers back into the hands of our readers as quickly as possible.” Asked what the paper has learned from the disastrous past 10 days, Sheehan gave a rueful smile and said, “Where do you want me to start? My God.” “It is extremely difficult to do something like this without a transition period,” he offered. “To flip a switch overnight is more disruptive than anyone would have ever imagined.” “And more important,” he said, “for a company that’s about to invest a lot of money in a print production facility in Taunton, it’s a reaffirmation of how important the print product is and is going to be for a long time.” “We learned how many people in this market for whom the [printed] Globe is their link to the outside world.” And, he said, the paper learned, “Never let down the customers again.”
Delivery problems could last up to 6 months, distributor says
The Boston Globe got a double-whammy of bad news regarding its switch to a new delivery service.
Boston Globe staffers helped deliver the Sunday print edition amid delivery service woes.
Suzanne Kreiter / The Boston Globe
By Eric Levenson Boston.com Staff | 01.04.16 | 11:53 AM
Delivery problems with The Boston Globe’s new circulation service affected up to 10 percent of newspaper subscribers, and it could take four to six months before service returns to normal, the Globereports.
That’s a double-whammy of bad news for the Globe, which last weekswitched delivery companies from Publishers Circulation Fulfillment to ACI Media Group.
Globe chief executive Mike Sheehan said the switch was part of a plan to provide better service, and that ACI brought “material” cost savings. Sheehan told the Globe he would not have made the switch if they had known the severity of the coming service problems.
“Ten percent of our people not getting papers?” he said. “That was never communicated to us. That goes far beyond any reasonable definition of disruption.”
However, ACI executive Jack Klunder said the company had warned the Globe of coming disruptions. Klunder said service will get back to normal in four to six months.
“We were adamant that these guys communicate to the readers early and often about the disruption that would take place,” Klunder said. “We were pretty clear about that and I’m not sure the communication plan was as graphic as I suggested it should be.”
In a show of good faith, teams of editorial and business staffers for the Globevolunteered to help deliver the Sunday paper.
One key problem with the service was made clear when the volunteers were handed a delivery route “that appeared to have been prepared by someone under the influence of methamphetamine,” columnist Kevin Cullen wrote Monday morning.
“The route wasn’t circuitous. It was circus. If you handed an Etch-a-Sketch to a really drunk guy and told him to turn the knobs, that’s what our route would look like,” he wrote.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
One very minor bit of slightly positive info is that after years and years of A+ ratings from the BBB the AJC is now 'down' to a B+ for failure to reply this year to 2 complaints and failure to satisfy 2 other complaints (again this year).
So 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: 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 114 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years, 48 closed in last 12 months
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) 2012:180,5922013: 231,094 (up +50,502)
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA SUN 2012:402,6022013: 644,287 (up +241,685)
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, ATLANTA AVG (Sat) 2012:174,2512013:163,721 (down -10,530)
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!
In the April 13, 2010 reply to my earlier complaint Cobb County Attorney's Office Dorothy Bishop writes in part: "Neither the county nor the state codes include advertising matter in the definition of 'litter' which is prohibited under the codes. . . Even if the county might wish to limit the distribution of advertising, we are constrained by constitutional protections for freedom of speech. . . Our unavoidable conclusion is that a local government may not ban such exercises of free speech."
Obviously I disagree, as will most readers, but that is the opinion of the Cobb County Attorney.
Double click for larger images or print out:
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Photo: David Morel,Vice President/Operations at American Circulation Innovations - (ACI)
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 again. They did the whole Summer Stream subdivision today. I am now looking for a lawyer to take up the matter.
The AJC Reach is back in the news again for continuing to litter the streets, lawns and driveways of Metro Atlanta.
CBS TV had a 3 minute long update on the problem in tonight’s broadcast. News Anchors Stephney Fisher and Jaquitta Williams summarized the problem and tossed it to Leslie Tanner in the field in Reynoldstown , SE Atlanta where she interviewed local resident Karl Xjimenez who complainted that the AJC had started the New Year with a continued barrage of advertising supplements and Ms. Tanner also interviewed Ms. Peggy Denby of the ‘Keep Atlanta Beautiful’ organization which is in the midst of a survey of the litter problem in Atlanta.
As usual the Atlanta Journal Constitution is ducking and diving and not providing any explanation for their continued bad conduct.
In my own Kennesaw area we still seem to be on the AJC ‘do not throw’ list, but as I have commented before, these lulls never last long, and I expect that before much longer we will have the problem again with both of the AJC toss away papers.
Hurry over and bring your vehicle insurance, drivers license and sign up for a minimum wage job tossing crap onto peoples property!
click for larger image:
9/4/2010
Mr. Sanford H Schwartz
President, Cox Media Group
6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30328-4524
RE: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Dear Mr. Schwartz:
I have seen your site http://www.coxconservesheroes.com/atlanta-ga.aspx and while I am impressed by it I have to comment that it seems rather odd that Cox can on one hand support conservation efforts and on the other have their major Cox newspaper (Atlanta Journal Constitution) throw 1,500,000 advertising flyers each week onto lawns, driveways, sidewalks and sometimes even in the gutters in the Atlanta metro area.
You could do far more for the environment by making the AJC go back to mail delivery of their advertising supplements than you are doing with your entire Hero's organization.
The firm that the AJC chose to distribute their toss down advertising circular has had a very poor history and lasted 7 months in the Houston area, doing exactly what they are now doing in Atlanta.
It seems that the AJC Executive Selection Committee knew about the poor reputation of American Circulation Innovators (ACI) even before they chose that firm to be their distributor but went ahead with the contract simply on a low bid basis. Clearly this is putting money before responsible management decisions and it entirely opposite of the values your group has set forth in your 'Heroes' awards.
I have several blog sites and I am now asking you for a formal reply to the above concerns so that I can post it on my blogs.
ATLANTA -- Six weeks after city officials told staff at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to change delivery methods of their weekly "Reach" circular, the company still hasn't complied.
David Eckoff read comments on the Facebook page dedicated to the circular and those who want it stopped. Hundreds of members have posted complaints about the paper. They said it's thrown on their driveways, blows into the street and ends up left behind as litter. For the past few weeks, Eckoff said his street hasn't had those issues, because deliveries have stopped.
"If it's due to permanent and lasting changes in the delivery process then I'm delighted," said Eckoff. But he said he can't find out for sure. "It's particularly difficult when the AJC won't communicate with us," said Eckoff.
Eckoff started calling the mayor's office in May, hoping to discuss the city's litter law. Under current code circulars must be weighed down or secured to a door or porch. Eckoff got his first reply on Monday, when a member of the mayor's communications staff called Eckoff, and told him the AJC is testing ways to weigh down the bags.
CBS Atlanta went to find out where and how the tests were being done. A few blocks from Eckoff's house deliveries looked like they might be sealed to keep the papers in the bag, but the plastic was just melted together.
Crews didn't find any bags with weights in Kirkwood either. Resident Jay Taylor said he's unhappy to hear the AJC is still breaking the law. "I wish the city would cite them if they're breaking the law, and they should," said Taylor. "Little things that are allowed to slip by like that can build up into big things."
City officials wouldn't confirm if or when citations would be issued, but CBS Atlanta found out that for the past few months there hasn't been anyone qualified to write litter citations.
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.
Now don't rush off to the other blog right now, look at mine and when you are finished you might want to take a look at: http://www.stopajcreach.org/ a lot of people in the metro Atlanta area are rightly annoyed at this newspaper and the useless litter they put onto driveways, sidewalks etc. ==========================
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 was initally ignored and when they finally replied and said they would immediately stop throwing their circulars on my property they continued to do so. See the main site for more details.
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.
