Brian Rosener is the keeper of the Semoball Cup which is presented to the school with the most successful season. It is based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Rosener has been the sports editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since December 2001. He was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Lindbergh High School and Webster University. He is married to Jennifer, a Poplar Bluff native, has a son Jack and a dog named Satchel who stands in for his @semoballBrian photo.

Prep preview tab in today's DAR

Posted Tuesday, November 24, 2009, at 5:59 AM

Poplar Bluff's recent basketball jerseys have looked like this, from left, Mules in 2004, Lady Mules last season and Mules last season.

Our annual prep basketball tab will run today (Tuesday, Nov. 24) in the Daily American Republic. The 12-page section features previews for the Poplar Bluff Mules and Lady Mules as well as breakdowns, rosters and schedules for all 16 area schools in our coverage area.

When Poplar Bluff's varsity teams take the court to open the season, they'll be wearing new uniforms this season.

I got a first look at the Lady Mules team photo shoot Tuesday while the Mules shot their team photo Thursday.

You can see what they look like here.

While the Lady Mules haven't changed much, the Mules are bringing back MULES on the front of the home jerseys and both teams have updated with the Mule logo.

The Mules open the season Friday (Nov. 27) at the Riverbend Classic (3:30 p.m. vs. Pine Bluff, Ark.) in New Madrid while the Lady Mules open the season a week from today (Dec. 1) at the Farmington Invitational at 6 p.m. against Miller Career Academy.

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When is the DAR gonna get with the program, and reinstate their online version, without a subscription. I used to check them out everyday, as I still check the Southeast Missourian, Post-Dispatch, etc.!

-- Posted by semo7178 on Tue, Nov 24, 2009, at 10:17 AM

Brian Rosener's response:
The DAR will not be giving away its product for free anytime soon. That's not a very good business plan for a small-town newspaper. The Missourian and Post are larger papers in larger cities that can make up the lost revenue from other sources. (Do you read those papers online and also pick up a copy? Probably not.) Don't be surprised if larger papers go the same way.
As for the DAR, I usually post something here when there's a big news item to let readers know to pick up a copy or to supplement what's in the paper. If you live outside of the area, the online subscription to the DAR is about 24 cents a day ($42 for a six-month subscription if you want it for the prep season).
Buying hard copies help pay the salaries of reporters.

-- Posted by Chief 'Broom on Tue, Nov 24, 2009, at 12:52 PM
It's the same with Sikeston's Standard-Democrat. Can't say I agree with it but whatever. The Southeast Missourian evidently isn't as broke as the others.

-- Posted by sbulldog4life on Tue, Nov 24, 2009, at 5:02 PM
I spoke with someone that works in management at the Southeast Missourian a few weeks ago. He actually indicated we may see a trend toward more online news at the Southeast Missourian. Most newspapers gather most of their revenue from print advertising. However, some feel online advertising revenue may increase significantly in the next decade. It should be interesting to see what happens. Several local papers are doing everything they can to get people to visit their website. Other newspapers are charging a subscription fee for online news.

-- Posted by drawmules on Wed, Nov 25, 2009, at 10:50 PM
Let me preface this by saying that I appreciate the hard work of all the reporters who cover the news. I also understand the DAR's decision to not offer free access to the website. I'm generally not one to **** and moan, but in this instance, I feel compelled......

You would think that the DAR would at least allow hard copy subscribers free access to the website. I have the paper mailed to me, so I generally have to wait 4-7 days to read it, sometimes more. It would be nice to be able to read the website without paying an additional amount to do so. At the VERY least, they should post the obituaries free of charge for everyone. By the time you learn of someone's passing, it's to late to acknowledge it.

In addition, the special inserts like the one mentioned above are never included in the mailed copies. The only "special" sections we ever receive are the annual(or bi-annual?)42lb, 600-page advertising extravaganza which comes disguised as special interest news....

There..... I feel better now....

-- Posted by marcus aurelius on Fri, Nov 27, 2009, at 11:31 PM

Brian Rosener's response:
I'm the sports editor, I can only speak for the sports department, which does have blogs on the darnews.com site.
I believe it costs $2 a month to add the online feature (that's about 8 cents a day). I have it. I'm not sure why the special section is not included in the mailed copy (feel free to call the circulation department and ask). My guess is that some of those, like the sale bills or a TV guide, are timely and would be out of date by the time the paper is sent through the mail.
The annual progress edition, which runs at the end of October, takes months to put together and features plenty of news stories that are longer, more in-depth than stories that run in the regular, daily edition. We start working on that one edition in July and yes, it takes more advertising to be able to produce such a large paper.
If anybody has a question about sports coverage in and around the Poplar Bluff area. I'm happy to answer those questions.

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