National Archives recalls 1918 flu pandemic

With concerns of a new flu pandemic, the National Archifes takes a look back at an old one

Washington, DC. . . The following is a document alert -- part of a program sponsored by the National Archives to notify the media of documents and images in the National Archives holdings that are relevant to national holidays, anniversaries or current events. This program, which is based on original records from the National Archives, its 12 Presidential libraries and 13 regional archives, is designed to offer the media an historical perspective on events that occur periodically and to highlight historical antecedents to current political or diplomatic initiatives.

This alert is based on a National Archives online exhibit titled "Deadly Virus, the Influenza Epidemic of 1918," at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/records-list.html.

This site offers high-res downloads of documents and images from that time.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed more people than died in World War I.

Hard as it is to believe, the answer is true.

World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.

The plague emerged in two phases. In late spring of 1918, the first phase, known as the "three-day fever," appeared without warning. Few deaths were reported. Victims recovered after a few days. When the disease resurfaced that fall, it was far more severe. Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms.
Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.

The plague did not discriminate. It was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults, usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young children. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United States dropped by 12 years.

It is an oddity of history that the influenza epidemic of 1918 has been overlooked in the teaching of American history. Documentation of the disease is ample, as shown in the records selected from the holdings of the National Archives regional archives.

Internet readers spend 53 minutes on news

Internet users report a large increase in time reading online newspapers, according to the eighth annual Surveying the Digital Future projected conducted by USC Annenberg's Center for the Digital Future.

In questions about reading online and print newspapers — key elements of the eighth annual comprehensive study of the impact of online technology on America — the Digital Future Project found that Internet users read online newspapers for 53 minutes per week, the highest level thus far in the Digital Future studies.

In contrast, Internet users in 2007 reported 41 minutes per week reading online newspapers.

The project also found that 22 percent of users said they stopped their subscription to a printed newspaper or magazine because they could access the same content while online.

“The most significant trend about how Americans are changing their news reading habits may be found in comparing the use of online media by light users vs. heavy users,” Center for the Digital Future director and communication professor Jeffrey I. Cole (said. “Heavy Internet users spent 65 more minutes per week reading online newspapers than do light users. This raises the question: how will the media habits of the current generation of light users change as online content continues to expand? What ramifications will these changes have for the newspapers of America?

In spite of grim prospects, significant bright spots remain for newspapers, Cole said, including “the greatest opportunities in their existence.”

“For the first time in 60 years, newspapers are back in the breaking news business,” Cole said, “except now their delivery method is electronic and not paper. Since the beginning of radio, newspapers have not been able to compete with broadcasting for delivery of immediate news. But in a digital world, newspapers can compete at least as effectively for breaking news delivery with broadcast media. On the Web, newspapers are live, and they can supplement their coverage with audio, video, and the invaluable resources of their vast archives. And, they already have talented teams of reporters and editors who can deliver the news.

“The key to newspapers’ success,” he said, “will be making bold moves entirely into the digital realm, and building business models that allow them to thrive online.”

In addition, print newspapers still have strong brand identities and reader loyalty.

Click on the headline to read the full story..

Don't miss 4 Guys and other great stuff

Just a reminder on the Four Guys show:


In addition to their own work, we are told there will be original work hanging that was done by Paton Edwards, By Fairbanks, Joe Grace, Bud Morris, Walt Neal and Ned Fhite. There also will be a couple of tearsheets showing Web Brown's work. There is a drawing oxf Joe Louis done by Fairbanks which is great.

That’s all in addition to he work of the Four Guys. Gallery Opening


FOUR GUYS. . . Who used to Work at the Beacon Journal But Don't Anymore
Featuring the work of Ayers, Balogh, Derf & Krummel

OPENING RECEPTION (open to the public): Friday, May 1, 7 pm to 10 pm
Wine, beer & nibbles.
Free parking in the Main Library parking deck on High St., two blocks from the gallery


Upstairs Gallery, in the Musica Complex
Front entrance: 20 N. High Street
Rear entrance: 17-19 Maiden Lane
Akron, OH 44308
ph: 330.252.0988
hours: M-F 7:30 am - 6 pm, Sat 9 am - close


Contact: karyn ludlam @ the gallery
ph: 330.252.0988
wegallery@live.com

NY Times, Guild agree to 5 percent pay cut

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co reached a tentative agreement with the Newspaper Guild of New York on Tuesday to cut union worker pay at its namesake newspaper by 5 percent to save $4.5 million, according to a memo obtained by Reuters.

Under the agreement, which union members still must ratify for it to take effect, workers would get reduced pay through the end of the year.

Non-union employees at the Times newspaper and other New York Times Co properties had their pay cut earlier this month.

The Times's management rebuffed a Guild proposal to guarantee that there would be no layoffs during the period that the pay cut was in effect.

"Our agreement achieves most of the safeguards we wanted," New York Guild President Bill O'Meara said in a statement. "But it will not erase the possibility of job cuts ... even though management tried to sell us their proposal as a way of avoiding layoffs."

The Times announced the cost cuts in March, along with 100 layoffs, as part of an effort to save money as it faces declining advertising revenue and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. At the time, executives said the pay cuts would help avert as many as 80 job cuts.

A Times spokeswoman was not available for comment.

Click on the headline to read the full story,.

PD retiree Ray Hart dies

Ray Hart seemed to have spies everywhere.

"He had a scoop every day," said Bill Hickey, Hart's longtime partner in covering TV and radio for The Plain Dealer. "He drove the Press nuts."

Hart died April 14 at Fisher Titus Medical Cen ter, near his home in Nor walk. He was 80.
Hart spent about 32 years at The Plain Dealer, starting as a school sports reporter and winding up as a features copy editor. But the big, quiet, cheerful man was best known for a long stint in between with TV and radio.

He was born in North Canton and graduated from Hoover High School there. He spent a few years living in Canal Fulton and working for his father's meat and meat locker business.

"Ray hated every minute of it," his wife, the former Joan Dimpsey, recalled Tuesday.
Hart briefly studied undertaking in Indiana, then came home and found his life's work. He covered the region's acclaimed school sports for six years with the Canton Repository and several with The Plain Dealer.

Then he covered TV and radio with equal enthusiasm. He hit it off with touchy stars such as Dorothy Fuldheim and went fishing with a few of them.

In a sometimes slovenly profession, he favored a tie and jacket. He also smoked a pipe for many years. The doctor finally told him to cut down. Hart quit cold turkey.

He broke another longtime habit last year. He missed his first Ohio basketball championship in 56 years."He thought 55 was a good place to stop," said his widow.

Hart retired from The Plain Dealer in 1993 and edited stories for the Sun Newspapers.
In 1997, the couple moved to Norwalk to be near their daughter, Karen. There he wrote and announced for WLKR FM/95.3 and edited the bulletin of First Presbyterian Church.

Great followup on the layoffs

On the day it laid off dozens of journalists at its Chicago paper, Tribune asked a bankruptcy court to approve $13 million in bonuses to nearly 700 managers, directors and others. It also asked permission to resume severance payments to individuals who left Tribune before its Chapter 11 filing in December. : "These motions are likely to get media attention."

Here’s the lead on followup story.

Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today filed motions in Delaware seeking U.S. Bankruptcy Court authorization to resume severance payments to individuals who left the media company before its Chapter 11 filing in December, as well as to pay discretionary incentive bonuses for 2008 to nearly 700 managers, directors and others.

Tribune Co.’s top 10 executives would not be part of the managerial pool that would split a little more than $13 million in bonus money, which the company considers part of the would-be recipients’ annual compensation as part of the normal course of business.

The median award would be $9,500 and the average award a little more than $18,000, with 84 percent of the recipients receiving payments of less than $30,000 and 70 percent getting less than $20,000.

Earlier Wednesday, before the motion was filed in anticipation of a May 12 court hearing, the Tribune Co. flagship paper Chicago Tribune reduced its newsroom staff by 53 in response to economic conditions and industry changes.

Click on the headline to read all the story.

When a friend wins a Pulitzer

This bit stolen from the blog of former BJ type Dave Wilson who writes about a friend winning a Pulitzer this week:

Old friend pulls down a Pulitzer

Jim Schaefer was one of those guys you knew way back when, in high school or college, that you just knew was going places. Smart, funny, talented, all-around good guy.

Yesterday Jim was recognized as all that and a little more: Pulitzer Prize winner.

I knew Schaef back in the day at the Lantern, our little college newspaper at Ohio State, or as then-President Ed Jennings liked to say, THE Ohio State University.

Another Lantern alumnus, cartoonist Nick Anderson, won the Pulitzer a couple (five, maybe?) years ago. The Lantern was unusually blessed with talent then: Terri Farell, Melissa McCoy, Bob Payne, Ken Torisky, Dennis Willard, Kevin Kellems, Doral Chenowith, Beth Castrodale, Justice Hill, Mitch Wilkinson, Kirk Buckley. I could name two dozen more, I’m sure.

Jim was well-liked and respected then, and that much has not changed in 20-some years since. He has a few gray hairs (don’t we all, those who still have full heads of hair?), and that Pulitzer sure will look good on his resume.

A lot has happened in between. There was that ugly strike at the Detroit newspapers in the 1990s that threatened Jim’s career (and a lot of others’ careers as well) just as he was really establishing himself. My employer, The Sun News, sent a “scab” writer to sister Knight Ridder paper the Free Press to cover pop music. Those hard times were followed by a roller coaster ride for the industry. A few years later Knight Ridder sold The Freep, then Knight Ridder sold out altogether.

Schaefer’s prize, shared with M.L. Elrick at the Free Press, was for uncovering the scandal surrounding former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who got caught last year in a lie about, um, some extracurricular activity with his aide and a few other unsavory things. It’s a high-profile example of text messages being somebody’s undoing.

Sometimes, good guys do finish first.

Chicago Tribune cuts 53 -- less than reported

The Chicago Tribune today reduced its newsroom staff, a response to the economic downturn and changes in the media business model.

The exit of 53 editorial employees is part of a paper-wide cost-cutting effort. Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said in a letter to staff that cuts are part of a newsroom reorganization that “will focus us more clearly on our core mission” going forward with a newsgathering team of around 430.

“With today’s actions, we are making the leap to a newsroom structure that we believe is sustainable barring further significant declines in advertising revenue,” Kern wrote. “While some are leaving now, others will join the newsroom over time as we invest in new skills necessary to grow in the future.”

The Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business last week reported that the Tribune cuts would be far more severe.

These reductions are just the latest at the Chicago Tribune, which was said to have around 670 newsroom positions 3½ years ago. That’s about the time the newspaper industry’s revenue peaked according to statistics from the Newspaper Association of America.

Click on the headline to read the full story in the Chicago Tribune

A new role for Akron in communications

ConnectAkron.org is a site you might want to keep an eye on.

After two years of planning, the City of Akron in partnership with OneCommunity and the Knight Center of Digital Excellence are beginning the build out of a wireless network that will serve between 80,000 and 90,000 Akron residents and over 30,000 downtown workers. The coverage area will include the University of Akron, museums, all three downtown hospitals and neighborhoods in North Hill, East Akron and Highland Square and may require the purchase of a wireless router/signal booster to achieve maximum signal strength.

Connect Akron links the wireless corridor to the rest of the digital world.

Wi-Fi has the ability to transform the everyday lives of businesses, hospitals, educators, visitors, students, and residents. Imagine transforming Akron through the endless possibilities of universal access.

Connect Akron focuses on closing digital divide and finding the opportunities and applications to shape Akron's future positioning Akron as a role model for communities around the world. The wireless corridor is an integral part in connecting Akron to the global economies of today as well as enhancing healthcare and education services and improving public safety. Although the Connect Akron wireless network is not up and running yet you can keep updated on the progress of the project by subscribing to the ConnectAkron blog.

Now they are calling us a leaky tub

We need to sue. (but there's no chance of collecting)

Knight Ridder is now being called a “leaky tub.”

Knight Ridder did not create the mess that caused 31 to loose theisr jobs at the News & Observer. See this note from the filed of Jim Romenesko at Poynter Online:

A mock front page created for the 31 Raleigh News & Observer staffers who are leaving the paper today explains that the RMS McClatchy -- one of the largest newspaper steamships in the world -- "was welded together from the hulls of several old steamships, including a leaky tub called the RMS Knight Ridder." Eventually, the steamship hit an iceberg and began to take on water. "Capt. Gary asked for volunteers who would like to go for a swim and then extended the plank."

You can click to get a PDF copy of the mock page from our online storage site.

Also you might want to see a NewsObserver blog.

Retired Columbus Dispatch photographer dies

Don S. Mathews, age 88, passed away Monday, April 20, 2009 in Newark, Ohio.

He was born October 7, 1920 in Hopedale, Ohio to the late Reuben and Dora Clemmer Mathews. He was employed by the Newark Advocate for eight years and the Columbus Dispatch for 25 years. He was a member of the Elks, Southern Ohio Arts Council, Ohio News Photographers Association, Inland Daily Press Association and a World War II Army Veteran. He was the first newspaper journalist in Ohio to be granted permission to take pictures during court trails. He also received two honorable mentions by the Look Magazine National Sports Photography contest.

He is survived by his identical twin brother, David Mathews of Newark, Ohio; brothers, John Mathews of Tiffin, Ohio and Robert Mathews of Cleveland, Ohio; also surviving are several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, James Mathews and Franklin Mathews.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25, 2008 at the Eisnaugle-Lewis Funeral Home with burial to follow in the Fairmount Cemetery with military graveside services being conducted by the Disabled American Veterans chapter 45. Friends may call Friday, April 24, 2009 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Condolences maybe emailed to www.e-k-lewisfuneral.com.
[Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Tuesday, April 21, 2009, page B7, col. 1]

Bloggers have become the Fifth Estate

This is just for our BJ retiree bloggers:

There are more bloggers than bartenders in America today, an article in the Wall Street Journal today reports.

In America today, there are almost as many people making their living as bloggers as there are lawyers. Already more Americans are making their primary income from posting their opinions than Americans working as computer programmers, firefighters or even bartenders.

Paid bloggers fit just about every definition of a microtrend: Their ranks have grown dramatically over the years, blogging is an important social and cultural movement that people care passionately about, and the number of people doing it for at least some income is approaching 1% of American adults.

The best studies we can find say we are a nation of over 20 million bloggers, with 1.7 million profiting from the work ,and 452,000 of those using blogging as their primary source of income. That's almost 2 million Americans getting paid by the word, the post, or the click -- whether on their site or someone else's. And that's nearly half a million of whom it can be said, as Bob Dylan did of Hurricane Carter: "It's my work he'd say, I do it for pay."

Forget about huge, sweeping megaforces. The biggest trends today are micro: small, under-the-radar patterns of behavior which take on real power when propelled by modern communications and an increasingly independent-minded population. In the U.S., one percent of the nation, or three million people, can create new markets for a business, spark a social movement, or produce political change. This column is about identifying these important new niches, and acting on that knowledge.

This could make us the most noisily opinionated nation on earth. The Information Age has spawned many new professions, but blogging could well be the one with the most profound effect on our culture. If journalists were the Fourth Estate, bloggers are becoming the Fifth Estate.

Lawyers 555,770
Bloggers 452,000
Bartenders 398,090
Computer Programmers 394,710
CEOs 299,160
Firefighters 289,710
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Click on the headline to read the full story

Geewax: Bargains Aren't Luring Skittish Shoppers,

Bargains are out there, but shoppers don't care. reports Marilyn Geewax in a weekend business report on National Public Radio.

Geewax, who has covered the national economy from the Cox Newspapers Washington bureau, joined National Public Radio’s national desk in December, 2008 as the new senior business editor.

Geewax reports that two government reports on consumer prices and retail sales showed shppoers are skittishk.

“The Labor Department, which keeps track of prices, said the Consumer Price Index dropped 0.4 percent over the past year. That was the first time since 1955 that the government recorded a 12-month price decline.

“Some of the bargains included gasoline, airfares, hotel rooms and houses. Grocery prices were especially attractive. Last spring, eggs, milk, corn, tomatoes and lots of other foods were going up in price, almost by the day. It's a very different story now. In March, the cost of food eaten at home fell by 0.4 percent. Some of the price drops were dramatic. For example, in March 2008, a dozen Grade A eggs cost $2.20. This March, the price was down to $1.69.

“A separate Labor Department report showed wholesale prices fell 1.2 percent last month, suggesting that retail prices likely will continue to decline this spring.

“But even with all of the price breaks, shoppers are too frightened to spend money. A Commerce Department report showed retail sales unexpectedly dropped in March for the first time in three months. Purchases fell 1.1 percent, with declines affecting almost every sector, including car dealers, electronics stores and restaurants.

Retailers have been trying to drum up business by offering various incentives and promotions. But customers are hanging back because of their fear of rising unemployment and their reduced ability to get credit.’

Click on the headline to read her report.

Dennis Haas retired in St, Petersburg

The Nevada-Krummels took a cruise in April and stopped by en route to visit with BJ alum / retiree Dennis Haas and his wife, Lois. Haas and Krummel worked together in the art department for about 20 years before Haas took his tech skills to the Knight-Ridder Washington bureau. After about five years there, he headed south where he landed on the IT support staff of the St. Petersburg Times. As it turned out, the visit was a double celebration. It was Haas' last day at the Times. This time he vows to really stay retired!

Art Krummel and Denny Haas

PD, Honolulu Advertiser win Dart awards

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, today announced the selection of The Honolulu Advertiser, the Clevelant Plain Dealer and National Public Radio International's "The World" as winners of the 2009 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma.

The Honolulu Advertiser received the Dart Award for "Crossing the Line: Abuse in Hawai'i Homes" (Rob Perez and Kevin Dayton, reporters; Jeffrey Widener, photographer; Russell McCrory, features designer).

This exceptional seven-part investigative series tells the stories of native Hawai’ian women whose lives were forever changed by domestic violence. It charts the failures of law-enforcement, gaps in the safety net for victims, and the far-reaching consequences to victims, their families and the broader community. Through the intimate diary of Daysha Aiona-Aka, a 21-year-old mother who was murdered at the hands of her estranged boyfriend, the series offers a rare glimpse of the dynamics of abuse, as that abuse unfolds.

The Plain Dealer received the Dart Award for the second time in a row for "Beyond Rape: A Survivor’s Journey" (Joanna Connors, reporter; Lisa DeJong, photographer). This brave and brutally honest first-person inquiry tells the story of the author’s rape in 1984 and its aftermath. "Beyond Rape" delves into Connor's past by examining the incident itself, the difficult trial and the subsequent years of coping and denial. It then charts Connors’s spiritual and reportorial search to find the man who committed this crime against her.

Judges described "Beyond Rape: A Survivor's Journey" as bold, groundbreaking, and courageous. They called it a remarkable piece of journalism with language that soared. They commended Connors' ability to turn her reportorial skills on her own sexual assault, and called this special report a major contribution to public understanding of trauma.

Public Radio International's "The World" received the Dart Award for "Rape as a Weapon of War" (Jeb Sharp, reporter; Jennifer Goren, editor), a startling five-part investigative series that examines the brutality of sexual violence in conflict zones and the medical, humanitarian, legal, and political response to it.

Judges called "Rape as a Weapon of War" a powerful, compelling portrayal of human beings who have been violated in the most horrifying ways. They praised Sharp for her clear, focused storytelling and ability to convey the traumatic environments that lead to such dehumanizing acts. They also commended her for the great respect and compassion used in reporting, and for giving the survivors a sense of agency and power by telling of their stories.

Each winning team will receive a $5,000 cash prize. This year the judges made no award in the category of breaking news. The winners will be recognized at a public ceremony on April 28 at the Journalism School.

Other finalists in newspaper and online reporting include:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution – "Chaplain Turner's War"
Boston Globe – "A Girl’s Life"
Christian Science Monitor -- "Forgive, Not Forget: Reconciliation After War"
Dallas Observer – "Terrain of Grief"
Frederick News-Post – "Domestic Violence"
Salon.com – "Friendly Fire in Iraq – and a Cover Up"
Westword (Denver) – "The Good Soldier"

Other finalists in radio reporting included:
CBC, Dispatches – "The 'New' War Zone"
NPR, Day to Day – "Nuns Forgive, But Can't Forget Violent Parishioner"
NPR, All Things Considered – "Detroit's Firefighters Battle Dangerous Ghosts"
National Radio Project, Making Contact – "Gina’s Story"

The Dart Awards are administered by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, based at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Established in 1995, the Dart Awards recognize outstanding reporting that portrays traumatic events with accuracy, insight and sensitivity while illustrating the effects of trauma on victims' lives and the process of recovery from emotional trauma.

Unions seek freelance journalists

Self-described unemployed dad and freelance writer Aaron Crowe points out an interesting trend: as newspaper guild membership vanishes, some are opening up their ranks to allow in freelancers. One such union is forming in San Francisco's Bay Area, where the California Media Workers Guild could see hundreds of new members.

The proposed changes haven't gotten off the ground yet, but the guild's had one open meeting to discuss the ramifications of such a move. The union's first task will be to negotiate a group healthcare plan, Sara Steffens, an organizer, tells Crowe.

If you're in the Bay Area and want to know more, here's the info for the next meeting:

FREELANCERS UNITE!
By choice or circumstance, more and more Bay Area journalists and writers are going into business for themselves. But leaving your media organization doesn't have to mean losing the protections and benefits of your union. A new unit of the California Media Workers Guild is forming to support independent writers, editors and journalists of every type. From credentials to benefits, working together can help us create better working conditions and a more vibrant marketplace. Please join our next meeting:

Noon, Friday April 24
Third-floor conference room
California Media Workers
433 Natoma Street, San Francisco.

To RSVP, or to be added to our mailing list, e-mail Sara Steffens: modernsara@gmail.com
This group will be run and governed by members, under the auspices of The Newspaper Guild and Communications Workers of America.

Hersheys visit Bandy in Bradenton

Bill and Marcia Hershey with Don Bandy on a visit with Bandy in Bradenton, FL, on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009. They are standing outside of Bandy's condo

Four Guys art show opens on May 1

GALLERY OPENING!

FOUR GUYS. . Who used to Work at the Beacon Journal But Don't Anymore

Featuring the work of Ayers, Balogh, Derf and Krummel

Open to all.


Upstairs Gallery @ MochaMaiden
Front entrance: 20 N. High Street
Rear entrance: 17-19 Maiden Lane
Akron, OH 44308
ph: 330.252.0988
hours: M-F 7:30 am - 6 pm, Sat 9 am - close

OPENING RECEPTION (open to the public): Friday, May 1, 7 pm to 10 pm

Free parking in the Main Library parking deck on High St., two blocks from the gallery

Contact: karyn ludlam @ the gallery
ph: 330.252.0988
wegallery@live.com

FOUR GUYS. . . Who used to Work at the Beacon Journal But Don't Anymore
Chuck Ayers, Dennis Balogh, Derf and Art Krummel. If you're a longtime reader of newspapers, you'll instantly recognize the distinctive art of these four artists. They couldn't differ more stylistically, but they share a common history: all were members of the Beacon Journal's award-winning art staff.

From May 1 to May 28, Four Guys. . . will be featured in a show at the Upstairs Gallery, 20 N. High St, in the Mocha Maiden and Musica building in downtown Akron. The Four Guys. . . will deliver a wide-ranging collection of current work from the syndicated comic strips and books of Chuck Ayers, the dynamic watercolor illustrations of Dennis Balogh, Art Krummel's eclectic oil paintings, to the offbeat cartoons and graphic novels of Derf.

Early last year, the four artists spawned the idea for a show while enjoying a few beers at a local tavern while they reminisced about the tight-knit, talented staff they were part of through the 80s, 90s, and into the 21st century.

The show will include recent work, original art and tearsheets from the Four Guys' Beacon careers, as well as an historical overview and artwork from Beacon artists of previous eras.

Click on graphic to enlarge for better view

Oral history info on Akron sought

John Tully, an Australian professor.who recently complete a manuscript on the social history of rubber which he hopes will be published soon, has now begun .another project -- a social history of Akron itself.

He returned to Akron last year and spent some weeks in the Beacon Journal archives (He said Norma Hill was very helpful) and also returned to the University archives and the Summit County library.

He has amassed a considerable amount of newspaper and archival material but plans to return to Ohio and is interested in collecting oral history material.

If you can provide any help, please contact him via emal at John.Tully@vu.edu.au

He is:
Dr John Tully
Lecturer in Politics and International Studies
School of Social Sciences
Victoria University
Melbourne,, Australia

Worked at BJ once? Join us!

The Papa Joe's lunch bunch literally is dying off. Regulars no longer are alive. The best attendance I can find going back to January 2006 was 23, and that was for the Sandy Levenson-Bob Pell memorial lunch. We don't want to boost attendance that way.

There are no speeches. We just gather, recall humorous BJ moments, display first-person medical knowledge, lament the latest deaths. It's a lot more enjoyable than that sounds. There's far more laughing than anything else.

If you worked at the BJ and now you don't, join us at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. You'll be a welcome addition. Even if you work for the PD, join us (heck, most of the PD staff seem to be former BJ people anyway).

And it's not limited to newsroom and printers. Anyone who worked at the BJ, join us.

Anyone is welcome, at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at Papa Joe's on Akron-Peninsula Road at Portage Trail Extension. Join us before we run out of bodies.

The attendance numbers that I found on the BJ Alums blog:

April 8, 2009 …………………… 5

January 14, 2009 …………… 3

December 10, 2008 …………… 8

November 12, 2008 …………… 6

October 8, 2008 ……………… 8

August 13, 2008 ……………… 9

July 9, 2008 …………………… 23
(Sandy Levenson, Bob Pell memorial)

June 12, 2008 ………………… 8

May 14, 2008 ………………… 12

Feb. 13, 2008 ………………… 11

Dec. 12, 2007 ………………… 8

Sept. 12, 2007 ………………… 16

August 8, 2007 ……………… 7

June 13, 2007 ………………… 12

May 9, 2007 …………………… 14

April 11, 2007 ………………… 15

March 15, 2007 ……………… ??
(no story & photos no longer available)

January 10, 2007 …………… 14

December 13, 2006 ………… 18

November 8, 2006 …………… 13

October 12, 2006 …………… 11

September 13, 2006 ………… 12

August 13, 2006 …………… 15

July 12, 2006 ………………… 10

June 15, 2006 ……………… 12

May 11, 2006 ………………… 11

April 12, 2006 ……………… 11

March 8, 2006 ……………… 13

February 8, 2006 …………… 11

January 11, 2006 …………… 13

The Retirees Lunch Bunch at Papa Joe's

Here are Beacon Journal retirees at the the monthly luncheon on Wednesday at Papa Joe's in the Valley From left (clockwise) are John Olesky, Tom Moore, Dave Boerner, Al Hunsicker and Gene McClellan.

To all BJ-type bloggers

[Cartoon provided to blog by Charles Buffum]

Robert T. Cull, father of Mike, dies at 90

[He is the father of former Beacon Journal staffer Mike Cull.]

Robert T. Cull

CULL Robert T. Cull, age 90, April 4, 2009. Graduate of Rosary High School, The Ohio State University and the University of Purdue. Veteran WW II, US Army Air Corp, awarded 2 Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. 1997 Catholic Man of the Year and Knight of St. Gregory. Member of Immaculate Conception Church, Knights of The Holy Sepulchre, Bentz Foundation for Foreign Missions, American Legion, Serra Club and St. Vincent De Paul Society. Retired from Northwestern Mutual Insurance Co. Preceded in death by his wife Margaret "Peggy" Cull, daughter Kathleen Cavello, sisters Ruth Cull and Mary Waddell and brothers Edward and Charles Cull. Survived by children, Michael B., Robert E. (Mary), Stephen J., Kevin D. (Rosalie), Margaret M. and Sean D. (Mary Jo) Cull; son-in-law, Dominic Cavello; 12 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild; sister-in-law, Irene Cull; nieces and nephews, Martha, Mary, James and Thomas; other relatives and friends. Friends may call Monday 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the EGAN-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 403 E. Broad St. Mass of Christian Burial Tuesday 10:15 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E. North Broadway. Burial St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, friends who wish may contribute in his memory to Immaculate Conception Church.
[Published in The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, OH Sunday, April 5, 2009]

Ex-BJ photog Detrich wins honors

Former Beacon Journal photographer Matt Detrich, now at the Indianapolis Star, won his fifth Regional Photographer of the Year award.

The win was announced on the Press Photographers blog by Bob DeMay who reported on the results of the National Press Photographers Region 4 Decmber clip contest.

Detrich had three wins in the final month, but really didn't need the points, as he finished 342 points ahead of second place finisher David Stephenson of the Lexington (KY) Herald Leader. Ryan Garza from The Flint (MI) Journal placed third.

The lone Ohio photographers to crack the top ten were Marshall Gorby and Barbara Perenic from the Springfield News-Sun. Gorby placed 4th and Perenic placed 8th.

See DeMay’s report

And here's a story of Ott and Greenfield

After reading Ott Gangl's recollections of him, former Beacon Magazine editor Lary Bloom tells this story:

One day Julius Greenfield came into the Sunday Department in a state of frenzy. "What's the matter, Greenie, I asked?" (We all called the chief photographer Greenie though his close friends called him Lefty). He said, "I can't believe it." I said, "You can't believe what?" He said, "I can't believe what Ott Gangl did to me." I said, "What did Ott Gangl do to you?" He said, "I'll tell you what he did to me. He went skiing and broke his leg."

Lary

Lary Bloom, alive in Connecticut

Here's a reply from Lary Bloom and photo from his website. Please visit his website to learn more.

Hi Harry. I think I'm alive. Although the pictures might prove otherwise. Doing swell, thanks.

Have been living in Connecticut for 30 years, and for the last 10 or so have been working on books, and freelancing (now for NY Times and Connecticut magazine. -- website larybloom.net -- shows me alive, I think.). Still consider days of Beacon mag to be among the most exciting -- loved working with Bierman (alas), Doug Balz, Jim Ricci, Chuck Ayers, etc.

Vintage photos: Lary Bloom

Please note well that this is not "the late" Lary Bloom but only an exaggeration. Read the comments below. He has been sent an email which he will hopefully answer to increase our embarassment


Vintage photos from February 1978 of the late Lary Bloom,
Sunday Beacon Magazine editor

Photos provided by Charles Buffum. Click on photos to enlarge for better view.

BJ art staff circa 2000

This is a poster of the Beacon art staff, circa 2000. The poster was made as a goodbye gift for Terence Oliver.

Top row L to R: John Backderf, Kathy Hagedorn, Art Krummel

Middle row: Rick Steinhauser, Rickey Brinson, Dennis Balogh

Bottom: Phil White, Deb Kauffman, Brian Shellito.

Not pictured: Dennis Earlenbaugh.

The only ones left are Kathy, Steinhauser and Deb. Brian is a sports layout guy.

[Thanks tp derf who sent the poster]