Arthur Ochs Sulzberger dies at 86

In a note to all New York Times company employees, publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., announced the death of his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, at 86. In 1963, Sulzberger became publisher of the paper, family owned since 1896.

In a statement, President Obama honored Sulzberger:

Over the course of more than 30 years, Arthur helped transform the New York Times and secure its status as one of the most successful and respected newspapers in the world.
He was a firm believer in the importance of a free and independent press — one that isn’t afraid to seek the truth, hold those in power accountable, and tell the stories that need to be told.
Arthur’s legacy lives on in the newspaper he loved and the journalists he inspired.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

See obituary

Tribute paid to Kathy Fraze on retirement

By Tom Moore

After 39 years with the Beacon Journal, Kathy Fraze, writer, editor, teacher called it quits.

The staffers paid tribute to her with a video that recalled how she had been so helpful to each....recalling how she had saved their butts more than once from mistakes that could have been embarrassing for paper and reporter had they appeared in print.

One staffer said Kathy had taught his journalism class at Kent State and then hired him later on.

Editor Bruce Winges read off a list of her accomplisments and positions she has held over the years.

She received several gifts, including a picnic basket filled with goodies for her trip to Ireland and an engraved cake knife. Of course there was a cake.

And I think she summed up what we all feel when leaving a place that has been our life for so many years...the people you work with and the comradely therein

She cited an incident in 1980 when folks showed up only to find the lifeline of the paper was on the blink...the telephone system.

A telephone repairman was called and while he yanked a wire here and there, the staff discussed the latest murders and other stories that came to mind to pass the time since this was before the new electronic age of cell phones and the internet.

The repairman looked up from his work and said: “Boy, what a great place! I”d love to work here.”

In addition to the staff, two retirees were present to welcome her into the retiree ranks...Mike Needs and Tom Moore. Both worked closely with her over the years and sure agree to the praise the staff had for a great newswoman. 

Happy retirement, Kathy.

Drowning in Internet tsunami

Newspapers aren’t the only ones drowning in the Internet tsunami. Magazines, books, TV, movies and music have been inundated, too, among others. 

It has been a decade of what economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction.”

Newsweek technology editor Daniel Lyons writes:

“Newspapers are getting wiped out because they didn’t  realize they were in the information business. These companies are in the business of spotting what’s new, yet they were blind to the biggest change to hit their business."

Also: “The Internet robbed them of their mini-monopolies.”

To read how the Internet so rapidly and drastically altered so many industries, click on http://2010.newsweek.com/essay/a-decade-of-destruction.htm

Journalism in the age of Twitter

Kelly Fincham, on Poynter.com, discusses how journalism students need to learn how to use Twitter in their lives and in their careers.

Some of the points:

-- It is not about what you had for lunch or what color your nails are. It’s about developing a network and a beat.

-- Students need to realize the value of Twitter as a storytelling and verification tool.

-- Your tweets are public and they will be around a long, long time.  A poorly thought-out tweet can come back to haunt you just like all those drunken photos on Facebook. Can this get me into trouble 10 years from now?

Kelly teaches journalism at Hofstra University. She has been a journalist in the U.S, Ireland and Australia for 30 years.

Read the entire article at http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/journalism-education/188408/what-every-young-journalist-should-know-about-using-twitter/

Retail ad retiree Lloyd Long dies at 87

CUYAHOGA FALLS -- Lloyd E. Long, 87, died peacefully Sept. 21, 2012. Mr. Long was born in Keota, Iowa and had resided in Cuyahoga Falls since 1950, moving here from Stow.

He retired from the Akron Beacon Journal in the early 90's as a retail advertiser with over 20 years service and had previously worked at the Record Courier for over 20 years. He was a Veteran of World War II having served with the U.S. Army, had fought in the Battle of the Bulge, received a Purple Heart, was a past member of the Kent Lions Club and had been a Soap Box Derby official. He enjoyed golfing and had a hole in one in his senior golf league and also enjoyed bowling and outdoor sports and watching baseball, football and basketball.

Preceded in death by his wife, Lauretta Mae; and son, John R.; he is survived by his son, Richard A.; granddaughter, Leslie M. Vesper (Keith); great-granddaughter, Jackson and Isabel Vesper; and brother, Harold Long of Avon Lake, Ohio.

There will be no calling hours. A Funeral Service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday, October 2, 2012 in the Abby at Crown Hill Burial Park, Dr. Richard A. Hasler officiating. In lieu of other remembrances, memorials may be made to Ohio Parkinson's Foundation, P.O. Box 271, Tallmadge, OH 44278 or Crossroads Hospice, 3743 Boettler Oaks Dr., Green, OH 44685.

[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Sunday, September 23, 2012, page B5, col. 6   ]

BJ headline read on Tonight show

        

A Beacon Journal headline was read on the Tonight Show,. The headline read "Tribe Unbeaten in September."  The date on the newspaper was September 2.

Kathy Fraze says Bill Lilley wrote the headline.  

Thanks to Phil Trexler for calling our attention to it.


                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Old news stories displayed

Larry Froelich sends us a link to a site that display copes of  old important news stories.

Check it out

Jim Carney's Black Keys son Pat weds

        Bride Emily Ward, comedian Will Forte, Pat Carney

Pat Carney is the son of Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carney and the stepson of Jim's wife, Katie Byard.

Associated Press

NASHVILLE -- Patrick Carney of The Black Keys has gotten married.

The rock drummer married Emily Ward on Saturday at the home they share in Nashville.

The Keys’ publicist says the couple was joined by about 350 family and friends for the back-yard ceremony.

Comedian Will Forte officiated. 

Ward wore a dress by Carolina Herrera and walked down the aisle to “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James & The Shondells. Carney was accompanied down the aisle by the couple’s Irish wolfhound Charlotte. 

The wedding party included Ward’s sister, Danielle Shuster, and brother Henry Ward, while Carney was accompanied by his brothers Will Carney and Barry Stormer.

Dan Auerbach, Carney’s bandmate in the Grammy Award-winning rock ‘n’ roll duo, also attended. 

BJ healthcare lawsuit deadline moved to Oct. 26

Retired printers eligible for the Beacon Journal healthcare lawsuit settlement have until Oct. 26 to submit their choices. The Sept. 21 deadline was pushed back to give them time to find Medicare coverage only for Part B medical, and not include Part D prescription coverage, thus blending with the prescription $5 co-pay restoration.

Summa provides such compatible coverage, but is dropping that plan for 2013, when the BJ lawsuit settlement kicks in. Since companies don’t announce their 2013 Medicare plans till October, the BJ settlement deadline was delayed to accommodate the retired printers.

Guild retirees don’t have this problem and can choose Plan N to go with their prescription $2 co-pay restoration. Plan N restores healthcare coverage to retirement-day levels instead of the cutbacks the BJ has made over the years.

Eligible retirees will be enrolled with UnitedHealthcare for AARP Medicare Supplement Plan N and Medical Mutual of Ohio for the $2 and $5 prescription co-pays.

The fairness hearing before U.S. District Court Judge David Dowd, which is expected to approve what attorneys from both sides have agreed to, was moved from Oct. 4 to Nov. 9.

Both Guild and printer retirees eligible for the settlement have till Friday, Sept. 21 to submit their reimbursement claims for the difference between what they paid out of pocket because the BJ cut back on coverage and what they would have paid under Plan N and the $5 or $2 prescription co-pays.

Go to the Labels category on the left side of this blog and click on BJ Lawsuit to see previous stories.

Henry Ruppel, ex-BJ financial editor, dies

TALLMADGE -- Henry S. Ruppel, age 82, passed away September 15, 2012. Mr. Ruppel was born in Akron, Ohio and lived his life in the Akron/Tallmadge area.

He retired in 1995 as a Journalist with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company with 23 years service and also worked as Manager of Corporate Communications for Goodyear. Mr. Ruppel was a member of SCORE, SPJ, Akron Press Club, Tallmadge Prime timers, served as Financial Editor for the Akron Beacon Journal, received his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, was an active member of the Tallmadge United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday School and served on various boards of the church. He also served with the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and he and his wife were avid travelers.

Mr. Ruppel was preceded in death by a son, Mark; and is survived by his wife, Bernice J.; daughters, Karen Policy of Kent and Kim (Brian) Hoobler of Montana; sons, Kurt (Pat) Ruppel of Minnesota and Keith (Cynthia) Ruppel of Massachusetts; grandchildren Ian, Kyleen, Sonja, Jesse, Rachel, Joshua, Isabel, and Hayden.

Funeral services 11 a.m. Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at the Tallmadge United Methodist Church with Dr. Barry French officiating. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at the DONOVAN BAGNOLI FUNERAL HOME, 339 SOUTHWEST AVE., TALLMADGE and one hour before service at the church. In lieu of other remembrances donations may be given to the Tallmadge United Methodist Church, 207 N. Munroe Rd., Tallmadge, Ohio 44278


  330-633 3350

[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Monday, September 17, 2012, page B5, colo.4]

BJ retiree Jane Herbert dies at 65

Jane Ellen Herbert, 65, of Green passed away on September 14, 2012 after a courageous battle with cancer.

Jane was born January 10, 1947 to Norman and Irene Elder. She was a 1964 graduate of Coventry High School and retired from the Akron Beacon Journal after 20 years of service.

Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Norman Elder and Irene and James Zoller and mother-in-law, Maxine McCrindle. She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Don; children, Lisa (Tod) and Lenny; grandchildren, Kennedy, Mackenzie, Catherine, Carter and Aiden; brothers, Bruce (Christine), Fritz (Susan) and David (Carol); sister, Nancy (Donnie); brothers-in-law, David (Joey) and Dale (Suzette); numerous nieces, nephews, special friends, Karen and John Rogers; neighbors, close friends from Dano's and the ladies from the C.R.A.F.T. Club.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Jorge Garcia, Shari Black, Marie Braswell and Crossroads Hospice.

A Celebration of L]ife service will be held on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. Visitation with family from 5 to 7 p.m. with a memorial service starting at 7 p.m. at the Schermesser Funeral Home, 600 E. Turkeyfoot Lake Rd., Akron, OH 44319 (SR 619). Per Jane's request please wear your Ohio State attire to the service. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made in Jane's name to Portage Lakes Fireworks Association, P.O. Box 26923, Akron, OH 44319. To leave a special message online for the family, visit our website at www.schermesserfh.com.

SCHERMESSER-GREEN, (330) 899-9107
                            \
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH,Sunday, September 16, 2012, page B6, cl. 5]  

Printed PDs on their way out?

Is the Plain Dealer’s daily deliveries to your doorstep over?

That seems the thrust of a Cleveland Scene magazine article on the heels of publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger’s announcement that he will retire from the newspaper early next year.

Advance Publications, which owns the PD, has gone to 3-days-a-week delivery of its printed newspapers in sister newspapers in Michigan (Ann Arbor News), Alabama (several papers), Louisiana (New Orleans Times-Picayune), New York (Syracuse Post-Standard) and Pennsylvania (Harrisburg Patriot-News).

Managing editor Thom Fladung and editor Debra Simmons dodged the question when they announced Egger’s impending department at a hastily called newsroom meeting.

To read the entire Cleveland Scene story, click on http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-publisher-bails/Content?oid=3053775

To reach an earlier BJ Alums article on Egger’s upcoming departure, click on http://bjretirees.blogspot.com/search?q=PD+publisher+to+retire

Seven savor travel recollections

Travel and healthcare reimburse- ment forms were among the topics for the seven at Papa Joe’s restaurant today for the monthly Beacon Journal retirees lunch.

Rosetta Blanton, widow of BJ engraving retiree Watson Blanton (he died in 2009), at 87 still is enjoying Caribbean cruises. So does her cousin, Lennie Thomas, her companion as usual at the lunch.

Retired photographer Don Roese, 77, has been to Europe six or seven times and frequently drives to Alaska and Florida, where there’s a family home in Hollywood for snowbirds to escape Northeast Ohio winters.

Newsroom retiree John Olesky has been to 50 countries, and with Paula has signed up for a March 2013 three-week trip to New Zealand and Australia.

John and Don exchanged questions about their BJ lawsuit settlement forms. They are among Guild retirees who qualify for healthcare reimbursements and enrollment in medical coverage and $2 prescription co-pay that restores their retirement-day coverage.

The only Guild retirees identified by the BJ as eligible for the restoration of the $2 Rx card and medical coverage are Don, John, Dick McBane, Dick McLinden and Harold and Elizabeth Bailey.

There are far more retired printers and their spouses on the BJ’s eligibility list (some for Plan N, some for $5 prescription co-pay card, some for both):

David and Regina White, whose $2,500 check started the lawsuit ball rolling toward U.S. District Court Judge David Dowd’s landmark 2009 ruling against the BJ; Sid Sprague, Hugh and Sharon Downing, Isabel Watson, Janice Hogg, Bob and Linda Abbott, Russel and Marta Bendel, Lloyd and Claudine Bigelow, Joe Catalano, Eunice and Bonnie Collins, John Costello, Dick and Pat Fair, Larnie and Stephanie Greene, Dick Gresock, Marjorie Hanna, Ed Hanzel, Henry and Kathleen Heinbuch, Bob Kendall, Harriett Ledbetter, Norm and Naomi Mattern, Charles O’Neil, Denzil Parker, Fred Pollack, Francis and Rita Reeves, Don Reppart, Ron Sanderlin, Cecil and Josephine Santoferrero, Charles Stadelman, Josephine Thomes, Bob Walker, Ruth and Tom West, Tom and Thelma White, and Ray and Amaryllis Wolfe.

The retirees have till Sept. 21 to get their reimbursement and healthcare upgrade paperwork to the Beacon Journal Settlement Office. Otherwise, they don't get the settlement benefits.

Tracy McClellan, the late retired printer Gene McClellan’s daughter, also attended. She has disposed of her dad’s cars and motorcycle and is trying to sell Gene’s house before Tracy returns to her husband in New Mexico. Gene died in March.

Retired printers Carl Nelson and Al Hunsicker completed today's circle of seven.

The only time there has been more than seven at the monthly lunch since March 2010 was when Gene’s three children and two grandchildren showed up in April 2012 to swell attendance to 10.

The retirees lunch is at 1 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month at Papa Joe’s Restaurant on Akron/Peninsula Road at Portage Trail Extension. It is open to current and former BJ employees and anyone who would like to visit BJ folks.

Olga Reswow returns to work

Olga Reswow returned to work today (Monday, Sept. 10) for the first time since her car was hit on the expressway on Dec. 30. She's using a cane, but otherwise is lookin' good.

Drug giants pay other firms to keep generics off the market

The pharmaceutical giants’ tactic of paying other  companies to delay the introduction of generic drugs into the market costs patients an estimated $3.5 billion a year.

The brand-name drugs rake in much more money when there are no equivalent generics on the market.

I sometimes get generic equivalents for some of my prescription drugs through Canada because they have been kept off the market in the United States. The cost through Canada has been as much as one-fourth the tab  for the same brand-name drug in the United States.

According to the attached article in the September 2012 issue of the AARP Bulletin, one federal appeals court ruled the pay-to-delay strategy anti-competitive. Since three other appeals courts have ruled them legal, the issue probably will wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, you’ll continue to pay more for brand-name drugs because the pharmacy giants are paying other companies to keep the generic equivalent off the market.

Warner elected to Hall of Fame

Stuart Warner has been elected to the Cleveland Press Club Hall of Fame.


In his more than 40-year newspaper career Stuart Warner has played a major role in three Pulitzer Prize-winning entries and has edited three other Pulitzer finalists plus stories that have won more than 50 other national awards. Warner was lead writer on the centerpiece of the Akron Beacon Journal's 1987 Pulitzer-winning coverage of the attempted takeover of Goodyear. As deputy managing editor in Akron, he supervised the 1994 Pulitzer Gold Medal winning project, "A Question of Color." As writing coach at The Plain Dealer, he edited Connie Schultz's columns that won the 2005 Pulitzer for commentary, and her series "Burden of Innocence," which was a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer in feature writing. He also edited Regina Brett's columns, which were 2008 and 2009 Pulitzer commentary finalists. Warner has received The Press Club of Cleveland's Best in Ohio award twice for freelance writing and once for essay writing.

The induction will take place Friday evening, Oct. 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn, downtown Cleveland. Click  here for event details and to register.

Politicians squabble while national debt soars

While Democrats and Republicans refuse to compromise the national debt has disintegrated from looking at $6 trillion in federal black ink by 2015 to $6 trillion in debt. That’s a $12 trillion financial sea change while politicians yap at each other. 

And it’s growing at the rate of $1 trillion a year.

David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of a new book, “Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget,” blames an economy worse than anyone expected, the housing bubble bursting, tax cuts and spending increases.

Health care went from less than 10% of the federal budget in 1960 to 25% today and 33% a decade from now unless significant changes are made. 

The defense budget is $700 billion, more than the next 17 budgets combined in other countries.

About 63% of the money spent last year was for promises made by previous Congresses, which doesn't leave much maneuvering room for today's Congress. 

The United States still draws investors because others – the Japanese and the Europeans – are even worse off. 

About half of America’s debt is held by foreign investors, including 25% by the Chinese.

To reach the entire article, click on https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/red-ink-092012

Chapter 11 bankruptcy again for Lorain, Willoughby papers

For the second time in three years the parent company of the Lorain Morning Journal and Willoughby News Herald has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Previously, the Journal Register Co. entered and exited bankruptcy in less than a year.

The Journal Register hopes to sell to Alden Global Capital, which owns nearly all of its stock. It plans to continue operating the newspapers while it goes through Chapter 11.

To read the Cleveland.com story, click on http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/09/journal_register_co_files_for.html

PD publisher to retire after first of year

Plain Dealer publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger will retire from the newspaper shortly after the first of next year, Egger announced today.

“I will be 55 this week, and while it has not been an easy decision to leave a career and industry that I love, I am excited about starting a productive next phase in my life, Egger said in a note to Plain Dealer staffers.

Egger joined The Plain Dealer in May 2006 as publisher, president and chief executive officer, overseeing the policy and operations of Ohio’s largest newspaper in Ohio.

He also oversees operations for the Sun Newspapers, a chain of weeklies published in communities across Northeast Ohio.

The Plain Dealer and Sun are owned by New York-based Advance Publications.

Egger said in the note that he has not decided what he will do next although “I do hope a part of it is returning to teach in a college classroom.”
He also said he would lead the search for his successor at The Plain Dealer.

Prior to joining The Plain Dealer, Egger was publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also worked with Tucson Newspapers in Arizona, for the Copley Los Angeles Newspapers, and he began his newspaper career at a small biweekly in Southern California. Prior to newspapers, Egger taught college communication courses in California.

Egger serves on the Executive Committee for the Greater Cleveland Partnership. He also is a board member with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Musical Arts Association and the Cleveland Museum of Art. He is a member of the United Way of Greater Cleveland board of directors and he served as United Way’s board chairman from 2010 to 2012.

A native of Rock Island, Ill., Egger and his wife, Renuka, live in Bay Village. They have three children: Anthony, Ali and Danny.

'Eroded" safety net = shameful journalism

Longtime science journalist Charles Seife was vaguely familiar with Jonah Lehrer’s work before Wired.com asked him two weeks ago to investigate for plagiarism, fabrication and other shortcuts.

Seife found problems in 17 of the 18 blog posts he reviewed. In three of those posts, Lehrer plagiarized from other writers, in five he used verbatim portions of press releases, and in 14 posts he recycled his own writing from previously published pieces. It was this recycling, first reported by Jim Romenesko on June 19, that started the cascade of investigations and revelations about Lehrer’s books and his work for The New Yorker and Wired.

Seife’s investigation was not published on Wired.com, though. Instead, his findings were published on Slate at virtually the same time that Wired.com Editor-in-Chief Evan Hansen published a statement acknowledging the problems with Lehrer’s work and the end of Wired’s relationship with the writer. Wired declined to publish Seife’s findings.

How can this blatant plagiarism happen?

“I think the safety net has eroded,” Seife said. “Fact-checkers are disappearing, the editorial staff is getting threadbare. The mantra of do more with less is taking its toll.

“They made sure they challenged you. They forced you to think harder about your work, and if you screwed up, they kicked your ass.

 “And I think that if he had a bit more oversight early on in his career, if he had a good editor or two to kick his butt, I think he might have become a star that would never have fallen.”

To read Julie Moos’ article about Seife’s investigation of Lehrer’s work, click on http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/187310/why-slate-published-wireds-jonah-lehrer-plagiarism-investigation/