Pam McCarthy at Black Keys concert in Pittsburgh tonight

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  Pam McCarthy

  Former BJ State Desk reporter Pam McCarthy, who retired from North Canton's Hoover High School after decades of teaching journalism, will be in the Pittsburgh audience tonight for a Black Keys concert by BJ reporter Jim Carney's son, Patrick Carney, and Dan Auerbach.

  
  

  Says Pam about the Mother's Day present from her daughter, Kate: "My first rock concert in 40 years!"

  
  

  As for the Black Keys, they will move on to concerts in Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Napa Valley and Irvine, California, Ottawa and Quebec, Canada, Raleigh, Greenville, South Carolina and Louisville. And that only takes them through July 13.

  
  

  
  

  
  

BJ pension plan at 85.31% of liabilities at end of 2012

The Beacon Journal's assets for funding the employees' retirement plan at the end of 2012 was at 85.31 percent of the plan's liabilities, according to the annual funding notice provided to BJ retirees.

That's up from the 75.49 percent of 2011 but down from the 86.56 percent of 2010. 

The plan had almost $44.1 million in assets for 2012, compared to almost $41.8 million in 2011 and almost $46 million in 2010. Mutual funds make up 42.65 percent of the assets, which helps explain the rise and fall nature of the yearly totals. 

There are 337 current BJ retirees affected by the plan. Another 193 are entitled to future benefits. The other 158 are active participants.

Why is 1 death a bigger deal than 15 deaths?

Former BJ sports editor Tom Giffen, retired artist Art Krummel and former BJ assistant managing editor (and PD honcho for a while) Stuart Warner bring up an interesting point in their Facebook discussion of how the media treats different events, well, differently.

Tom started it off with: “The media's overall comparable indifference to the deaths of 15 first responders in the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion. Everyone knows the name of the campus policeman killed in Boston, but who can name one person killed in Texas (without looking it up)? I guess a fertilizer plant explosion just isn't very sexy in the overall scheme of things."

Stuart chimes in: “The fertilizer plant would have been very sexy if it had been in Manhattan.”

Tom also was unhappy that former New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow’s open expression of his religion and faith is the cause of ridicule.

Art’s thoughts: “Tom, I've been thinking the same thing about Tebow. Belittled and snickered at for expressing his faith. Yet ‘killer’ linebackers are cheered from shore to shore.”

Art may have in mind Ray Lewis, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker, who was involved in a 2000 fight that resulted in indictments for murder and aggravated assault. He was allowed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice in return for testifying against two others involved in the killing – the two who rode away from the crime scene with Lewis in his limo after the two stabbing deaths outside an Atlanta night club with a knife that had Lewis’ name on the receipt as the purchaser.

If you have an opinion about how the media treats some deaths so differently than others, click on the “Comments” at the end of this article and let us know how you feel.  

Wilma Smith's final signoff May 22.

WJW (Channel 8) news anchor Wilma Smith – born Wilma Pokorny in Garfield Heights -- will end her 35-year Cleveland broadcast career May 22.

Smith, who won 10 local Emmys, will spend more time with her husband, Tom Gerber. She began her Cleveland broadcast career in 1977 on WEWS (Channel 5), moved . to Channel 8 in 1994.

At Bowling Green State University, she was an undergraduate double major in speech and English, and got a master's in broadcast journalism. She began her TV career in 1972 at WXEX in Richmond, Va.

For Mark Dawidziak’s story, click on http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2013/04/wilma_smith_ends_her_35-year_cleveland_broadcast_career_on_may_22.html#incart_river#incart_m-rpt-2

Tiptoeing through Twitter trap

People who work in the media should be careful about which Twitter lists have their names on them, particularly if they want to avoid the appearance of not being objective about sizzling topics.

Often, media folks are put on Twitter lists by someone other than themselves. They have to remove themselves from any Twitter lists that might bite them in the butt later. 

That’s the advice from columnist/humorist Nina Diamond.

Click on http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/digital-strategies/211540/how-journalists-can-remove-themselves-from-twitter-lists-why-it-matters/ to read her entire article.

Downing's future columns

From BJ outdoors writer Bob Downing's Facebook page:

travel plans changed...too cold to camp in west virginia...had an ohio day with three nature preserve visits for upcoming travel columns: a bald eagle by the sandusky river, giant burr oaks in prairie in crawford county and glades of marsh marigolds in richland county.

An update from John Dunphy

APRIL 17

Dunphy update: Well it’s amazing how quickly things can change. Went in to see my oncologist Tuesday. The plan was to see him and then proceed to the chemo room for my weekly dose of poison. After we talked a bit, he decided chemo was over, he believed he had done everything he could do and there wasn’t much reason to go forward. I was surprised to say the least. So I went in Tuesday afternoon for some blood work and will have another positron emission tomography scan (PET). This is the radioactive one where they inject you with radioactive stuff and it searches out cancer cells.
So after those results come back, he and the surgeon will confer and figure out a plan of attack. The surgeon will do one more endoscopy where they stick the camera down my throat and take some photos and probably a biopsy to see what his surgical plan will be. If all agree, surgery is scheduled for June 5, a Wednesday. I will need a good month to detox from the chemo chemicals so it will be nice to be “drug free” for awhile.
If anyone has had surgery at USC, let me know what inside tips you can provide?

Bad story/ad placement

Boston bombing story next to pressure cooker ad in Mineapolois Star Tribune:

Front pages on Boston marathon tragedy

  
See the front pages
/

BJ marks 175th anniversary

The Akron Beacon Journal today  marked its 175th year of service to the community with a full page ad on the back page of the A section. The newspaper is the oldest continuously operating business in Summit County.

Ed Hanzel obituary

Edward R. Hanzel

BARBERTON -- Edward R. Hanzel, 87, passed away Friday, April 12, 2013. A life resident of Barberton, he was a World War II Army veteran and retired from Akron Beacon Journal. Ed was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church and a previous member of the Holy Hour Program for 40 years. Preceded in death by his parents, George and Mary Hanzel; wife of 62 years, Norma; brothers, George, Robert, Albert and Frank; sisters, Antionette Hanzel, Margaret Binford, Marie Hanzel and Ed and Norma Hanzel Frances Anderson; survived by daughter, Joan (David) Stover of Barberton; sons, Jack (Cheryl) Hanzel of Akron and Jeff (Cindy) Hanzel of Doylestown; grandchildren, Mark (Jennifer) Stover, Sandy Papoi, Whitney Megyes (Mike) and Kelley (Steve) Serva; great-grandchildren, Anastasia, Brittany and Allison; numerous nieces, nephews and other family members and friends. Family will receive friends Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Campfield-Hickman-Collier Funeral Home, 566 W. Park Ave., Barberton 44203, where prayers will be said on Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. followed by Mass of Christian burial 9:45 a.m. at St. Augustine Catholic Church, 204 6th St. N.W., Barberton 44203, celebrant Fr. David Majikas. Burial at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Augustine Church Endowment Fund or the American Heart Association , 3505 Embassy Parkway, Suite 100, Akron, Ohio 44333. Published in Akron Beacon Journal from April 14 to April 15, 2013

Ed Hanzel passes away

BJ Alums got this email from retired printer Dick Latshaw, who lives on Pawleys Island, South Carolina, about retired printer Ed Hanzel:

John

I just got a call from my daughter in Ohio.

She said Ed Hanzel passed away last night. (Thursday)

She knows Ed’s son. Can you check it out and post on the BJ retirees blog?

Thanks

Dick Latshaw

Retired BJ printer Ed’s wife, Norma Jean Smith Hanzel, died in 2010. They were married 62 years.

Norma Jean & Ed Hanzel

Ed and Norma were married on September 13, 1947 at St. Augustine Church. Ed and Norma met at Barberton High School and resided in Barberton all their lives.

They have a daughter, Joan (David) Stover of Barberton; sons, Jack (Cheryl) of Akron and Jeffrey (Cindy) of Doylestown; and grandchildren, Mark (Jennifer) Stover, Sandy Papoi, Whitney Megyes and Kelley Hanzel; and great-granddaughters, Anastasia, Allison and Brittany.

Ed was among the 45 printers and their spouses who won the healthcare lawsuit against the BJ. 

New Zealand/Australia trip photos

If you want to see 146 photos of the 22-day trip to New Zealand and Australia by BJ newsroom retiree John Olesky and former State Desk reporter Paula Tucker, click on https://picasaweb.google.com/115483244393507838338/2013NewZealandAustraliaTrip#

In New Zealand John and Paula had a reunion with 1970s BJ State Desk reporter Cathy Strong, who lives in Wellington, and retired BJ photographer Don Roese and his wife, Mary Ann, who spent a week at Cathy’s home as part of their three-week tour of New Zealand.

This expanded the number of countries John and Paula have visited together to 52.

A toast to Cathy Strong

John Olesky (left), Don Roese toast
Cathy Strong (photo between them)

Retired BJ photographer Don Roese and retired BJ editor John Olesky, who had a March reunion at Auckland, New Zealand airport, got together again, this time at today’s BJ retirees lunch at Papa Joe’s.

They were the only ones who showed up. 

So they talked about their New Zealand experiences and the amazing Cathy Strong, the former State Desk reporter who founded the journalism masters program for Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Don and wife Mary Ann stayed at Cathy’s beach home near Wellington for a week, before and after driving around New Zealand for three weeks. 

Later Cathy flew to Auckland for a reunion with John and 1970s State Desk reporter Paula Tucker.

Don and John toasted Cathy at the Papa Joe’s lunch.

Abe Zaidan's comment on BJ ad

This item stolen from Grumpy Abe, the blog of former 
BJ columnist Abe Zaidan:

Have you noticed the Beacon Journal ads telling us 

News. 
Delivered. 
7 days a week. 

What could that possibly mean, so soon after word was confirmed that the Plain Dealer will go to a 3-day-a-week delivery cycle this summer?

In the old days, we'd call that the beginning of a newspaper war.  In today's climate, probably little more than the BJ telling us that they deliver the paper 7 days a week, which we already know

Dawidziak to play Mark Twain ad North Olmsted

If you happen to be out North Olmsted way Tuesday night, April 9, Mark Dawdeziak is  dusting off his white suit for a 50-minute program as Mark Twain at 7 p.m. It's a free event through the North Olmsted branch (27403 Lorain Road) of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. Q&A to follow. So even if you can't make it, please spread the word. Here's the registration link:
http://cuyahogalibrary.evanced.info/eventsignup.asp?ID=10585

Why Roger Ebert was good

Roger Ebert

St. Petersburg Times movie critic Roy Peter Clark explains what made the late Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.

Ebert died Thursday. 

Click on http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/writing-tools/209442/why-roger-ebert-was-a-good-writer/ to read Clark’s paean to Ebert.

Eulogy for newsrooms of another day

Click on this link:

A eulogy for old-school newsrooms

PD to cut home delivery to three days a week

Cleveland Plain Dealer to cut home delivery to three days a week. Paper edition will still be produced for newsstands every day. 

See full story

BJ reunions in New Zealand and Florida

By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)

Beacon Journal retirees find ways to get together long after they have worked together at the building on East Exchange Street in Akron.

Whether it’s Florida or New Zealand, BJ retirees and former newsroom employees had reunions within the past month.

Former BJ Art Department chief Art Krummel and his wife, retired BJ reporter Charlene Nevada, had a reunion in Venice, Florida with Composing retiree Gina White, widow of former Composing foreman Dave White. Gina moved to Venice with Dave nearly a decade ago after nearly two decades in their Sarasota home. The photo shows the trio at a Siesta Key restaurant.

Art and Charlene have a winter home in Garden City, South Carolina, which is 85 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina, but spend a majority of their time in their Tallmadge home.

Then Art and Charlene drove north to St. Petersburg for a reunion with former BJ artist Dennis Haas and Dennis’ wife, Lois.

Cathy Strong, a 1970s BJ State Desk reporter who lives in a beach home just outside Wellington, New Zealand, hasn’t had BJ visitors since the late Fran Murphey showed up on her doorstep in the late 1970s.

But she had two BJ reunions in a week’s time in March.

First retired BJ photographer Don Roese and wife Mary Ann showed up on her doorstep, and spent a week with Cathy.

After Don and Mary Ann left Cathy’s home for more traveling, Don was waiting for BJ newsroom retiree John Olesky and 1970s BJ State Desk reporter Paula Tucker when they landed at Auckland, New Zealand airport. Don and Mary Ann were at the airport to fly out and on their way to their Cuyahoga Falls home after visiting kiwi country.

Cathy Strong flew to Auckland and the next day greeted John and Paula at their hotel, where they were beginning a 22-day, 11-flight trip to New Zealand and Australia.

So, no matter where you may be in this world, look around you. There may be a former BJ co-worker sitting at the next table in an Istanbul restaurant or on your doorstep in the Carolinas.

Charlene a spam victim

Retired BJ reporter Charlene Nevada has been hit by the bad guys of the Internet. Her email:

If you receive a message from me that says something like "How are you?" -- DO NOT OPEN. I have been spammed.

char

This is a way for the spammers to get into your computer, then send out the false message to everyone on your email address list. That's how they spread their viruses, or gain control of millions of computers worldwide.

As Char advises: Beware.

BJ lawsuit already paying off plenty of $$$

Benefits from the BJ healthcare lawsuit settlement are beginning to show up already even though the reinstated benefits didn’t start till Jan. 1.

Guild retiree Don Roese, who was a photographer, paid $4 for prescription pills with a value of $644.

John Olesky paid NOTHING of the $9,315.30 bill for his stress test, which showed NO abnormalities. What Medicare didn’t pay, the United Healthcare AARP Supplement secondary coverage did. Previously, Olesky would have been out a few hundred dollars.

Olesky paid $16 for $771.98 worth of four 90-day prescriptions.

The BJ pays all the medical and prescription premiums. Lawsuit beneficiaries pay only the usual Medicare Part B premium they’ve always paid since retirement.

Retired printers included in the settlement pay $10 for 90-day prescriptions but otherwise have the same medical coverage as the Guild retirees.

Fifty retirees and their spouses were named in the settlement.

The lawsuit was filed in 2009 and settled in late 2012.

AP style drops phrase 'illegal immigrant'

The Associated Press has dropped the phrase “illegal immigrant” from its stylebook, a victory for immigrant advocates who argue that the term is biased against the people it describes.

“The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term ‘illegal immigrant’ or the use of ‘illegal’ to describe a person,” a blog post from AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll explains. “Instead, it tells users that ‘illegal’ should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.”