Feeling happy? This can cure that

If you're happy and giddy and want to come down to earth, click on the headline and read about plummeting newspaper revenue and readership. This makes doom and gloom read like a happy-ending fairytale by comparison.

Warning: A real downer.

All the bitching we did while we were working at the BJ will seem so trivial.

Click on the headline if you want to get depressed.

Everybody at Philly newspapers will be fired May 25

EVERY employee at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com will be fired May 25. That's when the bankruptcy auction sale will be finalized for Philadelphia Newspapers, L.L.C. A group of creditors bought the media empire for $139 million.

The company that owns the properties will be dissolved and its assets transferred to the new owners and new publisher Greg Osberg. The unions say that all 4,500 will be rehired. So does the new company's Chief Operating Officer, Robert Hall.

For now.

Click on the headline to read the story.

Dave White looking for retirees to join lawsuit against Beacon

Dave White sent this email to the BJ Alums blog:

Any retirees who are experiencing the same problems I did with the BJ not living up to the retirement letter you received, you can still join the suit if you are interested in trying to recoup your benefits. Please call Subodh Chandra of the Chandra Law Firm who will be glad to answer all your questions. His number is 216-578-1700. Or Dave White at 941-497-6197, and I'll answer all questions that I can.

Dave White

Federal District Court Judge David Dowd ruled that those plaintiffs named in the lawsuit against the BJ are entitled to immediate reimbursement for the difference between what they paid for health care coverage after the BJ changed the coverage and what they would have paid under their retirement-day coverage.

Click on the headline for the BJ's story on the temporary injunction against the BJ over the changes in health care coverage. Also, scroll down the BJ Alums blog to see the PD story on the same class-action court case and one posted by the BJ Alums editors.

Job openings at CNN

Former BJ staffer Jim Kavanagh relays these CNN job openings. With all the layoffs, maybe someone reading this might be interested. The openings, one in San Francisco:

Writer, CNN.com Site Production

Qualifications: Four-year college degree required, along with three years writing or producing experience in a breaking news environment in a medium or large market. Experience covering the tech industry preferred. Knowledge of Photoshop, HTML, video editing and other Web technologies, plus writing or producing experience with an online news organization, also desired. Strong news judgment, good writing skills under deadline pressure, ability to multitask and work well independently -- and with speed -- in breaking-news situations required. Also valued: Good communication skills, organizational skills, enthusiasm and the ability to develop sources within Silicon Valley.

Duties: The technology writer responsibilities include writing and updating (with new information) stories that are part of CNN.com's coverage of tech news, including breaking news and enterprise features. The Bay Area-based reporter/writer will be expected to produce daily stories and/or blog posts on breaking tech news while updating content as necessary throughout the day. The writer will also cover Bay Area-based tech events, such as conferences and Apple product announcements, and be expected to generate original stories on tech trends, tech thought leaders and other enterprise topics. Ideal candidates also may be asked to build mosaics that include text, photo galleries, video and other interactive elements. In non-breaking news situations, a writer may be asked to handle all aspects of a mosaic, as assigned by an assignment or coordinating producer or other supervisor, including writing text, selecting and cropping photos, and adding video.

Please note: This position is in San Francisco, California*************

This position reports to Cybil Wallace. If interested, please apply online via snap (quick link: my career) or www.turnerjobs.com and let Cybil and Kim Gross know






Writer, CNN.com Site Production

Qualifications: Four year college degree required along with three years writing or producing experience in a breaking news environment in a medium or large market. Knowledge of Photoshop, HTML, video editing and other Web technologies, understanding of CNN news systems, and writing or producing experience working for an online news organization desired. In addition, strong news judgment, good writing skills under deadline pressure, Ability to multitask and work well, with speed, in breaking news situations, good visual sense and understanding of multimedia and web technologies, good communication skills,
enthusiasm, ability to work well in a team environment, good organizational skills, ability to collaborate on assignments across departments.

Duties: The Entertainment Writer responsibilities include writing and updating (with new information) stories that are part of CNN.com's daily report, including breaking news and developing stories. The writer is expected to follow the assigned story's development throughout the day and amend the story as necessary. Writers are also required to build mosaics that optimize multimedia and interactivity. Mosaics include text, galleries, video and other elements. In non-breaking news situations, a writer may be asked to handle all aspects of a mosaic, as assigned by an assignment or coordinating producer or other supervisor, including writing text, selecting and cropping photos, adding video and other elements. The writer will also be encouraged to research, pitch and develop original stories for CNN.com.

This position reports to Katie Caperton. If interested, please apply online via snap (quick link: my career) or www.turnerjobs.com and let Katie and Kim Gross know

BJ story on printers' health care lawsuit

May 15 Daily Backgrounder Page D2

Newspaper ordered
to restore benefits

A judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the Akron Beacon Journal in a class-action lawsuit by a group of retirees.

The members of the Communications Workers of America Local 14514 alleges the Beacon Journal violated a contractual obligation to provide lifetime health care, including prescription drug benefits, at a minimal cost.

U.S. District Court Judge David Dowd ordered the newspaper to restore prescription drug benefits to retirees as described in letters received by the retirees and reimburse them for denied benefits they had to pay out of pocket.

The retirees say they were guaranteed lifetime employment with the Beacon Journal, and exchanged it for an early-retirement incentive program that included supplemental health-care benefits for themselves and their spouses.

The incentives were honored until the newspaper was purchased by Canadian publisher David Black in 2006, the suit alleges. At that time, the retirees say they received a letter stating that their prescription co-pays would be increased.

Retiree attorney Subodh Chandra said "having cold-heartedly broken promises to these retirees and now been called on it by a federal judge, one would hope that the Akron Beacon Journal would now simply accept responsibility,comply with the order and not do it again. We suspect, however, that they will continue to drag out this dispute with appeals hoping that the retirees will die or just go away. And we know that they have done this to others."

Beacon Journal attorney Brett Bacon said "the Beacon is studying the decision and speaking with an outside consultant and intends to meet as soon as possible with the counsel for the plaintiff."

Bacon said the case is complicated and the company is looking at its options to see if it is feasible to comply since the benefits are provided by third parties.

PD story on BJ/Printers lawsuit

Federal judge orders Akron Beacon Journal to restore retiree health care benefits
By Pat Galbincea, The Plain Dealer
May 13, 2010, 6:54PM
AKRON, Ohio -- A U.S. District judge Thursday ordered the Akron Beacon Journal to restore health care benefits to retirees.

Judge David D. Dowd Jr. issued the preliminary injunction against the Beacon Journal and Canadian media mogul David Holmes Black to reimburse denied benefits that the retirees had to pay for while the newspaper breached promises.

The retirees, members of the Communication Workers of America formerly known as the Akron Typographical Union, had been guaranteed lifetime employment with the Beacon Journal as part of their contract in the late 1960s or early 1970s by then-owner John Knight, said Subodh Chandra, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Chandra said that starting in the 1980s, the company asked longtime employees to take an early retirement and give up their right to lifetime employment in exchange for a lifetime low-cost prescription drug plan and other health care benefits for them and their spouses.

When Holmes Black purchased the newspaper in 2006, he sent a letter on Nov. 27, 2006, saying that the company was revoking its promise and replacing the low-cost coverage with other plans that cost more.

Retirees filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Sept. 22, 2009.

Dowd ordered the Beacon Journal to immediately restore and provide all prescription drug and health insurance benefits as described in the original individual retirement benefits letters and to provide reimbursement to plaintiffs for the difference between the sums paid by individual plaintiffs and the sums the plaintiffs would have been required to pay in the earlier agreement.

"I fear this decision could be appealed by the Beacon Journal . . . which would be unconscionable," Chandra said. "It's time for them to accept responsibility and keep their promises."

Bruce Winges, editor of the Beacon Journal, said Frantz Ward LLP was the law firm that represented the newspaper. Attorneys at Frantz Ward did not return calls for comment.

Judge rules for retired printers over BJ health care changes

The Akron Beacon Journal today was ordered to restore retired printers’ health care benefits to retirement-day levels by U.S. Federal District Judge David Dowd in Akron.

The preliminary injunction also ordered the Beacon Journal to reimburse plaintiffs named in the lawsuit for the difference between what the BJ paid and what should have been paid since their retirements.

In a September 2009 lawsuit, the retired printers charged the BJ with a “bait-and-switch” tactic by getting them to take early retirements by promising health care benefits in exchange for the printers giving up their lifetime jobs guarantees and then altering the benefits later.

The lawsuit is labeled “White, et al. v. Akron Beacon Publishing Co., et al.” The “White” is for David and Gina White, former BJ Composing employees who live in Venice, Florida. Others immediately affected by the injunction are former printers and their spouses Hugh and Sharon Downing of The Villages, Fla., and Ruth and Thomas West of Rittman.

When the lawsuit was filed, the Plain Dealer quoted Regina White as saying that the family's out-of-pocket medical costs went from $100 to $6,000 a year when the BJ, by then owned by Black Press of Canada, decreased benefits for International Typographical Union and Guild retirees. The Guild contracts cover both newsroom and maintenance retirees.

The Communications Workers of America, Local 14514, successor to the ITU, joined the lawsuit. Attorneys for the printers are Subodh Chandra and Don Screen of the Chandra Law Firm of Cleveland and Allen Anderson and
Kenneth Petterson of Smith & Johnson in Traverse City, Michigan.

In a press release issued by his firm, Chandra said, “Having cold-heartedly broken promises to these retirees and now been called on it by a federal judge, one would hope that the Akron Beacon Journal would now simply accept responsibility, comply with the order, and not do it again. We suspect, however, that they will continue to drag out this dispute with appeals hoping that the retirees will just die or go away.”

Days numbered for Goodyear model room

There was an interesting article on page A1 of Wednesday's Wall Street Journal about a little-known Akron gem -- the model room at the Goodyear world headquarters.

The 8,400-square-foot room contains scale models of 50 current and former Goodyear facilities around the world. Officials are pondering what to do with its unique contents, since there are no plans to accommodate the models at the new Goodyear headquarters being built.

It would be nice to see them survive in an institution devoted to the history of Akron or the rubber industry.

Click on the headline to read the article and see photos of this unique slice of Akron's heritage.

Two garages and five cars

Cars and travels and the stock market got the most attention – along with the usual peals of laughter – at Wednesday’s monthly BJ retirees lunch at Papa Joe’s restaurant, Akron/Peninsula Road and Portage Trail Extension.

Retired printer Gene McClellan has five cars in his two garages, some from the 1980s. “It gives me something to work on,” Gene said, “and my brother, too.” The McClellan brothers enjoy tinkering with the autos.

Carl Nelson recalled how his family drove 7,000 miles in six weeks to visit all but two states. Others chimed in about their trips. When you’re not anchored to a building for five 8-hour days a week, you CAN gadabout. That’s one of the perks of retirement.

The 1,000-point stock market drop in 17 minutes got some attention. And the bounceback, too. At retirement ages, you’re less likely to panic because you’ve been through it more than a few times. You know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not a train headed straight at you.

Retired newsroom editor Tom Moore came with his Roy Hobbs cap and Roy Hobbs jacket, souvenirs of his annual October/November stays in Fort Myers, Florida, where more than 200 teams of old and older players show up from around the United States, and Germany and Russia, to play the national pastime. Tom gets paid to write for and print Roy Hobbs World Series newspapers about the games, plus free lodging and food.

Seven showed up at Papa Joe’s this time. The others were retired printers Cal Deshong, who’s closing in on Methuselah age, and Al Hunsicker, and newsroom retirees Dave Boerner and John Olesky.

Click on the headline to see photos of the BJ lunch bunch. Better yet, show up at 1 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month and join in on the fun.

Speaking of BJ book authors . . .

Former BJ television critic David Bianculli, who left for New York City and cleared the way for Mark Dawidziak to come from Tennessee to replace him, will be the featured speaker May 26 at the Akron/Summit County Library’s Main Event series.

Bianculli is author of “Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library auditorium, 60 S. High Street in downtown Akron. Parking is free after 6 p.m. in the High/Market streets deck.

Click on the headline for the Library release on Bianculli’s appearance.

Mark & Sara at 'Books for Africa'

Sara Showman and husband Mark Dawidziak, current PD and former BJ television critic, again will bring their Largely Literary Theater Company to St. Bernard Church for a program of folk tales at the Books for Africa Library Project’s annual fundraising dinner. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the church social hall.

The church is in downtown Akron at Broadway and State streets. Parking is available at the University of Akron lot opposite the church.

The Books for Africa Library Project is a non-profit organization that helps communities set up libraries in rural Ghana and Liberia.

Authors with Beacon ties have been busy (the 1-star makeover version)

Maybe you noticed that current and former Beacon Journal writers are cranking out books. We did. So far, we've come up with 32. If you know of others, chime right in.

They write about sports. Dyer and baseball’s Omar Vizquel teamed up.

Terry Pluto has a new book published every three days, it seems, mostly sports but also religion. Terry co-authored a LeBron James book with Brian Windhorst.

David Lee Morgan, Jr. wrote about LeBron James in some of his flock of sports books. And Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.

Roger Snell stuck to Chicago Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, whose gopher ball to Babe Ruth may not have been a “called” home run, as legend has it.

Stuart Warner wrote about a Kentucky high school legend.

Dick McBane delved into minor league baseball, his passion, with "Glory Days: The Akron Yankees of the Middle Atlantic League 1935-41," which is available for $12 to $45, a quick Googling revealed. Also, the only cover photo available is hanging on the wall of Dick's home. Chuck Ayers illustrated the cover.

Even though he was a police reporter for the BJ, Phil Trexler wrote about sports, too, with "Cleveland Indians, Yesterday and Today."

Michael Weinreb also wrote a book about a sport -- chess! "The Kings of New York" is about a multiple national championship team in a New York City high school. His latest, "Bigger Than the Game," is scheduled for an Aug. 5 release.

Chuck Klosterman gives Pluto a run for his money in frequency of publication, centered – if that’s possible for Chuck – on rock, sex and, well, everything that scrambles through Chuck’s mind.

And television. Mark Dawidziak and R.D. Heldenfels, TV critics of the Plain Dealer (by way of the BJ) and BJ, respectively, dived into that topic. Dawidziak added Dracula and Mark Twain to his list. David Bianculli, who was at the BJ when Channels magazine was born in 1980 but left for greener New York pastures, channeled the Smothers Brothers.

Thirty Umbrigar has a series of books set in her native India.

Some were in high-faluting company, such as Lary Bloom with Tom Ridge and Christopher Dodd.

David Giffels wrote about restoring an old house. And the music group Devo. And, with Steve Love, the rubber industry.

Donald Rosenberg, naturally, wrote about the Cleveland Orchestra, his PD beat till the paper’s management caved in to complainers in high places.

Jane Snow, once among America’s premier food writers, cooked up, well, cookbooks.

Andrea Louie served up “Moon Cakes,” which is NOT a cookbook.

Regina Brett stared into “God Never Blinks.”

Russ Musarra and Chuck Ayers took a walk around Akron and morphed their series of BJ articles into a book.

John Backderf has three graphic novels, "Trashed," about his experiences as a Richfield garbageman; "Punk Rock & Trailer Parks," set in the Rubber City's punk rock heyday; and "My Friend Dahmer," about Derf's teenage friendship at Revere High School, a series of short stories that will be released in 2011 as a full graphic novel. Or, as we called them in my Marvel childhood, comic books.

John DeGroot went from fiction in the BJ about an angel visiting downtown Akron (some thought an angel really DID show up on Main Street!) to writing “Papa,” a play about another author, Ernest Hemingway. Maybe you’ve heard of him.

It’s not that BJ reporters writing books is new because B.J. Widick did it in the 1960s to 1980s, focusing on labor unions. And the copy editor with the most extraordinary mind, the late Hal Fry, wrote "Print It! 150 Years of the Akron Beacon Journal" in 1989 on the BJ's 150th anniversary. But the numbers seem to be growing.

If you know of others, click on “Comments” and give us their names and the title of at least one book they wrote. Or email John Olesky at

Jo4wvu@sbcglobal.net

and he’ll check them out.

Our list so far:

Chuck Ayers
John Backderf
David Bianculli
Lary Bloom
Regina Brett
Mark Dawidziak
Phil Dietrich
Bob Dyer
Hal Fry
David Giffels
Glenn Guzzo
Jim Jackson
Chuck Klosterman
Andrea Louie
Steve Love
Dick McBane
David L. Morgan Jr.
Russ Musarra
Jack Patterson
Melanie Payne
Terry Pluto
Donald Rosenberg
Roger Snell
Jane Snow
Jabe Tartar
Phil Trexler
Thrity Umrigar
Stuart Warner
Michael Weinreb
B.J. Widick
Brian Windhorst
Abe Zaidan

Click on the headline for dozens of photos of BJ-ish authors and their book covers.

Ken Krause posted, under "Comments":

A few others I’m aware of:

Melanie Payne wrote a book about the Soap Box Derby, “Champions, Cheaters, and Childhood Dreams.”

Steve Love, noted as a co-author on the rubber industry, also wrote “The Golden Dream” with Gerry Faust, and books about Stan Hywet Hall and the Holden Arboretum.

Glenn Guzzo wrote “Strat-o-matic Fanatics” about the tabletop baseball game.

Jack Patterson wrote “Inside Bowling” with pro bowler Don Johnson.

Phil Dietrich wrote several sports books, including “Down Payments,” a history of pro football in Summit County from 1986-1930; “The Suncheaters,” the story of the South Akron Awnings football team; “The Silent Men” on the Goodyear silent football team; and a book on long-time St. Vincent High football coach Eddie Wentz.

James S. Jackson wrote some short historical books and also had a collection of columns published by the Summit County Historical Society (“Behind the Front Page: A Newsman Looks at Akron”)

The Beacon Journal published two books of antiques columns by Jabe Tarter, and also a cookbook of recipes compiled by Glenna Snow, which is being re-released by the University of Akron press in the fall.

Sid Sprague's son dies at age 38

Steven E. Sprague, youngest son of retired BJ printer Sid Sprague, died of cancer May 4.


SPRAGUE STEVEN EDWARD SPRAGUE (Age 38) Of Middleburg, VA died May 4, 2010 at Loudoun Hospital Center. Born on May 29, 1971 in Akron, Ohio, he was the son of Sidney and Sandra Sprague. Steven was a member of Purcellville Baptist Church. He was predeceased by his mother, Sandra Sprague. Steve is survived by his wife of 15 years, Ellen M. Sprague of Middleburg, VA; son, Aidan Sprague of Middleburg, VA; daughter, Kyra Sprague of Middleburg, VA; father, Sidney Sprague of Loveland, Colorado; brother, Jeffrey Sprague of Greenwich, Connecticut; sister, Sue Rutherford of Hillard, Ohio. Visitation will be held on Friday, May 7, 2010 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hall Funeral Home, Purcellville, VA. Services will be held at Purcellville Baptist Church, Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in the Ebenezer Cemetery, Round Hill, VA. Memorial contributions can be sent to the American Cancer Society , P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718 or to Purcellville Baptist Church, 601 Yaxley Road, Purcellville, VA 20132. Please visit www.hallfh.com to express online condolences to the family.

Sid Sprague's son dies

Retired printer Sid Sprague's son, Steven Spragg, 38, of Middleburg, Virginia, died Tuesday, May 4. Services will be Saturday at the Purcellville, Virginia Baptist Church with the burial in Ebenezer Cemetery in Round Hill, Virginia.

Steven's mother, Sandra Sprague, died while Sid was living in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Sid later married again and moved to Loveland, Colorado. The Spragues moved from Cuyahoga Falls to Pawleys Island more than a decade ago.

BJ business department retiree Harold McElroy and retired printer Dick Latshaw followed the Spragues to Pawleys Island. They lived within a few blocks of each other. After Sandra died, Sid married the widow of a couple who were friends with the Spragues. They moved to Colorado to be near Sid's second wife's family.

Harold's granddaughter, Reagan Lacole "Doo" Edwards, 5 months, died in Akron on April 23.

Click on the headline to see Steven's obituary.

Chuck Ayers in my refrigerator

Inside my refrigerator is a restaurant take-home box with a drawing of “Crankshaft” and the autograph of former Beacon Journal political cartoonist Chuck Ayers.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done this on a Styrofoam box,” Chuck said, as his pen created the comic strip character. Paula and I encountered Chuck at Monday’s Ray’s Place reunion of Kent State communications graduates.

Others at Ray’s Place included John Filo, whose photo of a screaming Mary Vecchio over a dead Jeffrey Miller won a Pulitzer Prize; Bob Springer, former BJ Editorial Board member who is an advisor for Kent State students; Bob Carpenter, former news director of WKSU and WKNT; and Saul Daniels, former Kent Stater editor and veteran newspaperman.

“Crankshaft” is a 1987 spinoff of the school bus driver in “Funky Winkerbean.” Medina's Tom Batiuk writes both comic strips. Chuck does the drawings for “Crankshaft.”

Chuck was on this year's Cleveland Press Club panel of journalists who were there during the May 4, 1970 shootings of KSU students by the Ohio National Guard. Four students were killed and nine others wounded.

This is the 40th anniversary of the event that shocked the nation.

Click on the headline to see Ayers’ autograph and drawing of “Crankshaft,” who looks a LOT like Chuck.

To see Chuck’s May 1-4, 1970 photos in the Kent State collection, go to


http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/4may70/box189/189.html

Sale of Honolulu Star-Bulletin to Black completed

Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper chain, completed its sale of The Honolulu Advertiser to Honolulu Star-Bulletin owner David Black early this morning, marking the Virginia-based company's exit from a market that it has served since 1971.

"It's hard to close this chapter and begin a new one," Robert Dickey, president of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing, wrote in an e-mail to Advertiser employees Friday. "But in doing so, I want to sincerely thank you for your dedication to The Honolulu Advertiser and wish you all the best."

Gannett's exodus and the eventual merger of The Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin will leave Honolulu as a one-newspaper town and result in the loss of at least 300 jobs.

For the next estimated 30 to 60 days, The Advertiser will publish as a stand-alone newspaper run by third-party HA Management Inc.

Readers should expect no changes in the newspaper's format during that period and current subscriptions will be honored.

Once the transition is completed, Black will combine the two dailies into a single broadsheet newspaper, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which will have a combined daily circulation of 135,000 to 140,000, said Dennis Francis, the Star-Bulletin's publisher.

The Star-Advertiser will employ between 300 and 600 people. The two newspapers currently have 900 employees between them.

Click on the headline to read the full story.

Baby Boomers, job market, economy: whirlpool soaks all age groups

Former BJ staffer Marilyn Geewax, senior national editor for National Public Radio, writes that the 7.2% unemployment rate for Baby Boomers -- people 55 or older -- is the highest since World War II.

That's bad for Baby Boomers because they are less likely to be hired again at that age. Even those that get another job take about twice as long to find one as younger jobless people.

It's also bad for younger generations, the government and the nation. Baby Boomers are at an age when they usually are at their lifetime peaks in earnings and pay the most in taxes, but if they give up on finding a job, as many have done, the government loses the taxes they would have paid. So younger workers will shoulder more of the tax burden. And if more people begin Social Security at age 62, that will cost the government more, too.

And then there's all that expertise and experience sitting on a beach or in a rocker on the front porch as other nations threaten to pass America by.

Click on the headline to read Marilyn's story. After you read the NPR story, click on

"Listen to the story"

for an even more harrowing account of the Baby Boomers' losses flushing onto everyone down the age pipeline.

Courier-Journal readers miss Derby section

Electrical problems with the printing press caused Courier-Journal home subscribers to receive only the pre-printed sections of the Sunday newspaper - Forum, Business, Travel, Comics and the advertising inserts. Those sections were expected to be delivered by 9 a.m. The remainder of the Sunday newspaper containing the A-section, Metro, Sports and the 20-page special Derby section will be delivered with Monday's paper, according to Chris Apel, vice president of finance and operations.

About 43,000 copies of the newspaper were run off the press and delivered to subscribers in parts of the state before the problems occurred. The remainder of the newspaper was being printed at The Indianapolis Star. Copies of the full newspaper are expected to be available in stores and in sales racks by later this afternoon.


A free electronic replica of the newspaper was made available at courier-journal.com/special. The press problem did not affect the newspaper's content on the Web at courier-journal.com. The Courier-Journal apologizes for this interruption in service and the inconvenience to its customers.

Sunday's BJ recalls May 4, 1970

The Beacon Journal is pulling out all the stops in covering the event 40 years ago that won it a Pulitzer prize.

"Lives interrupted" is the headline for interviews by BJ staffer Carol Biliczky of nine people who were at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 when Ohio Guardsmen opened fire on its own youth. Four students died in the anti-war protest.

The series leads with Dean Kahler, a freshman paralyzed by the waist down, now 60 years old. Last year both of his feet were amputated because of vascular problems.  There is a photo of  Kahler in a wheelchair on the spot where a bullet paralyzed him. 

A double-truck on pages A8 and 9 is filled with other stories. Interviews of Glenda Taylor, Larry Rose, Joe Gains and Dean Kahler recalling their experiences are on Ohio.com

Jim Carney has a story with photo on still-thriving Kent State's ROTC training near the building burned by student demonstrators.

Continuing coverage will include a look by Rich Heldenfels of words, music and movies about May 4 and a Mark Price piece on the history of the Victory Bell. Original Beacon Journal stories and photographs are on Ohio.com

Jerry M Lewis,  professor emeritus of sociology at Kent State, provides the commentary on page A13. He was a faculty marshal that day and is co-editor of "Kent State and May 4: A Social Science Perspective."  The commentary is headlined "Acts of Remembering" and includes a photo of a memorial at the Prentice Hall parking lot which honors the four studengs killed:

Allison Krause

Jeffrey Miller

Sandra Scheuer

William Schroeder

Pat Englehart: Man on a mission

By John Olesky (1969-96)

A few days after National Guard bullets killed four Kent State students and wounded nine others on May 4, 1970, Beacon Journal Managing Editor Bob Giles called State Desk Editor Pat Englehart and assistant SD editors Harry Liggett and John Olesky into the ME office.

Pat, Giles said, was being put in charge of KSU shooting coverage and Harry would handle the State Desk. Never has there been a better case of the right man in charge of the right job at the right time.

Pat, for those who weren’t around a few decades ago, was effervescent, frenetic, driven, a buzzsaw in perpetual motion and both fiery and passionate about news coverage. And the best damn editor I ever worked with in my 43-year newspaper career. I was 38 when I came to the BJ and Pat quadrupled my editing skills.

With his ever-present DeNobil cigar, an unruly mustache and a vocabulary that skewered fools who tried to fake reporting, Pat went to work. He lined up a cadre of reporters. John Dunphy. Jeff Sallot. Ray Redmond. Others. And Pat was the zealot driving the chariot.

The stories poured onto the BJ front pages, day after day. Photos and notes piled up into cardboard boxes that Pat used for his files and eventually threatened to fill up the BJ’s third-floor warehousing area. Pat was relentless, which made the BJ unstoppable in its coverage.

No tip was too insignificant for Pat to explore – or assign a reporter to dig into. If the result didn’t satisfy Pat, he’d tear a little hide and get a deeper and more meaningful story.

Because quiet, unassuming Ray Redmond had a trustworthy relationship with him, the Portage County Prosecutor deliberately left the FBI investigation on his desk while he took a walk. Ray dug in and the BJ got the smoking gun: The National Guard’s actions were unwarranted. Ray turned the information over to Pat, who prodded his crew for reactions and more details.

The BJ story infuriated the Gov. Rhodes groupies. The truth really does hurt.

By the time Pat was through – he had a lust for Rolling Rock and the truth – the Beacon Journal had the Holy Grail of newspapering, its first Pulitzer Prize, in 1971. Three other Pulitzers came to the Beacon, and another to Knight Newspapers giant John S. Knight, but you never forget the first time.

It’s been 40 years, and Pat died in 2005, but he’ll aways live in my memory. Thanks, Pat, for showing me how a REAL editor does his job.

Click the headline to see Harry Liggett’s 2005 look at Pat Englehart.

Tom Moore digs up State Desk past

Tom Moore dug up a writeup with Fran Murphey photos about the 1974 State Desk wake, when State Desk and City Desk merged to form the Metropolitan "Superdesk." Fran's ever-ready camera photographed Ray Redmond, Pete Geiger, Jan Clark and John Olesky. Pat Englehart, Harry Liggett and Tim Smith were featured on a cake that Jan baked for John's birthday (Nov. 5).

It recalled a photo John used from time to time about the same wake, but in a different locale. The SD demise was toasted in a few places.

Click on 1974 State Desk wake to see the photo that Olesky has in a BJ Alums article about Pam McCarthy.

Click on the headline to see Tom Moore’s story and photos.

May 10 interviews air Saturday thru Tuesday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

You can watch new interviews of eyewitnesses to the May 4, 1970 shootings of 13 Kent State students by the Ohio National Guard from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday on filmmaker/activist Michael Moore's website.

Four students were killed and nine others wounded.

Click on the headline during those times to go to Moore's site.

Go to

www.may4.org

to see the schedule for Kent State's 40th anniversary observances.

Marv Katz & wife en route to daughter

Marvin Katz, who included the BJ in his 40-year career in journalism, public relations, freelance writing and PR consulting, and wife Joyce will fly to Kansas City on Thursday to be with their daughter, Lisa Pagel, who will have her fourth chemo treatment on Monday. Lisa is a Kent State grad who did her J-School internship at the BJ and became director of news services for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She quit that job to go to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with her husband, Major Thomas Pagel. Marv & Joyce also will be observing Lisa's birthday.

Click on the headline to see Marv's March report to BJ Alums on Lisa's cancer and the link to Lisa's website where she chronicles her situation regularly.

BJ retiree Harold McElroy's 5-month-old great-granddaughter dies

Reagan Lacole ``Doo' Edwards, 5 months, died April 23 at Akron Children's Hospital. She was the great-granddaughter of BJ business department retiree Harold McElroy and wife Linda. The McElroys live on Pawleys Island, SC, near former BJ printer Dick Latshaw and wife Pat.

Click on the headline to read the obituary.

Trip down memory lane

BY JOHN OLESKY (1969-96)

When former Daily Kent Stater editor Saul Daniels pulled out a photo of the 1970 Stater staff to see how many people would be recognized after all these years, one thing stood out for me:

Hey, I worked with at least five of them!

In that 1970 Stater staff photo were Stu Feldstein, Terry Oblander, Paul Tople and Paula Stone Tucker. Chuck Ayers, who wasn’t in the photo, was part of the Stater staff, too.

After leaving the BJ, Feldstein worked for Business Week before becoming co-founder and president of SMR Research Corporation, which helps businesses scope out competitors. Oblander left the BJ for the Plain Dealer, retired and returned as the BJ’s features specialist for Medina County. Tople already was working part-time for the BJ and became full-time after his graduation. Paul has been a BJ photographer for more years than I can count. Ayers was a BJ cartoonist till his retirement and still does the “Crankshaft” comic strip. Zitrin, after entertaining the newsroom from his Sports Department desk with his antics, wound up at APB News as national correspondent. Tucker became a psychologist after her BJ State Desk days, mostly in California but, before her retirement, in Akron.

As for Saul Daniels, who was promoting 40th anniversary events tied to the May 4 day that National Guardsmen killed four and wounded nine other KSU students, his resume includes the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Examiner, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel and other newspapers.

To see photos of the BJ alums during their Daily Kent Stater days, and other pictures related to the 1970 Kent State tragedy, click on the headline.

Go to

www.may4.org

to see the schedule for the 40th anniversary observances.

Michael Moore site to livecast KSU Truth Tribunal May 1-4

Filmmaker Michael Moore's website -- www.michaelmoore.com -- will broadcast Laurel Krause's Truth Tribunal May 1-4. Laurel, sister of Allison Krause, slain by Ohio National Guardmen May 4, 1970, has invited anyone who witnessed the killing of four Kent State students and the wounding of nine others, and families affected by the results, to show up and videotape their thoughts. Email Laurel at

contactkstt@gmail.com

if you wish to participate.

For more information on the Truth Tribunal, go to

http://bit.ly/4NoM4r

Executive producer Mark Mori's Emmy-winning documentary, "Kent State, The Day the War Came Home," will be re-released on DVD for the 40th anniversary.

Go to

http://www.acorn.net/bjretirees/may4.htm

for more details about 40th anniversary events at Kent State.

Killed on May 4 were Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Allison B. Krause, William Knox Schroeder and Sandra Lee Scheuer. Wounded were Joseph Lewis Jr., John R. Cleary, Thomas Mark Grace, Alan Michael Canfora, Dean R. Kahler (paralyzed from the chest down), Douglas Alan Wrentmore, James Dennis Russell, Robert Follis Stamps and Donald Scott MacKenzie.

Click on the headline to see the "War Came Home" cover and Laurel Krause's photo.

Two BJ alums on Cleveland Press Club's 40th anniversary May 4 Kent State panel

Cleveland Press Club president Ed Byers sent this email to the BJ Alums blog:

Jan Leach and Chuck Ayers are among the all-star panelists for this look back at May 4, 1970 through the eyes of journalists who were there that day. Presented by the Press Club of Cleveland. All B-J Alums are certainly welcome to attend, May Fourth, 8 AM to 9AM, KIVA Student Center, KSU Main Campus. Event flier is attached.

Thank You. I enjoy your site.

Leach once was the BJ's editor. Ayers is a former BJ cartoonist and does the syndicated "Crankshaft" comic strip.

Click on the headline to read the Press Club flier.

Comment on Ganley photo in BJ

Usually we put comments under "Comments" for the BJ Alums article being commented on. But, for technical reasons, we can't get it to work that way this time. So here is the comment that former BJ editor Tom Moore (and the blog editor) tried unsuccessfully to post under the "Comments" section of the Ganley photo article:

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many votes is it worth?

That's what hit me when I saw the big space-filling photo on Page One of the Beacon Journal with the name of a candidate for office standing out on the photo of a car? Why run a photo at all — or at least run a generic one.

The story did mention other auto dealers but my thoughts immediately went to something I read about Ganley auto group where the old man is running for Congress. That group is a big advertiser in both the BJ and the Plain Dealer.

My long-time friend and colleague, Abe Zaidan, had some thoughts about it on his website, Grumpy Abe.

I’m sure the image of that emblem on the front of the car pictured will stay with a lot of people and when it comes to a choice they’ll probably remember the name “Ganley” and vote for it because it’s so familiar.

I know we old-times are always looking back on the old days, and you’re right.

That would not have happened under some of the past editors and sub-editors. They recognized what it would like.

As I said, a picture is worth a thousand words . . .

To see the original BJ Alums article, click on the headline.

Beacon Journal got 17 first places in Cleveland Press Club awards

Beacon Journal managing editor Doug Oplinger, who never saw a John Deere product he didn't like, is understandably proud of the BJ winning 29 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Press Club of Cleveland. The BJ had 17 first places and in six categories took both awards.

BJ's goodies:

DP-1 Spot News
First
Paul Tople
Akron Beacon Journal
Don’t Shoot

DP-4 Sports Feature
First
Ed Suba, Jr.
Akron Beacon Journal
Champs

DP-4 Sports Feature
First
Phil Masturzo
Akron Beacon Journal
Second Place

DP-4 Sports Feature
Second
Paul Tople
Akron Beacon Journal
A little left

DP-5 General Feature
First
Ed Suba, Jr.
Akron Beacon Journal
Jellies

DP-7 Portrait/Personality Photography
Second
Ed Suba, Jr.
Akron Beacon Journal
New face, new life

D-1C Breaking News-Ongoing Story
First
Ed Meyer and Stephanie Warsmith
Akron Beacon Journal
Firefighter Episode

D-1C Breaking News-Ongoing Story
Second
Phil Trexler
Akron Beacon Journal
Firestone Park attack

D-2A General News-Single Story
Second
Jim Carney
Akron Beacon Journal
Ties that bind

D-2B General News-Multiple Stories
Second
Cheryl Powell
Akron Beacon Journal
Life on Call

D-3A Features-Personality Profile
First
Jim Carney
Akron Beacon Journal
Vet’s degree defies odds

D-3A Features-Personality Profile
Second
Jewell Cardwell
Akron Beacon Journal
23 years of addiction

D-5 Investigative
Second
Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal
Cars Fail E-Check, Fall off the Map

D-8 Features-Arts & Entertainment
First
Kerry Clawson
Akron Beacon Journal
Renee Fleming

NM-1 Newspaper-Web Site Design
First
Akron Beacon Journal
Ohio.com

OP-1A Columns-General News
First
Bob Dyer
Akron Beacon Journal
Science’ center is all about the bible

OP-1C Columns-Business
First
Betty Lin-Fisher
Akron Beacon Journal
Caution is Golden

OP-1D Columns-Lifestyle
First
Lisa Abraham
Akron Beacon Journal
Don’t take secret recipe to grave

OP-3A Reviews/Criticism-Single Article
First
Kerry Clawson
Akron Beacon Journal
Joffrey Ballet thrills Blossom audience

OP-5 Obituary
First
Jim Carney
Akron Beacon Journal
Alfred McMoore

OP-5 Obituary
Second
Marilyn Miller
Akron Beacon Journal
Pilot’s burial gives loved ones closure

OP-7 Analysis
Second
Dennis J. Willard, David Knox
Akron Beacon Journal
Ohio Vote

OP-8 Food Writing
First
Lisa Abraham
Akron Beacon Journal
Start Chefs

OP-8 Food Writing
Second
Lisa Abraham
Akron Beacon Journal
Banana Bonanza

OP-9 Travel Writing
First
Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal
It’s a Breeze

OP-10 Technology Writing
Second
Mary Beth Breckenridge
Akron Beacon Journal
Time to Cut the Cord

OP-13 Election 2009 Coverage
First
Stephanie Warsmith
Akron Beacon Journal
Recall

PV-3A Infographics, Daily Newspaper
Second
Rick Steinhauser
Akron Beacon Journal
Infocision Stadium

PV-5B Spread or Multiple Page Design, Broadsheets
First
Staff
Akron Beacon Journal
Infocision Stadium

News story or plug for a major advertiser running for office? What's your take?

Abe Zaidan, former BJ staffer and writing coach, was a bit miffed at the BJ devoting the upper half of Wednesday's Page A1 to auto sales, with Ganley's name prominently displayed on the car's front tags in the photo. To make sure the BJ Alums blog took notice, Abe emailed: "The BJ reached a new groveling low today when it devoted the upper half of p-1 to a political candidate - and major advertiser."

Here's how Abe expressed his feelings on his Grumpy Abe web site:

BJ: Selling cars, or political candidates?
DID YOU SEE THE front page of the Beacon Journal today? It couldn't have been more useful for conservative Republican auto-dealer Tom Ganley's congressional campaign had his own people laid out the page. A huge photo of one of his Toyotas with the Ganley trademark license tag quite prominent in brilliant red. The story was about how local auto sales are accelerating. Oh? Since more people look at newspaper photos than read the actual article, this one was - how can we say it? - at least subliminal. (By the way, Ganley is running against U.S. Rep Betty Sutton, a Democrat, in the 13th congressional District.)

Your comments on the BJ placement and Abe's reaction?

The quote that rocked me was from Ganley Auto Group vice president Ken Ganley: "My family has owned dealerships for 42 years. March was the best month we had in 42 years."

No one at the BJ thought to question that claim, in the midst of the staggering economy and automaker bailouts? Former State Desk Editor Pat Englehart must be spinning in his grave.

Click on the headline to go to the Grumpy Abe web site. Warning: It's not for faint-hearted conservatives or Republicans.

Another BJ alums author heard from

After the BJ Alums article by Tom Moore about Stuart Warner's book-signing for his "Jock" appeared, we got this email from Roger Snell, another BJ alum who wrote "Root for the Cubs," which disputes that Babe Ruth actually called the home run shot against Charlie Root, as legend has it.

Here's Roger's email:

I enjoy following your blog and the story of the BJ alums. I got to see Stuart down here for a Lexington book-signing last month. I introduced him to the same publisher who launched my book.

With Regina (Brett), Stuart and me, that's three ex-BJ'ers with books out in the same year. There is life after the newsroom.

Enjoyed your recent updates about Bob Paynter and Keith McKnight, too.

Seeing the photo of Charlene Nevada at Stuart's signing up North just brings a big smile to my face after all these years. Those old days were times filled with so much laughter and so much incredible talent. Such a shame what has happened to newspapers and investigative reporting.

More details on my shameless self-plugging at
www.rootforthecubs.com

Thanks for keeping all the gang united, no matter how far away we've all spread.

Roger Snell

"Down here" for Roger is Frankfurt, in Kentucky, the state where Stuart once lived and worked at the Lexington Herald.

Snell, 51, lives in Frankfort with wife Linda and daughters Rachel and Hannah and administers a marketing program called Kentucky Proud that helps farmers transition away from tobacco and find retail markets for alternative crops such as fruits, vegetables and more.

Snell won a number of awards throughout his 18-year newspaper career, including the Silver Gavel, the American Bar Association’s top national journalism award, in 1992 for his investigation of ethical abuses on the Ohio Supreme Court. The Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers named Snell the Ohio Reporter of the Year in 1992 and 1993.

Click on the headline for a photo of Snell and another of the cover of his "Root for the Cubs" book.

Connie Bloom's art quilts schedule

QSDS Voice magazine publisher/editor Connie Bloom, former BJ staffer, will be displaying her fiber art, also known as art quilts, at the Cain Park festival July 10-11 in Cleveland Heights, Medina Art in the Park July 18, Akron Arts Expo July 24-25, Artapalooza Aug. 28 in Green's Boettler Park, Kent Art in the Park Sept. 11-12 and possibly at the Taste of Hudson Sept. 5-6, which is where I discovered her post-BJ life a year ago.

Click on the headline to see the BJ Alums article about Connie's QSDS magazine.

Elaine Schoenleb marks 100th birthday.

Friends and family members gathered at Sumner at Ridgewood Saturday to celebrate the 100th birthday of Elaine Schoenleb. She is the widow of the late Edwin Schoenleb, a former editor and writer for the Beacon Journal. He joined the Beacon Journal staff in 1942. He retired as news editor in 1972, when he was 65, but continued as the newspaper's travel writer until 1991, when he retired again.

[Thanks to Dave Boerner for this post.  This is news we would hate to miss.]

Tom Moore goes to a book-signing

Stuart Warner signs book for Tom               Debbie Van Tassel with Amy and Dot Moore

By TOM MOORE
Has anybody sat down and totaled up the number of those in the Beacon Journal family who have gone on to become an author?

There have been a bunch.

Latest to join those ranks is Stuart Warner who, after leaving the BJ, put in a few years up North along with a lot of the talent that made the BJ a top notch paper at one time.

[Blog note: Also see our April 14 article on Regna Brett’s first book “God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours ” ]

Met Stuart Saturday night at a book signing party in Hudson for friends and former colleagues from both papers.

His book is called “Jock, a coach’s story”. It’s the story of Jock Sutherland one of the most successful

and respected coaches in Kentucky High school history.

But this was a chance to see some of the folks I always miss…the biggest drawback to leaving the BJ, whether to a new job or to retire.

Of course Stuart’s wife, Debbie Van Tassel was there, she’s still working at the PD. Their daughter Denise came in from New York for the party.

And that was a chance for my daughter Amy (a former BJ weekend copy kid) to renew an acquaintance from a few years ago—Amy was Denise’s first babysitter.

There were a lot of folks there that I didn’t know.

One guy I ran into that I haven’t seen in many years was Steve Love, former columnist and staffer for the BJ. He says he’s completed his master’s degree and will be teaching.

Jane Snow was there. I only got to say “hi” to her. Then Art Krummel and wife Char Nevada walked in---looking as if they’d just come in from a sunny beach…, which they had…just back from a Caribbean vacation.

Art is devoting his time to painting these days (no, not houses). He’s an accomplished artist and will be showing some of his work this summer at the Cuyahoga Valley Arts Festival.

There may have been a couple of other folks that I didn’t recognize right off.

That’s understandable since a lot of years have gone by.

Which reminds me that the other day of walking with an old-time BJ retiree at Chapel Hill Mall. He told me of running into a staffer and how the guy had aged and changed. He said he hardly recognized him.

I couldn’t resist: I said to him: “Well, have you looked in the mirror lately?”

I’m sure a lot more of the BJ family showed up during the evening. But I was getting past this old man’s bedtime, so wife Dorothy and Amy joined in the goodbyes and we headed home.

        Art Krummel and Charlene Nevada                                      Denise Warner and Amy Moore

Paul McGough, press room retiree, dies

McGough was a press room retiree.

Paul Edward McGough, age 83, died peacefully at home on April 14 following an extended illness.

Paul was born in Akron, Ohio on Sept. 30, 1926 to Vernon and Kathryn McGough. He lived his life in Firestone Park, attended Garfield High School and was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church. He was

a World War II Veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific. After the war, he attended Kent State University and married the love of his life, Dorothy Flechler, who preceded him in death in April, 2009. He was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. He was a kind and generous man and well respected by all who knew him. He was very proud of all his children and grandchildren, who gave him great joy. Paul retired from the Akron Beacon Journal in 1988 after 35 years of service. He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and a member of the National Association of Clock and Watch Collectors, where he was a known as a man of integrity and a skilled tradesman.

Preceded in death by wife, Dorothy; son, Dale; daughter, Paula Ann; grandson, Daniel and sister, Gerri; he is survived by daughters, Donna (Jim) Falanga and Sandra Murray; sons, John, Wayne, Patrick (Patrice), Lee (Dawn), and Robert (Ruth) and daughter-in-law, Tanya. He will be deeply missed by his 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by sisters, Peggy (Dick) Piercy and Barbara (Bill) Round; sisters-in-law, Ruth Magoulick, Elaine Jackson, Mary Jacobs and Gertrude Flechler; and many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m. at the Dunn-Quigley Funeral Home Akron Chapel (811 Grant St.). Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Monday at St. Paul Catholic Church. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery where the VFW Post 3383 will render military services. Memorial donations may be made to St. Paul Catholic Church, 1580 Brown St., Akron, OH 44301 or Akron-Canton Food Bank, 350 Opportunity Parkway, Akron, OH 44307.
[Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Friday, April 16, 2010, page B5. col. 2 ]

Connie, controversy, censorship

BY JOHN OLESKY (BJ 1969-96)

The controversy over Connie Bloom’s review of renegade quilt artist legend Nancy Crow’s exhibit in Columbus in issue No. 1 of QSDS Voice is a major topic in issue No. 2 of the quarterly online magazine.

So much so that former Beacon Journal staffer Connie’s web site, which had 4,000 hits before the initial issue came out, is nearing a quarter-million visits three months later.

Letters to publisher/editor Connie Bloom's QSDS (as in Quilt Service Design Symposium) range from Connie’s critique being an “attack” to attagirls. The letters are from such far-flung places as South Carolina, Maryland, Toronto, Arizona, Wisconsin, Illinois, California and Cleveland.

Issue No. 2 also deals with censorship.

Deborah Fell’s “Enthesopathy” art quilt was displayed in 2002 at the United Nations Building in New York City. The exhibit’s theme was showing how pain affected people. Deborah was, well, Exhibit A. She was dealing with enthesopathy, an arthritic condition affecting the tendons and ligaments.

Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois purchased the art quilt and hung it in the Orthopedic Department lobby area for several years. Then one person complained that the work was pornographic. It was taken down.

After several years, the departments in the clinic and hospital moved and "Enthesopathy: Weaving a Web of Pain" hangs in
its new location.

Connie will be going on the QSDS Arts Tour of Mexico October 23-Nov. 2, 2010 in Mexico City and about a dozen other cities and villages.

The next QSDS symposium will be June 1-11 in the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus.

Connie, once my co-worker in the BJ Features Department, took a Beacon buyout in 2008 and plunged full-time into fabric art, after a few years of notable dabbling. She has a working studio at 111 N. Main Street in Akron, Red Light Galleries (a former bordello), next door to Luigi’s. Call ahead at (330) 472-0161 if you want to meet Connie, who married Bob Shields in 2008 after 10 years of togetherness.

Click on the headline to judge for yourself whether “Enthesopathy” is pornography. You’ll also see other QSDS Voice photos, work by Connie and the Features Department faux beach party while the boss was away from two decades ago.

Filling the bill at the BJ retirees lunch

          Tom Moore and oldest daughter, Carol                    Cal Deshong and Carl Nelson


There were at least five at the monthly lunch of Beacon Journal retirees this afternoon at Papa Joe's in the Valley.

Tom's oldest daughter, Carol, attended the lunch with him. She was a copy kid on weekends about 40 years ago and fondly remembers filling the paste pots. She also worked about a year on the switchboard until the switchboard was phased out.

Tom provided these photos. If  the photos show all those attending
then Tom and daughter represented  the editorial side while Calvin Deshong, Carl Nelson and Al Hunsicker (at right) were the contingent from the printers' side.

Another PD Pulitzer finalist plus Regina's book

The Plain Dealer had another Pulitzer finalist in the commentary categroy this year.
This time it was Phillip Morris who was named “For his columns that close the distance between the

reader and the rough streets of the city, confronting hard realities without leaving people to feel hopeless.”


Check out his columns.

PD columnist Regina Brett, whose first book has just been published, was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist twice, in 2009 and 2008

Her book “God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours ”. is an off-shoot of a column she wrote when she turned 50 about the 50 lessons life taught her.

Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group (formerly Time Warner) is the publisher. It is available in paperback for $17.59 (Barnes&Noble memcber $12,86), CD $19.96, mp3 $14.09 and Ebook $9.99.

The first sentence in the book:

“Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.”                        

Visit Regina’s website to read a little self-bragging by this former BJ type.

                  
You also can check her out on facebook or go to Cleveland.com to read her columns.

Barberton Herald charges for online content

An anonymous comment notes that the Barberton Herald now charges for online content.

Here’s the information from the Herald’s website:

The Barberton Herald has launched a brand new Web site. This interactive site is easy to navigate and has many new features including videos, public forum, games, movies, world news and more. Switch your subscription from the traditional print edition to the online edition FREE for a limited time. You will receive e-mail alerts when the newest edition is available online and when breaking news has been posted.

There are many benefits to making the switch. There will be no more delivery delays because of the post office. The paper will be delivered online on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. The paper can be read page by page with magnification. Readers can interact by posting comments on the stories, up coming events on a community calendar and views directly on the web site. There are also many opportunities for the community to become involved by uploading videos, audio and photographs of their own.

WARNING!!!  The online Herald pages will become inactive for non-subscribers on April 1, 2010. You must have an online subscription to read the online pages.
Subscribe now by clicking the subscribe button on the left menu.

You may make the switch from a printed edition to the online edition anytime. Simply use the link below to E-mail your information to the office and we will start the switch.

If you would like to read the Barberton Herald online and do not currently have a subscription, simply "click" the subscribe button on the left to make your selection.

Subscriptions To The Online Newspaper
12 Months (No Print Issues Mailed) - $15.00
Subscriptions To Print & Online Newspaper
12 Months (In 44203 Zip Code Only) - $28.00
12 Months (In State of Ohio) - $35.00
12 Months (Out of State of Ohio) - $45.00
12 Months (Out of U.S.) - $75.00
Subscriptions To The Printed Newspaper
12 Months (In 44203 Zip Code Only) - $18.00
12 Months (In State of Ohio) - $25.00
12 Months (Out of State of Ohio) - $35.00
12 Months (Out of U.S.) - $65.00       

Blog Question: Why was it necessary to leave an anonymous comment to provide this information?  This blog permits anonymous comments unless they are mean-spiritied.

More newspapers charging for online access

In the mid-90s, at least 45 U.S. newspapers charged for online access, though almost all of them later hopped over the fence to the free side. Now, the paywall brigade is rising again—albeit slowly. On the eve of this year’s American Society of News Editors conference, where the question of charging for digital content will be center stage,  a list of the local and metro papers in the U.S. that have paywalls has expanded. There are  more than 20 that charge online readers up to $35 a month, in an attempt either to preserve their print circulation or to add a new stream of revenue. They range from major metros like Newsday to sub-20,000 circulation papers in small northeast towns that have charged online readers for years.

And this list is about to get longer. At least six other papers have announced they will put up some sort of online paywall in the coming months. How these papers do financially with their new paywalls will determine, in part, whether hundreds of other papers decide to take the same step.

See the list

Want to join the WVU Journalism faculty?

With all the buyouts and layoffs, perhaps some BJ alums might be interested in joining the West Virginia University School of Journalism faculty. The openings, according to WVU J-School Dean Maryanne Reed:

Endowed Professorship in Integrated Marketing Communications

The P.I. Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University, seeks a dynamic and innovative educator to fill an endowed professorship in integrated marketing communications, beginning August 16, 2010 or January 1, 2011. The Harrison/Omnicom Endowed Professorship in Integrated Marketing Communications tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. Candidates for this position must be able to teach graduate-level courses in advertising, public relations and integrated marketing communications and develop curricula for the School’s online IMC Master’s Degree program. Candidates must also demonstrate the ability to conduct scholarly research and publish in appropriate academic venues. Depending on the candidate’s expertise, possible courses to teach could include introduction to IMC, marketing research & analysis, audience insight, brand equity management, creative strategy & execution, direct marketing, PR concepts & strategy, emerging media & the market, and/or campaigns. Successful candidates must have at least 10 years of significant industry experience and a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline. Experience with designing and launching a doctoral program is desirable.

The review of applicants will begin April 1, 2010, and continue until the position is filled.

Send application letter, academic vita and the names of three references and their contact information to: Chair, Harrison/Omnicom Search Committee, P.I. Reed School of Journalism, P.O. Box 6010, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6010.

**********************

Teaching Assistant Professor - Journalism

The P.I. Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University is seeking a full-time non-tenure track Teaching Assistant Professor with expertise in writing and reporting in the digital newsroom, beginning August 16, 2010. This faculty member will be responsible for revising, teaching and managing the School’s introductory writing and reporting courses, including Media Writing and Reporting for the Print Media. The faculty member will revise these courses to emphasize social media, new media, audience interactivity, media convergence and Web-based writing. In addition, the faculty member will meet regularly with other instructors of the same courses and help them transition to the new curriculum. Depending on the person’s area of expertise, the faculty member may teach other courses, but his or her primary responsibility will be to ensure the School’s core writing courses are keeping current with the evolving industry. The ideal candidate will be both grounded in the traditional ideals and practices of journalism while also having explored the new realms and challenges of the digital era. Significant professional experience and a Master’s degree in a relevant field are required.

The review of applicants will begin April 1, 2010, and continue until the position is filled.

Please send a letter of application, resume/curriculum vita and contact information for three references to Teaching Assistant Professor Search Committee Chair, P.I. Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6010, Morgantown, WV 26506-6010.

**********************

Assistant Professor in Advertising

The P. I. Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University is seeking a tenure-track assistant professor in advertising who can teach multi-level courses in advertising and integrated marketing communications, develop innovative curriculum and conduct scholarly research that reflects and serves a changing industry. The position will begin August 2010.The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. Degree, a background in college level teaching, and at least three years of professional experience. Candidates with a relevant Masters Degree and significant experience will also be considered. Experience in digital and interactive marketing communications is particularly desirable.

The review of applicants will begin April 1, 2010, and continue until the position is filled.

Please send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and three reference letters to Advertising Search Committee, West Virginia University, P.I. Reed School of Journalism, 1511 University Avenue, P.O. Box 6010, Morgantown, WV 26506.

Catching up with . . . Keith McKnight

Keith McKnight, the deputy Metro editor who took an October 2008 buyout from the Beacon Journal, is on the wagon after 30 years with the BJ. That would be the D. Kay's French Waffles wagon. Keith and wife Kay (whose name is on the wagon) make the rounds of fairs and festivals, selling their concessions.

After Keith left the BJ, at the same time that a score of veterans with centuries of combined experience did, he joined his wife in the enterprise.

When they're not selling waffles, or continuing to live in Wadsworth on Leatherman Road, they have a Christmas tree farm in Southern Ohio to visit.

Keith and Kay wound up at the altar because . . . well, let him tell it:

"I was at the Willoughby News Herald," Keith recalls. "David McClain, a teacher at the University of Maine, wanted to be a reporter. So I hired him.

"David introduced me to Kay. We met first by telephone and then on a blind date. It progressed from there." To marriage and, after Keith's BJ departure, to the French waffles connection.

How did David know Kay? They are McClains, brother and sister, in fact. Kay lived in Niles, Ohio.

Keith has been on the receiving end of a lot of awards for his journalistic endeavors. Such as sharing the Worth Bingham Prize for investigative journalism in 1990 with Bob Paynter and Andy Zajac. Ex-BJ Ted Gup, chair of the Journalism Department and professor of journalism at Emerson College in Boston, won the same prize in 1980 with the Washington Post. Dave Hess won it in 1978 with the BJ. Woodward and Bernstein won it in 1972 for the Nixon/Watergate thing, along with a Pulitzer.

Keith and Bob Paynter also were involved in a BJ Pulitzer, in 1994 for "A Question of Color" series.

'GOD WILLING' I am still alive

Click on the picture for a larger image

With BJ bloopers on here and Conrad Ott's passing in the news I just wanted to post this blooper from the Monday, June 20, 1988 page one.

I always liked Conrad Ott he was an easy guy to photograph and even came to my house to pick up a picture from my web site bringing some of his home made honey as a gift.

....Ott

~the BJ Alums blog guys

Ruth Kenny, 85, dies on vacation

She was employed in the Beacon Journal accounting department
in the 1970s and 1980s

Ruth I. Kenny, 85 years, of Akron died March 31, 2010, while on vacation in Ft Myers, Florida.

A life resident of the area, she retired from The Akron Beacon Journal after 25 years service. She

was a member of Reimer Road Baptist Church.

Preceded in death by her parents, Roddie and Franie Robinson Figg; husbands, George Bent and Robert Kenny; she is survived by son, Tom (Therses) Bent of Strongsville; daughters, Susan (Tim) Ujvari of Hudson, Carol Rentz of Hartville; step-children, Cathy (Rodger) Stamm and Tom (Cathie) Kenny; 12 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren and sister, Nellie Robertson.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, April 5, 2010, at the Schlup-Pucak Funeral Chapel, 788 Kenmore Blvd. where friends may call 9:30 a.m. until time of service. Pastor Cary Wadle officiating. Burial at Rose Hill Burial Park.
[Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Sunday, April 4, 2010, page B6, col.2]

A letter from Dick McLinden

Here’s a letter from Copy Desk retiree Dick McLinden who still lives in North Canton:

My apologies for not responding sooner.. It took almost a week to get over the shock of learning that somebody actually cared about whatever happened to McLinden!

As I told you, I'm a total computer illiterate as of now. Everybody and his brother seems to be bound to the computer these days, and I guess I never did run with the herd.

But it hasn't been easy. When I get the urge to compute, I go out to lunch or something. Boy, am I well fed!

When I'm not eating I'm taking pills or going to the doctor -- or the bathroom. Marcus Welby would be proud. Seems I'm keeping his colleagues in business. Let's see ... a second knee replacement, triple heart bypass, carpal tunnel surgery, cataract surgery, the heart failure before Christmas, a pacemaker and defibrillator, and maybe a couple of distemper shots from a passing veterinarian sometime when I wasn't looking.

They tell me that Aetna is considering a whole new category for me -- way too risky.

Anyway, you asked about the old, golden days in the Sunday Department. And that's just what they were. I only had to worry about the Beacon Magazine when Kenny Cole was off sick or something. My guess is that they just wanted to keep Lary Bloom and Bierman from getting us into a lawsuit.

The News and Views section was fun. I was pretty much responsible for it after Lloyd Stoyer left, and that was far and away my best time at the Beacon. I got to write Biogaphy in Brief for several years as well as edit copy. That's why I went there. But Ben Maidenburg's departure changed that in a hurry. No more handling his weekly column. No more picking the Sunday features I thought most appropriate.

So that was that. Shippy and I got the axe from that department within a few months of each other. Mostly filling space like Art Cullison, Donn Gaynor and some other rejects who didn't fit in well with the new grand design. Not that it was all sackcloth and ashes. I liked the people on the copy desk for the most part. With an exception or two, of course.

But no JSK and no Maidenburg took away the feeling that I was helping contribute to the best paper in Ohio. So retirement couldn't come too soon. I have a hunch some of the rest of you felt that way, too.

There it is. My BJ career in a cracked nutshell. Do with it as you will. Sorry aoout the lack of a photo. An old one of Tyrone Power will do nicely.

Keep up your great work.

There were these two chicks in a hot tub and . . .

I thought that would get your attention, particularly the guys.

Maybe you remember a photo of Pam McCarthy, Cathy Strong and Cathy's daughter, Penelope,  purloined from Facebook and posted on the BJ Alums blog Feb. 6, 2010. It showed the trio in snowy, chilling Salem, Massachusetts in January.

I had asked for a report from Pam, like Cathy a former Beacon Journal State Desk reporter in the 1970s, on the reunion. You may notice that this is April. You kind of missed the deadline by a bit, Pam.

But she had good reasons: "It's been one thing after another -- taking care of my mom two days a week, a trip to Florida, (a family medical diagnosis), a business trip to Arbonne's National Training Conference in Vegas, and working on my new business" as independent consultant, district manager for Arbonne International.

As for the reunion, let the two "chicks," Pam and Cathy, tell it:

When two former Akron Beacon Journal reporters get together after a gap of nearly 35 years, the atmosphere is vociferous laughter .... non-stop. Cathy Strong and Pam McCarthy worked on the State Desk in the 1970s, at one time working every morning together with Doug Oplinger and the late Ray Redmond. During those early years, they were inseparable and got involved in each other’s personal lives, as well as morning journalism debates.

They lost touch, however, when Cathy moved to New Zealand to be a journalist for three decades, and Pam worked in public relations before becoming an award-winning journalism educator at North Canton Hoover High School. During that time Pam had daughter Beth and twins Kate and Michael, while Cathy had three daughters: Rebecca, Penelope and Amanda.

The power of the internet, especially the BJ Alums blog, brought them back together. Currently Cathy is teaching convergence journalism at Zayed University in Dubai, in the Middle East; while Pam is retired from teaching and building her own business with Arbonne International.

When Cathy made a trip to Salem, Massachusetts, to visit her daughter Penelope in January, Pam jumped on a plane for a two-day reunion.

Salem was cold, freezing, and opposite to what Cathy is used to in her new home in the Middle East desert, but the wine, hot tub and dynamic dialogue warmed the atmosphere.

A lot happens in 30+ years, so there was plenty to catch up on.

“Pam was always so insightful and a wonderful wordsmith. She used to be such a caring person, so it is understandable that she was so successful at teaching,” said Cathy. “I was so amazed that she looks exactly the same – smooth skin, twinkly eyes, warm personality.”

Pam confessed she was a little nervous about whether the two would have much in common once they rehashed the past, but was delighted to find that, while Cathy looked different (she’s blonde now!) and sounded different (Kiwi accent), she’s the same fun-loving, intelligent and articulate woman who emigrated to New Zealand years ago.

And while they did reminisce about their Beacon Journal years, they spent most of their time talking about where their lives had taken them. They discussed their careers, the joys of raising their children, and the hotly contested election of a new Senator to replace the legendary Ted Kennedy. (They were in disagreement on that issue.)

Oh, and they went to a “hot yoga” class, which nearly did Pam in, despite her regular workouts at the North Canton YMCA. (Who does yoga for an hour in a 95-degree room?) Cathy and her beautiful daughter Penelope did and handled the workout with ease. Cathy has since found a yoga class in Dubai.

Pictures to share with other BJ retirees were difficult to select. All showed the two laughing, which they did the entire reunion. When Cathy next visits the U.S., she has an invitation to Pam’s house in North Canton. Pam says Cathy needs to go see the new convergence journalism building at Kent State University, where Cathy was the first student to receive a Master’s Degree in Journalism. And there will be a grand reunion, to which anyone who wants to see Cathy will be invited. Stay tuned.

Oh, yeah, the two "chicks" in a hot tub? Click on the headline and you'll see that and more.