For Grandparents Only

Harry Liggett note: This is only for really old BJ types like me and courtesy of Dave Boerner:

WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT?

(taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)

Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of her own. They like other people's.

A grandfather is a man grandmother.

Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.

When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also! Why we shouldn't step on "cracks."

They don't say, "Hurry up."

Usually grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes.

They wear glasses and funny underwear.

They can take their teeth and gums out.

Grandparents don't have to be smart.

They have to answer questions like "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?".

When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again.

Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television, because they are the only grown ups who like to spend time with us.

They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time, and kiss us even when we've acted bad.

A 6 YEAR OLD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS GRANDMA LIVED. ''OH,'' HE SAID, ''SHE LIVES AT THE AIRPORT, AND WHEN WE WANT HER WE JUST GO GET HER. THEN WHEN WE'RE DONE HAVING HER VISIT, WE TAKE HER BACK TO THE AIRPORT.''

Send this to other grandparents. It will make their day.

Alfred C. Roseborough Obit

Alfred C. Roseborough


Alfred C. Roseborough

Alfred C. Roseborough, 86, passed away Oct. 16, 2004.

Born in Loudonville, he had been an Akron resident for most of his life, where he was a graduate of North High School. He retired from the Akron Beacon Jour nal, also worked at Goodrich, and was a former member of the Brown Street Baptist Church. He was kind, caring, and extremely gen erous, and always put everyone else before himself. He will be sadly missed.

Preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Mana, and son, Lowell, he is survived by his wife of 67 years, Kathryn; granddaughter, Sherry (Rob) Jewitt, and grandson, Kevin; great-grandchildren, Samantha and Michael; and daughter-in- law, Ernestine.

Funeral service will be held Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2004, at 11 a.m., at Eckard-Baldwin Sanctuary Chapel, 760 E. Market St., Rev. Eddy Wayne offici ating. Interment at Restland Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home for one hour prior to services, from 10 to 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to American Heart Association.

(Eckard-Baldwin 330-535-7141}
Please sign the guest book at www.ohio.com/obituaries

[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, Tuesday, October 19, 2004, page B7, col. 4]

Knight Ridder profits up 11 per cent

Third quarter profits rose 11 percent at Knight Ridder Inc., helped by a special tax gain in the quarter, a report by Reuters states. . The company did not provide an earnings outlook but said it expects revenue gains to continue in the fourth quarter as it works to keep expenses under control. A report in the Beacon Journal business section said net income increased to $76.9 million, or 99 cents a share, from $69.1 million, or 85 cents a share a year earlier. Shares rose $1.14 to $67.19. Knight Ridder with 31 newspapers is the

CEO Tony Ridder said ad revenue was strong in all major markets except Miami, where total revenue for the third quarter fell 1.7 percent. Ridder attributed the decline to the three hurricanes that struck the southeastern U.S. in September.

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ reported total advertising revenue for the quarter was $562.9 million, up 3.2% from $545.4 million in the same quarter of 2003. Total operating revenue was $722.2 million, up 2.1% from $707.2 million in the same quarter last year. Total operating profit for the quarter was $134.0 million, up 3.9% from $129.0 million in the third quarter of 2003. Net income of $76.9 million was up 11.2% from $69.1 million in the same quarter the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Ridder said, "We are pleased with the quarter's strong finish, boosted by September's very good results. Ad revenue was up 4.3% for the month, exactly the same as in August, with all of the large markets except Miami performing well. Ad revenue increases for the month ranged from 2.1% in St. Paul to 9.0% in Charlotte. Likewise, combined revenue for 18 of our mid-sized and smaller newspapers was up 8.0% in September.

"For the quarter, the pattern was similar, with all of the large markets (except Miami) showing ad revenue increases -- albeit in a tighter range. In Florida, overall revenue loss from three September hurricanes was greatest in Miami, where revenue for the month was down 4.4% and for the quarter was down 1.7%.

"Cost increases for the quarter were the lowest of the year -- up 1.7% on a 3.6% rise in newsprint, ink and supplements. Lower health care costs helped; while we had earlier anticipated their being flat for the year, we now think they will be down. For the quarter, labor and employee benefits were down 0.2%.

"Knight Ridder Digital revenue in the quarter was up 39%, to $29.9 million, with operating profit of $10.7 million (excluding equity losses from partially owned subsidiaries), double what it was in the same quarter last year. Also in the quarter, CareerBuilder maintained its audience lead over both Monster and Hot Jobs, averaging 13.8 million unique visitors in each of the three months, up 112.0% over the same quarter last year. CareerBuilder's Q3 average visitors were 43% greater than visitors to Hot Jobs, and 19% greater than jobs-related visitors to Monster.com.

Dawidziak Debut: A Christmas Carol

Mark Dawidziak, former Beacon Journal TV and movie critic, looms large in a 6-col. photo on the Beacon Journal Arts&Living front, page E1, of Thursday, October 14.

The photo accompanies a brightly written article by BJ staffer Kerry Clawson on the move of the Largely Literary Theater Co. to the beautifully renovated 700-seat Greystone Hall & Theatre in the former Masonic Temple at High and Mill streets downtown.

Mark and his wife, Sarah Showman, who lead the company, will open their third year with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, December 10-18. Other productions include Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses April 2-3 and The Reports of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated May 21-22.. Fifty poems of Stevenson are featured in the April production and 14 scenes drawn from Mark Twain’s works in the May show.

Free parking will be available in garages on High and Broadway.

If you hurry, you can click on the headline above to link to the original article by Clawson and photos by Lew Stamp
[Ohio.com charges a small fee to view articles once they are archived.]

Obit: George Richards, adv. dept.

George Richards

George W. Richards passed away Oct. 7, 2004.
He was born in 1914 and lived his entire life in Ak ron within five miles of his birthplace. He attended the old West High school and graduat ed from the University of Akron in the class of 1936. He was a mem ber of Phi Sigma Kappa. After 25 years in the advertising department of the Akron Beacon Journal, he left to form his own advertising company, George W. Richards Advertising, Inc., which he operated until his retirement in 1990. He created the first advertising for such clients as the Lawson Milk Co., Walden of Aurora, and Home Centers, for whom his advertising presentation twice won them the coveted Brand Name Retailer of the Year award.
His lifelong hobbies were photography, golf, and travel. He was a former member of Silver Lake Country Club and Myerlee Country Club of Fort Myers, Fla., where he resided six months of the year. His travels took him to over 40 countries on every continent but Antarctica. A member of St. Paul's Episcopal church for 50 years, he served on its vestry from 1985 to 1987. He was a 50-year veteran of Akron Lodge 83 F&AM and also held the 32nd degree in Freemasonry.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Ellen, and is survived by wife, Irene, whom he married in 1984. Other sur vivors are son, Dr. Keith Richards of Cape Cod; daughter, Judith Hoschner of Owosso, Mich.; daughter-in-law, Lynn Richards; and son-in-law Robert Hoschner. Two stepsons, Rob ert Morris of Mission Viejo, Cali f., and Howard Morris of Ritt man, Ohio, survive, with their wives, Shari and Francey. There are five grandchildren, Scott and Jeffrey Richards, Kristin, Jay, and Robert Hoschner; sev en stepgrandchildren, including Mark, Matthew, and Stacy Morris in California, and Jessica, Adam, Michael, and Andrew Morris in Rittman.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. TUESDAY in the chapel at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, corner of Kenilworth Drive and West Market Street, with Dr. Richard L. McCandless officiating. Interment at Rose Hill Burial Park. Friends may call at the Billow Fairlawn Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd., Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Merriman Activity Fund, 209 Merriman Rd., Akron, Ohio 44303, or the American Cancer Society, 1900 W. Market St., Akron, Ohio 44313
. (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 330-867- 4141.)
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, Saturday, October 9, 2004, page B7, col. 2]

Guild e-mail on Tony Ridder's letter

Here is e-mail from Rollie Dreussi, Northeast Ohio Guild rep. Mark Davis who is mentioned is a district Guild rep. and Karen (Chuparkoff) Lefton, is BJ management rep. The "situation" is the benefit cuts mentioned in the letter to BJ retirees from Tony Ridder. Here is the e-mail from Dreussi:

Mark Davis spoke to Karen Lefton of the BJ today. She
has contacted a Knight Ridder official who claims he
was unaware of the situation. He was to check with
another KR official who handles health care trusts in
Knight Ridder.
Mark and I think it may be a good idea if the retirees
also call the BJ Human Resources Department (you could
ask for Karen Lefton), so they know you all are upset
by this change.
Mark has told Lefton we've calls at the Guild office,
but it never hurts to complain to the source, also.
We have not received a date yet for the grievance. We
also are waiting for Lefton to let us know what the KR
people say.
Rollie Dreussi
Local Representative
Local 1
Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild

Some BJ connections in Atlanta

This information is from Dick McBane:

There are at least three former Beacon Journalists working in the media in Atlanta, two of them with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Janet Frankston has been with the AJC for about five years and is primarily covering problems of growth in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Her most recent was a major piece on the regional 25-year transportation plan. If carried out, the plan will cost about $50-billion, traffic will still be snarled, and there will be no expansion of MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority); but the population is expected to increase by 2.3-million.

Reaching farther back into the Beacon Journal's past, there is Bill Osinski who also is with the AJC and is covering religion for the Gwinnett (County) News, which is a separate daily section of the AJC. Bill says he remembers his ABJ years fondly.

There is also Morse Diggs who is reporting for WAGA, Channel 5, the Fox channel in Atlanta. Morse covered the Akron police department at the time of the Barbuto scandal.

Guild Retiree benefits cuts loom

Text of letter received by retirees:


>KNIGHTRIDDER>

September 29, 2004

RNL-00065-03
HARRY LIGGETT
544 N FIRESTONE BLVD AKRON, OH 44301

Important News About Your Knight Ridder Retiree Benefits

Dear HARRY LIGGETT:

We are writing to let you know about some upcoming changes to your Knight Ridder Retiree Benefits. You'll see more information in October, but we wanted to let you know now that some changes are being made.

Health Care Benefits

As you may know, the escalating cost of health care in general, and retiree medical and prescription benefits in particular, has presented a major challenge over the last decade or so.

Like all employers, Knight Ridder has responded by making changes to our programs. We have increased the premiums that our employees must pay for their own coverage, and to cover a spouse or dependent children. We have made changes to benefit designs that also increase the employee's cost burden.

Those who retired from Knight Ridder since the current retiree health benefit program was implemented have also experienced change. Modifications to plan designs covering employees apply to these retirees as well. Retiree premiums under this program have risen dramatically in response to increasing costs.

On the other hand, those like yourself who retired before the current program was implemented ("grandfathered retirees") have generally not seen any changes to their coverage, or to their premium, since retirement.

The Company realizes that those who have been retired for many years may not be in a position to now absorb large cost increases. But, given the burden that employees and more recent retirees have had to bear, we believe it is appropriate, as the plan provides, to make some updates to the deductible and coverage provided through your Company retiree medical plan.

Our goal has been to make only relatively modest changes to these plans for 2005 - although we recognize that because so many years have gone by with no update, the changes may appear more significant than if they had occurred gradually. A secondary goal has been to reduce a large administrative burden by consolidating the multiple plan designs wherever possible.

The changers sometimes involve an increase to the annual deductible, increases in some plan
co-pays (including co-pays for prescription drugs) or co-insurances, and in some cases a new method for coordinating plan benefits with Medicare. Dental or vision coverage, for those who currently receive it, is being discontinued. .

We will not be introducing or increasing retiree health care premiums in connection witl these changes.

Benefit changes are automatically effective January 1, 2005. We are announcing these changes
as early as possible to give you time to consider coverage alternatives.

We know you will have questions. Therefore we’ve established a Knight Ridder Retiree
Information Line, staffed by trained specialists on the Company's retiree health program and how these changes affect you. Please call 800-561-0842 to speak to a representative between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Sincerely,

Tony Ridder Mary Jean Connors
Chairman and CEO Senior Vice President/Human Resources
Knight Ridder Knight Ridder

Roland Queen in hospital

October 1, 2004

Former Beacon sportswriter Roland Queen is in Room 707 at Akron City Hospital and would like to hear from his former co-workers. The phone number at the hospital is 330-375-4707.
Queen, 41 years old, was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in 2000. His condition relapsed about four days ago and he was admitted to the hospital. He expects to go back on chemotherapy soon. Multiple myeloma cancer attacks the bone marrow. You can learn more about it on the internet. Search on "Multiple+myeloma+cancer" for a list of articles about it.

Update from Kathy Lally

When our e-mail address list to Kathy Lally bounced, we started looking around and found that she had left the Baltimore Sun and was now working on temporary assignment with the Washington Post. Finally it dawned on us to try an old e-mail address for Kathy and her Pulitzer-prize winning husband Will Englund. They spent a couple of tours of duty reporting for the Sun in Russia. Now it appears Kathy may be teaching Russians some reporting. Here’s e-mail received September 28 from her:

“I left The Sun at the end of July. After 29 years there, I decided it was time to try something else. I've been filling in on the Outlook section of the Washington Post, for someone who is on leave, working as an editor on the section. (It's the Sunday opinion section.) Next, I'm thinking about taking on an assignment to teach reporting and writing to reporters in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. I'll keep you posted.”

A good e-mail address for Kathy is will.kathy@starpower.net

Click on the headline above to read one of Kathy’s recent articles for the Washington Post. This one is headlined “Stuff a Ton of Stuff Into 80 Square Feet, and Say Goodbye” It provides a ton of interesting statistics about the annual migration of students to campus. Her daughter is a freshman this year.

Retired and tired in Florida

Terry and Cecily Dray and Dave and Gina White are both retired and tired in Florida after four hurricanes. Here are their latest reports secured by John Olesky:

From Terry & Cecily Dray, who live in Avon Park, FL:
We made it thru another one. This one went right thru Avon Park...kind of came right up Highway 27. We didn't leave town...nowhere to go. By the time we knew for sure it was coming, it was too late. The only routes considered safe were going West and we wanted to go North. But, again, we were blessed with no damage. Power just came back on (about 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. It went out at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. About half of Avon Park is still without power. It seems that the power companies sent most of their people to the Panhandle to help with Ivan, leaving us with...well, not much. The reports on damage in this area are 6 times the combined damage of Charlie and Frances. We are still under a mandatory curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Thanks for thinking of us. Terry & Cecily

From Dave & Gina White who live in Venice, FL:
Hey John,
Enough is enough! Four hurricanes in six weeks. You can't believe how it takes a toll on your nerves. Again we were very lucky, no damage, gusts at 47 miles an hour and steady wind between 25 to 30 mph and no flooding. Poor Punta Gorda got 3 of the 4 hurricanes. It's only 20 miles from us. I see that WVA is in 6th place, is that the same WVA I Know. They must of made the field level this year!
Your Friends, Dave & Gina

Cullison interviews Gable in 1958

Recalled Stories from the Beacon Journal:

Mark J. Price wrote an insightful article on Clark Gable in the Beacon Journal on Monday, September 20, 2004 (page E1) which mentioned a piece by Art Cullison on April 4, 1958. Cullison interviewed Gable and his wife, Kay (wife No. 5) at Cleveland where Gable was making a personal appearance tour to promote his movie, “The Teacher’s Pet.”

Price’s article prompted me to check the 1958 piece by Cullison. Click on the headline above to read the story.

To read the article by Price, go to Ohio.com at

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living 710633.htm

You may have to register (free) to access it.

Beacon Journal honored

Associated Press

COLUMBUS - The Akron Beacon Journal won first place in business and arts coverage for 2003 from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, while a staff reporter and photographer each won best of show.

More than 900 entries were submitted by 120 news organizations. In the print category for circulation of 100,000 or more, the newspaper won the following awards:

Best business coverage: first place, ``Legacy of Decline,'' by John Russell.

Best arts reporting: first place, ``Arts Recession,'' staff.

Best coverage of children's issues: second place, ``Kenmore Abuse Case,'' John Higgins, Andale Gross, Keith McKnight, Carl Chancellor, Phil Trexler, Kymberli Hagelberg, Stephen Dyer, and David Knox and staff.

Best explanatory journalism: second place, ``Focus on: Independent Inventors,'' by Paula Schleis.

Best sports coverage: second place, ``Boys of Spring,'' by Keith McKnight and Ed Meyer.

In best of show, Lew Stamp won as best photographer, and Cheryl Powell won as best reporter (as did reporter Kelly Lecker of the Toledo Blade).

The Beacon Journal's online partner, Ohio.com, won first place for best web site.

A T-shirt for Monia

The WVU 1100 Club at West Viriginia University presented retiree John Olesky and his granddaughter Beth, 14, with a T-shirt with the name of Olesky'’s late wife, Monia, on it at the East Carolina game on September 4. The club raised $3,700 in memory of Monia and another WVU fan who also died this year. Combined with $4,300 raised by the FanNet WVU message board, that'’s $8,000 donated to WVU in Monia'’s memory. John and Monia have been such ardent fans that they have the flying WV logo on their grave marker. The 1100 club raises money to be used for coaches’ recruiting expenses.

Maxine Lozier on the hurricanes

“Charley" wasn't good to us, without electric for a week and weather in the nineties. That's a lot better than Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte - those poor people are still recovering. One of our son-in-laws is in Port Charlotte, with FEMA and says they still have a long way to go, he's working 12 hours a day. In other words we were very, very lucky.

"Frances" gave us forty to fifty mile winds-no damage. The electric was off and on but not for any long period of time. Again we were lucky.

"Ivan," I'm worried about, a category five hurricane could crumble this house of ours, I'm sure. Especially after looking at the pictures coming through my computer.
All of this isn't enough, our son-in-law passed away in Holland Michigan (my daughter, Pam's husband). When this is over, I'm thinking about writing a book -- there's a lot that I haven't put in writing that would make a good story at least for a smile, after the worst is over and forgotten.

Thanks for listening, I feel better now. Maxine Lozier lozimax@aol.com

Dodging Hurricanes

Dave & Gina White and Terry & Cecily Dray are dodging hurricanes about every other week, it seems. The Drays have been in the path twice, but only have one downed orange tree and another damaged orange tree out of all of that. Miraculous, actually. Here are e-mails sent to John Olesky:

>From Terry & Cecily Dray:

We are doing fine. Yes, once again we were ground zero. The eye came right thru Avon Park. Winds were not as bad but storm lasted well over 12 hours. We were without power ab out 36 hours this time (which is better than 5 days). We are now watching Ivan and have decided to go north if he turns this way. We don't fear for our safety, and are becoming old hands at this hurricane stuff, but going without power in the aftermath is just too much to go thru a third time. Thanks for your concern,
Terry & Cecily

>From Dave & Gina White:

Well John we were missed again! Hope Ivan will do the same. We had wind gusts at 46 mph, steady wind 20-26 mph. Only 2" of rain, just a normal Florida weekend. We hope the Drays lucked out also. But by the weather maps it looked like Frances was going right over Avon Lake, Sebring area. Charley was to the left of us and Frances was to the right, hope Ivan doesn't go in the middle!
Dave & Gina

Browser, the BJ mascot

Readers sent in suggestions for mascot

Marilyn Geewax earns master's

Marilyn Geewax earned master's at
Georgetown University in May, 2004

She's not Dr. Geewax yet

I'm not Dr. Geewax yet, but I recently nailed down a master's degree!

In winter 2000, I began taking evening classes at Georgetown University through the Liberal Studies Department, specializing international economic affairs. On May 22, 2004 they handed me the sheepskin.

My studies took me to Europe twice to learn more about trade and globalization. I chose classes that would help me here in the Cox Washington bureau, where I am the national economics reporter.

Here's a quick recap of my professional adventures since leaving Akron in 1985:

I moved to Atlanta to work as a business reporter for the Journal-Constitution, the flagship paper for Cox Newspapers. In 1989, I joined the editorial board, where I wrote daily editorials and a weekly
column (which the ABJ's op-ed page often ran).

In 1994-95, I took a break to enjoy -- and I do mean ENJOY -- a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard.

In 1999, I was offered a job in the Cox Washington Bureau. It's a hoot up here -- I cover public-policy issues related to business. So I race around from Capitol Hill to the White House to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, etc. , writing about taxes, trade, wages, deficits and
regulation. (I often interact with former ABJer Mark Braykovich, who is biz editor for the Journal-Constitution).

Most of my stories get posted at:
http://coxnews.com/cox/news//static/cwb/Marilyn_Geewax.html

Each fall semester, I also work as an adjunct professor at George Washington University, teaching business journalism. I'll have 17 students this year (which is at least seven too many for a writing class). I also serve on Kent State University's journalism school advisory board. Last
year, I hosted a KSU j-board meeting here in our bureau office. (I went to OSU, but the journalism program there isn't as interesting as KSU's).

My parents are alive and well in Campbell, Ohio, (on the east side of Youngstown) and my younger brother and his wife live in northern Summit County (in Reminderville), so I get back to NE Ohio several times a year. Whenever I'm at my brother's house, I get a copy of the BJ and keep up with
the Akron news via Harry's emails and blog.

As we business writers and former Ohioans always say: Go Bucks!

-- Marilyn Geewax (ABJ 1978-85) E-mail: mgeewax@coxnews.com
Click on the headline to read Marilyn Geewax's stories.

Snippits lifted from Hot Topics

Here are snippits lifted from Hot Topics, the BJ employe newsletter:

Three scholars to receive $2,500 from newspaper
Three children of staff have received John and Peggy Dotson Scholarships for higher education this fall: They are Katherine Berta, daughter of Steve Berta, newsroom; Jillian Fullerton, daughter of John Fullerton, community relations and marketing; and Brandon White, son of Phil White, community relations and marketing.
Katherine Berta graduated from Woodridge High School, where she was the editorials editor for the school newspaper and a chorus member and dancer in school plays. She plans to study journalism, communications and English at Denison University. Her goal is to be a newspaper film critic.
Jillian Fullerton graduated from Cuyahoga Falls High School, where she was a Rotary Scholar and on the high honor roll, student council and leadership board. Jillian plans to study secondary education at Walsh University.
Brandon White graduated from Buchtel High School, where he received the Manhood Award and was on the football, basketball and track teams. He plans to major in business administration at Tiffin University.
Katie, Jillian and Brandon each will receive $2,500 from the Akron Beacon Journal.
Named for its founders, the John and Peggy Dotson Scholarship was established in 1997. With this yearÆs grants, the program has awarded $60,000 to dependent children of staff. John Dotson is publisher emeritus of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Open House draws 386 visitors over three days
By the time the last session ended on Friday, Aug. 20, 2004 386 people -- from youngsters to senior citizens -- had toured the the Beacon Journal and shared refreshments with a rotating group of newsroom staff. Visitors had the option of coming at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. on three different days this week.
Rita Stapleton, community relations and marketing, coordinated the nine-session, three-day event. She recruited staff as tour guides, speakers, greeters and servers. She organized a cadre of back-up volunteers in case the group of guests grew too large for core volunteers to handle.
Visitors’ questions to newsroom staff ran the gamut. Where do you get your ideas? Do you read other newspapers? How do you pick stories from readers’ tips? Do you get your own private showing for movie reviews?
Although movie critic George Thomas seemed to like the idea of attending a private showing of movies, he told visitors that his reviews started with him slogging through the ticket lines with everyone else.
Columnist David Giffels said tips from readers were his :”secret weapon.” Of the three columns he writes each week, usually one is planned, another comes from readers’ ideas, and a third is driven completely by panic, he said. He admitted spending a lot of time looking out the window, a pastime he tried to pass off as a writer hard at work.
Jane Snow, food writer, balanced the glamorous appeal of her job by informing readers about the time she had to eat fried ants.
Speakers from the newsroom included Chip Bok, M ary Beth Breckenridge, Jewell Cardwell, Bob Dyer, Mary Ethridge, David Giffels, Kymberli Hagelberg, Betty Lin-Fisher, Mike Needs, Terry Pluto, Jane Snow, George Thomas and Stephanie Warsmith,

Browser will be mascot
Following suggestions from readers, a vote by staff and input from senior managers, Rita Madick, director of community relations and marketing, selected “Browser” as the name of the Akron Beacon Journal mascot. The moniker works well in reference to the newspaper’s print, online and digital formats -- any of which may be browsed. A life-size costume for the mascot is in the works now. The next question is: Who gets to wear it?