Sounds like Jane Snow is having "Second Helpings." Her May 8 column in that series is headlined "Jane's wedding surprise." It tells how a guy we know only by the first name of Tony ordered their wedding on the internet at Cupid's Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas and they had lunch at a hole-in-the wall Cuban restaurant.
One of our readers found the column quite by accident. The columns are really difficult to locate. Here's the take. If you want to get the recipe, too, you will have to click on the headline
Second Helpings
Jane's wedding surprise
By Jane Snow
I didn't mean for for my wedding lunch to be at a hole-in-the-wall Cuban restaurant, but that's where Tony and I ended up. It was the only part of our wedding last week that Tony hadn't planned. He booked the Las Vegas chapel, ordered flowers, rented a tux for him and a gown for me, and broke the news by shaking me awake at midnight.
"I just planned our whole wedding on the Internet,'' he said. "You don't have to do a thing.''
``Thanks,'' I mumbled and went back to sleep. In the morning, I hoped it was all a bad dream. But, no, Tony said he had indeed reserved Cupid's Wedding Chapel along with a frilly white dress and a $150 bouquet of purple roses. And the best part, he said, was that the whole shebang would be videotaped and posted on the chapel's Web site for our friends and family to see.
Oh, goodie.
But the guy was so proud of himself that I didn't have the heart to object. I swallowed my dismay at spending so much money on flowers (purple, yet) that would expire that night in our hotel room. I ignored my girlfriends when they hooted at thought of me in a white organza wedding dress. I convinced myself Cupid's Wedding Chapel couldn't be as tacky as it sounded.
And it wasn't. The chapel actually looked tasteful when viewed through our haze of happiness. We were so excited we skipped breakfast and lunch and arrived an hour early for the 2 p.m. ceremony. Afterward, we were starving, and ducked into the first restaurant we spotted after returning our fancy duds to the rental shop.
Sitting there at a bare Formica-top table, listening to the babble of a soccer game televised in Spanish, I felt like Cinderella after the ball. Then lunch came -- mine a gooey-warm sandwich of sliced chorizo sausage and melted cheese on a crackly loaf of authentic Cuban bread, and his, chicken and rice.
The chicken -- arroz con pollo -- is one of Cuba's best-loved dishes. It is similar to paella, but the rice is colored with annato oil instead of saffron. The oil may be found at grocery stores with large Spanish or Mexican sections, such as Dave's on East Exchange Street. Some cooks simply use yellow rice, available in many supermarkets.
Back home, I found a recipe for Cuban chicken and rice at Tasteofcuba.com. In addition to dozens of recipes, the site has an abbreviated list of Cuban restaurants in the United States. My wedding restaurant isn't among them, but Vegas visitors who want an inexpensive Cuban lunch can find Rincon Criollo at 1145 Las Vegas Blvd. S., phone 702-388-1906.
In retrospect, I think Tony did a great job of planning our wedding. He forgot just one thing: I'm still waiting for a wedding cake.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Yahoo adds McClatchy Co.
Yahoo further strengthened its ties to the newspaper industry by announcing plans to roll out new services and features and adding a 12th newspaper publisher, McClatchy Co., to the consortium founded late last year.
Various elements of the partnership will be implemented in the next few months, said consortium backer Robert W. Decherd, chairman and chief executive officer of Belo Corp.
“The search and content integration activities will begin during the second quarter,” he said. “Content integration is going to be in phases and we hope to complete them in 2008.”
Toledo Guild OK contract with Blade
Members of the Toledo Newspaper Guild voted by a nearly 2-1 ratio yesterday to ratify a new contract with The Blade, agreeing to wage cuts, fewer days off, a longer work day, and a commission-sales plan for advertising sales representatives.
The Guild was the last of the newspaper’s eight unions to vote on a contract. Six other unions ratified new agreements last week, and a seventh approved a new pact last summer.
The ratification ends more than a year of negotiations and a nine-month lockout of 215 of the newspaper’s craft employees. Union leaders said it also brings an end to their call for a newspaper boycott by readers and advertisers.
The contracts approved by the unions last week and yesterday become effective immediately and expire on May 31, 2010. The Guild, representing newsroom, circulation, finance, and advertising workers at Toledo’s only daily newspaper, has about 300 of the paper’s 525 union members.
Lillian Covarrubias, president of the Toledo Newspaper Guild, declined to give a vote tally last night but said that 85 percent of her members cast ballots.
Ms. Covarrubias said she was pleased with the voting turnout. Her union will soon prepare a plan to help increase the newspaper’s advertising business and circulation numbers, she said.
“We’re going to work on mending some of the hurt inside the building,” she said, as workers removed a boycott banner from above the entrance to the Guild’s office on Huron Street downtown.
Joseph Zerbey IV, vice president and general manager of The Blade, said he was happy.
The contract will result in higher-paid workers having immediate wage cuts of about 8 to 8.5 percent, or about $92 a week, a Guild outline states. Employees will also lose two of four paid personal days and must pay 22.5 percent of health care premiums, or about $40 a week, the outline said. The work week also was extended by 30 minutes per day.
The agreements offer staff reductions through employee buyouts, the outline said. Material distributed to Guild members also said that up to 40 employees will be offered buyouts as a means of reducing staffing levels.
Click on headline to read full story in the Blade.
The Guild was the last of the newspaper’s eight unions to vote on a contract. Six other unions ratified new agreements last week, and a seventh approved a new pact last summer.
The ratification ends more than a year of negotiations and a nine-month lockout of 215 of the newspaper’s craft employees. Union leaders said it also brings an end to their call for a newspaper boycott by readers and advertisers.
The contracts approved by the unions last week and yesterday become effective immediately and expire on May 31, 2010. The Guild, representing newsroom, circulation, finance, and advertising workers at Toledo’s only daily newspaper, has about 300 of the paper’s 525 union members.
Lillian Covarrubias, president of the Toledo Newspaper Guild, declined to give a vote tally last night but said that 85 percent of her members cast ballots.
Ms. Covarrubias said she was pleased with the voting turnout. Her union will soon prepare a plan to help increase the newspaper’s advertising business and circulation numbers, she said.
“We’re going to work on mending some of the hurt inside the building,” she said, as workers removed a boycott banner from above the entrance to the Guild’s office on Huron Street downtown.
Joseph Zerbey IV, vice president and general manager of The Blade, said he was happy.
The contract will result in higher-paid workers having immediate wage cuts of about 8 to 8.5 percent, or about $92 a week, a Guild outline states. Employees will also lose two of four paid personal days and must pay 22.5 percent of health care premiums, or about $40 a week, the outline said. The work week also was extended by 30 minutes per day.
The agreements offer staff reductions through employee buyouts, the outline said. Material distributed to Guild members also said that up to 40 employees will be offered buyouts as a means of reducing staffing levels.
Click on headline to read full story in the Blade.
Why McClatchy keeps Knight Ridder bureaus
By Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review
In a recent column decrying the cutbacks in foreign coverage by the U.S. media, I mentioned that much of the burden now falls on the major national newspapers.
But there's also a newspaper chain that hasn't turned its back on the world.
McClatchy has a network of nine bureaus that it inherited when it swallowed up Knight Ridder last year. They are in Baghdad, Beijing, Berlin, Cairo, Jerusalem, Mexico City (now vacant), Moscow, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro, although the company plans to mothball Berlin and open an outpost in South Asia, perhaps later this year.
Both AJR columnist John Morton and I have blasted McClatchy for cherry-picking Knight Ridder, unloading papers that weren't in high-profit, go-go markets, and for jettisoning Minneapolis' Star Tribune. The new owner of the latter, the private equity group Avista Capital, promptly took an ax to the staff.
But McClatchy deserves props for keeping the foreign staff and blending the strong Knight Ridder Washington operation with its own. Knight Ridder had distinguished itself with its against-the-grain reporting on Iraq, and that tradition has continued under McClatchy. John Walcott, who was Knight Ridder's bureau chief, kept that role with McClatchy, directing the operation with Washington Editor David Westphal. Another Knight Ridder vet, Mark Seibel, oversees the foreign coverage as the bureau's managing editor for international news.
So why is McClatchy maintaining those costly foreign bureaus while some Tribune Co. papers and the New York Times Co.'s Boston Globe are shutting them down, when the ubiquitous mantra in the newspaper business is "local, local, local"?
"Global news is local news nowadays," Howard Weaver, the company's vice president for news, wrote in an e-mail to AJR. "There's never been a time in our history when world events had greater impact on Americans--terrorism, security and war in Iraq, obviously, but also immigration, job outsourcing, international trade, African genocide and the possibility of pandemic flu or other global diseases. Does this seem like the right time to cut back?"
Click on the headline to read the full story by Rem Rieder in the American Journalism Review
Monday, May 28, 2007
Recommended listening for this day
Listen to Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carney on the War in Iraq
Click on headline
Click on headline
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Page 2 of my retirement letter
This is page two of my retirement letter given to me shortly before my retirement on June 1 1992, though the lower corner said 1/90, it was two years later when I received it. Page 1 has my retirement dates and amounts correct.
You need to click on letter to enlarge it.
....Ott
Rx card information sought
Query from Bob Abbott:
We need some info if possible...
We need some info if possible...
Do any of you remember when you signed up for your
retirement/separation if the prescription card was mentioned (hopefully in writing) at that
point. And if so, do you have printed proof of that?
I personally recall that I had to sign up for separation agreement
ahead of time (only three priority situation holders would be accepted) but
I don't recall anything in writing referring to the prescription card.
But I certainly knew about it or I wouldn't have even contemplated
leaving. It would be helpful if we could prove that those (prescription)
benefits were a main driving force for our retiring/separating from the
company.
So...dig into your memories and papers and see if we can come up with
something along that line.
thanks
bob abbott
Updating the Winges appointment
This story updates a staff report we posted Friday from Ohio.com
Beacon Journal names editor
Veteran Winges to lead news operation. Stewart to head Ind. newspaper
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Bruce Winges, a 25-year veteran of the Beacon Journal, was named vice president and editor of the newspaper on Friday.
He succeeds Mizell Stewart III, who was the top executive in the newsroom as managing editor.
Stewart, 42, who has been managing editor for 16 months, on Friday was named editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press. His last day at the Beacon Journal will be next Friday.
Winges, 52, has had a variety of roles at the Beacon Journal since 1982, including editing and management positions on the news and metro desks and as executive news editor, assistant managing editor for technology and night managing editor. He led a building-wide transition team when the Beacon Journal was purchased last year by Black Press. Most recently, he was deputy managing editor.
``I've been here for 25 years and there have been a lot of good journalists here,'' Winges said. ``It's a very humbling experience to have worked here and now to have the opportunity to lead this newsroom.''
Publisher Edward Moss said he couldn't be more pleased to name Winges as editor.
The Beacon Journal is changing into a multimedia company as the industry grows online, Moss said.
``I'm confident Bruce is the right guy at the right time,'' Moss said.
Moss and Winges said the editor's primary role will be in day-to-day operations of the newsroom and not as much of the public role that previous editors have had. Moss also said there was always a plan to name an editor at the Beacon Journal. Former Vice President and Editor Debra Adams Simmons left the paper in November as part of a cost-cutting move.
``With Mizell's decision to leave the company, this to me was the perfect opportunity to move forward (with an editor),'' Moss said.
Winges said he will look both internally and externally for a managing editor to help him run the newsroom.
An avid photographer, Winges is on the steering committee of the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society.
Winges said he's excited about an upcoming redesign of the Web site Ohio.com, which is expected in July. Also, there will be a redesign of the newspaper and a continued focus on local news.
``We have the largest news-gathering operation in Akron. We care about Akron and we want to report on Akron,'' he said.
Winges said he was looking forward to continuing to work with the newsroom staff.
``This newsroom has the journalistic wherewithal to accomplish whatever it sets its mind to. That makes the Beacon Journal a good place to produce good journalism,'' he said.
Winges is a native of Louisville, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He previously worked in Huntington, W.Va.
Winges and his wife, Bonnie Bolden, a former longtime Beacon Journal editor, live in Cuyahoga Falls.
Stewart, a Cleveland native and graduate of Bowling Green State University, worked in Dayton, Akron and Tallahassee, Fla., before returning to the Beacon Journal in January 2006.
Moss thanked Stewart for his work.
[The Beacon Journal,, Akron, OH, Saturday, May 26, 2007, business front, page D1, col. 1]
Click on the headline to see the Evansville-Courier story. Here is the lead:
Mizell Stewart III, top news executive at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, and a former consultant for Knight Ridder newspapers, has been appointed editor of The Courier & Press, effective June 18.
Stewart, 42, will succeed J. Bruce Baumann, who retired as editor on March 30.
Beacon Journal names editor
Veteran Winges to lead news operation. Stewart to head Ind. newspaper
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Bruce Winges, a 25-year veteran of the Beacon Journal, was named vice president and editor of the newspaper on Friday.
He succeeds Mizell Stewart III, who was the top executive in the newsroom as managing editor.
Stewart, 42, who has been managing editor for 16 months, on Friday was named editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press. His last day at the Beacon Journal will be next Friday.
Winges, 52, has had a variety of roles at the Beacon Journal since 1982, including editing and management positions on the news and metro desks and as executive news editor, assistant managing editor for technology and night managing editor. He led a building-wide transition team when the Beacon Journal was purchased last year by Black Press. Most recently, he was deputy managing editor.
``I've been here for 25 years and there have been a lot of good journalists here,'' Winges said. ``It's a very humbling experience to have worked here and now to have the opportunity to lead this newsroom.''
Publisher Edward Moss said he couldn't be more pleased to name Winges as editor.
The Beacon Journal is changing into a multimedia company as the industry grows online, Moss said.
``I'm confident Bruce is the right guy at the right time,'' Moss said.
Moss and Winges said the editor's primary role will be in day-to-day operations of the newsroom and not as much of the public role that previous editors have had. Moss also said there was always a plan to name an editor at the Beacon Journal. Former Vice President and Editor Debra Adams Simmons left the paper in November as part of a cost-cutting move.
``With Mizell's decision to leave the company, this to me was the perfect opportunity to move forward (with an editor),'' Moss said.
Winges said he will look both internally and externally for a managing editor to help him run the newsroom.
An avid photographer, Winges is on the steering committee of the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society.
Winges said he's excited about an upcoming redesign of the Web site Ohio.com, which is expected in July. Also, there will be a redesign of the newspaper and a continued focus on local news.
``We have the largest news-gathering operation in Akron. We care about Akron and we want to report on Akron,'' he said.
Winges said he was looking forward to continuing to work with the newsroom staff.
``This newsroom has the journalistic wherewithal to accomplish whatever it sets its mind to. That makes the Beacon Journal a good place to produce good journalism,'' he said.
Winges is a native of Louisville, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He previously worked in Huntington, W.Va.
Winges and his wife, Bonnie Bolden, a former longtime Beacon Journal editor, live in Cuyahoga Falls.
Stewart, a Cleveland native and graduate of Bowling Green State University, worked in Dayton, Akron and Tallahassee, Fla., before returning to the Beacon Journal in January 2006.
Moss thanked Stewart for his work.
[The Beacon Journal,, Akron, OH, Saturday, May 26, 2007, business front, page D1, col. 1]
Click on the headline to see the Evansville-Courier story. Here is the lead:
Mizell Stewart III, top news executive at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, and a former consultant for Knight Ridder newspapers, has been appointed editor of The Courier & Press, effective June 18.
Stewart, 42, will succeed J. Bruce Baumann, who retired as editor on March 30.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Winges named editor of Beacon Journal
Beacon Journal staff report
Managing Editor Mizell Stewart III announced today that he will leave the Akron Beacon Journal, effective June 1.
Stewart, 42, is being succeeded as the top executive in the newsroom by Bruce Winges, who was named today as vice president and editor of the newspaper by Publisher Edward Moss.
Stewart, who has been managing editor 16 months, has been named editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, a Scripps-Howard newspaper company. The announcement of Stewart's new position was made simultaneously in Akron and Evansville.
Stewart, a Twinsburg native and graduate of Bowling Green State University, worked in Tallahassee, Fla., before coming to Akron in January 2006.
Moss thanked Stewart for his work.
``We've done a lot of great work... Mizell has led that,'' Moss told the staff during a morning meeting. Moss has been publisher in Akron since August, when the Beacon Journal was sold by the McClatchy Newspapers group to David Black, a Canadian newspaper company owner. McClatchy earlier acquired the Beacon Journal as part of its takeover of Knight Ridder newspapers.
Winges, 52, has worked at the Beacon Journal in a variety of newsroom and business-side positions since 1982. He was most recently deputy managing editor.
``I am humbled to be named leader of the newsroom and am looking forward to working with journalists who have the wherewithal to do the good journalism they are capable of doing,'' said Winges.
Moss said he couldn't be more pleased to name Winges as editor.
The Beacon Journal is changing into a multimedia company, as the industry grows online, Moss said.
``I'm confident Bruce is the right guy at the right time,'' said Moss.
Winges is a native of Louisville, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He previously worked in Huntington, W. Va.
Managing Editor Mizell Stewart III announced today that he will leave the Akron Beacon Journal, effective June 1.
Stewart, 42, is being succeeded as the top executive in the newsroom by Bruce Winges, who was named today as vice president and editor of the newspaper by Publisher Edward Moss.
Stewart, who has been managing editor 16 months, has been named editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, a Scripps-Howard newspaper company. The announcement of Stewart's new position was made simultaneously in Akron and Evansville.
Stewart, a Twinsburg native and graduate of Bowling Green State University, worked in Tallahassee, Fla., before coming to Akron in January 2006.
Moss thanked Stewart for his work.
``We've done a lot of great work... Mizell has led that,'' Moss told the staff during a morning meeting. Moss has been publisher in Akron since August, when the Beacon Journal was sold by the McClatchy Newspapers group to David Black, a Canadian newspaper company owner. McClatchy earlier acquired the Beacon Journal as part of its takeover of Knight Ridder newspapers.
Winges, 52, has worked at the Beacon Journal in a variety of newsroom and business-side positions since 1982. He was most recently deputy managing editor.
``I am humbled to be named leader of the newsroom and am looking forward to working with journalists who have the wherewithal to do the good journalism they are capable of doing,'' said Winges.
Moss said he couldn't be more pleased to name Winges as editor.
The Beacon Journal is changing into a multimedia company, as the industry grows online, Moss said.
``I'm confident Bruce is the right guy at the right time,'' said Moss.
Winges is a native of Louisville, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He previously worked in Huntington, W. Va.
Knight News Challenge makes $11 million in grants
MIT, MTV, top young computer programmers and bloggers are among the 25 first-year winners of the Knight News Challenge, announced at the Editor & Publisher/ Mediaweek Interactive Media Conference and Trade Show in Miami.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funded the contest with $25 million over five years to help lead journalism into its digital future.
The first-year winners all proposed innovative ideas for using digital news and information to build and bind community in specific geographic areas.
* The Media Lab and Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology receive $5 million to create a Center for Future Civic Media to develop, test and study new forms of high-tech community news.
* Journalist/web developer Adrian Holovaty, creator of chicagocrime.org, receives $1.1 million to create a series of city-specific web sites devoted to public records and hyperlocal information.
* VillageSoup in Maine receives $885,000 to build free software to allow others to replicate the citizen journalism and community participation site VillageSoup.
* MTV receives $700,000 to establish a Knight Mobile Youth Journalist (Knight “MyJos”) in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to report weekly – on cell phones, and other media – on key issues including the environment, 2008 presidential election and sexual health.
* Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism receives $639,000 for nine full journalism scholarships for students with undergraduate degrees in computer science.
* The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University receives $552,000 to create an incubator where students will learn how to create and launch digital media products.
18 more winners receive prizes between $25,000 and $340,000. Nine bloggers will receive grants of $15,000 each to blog about topics ranging from GPS tracking devices to out-of-the-box community publishing solutions. All winners will maintain blogs about their projects.
Says Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation’s President and CEO: “We want to spur discovery of how digital platforms can be used to disseminate news and information on a timely basis within a defined geographic space, and thereby build and bind community. That’s what newspapers and local television stations used to do in the 20th century, and it’s something that our communities still need today. The contest was open—and will stay open next year—to anyone anywhere in the world because ‘community’ is something we all can define.”
Click on the headline for background on the winning entries.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funded the contest with $25 million over five years to help lead journalism into its digital future.
The first-year winners all proposed innovative ideas for using digital news and information to build and bind community in specific geographic areas.
* The Media Lab and Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology receive $5 million to create a Center for Future Civic Media to develop, test and study new forms of high-tech community news.
* Journalist/web developer Adrian Holovaty, creator of chicagocrime.org, receives $1.1 million to create a series of city-specific web sites devoted to public records and hyperlocal information.
* VillageSoup in Maine receives $885,000 to build free software to allow others to replicate the citizen journalism and community participation site VillageSoup.
* MTV receives $700,000 to establish a Knight Mobile Youth Journalist (Knight “MyJos”) in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to report weekly – on cell phones, and other media – on key issues including the environment, 2008 presidential election and sexual health.
* Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism receives $639,000 for nine full journalism scholarships for students with undergraduate degrees in computer science.
* The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University receives $552,000 to create an incubator where students will learn how to create and launch digital media products.
18 more winners receive prizes between $25,000 and $340,000. Nine bloggers will receive grants of $15,000 each to blog about topics ranging from GPS tracking devices to out-of-the-box community publishing solutions. All winners will maintain blogs about their projects.
Says Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation’s President and CEO: “We want to spur discovery of how digital platforms can be used to disseminate news and information on a timely basis within a defined geographic space, and thereby build and bind community. That’s what newspapers and local television stations used to do in the 20th century, and it’s something that our communities still need today. The contest was open—and will stay open next year—to anyone anywhere in the world because ‘community’ is something we all can define.”
Click on the headline for background on the winning entries.
57 members of LA Times staff leaving
Los Angeles Times editor Jim O’Shea, in an email to the staff, repored that 57 editorial staffers will be leaving–some voluntarily and some involuntarily–over the next few weeks.
“Everyone who will be leaving has been notified. All will receive a generous separation package that includes salary continuation and outplacement assistance,” O’Shea wrote..
“In the editorial department, 57 members of the staff will be leaving the paper, not including a few editorial assistants whose positions are being converted to part time jobs in reorganization. We will replace a significant number of people, though, to offset the decline. We are also examining our polling operation to determine if reorganization could increase revenues while achieving further savings. We expect to complete this examination in the next couple of months.
“Some highly talented people are leaving the staff and I hate to see them go. No one enjoys going through something like this, least of all me. This is a time of wrenching change at our paper and in our industry. I wish those leaving all the best. I pledge to do anything I can to help them with their futures.”
Click on the headline to read O’Shea’s memo posted on LA Observed, an online journal of Los Angeles Media
“Everyone who will be leaving has been notified. All will receive a generous separation package that includes salary continuation and outplacement assistance,” O’Shea wrote..
“In the editorial department, 57 members of the staff will be leaving the paper, not including a few editorial assistants whose positions are being converted to part time jobs in reorganization. We will replace a significant number of people, though, to offset the decline. We are also examining our polling operation to determine if reorganization could increase revenues while achieving further savings. We expect to complete this examination in the next couple of months.
“Some highly talented people are leaving the staff and I hate to see them go. No one enjoys going through something like this, least of all me. This is a time of wrenching change at our paper and in our industry. I wish those leaving all the best. I pledge to do anything I can to help them with their futures.”
Click on the headline to read O’Shea’s memo posted on LA Observed, an online journal of Los Angeles Media
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Toledo Blade reaches settlement
The Toledo Blade, which had locked out five of its eight labor unions since last August, reached a tentative agreement with all five, as well as two other unions that were not locked out, a union spokesman reported.
Larry Vellequette, spokesman for the Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, told E&P the deal was reached at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, ending the lockout that had kept more than 200 workers off the job. "It is a concessionary contract," said Vellequette, who declined to release specifics. "It gets us back to work and it gives the Blade a chance to make money. There are economic concessions."
Also included in the settlement is the local Newspaper Guild, which had been working without a contract since last year, but remained on the job. One union, representing electricians, had reached a contract settlement last summer.
In a Web story, the paper stated, "If the proposed contracts are approved, it would end more than a year of negotiations, would end the lockout of 215 craft union members, and would result in the dismissal of all legal disputes." The unions had organized a boycott of the paper, as well as filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board claiming the lockout was illegal. Vellequette said such complaints would be settled with the new agreements.
Although he welcomed the settlement, Vellequette said "I think the Blade is a damaged company. I think this will help restore them a little bit." But, he added, "there is pain for everybody," in the new deal.
[Source: Joe Strupp in Editor&Publisher]
Larry Vellequette, spokesman for the Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, told E&P the deal was reached at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, ending the lockout that had kept more than 200 workers off the job. "It is a concessionary contract," said Vellequette, who declined to release specifics. "It gets us back to work and it gives the Blade a chance to make money. There are economic concessions."
Also included in the settlement is the local Newspaper Guild, which had been working without a contract since last year, but remained on the job. One union, representing electricians, had reached a contract settlement last summer.
In a Web story, the paper stated, "If the proposed contracts are approved, it would end more than a year of negotiations, would end the lockout of 215 craft union members, and would result in the dismissal of all legal disputes." The unions had organized a boycott of the paper, as well as filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board claiming the lockout was illegal. Vellequette said such complaints would be settled with the new agreements.
Although he welcomed the settlement, Vellequette said "I think the Blade is a damaged company. I think this will help restore them a little bit." But, he added, "there is pain for everybody," in the new deal.
[Source: Joe Strupp in Editor&Publisher]
Top N.H. editor to work again as beat reporter
Journalism is at a crossroads, so Mike Pride is backing up.
The distinguished editor of the Concord Monitor is ditching meetings and budgets to become a beat reporter with one last presidential primary in his sights.
“I love it. It’s a big change and quite energizing,” Pride said yesterday after posting his decision on his New Hampshire paper’s Web site.
“A certain part of me looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a reporter - yet,” he added
.
Pride, co-chairman of the Pulitzer Board who turns 61 this summer, said he craves one more crack at reporting before it’s time to retire his pen and notebook.
He also laments newsroom positions “going dark” as newspapers, big and small, face a struggle for survival against Internet rivals.
He’s not alone. U.S. daily newspapers have lost 3,800 newsroom professionals this decade, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Pride said what matters most is content and nobody does it better than reporters - that’s why he’s becoming one.
“I feel, strongly, content is the whole game,” he said. “I’m going to be providing content. It’s why Igot into the business, to write and report.”
For newspapers to evolve, Pride said publishers must unearth the “Holy Grail” of journalism - making a buck off the Internet. As for other editors, Pride urges they all try to write and report before it’s too late.
“Editors have pretty tough jobs,” he added, “but I very strongly believe in an editor having a voice in the paper.”
[Source: Joe Dwinell in the Boston Herald. Click on the headline to go there.]
Blog note: Thanks to Ken Krause for forwarding the story.
The distinguished editor of the Concord Monitor is ditching meetings and budgets to become a beat reporter with one last presidential primary in his sights.
“I love it. It’s a big change and quite energizing,” Pride said yesterday after posting his decision on his New Hampshire paper’s Web site.
“A certain part of me looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a reporter - yet,” he added
.Pride, co-chairman of the Pulitzer Board who turns 61 this summer, said he craves one more crack at reporting before it’s time to retire his pen and notebook.
He also laments newsroom positions “going dark” as newspapers, big and small, face a struggle for survival against Internet rivals.
He’s not alone. U.S. daily newspapers have lost 3,800 newsroom professionals this decade, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Pride said what matters most is content and nobody does it better than reporters - that’s why he’s becoming one.
“I feel, strongly, content is the whole game,” he said. “I’m going to be providing content. It’s why Igot into the business, to write and report.”
For newspapers to evolve, Pride said publishers must unearth the “Holy Grail” of journalism - making a buck off the Internet. As for other editors, Pride urges they all try to write and report before it’s too late.
“Editors have pretty tough jobs,” he added, “but I very strongly believe in an editor having a voice in the paper.”
[Source: Joe Dwinell in the Boston Herald. Click on the headline to go there.]
Blog note: Thanks to Ken Krause for forwarding the story.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Nieman Fellowships announced
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Thirty U.S. and international journalists have been named to the 70th class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard University.
Established in 1938, the Nieman program is the oldest midcareer fellowship for journalists in the world. The fellowships are awarded to working journalists of accomplishment and promise for an academic year of study at the university. More than 1,200 journalists from 88 countries have studied at Harvard as Nieman Fellows.
Click on the headline or go to our website to see the list
Established in 1938, the Nieman program is the oldest midcareer fellowship for journalists in the world. The fellowships are awarded to working journalists of accomplishment and promise for an academic year of study at the university. More than 1,200 journalists from 88 countries have studied at Harvard as Nieman Fellows.
Click on the headline or go to our website to see the list
McClatchy a loser all-around
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of newspaper publishers were mixed Tuesday after two of the largest chains in the country, Gannett Co. and McClatchy Co., said revenue dropped in April.
McClatchy said its revenue declined 5.5 percent compared with April 2006, with ad revenue falling 7.6 percent. Gannett, which publishes USA Today, said Monday its revenue shrank by 2 percent. Ad revenue fell 3.1 percent as more classified ads ran on the Internet, with fewer being printed.
McClatchy shares lost 39 cents to close at $28.49.
Gannett shares slid 81 cents to $58.50.
Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert cut his profit estimates for both companies for the rest of this year, and for 2008 and 2009. He said McAllen, Va.-based Gannett is well-run company, but it cannot overcome the problems of the newspaper business.
"We believe even the most diligent cost management efforts cannot fully offset the impact of the severe revenue pressures currently being seen in the newspaper industry," he said.
Here's how other newspaper stocks performed Tuesday:
New York Times Co. rose 43 cents to $25.03.
Belo Corp. rose 9 cents to $20.35.
Dow Jones & Co. rose 36 cents to $51.46.
EW Scripps Co. fell 30 cents to $45.06.
McClatchy said its revenue declined 5.5 percent compared with April 2006, with ad revenue falling 7.6 percent. Gannett, which publishes USA Today, said Monday its revenue shrank by 2 percent. Ad revenue fell 3.1 percent as more classified ads ran on the Internet, with fewer being printed.
McClatchy shares lost 39 cents to close at $28.49.
Gannett shares slid 81 cents to $58.50.
Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert cut his profit estimates for both companies for the rest of this year, and for 2008 and 2009. He said McAllen, Va.-based Gannett is well-run company, but it cannot overcome the problems of the newspaper business.
"We believe even the most diligent cost management efforts cannot fully offset the impact of the severe revenue pressures currently being seen in the newspaper industry," he said.
Here's how other newspaper stocks performed Tuesday:
New York Times Co. rose 43 cents to $25.03.
Belo Corp. rose 9 cents to $20.35.
Dow Jones & Co. rose 36 cents to $51.46.
EW Scripps Co. fell 30 cents to $45.06.
Retired PD staffer John Koshar
John Leo Koshar was an award-winning reporter for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, served on Munroe Falls City Council for 12 years and was one of the Founders of the Munroe Falls Historical Society. He passed away at his home on Sunday, May 20, 2007 after a long illness. Born on Dec. 9, 1923 in Danbury Township (South Lakeside), Ohio to the late John and Mary Koshar, he attended St. Joseph's grad school in Marblehead, Lakeside Public Elementary School and Danbury Township High School.
He was the editor of the High School Newspaper and the Annual Year Book. He also was very acti
ve in dramatics and was named to the Northwestern Ohio Regional Play Cast of the National Thespian Society at Heidelberg College at Tiffin in 1940. He was president of his senior class. He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and served briefly in the Army Specialized Training Program at Arkansas State Teachers College in Jonesboro, Arkansas, then went overseas to England in 1944. As a Sergeant in the Transportation Corps, he was stationed at the base transportation office in London during the Nazi assault on the British Capital with V-l and V-2 rockets and missiles.
After his discharge from the Army in 1946, he attended Kent State University from 1947 to 1951. He was the Editor of the Daily Kent Stater, the campus newspaper, for one quarter, attacking corrupt campus politics. His campaign led to the resignation of four campus student council members. He graduated in 1951 from KSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
After several months at the Fremont News-Messenger, he joined the Massillon Evening-Independent as a general reporter, later becoming chief City Hall reporter. He also was President of the Massillon Newspaper Guild and First Vice-President of the Massillon Industrial Union Council CIO. He joined The Plain Dealer's Akron news bureau in 1957, later transferring to the business desk in Cleveland. He retired in 1986 after serving two years as Real Estate Editor. Prior to his stay in Cleveland, he helped publicize numerous questionable activities of U.S. District Judge Mel G. Underwood of Columbus which led to the Judge's resignation from office in November 1965.
John Leo was named National Small Business Media Advocate for the year 1982 by the US Small Business Administration for his "outstanding reporting on small business issues and problems and on the importance of small business in the nation's economy."
John Leo was named President Emeritus and Honorary Life Member of the Historical Society on December 8, 2000 for his services to the organization. He served the Society as President for six terms and wrote the Society's Constitution and By-Laws.
He was an avid reader, owning a collection of over 1100 biographies, histories and the classics.
John Leo was a Fourth Degree member of the MSGR Joseph O'Keefe Assembly of The Knights of Columbus of Akron and a Third Degree member of Council 10936 of the Knights of Columbus of Stow/Hudson.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia (Blythe), brother, Clarence, and sister, Helen. He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Cheryl; daughters, Michelle (John) Hujar, Mary (Jim) Jones, Pamela Mihiylov all of Akron, Ohio; sons, William, of Wooster, John of Seattle, Wash., and James of Leesburg, Va.; seven grandchildren, Nigel, Montgomery and Jocelyn Hujar, Erica (Greg) Dann and Meredith Jones, Timothy and Patrick Koshar, five great-grandchildren; sister, Rosemary of Lakeside, Ohio; and niece, Mary Elizabeth (Jerry) Kubat of Sandusky.
Mass of Christian Burial 10 a.m. Friday at St. Anthony's Church, 83 Mosser Pl., Akron. Burial will follow at Glendale Cemetery. Friends will be received from 4 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday at HENNESSY Funeral Home, (corner of York and Main) 552 N. Main St., Akron, K of C council 10936 will meet at 7 p.m. for prayers. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Anthony's Church. (HENNESSY, Family Owned, 330-376-3032.)
[The Beacon Journal,, Akron, OH, Wednesday, May 23, 2007, p. B6, col. 3]
He was the editor of the High School Newspaper and the Annual Year Book. He also was very acti
ve in dramatics and was named to the Northwestern Ohio Regional Play Cast of the National Thespian Society at Heidelberg College at Tiffin in 1940. He was president of his senior class. He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and served briefly in the Army Specialized Training Program at Arkansas State Teachers College in Jonesboro, Arkansas, then went overseas to England in 1944. As a Sergeant in the Transportation Corps, he was stationed at the base transportation office in London during the Nazi assault on the British Capital with V-l and V-2 rockets and missiles.After his discharge from the Army in 1946, he attended Kent State University from 1947 to 1951. He was the Editor of the Daily Kent Stater, the campus newspaper, for one quarter, attacking corrupt campus politics. His campaign led to the resignation of four campus student council members. He graduated in 1951 from KSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
After several months at the Fremont News-Messenger, he joined the Massillon Evening-Independent as a general reporter, later becoming chief City Hall reporter. He also was President of the Massillon Newspaper Guild and First Vice-President of the Massillon Industrial Union Council CIO. He joined The Plain Dealer's Akron news bureau in 1957, later transferring to the business desk in Cleveland. He retired in 1986 after serving two years as Real Estate Editor. Prior to his stay in Cleveland, he helped publicize numerous questionable activities of U.S. District Judge Mel G. Underwood of Columbus which led to the Judge's resignation from office in November 1965.
John Leo was named National Small Business Media Advocate for the year 1982 by the US Small Business Administration for his "outstanding reporting on small business issues and problems and on the importance of small business in the nation's economy."
John Leo was named President Emeritus and Honorary Life Member of the Historical Society on December 8, 2000 for his services to the organization. He served the Society as President for six terms and wrote the Society's Constitution and By-Laws.
He was an avid reader, owning a collection of over 1100 biographies, histories and the classics.
John Leo was a Fourth Degree member of the MSGR Joseph O'Keefe Assembly of The Knights of Columbus of Akron and a Third Degree member of Council 10936 of the Knights of Columbus of Stow/Hudson.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia (Blythe), brother, Clarence, and sister, Helen. He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Cheryl; daughters, Michelle (John) Hujar, Mary (Jim) Jones, Pamela Mihiylov all of Akron, Ohio; sons, William, of Wooster, John of Seattle, Wash., and James of Leesburg, Va.; seven grandchildren, Nigel, Montgomery and Jocelyn Hujar, Erica (Greg) Dann and Meredith Jones, Timothy and Patrick Koshar, five great-grandchildren; sister, Rosemary of Lakeside, Ohio; and niece, Mary Elizabeth (Jerry) Kubat of Sandusky.
Mass of Christian Burial 10 a.m. Friday at St. Anthony's Church, 83 Mosser Pl., Akron. Burial will follow at Glendale Cemetery. Friends will be received from 4 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday at HENNESSY Funeral Home, (corner of York and Main) 552 N. Main St., Akron, K of C council 10936 will meet at 7 p.m. for prayers. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Anthony's Church. (HENNESSY, Family Owned, 330-376-3032.)
[The Beacon Journal,, Akron, OH, Wednesday, May 23, 2007, p. B6, col. 3]
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Fitzpatrick featured in SummaCare newsletter
The following appeared in a recent SummaCare newsletter:
Albert (Al) Fitzpatrick’s values and work ethic has not changed much in his 78 years. Born in Elyria on December 30, 1928, Fitzpatrick was the seventh of twelve children and a sports enthusiast from early on.
“I still love football, basketball and golf when Tiger Woods plays,” said Fitzpatrick. “Unfortunately though, I found that I was too small to compete on any of my high school sports teams.”
Fitzpatrick quickly turned that negative into a positive when he started his journalism career as a part-time sports reporter for his hometown paper, the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Fitzpatrick would submit player statistics and articles about each game.
After high school, Fitzpatrick spent six years in the Air Force before enrolling at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He later transferred to Kent State University where he earned degrees in journalism and sociology in 1956.
That same year, Fitzpatrick made his mark in the history books when he became the first African American to join the staff at the Akron Beacon Journal. “Not only was I the first African-American reporter, but I was the first one in the building,” said Fitzpatrick.
“It took a good deal of perseverance,” said Fitzpatrick of the experience. “When you’re in an environment where most people would like to see you fail–it’s difficult. The thing that helped me most was my confidence and the focus I had in my responsibilities and my goals.
Since he had personally added diversity to the Beacon Journal’s newsroom, Fitzpatrick became passionate about the importance of diversity in the field of journalism and became Director of Minority Affairs for Knight Ridder in 1985. Fitzpatrick became the first African-American officer of Knight Ridder when he was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 1987. Before his retirement from the company in 1994, Fitzpatrick had launched 15 diversity programs for various Knight Ridder owned newspapers across the country.
“Retirement didn’t slow me down a bit,” said Fitzpatrick. Now an adjunct professor of Managing Diversity and Newswriting Courses at Kent State University, Fitzpatrick also owns his own diversity consulting company and is very active as a member of Wesley Temple AME Zion Church in Akron.
“My top three tips for living well after 65 would be exercising regularly, eating right and staying busy,” said Fitzpatrick. “Doing those things has helped me stay mentally and physically fit so that I can maintain my busy schedule and continue to work in areas that I remain passionate about,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick became a member of SummaCare Secure Silver Plus plan in 2003. “The treatment has been excellent year after year,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s wonderful to have such excellent care and also be a great value,” said Fitzpatrick,
[Blog note: Thanks to Tom Moore for calling our attention to the publication.]
Albert (Al) Fitzpatrick’s values and work ethic has not changed much in his 78 years. Born in Elyria on December 30, 1928, Fitzpatrick was the seventh of twelve children and a sports enthusiast from early on.
“I still love football, basketball and golf when Tiger Woods plays,” said Fitzpatrick. “Unfortunately though, I found that I was too small to compete on any of my high school sports teams.”
Fitzpatrick quickly turned that negative into a positive when he started his journalism career as a part-time sports reporter for his hometown paper, the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Fitzpatrick would submit player statistics and articles about each game.
After high school, Fitzpatrick spent six years in the Air Force before enrolling at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He later transferred to Kent State University where he earned degrees in journalism and sociology in 1956.
That same year, Fitzpatrick made his mark in the history books when he became the first African American to join the staff at the Akron Beacon Journal. “Not only was I the first African-American reporter, but I was the first one in the building,” said Fitzpatrick.
“It took a good deal of perseverance,” said Fitzpatrick of the experience. “When you’re in an environment where most people would like to see you fail–it’s difficult. The thing that helped me most was my confidence and the focus I had in my responsibilities and my goals.
Since he had personally added diversity to the Beacon Journal’s newsroom, Fitzpatrick became passionate about the importance of diversity in the field of journalism and became Director of Minority Affairs for Knight Ridder in 1985. Fitzpatrick became the first African-American officer of Knight Ridder when he was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 1987. Before his retirement from the company in 1994, Fitzpatrick had launched 15 diversity programs for various Knight Ridder owned newspapers across the country.
“Retirement didn’t slow me down a bit,” said Fitzpatrick. Now an adjunct professor of Managing Diversity and Newswriting Courses at Kent State University, Fitzpatrick also owns his own diversity consulting company and is very active as a member of Wesley Temple AME Zion Church in Akron.
“My top three tips for living well after 65 would be exercising regularly, eating right and staying busy,” said Fitzpatrick. “Doing those things has helped me stay mentally and physically fit so that I can maintain my busy schedule and continue to work in areas that I remain passionate about,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick became a member of SummaCare Secure Silver Plus plan in 2003. “The treatment has been excellent year after year,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s wonderful to have such excellent care and also be a great value,” said Fitzpatrick,
[Blog note: Thanks to Tom Moore for calling our attention to the publication.]
Monday, May 21, 2007
Clothes fit for a car
A reprint from the February 1973 issue of Tower Topics:Meet Bill Kezziah, mild-mannered city desk reporter.
Bill, a practical man of sorts, likes cigars, kids, dirty books and Porsches. He's fiercely protective of his possessions, being the hardnosed realist that he is, so when Winter approached Bill thought it appropriate to rig some type of shelter for his Porsche, housed on the uppermost deck of the BJ parking deck.
The result of his efforts, as you can see, is an ugly, fitted coverup made from an old mattress pad Blll scrounged from the City Jail storeroom. "It's functional," he claims. "Cars are Just like human beings; they, too, need a lot of care and affection." Or something like that.
54 Trib staffers raise hand for buyout
By a May 14 deadline, 54 Chicago Tribune newsroom employees had offered to take early retirement in response to a job cut plan at the paper, sources say. Volunteers include such recognizable bylines as City Hall reporter Gary Washburn and columnist Charles M. Madigan. Last month, Tribune managers said they would cut 100 jobs, or a little more than 3% of the Chicago publishing group's 2,900 workers, in response to faltering revenue. Employees expect to hear the outcome of their applications by month's end. [Gregory Meyer]
[Source: Crain's Chicago Business]
[Source: Crain's Chicago Business]
Friday, May 18, 2007
SF Chronicle to cut fourth of news staff
The San Francisco Chronicle management informed the Newspaper Guild Thursday that it intends to cut 80 union and 20 management positions in the editorial department, the guild said in a statement. The cuts represent roughly 25 percent of the newsroom staff of about 400.
Michael Cabanatuan, president of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, said management described the cuts as necessary because the paper is losing substantial funds. The union has proposed a plan to achieve the target number of job reductions through voluntary buyouts and retirement incentives, which management is considering, Cabanatuan said.
Chronicle Publisher Frank Vega said, "Representatives from the Chronicle did meet (Thursday) with Guild representatives to initiate discussions on early retirement and buyout programs involving a significant number of people. We are not prepared to discuss specifics because it was just a preliminary conversation."
Michael Cabanatuan, president of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, said management described the cuts as necessary because the paper is losing substantial funds. The union has proposed a plan to achieve the target number of job reductions through voluntary buyouts and retirement incentives, which management is considering, Cabanatuan said.
Chronicle Publisher Frank Vega said, "Representatives from the Chronicle did meet (Thursday) with Guild representatives to initiate discussions on early retirement and buyout programs involving a significant number of people. We are not prepared to discuss specifics because it was just a preliminary conversation."
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