Gannett plans another round of layoffs

The Gannett Company, owner of the nation’s largest newspaper chain, will go through another round of layoffs soon, with an announcement possible in the next few days, executives said Tuesday.

The company’s United States and British newspaper divisions eliminated more than 10,000 jobs in 2007 and 2008, including about 2,000 layoffs last fall, and Gannett executives have said repeatedly that they expect more downsizing, including layoffs. The company, which also owns a chain of television stations and Internet ventures, ended last year with 41,500 employees, including 35,800 in its newspaper divisions.

On Gannett Blog, a former Gannett editor who closely follows the company, Jim Hopkins, quotes an unnamed person in the company as saying that it will announce on July 8 that it is eliminating 4,500 United States newspaper jobs, and cutting salaries in its broadcast division.

Gannett executives, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said the number of jobs affected would be significantly smaller than that, and the news would probably come sooner than July 8.

How long has Charlie been gone?

Who is this crazy couple? Where are they now? Minnesota maybe? How long has Charlie Buffum been gone from Akron?

For a hint on these and other questions, click on the headline to find some more puzzlers.

What was the Beacon Journal job of the gal with Sharon Shreve smoking a cigar?

Where are the three guys with the stuffed animal now? One is a professor and another is a managing editor, but where are they and what is the third guy doing?

Who are the three people seated behind Buffum and Liggett? One of the girls is Maryilyn, an AP staffer, and another is a photographer names Marci. But who is the guy?

Put your answers in a comment or send us an email. Winning entries will be announced sometime. Sorry no prizes.

Thrity Umrigar honored as creative artist

Former Beacon Journal staff writer Thrity Umrigar is one of three creative artists whose work has made the region a more exciting place to live at the 49th annual Cleveland Arts Prize event, 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hanna Theatre, 2067 E. 14th St., Playhouse Square.

Umrigar, jazz musician Ernie Krivda and Charles Fee of the Great Lakes Theater Festival are among this year's winners.

Umrigar, born in Bombay, has won a mid-career award for literature. She earned her doctorate in English from Kent State University and a master's in journalism at Ohio State. Her works include her latest novel, The Weight of Heaven, as well as If Today Be Sweet and The Space Between Us. Her memoir is First Darling of the Morning. Umrigar is an associate professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.

Vote scheduled on new Boston Globe pact

The Boston Globe and its largest union reached a tentative agreement last night on $10 million in wage and benefit cuts, following three months of bitter labor talks that threatened to close the 137-year-old paper.

The deal - which, if ratified, could make the paper more attractive for buyers - differs in only a few areas from the package that union members voted down on June 8.

It provides a smaller pay cut - 5.9 percent - in exchange for deeper benefit reductions. But the main concessions originally demanded by The New York Times Co., the Globe’s owner, remain in place: $10 million in total savings, elimination of lifetime job guarantees for about 170 veteran Boston Newspaper Guild employees, and freezing the pension plan.

“Our aim throughout our negotiations has been to achieve the necessary savings in a way that causes the least hardship for our employees,’’ said Globe publisher P. Steven Ainsley in a statement. “We’re very pleased to have reached an agreement that accomplishes those goals.’’

Said union president Daniel Totten: “It’s been an exhausting process and a very difficult process for the members.’’

The agreement still needs to be approved by nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office employees. A vote has been set for July 20, and approval seems probable because, unlike the earlier offer, union leaders agreed to recommend it. The first offer failed by 12 votes out of more than 500 cast.

Beth Daley, a Globe reporter who voted no on the initial offer, said she expects the new agreement to be ratified. Guild leaders will present the details of the offer to members tonight.

Click on the headline to read the full story on Boston.com

OK, here's another site we will have to watch

Stolen from a Facebook wall:

Terry Oblander says he will begin a new career on Monday. He will begin working for an online newspaper covering Medina County. Terry doesn't expect to get rich writing stories for www.medinacountylife.com -- but who knows. Terry signed up for Social Security last Friday and should begin collecting benefits in September. So, a new Medina Count Life is beginning for Terry. Give us a couple of days and look in on how we're doing.

BJ Alums checked early and found this nice scene and hopeful welcome:


Welcome to MedinaCountyLife.com!

It's the new online gathering place where you'll share in the inspiring stories of everyday people in our community. Follow local bloggers and award-winning journalists whose work will enlighten and entertain -- sometimes making you laugh, and sometimes making you cry. At MedinaCountyLife.com we'll use multimedia storytelling and the latest social networking tools to help you meet neighbors, connect with friends, and find information you need about local businesses and services. Join us as we begin our journey to inform and inspire, using the technology of the 21st century to connect the residents of Medina County in a small-town way. Welcome home to MedinaCountyLife.com!

Click the headline to check it our yourself

Chicago Tribune to halt weekly magazine

The Chicago Tribune said today it is discontinuing its weekly Sunday magazine, replacing it as of July 5th with Sunday, a new section that will combine some of the magazine's features and puzzles with content that had been in the paper's Smart and House & Homes sections.

Chicago Tribune Magazine, which traces its roots to 1914's Chicago Tribune Pictorial Weekly and took on its current form on Oct. 4th, 1953, will continue as a series of themed sections published roughly once a month beginning in September.

Gerould Kern, the Chicago Tribune's editor, said in a memo to staff that the change involving the magazine was made "because declining advertising and high costs made weekly publication unsustainable."

Other changes coming to the Sunday Tribune next month involve the introduction of new sections and consolidation of others. "To succeed in this economic climate, we must continually evaluate and adapt our offerings to meet reader and advertiser needs and to improve profitability," Kern wrote.

Click on the headline to read of other changes.

BJ staffers win awards at Press Club of Cleveland

Beacon Journal staff report
The Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com won a number of first and second-place awards during Friday's Press Club of Cleveland Excellence in Journalism ceremony.

The Press Club recognized the paper for its layout, its Web site, photography, writing and investigative work.

Several awards went to individuals and the staff involved in the yearlong American Dream project, which explored the economic pressures facing the middle class.

The staff also won first place for multiple-page design for Reclaim the Dream. Executive news editor Mark Turner directed the layout, with the assistance of photo and graphics director Kim Barth. Turner, Barth and photographer Ed Suba Jr. also placed second in the same category for the layout of an installment for the same project, Middle Class Health Care.

Betty Lin-Fisher placed first for business columns for her Reclaim the Dream series challenging readers to manage their finances better.

The staff won a second place for public service for the yearlong American Dream project.

Turner also won first place for front-page news design for all daily and nondaily newspapers.

The Beacon Journal's online news service. Ohio.com, won first place for Web site design. The site also won second place for newspaper Web design.

Food writer Lisa Abraham took first and second place for separate lifestyle columns.

Reporter Phil Trexler received first place for breaking news on consecutive days for his coverage of the Bobby Cutts murder trial.

Staff writer Rick Armon received a first-place general news award for Losing Our Home, about the process of foreclosure.

Pop culture writer Rich Heldenfels won first place in reviews and criticism for his Other Side of Polansky Case. He also won second place, Best in Ohio, for reviews and criticism.

Former Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels won first place, Best in Ohio, for his body of essays.

Reporter and columnist Dennis Willard placed second in Best in Ohio, column writing, for his column, Squirrel Ferrets Out Partisan Publicity.

Other awards went to:
• Copy editor Elissa Murray, second place, Best in Ohio, for a collection of headlines: ''Sun sets on college bar,'' ''Going to mall? Don't forget Mom,'' ''Mars bites into Hershey's,'' ''Price of recyclables is down in the dumps'' and ''Bah, humbug! Internet Scrooges try to spoil holidays.''
• Copy editor David Scott, second for single newspaper headline: ''Billy goat's owner is still on the lam.''
• Willard and reporter Stephanie Warsmith, second, investigative, Ohio State ticket scandal.
• Photographer Mike Cardew, second, sports action, Sole sister; second, portrait/personality, Freedom.
• Suba, second, sports feature, game winner; second, general feature, A Mother's Love.
• Former Beacon Journal health writer Tracy Wheeler, second place for medical and health writing, Stem Cells Mature.

Terry Pluto column for Father's Day

Tery Pluto, a former Beacon Journal sports writer who now writes sports–and religion–fir the Cleveland Plain Dealder has a nice column for Fathere’s Day headlined

10 ways to make fatherhood a gift to children

Click on the headline to read it.

PD Guild, Teamsters OK furloughs, pay cuts

Unions OK 12 percent pay cut, furloughs
to keep 7-day newspaper delivery

About 500 union employees of The Plain Dealer have agreed to take pay cuts and furloughs as the paper strives to keep the business viable while advertising revenue sags.

Reporters and editors, delivery truck drivers and other union members agreed to 8.1 percent pay cuts and to 11 unpaid furlough days before June 2010.

The two moves, contained in an agreement finalized Thursday, translate to a 12 percent wage decrease. They come two months after the paper required its 450 nonunion employees to also take 12 percent pay cuts.

The union workers are members of Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild and Teamsters Local 473. Their agreement ensures labor stability for the newspaper for at least another year.

Across the country, newspapers have closed or filed for bankruptcy as the 18-month-old recession batters their advertisers.

At the Boston Globe, the Guild rejected a contract that called for an 8.3 percent wage cut, unpaid furloughs and benefit cuts. The Globe's owner -- The New York Times Co. -- then imposed a 23 percent pay cut.

The Guild filed a complaint with the national labor board, but a meeting with the board was postponed Thursday after the union and management restarted negotiations.

Carmen Parise, president of the Teamsters local who heads the Unity Council of Plain Dealer unions, said workers here agreed to the cuts to avoid more layoffs. Fifty-five union employees have been laid off since last year, and 43 have left voluntarily.

"Nobody enjoys going to work for less," Parise said. "People are not happy, but they understand it. The majority of people agreed to step up to the plate and give this paper an opportunity to turn things around."

Two groups of workers did not agree to the wage cuts. Fifty-seven printing press operators represented by Graphic Communications International Union Local 546 turned it down, as well as 11 paper handlers represented by the Teamsters.

As a result, about a dozen part-time press operators received reduced hours. Paper handlers have not been affected because their contract requires that the company maintain the staffing, Parise said. But he expects that the department could face cuts in future negotiations.

Plain Dealer President and Publisher Terry Egger said previous work force reductions weren't enough to compensate for the worse-than-expected decline in advertising revenue in the first half of this year.

"There has been an acceleration in the decline of the economy, which has impacted essentially every category of advertising nationwide," Egger said.

"I hope it works," Parise said. He said he thought union workers accepting pay cuts was in everyone's best interest.

The agreement with the company is good until June 1, 2010, when the company or the unions would have the chance to reopen negotiations.

The Plain Dealer has agreed not to lay off anyone while the agreement is in place.

"We want to keep this company going as a seven-day newspaper for as long as we can," Parise said. "Hopefully next year we don't have to face the same music."

Star Tribune to ditch bankruptcy--and Chris Harte

The Minneapolis Star Tribune would emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this fall with $100 million in debt and be worth between $118 million and $144 million, including real estate under a reorganization plan filed by the newspaper.

However publisher Chris Harte (a former Beacon Journal publisher) and Avista Capital Partners will walk away with nothing. Harte said Thursday he will leave before the Strib emerges from bankruptcy.. A new board of directors would be formed prior to emergence and a new publisher and chief executive put in place.

The plan that Avista said has the approval of creditors who hold approximately $384 million in secured debt and $96 million in unsecured obligations.

Unsecured creditors would receive a small cash distribution or new common stock and warrants in the newly reorganized company. The value to those creditors would be a penny on the dollar.

The Star Tribune's current owners, majority stakeholder Avista Capital Partners and the Chris Harte Family Trust, would be out of the ownership picture and walk away with nothing.

Harte said the reorganization plan was drafted in consultation with senior lenders and the committee for unsecured creditors.

"This is our plan. We believe it will be acceptable to the majority of people [creditors] who will vote on it," Harte said in an interview.

A hearing is scheduled for July 29 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, where any objections can be made. That would be followed by a scheduled Sept. 17 confirmation hearing. Harte told Star Tribune employees in a memo last night that the company would officially leave Chapter 11 "a few weeks later."

The Strib will end contributions to unions' pension plans, and has pushed some into the company-owned plan. However, that plan currently underfunded to the tune of $27.4 million. Unless the economy rebounds, the new owners could kick in up to $11.6 million between 2010 and 2015.

Click on the headline to read the story. To read more details, check the Minnipost.com.

The business
The Strib claims 65 percent of the region's readership, with a website averaging 83 million page views per month over the past six months. The latter is a 60 percent jump from last year.

However, the web only accounted for 7.1 percent of the company's total 2008 revenue, which works out to $17.5 million from online. (There's no breakout for this year.)

Meanwhile, total revenue fell $58 million in the same period — another vivid illustration of how online gains don't make up print losses. The Strib, a $397 million operation in 2000, is on track to be under $200 million this year, based on monthly reports filed with the court.

Circulation revenue fell from $65 million in 2005 (pre-Avista) to $55 million in 2007 to $48 million last year.

In 2008, the Strib missed $20 million in loan payments last year, which led to the bankruptcy. Under the new plan, the Strib will pay at least $8 million a year, or $2 million per quarter. (Details below.)

Under Avista, the Strib shed 384 jobs in 2007 and 232 in 2008. It had 1,341 full-time-equivalent positions when it filed for bankruptcy in mid-January, and has rid of 59 more positions so far in 2009.


Here is Harte’s memo to the staff

Bankruptcy Update: A Major Milestone

By Chris Harte, Publisher
I am pleased to report that we have reached a major milestone in our financial restructuring. Today, we have filed with the bankruptcy court our proposed Plan of Reorganization and a related document called the Disclosure Statement. The Plan sets out how our creditors’ claims will be resolved and provides the roadmap for our emergence from Chapter 11 later this year.

The filing of the Plan follows months of negotiations with our first lien lenders, our second lien lenders, the unsecured creditors’ committee, and other parties.

Generally speaking, the Plan provides for the first lien lenders to receive new common stock and new secured term notes for their claims. Holders of unsecured claims will receive either a small cash distribution or new common stock and warrants for stock to be issued in the future if the company achieves certain financial targets.

Previously issued equity will be cancelled and will not result in any recovery to the owners. The Plan also provides for the reorganized company to emerge from bankruptcy as a privately held enterprise.

The draft Disclosure Statement filed today includes information about the proposed Plan of Reorganization that is intended to assist eligible creditors in determining whether or not to vote to accept the Plan.

Approval of the Disclosure Statement and related voting solicitation procedures, which we will seek at a bankruptcy court hearing scheduled for July 29, 2009, will permit us to solicit creditor acceptances for the proposed Plan and seek confirmation (approval) of the proposed Plan by the court. If the Plan is confirmed by the court, we can emerge from bankruptcy.

This process will take at least a few months. If all goes according to schedule, we expect to have our confirmation hearing in September and to emerge from bankruptcy a few weeks later - sometime in autumn 2009.

In other words, the end is in sight. Meanwhile, we continue to make good progress in positioning the company for future success. Our agreements with the Fleet, Mailers, Pressmen, Platemakers, Typographers and Guild are major achievements. We hope to reach similar agreements with the remaining unions shortly.

As I have written previously, we are fully confident that the Star Tribune Company will emerge from bankruptcy in vastly better shape than when it entered, much more ready for the intense competition in a rapidly evolving news and information industry. We will continue to provide our readers an outstanding news and information package, and our advertisers with customers they want to reach, and we will do it in print, online, on mobile devices, and in other new media as they develop.

Thank you for all your hard work, dedication and sacrifice during these many months of uncertainty, hardship and belt tightening. Your continued commitment to serving our customers, advertisers and community are the key to our success. Thank you for all you do every day.

Here's how it was done in 1978

Here's how it was done in March, 1978

Charles Buffum pounding out a story on an IBM Selectric a few years go.

He now lives a life of ease in New York City.

Click on the photo for a better view.

20 million newspaper pages to be online

Through an extensive database launched two years ago, decades of the country's newspapers can be searched online for major events and history-making names, as well as family connections and local celebrations. The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities have worked together for 20 years to preserve old newspapers, first through microfilm and now digitization.

Yesterday, officials from both federally funded agencies gathered at the Newseum to announce that the Chronicling America project (http://Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) has now posted its millionth page. Carole M. Watson, the acting NEH chairman, said the amassed journalistic reports "help to illuminate the history of our nation."

Eventually the organizers hope to post 20 million pages of newspapers from 1880 to 1922. "The newspapers provide firsthand and sometimes the only account of local news," said Deanna B. Marcum, an associate librarian at the Library of Congress. The library estimates that 140,000 newspapers have been published in the United States since 1690. Through an extensive database launched two years ago, decades of the country's newspapers can be searched online for major events and history-making names, as well as family connections and local celebrations. The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities have worked together for 20 years to preserve old newspapers, first through microfilm and now digitization.

Yesterday, officials from both federally funded agencies gathered at the Newseum to announce that the Chronicling America project (http://Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) has now posted its millionth page. Carole M. Watson, the acting NEH chairman, said the amassed journalistic reports "help to illuminate the history of our nation."

Eventually the organizers hope to post 20 million pages of newspapers from 1880 to 1922. "The newspapers provide firsthand and sometimes the only account of local news," said Deanna B. Marcum, an associate librarian at the Library of Congress. The library estimates that 140,000 newspapers have been published in the United States since 1690.

Click on the headline to read the full story in the Washington Post

Mike Needs working for Forest Service

Mike Needs was asked for an update. Here is his reply:

I am working as an interpretive specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, living at an elevation of 8,000 feet near Bear Valley, CA in the high Sierra Nevada. I produce / organize programs for an outdoor amphitheater that serves a group of campgrounds in the Stanislaus National Forest. I also lead hikes and do presentations throughout the area. It's a great job. I love it out here. Say hi to all my good friends.

Boston Globe, Guild to resume talks today

WEYMOUTH - Boston Globe management and the paper's largest union negotiated past midnight this morning and agreed to resume bargaining later today as they try to end a bitter standoff over deep wage cuts and other concessions, union and management officials said.

What was supposed to be an information session at a labor office here to discuss a company-imposed 23 percent wage cut turned into a marathon negotiating session. Globe spokesman Robert Powers described the discussions as "substantive." Leaders of the Boston Newspaper Guild said they remained hopeful of an agreement.

"We discussed many issues during today's meeting with the Guild, but have not reached an agreement," Powers said early this morning.

"Talks are continuing," said Daniel Totten, president of the Boston Newspaper Guild.

Totten and other Guild leaders brought an "offer of resolution" to management, prompting deep discussions over the mix of wage and benefit cuts needed to achieve the $10 million in savings demanded by the paper's owner, The New York Times Co.

The talks, which began about noon yesterday, were held just a week after the Guild narrowly rejected a $10 million package of concessions and a day after the company, in response, imposed the 23 percent wage cut on the nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office employees represented by the Guild.

If an agreement is reached, Guild members must still ratify it. Under union bylaws, the vote could not take place for at least 30 days.

The discussions also follow the news that the Times Co. is seeking a sale of the 137-year-old newspaper. The Globe reported last week that at least three local buyers have expressed interest.

"Getting the Guild contract resolved puts everything on an even keel," said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla. "If it's not resolved, you have uncertainty about what's going to happen, ongoing labor unrest, and potentially a big worry about any liabilities for not bargaining in good faith."

Yesterday's talks unfolded on the eve of a hearing before the National Labor Relations Board. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against management following the 23 percent wage cut. The first hearing in what is usually a long process is scheduled for today in Boston.

The Guild is the only major union that has not approved concessions sought by the Times Co., which in early April threatened to close the money-losing paper unless it could gain a total of $20 million in savings from Globe unions.

The Globe was projected to lose $85 million without significant cost reductions, according to the Times Co.

Unions representing press operators, mailers, and delivery truck drivers, as well as several smaller unions, have ratified wage and benefit cuts totaling slightly more than $10 million.

An agreement with the Guild would signal an end to three months of labor tumult at New England's largest newspaper. Still, the paper's future remains unclear, with a potential sale and uncertain business model.

Potential bidders for the Globe include Stephen Pagliuca, a private equity executive and Celtics co-owner; Jack Connors, cofounder of a major advertising firm and chairman of Partners HealthCare; and Stephen Taylor, a former Globe executive and member of the family that sold the Globe to The New York Times Co. in 1993.

You can do it online

A curious item recalling old times.

Just noticed on the Upublish section of Ohio.com an item about a $10,000 church raffle and seem to recall in the old days that newspapers had to be careful about advertising raffles and lotteries because of postal regulations. Guess that is a thing of the past because of online space today.

Knight Foundation OKs $15M to spur reporting

A $15 million initiative to spur new financial models for investigative reporting was announced by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Saturday during a gathering for reporters and educators in Baltimore.

At a time when newsrooms are shrinking and enrollment at journalism institutions is declining, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced a $15 million initiative to spur investigative reporting.

The grants, some ongoing, and others new or yet-to-be announced, will promote new economic models for in-depth reporting on digital platforms, Knight Foundation spokesman Marc Fest wrote in a press release.

Fest said the initiative will fund high-impact reporting on local and national levels.

Eric Newton, the Miami-based Knight Foundation's vice president for journalism, announced the initiative Saturday in front of hundreds of journalists and educators during the Investigative Reporters and Editors' awards luncheon.

The awards luncheon took place in Baltimore.

''Investigative reporting is the most important kind of news in the public interest,'' Newton said in an interview.

Fest said the Knight Foundation has granted more than $400 million in journalism grants since 1950.

The newest grants include:

• Center for Investigative Reporting ($1.32 million): to launch a multimedia investigative reporting project in California that encourages collaboration among print, digital and student journalists.

• Sunlight Foundation ($565,000): to develop web tools so readers can easily access information on Congressional lawmakers, from their campaign contributions and votes;

• ProPublica ($1.01 million): to help the nation's largest new nonprofit investigative reporting organization create a sustainable business model.

Lorraine and Dick Gresock mark 50th

Dick & Lorraine Gresock 50th Anniversary

Dick and Lorraine Gresock of Medina are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

They were married June 20, 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. They will be renewing their vows at Holy Martyrs Parish on June 14, followed by a party hosted by their children.

Dick retired from the Akron Beacon Journal where he was a printer. They have four children: Marie (Robert) E;lium of Garrettsville; Rich (Paula) Gresock of Medina, John (Teresa) Holland Gresock of Medina and Kathy (Jeff) Yarian of Fairview Park. They have 10 grandchildren.

[The announcement with a photo was published Sunday, June 14, 2009 in the Beacorn Journal, page E5, col. 4]

Bill Nichols, PD sports reporter, dies

Bill Nichols, who broke the story for The Plain Dealer in early 1970 that Cleveland would be awarded an NBA franchise, died early Saturday morning of a heart attack suffered at his home in Rocky River.

Nichols, 79, had battled a heart condition for several years, but remained active and was near completion of writing a book about Canterbury Country Club. He attended Lakewood High School, served in the U.S. Navy for four years and covered the Cavaliers for The Plain Dealer during their first 11 years.

During his 30-year career at The Plain Dealer, Nichols was also a beat writer for Cleveland State basketball and local small-college sports, besides working a range of other assignments.

Former Plain Dealer Indians' and Browns' beat writer Russell Schneider, 81, sometimes met with Nichols and another former Plain Dealer sports reporter, Dick Zunt, for breakfast after they all retired.

"I knew Bill as a friend, and had great respect for him as a journalist," Schneider said. "He was always a good guy. He did a good job with the Cavs. Obviously, he was a good journalist, or he wouldn't have been teaching journalism."

Nichols taught college classes on sportswriting and public relations for more than 20 years, including stints at Baldwin-Wallace, John Carroll, Cuyahoga Community College and Hiram, before retiring several years ago. He was the 2004 recipient of the Jake Wade Award, presented annually to an individual in the media for contributions to the advancement of inter-collegiate athletics. Other winners include Keith Jackson, Dick Enberg and Billy Packer.

"Bill was a fantastic person. He loved students, loved teaching students and the inter-action with them," Baldwin-Wallace sports information director Kevin Ruple said. "And, all that was secondary to family."

Nichols is survived by his wife, Jean, son, Wade, daughter, Lee Anne Chambers (John) and grandson, Andrew. Visitation will be Tuesday, 4-8 p.m., at Zeis-McGreevy Funeral Home, 16105 Detroit Ave., in Lakewood. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery in Howe, Ind., on a date to be announced. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association.

[Source: Associated Press]

National Press Photographer to honor DeMay

The Beacon Journal/s Bob DeMay will be among those honored by the National Press Photographers Association when it presents honors and recognition awards Saturday night in Las Vegas as it winds up Convergence '09.

DeMay of the Ohio News Photographers Association (and the Akron Beacon Journal) is being recognized with a Morris Berman Citation for his efforts to "advance photojournalism in Ohio, and for bringing new life to the ONPA including their online blog, switching the annual photography contest to digital, and working to resolve issues with high school sports associations." The Berman Citation is given to an individual for special contributions advancing the interests of photojournalism.

Bob started “ONPA” a blog for Ohio Newspaper Photographers Association in November 2008. You will notice a link to the Photographers' blog in our list at left. DeMay keeps a sharp eye on what’s happening and regularly sends us tips.

See the list of awards on the National Press Photographers website,

3 Boston businessmen interested in Globe

Three Boston businessmen - a Boston Celtics owner, a former advertising mogul, and a member of the family that ran the Globe for generations - have emerged as prominent potential buyers of the Globe, according to people knowledgeable about their interest in the city's leading daily.

Actively mulling bids for the newspaper, according to these people, are Stephen Pagliuca, a private equity executive and Celtics co-owner; Jack Connors, cofounder of a major advertising firm and chairman of Partners HealthCare; and Stephen Taylor, a former Globe executive and member of the family that sold the Globe to the New York Times Co. in 1993.

The sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the potential bids, said the three businessmen are in various stages of reviewing the Globe's finances and assembling investors who could be part of their groups.

But whether these men will actually make formal bids on the newspaper is not known. Decisions may be delayed until the standoff between the Times Co. and the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's largest union, has ended, according to the sources with knowledge of the bidding process. And at least one of the three interested parties, Jack Connors, is still weighing whether he will proceed, according to one source knowledgeable about his thinking.

Click on the headline to read the full story on Boston.com