Florida, Michigan cut in half (updated)
The Democratic Party Rules and Bylaws Committee has decided to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations, but will cut each delegate vote in half. Additionally, the committee has assigned the uncommitted delegates from the Michigan primary to Barack Obama, even though he was not on the ballot. An angry Harold Ickes indicated his candidate, Hillary Clinton, will appeal to the credentials committee in late June.
It's all over save for the concession speech.
May 31, 2008
Obama resigns from Trinity (updated)
Barack Obama has resigned his membership in Trinity United Church of Christ in the wake of the Father Michael Pfleger sermon flap.
It's a smart move. Obama needed to demonstrate to America that he understands his candidacy is bigger than this church - bigger than any church. Aside from the silly hijinks we've seen played on YouTube, the characterization of the church and Obama's efforts to explain his relationship to it framed him. It boxed him in. Now he has an opportunity to define himself more broadly and, as a result, to broaden his appeal.
It also shows he will make a cold, political calculations that put the well-being of the cause above the feelings of friends, and I think that broadens his appeal as well.
Barack Obama has resigned his membership in Trinity United Church of Christ in the wake of the Father Michael Pfleger sermon flap.
It's a smart move. Obama needed to demonstrate to America that he understands his candidacy is bigger than this church - bigger than any church. Aside from the silly hijinks we've seen played on YouTube, the characterization of the church and Obama's efforts to explain his relationship to it framed him. It boxed him in. Now he has an opportunity to define himself more broadly and, as a result, to broaden his appeal.
It also shows he will make a cold, political calculations that put the well-being of the cause above the feelings of friends, and I think that broadens his appeal as well.
May 30, 2008
Editor chopping
Kevin Roderick considers who might be next to go if the rumors of more cuts at the LA Times come true:
The newsroom betting is that this round of cuts will go after editors, since a recent inventory concluded there are more editors than there ought to be based on the Tribune's formulas.
Depleting the editorial ranks both saves money and makes it easier to institute fundamental changes in newsroom policy.
Kevin Roderick considers who might be next to go if the rumors of more cuts at the LA Times come true:
The newsroom betting is that this round of cuts will go after editors, since a recent inventory concluded there are more editors than there ought to be based on the Tribune's formulas.
Depleting the editorial ranks both saves money and makes it easier to institute fundamental changes in newsroom policy.
May 29, 2008
War and the news
The Iraq war is now the third longest war in American history. War coverage, however, has dropped precipitously in the last year, accounting for only 3-percent of what American newspapers and broadcasters produce, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
(For a more dramatic look, check out this graph.)
Find out some of the reasons why on today's excellent "To The Point", produced by Dan Konecky. The guests are CBS foreign correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who suffered severe injuries in a car bomb attack while reporting from Iraq; Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism; Sherry Ricchiardi, senior contributing writer at American Journalism Review (here's her piece on the subject), and Abderrahim Foukara, Washington bureau chief for Al Jazeera Arabic News.
My contribution to the show is the 10-minute segment at the end about monkeys guiding prosthetic arms with their brains.
(For a more dramatic look, check out this graph.)
Find out some of the reasons why on today's excellent "To The Point", produced by Dan Konecky. The guests are CBS foreign correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who suffered severe injuries in a car bomb attack while reporting from Iraq; Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism; Sherry Ricchiardi, senior contributing writer at American Journalism Review (here's her piece on the subject), and Abderrahim Foukara, Washington bureau chief for Al Jazeera Arabic News.
My contribution to the show is the 10-minute segment at the end about monkeys guiding prosthetic arms with their brains.
May 28, 2008
Another one from Friedersdorf
Former Daily Bulletin reporter Conor Friedersdorf slams Singleton's LA.com Web site, calling it "atrocious."
"...the site is a hilarious parody of what clueless middle-aged media company vice-presidents imagine that young people want to read. As I write this, for example, the flash player on the front page is scrolling through 5 categories of content. The chosen categories: "Panini, sex, film, travel, sushi."
Former Daily Bulletin reporter Conor Friedersdorf slams Singleton's LA.com Web site, calling it "atrocious."
"...the site is a hilarious parody of what clueless middle-aged media company vice-presidents imagine that young people want to read. As I write this, for example, the flash player on the front page is scrolling through 5 categories of content. The chosen categories: "Panini, sex, film, travel, sushi."
"Panini?"
Friedersdorf is one of a few Atlantic interns filling in for the vacationing Megan McArdle.
Comings and goings
Two imminent departures from the Los Angeles Newspaper Group to report.
Josh Kleinbaum, director of audience development for LANG, has given notice and will be leaving as of June 3. Kleinbaum says: "My wife, who works for Yahoo, got the opportunity for a job in their NY office, so we're moving to New York (where I grew up, and all my family is). I don't have a job yet, but have a few good leads and am pretty confident I'll land something. I'm looking at jobs in the online content development world, not just at newspapers."
Fred Ortega, who covers Pasadena City Hall for the Pasadena Star-News, just gave his two-weeks notice today. He is leaving to take a job as community affairs deputy for Board of Equalization chairwoman Judy Chu. He will be working out of her Monterey Park headquarters.
Two imminent departures from the Los Angeles Newspaper Group to report.
Josh Kleinbaum, director of audience development for LANG, has given notice and will be leaving as of June 3. Kleinbaum says: "My wife, who works for Yahoo, got the opportunity for a job in their NY office, so we're moving to New York (where I grew up, and all my family is). I don't have a job yet, but have a few good leads and am pretty confident I'll land something. I'm looking at jobs in the online content development world, not just at newspapers."
Fred Ortega, who covers Pasadena City Hall for the Pasadena Star-News, just gave his two-weeks notice today. He is leaving to take a job as community affairs deputy for Board of Equalization chairwoman Judy Chu. He will be working out of her Monterey Park headquarters.
Strange rumblings on Spring Street
From LA Observed: Rumbles are strong in the Los Angeles Times newsroom about a new, unexpected wave of layoffs, possibly before the second quarter ends June 30. The rumors are that this one will go deeper than the last round, but they are only rumors at this point.
I've heard similar rumblings about possible layoffs at LANG. The expectation there is that second quarter reports will show deeper revenue losses and lead MediaNews to apply a double-helping of the only curative it knows: staff cuts.
However, I can't discern if these are simply pessimistic predictions from embattled insiders or something more concrete. And MediaNews has decided to take its financial reports private. Meanwhile, a number of reporters and editors have left LANG papers in recent weeks and that could make layoffs - assuming any layoffs are planned - unnecessary.
From LA Observed: Rumbles are strong in the Los Angeles Times newsroom about a new, unexpected wave of layoffs, possibly before the second quarter ends June 30. The rumors are that this one will go deeper than the last round, but they are only rumors at this point.
I've heard similar rumblings about possible layoffs at LANG. The expectation there is that second quarter reports will show deeper revenue losses and lead MediaNews to apply a double-helping of the only curative it knows: staff cuts.
However, I can't discern if these are simply pessimistic predictions from embattled insiders or something more concrete. And MediaNews has decided to take its financial reports private. Meanwhile, a number of reporters and editors have left LANG papers in recent weeks and that could make layoffs - assuming any layoffs are planned - unnecessary.
May 27, 2008
Friedersdorf on local newspapers
Conor Friedersdorf, a former reporter at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Pomona College graduate, has an internship at The Atlantic magazine. While regular contributor Megan McArdle is away, he and a few others haven taken over posting on her blog, Asymmetrical Information.
Friedersdorf, an emerging conservative voice in the mediaverse, uses the opportunity to lament the decline of watchdog journalism at the local level and consider whether bloggers can pick up the slack:
I understand that there are hyper-local blogs run by gadflies who can cover some of this stuff. But the institutional support of a newspaper, while not technically necessary for local coverage to thrive, is nevertheless very important. A financially healthy newspaper has some institutional memory, so that when the lone hyper-local blogger goes on vacation, or moves to a new neighborhood, or gets paid off by the local developer, someone is there to continue important coverage.
A healthy newspaper has an attorney on retainer so that when a powerful local threatens a frivolous liable (sic) suit if a controversial story runs, the story gets run -- I've known local news bloggers who uniformly didn't publish such stories when confronted, though they were in the right, because who wants to get sued over their blogging hobby?
Conor Friedersdorf, a former reporter at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Pomona College graduate, has an internship at The Atlantic magazine. While regular contributor Megan McArdle is away, he and a few others haven taken over posting on her blog, Asymmetrical Information.
Friedersdorf, an emerging conservative voice in the mediaverse, uses the opportunity to lament the decline of watchdog journalism at the local level and consider whether bloggers can pick up the slack:
I understand that there are hyper-local blogs run by gadflies who can cover some of this stuff. But the institutional support of a newspaper, while not technically necessary for local coverage to thrive, is nevertheless very important. A financially healthy newspaper has some institutional memory, so that when the lone hyper-local blogger goes on vacation, or moves to a new neighborhood, or gets paid off by the local developer, someone is there to continue important coverage.
A healthy newspaper has an attorney on retainer so that when a powerful local threatens a frivolous liable (sic) suit if a controversial story runs, the story gets run -- I've known local news bloggers who uniformly didn't publish such stories when confronted, though they were in the right, because who wants to get sued over their blogging hobby?
Whole Foods CEO broke no laws
John Mackey, CEO of the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods, has come out clean on the other side of an SEC investigation into a tidal wave of anonymous postings he made on Yahoo Finance praising his own company while denigrating his chief competition, the Wall Street Journal reports. Whole Foods later bought the object of Mackey's derision, Wild Oats, prompting the inquiry.
The 11-month investigation looked at whether Mackey's "1,400-odd anonymous messages under the screen name 'Rahodeb' had broken any laws, but concluded no action needed to be taken against the CEO or the company.
"As a result, Mr. Mackey has returned to the Web with a vengeance, posting a 2,037 word piece on Whole Foods' Web site in which he says he is sorry the investigation put a negative spotlight on the company."
-snip-
"I don't wish to apologize for being highly competitive, because much of my drive and creativity come from this competitiveness," he said. "I don't believe that I ever crossed the line of fair but vigorous debate in these postings."
Mackey added that he's relieved to get back to his blog.
John Mackey, CEO of the Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods, has come out clean on the other side of an SEC investigation into a tidal wave of anonymous postings he made on Yahoo Finance praising his own company while denigrating his chief competition, the Wall Street Journal reports. Whole Foods later bought the object of Mackey's derision, Wild Oats, prompting the inquiry.
The 11-month investigation looked at whether Mackey's "1,400-odd anonymous messages under the screen name 'Rahodeb' had broken any laws, but concluded no action needed to be taken against the CEO or the company.
"As a result, Mr. Mackey has returned to the Web with a vengeance, posting a 2,037 word piece on Whole Foods' Web site in which he says he is sorry the investigation put a negative spotlight on the company."
-snip-
"I don't wish to apologize for being highly competitive, because much of my drive and creativity come from this competitiveness," he said. "I don't believe that I ever crossed the line of fair but vigorous debate in these postings."
Mackey added that he's relieved to get back to his blog.
May 26, 2008
Maybe if they wore suits of iron and could fly...*
As John Harris at Politico parses the reasons why the media went apeshit over Hillary Clinton's reference to the assassination of RFK, David Carr at the New York Times laments the sharp drop in coverage of the war in Iraq:
Television network news coverage in particular has gone off a cliff. Citing numbers provided by a consultant, Andrew Tyndall, the Associated Press reported that in the months after September when Gen. David H. Petraeus testified before Congress about the surge, collective coverage dropped to four minutes a week from 30 minutes a week at the height of coverage, in September 2007.
When you're hunting for ratings or hits, you're going to go with what attracts eyeballs. War just isn't as popular as it used to be.
*Some other things to think about this Memorial Day:
Fourth vet dies from PTSD drug cocktail.
Profiles of California's dead.
What's a human life worth anyway?
The politics of warriors.
As John Harris at Politico parses the reasons why the media went apeshit over Hillary Clinton's reference to the assassination of RFK, David Carr at the New York Times laments the sharp drop in coverage of the war in Iraq:
Television network news coverage in particular has gone off a cliff. Citing numbers provided by a consultant, Andrew Tyndall, the Associated Press reported that in the months after September when Gen. David H. Petraeus testified before Congress about the surge, collective coverage dropped to four minutes a week from 30 minutes a week at the height of coverage, in September 2007.
When you're hunting for ratings or hits, you're going to go with what attracts eyeballs. War just isn't as popular as it used to be.
*Some other things to think about this Memorial Day:
Fourth vet dies from PTSD drug cocktail.
Profiles of California's dead.
What's a human life worth anyway?
The politics of warriors.
May 23, 2008
Nowhere to run
Ben Demers just left the San Bernardino Sun for a job at the Glendale News-Press, one of the Los Angeles Times' community newspapers. Now comes this headline from today's LA Observed:"Layoffs at Times Community Newspapers." Kevin Roderick says he's heard at least 10 staffers got laid off; I don't know out of how many.
Ben Demers just left the San Bernardino Sun for a job at the Glendale News-Press, one of the Los Angeles Times' community newspapers. Now comes this headline from today's LA Observed:"Layoffs at Times Community Newspapers." Kevin Roderick says he's heard at least 10 staffers got laid off; I don't know out of how many.
Downsizing Illustrated
Everyone likes maps. Especially interactive maps. So, here's a link to an interactive map detailing the cuts newspapers across the country have inflicted upon themselves.
A quick search shows the map to be less than comprehensive - none of the cuts made to LANG's newly dubbed Inland Division are accounted for, for example. Nevertheless, it's worth checking out because, as every editor knows, it's always better to get a sense of the big picture than to fall into the trap of incremental reporting.
Everyone likes maps. Especially interactive maps. So, here's a link to an interactive map detailing the cuts newspapers across the country have inflicted upon themselves.
A quick search shows the map to be less than comprehensive - none of the cuts made to LANG's newly dubbed Inland Division are accounted for, for example. Nevertheless, it's worth checking out because, as every editor knows, it's always better to get a sense of the big picture than to fall into the trap of incremental reporting.
Culling the Post
The Washington Post reports that more than 100 journalists have taken a buyout offered by the paper as part of a cost-cutting plan. Among those on the list: military correspondent Thomas Ricks, film critic Stephen Hunter and foreign correspondent Robin Wright.
Hunter (whose daughter I once tried to hire) gives the money quote: "I'm doing what The Post would not do: I'm firing myself for being too old."
The Washington Post reports that more than 100 journalists have taken a buyout offered by the paper as part of a cost-cutting plan. Among those on the list: military correspondent Thomas Ricks, film critic Stephen Hunter and foreign correspondent Robin Wright.
Hunter (whose daughter I once tried to hire) gives the money quote: "I'm doing what The Post would not do: I'm firing myself for being too old."
May 22, 2008
The Black shadow
The Washington Post undresses (figuratively, of course) Charlie Black Jr., friend and chief political strategist to John McCain.
Black has a long track record as a Washington lobbyist and that has Democrats clamoring for his head - which would then be mounted on the front of Barack Obama's campaign bus as rolling proof that McCain's "maverick" mantle is completely fraudulent.
I said before I thought McCain campaign manager Rick Davis might be vulnerable because of his lobbyist ties, but I'm not so sure about Black. If McCain did let him go, Davis would almost certainly follow, as he'd be vulnerable to the same tarring, and that would leave McCain scrambling to rebuild a gutted campaign team.
And since the reverse is true - ousting Davis would lead to Black's departure - I'm going to officially flip flop. I think McCain will dance with the ones what brung him.
The Washington Post undresses (figuratively, of course) Charlie Black Jr., friend and chief political strategist to John McCain.
Black has a long track record as a Washington lobbyist and that has Democrats clamoring for his head - which would then be mounted on the front of Barack Obama's campaign bus as rolling proof that McCain's "maverick" mantle is completely fraudulent.
I said before I thought McCain campaign manager Rick Davis might be vulnerable because of his lobbyist ties, but I'm not so sure about Black. If McCain did let him go, Davis would almost certainly follow, as he'd be vulnerable to the same tarring, and that would leave McCain scrambling to rebuild a gutted campaign team.
And since the reverse is true - ousting Davis would lead to Black's departure - I'm going to officially flip flop. I think McCain will dance with the ones what brung him.
Sun moves
A promotion and the return of Wes Hughes to the San Bernardino Sun - Hughes, a former Sun columnist, suffered the ax in the March layoffs. The memo from editor Steve Lambert follows:
I am very pleased to announce the promotion of George Watson to city editor of The Sun. George is a national award winning journalist who, since joining The Sun, has led some of our most ambitious enterprise and investigative work, including 2005's groundbreaking series, "Unnatural Disasters."
I am also extremely happy to announce the return of Wes Hughes to The Sun and to our city desk operation. Wes, too, has been a key figure in some of our most high-profile efforts, including "Teens Who Kill" and "Lost Among Us." He will return as an editor on the city desk, eventually taking on some writing assignments as well.
Please join me in welcoming George and Wes to their new roles.
A promotion and the return of Wes Hughes to the San Bernardino Sun - Hughes, a former Sun columnist, suffered the ax in the March layoffs. The memo from editor Steve Lambert follows:
I am very pleased to announce the promotion of George Watson to city editor of The Sun. George is a national award winning journalist who, since joining The Sun, has led some of our most ambitious enterprise and investigative work, including 2005's groundbreaking series, "Unnatural Disasters."
I am also extremely happy to announce the return of Wes Hughes to The Sun and to our city desk operation. Wes, too, has been a key figure in some of our most high-profile efforts, including "Teens Who Kill" and "Lost Among Us." He will return as an editor on the city desk, eventually taking on some writing assignments as well.
Please join me in welcoming George and Wes to their new roles.
May 21, 2008
What's the matter in Kansas?
The Kansas City Star is the latest McClatchy property to launch a buyout/layoff cost-reduction scheme. The paper will cull from 1,347 employees, 290 of them in the newsroom.
The Kansas City Star is the latest McClatchy property to launch a buyout/layoff cost-reduction scheme. The paper will cull from 1,347 employees, 290 of them in the newsroom.
May 20, 2008
Email etiquette
Countrywide exec Angelo Mozilo mistakenly clicks "reply" instead of "forward" and shows his true self.
Countrywide exec Angelo Mozilo mistakenly clicks "reply" instead of "forward" and shows his true self.
More PE in the news
Copper thieves strike the San Bernardino offices of the Press-Enterprise and meet the sharp end of the law.
Copper thieves strike the San Bernardino offices of the Press-Enterprise and meet the sharp end of the law.
Press-Enterprise blots out the Sun
A trenchant analysis of the San Bernardino Sun/Riverside Press-Enterprise circulation wars from Sun cast-away Paul Oberjuerge. His post comes in response to a triumphant memo from PE Publisher and CEO Ron Redfern, celebrating his paper's circulation growth and the losses suffered by the competition.
To wit: According to the latest readership figures from the most recent Scarborough Research report for the 12-month period ending January 2007, our total weekly print audience has grown to 825,596 – a 5.5% increase in the Los Angeles DMA, the nation’s second largest metro area, spanning five counties and more than 52,000 square miles.
This is a very significant accomplishment for our team. Why? Because The Press-Enterprise is the only newspaper of the Top 5 in the L.A. DMA to post a gain in readership. All of the others lost among the other Top 5 newspapers, The Los Angeles Daily News saw a 7% drop in readership; The Orange County Register was down 4.3%; The Los Angeles Times fell 4.1%; and The Ventura County Star was down 0.3%.
During the same period, LANG’s Inland Empire Newspaper Group division -- The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts -- saw a 6.9% decline in its total weekly print audience.
And what’s even more exciting, The Press-Enterprise’s weekly print audience in San Bernardino County jumped 10.4%, while The Sun’s San Bernardino County audience was down 2.1%. We also saw a 5.8% increase in its Riverside County audience.
(Read PRNewswire story here.)
I encourage you to read Oberjuerge's entire post, and pay close attention to the part where the newsroom talent flows from the Sun to the PE. Investment in talent was the key strategic move here. The PE kept a relatively large staff and paid people like grownups. As a result, the PE became the paper reporters and editors went to after gaining some experience at a LANG paper. Having been offered a PE job, I have a good idea of the salary gap.
There are other factors at play, of course, and no one is saying the PE is perfect. But you can't win a war when you're busy disarming yourself.
To wit: According to the latest readership figures from the most recent Scarborough Research report for the 12-month period ending January 2007, our total weekly print audience has grown to 825,596 – a 5.5% increase in the Los Angeles DMA, the nation’s second largest metro area, spanning five counties and more than 52,000 square miles.
This is a very significant accomplishment for our team. Why? Because The Press-Enterprise is the only newspaper of the Top 5 in the L.A. DMA to post a gain in readership. All of the others lost among the other Top 5 newspapers, The Los Angeles Daily News saw a 7% drop in readership; The Orange County Register was down 4.3%; The Los Angeles Times fell 4.1%; and The Ventura County Star was down 0.3%.
During the same period, LANG’s Inland Empire Newspaper Group division -- The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts -- saw a 6.9% decline in its total weekly print audience.
And what’s even more exciting, The Press-Enterprise’s weekly print audience in San Bernardino County jumped 10.4%, while The Sun’s San Bernardino County audience was down 2.1%. We also saw a 5.8% increase in its Riverside County audience.
(Read PRNewswire story here.)
I encourage you to read Oberjuerge's entire post, and pay close attention to the part where the newsroom talent flows from the Sun to the PE. Investment in talent was the key strategic move here. The PE kept a relatively large staff and paid people like grownups. As a result, the PE became the paper reporters and editors went to after gaining some experience at a LANG paper. Having been offered a PE job, I have a good idea of the salary gap.
There are other factors at play, of course, and no one is saying the PE is perfect. But you can't win a war when you're busy disarming yourself.
WSJ moves
News Corp has chosen Wall Street Journal Publisher Robert Thomson as the paper's new managing editor. He will also serve as editor in chief of Dow Jones, meaning he can send himself his own memos.
From the WSJ: Thomson, 47 years old, had been made publisher when News Corp. completed the Dow Jones deal. A native of Australia, he joined Dow Jones after nearly six years as editor of the Times of London, a News Corp. title. Previously he had been editor of the U.S. edition of Pearson PLC's Financial Times for four years.
News Corp has chosen Wall Street Journal Publisher Robert Thomson as the paper's new managing editor. He will also serve as editor in chief of Dow Jones, meaning he can send himself his own memos.
From the WSJ: Thomson, 47 years old, had been made publisher when News Corp. completed the Dow Jones deal. A native of Australia, he joined Dow Jones after nearly six years as editor of the Times of London, a News Corp. title. Previously he had been editor of the U.S. edition of Pearson PLC's Financial Times for four years.
"Mr. Thomson's outstanding career as a financial journalist, foreign correspondent and editor, equips him perfectly for the position," [Rupert] Murdoch said in the statement.
Les Hinton, Dow Jones chief executive, will take over as WSJ publisher.
It's a tumor
Sen. Ted Kennedy's seizure over the weekend was caused by a malignant brain tumor. From AP:
Doctors say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. They say preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma.
His treatment will be decided after more tests, but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.
Sen. Ted Kennedy's seizure over the weekend was caused by a malignant brain tumor. From AP:
Doctors say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. They say preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma.
His treatment will be decided after more tests, but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.
May 19, 2008
May 18, 2008
The McCain five
A fifth campaign adviser to candidate John McCain has had to step down because of his past as a lobbyist.
McCain hopes the public sees this shakeout as proof the candidate is a reformer. I'm not sure it's going to play that way, however. This is the world many of his top aides come from, including his campaign manager. This is the campaign he built.
Updated: Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic provides some background on the departure of Tom Loeffler, the latest victim of the lobbyist purge from the McCain camp. He notes that Loeffler and McCain enjoyed a long and trusting relationship prior to the new rules handed down by former lobbyist/campaign manager Rick Davis.
Will others be forced to leave? Ambinder has this unsurprising answer: A few others are expected to leave within the week, according to outside campaign advisers.
A fifth campaign adviser to candidate John McCain has had to step down because of his past as a lobbyist.
McCain hopes the public sees this shakeout as proof the candidate is a reformer. I'm not sure it's going to play that way, however. This is the world many of his top aides come from, including his campaign manager. This is the campaign he built.
Updated: Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic provides some background on the departure of Tom Loeffler, the latest victim of the lobbyist purge from the McCain camp. He notes that Loeffler and McCain enjoyed a long and trusting relationship prior to the new rules handed down by former lobbyist/campaign manager Rick Davis.
Will others be forced to leave? Ambinder has this unsurprising answer: A few others are expected to leave within the week, according to outside campaign advisers.
May 17, 2008
Preakness preview
The Preakness Stakes is today. ESPN is having a round-table discussion about what should be done to protect the health and safety of thoroughbreds, given the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. Breeding techniques, and the reliance on shallow bloodlines to get a superstar, are partially to blame for perpetuating certain genetic defects. Then there are the legalized drugs, such as Lasix, anabolic steroids and corticosteroids, that allow trainers and jockeys to push horses beyond their natural limits.
Owners, trainers and organizers are getting nervous enough to talk about reform. I wouldn't hold my breath. This is a sport of aristocrats and addicts, and if everything comes off OK today, then the momentum for change will get swallowed in a debate mired in the rhetoric of tradition. And the rest of us, who don't think much about horse racing except when the Triple Crown comes around, will turn our attention elsewhere.
The Preakness Stakes is today. ESPN is having a round-table discussion about what should be done to protect the health and safety of thoroughbreds, given the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. Breeding techniques, and the reliance on shallow bloodlines to get a superstar, are partially to blame for perpetuating certain genetic defects. Then there are the legalized drugs, such as Lasix, anabolic steroids and corticosteroids, that allow trainers and jockeys to push horses beyond their natural limits.
Owners, trainers and organizers are getting nervous enough to talk about reform. I wouldn't hold my breath. This is a sport of aristocrats and addicts, and if everything comes off OK today, then the momentum for change will get swallowed in a debate mired in the rhetoric of tradition. And the rest of us, who don't think much about horse racing except when the Triple Crown comes around, will turn our attention elsewhere.
Comings and goings
Ben Demers, assistant city editor at the San Bernardino Sun, is leaving for the Glendale News-Press. At the very least the new job is closer to home - he'd apparently put in for a transfer to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune but had yet to hear anything when the Glendale position came through.
It used to be these kinds of movements went the other way.
Ben Demers, assistant city editor at the San Bernardino Sun, is leaving for the Glendale News-Press. At the very least the new job is closer to home - he'd apparently put in for a transfer to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune but had yet to hear anything when the Glendale position came through.
It used to be these kinds of movements went the other way.
Kennedy medical emergency*, **
Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, 76, was rushed to the hospital for a treatment of a serious medical problem.
*AP reports Kennedy may have suffered a stroke.
**Kennedy apparently suffered a seizure, not a stroke, but details are sparse.
Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, 76, was rushed to the hospital for a treatment of a serious medical problem.
*AP reports Kennedy may have suffered a stroke.
**Kennedy apparently suffered a seizure, not a stroke, but details are sparse.
May 16, 2008
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Oh, how things have changed in the newspaper business. Fear and self-loathing have slowly eaten away at the confidence many reporters and editors used to feel about their jobs and the future. This has left newsrooms vulnerable to bad ideas from business people selling snake oil and think tankers trying to respond to trends they don't really understand. While many, if not most, newspapers have withstood a torrent of bad decision-making, there is no question that ethics and standards at some have suffered in the scramble to shore up revenues, make owners happy and remain relevant to an increasingly fractured audience.
On that score, The Feed at the St. Petersburg Times has a satirical old rules, new rules take on TV news that I think has some relevance to the newspaper field as well.
Here's a sampling:
Old rule: Staff experience is valuable New rule: 1 year is experience
Old rule: Cover breaking news New rule: make up breaking news
Old rule: Build credibility and you'll gain a bigger audience New rule: Reach more people through the Internet
Old rule: Be good storytellers New rule: more stories, less telling
Old rule: Report the facts New rule: report what people say
Old rule: Consultants suggest New rule: Consultants control
Old rule: Bad staff behavior is not tolerated New rule: address your questions to our attorneys
Oh, how things have changed in the newspaper business. Fear and self-loathing have slowly eaten away at the confidence many reporters and editors used to feel about their jobs and the future. This has left newsrooms vulnerable to bad ideas from business people selling snake oil and think tankers trying to respond to trends they don't really understand. While many, if not most, newspapers have withstood a torrent of bad decision-making, there is no question that ethics and standards at some have suffered in the scramble to shore up revenues, make owners happy and remain relevant to an increasingly fractured audience.
On that score, The Feed at the St. Petersburg Times has a satirical old rules, new rules take on TV news that I think has some relevance to the newspaper field as well.
Here's a sampling:
Old rule: Staff experience is valuable New rule: 1 year is experience
Old rule: Cover breaking news New rule: make up breaking news
Old rule: Build credibility and you'll gain a bigger audience New rule: Reach more people through the Internet
Old rule: Be good storytellers New rule: more stories, less telling
Old rule: Report the facts New rule: report what people say
Old rule: Consultants suggest New rule: Consultants control
Old rule: Bad staff behavior is not tolerated New rule: address your questions to our attorneys
Revolver
John Futch was laid off as managing editor of the Long Beach Press-Telegram in the downsizing/restructuring/gutting that occurred at Singleton's SoCal papers in March. Then, executive city editor Jason Gewirtz left to take a job at a local sports magazine. Now, the P-T has rehired Futch to fill the Gewirtz vacancy (via LA Observed).
From P-T reporter John Canalis, who writes the Canalis Report: Good news: John is back. He returned to the P-T full time Wednesday as executive city editor. A vacancy created when Jason Gewirtz took an editing job at an L.A. magazine made it possible to rehire John.
Though his old managing editor job is gone, he again holds the news side's No. 2 position, reporting to Executive Editor Rich Archbold.
John Futch was laid off as managing editor of the Long Beach Press-Telegram in the downsizing/restructuring/gutting that occurred at Singleton's SoCal papers in March. Then, executive city editor Jason Gewirtz left to take a job at a local sports magazine. Now, the P-T has rehired Futch to fill the Gewirtz vacancy (via LA Observed).
From P-T reporter John Canalis, who writes the Canalis Report: Good news: John is back. He returned to the P-T full time Wednesday as executive city editor. A vacancy created when Jason Gewirtz took an editing job at an L.A. magazine made it possible to rehire John.
Though his old managing editor job is gone, he again holds the news side's No. 2 position, reporting to Executive Editor Rich Archbold.
McCain cuts, Obama hits
Another adviser to John McCain steps down over political ties, this time over ties to a 527 group called Stop Her Now, renamed Stop Him Now once Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Two other advisers stepped down from the McCain campaign last week for their ties to a lobbying group that did work for the Myanmar junta.
In other news of the day, Obama took a hard swipe at McCain and George Bush today (he linked their names several times during his speech) over remarks Bush made yesterday before the Israeli Knesset that labeled Obama an appeaser for wanting to talk with Iran.
Another adviser to John McCain steps down over political ties, this time over ties to a 527 group called Stop Her Now, renamed Stop Him Now once Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Two other advisers stepped down from the McCain campaign last week for their ties to a lobbying group that did work for the Myanmar junta.
In other news of the day, Obama took a hard swipe at McCain and George Bush today (he linked their names several times during his speech) over remarks Bush made yesterday before the Israeli Knesset that labeled Obama an appeaser for wanting to talk with Iran.
May 15, 2008
Daily News observed
Two more journalists leaving the Daily News, LA Observed notes. One is headed for PR, the other is going to teach.
Two more journalists leaving the Daily News, LA Observed notes. One is headed for PR, the other is going to teach.
Date for BANG union vote set*
Newsroom employees at Singleton's Bay Area papers will get to decide whether or not to unionize in a secret ballot election on June 13. The memo from Bay Area News Group Publisher John Armstrong follows:
Colleagues:
Based on an oral agreement between representatives of the company and the guild, the National Labor Relations Board will schedule a secret ballot election on Friday, June 13th, on the union’s petition to become the exclusive bargaining agent for pay, benefits and working conditions for nonsupervisory news employees ofBay Area News Group-East Bay
The agreement, which we expect will be formalized and signed tomorrow, will include election locations, which will be on company premises, and the hours for voting.
The following employees will be eligible to cast a ballot: All full-time and regular part-time nonsupervisory news division employees at ourAlameda , Antioch , Hayward , Fremont , Tracy , Pleasanton , Oakland , Richmond , San Mateo and Walnut Creek
John Armstrong
President and Publisher
*The guild's news release can be found here.
Newsroom employees at Singleton's Bay Area papers will get to decide whether or not to unionize in a secret ballot election on June 13. The memo from Bay Area News Group Publisher John Armstrong follows:
Colleagues:
Based on an oral agreement between representatives of the company and the guild, the National Labor Relations Board will schedule a secret ballot election on Friday, June 13th, on the union’s petition to become the exclusive bargaining agent for pay, benefits and working conditions for nonsupervisory news employees of
The agreement, which we expect will be formalized and signed tomorrow, will include election locations, which will be on company premises, and the hours for voting.
The following employees will be eligible to cast a ballot: All full-time and regular part-time nonsupervisory news division employees at our
John Armstrong
President and Publisher
*The guild's news release can be found here.
May 14, 2008
Edwards Watch '08*, **There are hints all over the intertubes that John Edwards is on the verge of endorsing Barack Obama for president, maybe as early as this evening.
That would certainly steal the thunder from Hillary Clinton, who just beat Obama's head in with a West Virginia rock, and help wavering superdelegates jump the fence into Obama's camp.
Of course, these assholes could have let this slip a few hours earlier in time for my show today on the state of the presidential race. But they didn't.
*Confirmed.
**Edwards just gave his one nation/two nations speech in Michigan as part of his endorsement. He brings with him 19 delegates, more than enough to erase the gains Clinton made in West Virginia yesterday. And now, the story is again about Obama. Best part of the speech, the "Hello, Albert, can you hear me?" technical problem on MSNBC. Now Clinton has to once again argue that she should be running to take this away from Obama. She can't. Now Kentucky becomes a liability for the Democrats generally, not just Obama specifically.
Broder takes buyout
David Broder, who has reported for the Washington Post since 1965 and is considered one of the dean's of DC politics, has taken a buyout offer, according to Politico's Michael Calderone. There appears to be some speculation that Executive Editor Leonard Downie might be on his way out as well. I'll throw another big WaPo name into the rumor mill: Robin Wright.
David Broder, who has reported for the Washington Post since 1965 and is considered one of the dean's of DC politics, has taken a buyout offer, according to Politico's Michael Calderone. There appears to be some speculation that Executive Editor Leonard Downie might be on his way out as well. I'll throw another big WaPo name into the rumor mill: Robin Wright.
Print-on-TV action
Gene Maddaus at the Daily Breeze continues his watchdogging of local television news with a story yesterday that Fox 11 got it wrong when they reported City Councilwoman Janice Hahn provided city funds to active gang members:
Incidentally, the Ritz is now the Langham, and the KTLA "Morning News" is now the KTLA "Morning Show."
May 13, 2008
Makes you want to be a Republican
The Courage Campaign has come out with an ad designed to embarrass the California Republican Party for supporting a tax break for yacht owners at a time of skyrocketing deficits.
Given the imagery, beautiful people lounging on a boat while they pour champagne on each other in some bizarre golden-shower ritual, I'm not sure if they want you to vote Democratic or to masturbate. Either way, the ad fails to get the job done.
The Courage Campaign has come out with an ad designed to embarrass the California Republican Party for supporting a tax break for yacht owners at a time of skyrocketing deficits.
Given the imagery, beautiful people lounging on a boat while they pour champagne on each other in some bizarre golden-shower ritual, I'm not sure if they want you to vote Democratic or to masturbate. Either way, the ad fails to get the job done.
The HustlerObama certainly looks more comfortable with a pool cue than with a bowling ball.
But unless he figures out a way to look slick wielding a pick ax inside a coal mine, he's going to get crushed in West Virginia today.
How badly? The latest Rasmussen poll had him down 30 points.
Also, if you thought the Democratic primary had been refreshingly racist free, then you should read this and this.
(Pic appropriated from the NY Times)
May 12, 2008
Slicing in Seattle
Through a combination of layoffs and buyouts, the Seattle Times cuts 125 employees, including 34 from the newsroom.
Through a combination of layoffs and buyouts, the Seattle Times cuts 125 employees, including 34 from the newsroom.
Comings and goings*
Two departures from LANG's San Gabriel Valley newspapers to report. Melissa Pamer, a writer covering several cities for the Pasadena Star-News, is heading to the Daily Breeze in Torrance. Kevin Felt, who writes for the SGVN weeklies and covers Arcadia for the Star-News, has given notice as well. He is planning to travel to China.
Make that three departures: Audrey Reed, business reporter for the San Gabriel Valley papers, is leaving to go to law school.
Two departures from LANG's San Gabriel Valley newspapers to report. Melissa Pamer, a writer covering several cities for the Pasadena Star-News, is heading to the Daily Breeze in Torrance. Kevin Felt, who writes for the SGVN weeklies and covers Arcadia for the Star-News, has given notice as well. He is planning to travel to China.
Make that three departures: Audrey Reed, business reporter for the San Gabriel Valley papers, is leaving to go to law school.
The English strike back, 227 years later
Can America's First Amendment stand up to English libel law? Probably, but English courts have become a friendly venue for wealthy individuals and governments wanting to punish their critics, as happened to writer Rachel Ehrenfeld last year and the Kyiv Post this year.
The larger worry is that free speech rights grounded in our First Amendment will be challenged in court rooms around the world, as various countries use various laws to strike back and what they find offensive. Time Magazine, for example, is appealing a $100-million judgment handed down by an Indonesian court in a case by the family of the late President Suharto.
From The Economist: Mark Stephens, a London lawyer, says “libel tourism” is giving way to “libel and privacy cruises”, where people are seeking the most favourable jurisdiction they can find.
Big media companies might be wiling to fight these legal skirmishes in foreign courts, but these kinds of cases will surely have a chilling effect on individuals and smaller news outlets that try to do substantive international reporting.
Can America's First Amendment stand up to English libel law? Probably, but English courts have become a friendly venue for wealthy individuals and governments wanting to punish their critics, as happened to writer Rachel Ehrenfeld last year and the Kyiv Post this year.
The larger worry is that free speech rights grounded in our First Amendment will be challenged in court rooms around the world, as various countries use various laws to strike back and what they find offensive. Time Magazine, for example, is appealing a $100-million judgment handed down by an Indonesian court in a case by the family of the late President Suharto.
From The Economist: Mark Stephens, a London lawyer, says “libel tourism” is giving way to “libel and privacy cruises”, where people are seeking the most favourable jurisdiction they can find.
Big media companies might be wiling to fight these legal skirmishes in foreign courts, but these kinds of cases will surely have a chilling effect on individuals and smaller news outlets that try to do substantive international reporting.
The mirror effect
Len Cutler at the Stress-Telegram links to an interesting article in Forbes about the massive consolidation of media companies that's occurred over the last few decades, including the astounding statistic that since 1975 the number of newspaper owners has dropped by two-thirds.
The real nut of the story, however, is how limited our choices really are in the Age of the Internet, despite the multitude of places we can now go online:
But even on the Web, traditional media companies remain the source of the most popular news and entertainment programming. Despite all the excitement over user-generated content, it's professionally produced big media content that attracts the most eyeballs and ad dollars.
The FCC, convinced competition has run amok, wants to change the rules for media ownership to make multi-platform consolidation even easier.
Given the physical landscape of this country, with the increasing self-segregation of neighborhoods, the sameness of streetscapes and architectural design, the carbon copy of big box stores and food franchises at every freeway stop, I can't help but worry the Internet will take on a similar sameness. Popular pays and what pays survives.
Sometime I think we have a misguided notion of the Internet. We think the nature of the tool is such that it will provide us a solution to our problems, forgetting that a tool needs someone to wield it. Maybe that's the reason dying newspapers and abysmal "hyperlocal" coverage hasn't yet been replaced by new online papers and actual local coverage.
There is still time for all of that to happen, and I see no reason not to be hopeful that such a trend will start to take off in the next few years. However, that will mean ensuring we do not limit our options by letting the Internet be turned into a virtual real estate market, sold off to the highest bidders, and that we become aware that what succeeds online depends on what we choose to read. (OK, off my soap box.)
Len Cutler at the Stress-Telegram links to an interesting article in Forbes about the massive consolidation of media companies that's occurred over the last few decades, including the astounding statistic that since 1975 the number of newspaper owners has dropped by two-thirds.
The real nut of the story, however, is how limited our choices really are in the Age of the Internet, despite the multitude of places we can now go online:
But even on the Web, traditional media companies remain the source of the most popular news and entertainment programming. Despite all the excitement over user-generated content, it's professionally produced big media content that attracts the most eyeballs and ad dollars.
The FCC, convinced competition has run amok, wants to change the rules for media ownership to make multi-platform consolidation even easier.
Given the physical landscape of this country, with the increasing self-segregation of neighborhoods, the sameness of streetscapes and architectural design, the carbon copy of big box stores and food franchises at every freeway stop, I can't help but worry the Internet will take on a similar sameness. Popular pays and what pays survives.
Sometime I think we have a misguided notion of the Internet. We think the nature of the tool is such that it will provide us a solution to our problems, forgetting that a tool needs someone to wield it. Maybe that's the reason dying newspapers and abysmal "hyperlocal" coverage hasn't yet been replaced by new online papers and actual local coverage.
There is still time for all of that to happen, and I see no reason not to be hopeful that such a trend will start to take off in the next few years. However, that will mean ensuring we do not limit our options by letting the Internet be turned into a virtual real estate market, sold off to the highest bidders, and that we become aware that what succeeds online depends on what we choose to read. (OK, off my soap box.)
May 11, 2008
McCain makes ugly moves
The Maverick had a bad week.
After nixing one choice for GOP convention chairman because he'd once done lobbying work for totalitarian regimes, John McCain picked Doug Goodyear for the post, only to see him resign within hours of a Newsweek article that revealed he'd once lobbied on behalf of Myanmar's brutal military junta, which is currently blocking international aid to its cyclone-stricken people.
A second McCain appointee resigned a short while later for the same reason.
One could certainly argue that the appointments scandal is merely a matter of bad timing. After all, who really spends that much time contemplating Myanmar? Well, John McCain for one. He's been an outspoken critic of the regime, repeatedly calling for more aggressive action against the "thugs" in charge. In the days after the cyclone, his rhetoric has generally been more heated and confrontational than that of his Democratic rivals.
Of course, voters might dismiss all of this as insider intrigue. But the audience McCain has to be most concerned about is the press. There's a fine line between Straight Talker and hypocrite, and once you cross it it's nearly impossible to go back. I wouldn't be surprised if this bumbling ultimately leads to a bigger shakeup in his campaign, with McCain finding a way to dump manager Rick Davis for someone whose Rolodex includes numbers off K Street.
The Maverick had a bad week.
After nixing one choice for GOP convention chairman because he'd once done lobbying work for totalitarian regimes, John McCain picked Doug Goodyear for the post, only to see him resign within hours of a Newsweek article that revealed he'd once lobbied on behalf of Myanmar's brutal military junta, which is currently blocking international aid to its cyclone-stricken people.
A second McCain appointee resigned a short while later for the same reason.
One could certainly argue that the appointments scandal is merely a matter of bad timing. After all, who really spends that much time contemplating Myanmar? Well, John McCain for one. He's been an outspoken critic of the regime, repeatedly calling for more aggressive action against the "thugs" in charge. In the days after the cyclone, his rhetoric has generally been more heated and confrontational than that of his Democratic rivals.
Of course, voters might dismiss all of this as insider intrigue. But the audience McCain has to be most concerned about is the press. There's a fine line between Straight Talker and hypocrite, and once you cross it it's nearly impossible to go back. I wouldn't be surprised if this bumbling ultimately leads to a bigger shakeup in his campaign, with McCain finding a way to dump manager Rick Davis for someone whose Rolodex includes numbers off K Street.
May 10, 2008
Saying no to Newsday
Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn his $580 million offer to buy Newsday from Sam Zell's Tribune Co. Reuters has the story.
Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn his $580 million offer to buy Newsday from Sam Zell's Tribune Co. Reuters has the story.
May 9, 2008
U-T going multimedia
The San Diego Union-Tribune has ousted its Internet manager for reasons that are not completely clear. The paper issued a statement Friday that was carried in Editor & Publisher. See what you make of it:
"[A]s the Union-Tribune continues its transformation from a newspaper company to a multimedia company, it is announcing changes to its organizational structure in order to improve its efficiency and control costs.
"Among the changes, is the consolidation of strategy, product development and Internet sites under the leadership of Mark Davis, currently vice president of strategy. This change results in having to say goodbye to Chris Jennewein, vice president of Internet sites."
The San Diego Union-Tribune has ousted its Internet manager for reasons that are not completely clear. The paper issued a statement Friday that was carried in Editor & Publisher. See what you make of it:
"[A]s the Union-Tribune continues its transformation from a newspaper company to a multimedia company, it is announcing changes to its organizational structure in order to improve its efficiency and control costs.
"Among the changes, is the consolidation of strategy, product development and Internet sites under the leadership of Mark Davis, currently vice president of strategy. This change results in having to say goodbye to Chris Jennewein, vice president of Internet sites."
May 7, 2008
BANG publisher on union petition*
Jack Armstrong, publisher of the Bay Area Newspaper Group, LANG's Northern California cousin, sent out a memo Monday about efforts to unionize the Bay Area papers. He opposes the effort, stating that the organization "can best tackle the challenging issues we face in a union-free environment."
The complete memo follows:
Dear Colleagues:
Jack Armstrong, publisher of the Bay Area Newspaper Group, LANG's Northern California cousin, sent out a memo Monday about efforts to unionize the Bay Area papers. He opposes the effort, stating that the organization "can best tackle the challenging issues we face in a union-free environment."
The complete memo follows:
Dear Colleagues:
The guild last week filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election on the union’s effort to be the exclusive bargaining agent for non-supervisory employees in the newsrooms of
Over the next several days we will deal with the NLRB over issues relating to the definition of the proposed bargaining unit and who is eligible to vote. We anticipate that the election most likely will be held in June.
You can expect to hear a lot from us before the election because this represents a potential turning point in the history of our newsrooms. The outcome will impact all of you, whether you vote or not, whether you favor or oppose the union, whether you feel strongly or not about the issue.
In the meantime, here are some things to keep in mind:
The outcome of the election will be determined by how a majority of those who vote cast their ballots – “yes” for union representation, “no” for a union-free environment.
It is important that each of you do your homework so you can make a studied decision. For example, we encourage you to examine closely what has happened in recent negotiations at union-organized newspaper companies in the Bay Area and across the country. It is important to know what the union actually has delivered for its members.
If you signed a union authorization card, that does not mean you are in any way obligated to vote for the union. (Some employees have said they signed a card, changed their minds and asked that the cards be returned; the union refused.)
The election will be by secret ballot. No one will ever find out how you voted.
Kevin Keane and I are opposed to unionization of our newsrooms. For good and ample reasons, we believe unionization would not be in your best interests or the best interests of our organization and our audience. We will explore those reasons in the weeks ahead.
Kevin and I are confident that on the day of the election a majority of you will agree with us, that our organization is poised to do great things and we can best tackle the challenging issues we face in a union-free environment.
John Armstrong, Publisher
*The union organizers have a letter of their own for Armstrong.
Salvation spudThe Lord works in mysterious ways. A woman in Berlin cut open a potato and found the likeness of a cross inside. She was so moved by the experience that she is thinking of selling the holy potato on eBay.
There is a local angle. Naomi Kresge, a former Daily Bulletin and Press-Enterprise reporter, wrote the story. She's working for a variety of publications in German as part of a Fulbright fellowship.
Cuts at the NYT
The New York Times will layoff an unknown number of people as part of its plan to trim the newsroom by about 100 employees.
"We hope that the worst is now behind us," says Editor Bill Keller. Romenesko has the full memo here.
The New York Times will layoff an unknown number of people as part of its plan to trim the newsroom by about 100 employees.
"We hope that the worst is now behind us," says Editor Bill Keller. Romenesko has the full memo here.
Ethics in the age of declining circulation
Market Watch surveyed a number of media mainstays to weigh in on the state of journalism ethics in the five years since the Jayson Blair scandal knee-capped the New York Times. Here's what New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta had to say:
"I suspect that serious felons like Blair have been deterred. But cheating and cutting corners has not been. Declining circulation, falling advertising revenues, and the swooning stock value of traditional news organizations, coupled with expanding consumer choices, prompts slashed newsroom budgets.
"This leaves fewer editors and fact checkers to police newsrooms. Worse, with business declining, the folks who sign our checks push for more sensational stories, more conflict, more sharp opinion -- anything -- to lift their news stories from the clutter. The business culture imposes itself on the journalistic culture. In the contest between the two cultures, business usually triumphs," Auletta wrote.
(via Romenesko)
Market Watch surveyed a number of media mainstays to weigh in on the state of journalism ethics in the five years since the Jayson Blair scandal knee-capped the New York Times. Here's what New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta had to say:
"I suspect that serious felons like Blair have been deterred. But cheating and cutting corners has not been. Declining circulation, falling advertising revenues, and the swooning stock value of traditional news organizations, coupled with expanding consumer choices, prompts slashed newsroom budgets.
"This leaves fewer editors and fact checkers to police newsrooms. Worse, with business declining, the folks who sign our checks push for more sensational stories, more conflict, more sharp opinion -- anything -- to lift their news stories from the clutter. The business culture imposes itself on the journalistic culture. In the contest between the two cultures, business usually triumphs," Auletta wrote.
(via Romenesko)
May 6, 2008
Clinton campaign contemplative
I'm not ready to read too much into this yet, but it's worth noting: Hillary Clinton has canceled her scheduled appearances on the Wednesday morning talk shows, according to Tim Russert (by way of Ben Smith at Politico). Stay tuned.
I'm not ready to read too much into this yet, but it's worth noting: Hillary Clinton has canceled her scheduled appearances on the Wednesday morning talk shows, according to Tim Russert (by way of Ben Smith at Politico). Stay tuned.
Hello, Philippines
MediaNews has decided to outsource customer service operations at its Northern California newspapers. Customer calls to the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times will now be answered by operators in the Philippines.
Alvarez pleads guilty
Xavier Alvarez, member of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District board of directors, pleaded guilty Monday to falsely claiming to have won a Congressional Medal of Honor.
I've argued that the law fails to pass constitutional muster and that Alvarez should be held accountable for his lies in the court of public opinion, not in a court of law. A judge disagreed with me and denied a motion to dismiss on First Amendment grounds. As a result, Alvarez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which allows him to remain on the board.
We'll see if voters - most of whom pay very little attention to water boards - decide to mount a recall attempt.
Note: The Bulletin story says the plea deal leaves the door open for Alvarez to appeal his conviction on constitutional grounds and that he's expected to do so.
I've argued that the law fails to pass constitutional muster and that Alvarez should be held accountable for his lies in the court of public opinion, not in a court of law. A judge disagreed with me and denied a motion to dismiss on First Amendment grounds. As a result, Alvarez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, which allows him to remain on the board.
We'll see if voters - most of whom pay very little attention to water boards - decide to mount a recall attempt.
Note: The Bulletin story says the plea deal leaves the door open for Alvarez to appeal his conviction on constitutional grounds and that he's expected to do so.
They're still making newspapers
Editor and Publisher has a story about a new daily newspaper launched in southwest Kansas.
Editor and Publisher has a story about a new daily newspaper launched in southwest Kansas.
Obama wins North Carolina, Clinton wins Indiana (updated intermittently)
4:57 p.m.: Every news outlet in America appears to have called the Tar Heel state for Barack Obama, meaning at worst he splits the night with Hillary Clinton and at best blanks her. Early results in Indiana show Clinton with a big lead, but some of the big cities have yet to be counted. (Phrase to ban tonight: 'Game Changer')
5:45 p.m.: The Economist continues to publish the most entertaining elections blog I've come across. The bloggers there also pick up on the strange Johnny Sack anti-card check ad that debuted tonight (I saw it on MSNBC).
5:50 p.m.: Indiana's Supreme Court-approved voter ID law, which requires voters to carry a state-issued picture identification to cast a ballot, prevented 12 nuns from going to the polls. Otherwise, the consequences have been "mild," according to the Washington Post.
6 p.m.: CBS News has called Indiana for Clinton. I'd guess the other networks will fall in line shortly.
6:10 p.m.: Obama takes the state in Raleigh, N.C.
6:14 p.m.: Obama basically conceded Indiana to Clinton, just as his campaign manager David Axelrod did earlier.
6:33 p.m.: Flags and American dreams. Obama the Patriot is out tonight.
6:55 p.m.: As I grate cheese, the CNN folk tell me that Obama needs only win the uncounted vote in Indiana by a 55/45 percent margin to take the state. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but the fact that the state is still too close to call at this late hour is surprising (and given Lanny Davis's irascible mood tonight, appears to have robbed Clinton of any overarching, or clear, arguments to make). Clearly my 6 p.m. hop-on-the-CBS-bandwagon post was premature.
7:38 p.m.: Hillary Clinton begins her victory speech. Next stop, the White House, she says.
8:10 p.m.: Jeffrey Toobin rightly questions why Lake County, Indiana has decided to withhold vote totals and hammers the state for closing polls at an unusually early 6 p.m. and implementing a highly restrictive voter ID law.
8:32 p.m.: Lanny Davis to David Gergen: "I'm not bitter!"
11:26 p.m.: Went out for a bit, came back to discover Clinton had indeed won Indiana by a 51-49 split. Also, Michael Calderone at Politico asks why CBS News was so early calling the state, when no one else did.
4:57 p.m.: Every news outlet in America appears to have called the Tar Heel state for Barack Obama, meaning at worst he splits the night with Hillary Clinton and at best blanks her. Early results in Indiana show Clinton with a big lead, but some of the big cities have yet to be counted. (Phrase to ban tonight: 'Game Changer')
5:45 p.m.: The Economist continues to publish the most entertaining elections blog I've come across. The bloggers there also pick up on the strange Johnny Sack anti-card check ad that debuted tonight (I saw it on MSNBC).
5:50 p.m.: Indiana's Supreme Court-approved voter ID law, which requires voters to carry a state-issued picture identification to cast a ballot, prevented 12 nuns from going to the polls. Otherwise, the consequences have been "mild," according to the Washington Post.
6 p.m.: CBS News has called Indiana for Clinton. I'd guess the other networks will fall in line shortly.
6:10 p.m.: Obama takes the state in Raleigh, N.C.
6:14 p.m.: Obama basically conceded Indiana to Clinton, just as his campaign manager David Axelrod did earlier.
6:33 p.m.: Flags and American dreams. Obama the Patriot is out tonight.
6:55 p.m.: As I grate cheese, the CNN folk tell me that Obama needs only win the uncounted vote in Indiana by a 55/45 percent margin to take the state. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but the fact that the state is still too close to call at this late hour is surprising (and given Lanny Davis's irascible mood tonight, appears to have robbed Clinton of any overarching, or clear, arguments to make). Clearly my 6 p.m. hop-on-the-CBS-bandwagon post was premature.
7:38 p.m.: Hillary Clinton begins her victory speech. Next stop, the White House, she says.
8:10 p.m.: Jeffrey Toobin rightly questions why Lake County, Indiana has decided to withhold vote totals and hammers the state for closing polls at an unusually early 6 p.m. and implementing a highly restrictive voter ID law.
8:32 p.m.: Lanny Davis to David Gergen: "I'm not bitter!"
11:26 p.m.: Went out for a bit, came back to discover Clinton had indeed won Indiana by a 51-49 split. Also, Michael Calderone at Politico asks why CBS News was so early calling the state, when no one else did.
At the Kentucky Derby, depravity and decadence are in the blood
The text message I received from former colleague Gene Maddaus was ominous: "Eight Belles - the horse Hillary told everyone to bet on because it was the only filly in the race - broke two ankles and had to be shot." (He later clarified that she'd actually been killed by lethal injection.)
Political ramifications aside, the news update made the prospect of viewing the race, which I'd recorded on my nifty TiVo machine, both alluring and dread inducing. This isn't NASCAR, after all, which feeds on the thrill of knowing that at any given moment the field could erupt into a ball of burning rubber and tumbling metal. We don't root for accidents in horse racing. The specter of death may hang about, but it's considered extremely rude to talk openly about it.
So I wondered how would this play out on the one day non-racing fans pay attention.
After fast-forwarding through 2 hours and 15 minutes of blather and what looked like red carpet interviews with the stars of yesteryear, the race finally began. By the time the horses had reached the final stretch, Big Brown, the favorite, had pulled into the lead. Eight Belles was just behind him. They finished first and second.
A couple minutes later, Big Brown threw his rider. Then the camera caught Eight Belles collapsed on the ground. The announcer conjectured this might have cause Big Brown to spook. Minutes after that, Dr. Larry Bramlage reported to a waiting world that both of the horse's ankles had snapped. The only humane thing to do was "euthanize" her, and that's just what they'd done. This was followed by an awkward cut to Big Brown's ecstatic owner. Finally, a return to the familiar and safe: television commercials.
Whatever your thoughts on horse racing - sport of kings, high-stakes animal abuse - the injuries that ended Eight Belles' life are rooted in something deeper than the day's action. Indeed, it was all but predicted. Racing thoroughbreds are thoroughly inbred, as sports writer Jon Weinbach warned us in a prescient piece in the May 2 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, all 20 horses in Saturday's race were the progeny of a single horse, another Kentucky Derby runner-up named Native Dancer:
Like hemophilia in the Russian royal family, Native Dancer's line has a tragic flaw. Thanks in part to heavily muscled legs and a violent, herky-jerky running style, Native Dancer and his descendants have had trouble with their feet. Injuries have cut short the careers of several of his most famous kin, most notably Barbaro, a great-great-great-grandson who was injured during the Preakness Stakes and was later put to death. Overbreeding has exacerbated the problem.
"There's a lack of durability right now," says Ric Waldman, the former head of operations for Windfields Farm in Canada, which has bred and raced Native Dancer's descendants. "How much can we keep breeding into these same bloodlines? We're dealing with the law of diminishing returns."
The Preakness Stakes will be run on May 17. Rather than First Call, maybe the racetrack bugler should play Dueling Banjos.
The text message I received from former colleague Gene Maddaus was ominous: "Eight Belles - the horse Hillary told everyone to bet on because it was the only filly in the race - broke two ankles and had to be shot." (He later clarified that she'd actually been killed by lethal injection.)
Political ramifications aside, the news update made the prospect of viewing the race, which I'd recorded on my nifty TiVo machine, both alluring and dread inducing. This isn't NASCAR, after all, which feeds on the thrill of knowing that at any given moment the field could erupt into a ball of burning rubber and tumbling metal. We don't root for accidents in horse racing. The specter of death may hang about, but it's considered extremely rude to talk openly about it.
So I wondered how would this play out on the one day non-racing fans pay attention.
After fast-forwarding through 2 hours and 15 minutes of blather and what looked like red carpet interviews with the stars of yesteryear, the race finally began. By the time the horses had reached the final stretch, Big Brown, the favorite, had pulled into the lead. Eight Belles was just behind him. They finished first and second.
A couple minutes later, Big Brown threw his rider. Then the camera caught Eight Belles collapsed on the ground. The announcer conjectured this might have cause Big Brown to spook. Minutes after that, Dr. Larry Bramlage reported to a waiting world that both of the horse's ankles had snapped. The only humane thing to do was "euthanize" her, and that's just what they'd done. This was followed by an awkward cut to Big Brown's ecstatic owner. Finally, a return to the familiar and safe: television commercials.
Whatever your thoughts on horse racing - sport of kings, high-stakes animal abuse - the injuries that ended Eight Belles' life are rooted in something deeper than the day's action. Indeed, it was all but predicted. Racing thoroughbreds are thoroughly inbred, as sports writer Jon Weinbach warned us in a prescient piece in the May 2 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, all 20 horses in Saturday's race were the progeny of a single horse, another Kentucky Derby runner-up named Native Dancer:
Like hemophilia in the Russian royal family, Native Dancer's line has a tragic flaw. Thanks in part to heavily muscled legs and a violent, herky-jerky running style, Native Dancer and his descendants have had trouble with their feet. Injuries have cut short the careers of several of his most famous kin, most notably Barbaro, a great-great-great-grandson who was injured during the Preakness Stakes and was later put to death. Overbreeding has exacerbated the problem.
"There's a lack of durability right now," says Ric Waldman, the former head of operations for Windfields Farm in Canada, which has bred and raced Native Dancer's descendants. "How much can we keep breeding into these same bloodlines? We're dealing with the law of diminishing returns."
The Preakness Stakes will be run on May 17. Rather than First Call, maybe the racetrack bugler should play Dueling Banjos.
May 5, 2008
Re-union
Newsroom employees in Singleton's 9-member Bay Area group, which includes the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times, have petitioned to form a union. MediaNews broke up the guild that had represented his Alameda Newspaper Group newspapers by combining their editorial functions with those of the papers he bought from McClatchy.
Newsroom employees in Singleton's 9-member Bay Area group, which includes the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times, have petitioned to form a union. MediaNews broke up the guild that had represented his Alameda Newspaper Group newspapers by combining their editorial functions with those of the papers he bought from McClatchy.
LANG leaks (correction appended)
I noted three defections from LANG last week. Now a fourth: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin copy editor Edgar Acosta is saying farewell. I'm told he's going on to pursue a career in music.
Meantime, LA Observed notes that Ryan Oliver* is leaving his job at the Los Angeles Daily Journal for PR.
*D'oh! In my rush to post, I incorrectly wrote that Ryan Oliver was leaving his job at the Daily News. Oliver, as I should have known (and as a commenter rightly points out), is leaving the Los Angeles Daily Journal. I apologize for the mistake.
I noted three defections from LANG last week. Now a fourth: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin copy editor Edgar Acosta is saying farewell. I'm told he's going on to pursue a career in music.
Meantime, LA Observed notes that Ryan Oliver* is leaving his job at the Los Angeles Daily Journal for PR.
*D'oh! In my rush to post, I incorrectly wrote that Ryan Oliver was leaving his job at the Daily News. Oliver, as I should have known (and as a commenter rightly points out), is leaving the Los Angeles Daily Journal. I apologize for the mistake.
And we're back
Just returned from a long weekend away from the computer to learn The Long Nightmare is Over. Unisys, the front-end system used at all of Singleton's SoCal newspapers, is back up and running. Haven't heard yet if the meltdown has prompted LANG management to develop a contingency plan in case this happens again.
Just returned from a long weekend away from the computer to learn The Long Nightmare is Over. Unisys, the front-end system used at all of Singleton's SoCal newspapers, is back up and running. Haven't heard yet if the meltdown has prompted LANG management to develop a contingency plan in case this happens again.
May 2, 2008
Shipping jobs overseas
Editor & Publisher offers a glimpse of the outsourced future, with newspaper companies contracting out to India for ad services:
Several companies have sprung up or leaped into action to go after ad production — a department that creates ads for mostly local clients in categories like real estate, automotive, and retail. Outsourcing companies vying for a piece of that business include 2AdPro, Express KCS, Affinity Express, and CCI Sourcing.
Their advantage — and emotional touch point — is that they maintain artists and staff in far-flung Indian cities like Chennai, Bangalore, and Gurgaon, where there is a steady stream of high-quality, inexpensive workers. These companies maintain they can do the same work for much less, saving newspapers anywhere from 20% to 60% of ad production costs.
Editor & Publisher offers a glimpse of the outsourced future, with newspaper companies contracting out to India for ad services:
Several companies have sprung up or leaped into action to go after ad production — a department that creates ads for mostly local clients in categories like real estate, automotive, and retail. Outsourcing companies vying for a piece of that business include 2AdPro, Express KCS, Affinity Express, and CCI Sourcing.
Their advantage — and emotional touch point — is that they maintain artists and staff in far-flung Indian cities like Chennai, Bangalore, and Gurgaon, where there is a steady stream of high-quality, inexpensive workers. These companies maintain they can do the same work for much less, saving newspapers anywhere from 20% to 60% of ad production costs.
Quick Q&A with Kleinbaum
Josh Kleinbaum, director of audience development at LANG, graciously answers a few questions about the computer troubles that hit LANG this week.
Has the glitch in the LANG blog system been successfully diagnosed?
We have to remove calls to a specific plugin from the blog templates, and we have to do it one blog at a time, so it's not a quick fix, but as we go through applying it to blogs, it looks like it's working.
Is there a connection between the Unisys meltdown and the blog troubles?
[I] can tell you with certainty that the blog problems and the Unisys problems are completely unrelated.
What's with the new job title?
We've had a reorg in the LANG Interactive department under new VP Brent Morris, and he changed my title as part of the reorganization. Duties haven't changed significantly, but there will be subtle differences. 'Managing Editor' means I'm responsible for editorial initiatives. This title means I'll be involved in decision-making in all aspects of LANG Interactive, not just editorial (which has been the case for a long time now, really, but this just makes it official, I guess).
Josh Kleinbaum, director of audience development at LANG, graciously answers a few questions about the computer troubles that hit LANG this week.
Has the glitch in the LANG blog system been successfully diagnosed?
We have to remove calls to a specific plugin from the blog templates, and we have to do it one blog at a time, so it's not a quick fix, but as we go through applying it to blogs, it looks like it's working.
Is there a connection between the Unisys meltdown and the blog troubles?
[I] can tell you with certainty that the blog problems and the Unisys problems are completely unrelated.
What's with the new job title?
We've had a reorg in the LANG Interactive department under new VP Brent Morris, and he changed my title as part of the reorganization. Duties haven't changed significantly, but there will be subtle differences. 'Managing Editor' means I'm responsible for editorial initiatives. This title means I'll be involved in decision-making in all aspects of LANG Interactive, not just editorial (which has been the case for a long time now, really, but this just makes it official, I guess).
Second life
The New York Times story revealing how the Pentagon recruited retired generals to become pro-war propagandists appears to be enjoying a second wind.
The New York Times story revealing how the Pentagon recruited retired generals to become pro-war propagandists appears to be enjoying a second wind.
The fix is in
As some of the LANG blogs start coming back to life, another memo goes out:
All,
MNGi is now working with an engineer from SixApart, the company that makes Movable Type, to try to fix the publishing issue. They believe they've narrowed the problem down to a plugin, and are now trying to fix it. I wish I could give you a timeline on when the problem will be fixed, but I can't. I can tell you that we're doing everything we can here to get to the bottom of the problem, and MNGi is doing the same in Denver.
As a side note, I'm taking bets on which will be up and running first: blogs or unisys. The Vegas line favors Unisys, but only by a hair.
If you have any questions, comments or just want to vent, feel free to e-mail me. Trust me, your frustrations are shared.
thanks, Josh
That is Josh Kleinbaum, who I mistakenly referred to as managing editor of interactive for LANG. His correct title is director of audience development.
As some of the LANG blogs start coming back to life, another memo goes out:
All,
MNGi is now working with an engineer from SixApart, the company that makes Movable Type, to try to fix the publishing issue. They believe they've narrowed the problem down to a plugin, and are now trying to fix it. I wish I could give you a timeline on when the problem will be fixed, but I can't. I can tell you that we're doing everything we can here to get to the bottom of the problem, and MNGi is doing the same in Denver.
As a side note, I'm taking bets on which will be up and running first: blogs or unisys. The Vegas line favors Unisys, but only by a hair.
If you have any questions, comments or just want to vent, feel free to e-mail me. Trust me, your frustrations are shared.
thanks, Josh
That is Josh Kleinbaum, who I mistakenly referred to as managing editor of interactive for LANG. His correct title is director of audience development.
Online 1, print edition 0
Sports reporter Fred Robledo says the LANG blogs appear to be working again, but the problems with Unisys - the database used to publish the print editions - persist:
Sports reporter Fred Robledo says the LANG blogs appear to be working again, but the problems with Unisys - the database used to publish the print editions - persist:
It's working, it's working
It looks like the blog is working again, or starting to work again. It appears the comments are showing up in minutes and so are my blog topics. Hopefully it keeps getting quicker. At the Tribune we're in "Day Three" of a major computer system failure. We're emailing stories to our editors, and deadlines are ridiculously early to make sure we get a paper published. The Whittier Daily News, Pasadena Star-News and Tribune local stories are all going on the same page to make it easier to get the paper out. It might be like this through the weekend so be patient, we'll have this straightened out soon. Just be glad it's not happening during the playoffs.
Failure to launch*
Attempts to reboot the Unisys system have so far failed and LANG editors are steeling themselves for a long, Unisys-less weekend.
"The Unisys server is still unavailable. Anticipate it being down for the rest of the weekend, leaving hope that it could come up sooner," writes SGVN New Media Editor Tim Berger in a memo to the troops.
*In semi-related news, another editor is leaving LANG. Jason Gewirtz, executive city editor at the Press-Telegram and former former Long Beach City Hall reporter there, has announced he's accepted a top editor slot at Sports Travel Magazine.
"The Unisys server is still unavailable. Anticipate it being down for the rest of the weekend, leaving hope that it could come up sooner," writes SGVN New Media Editor Tim Berger in a memo to the troops.
*In semi-related news, another editor is leaving LANG. Jason Gewirtz, executive city editor at the Press-Telegram and former former Long Beach City Hall reporter there, has announced he's accepted a top editor slot at Sports Travel Magazine.
May 1, 2008
Humility is attractive
This is the smartest thing Obama has done in response to the Wright controversy.
This is the smartest thing Obama has done in response to the Wright controversy.
Plastic surgery
The horrendous bullshit credit card companies have been allowed to get away with for years is astounding. The Federal Reserve seems ready to curb some of the more outrageous nonsense. No more calculating per month finance charges based on two months of acitivity, no more jacking up interest rates 50 percent or more for paying a bill a day late. Of course, these are only proposals:
Consumer groups, while applauding regulators' efforts to crack down on unfair credit card practices, say they worry that the final rule will be watered down in Congress amid pressure from the banking industry.
Credit cards have disfigured the American economy. They are the seed from which the cancerous mortgage crisis grew.
The horrendous bullshit credit card companies have been allowed to get away with for years is astounding. The Federal Reserve seems ready to curb some of the more outrageous nonsense. No more calculating per month finance charges based on two months of acitivity, no more jacking up interest rates 50 percent or more for paying a bill a day late. Of course, these are only proposals:
Consumer groups, while applauding regulators' efforts to crack down on unfair credit card practices, say they worry that the final rule will be watered down in Congress amid pressure from the banking industry.
Credit cards have disfigured the American economy. They are the seed from which the cancerous mortgage crisis grew.
Wendy swings her ax
Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw wants to control the content of her paper so badly that she just canned 16 people from the newsroom. (via LA Observed)
Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw wants to control the content of her paper so badly that she just canned 16 people from the newsroom. (via LA Observed)
Asking for help
As the IT department at LANG continues to try to get Unisys up and running, the online team has officially given up on its new blog server and is reaching out for help. Here's a portion of a memo Josh Kleinbaum, managing editor of interactive:
....MNGi realized that this blog problem is beyond their grasp, and is actually paying for Movable Type technical support, and they expect the MT techies will look at it either today or tomorrow, and hopefully fix it ...
As the IT department at LANG continues to try to get Unisys up and running, the online team has officially given up on its new blog server and is reaching out for help. Here's a portion of a memo Josh Kleinbaum, managing editor of interactive:
....MNGi realized that this blog problem is beyond their grasp, and is actually paying for Movable Type technical support, and they expect the MT techies will look at it either today or tomorrow, and hopefully fix it ...
What Singleton saw
Both L.A. Observed and an anonymous commenter say Dean Singleton is in town today - perhaps to peruse the balance sheets - and so has likely seen firsthand the massive misfire of his already buggy Unisys system, as well as the ongoing troubles with LANG's blog server*.
To be sure, the IT people are working overtime to get Unisys back on-line in time for tomorrow's editions. The backup system, meanwhile, appears to be straining under the pressure. Here's a memo from SGVN:
The backup system is far more limited than we originally believed. IT has called for a list of users who they will allow into the system. Those names, who are most critical for access, have been identified and their sign-ons will be shared with IT. For SGVN, we have been given
5 sign-ons.
Write everything in WordPad and e-mail it to your editor. Proceed as if Unisys won't at all be available today.
I was there when Unisys was first introduced - SGVN was the guinea pig - and can state with certainty that no one would mind if the system never came back. Still, something is better than nothing.
Frank Pine, senior editor at SGVN, has more on contingency plans at his papers:
To All:
As you've no doubt discerned from today's editions and from previous e-mails, we're up against major server problems that have severely limited our ability to access the Unisys system. The system crashed about 6 p.m. last night, and when we learned a couple of hours later that it was unlikely to come back online, we went to an alternate production/pagination plan. We're refining that plan for production of Friday's editions. We'll be building all pages on Macintosh Quark stations. That means that all copy should be written on desktop applications (open office, wordpad or notepad) and e-mailed to the appropriate assignment desk editors ...
We'll have a production meeting early this afternoon to book the papers and plan our evening strategy. We will proceed cautiously. That means we should all file stories and photos as early as possible, and we should make every effort to communicate efficiently and thoroughly. In this kind of a situation, it's hard to anticipate what problems might arise suddenly, so be prepared for anything. Thank you all for your patience with this and for your diligence and commitment. We'll have a story in tomorrow's paper explaining to our readers why were late today and why the newspaper's was … um … different today ...
More info on Unisys/server issues as we get it.
One silver lining is that this problem didn't hit until after most of the Santa Anita Fire coverage was completed.
*A commenter asked me what the connection is between the crash of LANG's front-end system, Unisys, and the MNGi server, which is now handling the blogs. I don't know for sure and am asking around to see if they are related or if this is all just an unlucky coincidence.
Both L.A. Observed and an anonymous commenter say Dean Singleton is in town today - perhaps to peruse the balance sheets - and so has likely seen firsthand the massive misfire of his already buggy Unisys system, as well as the ongoing troubles with LANG's blog server*.
To be sure, the IT people are working overtime to get Unisys back on-line in time for tomorrow's editions. The backup system, meanwhile, appears to be straining under the pressure. Here's a memo from SGVN:
The backup system is far more limited than we originally believed. IT has called for a list of users who they will allow into the system. Those names, who are most critical for access, have been identified and their sign-ons will be shared with IT. For SGVN, we have been given
5 sign-ons.
Write everything in WordPad and e-mail it to your editor. Proceed as if Unisys won't at all be available today.
I was there when Unisys was first introduced - SGVN was the guinea pig - and can state with certainty that no one would mind if the system never came back. Still, something is better than nothing.
Frank Pine, senior editor at SGVN, has more on contingency plans at his papers:
To All:
As you've no doubt discerned from today's editions and from previous e-mails, we're up against major server problems that have severely limited our ability to access the Unisys system. The system crashed about 6 p.m. last night, and when we learned a couple of hours later that it was unlikely to come back online, we went to an alternate production/pagination plan. We're refining that plan for production of Friday's editions. We'll be building all pages on Macintosh Quark stations. That means that all copy should be written on desktop applications (open office, wordpad or notepad) and e-mailed to the appropriate assignment desk editors ...
We'll have a production meeting early this afternoon to book the papers and plan our evening strategy. We will proceed cautiously. That means we should all file stories and photos as early as possible, and we should make every effort to communicate efficiently and thoroughly. In this kind of a situation, it's hard to anticipate what problems might arise suddenly, so be prepared for anything. Thank you all for your patience with this and for your diligence and commitment. We'll have a story in tomorrow's paper explaining to our readers why were late today and why the newspaper's was … um … different today ...
More info on Unisys/server issues as we get it.
One silver lining is that this problem didn't hit until after most of the Santa Anita Fire coverage was completed.
*A commenter asked me what the connection is between the crash of LANG's front-end system, Unisys, and the MNGi server, which is now handling the blogs. I don't know for sure and am asking around to see if they are related or if this is all just an unlucky coincidence.
More on the Rose Bowl, Rose Parade ticket giveaway
Fred Ortega, City Hall reporter at the Pasadena Star-News, did a little digging after reading my post yesterday on the FPPC taking an interest in the Rose Bowl Game and Rose Parade tickets given each year to Pasadena City Council members. Since computer troubles prevent him from posting this on his Star-News blog, I'll post the entire report here:
State Looking Into Council TofR Freebies
Former Star-News star reporter Gary Scott points us in his blog to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which has set its eyes on the free Rose Parade and Rose Bowl tickets Pasadena City Council members get each year.
Turns out that so far the FPPC, the state's political ethics watchdog, has been treating the tickets council members dole out to friends and supporters as having "no value." That is because they are technically "tickets to a nonprofit or political fundraiser."
Apparently the FPPC is now considering treating such tickets at "face value of the ticket less any amount of the ticket price that is indicated as a donation to the nonprofit or, in the alternative, the fair market value of any food, beverage, and entertainment provided to the individual."
So what does that really mean for Council members? According to the FPPC's own investigation when they last examined this issue in 2004, Mayor Bill Bogaard gets about 150 to 230 Rose Parade grandstand tickets from the Tournament of Roses each year, while individual council members get about 120 a piece. Sharp Seating, the Rose Parade's official grandstand seating provider, is currently selling tickets for anywhere between $42 and $85 a seat. So at the state's current gift limit of $390 for elected officials, even at the lower end of the pricing range an FPPC rule change would end up cutting the mayor and council's maximum allotment to a measly nine tickets each.
The Rose Bowl tix are, of course, a totally different story. According to the FPPC, the 2005 face value price for a ticket to the big game was $125, which would reduce the four free tickets council members were receiving at that time to three if the state's gift limit were applied. But who the heck gets Rose Bowl tickets at face value? Stubhub.com is already selling tickets to next year's game -- at a range of between $299 and $599. That means that if the FPPC changes the rules, Council members would get no more than one freebie -- and it better not be on the 50-yard line.
Furthermore they would have to report nearly all the tickets on their yearly economic interest forms (Form 700), because state law requires any gift valued over $50 to be listed.
Suffice it to say that, if the rules change, there are gonna be a whole lot of council friends/family/contributors watching America's favorite parade and game with the rest of us.... on TV, unless they want to camp out overnight on Colorado for a good seat.
FPPC is requesting public comment on the issue at blenkeit@fppc.ca.gov, or by telephone at (916) 327-2020.
Massive technical troubles hit LANG (updated*, **)
Apparently the switchover to a faster Internet server has wreaked havoc across Singleton's SoCal empire. All* of the papers carry a version of the following note to readers on the front pages of their websites (this one is from the Daily News):
To our readers - Due to technical problems, some sections and regular features of the of the Daily News do not appear in today's paper and your edition may arrive late. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Indeed, it looks like the server was knocked completely off-line last night and continues to be down this morning. I'm told the morning papers look as though they were written on typewriters and that Unisys, the database reporters and editors use to actually create the paper, continues to be off-line as well.
Tim Berger, New Media Editor at the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, sent out this memo:
There was a major failure with the main Unisys system last night and there is no indication yet when it will be restored. IT is working to bring up a backup system which, I'm told, has a lot less capacity and power than the main system and a limited number of users is allowed. Newsrooms please prepare ahead of time who is most necessary to be logged in. For now, reporters can likely write and edit stories using desktop software and e-mail them to editors. The photo department will be logged into SII for photo assignments. Send an SII message to SPEDS when you need something.
Meantime, blogs continue to be plagued by glitches - several blog links were broken when I checked them this morning, including ones trying to explain to readers what was happening. Posting new stories and comments can an hour or longer (assuming the system is even up and running).
Here's what sports reporter Fred Robledo had on his sports blog this morning:
I got a call last night that our system locked, froze or whatever, and that they couldn't get local stories in today's paper, you know, big ones like Gano "stepping away." And I'm sure you can tell we're having blog issues again, I don't even know how long it's going to take for this to post, but I'll try. For all of you that have left comments, I can see them in our system, they're just not moving over to the actual blog. When they get this fixed, I'll let you know immediately. Thanks for you patience.
Ryan Garfat, online editor at the Daily News, sent out this memo yesterday:
All,
I have an inbox full of issues, so thank you for that. Apologies if I don't get back to you directly. It's impossible to do so with the amount of responses I am getting.
I am waiting on a request from MNGi for a status update since some of the issues we identified have not been fixed, including the preview function, some posts going up quickly- others not, the unreliability of scheduling posts and some funky commenting issues.
Once I hear from MNGi, I'll send another update. Sorry if you're sick of them, but it's the best way to keep you all informed.
-Ryan
*The Daily Breeze and Long Beach Press-Telegram did not have notes on their websites when I checked early this morning (maybe I didn't look in the right places), but they have added them now.
**The San Bernardino Sun has posted a more extensive editor's note on its website concerning the scope of the computer problems:
To our readers,
Apparently the switchover to a faster Internet server has wreaked havoc across Singleton's SoCal empire. All* of the papers carry a version of the following note to readers on the front pages of their websites (this one is from the Daily News):
To our readers - Due to technical problems, some sections and regular features of the of the Daily News do not appear in today's paper and your edition may arrive late. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Indeed, it looks like the server was knocked completely off-line last night and continues to be down this morning. I'm told the morning papers look as though they were written on typewriters and that Unisys, the database reporters and editors use to actually create the paper, continues to be off-line as well.
Tim Berger, New Media Editor at the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, sent out this memo:
There was a major failure with the main Unisys system last night and there is no indication yet when it will be restored. IT is working to bring up a backup system which, I'm told, has a lot less capacity and power than the main system and a limited number of users is allowed. Newsrooms please prepare ahead of time who is most necessary to be logged in. For now, reporters can likely write and edit stories using desktop software and e-mail them to editors. The photo department will be logged into SII for photo assignments. Send an SII message to SPEDS when you need something.
Meantime, blogs continue to be plagued by glitches - several blog links were broken when I checked them this morning, including ones trying to explain to readers what was happening. Posting new stories and comments can an hour or longer (assuming the system is even up and running).
Here's what sports reporter Fred Robledo had on his sports blog this morning:
I got a call last night that our system locked, froze or whatever, and that they couldn't get local stories in today's paper, you know, big ones like Gano "stepping away." And I'm sure you can tell we're having blog issues again, I don't even know how long it's going to take for this to post, but I'll try. For all of you that have left comments, I can see them in our system, they're just not moving over to the actual blog. When they get this fixed, I'll let you know immediately. Thanks for you patience.
Ryan Garfat, online editor at the Daily News, sent out this memo yesterday:
All,
I have an inbox full of issues, so thank you for that. Apologies if I don't get back to you directly. It's impossible to do so with the amount of responses I am getting.
I am waiting on a request from MNGi for a status update since some of the issues we identified have not been fixed, including the preview function, some posts going up quickly- others not, the unreliability of scheduling posts and some funky commenting issues.
Once I hear from MNGi, I'll send another update. Sorry if you're sick of them, but it's the best way to keep you all informed.
-Ryan
*The Daily Breeze and Long Beach Press-Telegram did not have notes on their websites when I checked early this morning (maybe I didn't look in the right places), but they have added them now.
**The San Bernardino Sun has posted a more extensive editor's note on its website concerning the scope of the computer problems:
To our readers,
Because of major computer and system failures, Thursday's editions of The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and other newspapers in the Los Angeles Newspaper Group were abbreviated and missing features and certain sections. The problems have also affected our ability to post some of our news online.
We hope to have the issues resolved today.
The problem involved our main computer network for writing stories and producing pages, and was so extensive that even backup systems were largely immobilized. This forced us to use available computers and programs not connected to the network, and to reformat - and "tighten" - the newspapers in order to print them in time for distribution.
We apologize for the inconvenience, and, again, hope to have the issues resolved today.
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