Denver highlights

I didn't have the time to do much writing while in Denver, but plan to lash together a few thoughts in the next day or two.

One point: The Democratic National Convention might as well have been a production of CNN considering the real estate and access the cable channel had.

Which is why I don't understand Bill Boyarsky's argument that the convention signaled the death of the mainstream media. I've never seen mainstream media look more powerful. In addtion to CNN, which ran its own grill (off limits to non-CNN journalists), both MSNBC and Fox took over entire buildings right outside the Pepsi Center.

Indeed, conventions are now the domain of cable television, not of print - and not, as far as I could see, of blogs. The LA Times might have been relegated to a spot inside the Tribune Co. compound, but that's a decision peculiar to Tribune. Most of the other big publications had ample space inside one of the four big tents.

I also want to address a vague report from The Hill's blog that said people with green press passes applauded and chanted during the Obama speech at Invesco Field. The story does not say whether they were members of the traditional media, bloggers, or just people who happened to get their hands on press passes - how about asking them who they work for? I sat in a section with hundreds of people wearing purple "hall" passes that grant access to the camera stands used by the working press. I don't think any of them were actually media; the people who surrounded us were party members, movie stars and residents of Denver given the passes as tickets into the stadium.

Palin, Sarah

Why Sarah Palin, you ask?

Many commentators say the choice undermines John McCain's attacks alleging Obama lacks experience. I think he wants to reinforce those attacks. If you like her, then she's charmingly young and energetic, the maverick future of her party. Anytime her experience is made an issue, then the McCain campaign can happily point out that at least the more inexperienced candidate on the ticket is in the number two slot, not at the top like in the other campaign.

There is also an anti-Cheney ring to this. McCain may be trying to show that he doesn't need a VP to guide him - like Bush did, like Obama does? - and so picked a running mate who won't try to set the White House agenda.

McCain also offers Republicans a minority choice to assuage any guilt they might harbor in voting against Obama. There is a certain segment of the party that doesn't want to block the bid of the first viable African-American candidate for president. Now they have a minority candidate of their own to vote for - they can still tell their children that they were on the right side of history. This isn't about winning a certain number of votes, but it is about generating enthusiasm.

Her appeal to hard-core conservatives is another play at closing the enthusiasm gap. Being outside the beltway and outside of the mainstream - at least in terms of potential VP choices - may also burnish the maverick-y meme of the McCain campaign.

But all of this works only if Palin has McCain's respect. The choice has echoes of the trophy wife/young assistant storyline. Older man picks younger companion to show he is still in the game, still "with it" culturally and socially. But that's also a choice meant to leave the older man in control. It's a relationship in which he wants to give as little of himself as possible and still get what he wants in return. Republicans should worry the two will end up at odds. Will he resent her for trying to lay claim to her rightful place on the ticket? She is clearly ambitious. How will McCain respond when she tells him how to shape policy or steer the campaign? Will he accept her counsel gladly? Or bristle at being told what to do? This tension has a male-female dynamic and an insider-outsider dynamic as well.

McCain is a maverick and he wants to go it alone. He has a few close advisers he will listen to. The question now is whether he has the fortitude necessary to forge a believable-looking partnership with someone young, relatively inexperienced and highly ambitious. Because he clearly despises Obama for exhibiting these same qualities.

Comings and goings

While I was in Denver, the Daily News lost two of its linchpins on the city side: reporter Beth Barrett and City Editor Judi Erickson.

Inside Invesco

If you squint real heard, you might be able to see the Democratic candidates waving from the stage at Invesco Field. Oh, and that smoke is from the fireworks show that erupted at the end of Obama's speech.

Professional journalism is exciting

Here's a shot of my work space. Feel the passion.

More CNN

Perhaps they could start a franchise.

(photo by Frances Anderton)

The workspace

The pageantry of the convention is matched only by the plushness of our surroundings. Here is our "booth" in Tent #4 with co-producer Frances Anderton in the background. See those big ducts up there, that's air conditioning. And behind that drab gray wall, the mighty New York Times.

CNN porn

Here's a shot from the convention floor. I'll post more when I find some time. This, of course, is Wolf doing face time while King mans the map. Looks like he's doing red states.

I'm so multi-platform it is ridiculous.

Inside the tent

We're producing "To The Point" from Tent #4, which is about 100 yards from the Pepsi Center and 50 yards from the Daily Show bus, which showed up this morning with the Daily Show's roving correspondents inside. We're also just a couple yards from a giant air conditioner that hums a tune of madness. Fortunately, we convinced Steve the Air Conditioning Technician to turn if off for the show.

Being here is like being on a gigantic CNN set. Including the CNN grille that's open only to CNN staff and their guests.

About last night:

The Place To Be was the Friends of New Orleans shindig. Free beer and live jazz. Many big names in the mediasphere wandered through - J. Carville, D. Brazile, A. Cooper, M. Kaus, D. Corn, the woman formerly known as Wonkette, etc.

On our way to another party, sponsored by California state Sen. Alex Padilla (he was heading back today to rejoin the budget impasse), we passed the Rev. Al Sharpton. He was posing for photos. At the party, in wandered Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He passed through quickly.

But the highlight of the evening was a happenstance meeting with Charlie Wilson, who was hanging out at a National Democratic Jewish Council gathering nearby. We did a quick interview on the videophone they sent us with to Denver.

Quick thoughts on the Biden selection

OK, I think it's a smart move for two big reasons. One, he can campaign in areas that Obama can't and rally the whiter, working class troops. Second, his strengths are John McCain's strengths and his weaknesses are John McCain's weakness. McCain's long experience, Biden has it. McCain's maverick streak, Biden has it. Biden's penchant for gaffes, McCain's got it. Biden's hair-trigger temper, McCain's got it. Biden's entrenchment in Washington, McCain's got it.

This is important because even if Biden makes some mistakes over the course of the campaign, it is going to be hard for the McCain campaign to capitalize on them.

Biden is an equalizer. Politically, racially and experientially.

It's also a page book out of the Bush campaign.

Sidenote: Plenty of people have already made the gaffe of calling Obama "Osama." So I wonder what those prone to flubs - sometimes innocent, and sometimes not - will make of Obama-Biden, which has many of the same letters as Osama bin Laden.

The text and the fury

The traditional media beat the text message, my friends! CNN got the veep story before the Obama campaign could hit the send button on its cell phone. It was our John Henry moment. There will be songs sung.

And give credit to the Obama campaign for having the discipline to wait until 3 a.m. Saturday to do it - clever timing considering the Clinton campaign's most well-known ad (Andrew Sullivan called it). However, not everyone got the message at 3 a.m. Mine arrived at 1:04 a.m. Apparently some of the networks had trouble handling the load.

If the media was right about Biden, it's probably safe to say McCain will pick Mitt Romney. That announcement is scheduled for August 29, right after the Democratic National Convention wraps up.

Speaking of which, I'm flying out to Denver today. Posting will be spotty over the next week.

Barack likes Biden

I was not the first to know.

Despite this pledge, "Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice," CNN was the first to confirm that Barack Obama has selected Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. The text message I've been waiting for all week from Obama isn't supposed to come until tomorrow.

Trib slips in Fitch rating

Fitch downgrades Tribune Co. stock and sees more dark clouds on the horizon. From Chicago Business, via Romenesko:

Fitch sliced Tribune's rating two notches to "CCC" from "B-." It gave the stock a "negative" outlook, which means a decrease in the company's ratings is likely, usually at some point in the next eight to 12 months.

The ratings agency said a "CCC" rating means "default is a real possibility, and the capacity to meet financial commitments is vulnerable to deterioration in business and economic conditions."

Comings and goings

The Daily News has a couple new editors. LA Observed has the story.

Carpet bomb

Paper Cuts now reports over 8,000 job cuts at American newspapers. Only a few months ago the balloons on the interactive map were largely relegated to the coasts. Now they've crept toward the middle. A wildfire of failure.

Predictive journalism

Be first or be right?

(via Mediabistro)

Blame the letter, not the loans (*UPDATE)

Former employees of IndyMac bank have asked California Attorney General Jerry Brown to investigate New York Sen. Chuck Schumer's role in the bank's failure.

For those who don't remember, federal regulators seized IndyMac shortly after Schumer sent out a letter questioning the bank's solvency. Although some might have thought him prescient, at least one regulator implied Schumer pushed things over the edge. Schumer, meanwhile, had his own finger pointing to do.

And who is making sure reporters get copies of the employees' letter?

From Reuters: Copies of the employee letter were distributed to the press by CRC Public Relations whose clients include the National Republican Congressional Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee.

CRC, based in Alexandria, Virginia, was also linked to a company that published a book questioning 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam service on a swift boat.

I'm pretty sure bad loans and skittish investors had something to do IndyMac's demise, but I'm no financial expert. Meanwhile, Mark Lacter reports on FDIC efforts to help delinquent borrowers stay in their homes.

*UPDATE: AG Jerry Brown has declined the invitation to investigate Schumer (via LA Biz Observed)

Six degrees of Barack Obama

Are you related to Barack Obama? Seems like everyone else is.

On leadership

This piece by Chris Ison should be required reading by every newspaper editor and manager in the country. Most will sympathize; some could use a refresher:

The workers have shown they’ll change how they do the work; they just don’t want to change what the work is for. Is our central purpose still “to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information they need to function in a free society,” the mission adopted seven years ago by the Committee of Concerned Journalists? Or have we lost that focus while reaching for younger readers, more unique visitors to the Web site, and shallow suburban coverage meant to draw more ads? Asked more simply, are we here to serve the community or ourselves?

Comings and goings

Comings: USC j-school grad Amanda Becker has taken a reporting job at the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Goings: Daily Bulletin City Editor Kelly Bowser and DB reporter Andrea Bennett have both announced they're leaving. Here's the memo from Senior Editor Mike Brossart:

For those who weren't in this morning's staff meeting at the Bulletin, this is to let you know that two of our folks are departing for new opportunities soon. City Editor Kelly Bowser's last day will be Sept. 5. Reporter Andrea Bennett's last day will be Aug. 28. Both have done terrific work at the Bulletin and at The Sun; they are both fine journalists. I have greatly enjoyed working with Kelly and Andrea over the past few months. Please join me in wishing them all the best.

Also, farther away, the editor of the El Paso Times has stepped down. The Times is owned by MediaNews.

Evolution theory

In his latest post, Mark Potts at Recovering Journalist imagines what will happen when the keystone news organization in town gets taken down by parasites, age and ailments. In his vision, a stronger and better adapted news organization rises in its place.

I have no reason to think Potts is wrong and plenty of reasons to think he's right. However, I'm not as hopeful that new news organizations will quickly evolve everywhere that regional dailies die off - wild packs of chain papers continue to make things tough for start-ups.

The missing piece in his narrative is the benevolent force that will be needed to ensure these new news orgs build on the standards set by the best papers that came before. Natural selection is not synonymous with superiority.

Foreign bureaus at home

A passel of marquee newspapers are up for sale, but newspaper companies everywhere seem to be struggling. So who has the cash to get the deals done? Maybe another billionaire is willing to risk the headaches, but that seems unlikely.

Alan Mutters wonders if the same sovereign wealth funds that have been buying up American businesses and real estate and shoring up American banks might like to get their hands on a few American newspapers, too.

Mutter writes:

For considerably less than $1 billion of the up to $800 billion in its coffers, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council could buy the Newark Star-Ledger, Chicago Sun-Times and San Diego Union (sic) and turn them into U.S. editions of The National, the new English-language paper launched in the spring by the state-owned Abu Dhabi Media Co.

With $800 billion, ADIC could buy a lot of things. The question is what long-term value these papers would have for a foreign investor. According to Mutter, they'd provide editorial pages in influential ZIP codes and serve as a toehold for expansion. So, is anyone nibbling?

Fetch that terrorist, BigDog!

Check out this amazing robot named BigDog (developed for the Defense Department, of course).

I imagine a time when BigDog and his robot buddies get tired of being told what to do. Then we'll be in big trouble.

Party in Denver

Dean Singleton's Denver Post is sponsoring a party to open the Democratic National Convention and it's going to cost the penny pinching company a pretty penny. Mark Lacter has some of the details over at LA Biz Observed.

More trouble with free

Awhile ago I mused most profusely about the ridiculous notion that newspapers would continue to invest in journalism when they're giving away the news for free.

A side effect of not charging for the words writers produce is that owners feel less obligated to pay the writers for their work. Huffington Post is on the vanguard of a new business model, whereby fame is the currency of choice.

HuffPo just blew into the windy city and Kevin Allman is neither impressed with the work nor the fantasy pay scale.

What's the objective?

Errol Morris has a brilliant piece on the power of the image and the art of manipulation at his New York Times blog.

A thought occurred to me while reading the article that has nothing to do with photography, and it has to do with the role journalism plays in creating a common language by which society can on some level agree that "this is so" and "this is not so." Apply that, in turn, to a political campaign or an international crisis and you can see there is a lot of work that needs to be done if we want to maintain an institution that can credibly - if not always perfectly - call a deception a deception.

In our time we have come to increasingly distrust the notion of objectivity. Subjective analysis has often brought us more satisfaction and, self-reflexively, given us reason to think "objectivity" is merely a veil of authenticity used to disguise the subjective analysis of others underneath. That and the decentralization of information brought by the Internet has us experimenting with subjectivity and trying to discover whether a higher truth can be surmised through subjective analysis than ever could if objectivity was the goal.

Subjectivity is empowering - we can choose for ourselves, we can decide without the instruction of some institution. Also, the architecture of the Internet eliminates a hierarchy in information that served to bolster the claim of objectivity. A newspaper is a rare thing, carefully put together with a mass of resources and talent unavailable to all but a tiny few media companies. Who else but the New York Times could bring you all the news fit to print? The Internet puts all information on level ground. The front page of the New York Times appears on the same screen as this website and countless others. The visual cues are similar and the functionality of the page the same. What then do we rely on to know which bits of information are more trustworthy than others save through subjective analysis? (Brand might provide some weight, but that too slips into subjectivity given the number of brands competing for our attention.)

All of which means we should be that much more mindful of the risks that come with blurring the lines between news and propaganda. Those institutions that want your money and your allegiance would like for us to see news and propaganda as two sides to the same coin. The next question for news organizations then is not how to reinvent business models, it's how to define places online where deception is exposed and where society can come to find out whether "this is so" or "this is not so." Trying to be as subjective as everyone else is to disappear.

On Saddleback Mountain

So what to make of the Barack Obama-John McCain appearances at Saddleback Church?

Four observations:

1. McCain was the smarter, shrewder politician tonight. His direct, even terse answers were effective - playing into our belief that complex problems have simple solutions if only we apply the right set of values. Obama's nuance might be intellectually satisfying, but is less attractive politically. Also, after McCain delivered a quick answer he then used the time to plug his talking points - Rick Warren was most obliging. Obama rarely got past the explanation to take control of the discussion.

2. In a contest between biography and thoughtfulness, biography wins every time. McCain, as one pundit on CNN put it, painted a compelling picture of who he is. Obama was thoughtful and adept in his answer but overly intellectual.

3. The election is shaping up to be a battle between force and caution. Do we want a decisive president, unafraid to act quickly and confidently? Or do we want a president who acts only after thoughtful contemplation, whose decisions are careful and calculating?

Force is an easier sell, as the last two elections have shown. We seem to admire decisiveness over contemplation. Obama is going to have an uphill climb to make caution look wise, shrewd and strong.

4. As of tonight, McCain, wants it more.

Debate! Debate! 2 (sort of)

Now McCain

1. Who are the three wisest people you know?

Gen. David Petraeus - one of the great leaders of American history. John Lewis. Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay (and my vice presidential pick?)

2. What has been your greatest moral failure? And the greatest moral failure of America?

My greatest moral failure was my first marriage. America's greatest moral failure is that we haven't always devoted ourselves to causes that are greater than our self interest.

3. When did you lead on an issue against your party's best interest?

Climate change, out of control spending, torture... Voting against sending troops to Beirut early in my career.

4. What is your biggest flip flop?

Offshore drilling. We have to drill now!

5. What's the most gut-wrenching decision you had to make?

In a prison camp in Vietnam, I said no when offered early release. Toughest decision but also the one I'm most happy about.

6. What does it mean for you to believe in Christ?

Means I'm saved and forgiven. Describes the torture he received in Vietnam and the cross drawn in the dirt on Xmas Day.

7. When does a baby have human rights?

At the moment of conception. I will be a pro-life president and this administration will have pro-life policies.

8. Define marriage?

A union between a man and a woman. (Followup, was Supreme Court of California wrong on gay marriage?) I think they were wrong. We should preserve the unique status of marriage. If a federal court decides Arizona has to honor California's decision, I would support a constitutional amendment.

9. Favor or oppose research of embryonic stem cells?

I have come down on the side of stem cell research.

10. Does evil exist? Should we ignore, negotiate, contain or defeat?

Defeat it... Repeats his pledge to get Osama bin Laden... We are facing the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, radical Islamic fundamentalism... The central battle ground is Iraq.

11. Which existing Supreme Court justices would you not have nominated?

Breyer, Ginsberg, Souter and Stephens. No legislating from the bench.

12. Should faith-based organizations have to follow civil rights laws to get federal funds?

Absolutely not.

13. Merit pay for teachers?

Yes, yes and find bad teachers another line of work. Home schools, charter schools and vouchers.

14. Define rich?

A home, a good job and an education. I want everybody to get rich. I don't believe in class warfare or the redistribution of wealth... And our best days are ahead of us.

15. When does the right of privacy and national security collide? And which takes precedence? (A question Obama didn't get. Warren inexplicably says it was because of time issues.)

We must preserve the right of our citizens as much as possible - including a secret ballot for unions. There is a constant tension and we need to stay on top of it because of changes in technology.

16. What cause is worth dying for?

Freedom. Our national security. We can't right every wrong, but we can be a beacon of hope and liberty. Our most precious asset is American blood.

17. Do you respond to genocide?

Our obligation is to stop genocide wherever we can. We have to do "more" in Darfur.

(Side question on Georgia crisis, Warren gives McCain much latitude.)

Killings, murder, villages being burned. One of the earliest Christian nations... We have to not only bring about cease fire and Russia must respect entire territorial integrity of Georgia. Have to worry about energy pipelines there as well.

18. How do we end religious persecution in foreign lands?

The bully pulpit. We are an example to the world and we are privileged and I know what it's like to be without it.

19. Would commit to an emergency plan for the world's 148 million orphans?

We have to make it easier to adopt in this country. And we adopted a girl who was not expected to live and she's now 17.

20. Why do you want to be president?

I believe America's greatest days are ahead. I also believe we face great challenges. I want to make sure everyone agrees this is a time to come together. America wants hope and optimism. I'll always put my country first.

21. What do you say to people who say I should ask you these questions in a church?

I'm happy to be here. Judeo-Christian values. I'm honored to be here.

Debate! Debate! (sort of)

The Rick Warren presidential sort-of-debate gets underway from Lake Forest, California. Warren starts by explaining that we have to learn to disagree without demonizing each other.

Obama first

Who are the three wisest people in your life?

1. Michelle Obama, not only wise but honest. 2. My "no fuss, no frills" grandmother. 3. A table where a lot of points of view can be expressed, and my blind spots exposed and assumptions challenged.

2. Greatest moral failure of your life? Greatest moral failure of America?

For me, being self-centered as a youth. For America, not abiding by the maxim that whatever you do to the least of them, you do to me.

3. When did you go against party loyalty for the good of America?

Working with John McCain on campaign finance reform and opposing vote to allow use of force in Iraq.

4. What's your most significant flip flop (change of mind)?

Welfare reform - feared the Bill Clinton plan would have disastrous consequences. (Is this really a change of mind?)

5. What was your most gut-wrenching decision?

Opposing the war in Iraq.

6. What does it mean for you to trust in Christ?

He died for my sins and I am redeemed through him. I don't walk alone. Deeds, not just words. Acting justly and walking humbly.

7. Abortion?

There is a moral and ethical issue here, but I do support Roe vs. Wade.

8. How do you define marriage?

Man and a woman, but my faith and marriage is strong enough to allow civil unions between gay couples.

9. Stem cell research?

Yes. "In a careful way."

10. Does evil exist? If so, do we ignore, confront, contain, destroy?

Evil does exist. We see it in Darfur, on the streets of our cities, in the abuse of children. It has to be confronted, but we have to do it with humility. A lot of evil perpetrated in the name of good.

11. Which Supreme Court justice would you not have nominated?

I would not have nominated Clarence Thomas. Or Antonin Scalia. And oppose John Roberts because he supports the encroachment of the executive branch on the other branches of government.

12. Would you force faith-based organizations to follow anti-discrimination rules in hiring to take federal funds?

Yes. (But he says it with so much nuance that makes me wonder why he's touching this subject.)

13. Merit pay for teachers?

Yes, but it has to be negotiated with the teachers. Raise teacher pay and then reward excellence.

14. Define rich?

If you have book sales of $25 million ... (haha). But seriously. If you're making more than $250,000 you're well off. On taxes, you can't spend $10 billion a week on a war and then not have revenues to pay for it. Oh, and get rid of the loopholes.

15. What's worth dying for?

American freedom, American lives, America's national interest.

16. When do you commit troops in response to genocide?

No hard and fast line, always a judgment call. If we have it in our power to prevent genocide and mass killing, and we can work in concert with the international community, then we should act. Gives Bosnia as an example.

17. 148 million orphans in the world - Would you commit to funding a plan to help alleviate?

Yes.

18. What should the U.S. do to end religious persecution in foreign lands?

First, we have to bear witness and speak out. And lead by example by preaching religious tolerance in the United States.

19. What do you do about human trafficking?

Better laws to prosecute here. Speak out internationally.

20. In a minute, why do you want to be president?

The basic idea of empathy. Build bridges to come to common sense solutions to difficult issues that a broken Washington pushes off to future generations.

21. What do you say about people who criticize me for asking you these questions in a church?

We need these conversations so people know who we are and not focus solely on negative ads.

22. What would tell the American people if you knew there were no repercussions?

Solving big problems is going to require us to pay a price. (Uses energy as an example). If we pretend everything is easy, we are betraying the next generation.

Don't talk back

A small town in Texas thinks guns and teachers are a good mix:

HARROLD, Texas (AP) — A tiny Texas district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings when classes begin this month, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Eddy of the Times

The Los Angeles Times has a new publisher and its the guy everyone thought it would be: Eddy Hartenstein, formerly of DirecTV. Of local note, Hartenstein grew up in Alhambra.

So the future of L.A.'s biggest newspaper will be charted by a billionaire real estate investor and a former satellite television exec, with guidance from the psychographic musings of a former satellite radio exec. What could go wrong?

Daily Breeze will stay in Torrance

The Daily Breeze announced today it will move its headquarters to the South Bay Tower building on Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance. The paper has signed a 10-year lease and will make the move sometime in late 2008 or early 2009.

The memo from Publisher Mark Ficcara follows:

I'm extremely pleased to announce that The Daily Breeze has found a new home. It took longer than we expected but it will be worth the wait.

Late this year, we'll be moving into the first floor of the South Bay Tower building (formerly known as Computax) near the intersection of Hawthorne and Torrance blvds. There are few South Bay locations better than our current one but I'm convinced our new offices will be even more advantageous for our employees, customers and overall presence in the community.

South Bay Tower is a first-class facility with great food, shopping and business amenities within walking distance. There's an adjacent parking structure and we're steps await from the Marriott, where many civic and business functions take place. We've signed a 10-year lease and are planning for a December or January move. We'll keep you posted as the project moves along. In the coming days, we'll have some photos and other information available.

You'll be hearing more about the specifics from department managers in the next few weeks. We're going to need your cooperation as we transition to our new facility. There are many logistical issues that need to be addressed so I ask for your patience and cooperation in advance. One thing is clear: We're going to travel lightly when we make the move down Torrance Boulevard. We'll be doing some major cleaning this summer and fall. The clean-out of our current building has already started and needs to move quickly.

Our current building has decades of history and has become a Torrance landmark. But things change and now we have found a superb location to help move us forward. I'm looking forward to working together with all of you at our new home.

Ed's new landlord

According to the LA Times, Donald Trump had come to Ed McMahon's rescue.

More of the same*

Job cuts at Gannett and wage freezes at McClatchy (via Romenesko).

The job cuts cheered Gannett's investors. The company's stock rose 10% on the news.

*Update: So what does all of this means for the Gannett-owned Desert Sun in Palm Springs? According to Publisher Rich Ramhoff, the paper will have to fire three full-time employees and eliminate an untold number of open positions:

In Palm Springs, we have been able to make up almost all of our reduction through attrition and holding positions open. However, we will have to eliminate three current full-time positions... Each person will receive on week of pay for every year of service (minimum two weeks) and medical benefits will continue during this time.

Read the full memo here.

How do you like your accommodations?

According to the New York Times, the Obama campaign has agreed to let Hillary Clinton submit her name for the Democratic nomination in Denver as a symbolic gesture to satisfy some of her more vocal supporters. The open question: Will the vote be merely symbolic? Or has Obama opened the door to shenanigans?

Is this a case of political appeasement? Or a sign that Obama is going to pick Clinton as his VP?

Stairway to heaven

More sport and death in the mountains over at Watershed News. The post includes video of climbers on K2 taken four years ago that shows some of the difficulties that led to the death of 11 people earlier this month.

Taking a page from MediaNews

The Times Community Newspapers are revamping and from the memo (here via TellZell) it looks like they'll be following the lead of the MediaNews Group papers - which means consolidating copy desks and management, sharing more content, and, well, trying to do more with less. Here's the key passage:

All editorial functions need to be reviewed across all of TCN. While reporters and their beats are local, copy editing and design can be, to varying degrees, optimized across the whole empire. Tony Dodero and Danette Goulet will jointly determine how all TCN editorial resources can be optimized across the entire organization.

Fuzzy math

Is the Los Angeles Times really including the Ikea catalog in its page count? Kevin Roderick has the scoop at LA Observed.

Austin American-Statesman for sale

Cox Enterprises has put the Austin American-Statesman up for sale, along with newspapers in Colorado, North Carolina and Texas (via Romenesko).

The company will keep its flagship, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as papers in Ohio and Florida.

Related: The Palm Beach Post, another Cox Enterprises paper, is expected to layoff 36 people after offering buyouts to another 264.

Sign of the Times

The lead story in the Los Angeles Times' online National section comes from the Washington Post.

Me first

I just received a personal e-mail from Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, offering to tell me - yes, me - who the candidate chooses as his running mate before anyone else:

Dear Gary,

Barack Obama is about to make one of the most important decisions of this campaign -- choosing a running mate.

You have helped build this movement from the bottom up, and Barack wants you to be the first to know his choice.

Although I've actually done nothing to help him build his movement, I find it appropriate that Barack has singled me out for this special honor.

Plouffe provided me two options to get the scoop - either sign up using a special link on the campaign Web site, or send a text message. I chose the latter. After all, I might be in my car when the deal goes down.

So, stay tuned. I'll let you know after they let me know.

Wikirealpolitik

Apparently John McCain knows how to use the Internet after all. Taegen Goddard's Political Insider notes some similarities between passages in McCain's speech on the Georgia crisis and passages in the Wikipedia entry on Georgia.

Taking stock

Mark Potts at Recovering Journalist has put together a database of recent newspaper cuts and has the stark numbers here. Among his findings: The 100 largest papers in the country have eliminated at least 6,300 jobs in the past year; the Los Angeles Times ranks first in number of people cut, at 350.

Potts adds this unhappy news: More cuts, no doubt, are still to come. Gannett Blog believes a fresh round is coming at that company any day now, and there are rumblings and rumors of cuts at other companies. Many papers that have not made cuts yet this year probably are going to have to do so soon as revenue continues to deteriorate.

Comings and goings

The Stress-Telegram reports that Press-Telegram reporter Joe Stevens is leaving to become a teacher.

MediaNews explains sale

In a memo posted on the Romenesko blog, MediaNews Group execs Jody Lodovic and Dean Singleton confirm that the reason they sold the Connecticut Post and seven other papers to Hearst was to raise capital to pay down a crushing debt load. With the proceeds, MNG was able pay off almost 25% of its bank debt and negotiate more favorable terms for its remaining loans. Quoth the memo:

In exchange for the large repayment, our banks agreed to relax certain key aspects of our credit agreement to provide more room to navigate over the coming years. In sum, the sale, coupled with the changes to our credit agreement, provide us the runway we need to execute our strategic plans, position the Company to be opportunistic, and continue to lead the industry into the future.

Given the fact that Standard & Poor's had downgraded MNG's debt to a CCC rating, which is in junk bond territory, it's more likely the sale saved the company from slipping into bankruptcy.

Great Seattle property, will sell cheap

McClatchy Co. has lowered the value of it's 49.5% stake in the Seattle Times t0 $9.9 million, down from $102 million just two years ago. The carrying value is set for accounting purposes and does not necessarily reflect the price McClatchy would ask were it to sell. Indeed, there is nothing in the reports I've read to suggest McClatchy plans to put its stake on the market.

Still, let's try to put that valuation in perspective. Cher is selling her Malibu mansion for $45 million. While the 14,000-square-foot house does have an ocean view and a tennis court, it has never won a Pulitzer Prize and has very little to offer in the way of breaking news or investigative reporting.

Texas alt-weekly folds

Shortly after Slate.com exposed what appears to be a brazen, unapologetic and long-lasting bout of plagiarism at The Bulletin of Montgomery County, Texas, the paper's publisher, Mike Ladyman, decided to fold the publication rather than face more scrutiny.

In an interview with the Houston Press, Ladyman criticizes Slate writer Jody Rosen for bringing the plagiarism to his attention in an inconvenient and unpleasant manner:

Other than the three articles Rosen showed him in June, the three that he took down off the web, Ladyman says Rosen never showed him any other examples of plagiarism in the Bulletin before publishing his attack online. Ladyman doesn’t consider this an honorable course of action.

“If I would have had the opportunity to look at any of these things, I would have not only pulled them down, I would have apologized, I would have written a written apology and I wouldn’t have been working with Mark anymore."

The "Mark" Ladyman refers to is Mark Williams, the writer whose byline accompanies all of the offending articles. While due diligence is not one of Ladyman's strong suits, he did at one point confront Williams with some of the evidence of plagiarism:

“When I contacted Mark about it he said that’s what was in the press releases they sent me. I know in today’s day and age, and I know maybe they shouldn’t, but I do understand what writers do and they do tend to maybe use too much of the PR that’s fed to them,” Ladyman says.

In other words, Williams didn't steal original work, he merely stole press releases. Though this form of plagiarism may be less troubling to Ladyman, Rosen's article makes quite clear the plagiarism went much further than "too much of the PR".

Williams penned his own bitter letter to Rosen that's also included in the Houston Press story. In it, Williams blames the Slate writer for using his big city skills to knock a poor rube from his tenuous hold on the writing life. Here's an excerpt:

It must have taken years of seasoned investigative know-how to push me off my lofty perch. It takes a dogged, intrepid journalist to expose the alleged wrongdoings of a 44-year-old college dropout who drifted from one lousy media job to another for 20 years; it takes courage to debase someone with a mouthful of cut-rate dentures who, up until 2007, lived in his parents’ home for seven years due to near-fatal bouts of clinical depression; it takes a journalist of a certain caliber to torpedo a pathetic hack who has barely squeezed out a living for nearly a decade at seven cents a word.

About the Times

TellZell has a slew of LA Times' updates, including more noise that former DirecTV head Mike Hartenstein is indeed the leading contender to become publisher of the paper and rumor that Tribune Co. may consolidate its separate DC bureaus into a single entity.

MediaNews divesting

MediaNews Group has sold eight papers in Connecticut - including the Connecticut Post - to its sometimes business partner Hearst Corp. for an undisclosed price. The money no doubt will be used to shore up MNG finances and help pay down a debt load that has earned the company a CCC rating from Standard & Poor's.

MediaNews bought the Post in 2000 from Thomson with proceeds from the sale of a passel of papers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Man the ant

Hiking a trail that rises steadily for over 1,600 feet will give one time to contemplate things - especially when pulling up for a few seconds to sip some water and curse one's lungs. It was at an impromptu rest stop that I looked down and saw a small swarm of wood ants at my feet. They swarmed in a cloud pattern, never straying too far from the point of the disruption. It got me to thinking of our new modes of communication and connection - iPhones, g-chat, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc. Aren't they, taken together as a network, reminiscent of the scent trails ants use to navigate their world? Our march of thoughts and reactions travels along a trail of links, each one an archive of the recent past much in like a chemical residue. Those who trace our steps know not only where we've been but what we've encountered along the way.

Small colonies form around niche interests, but larger, more robust colonies are in search of something more basic: popularity, and the social and economic riches that come with it. 'Buzz' signals a change in direction. Criticism warns of a dead end. Any disruption and the network swarms to resolve it either by eliminating the threat or subsuming/digesting it. This is the colony we should be wary about, or it will digest us.

Maybe this logic only works at 8,000 feet. However, this all seems to me a better way of understanding the online communities than terms that use the "roots" as a suffix.

Off to the mountains

I'll be back Sunday.

Another dispatch from K2

Mountaineer Nicholas Rice of Hermosa Beach talked to the Los Angeles Times about his decision to delay a summit attempt of K2 just hours before an avalanche killed 11 climbers.

The story follows earlier reports by former Sun/PE reporter Guy McCarthy.

I wrote that (Updated)

There's plagiarism and then there's plagiarism.

As Slate's Jody Rosen found out, The Bulletin, a small alt-weekly in Montgomery County, Texas, appears to have perfected the second kind - a wholesale theft of words. Indeed, a quick check of the first music review I came across from Music Editor Mark Williams looks an awful lot like this.

The paper is part of the Alternative Weekly Network, a California nonprofit that coordinates ad buys for 110 weeklies nationwide, including the Pasadena Weekly and LA CityBeat (there is nothing to indicate these papers are following in The Bulletin's dubious footsteps).

To join AWN, a paper must publish weekly, "carry no more than 75% advertising content, and no more than 33% non-local material." It's hard to imagine the paper is meeting the last requirement.

In an email, AWN Executive Director Mark Hanzlik says he hasn't done business with The Bulletin "in years" and indicated its membership could be in jeopardy.

Update: Hanzlik now says The Bulletin is not a member of the Alternative Weekly Network. Although a link to the paper appears on the cooperative's Web site (here), Hanzlik says some of the papers make the list simply because the network has placed ads with them in the past.

Hanzlik explains: "It's a bit confusing, but the bottom line is we align ourselves with members, they govern our cooperative network and we're proud to say they're members. The others on the list are simply titles where we may have placed ads."

He adds: "I'm appalled at the editorial practices of this free community weekly in Conroe, but not surprised. We haven't seen a full issue of The Bulletin in many years."

Just an observation*

The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today all lead their sites with the anthrax story, following the public release today of the government's case against the late Dr. Bruce Ivins. The Los Angeles Times, which was the first to report that Ivins was the prime suspect, plays the story as its seventh lead. It's buried beneath several California headlines and the Hamdan verdict.

*Checking back shortly after 10:30 p.m, I see an anthrax story by the LA Times' Peter Hamburger now takes the lead spot on the paper's Web site.

Going for the gold

Former San Bernardino Sun sports reporter Paul Oberjuerge is in Beijing to cover the Olympics. He's working as a freelancer. You can read his dispatches at his blog.

Clever comeback

John McCain used Paris Hilton in an ad, now she uses him in an ad of her own. No gut buster, but amusing.

More from the mountain

Photos, interviews and sundry updates on the K2 avalanche over at Guy McCarthy's Watershed News blog.

Guild tries to build pressure

Amidst contract negotiations, the guild representing the Long Beach Press-Telegram newsroom has apparently found a friend in a local auto dealer/P-T advertiser. After meeting with guild members, he sent management an e-mail warning that he might pull his advertising if they don't pull proposed contract language that would allow MediaNews to outsource editorial work.

Shorties

A Hermosa Beach man, Nicholas Rice, was on K2 (story updated here) when an avalanche killed 11 climbers.

'Jimmy Justice' watchdogs cops in New York.

California State Controlle: Computer system too old to cut pay... but what if they were all getting raises?

42 parting thoughts

A new member of the newsroom diaspora, former Los Angeles Times reporter William Lobdell makes a list of things he knows about newspapers in his inaugural post at Lobdell's OC.

To me, the list illustrates a deep frustration many, if not most journalists feel as they realize their best ideas of how to adapt and survive can gain no traction among those who believe in the downward trend line. Convinced of death, many newspaper companies seem to be running themselves toward the cliffs, hoping to shed themselves of their suffering bodies and discover their more perfect form as quickly as possible.

And it's damn near impossible to reason with a stampede.

*The piece of advice I most agree with is #33: If I were publisher, I'd have a clear mission statement for The Times' editorial department (if you ask 100 journalists at The Times about their mission, you'd likely get 100 different answers).

The "why" question is always the most important in journalism. Reporters and editors, especially young ones, need to figure out why they're in the business. More important, owners and managers need to ask themselves why they're in the business and make clear what they think journalism's mission is.

More of the same

The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday announced another round of buyouts between now and the end of the year, with a goal of cutting 125 jobs. If the goal isn't met, layoffs are likely to follow.

From a Saturday brief: "Obviously, we're not the first newspaper to be affected by the continuing downturn in advertising," said Publisher, President and CEO Frank Vega. "We are hopeful that by opting for our employees to voluntarily sign up for buyouts we can avoid any type of layoffs going forward."

The Hearst-owned paper cut a quarter of its newsroom staff just last year and has gained a certain level of infamy as being the paper that loses a million dollars a week.

Anthrax suspect commits suicide

The Los Angeles Times has the scoop on Bruce Ivins, a members of the U.S. Army Army Medical Research Institute of Infection Diseases, who allegedly swallowed Tylenol with codeine after learning authorities were about to file charges against him in the 2001 anthrax attacks.