Eye on media: Citizen journalism team questions Grand Rapids Press reporter

A guy who likes asking questions is on the other side of the interview table this time around.

James Sanford, once of the Kalamazoo Gazette, shared this: "Insightful interview with my good friend and former Gazette co-worker Chris Knape, who is now the business big-wheel at the Grand Rapids Press.

In The Rapidan, a citizen journalism project I've mentioned before asks the questions in:On the Record: Chris Knape | The Rapidian

Label lust:: Two dears, a hon and a Mary

I try to believe it doesn't matter what you call me as long as you call me on time for dinner. But when I hear some of the things you call me, oh my.

I have an unusual name. OK, a lot of names. Even I admit Mary Ann Chick Whiteside is long and often shorten it to mcwflint online..  But it is still my name and I have a right to be called what I want, what I expect.

In fact, a telephone call that begins with Mary quickly clues me in that the likelihood that this is an unwanted call is high. I prefer that folks call me Mary Ann and I usually try to correct those I want hanging around in my life.If they don't remember that after awhile, I get that they don't really want me around.

I am getting much better at gliding past the Mrs. Lawrence Whiteside from those of a certain era. (Yes, it starts "you can't enlighten the dead" rolling through my head.) And, I rarely donate money for the thrill of seeing my name in a program book that heads to the recycling factory.

I'm getting used to hon and sweetie by those I'm not married to, but ma'am still feels like a sucker punch. That ma'am - that's for people who command respect merely because of their age. It quickly turns me from the young woman in that famous illusion into that old woman in the famous illusion. (Take a break - look at the possible lineage of that classic illustration.)

Still I was surprised how hurtful a recent dearie was.Even more surprising was to get two dearies in one day and realizing that I'd always heard a blessing in the label from this person.

But hearing the label recently from a new acquaintance brought up another image for me: An old woman's face, all crinkly and smiley and wrinklely, the type that generates offers of help across the street from the nearest, kindest stranger.

That dear, that dearie, magically switched my hands with the hands of my grandmother in her latest years, her last years.

Still, at the end of the day? I'll take dear over ma'am any day ... and please don't forgot to call me for dinner.

Part 2: I blame Louis Gray

Blame the soon-to-be canceled Ugly Betty show for its recent episode on blogging  and its reminder that audience size does not matter if your goal is to influence just one person.

Or blame Jim Hopkins whose painful exit from blogging about one media company led to a sharper, broader return to blogging about three media companies.

But mostly, you'll have to blame Louis Gray who once told his followers I give pretty good FriendFeed. for this public outpouring of the thoughts, guilt, insights, etc.

Yes, blame the guy who routinely has sucked me into the future with his teasing introductions of new tools and services. I don't know I need.

Louis Gray knows that I blame him and he did apologize for making my exit from blogging and most Internet things tough. (I'm sure the smiley face was a mistake, right?)

Let's be fair, though. LG, as he's branded himself, did not call or send an electronic message begging my return.. I'd bet big money (oh, wait, I don't have that anymore) that he did not even notice I stopped blogging, Tweeting, FriendFeeding, and leaving reactions to his blog posts and shared links.


Validation by IM

I got that apology only because I had the audacity to see that he was online one night and IM'd  a question that's been bothering me for about a year: Does it bother him when I keep quoting him?

But what I was really asking is "have I become an online stalker, a nuisance, an annoyance?" He's good at saying the right thing, at leveling the playing field, at valuing people as people.

"We're all groupies, he said, in that post-midnight talk. That's shorthand for the reminder that public adoration by linking is what people who write on the Internet do.

Forgiveness please

Then, because I'm trying to acknowledge the good in my life I lied to Louis Gray. At the time, I believed that I would never share this next part of the conversation, the part that led to the apology..

I don't have the original conversation saved but the gist is I blamed him for sucking me back into blogging, or at least wanting to shares what I know about technology and communication to benefit others.

Perhaps, I should blame Facebook.

Since I planned to finish the booked  Facebook 101 for Girl Scout classes and move out of all-things techie. I stopped opening Google Reader and Feedly and using most of the Internet tools like Twitter, StumbleUpon and Digg.

But I kept using Facebook where Louis Gray is my friend (no, really, through his regular account even as others dropped me when the businesses did). But, for at least six weeks I ignored all of the postings and links from the guy who never sleeps.

Then, Facebook rolled out its new home page and Louis Gray's postings popped up because, of course, my settings were tossed by the developers who must know me better then I know myself.

Facebook fuels blame

The latest redesign makes me blame Louis Gray for unfinished quilts, sad FarmVille neighbors and fewer updates on the latest communication vehicle I've created for Girl Scouts.

I blame Louis Gray because he writes intriguing headlines.

I blame Louis Gray because he culls the best posts on subjects I don't want to be interested in anymore because I don't want to see the possibilities.

 I blame Louis Gray because he is ethical, transparent, and a good writer.


I blame Louis Gray because he is the father of twins, romantic and funny. (Somehow, that makes him more real and not just virtual. It  encourages me to share the inside openly.)

I blame Louis Gray for knowing how to become a bag of popcorn that I can't stop eating.

On Friday, one headline on Facebook caught my eye and I clicked. More links winked.Then, I binged on Louis Gray. I stuffed myself , chasing his links and posts. I raced through his endless bucket, catching up on a teen blogger who accepted gifts, the Twitter world, the Friendfeed frenzy, on and on and on.

My head hurt. My heart raced. My fingers ached.

Slicing via stealing

Plus, I blame Louis Gray because he steals thoughts from my brain before I have formulated them into a coherent structure. I hate how he slices through the clutter of excuses.Take The Burning Drive to Never Settle: Refuse to Compromise. I keep reading it, sharing it:

"I hate losing. I hate not seeing a result be as good as it possibly could be. I hate turning in a project or a product that is not to the best it could be. I believe in executing quickly, but not if it means sacrificing personal responsibility or standards.

 He yanked that out of my brain and then he echoed another thought:

 "And I know I am just as competitive out of the office or off the Web, making sure I win at cards or board games, or beat my friends at bowling. If I don't, then I'll know where I screwed up, and remember it the next time I get a chance to redeem myself."

 Look, bowling holds too many bad memories for me, but have you seen what I'm doing on FarmVille.  (Though I think it is a little scary that I quoted Louis Gray last night in the game.)

Louis Gray drags more out:

"It is a lifelong race that has no finish line ...  but I do not want to be second-best. I want to win on virtue of being consistent, driving quality, thinking in a way that is differentiated, and being active in a beneficial way in as many places as I can to distribute value.

"If you can achieve, never accept the opportunity to not do your best, and expect the same from everyone."

I blame Louis Gray.for starting the binge that made me realize " Never Settle: Refuse to Compromise"

You can blame Louis Gray for me doing more before cremation.

-------
Note: I started explaining my return in  Part 1: Ending the Great Escape

Before I published this, I told Louis Gray I had decided to write about our conversation and offered him a first look. He declined (that sounds much colder then it was). Those actions won't surprise anyone who knows us.

Related posts: 

I've written about Louis Gray before, including this post on "Stalking or Starving" that let me learn what it's like when someone follows your Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and LinkIn profile on the same day. 

There was The past creates shadows on on today and  No secrets: Sharing insights, goals helps all, which was about mapping your social interactions. 

Gray snuck into Something special: Looking back at newspaper careers and  sparked Jealousy over blog post leads to reflection. He's inspired other posts, but I try hard not to be his echo chamber.


Note: This post was updated  2/9/10 to correct some grammar and typos. I added why it matters that he's a romantic father and confessed that he is in more then five posts. More confession? My bucket list is shorter because I got something better then a face-to-face space with him.


By the way, feel free to click on that email link when you find those errors in anything I write if you don't want to embarrass me in public comments. I love copy editors.

Part I: Ending the great escape.

I'm listening to my husband and letting you know I'm coming back from the "gone fishing" break I didn't plan to take.

At first, I believed I was merely taking a blog break. Lots of company there and each announcement of "no more blogging" bolstered the idea of just stopping this sharing of thoughts.

Yet it was not trendiness that drew me into this dumping of words in one place on the Internet.

And this lull of nothingness was not just a blog break. Instead, it became a vacation from major parts of the Internet - from this blog, Google Reader, Twitter, Friendfeed, even email. Worse yet, not just some email but all mail accounts. Me, the woman who used to eagerly rush to remove all bold from the log in PINE or  erase a number next to the Facebook Inbox.

Why? Depression? Busyiness? Nothing left to say (stop laughing now. I was just getting used to the idea that I can speak up on ANYTHING anytime now that I've left a newspaper career behind.)

Then I wrote "I don't know why I escaped from all that" in the first draft and knew my answer.

Tough, tough, tough

This transparency stuff is tough. This interactive stuff is tough. This writing stuff is (still) tough.

I make it harder on myself. For example, knowing some come here only for more on Advance Publications - Newhouse newspapers - Booth - etc. - I strive to keep up with it all, to share it all fairly. I make myself email or call the head honchos for their sides. I try to ensure I don't accidentally reveal what I should not know because someone posted an opinion in Facebook or Twitter or ... I try to protect those who share information - ensuring I've looked at multiple buyout/layout letters before quoting one, that I have permission to use names.

I make that same effort on other subjects. Instead of writing about the absurdity of titles on one Girl Scout council's staff list, I go looking for a council doing it right. Miss Pollyanna Positive still.. Plus, I cannot believe that my opinion about Twitter or Facebook or social gaming can stand on its own and go looking for items to quote for backup.

It's a blog, you know

I know it is just a blog and that I could just write.This attribution thing, this protection thing - not expected by anyone in just a blog..

But I know that's a lie even as I write it - the blog is just the printing press; the material published through it still needs to meet the standards of accuracy, of fairness, of believability. Why? Because that is who I am, or at least who I strive to be - a person proud of the image staring back from the mirror. Even on the days I don't like the outward wrappings of me, I need to like what is me.

Yeah, I can't get rid of the idea of journalism ideals that must have been ingrained in me at birth even as my heart shatters over the dismantling of the news industry. I cannot say goodbye to one more friend whose dismissal from the business wears a costume of buyout or, worse yet, layoff. (Yeah, like those people will ever be hired back.)


No more journalism

This year, yes, 2010, is the year I have to wipe out the lifelong commitment to journalism. There is no chance of returning to the news business. There is no room for me in the established newspaper, online business, or journalism classroom for me.

I cannot continue to become excited when I see opportunities written with my name on them, when mail from a news organization comes here. The high is too soon followed by a drop.

Yet, really what else do I know but gathering stories and communicating. I crush  new-found friends with questions, not content to trade casual comments without knowing more. (Yes, Google and Bing are this addict's enablers.)

Belly fire quenched

I lost the fire in the belly to create a new organization, a new way of sharing news even as I envy the partnering of Jay Rosen and Dave Winer. Perhaps it is watching others start off so enthusiastically and then their flames slowly disappear, crushed by paperwork, regulations, and profit and loss statements. Perhaps it is the overwhelming number of blogs about journalism, grant-funded projects, and research that seem to produce nothing beyond words.

My dream slipped into a nightmare  ... Someone else can  pull to together the diversity of information and chunk it for busy news professionals, to convert the academic-ese into day-to-day newsroom English, to translate the hottest finds from the geeks, the early adopters into usable, understandable tools for journalists who duck math with pride.

Or perhaps it is more personal, a fatigue I should expect because of the effort spent on my daughter's battle against cancer, health insurance and life. There's more. And there's that multiple sclerosis thing that seems determined to make walking and seeing a challenge now that I have time for both.

So I escaped. From the blog. From the blogs. From the Tweets. From you. All of you.

Updated with links, correct names and better spelling and grammar 2/8/10  11 a.m.

Knight Foundation funding two more Michigan news projects

 Two Michigan organizations will benefit from the Knight Foundation's effort continued its quest to fill a growing void of news.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Jan. 13 that 24 projects will receive  $4.3 million.

From the press release:

Recipient: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

Project: GreenSpace
Award: $352,000
To encourage support for creating more livable communities, this grant will develop an information hub for the seven-county region of southeast Michigan that will inform residents about how to be good stewards of the area’s natural resources.

The “GreenSpace” project will bring together all the available information on the topic – benefitting anyone from a family searching for a place to hike or bike, to a resident advocating for more parks and recreation and a government official developing land use policy. The hub will encourage users to contribute content and share links to information, helping to nurture leadership and action on important issues.

(Mary Ann here: The seven counties in this southeastern Michigan are: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties.)

Recipient: Michigan’s Children, a partner of The Skillman Foundation  

Project: KidSpeak Neighborhood News
Award: $126,000
As a way to boost involvement in Detroit issues, this grant will help create a multi-media youth news service, where student reports will focus on neighborhoods and schools.

Close to 40 percent of Detroit’s population is functionally illiterate, and many Detroit parents lack a high school diploma – creating obstacles to their children’s success. Also, many low-income families don’t have the Internet access that could bring them vital information about their communities.

Engaging families by providing opportunities for their children to create high quality content will help fill the communications gap, bring young voices into public debate and empower residents and communities to create positive changes.

Details on the other  projects are posted on the Knight Foundation's web site.

True story: Confessions of a tree killer

The blog is called Chattering Teeth and is worth a visit just for a look at the teeth. The author often confesses to a poor grasp of grammar and those pesty commas. Today he explains a brief blogging vacation while trying to make sense of his farewell. I'm just shocked Obama wasn't blamed :), which if you poke around the blog you'll understand why I said this.*

What makes this a different from most blog posts on a newspaper layoff is the author is finishing up 30 years on the circulation/distribution side of the business. The blog author started as a carrier, and made it up to circulation director at The Flint Journal, one of the many Advance Publications cutting back.

Read Confessions of a Tree Killer to learn more about one of the latest victims of the continuing decline of the newspaper industry. Jumping over a taller bar, and even winning at a new goal wasn't enough for the guy who had delivered "you're leaving" speeches in 2009.

The blog author and three others at The Flint Journal learned last Friday that their services would not be needed at the Newhouse organization. That includes Bonnie Raymond,** who most recently worked in human resources, in Michigan newspaper layoffs hit central Michigan. That's the same day similar notices were delivered to three full-time employees at The Jackson Citizen Patriot, at least 90 at the Kalamazoo Gazette, 65 at the Grand Rapids Press and at least 16 *** at the Muskegon Chronicle.

The Grand Rapis Press farewells include 15 in the newsroom.  In Kalamazoo, WWMT: interviewed Gazette worker Greg Dykstra who said  "There's 70 of us in my department alone, we were together everyday. We worked hard to get the paper out." The TV station posed as short video and report.

* The words in italics were added after the inital posting.)


** Yes, I do know the names of the others at The Journal and some from the other Advance Pubication newspapers. But I ask first and haven't heard back from everyone.


*** Another employee was transferred, which led to another employee's layoff.

Social media victory? Lost trumps Obama (again)

Lost? Not  after an eight minute video (below) that pulls together everything.for the TV show that will start its final season soon..

Amused? Totally by the chatter that the show's producers were worried that the president's annual State of the Nation address would draw eyes away from the show's Feb. 2 premiere. I'm even stunned that the White House media person assured the creator's that won't happen. In return, came a Tweet offer: Obama can know everything - just ask.

Great publicity move that the White House helped. The speech is traditionally the last Tuesday of January and the worry was out on the web in 2009. TBut witter and Facebook have grown since then and so did the worry. (If only we could get that campaign for a better health care plan.)


The Jan. 8 transcript for the official briefing shows it started with a question about when the State of the Union would be and a suggesting that the president was delaying the speech until health care reform passes. Then:

Q    How about "Lost" issue?  (Laughter.)
MR. GIBBS:  You a big fan?
Q    Yes.  (Laughter.)
MR. GIBBS:  No, we’ll announce something soon.

Those aggressive reporters came back to the issue later.

Q    None?  And secondarily, is he aware of the Internet storm over those who are begging him not to schedule the State of the Union address on the night of the three-hour premiere of "Lost"?
MR. GIBBS:  I will say this on behalf of ABC Radio.  (Laughter.)  I don’t foresee a scenario in which the millions of people that hope to finally get some conclusion in "Lost" are preempted by the President.
Q    Can we --
MR. GIBBS:  You can quote a senior administration official.

Mmmm. Lost is filmed in Hawaii; President Obama just returned from Hawaii ....

Michigan newspaper layoffs hit central Michigan

Looks like the layoffs for Advance Publications in Michigan went beyond the west Michigan newspapers.

Among those posting that they are laid off was Bonnie Raymond, most recently in Human Resources at The Flint Journal. She celebrates 25 years at The Journal on Feb. 5 and is laid off Feb. 6. (Dates corrected Jan. 9)

Also rumored to be affected are some who oversee newspaper delivery at the Booth Mid-Michigan newspapers. Many of the functions already were being handled in Grand Rapids, which is moving its call center operations to Kalamazoo.

Advance, which has offered several rounds of buyouts at most of its newspapers, announced in August that it would no longer guarantee jobs even if newspaper revenue dropped. Some of the employees who are out of a job have said they are getting a severance package although it is not like the earlier buyout packages.

Many thought that The Flint Journal, Bay City Times and Saginaw News would avoid layoffs since the staffs were reduced dramatically when the newspapers went to a Thursday, Friday, Sunday publication schedule.in June 2009.

Advance Publications reorganizing in Michigan - layoffs announced

Updated at 4:30 p.m. with background;)
First, I saw a Tweet reminding me that Paper Cuts has launched its 2010 map showing where newspapers are cutting staff. At 3 p.m., the count was at 431 jobs, but that doesn't include cuts announced at the Kalamazoo Gazette, Grand Rapids Press and Muskegon Chronicle today.

A story just posted on mlive.com outlines staffing and production changes. Those changes include:

• Printing the Kalamazoo Gazette at the plant now shared by the Grand Rapids Press and Muskegon Chronicle.
• Moving advertising production for all three news organizations to a the print and digital production center used by another sister publication. (I'm not sure if this is the one setup for AnnArbor.com  or the "Great Lakes group of Flint, Saginaw and Bay City.)
  
• Moving all circulation outbound calling and retention efforts for the three newspapers to Kalamazoo.

A Muskegon Chronicle article saiid:

"The Booth organization said the employment changes include a reduction of all printing and production positions and a number of positions in other departments in Kalamazoo. The majority of the positions eliminated in Grand Rapids are in ad production. A small number of newsroom and advertising staff in each market are also affected."

Similar articles were published by The Grand Rapids Press and Kalamazoo Gazette with quotes by the newspapers' chief executives.

“Our commitment to the Kalamazoo community remains strong in many ways, as evidenced by the three region-wide Booth operations centers established in Kalamazoo in less than 12 months," (Gazette Publisher James) Stephanak said. "These investments include the circulation retention call center, as well as West Michigan’s overall marketing headquarters and the regional center for advertising content.”"

The layoffs were expected since the business announced it was withdrawing its "lifetime job pledge"  on Aug. 5. (Also discussed in this reaction post.) Until this year, the Michigan daily newspaper in the Newhouse group pledge that a bad economy or technology would not affect employment of the full-time employees.That change was to become effective Feb. 5.)

The printing change was suggested in a March 2009 Gazette article announcing the closing of the Ann Arbor News, reduced production schedule for The Bay City Times, Saginaw News and Flint Journal and pension and salary changes for most Booth Newspaper employees.

Inn addition, Stephanak said he is currently working on the possibility of consolidating the Gazette's printing and packaging operations with Grand Rapids in conjunction with exploring major changes in the distribution system.""

That same article said that "The Kalamazoo Gazette  The Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot and Muskegon Chronicle, had centralized accounting, technical services, some customer call center functions, advertising production and page editing functions."

It also included this:

"This summer, an editorial production center will be established in Grand Rapids to serve Kalamazoo as well as other newsrooms in West Michigan. This center will serve the page editing and production needs for all news products, page layout and design."

Groan, grin - my reaction to media use of Facebook

Two media outlets' references to Facebook came within minutes of each other as I was multitasking Thursday. I grinned when I learned that AnnArbor.com turned the bra color meme into an online post. I groaned when a TV reporter started gushing over how he used Facebook for on-the-spot weather reports.

I didn't take notes, but it went something like ...

"oh my gosh, when people post on Facebook there's a date and time so you know exactly when the weather was like that .... isn't Facebook wonderful."

I hate weather stories for their predictability and unreliability. (Jim of L-Town goes into detail in "Weather panic back" over on Free From Editors.) It was smart for the TV station to seek comments about the weather on its Facebook page. It was not too smart to ignore them.
http://twitter.com/Late_Show/status/6476161913

David Letterman got me started on this rant with his "Twitter machine." because I really don't understand how competent professionals get away without knowing more about tools like Facebook. Or how some can brag about their lack of knowledge.

Let's see ... a comedian who uses the day's hot topics to entertain isn't immersed in social networking. Does that mean he's after the print-forever crowd, content to let others grab more with it eyeballs?

... Do  news professionals inspire trust when they show how little they know about the community?  (If Facebook were a country, it'd be the fifth largest ... social networking sites are now more popular then porn sites,  ... yes, I just finished another Facebook presentation so  brain is cluttered with cocktail chatter , according to my husband.)

Fortunately, some do recognize the importance of reporting what people are doing and talking about and don't get caught up in the reporting on the tool. The first behavior can pay off - a status update on Facebook reported the AnnArbor.com story on the breast awareness campaign via Facebook is drawing heavy traffic.

The meme itself is drawing a range of reactions, including some labeling it too much information about colleagues and relatives. It's also generating discussion, such as reviving the debate over when and how often mammograms are necessary. I've also seen  a "No bra, no breast cancer" discussion on research showing a relationship between bras and cancer.

Oregonian now Stickel-less

The Birmingham News without a Hanson for the first time isn't the only Advance Publication newspaper starting the new year without a long-time family member.

The Oregonian's management is now Stickel-less for the first time in 42 years as Patrick Stickel, who was president retired Dec. 30. His father Fred Stickel retired as publisher in September. (Still working as a writer is Fred's daughter Bridget Otto.)

Also posting about the quiet retirement was The Oregonian and Oregon Media Central. The Oregonian piece

No one said what the 59 year old plans to do, though The Oregonian post did talk about his involvment with the arts so maybe he'll follow the lead of former Grand Rapids Press editor Mike Lloyd.

Patrick is leaving with optimism, telling The Oregonian that a rebounding economy will bring back advertisers to the newspaper's print and Web pages.

"The value of what we're selling has worked for the past 40 years, the past 20 years and it still works today."

No update on what Fred Stickel, 88, is doing.

SPJ featuring Frazz cartoonist Jef Mallett

We've missed the reservation deadline, but you can still go  to hear former Flint Journal artist Jef Mallet talk at the Society of Professional Journalists Mid-Michigan Chapter.

Jef is best known for his nationally syndicated Frazz cartoonist and author Jef Mallett, but he worked for Booth Newspapers for 18 years before striking out on his own. He says he's making it up as he goes.

To celebrate the start of a new year, Jef will be the featured speaker at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 (Wednesday) at Harper's in East Lansing.

On the Facebook invite it said:

"Find out how Jef made the transition from daily newspapers to the creation of a popular newspaper comic strip and what inspires him.

In addition, Jef is the author and illustrator of several books, including the recently published Trizophrenia: Inside the Minds of a Triathlete. (NPR host Peter Sagal describes it as a 'funny, heartfelt, serious work of evangelism.')

On one of my recent long trips out-of-town, I read more about the book in a City Pulse article, Three-way caling: Artist gives first-hand insight into triathlon mania. Jef did his first triathlon in 1981, up in Traverse City and has done about 50 of them since. Although I enjoyed the article, I won't be following in his footsteps anytime soon. (Check out Bill Castanier's column there if you're looking for good books to read by the way..)

Certain to make most of my days better is reading Jef's blog posts. (The other days I feel guilty for not moving more while reading about his swims, riding and workouts.)

Are you on the right road? (52½ weeks
Originally uploaded by KT of Lake Orion

Speaking of guilt, do read Jef's post about "Exit 93, to Hell in a handbasket, recalculating." And then ask yourself as the Dixie Baptist Church's sign does "Are you on the right road?"

(Yes, I had to know more so according to a story in the free library, * the sign went up in 1970 at the urging of Pastor Paul Vanaman, then pastor of the Dixie Baptist Church. The "Hi-way Pulpit" is based on Warner Sallman's "Head of Christ"  and his parishioners pooled $11,000 for the sign on church property. That same year, 50-foot-tall arches with the 16-foot-tall plywood sign of Jesus debuted. In 1991, the church spent $28,000 to replace the sign with a modern replica -- to minimize upkeep and vandalism-related repairs.

(* The article is credited to The Seattle Times, but I suspect it actually was a Detroit Free Press article.)

Family, Internet challenge draws new publisher to Alabama

Family is one reason why Pam Siddall is heading to the Birmingham News, according to The Eagle in Wichita. But an interview on al.com indicates the challenge of a new model of business is a draw.

Her parents, five siblings and their families - live in Phenix City, Ala., three hours from the Newhouse news organization's base in Alabama, Siddall told the Wichita Eagle.

"Recent health issues with my parents kind of tugged at my heart that it was time to come back home."

Siddall's two daughters and husband will remain in Wichita so the girls can finish the school year, the Eagle reported.

I can relate to those health concerns. I've been thinking there ought to be a law that parents, siblings and offspring can't move more then three hours away from each other.  That thought was reinforced with each trip to and from Tennessee to see my daughter and each Medicare Part D plan considered for a set of parents in California this past month. Don't get me started on required Social Security and Medi-Cal reports done long distance.

Family is important, but don't dismiss the challenges waiting in Alabama. In an interview, Sidall told the Birmingham News: about some of her thinking:

"Take a step back, take a blank piece of paper and tell me if you were start­ing this business today un­der the current economic conditions, given the priori­ties that we know need to be in place, draw what that looks like. Let me tell you, that is hard to do. But you have to do it."

She also said

"I think that we will probably be a smaller, leaner organi­zation focused on very, very specific vision and strategy. We're going to feel good about where we are. We're going to be the best. That would be a good place to be in the next 12 to 18 months."

That should get a few more people to consider accepting the buyout offer on the table at the Advance Publications newspapers in Alabama.

"I think you will see a culture here, an orga­nization that really sees it­self as a 24-7 multimedia operation. You will see a culture here where people believe in personal accoun­tability and have a spirit of competitiveness, that we're going to win. I would like to see some chins held up and some pride in what we do every day."

Already, lots of changes in Alabama with a new structure for Advance Publications and new management. Those changes even extended to al.com, the online afflicate for the newspapers, with the resignation of one editor and the appointment of a director of content. (Ken Booth was replaced by Robert Sims, who had been Internet editor at the Birmingham News.)

By the way, some Flint Journal folks might remember Marty Carry, who worked in classified sales from March 2003-June 2004. He became vice president of advertising at the Wichita Eagle in March 2009.

Bouncing back: No retirement in Grand Rapids, some finding jobs, beat goes on

Six months of retirement was enough time for former Grand Rapids Press Editor Mike Lloyd.

The Press has two stories posted about Lloyd's new job as executive director of Broadway Grand Rapids. The first is an announcement, the second focuses on the organization's plan to expand from theater into an arts organization with an emphasis on arts education.

Both remind me of a quote shared in one of the many tributes to Deborah Howell, the former Newhouse News Service editor killed while crossing the street in New Zeeland. "I'm flunking retirement and very busy with consulting....We're headed for New Zealand on Dec. 26 for three weeks!" ," she wrote on a Christmas card to Ken Doctor. (And, of all the columns and postings I've read about Howell I still like Tim McGuire's best with Joe Owen's a close second. Well, obviously I liked Doctor's too since I'm quoting from it. Mostly, though, I'm touched by how many people remember Howell for more then her journalism prizes and hope they told her so.)

Meanwhile, a Tweet from James Briggs announced he was heading back to employment.

"My, ahem, vacation ends today. Starting my gig as online sports producer for The Oakland Press, a rare daily paper with rising circulation."

He had left a job as prep sports reporter for the AnnArbor.com to cover the Detroit Lions and Red Wings for the Detroit Daily Press, which stopped printing almost as soon as it started. You can read Briggs' Detroit Daily Press was fool's gold for more about that. Or read Briggs post about how few challenged anything about the newspaper's plans.) Briggs had taken a two-year leave from journalism before returning to Michigan. I had stumbled across him in March through a blog post about the death of the Ann Arbor News (now deleted!#$!) Meanwhile, Crain's Bill Shea says no sign of revival of the newspaper.

Back to Lloyd, Press editor for 31 years before retiring in July, for a minute. He will head Broadway Grand Rapids, a non-profit organization that signed a management agreement with Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts. in October. The Press article says Lloyd will work with the Wharton, which is booking several productions in the Grand Rapids area this season, to improve the western Michigan organization. He'll face an uphill battle as the state of Michigan continues to ax funding for arts organizations and arts education.

Speaking of battles, I'm off to fight several of mine own so blogging may be more like the December pace then earlier in 2009. I'm trying to catch up on some of my Internet reading, so I noticed that Free From Editors had a post about the Saginaw News, Flint Journal and Bay City Times seeking reporters; that the AnnArbor.com shared web traffic insight in response to an anonymous Ann Arbor blog and mlive.com seeks a contract worker to write about employment in Michigan. Oh yeah, long-time business reporter Rick Haglund is blogging on a subject he knows well.

McDermott's 'last conversation' at Republican looks behind, ahead

Larry McDermott, who just retired from his last Advance Publications role, left behind "One last conversation before we go "

No one should be surprised that he anticipated the questions that his retirement cartoon - a man without helmet and his dog on motorcycle - might provoke.

No one should be surprised by what he said his goals over the years were:

• Go after the truth – don’t stretch it.
• Don’t be afraid to report the bad news, or to pursue information that a few elected officials and bureaucrats would prefer to keep secret.
• Hold officials accountable but also recognize their good work. Remind readers that there are many among us who are far less fortunate and need a helping hand.
• Work every day to make the newspaper better, to shine a light where there is darkness, both as a daily conveyor of local news and as the most effective tool for businesses to reach their prospective customers.

No one should be surprised either by how he ended his column: Praise for the staff.

George Arwady, most recently at the Newhouses' Star-Ledger in New Jersey, will replace McDermott at The Republican in Springfireld, Mass, as announced earlier.

Publisher named for The Birmingham News

The Birmingham News will get a new publisher Jan. 11, according to an article posted today at al.com

Pam Siddall has been named publisher of The Birmingham News. The announcement about the Alabama native will begin work in Birmingham on Jan. 11, said Ricky Mathews, president of Advance Alabama/Mississippi newspapers. The group includes The News and The Huntsville Times, as well as The Mississippi Press in Pascagoula and the Press-Register in Mobile, where Mathews serves as president and publisher.

Siddall succeeds Victor Hanson III, who retired as president and publisher of The News at the end of November. It is the first time in the newspaper's history that a Hanson is not in charge.

From al.com:

"Pam Siddall is an excellent media executive," Mathews said Monday. "She is passionate about newspapers and the role they play in society. She has a proven track record of success. She is keenly aware of the mass reach of the combined print and online editions of The Birmingham News and is just the one to lead The Birmingham News into the future, further strengthening its position as a multimedia company.

She has been president and publisher of The Wichita Eagle since November 2007.

Update: Media of Birmingham also posted an item on the announcement, including links to Siddall's previous newspapers as wel as Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Pioneering female editor Deborah Howell dies

A roundup of tributes and details on Deborah Howell, who ran the Newouse News effort in Washington DC is in this item.

I always enjoyed talking, no make that bantering, with her. Hope I thanked her for the advice and inspiration over the years.

Posts on Advance pull in most eyes in 2009

The new year is just hours away so let's take a quick look back at my main blogging outlet, Inside Out. Knowing where I was sometimes helps me figure out where I'm going.

This post also is inspired by a post on the slowly blooming  back into life Gannett Blog. I told Jim Hopkins I would be borrowing the concept behind his post Tops of '09: Layoffs, a memo, Wausau -- and buck$
and he graciously said:

"Copy away! Once you've got an archive of posts, there's no reason not to recycle them in imaginative ways."

Most traffic comes to the main page, where two to four posts usually wait.

Google and FriendFeed send the most traffic my way, but the Free From Editors sends me a lot of readers. That makes sense since Jim of L-Town often writes about The Flint Journal, letting former employees know what's up.

I'm not surprised that the most read posts of the year concern changes at Advance Publications, Advance and the Newhouse publishing empire. Those are the posts that generated the most feedback here, on Twitter, Facebook and in my inbox. Certainly, 2009 and was a big year of change for the Newhouse media world.

Advance mirrors industry: Change, change, change

Editors and publishers left the organization, pensions and salaries were cut, and publishing schedules changed or totally shuttered. A long-time perk - "life-time job guarantee" - for Newhouse newspaper employees ends Feb. 5.  That spurred lots of talking and another round of buyouts in Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, New Jersey and other states home to news organizations owned by the Newhouses.

Advance Internet changes

Changes at the web side of Advance started in January with the leaving of longtime employees, including Jon Donley who left his editng role at NOLA.com  Surprisingly, two Newhouse newspaper employees moved to Advance Internet after taking buyouts from the New Jersey Star-Ledger. (Hassan Hodges is tech guru at AnnArbor.com; John Hassell is vice president of content at Advance Internet.) Changes continued throughout the year, including another editor leaving (Booth from al.com)

Publishing less

In my backyard - - three Newhouse daily newspapers dropped to three times a week publishing schedule in June, and slashed staffs. The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News and Bay City Times now operate as Booth Mid-Michigan.with one publisher and executive editor. Some other editing functions were combined, although for now each newspaper has its own print edition and some local staff.

Staffing an issue

Most read post of the year was one on staffing the new setup: Why is Valley Publishing seeking help?  Did I mention that Valley Publishing was the core company for the three news organizations for an area the group promotes also as the Great Lakes Bay Region? I'm still looking for the Great Lake in the Flint, Michigan, area.

Wisely, the Flint news organization noticed it cut too deeply and has brought back some long-time employees like Jennifer Kildee in the features area and Bruce Gunther and Brendan Savage in sports. The revolving door continues, with reporter Elizabeth Shaw leaving in January and assistant Community editor Katie Bach replacing her husband as public relations manager at the Flint Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Michigan changes hit pocketbook

The second-most read post was Michigan newspapers announce changes, written March 23. That post included news about the mid-Michigan changes, salary and benefit cuts for all employees at Michigan's Newhouse newspapers and changes to operations in Ann Arbor.

In July, Newhouse closed the Ann Arbor News and opened a new organization that focuses mostly on its web effort, yet still delivers two print editions a week, opened. I've gathered some of my posts and others on the changes in Ann Arbor media.

More top-read posts

The next three most-read posts are:
Why May for Advance pension changes?
Ex-publisher sues newspaper
Two more publishers leaving newspapers

Girl Scouts get social

Some of my posts about how Girl Scouts are doing social networking also drew readers. I talked about Girl Scouts tweeting and on Facebook.

I've been helping a number of Girl Scout organizations get up to speed on the Internet. (Yes, I know some of you are laughing since you know I started that effort back in 1994. Some things never change; some things always change.)

Getting personal

Of course, this is a blog written by a person so some of the more popular posts are about personal things and confessions. There's my Advance addiction, my grandfather's hatred of key-turners, and my daughter's breast cancer.

(Quick update: She's doing very well, just finished a round of physical therapy, nearing the end of the year-long chemo and back to work. My husband and I just returned from a visit to see her in Tennessee.)

Thanks for reading ... see you in 2010.

Source: Google Analytics

Buyout offers popping up at Newhouse newspapers in Alabama

Media of Birmingham and Lagnaippe both report that more employees at the Newhouse news organizations in Alabama are weighing buyout offers. The offers to non-union employees are capped at six months for those at the Mobile Press-Registrer, Huntsville Times and Birmingham News.

Lagnaippe  has details about the Mobile Press-Registrer; Media of Birmingham has more details about the Birmingham News and a mention about the Huntsville Times.

And yes, Victor Hanson III retired as publisher of the Birmingham News. He had announced his leaving in late September. An al.com article and a Tom Scarritt column marked his leaving Dec. 1. His retirement means that for the first time in nearly a century a Hanson does not lead the newspaper.

Hanson, who plans to head back to college, told The Birmingham News he is proud of having led the Birmingham News Co.'s expansion into direct mail, specialty publishing and advertising services to broaden its revenue stream.

  "We intentionally developed the talent and focused on the need our clients had to reach the market in ways beyond the printed product," Hanson told the News.

No update on what's happening with the lawsuit by the ex-publisher of The Press-Registrar.. But  Lagnaippe questions the accuracy in the reporting of Howard Bronson's exit from the news organization.

"... did the paper intentionally print a lie when it told readers Bronson had retired?"In

In the lawsuit, Bronson claims he was forced out after 18 years and despite what he believed was a lifetime job guarantee.

Although  the Lagnaippe writer admits that he does not know what the reporters, and perhaps even the editors, were told about Bronson's departure, he suggests that the news organization needs to tell the truth about its affairs to maintain the public's trust.

.".. it seems if Bronson was fired, someone in the corporate chain determined that a lie should be printed, which destroys the paper’s credibility.

"Either that or Bronson did retire and then forgot and decided to sue, which would make him insane or crazy, or both. (From the Department of Redundancy Department.)

"If a newspaper lies in print about its internal business, to my way of thinking that’s no different than lying about any other story. The credibility’s in the crapper, and that’s really what matters in the news biz.
Mistakes are one thing, but fabrication is another. I hope if it did happen, someone at the P-R will have the cajones to own up to it."

Wow.  No mincing of the words in that column. By the way, as long as you're cruising that site check out the words on the P-R's circulation report.

Advance rearranging top jobs; Arwady moving on

Two publishers with long-time ties to Michigan, face major changes this month in Advance Pubications.

Larry McDermott, publisher of The Republican in Springfield, Mass., since 1999, announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the year. George Arwady, publisher of The Star-Ledger of Newark, will assume the duties of publisher at The Republican. Penn Jersey Advance President Richard Vezza will also take on the role of publisher at the Star-Ledger.

The Republican, Star-Ledger and Penn Jersey Advance are part of the Advance Publications.

McDermott and Arwady have the Michigan ties. McDermott, 61, was publisher of The Bay City Times when he was named executive editor of the Springfield newspaper in 1991. Arwady worked with the Kalamazoo Gazete, Muskegon Chronicle and Saginaw News in Michigan.

Arwady, 62, was publisher of the Kalamazoo Gazette before going to the Newark newspaper in 2005. The Brooklyn native grew up in New Jersey and spent 34 years of his newspaper career in Michigan. The Republican is the fifth news organization he will run for the Newhouse's Advance Publications.

Arwady was editor and publisher of the Muskegon Chronicle from 1980-88, where he helped start "New Muskegon," an organization designed to give the comunity a boost. Another big project was trying to convince Muskegon to publicly fund a cross-lake ferry project in 1987. The public turned down the proposal.

Arwady also was editor of The Saginaw News, where in June 1977 he started a weekly "Tell it to the Editor" soundoff column for readers.

Verzza, 61, joined Penn Jersey, which is three daily newspapers and a chain of weekly newspapers in New Jersey, and The Express-Times in Pennsylvania in 2000. The long-time New Jersey journalist will continue in that Penn Jersey position, according to an article on nj.com


A number of journalists recall working with McDermott in a story over on masslive.com Plus, find details about the careers of McDermott and Arwady. Arkansas State University also  posted a good bio when McDermott closed out the Journalism Alumni Speaker Series in November 2008.

Read some of McDermott's recent columns on masslive.com, including one on a subject dear to his heart: Open meetings.

(Thanks for all who alerted me to this news as I spent the day offline, chatting face-to-face with a friend and struggling to find some perfect presents.)

Updated Jan. 5, 2010: to include Arwady's memo:

Dear Star-Ledger Colleagues:
Effective at the end of the year, I will be leaving Newark to assume the publisher responsibilities at The Republican, our company's newspaper in Springfield, MA. Your new publisher will be Rich Vezza, president of Penn-Jersey Advance Newspapers.

Rich, who is well-known to many of you, has been responsible for our company's daily newspapers in Jersey City, Gloucester, Bridgeton and Salem, N.J., as well as the daily in Easton, PA. He also has headed the company's NJN weekly newspapers, which include the Hunterdon Democrat, the Somerset Reporter, the Suburban News and the Independent Press. In his new position Rich will be seeking additional ways in which those newspapers can work together with The Star-Ledger and the Times of Trenton, as well as with our affiliate website, NJ.com. Each newspaper will retain its individual identity, while seeking collaboration that will help us weather these extremely challenging times for all newspapers.

 I know Rich well. He's a real Jersey guy, having spent a lifetime working in New Jersey newspapers, both in news and business operations. He's a straight-shooter with a great sense of humor who will fit in well here. I'm sure you'll give him the same full support and cooperation that I've enjoyed over the past 5 years.

 I want to express my great appreciation and admiration for all of you and your work here. The Star-Ledger is a great newspaper, and I'm proud to have worked with you to help keep it strong through these very challenging times. I always will value your friendship, and treasure our accomplishments here together.

Thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
George Arwady