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December 2002 The Year of Sustained Casualties Embarrassing Allies Dispatches from the Front by Burl Burlingame |
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| 12/2/02 Something to read during the halftime show And so we have a new governor, who's a first in many ways -- a woman, an ex-mayor, Republican (if you discount Bill Quinn's incumbency), a Jewess (do people still use that word?) and the first Hawaii governor who's under 50. Lingle gave an inaugural speech that was part manifesto and part battle cry. Interestingly, before the inauguration even got off the ground, someone at the capitol rotunda thoughtfully placed the morning's Star-Bulletin on each seat. Over the weekend, Ed Case won the special election for Patsy Mink's temprorary seat. Saturday night, I sat bolt upright and squawked, Holy Cow! I forgot to vote! It was the first election I've missed since 1972. |
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12/4/02 Zipmap-a-dee-doodah Gannett is negotiating to become the sole producer of walking-tour "zipmaps" for Honolulu's historic districts. Publisher Mike Fisch has a legitimate personal interest, as he's an official with the Historic Hawaii Foundation. The cost per unit they're quoting -- a dollar apiece -- is quite high, but Gannett is brokering the sale, not printing it, and Advertiser staff will be donating all the labor. It's too early to tell if it's shrewd business or a simple public service, but likely a little of both. Public monies may be involved, however. |
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12/7/02 Midget mania And my rendezvous with Oliver North continues ... |
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12/9/02 Waal, dang, Bubba Ryan, whoeer them thar people out thar? Today at noon (East Coast time) the Northern Virginny Journal is going to be picketed by the (ex-)employees the Phillips family illegally laid off last week. These are the executive offices of Ryan Phillips, son of Rupert, and reportedly decorated with a Confederate flag. Ought to be fun! |
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12/10/02 Merry Christmas Gannett style The swank party for the Gannett executives this year will be held at the Halekulani. (Staff is fending for themselves this Christmas.) In the meantime, they're not bothering to fix broken fax machines in the Gannett Advertiser news room -- too expensive. |
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12/13/02 Stealing thunder Ian Lind is crediting the University of Hawaii newspaper Ka Leo with taking the Gannett Advertiser to task for their conflict of interest in promoting a Thunderstix-type device in supposedly independent news stories. That's a bit of a stretch. Ian's Honolulu Weekly piece also claims that all references to the Advertiser were "nixed" by editors in a letter from Aloha Stadium Manager Eddie Hayashi. Actually, in virtually all respects, Hayashi's Nov. 24 letter was identical to a press release he issued on Nov. 12 -- except for one paragraph. The Nov. 12 press release read I think it is important to point out that the 8,000 Thunder Stix referred to in news accounts were not paid for by the University's Marketing Department. University officials have informed me that The Honolulu Advertiser, the corporate sponsor of the UH vs. Alabama game, is paying for them. But when the press release was recycled as a letter to the editor, that paragraph read I also want to point out that the 8,000 Thunder Stix referred to in news accounts were not paid for by the university's marketing department, as was previously reported. Seems Hayashi himself pulled the reference, at least in the version of the letter sent to the Star-Bulletin. And how did Ian find out? See 11/30/02 below. |
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12/16/02 More midget news Where else are you going to get Pearl Harbor midget submarine updates? |
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12/17/02 A teaching newspaper -- like working at a teaching hospital When I attended the University of Missouri journalism school in lovely Columbia, MO, the in-house lab was a real daily paper, the Columbia Missourian, when I did a little reporting, but primarily photography. (My actual BJ degree is in photojournalism). Across town was the Columbia Daily Tribune, a county-wide paper, and we'd moonlight there as well. Nothing like real, screaming editors and real, irate subscribers to prepare you! And nothing like unleashing 150 cub reporters on a town every semester that could easily be covered by two reporters. The reason for this stroll down memory lane is a recent development in Anniston, AL, where the 120-year-old Anniston Star has formed a foundation in conjunction with the University of Alabama to use the paper as a teaching lab. The idea, according to publisher H. Brandt Ayers, is to keep alive the concept of community journalism, or actually serving the people you work with instead of taking their money. He also firmly intends to keep it a family-owned operation. Star executive editor Chris Waddle is more pragmatic ? for newspapers and journalists nationwide, the concept is evidence that other family-owned newspapers can find ways to preserve their companies from the increasing conglomeration of the industry ... The Star is one of only two family-owned newspapers in Alabama, and have so far been successful at avoiding being swallowed up. |
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12/19/02 Seattle preparing to void JOA by reporting about it The Seattle Times is looking for a reporter to cover the Joint Operating Agreement it has with the Post-Intelligencer. Observers think it's a step toward nullifying the agreement by appeasing the Feds. The Times has also managed to claim that it has lost money for three years, another step in the process. |
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12/20/02 We wish you a Gannett Christmas See what happens when you take a few days off? Seems the Gannett Advertiser let go photographer Corey Lum last week -- it's the way Gannett managers celebrate Christmas -- but I'm only hearing about it now, thanks to Ian. More later. |
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12/23/02 But it didn't get past the moat and alligators Gannett Advertiser publisher Mike Fisch had unexpected visitors yesterday when an out-of-control truck crossed several lanes of freeway and slammed into the gigantic stone wall surrounding his palatial estate. Our picture of Fisch standing outside his house desperately calling 911 on his cell phone made the bulletin board, with several rude suggested captions. His own photographer didn't show uip until hours later. |
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12/25/02 All I want for Christmas is a kick-ass, high-speed server Gettin' to the end of the year and I need to do a little site redesign. Suggestions? |
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12/26/02 Getting more product out of lazy overpaid employees Thanks to Green Bay Ray and Eagle-Eye Erika, comes news that Gannett is considering whipping out their own cable news channel. Up in Green Bay, the Gannett station is KARE/11. Quoth Ray from a local story: "KARE/11's newscasts could be seen coast-to-coast on a new channel being considered by parent company Gannett Media. The "America Today" channel would air complete newscasts from Gannett stations and NBC affiliates in the top 25 markets, as well as USA Today-branded national content. If enough cable and satellite providers agree to carry the channel, it could launch in two years." He continues on his own: Also, the CBS-owned and operated station in Green Bay now carries a nightly "tomorrow's papers" feature at the end of its newscast featuring the Gannett-owned papers. It seems at the same time the station's newscasts have been more and more fluffy. Coincidence? (It might be, if not for the fact that the Press-Gannett recently took up most of its front page with a feature on the 20th anniversary of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Granted, I think we have more to fear from Michael Jackson than Osama, but STILL... |
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12/31/02 Happy New Year! I'm too sleepy to post much more than the sentiment above. We're going to be working on two newspapers today, not one -- the price you pay for being at a daily newspaper. We never sleep. Good news, though -- starting Sunday, some of the national advertising inserts scared away by Gannett last year will start appearing in the paper. That's the way to start the new year! |
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Banana Fever |
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