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Paul Shane <[email protected]>
Connecting ­ April 11, 2015
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Paul Stevens <[email protected]>
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Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 7:45 AM
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April 11, 2015
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Good Saturday morning,
Our thoughts our with families who lost loved ones, homes, belongings, and especially a
sense of their own security in the tornadoes that ravaged parts of the Midwest Thursday
night and again Friday. Videos and images of menacing storm clouds and
frightening funnels sweeping across the prairie,
heavily damaging the Illinois towns of Fairdale and
Rochelle and leveling hundreds of farms and other
buildings, were a vivid reminder of the awesome
fury unleashed on a large part of the country's
mid‐section each Spring as cold fronts collide with
moist, humid air. Tornadoes are a different type of weather
phenomenon. Unlike predicting hurricanes or
snow storms, forecasters can only say conditions
are ripe for their formation. There's no accurate
way to predict them until they actually form. By
then a warning of even a few seconds to seek
shelter can make the difference between life and
death. As Linda Grist Cunningham, former editor
of newspapers in New Jersey and Rockford, Ill.,
who now lives in Key West, Fla., said in a Facebook
post Friday accompanying a photo of the Illinois
tornado: "When my off‐island friends ask 'aren't
you afraid of the hurricanes' in Key West, I remind
them that we get days of notice and plenty of time
U.S. National Weather Service photo
to prepare. Not so with a tornado. You don't get
to prepare for a tornado. It took seconds for last night's Illinois tornadoes to kill and
destroy."
The week's tornadoes bring to mind hectic hours working nights in Associated Press
bureaus before the growth of weather news companies and automated delivery of their
alerts and reports. While trying to report the breaking news, storms pushing across your
state required manually keying in quick versions of severe weather alerts and warnings,
and trying to move them immediately on 66‐word‐a‐minute broadcast circuits. Alarm bells
in the bureau's banks of old M15 printers rang continuously drawing attention to the
latest alert from the National Weather Service or sounding out Bulletins for the frequent
Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado watches and warnings. In a slow‐circuit world, one of the biggest challenges was to "ride the queue" to be sure
warnings vital to broadcasters needing to alert listeners about impending storms or funnel
clouds did not get hung up behind less‐important watches or other news copy. In tornado‐
prone states like Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, it could be
almost a nightly drill during the Spring and early Summer.
In the late 1980s as AP and the Weather Service sped up circuits and automated delivery
of weather alerts to members and clients, the notification function eventually disappeared
from AP bureau desks. More time could be spent keeping tabs on the weather and
reporting the damage or states of emergency. Still, a warm evening of quickly changing
weather often produced a busy night requiring the combined use of staff and member
resources for the latest news and photos.
What do you recall about storm nights in an AP bureau? Did you ever cover the destruction
from a major tornado or storm? Send memories to [email protected] for possible use
in a future edition.
‐0‐
Connecting editor Paul Stevens took a brief break today. He will return Monday.
‐ Mark Mittelstadt Memorial service for Madge Stager
A memorial service for longtime Associated Press international and national photo editor
Madge Stager will be from noon‐2 p.m. Sunday, April 26th at the Tibet House, 22 W. 15th
St.,between Fifth and Sixth avenues in New York City. Doors will open at noon and the
service will start at 1 p.m.
Madge died last Saturday after a brief illness. She was 61.
"On behalf of my uncle, and both the Kelly and Stager families, we want to thank you for
all the support you've given us," wrote her niece, Devon Kelly. "Uncle Chris, by his own
admission, is not very tech savvy ( and by that I mean he didn't even know what the FB
symbol was on the computer) but he wants you to know that he has been reading all of
your posts and is moved by how much this very special woman whom he loved with all of
his heart meant to so many of you.
"My aunt was a very spiritual person and Tibet House is the perfect place to honor the life
of one of the most beautiful souls we knew, and who is now the most perfect angel we
have watching over us."
‐0‐
"Patterns in Peeling Paint"
"Urban Astonishment"
He's pretty good with a camera, too
Associated Press news editor for New England Bill Kole has two works (above) in The Fine
Art of Photography exhibition, which opens Sunday at the Plymouth Center for the Arts in
Plymouth, Mass. It is the center's fifth year of a juried photography exhibition, which runs
until May 2. Awards will be presented during a reception on Sunday. "If you need some
beauty after (Boston bomber) #Tsarnaev, come to Sunday's opening of
thefineartofphotography.org," Bill tweeted.
Source: AP among two dozen journalists at off­the­record
Clinton campaign dinner (Huffington Post)
Hillary Clinton's campaign team held an off­the­record dinner Thursday night in
Washington, D.C., for roughly two dozen journalists and staff members at John Podesta's
house, according to sources familiar with the matter. The dinner signals that the Clinton
team is trying to engage with top reporters in the days before the Democrat's expected
announcement of a 2016 presidential run. It also suggests the new campaign team is
looking to change course from the toxic relationship with the press that plagued the 2008
race. The Clinton team also held a private event in New York on Friday night for
journalists, according to sources. Podesta, the campaign chairman and a seasoned cook,
made a pasta with walnut sauce for the dinner guests, which included reporters from The
New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated
Press, Bloomberg, McClatchy, Reuters and several major TV networks. A Huffington Post
reporter attended the dinner, but did not discuss it with this reporter.
Nick Ut's photo of Kim Phuc was a transformative moment in a
horrible conflict (Vanity Fair)
"We were being shot at every day." My good
friend and fellow photographer Nick Ut was
reminiscing about the drive up Highway 1 to Trang
Bang, the village where he captured the horror
of the Vietnam War in a single, Pulitzer Prize­
winning frame of a young girl fleeing her
village after being torched by napalm dropped
by a South Vietnamese Air Force Skyraider. Now,
40 years after the fall of Saigon and the unification
of the country, Nick and I were traveling for the
third time together through Vietnam and the first time in neighboring Cambodia. Eight of
the days were spent sailing down the now tranquil waters of the Mekong River aboard a
gracious riverboat named the River Orchid, giving us the opportunity to explore Southeast
Asia's most important river system and discuss his journey from the hell of war to
Hollywood, where he continues to take photographs for the Associated Press. (Read the
full Vanity Fair story here.)
Connecting mailbox
Bob Schieffer was a reporter first
Walter Mears (E­mail) _ I note that John Lumpkin (Friday Connecting) makes me "Uncle
Walter," a title I thought belonged to Walter Cronkite. Bob Schieffer is a friend of long standing, in Washington, on the road, and on the golf
course. I enjoyed and admired him in all settings.
He represents the best of two generations of newsmen ‐ he was a reporter first, with a
solid career start in print in Fort Worth before going into broadcast. At CBS, he represented the values that sometimes get lost in the era of cable talk and
network superstars. Bob certainly ranks among the stars, but he never let that define him ‐
he stood for and delivered news straight and solidly, always remaining a reporter. So when
he did analysis pieces for CBS, his work was informed by the reporting he'd done first. His
pieces were written and delivered to explain what was going on, not to argue for his
personal views. He was, and is, one of the best.
The time Bob Schieffer picked a fight with me
David Morris (E­mail) _ I love Bob Schieffer, but let me tell you about the time he picked a
fight with me.
At the 1996 Republican convention, I was AP's podium reporter. While Bob Dole was
accepting the nomination, I moved to the railing along a small staircase at the back of the
stage, figuring I could get in a question or two when Dole exited. Some network
correspondents joined me, but by the time Bob wandered over, there was no room for
him.
He demanded that I give him "his" spot. When I refused, he grabbed my left arm and tried
to pull me away. I held my ground, but I was pretty sure he was either going to pull my
shoulder out of joint or tear the sleeve off my jacket.
He kept yelling that the area was for working press, not for Republican Party hacks. Finally,
I got an arm free, showed him my AP credentials and said I had as much right to be there
as he did. He backed down. (Later, he explained that he thought I was a Republican
operative, and he apologized).
A few minutes later, Dole walked down the steps without answering our questions.
Please wait your turn
Brad Martin (E­mail) _ Amen on The Final Word today (Friday, at
right)!
Welcome to Connecting
William Barger (E­mail) Connecting wishes Happy Birthday
Bobbie Seril (E­mail)
Sunday
Nick Ludington (E­mail)
Stories of interest
News Corp., FOX, consider move from mid­town to World Trade Center site
(New York Times)
News Corporation and 21st Century Fox, two giant media companies controlled by Rupert
Murdoch, are considering building a joint headquarters in a new 88‐story skyscraper at the
World Trade Center, real estate executives and government officials said this week. If a
deal is struck, the move by the companies from Midtown Manhattan to a new tower
downtown would complete the rebuilding of the office complex destroyed on Sept. 11,
2001. It would also solidify the transformation of Lower Manhattan into a technology and
media hub and a lively residential community.
Why being a newswire media CEO is an impossible job (Fusion)
There's a pretty simple reason why it's hard to be a media CEO at Reuters or Bloomberg,
and that's the newsroom. Both companies need a news operation to be at the heart of
their financial‐information terminal business, which is where the vast majority of the
profits are always going to come from. Then, given that they're employing thousands of
journalists already, they have decided that they should probably try to monetize all that
news beyond the core wire product.
A "darker narrative" of print's future from an observer of the media (Margaret
Sullivan, New York Times)
A column I wrote last month on the enduring importance of the printed newspaper to The
Times drew a response from an incisive thinker about media and technology, Clay Shirky.
Mr. Shirky, an author and a professor at New York University, wrote a groundbreaking
blog post in 2009 that radically changed my thinking about the future of newspapers then;
in an email exchange with me this week, he provides a few more challenging ideas.
Female journalists more likely to suffer burnout and leave the profession
than men
(Romenesko.com)
In 2009, University of Kansas journalism professor Scott Reinardy found that 62% of the
female journalists he surveyed either intended to leave the profession or were uncertain
about their future. In his new study, the figure is up to 67%; it's 55% for men. Women also reported higher levels of exhaustion than their male colleagues, and while
there was no significant difference between the two in terms of cynicism,burnout both
men and women were in what is considered the high range of cynicism as related to
burnout.
Just among women, those who stated they intended to leave the field had significantly
higher rates of exhaustion, cynicism and significantly lower levels of professional efficacy,
or feeling like their organization supported them.
Reinardy says in a press release on his report that "this group of women are classic
burnout cases" who don't feel supported by their employers, and "the only resolution is
often to change jobs or leave the field altogether."
Reinardy has been on the journalism burnout beat for at least eight years. In 2007, he
reported that journalists 34 and under were the most exhausted and cynical toward
their work. His study from eight years ago found that 44% of the young respondents were
uncertain about remaining in journalism.
Additional links:
2015 report: Study shows journalism burnout affects women more than men
(ku.edu) 2009 study: Female journalists more likely to leave newspapers (ku.edu) Young journalists confront burnout: A Reinardy study from 2007 (eijnews.org) The New York Times' coverage of the super­rich risks alienating new
millennial readers (Columbia Journalism Review)
It's no secret that The New York Times probably runs more stories than it should that
feature tantalizing material goods and experiences available only to the 1 percent.
Occasionally, the Times' coverage is so cringe‐worthy that it begs to be mocked. Consider
the recent article, "When the 13‐year‐old Picks a $14 Million Condo." Or last weekend's
story on the trials and travails of building one's dream home... This propensity for tone‐
deaf stories about people of vast wealth may pose a problem for the Times as it seeks to
expand its digital domain. The coverage sends the wrong message for a newspaper that
must attract younger readers and reinforce the unique quality of its brand for the digital
future.
Retired Freedom Forum executive Jack Marsh to serve on Sioux Falls Board
of Ethics
Jack Marsh began a four‐year term as a volunteer member on the City of Sioux Falls, S.D.,
Board of Ethics Friday. The City Council approved Mayor Mike Huether's appointments of
Marsh and 10 others to fill openings on six citizen boards and commissions. Marsh retired
last year from the Freedom Forum as president of the Al Neuharth Media Center at the
University of South Dakota. Marsh's journalism career, which spanned more than four
decades, was split between Gannett Co. Inc. and the Freedom Forum. Marsh worked as a
reporter, editor and publisher at six Gannett newspapers, including six years as executive
editor of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. He is the founder of the American Indian Journalism
Institute and is among the original organizers of the Crazy Horse Journalism Workshop
held from 2000‐12 at Crazy Horse Memorial. Until recently, he was an adjunct professor of
journalism at the University of South Dakota.
The Final ... State?
Connecting friend Chuck Raasch, Washington correspondent for The
St. Louis Post‐Dispatch and STLtoday.com, notes that President
Obama has visited all U.S. states save for one ‐‐ Chuck's home state of
South Dakota. Assuming the president does hit all 50 states before he
leaves office, the obvious venue would be Mount Rushmore. But the
native of Castlewood has another site he thinks would be "better
symbolic" of South Dakota. The Black Hills? Crazy Horse Memorial? The Badlands? Custer
State Park? Reptile Gardens? Tom Brokaw's birthplace? Wall Drug? Hint: it's a little corny.
Check his humorous recent column.
Today in History ‐ April 11, 2015
By The Associated Press
Today is Saturday, April 11, the 101st day of 2015. There are 264 days left in the year.
Highlight in history
On April 11, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd outside the White House,
saying, "We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart." (It was the last
public address Lincoln would deliver.)
On this date:
In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.
In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, ending the War of the Spanish Succession.
In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as Emperor of the French and was banished to the
island of Elba.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd outside the White House, saying,
"We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart." (It was the last public
address Lincoln would deliver.)
In 1899, the treaty ending the Spanish‐American War was declared in effect.
In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.
In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the notorious Nazi concentration
camp Buchenwald in Germany.
In 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in
the Far East.
In 1955, the film drama "Marty," starring Ernest Borgnine, was released by United Artists.
In 1965, dozens of tornadoes raked six Midwestern states on Palm Sunday, killing 271
people.
In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert,
blasted off on its ill‐fated mission to the moon.
In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by
Tanzanian forces seized control.
In 1989, Mexican officials began unearthing the remains of victims of a drug‐trafficking
cult near Matamoros; one of the dead was University of Texas student Mark Kilroy, who
had disappeared while on spring break.
Today's birthdays: Ethel Kennedy is 87. Actor Joel Grey is 83. Actress Louise Lasser is 76.
Pulitzer Prize‐winning columnist Ellen Goodman is 74. Movie writer‐director John Milius is
71. Actor Peter Riegert is 68. Movie director Carl Franklin is 66. Actor Bill Irwin is 65.
Country singer‐songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 58. Songwriter‐producer Daryl Simmons is 58.
Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 54. Actor Lucky Vanous is 54. Country singer Steve Azar is
51. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 49. Rock musician Dylan Keefe is 45. Actor Johnny Messner is
45. Actor Vicellous Shannon is 44. Rapper David Banner is 41. Actress Tricia Helfer is 41.
Rock musician Chris Gaylor is 36. Actress Kelli Garner is 31. Singer Joss Stone is 28. Actress‐
dancer Kaitlyn Jenkins is 23.
Thought for Today: "If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was
the same race, creed, and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by
noon." ‐ George Aiken, U.S. senator (1892‐1984).
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