NBC is taking heat for broadcasting Seung Cho’s photos and videos. As scoops go, the package Cho sent them is about as good as it gets. But the dilemma was obvious. Do you present the ravings of a homicidal madman to population of the planet, knowing full well that you are then the principal agent … Read more
When this year’s Pulitzers were announced earlier this week I was gratified to see the Wall Street Journal win what many minds regard as the best of the best; the Pulitzer for public service reporting. The category implies a relevance much broader than, say, Pulitzers for editorial cartooning or even novel-writing. But two ironies jumped … Read more
Somewhere after the Red Lake shootings the numbness settled in for good. I hope everyone younger than me can still react with unalloyed shock at another campus massacre. But I’m sorry, and I truly am sorry, the cycle of these things has become too frequent for me to be shocked anymore. From the first reports, … Read more
Apparently struck by the rather dicey appearance problem of having your publisher accused of theft and a variety of other disreputable activities, the Star Tribune’s Guild officers this afternoon, sent the following letter to Chris Harte, of new owner, Avista Capital Partners. . . . . Guild colleagues, We will be sending this letter to … Read more
Sunday night I had had enough of Imus. It wasn’t quite, “Get me back to Anna Nicole,” but the pile-on was complete … in terms of Imus. As I’ve said previously the whole episode is fascinating for the sense of cultural tipping point it brings. Worse things have said by worse chronic offenders. But several … Read more
Dane Smith, the Star Tribune’s capital guy for umpteen-God-million years — that’s a joke — has traded up to a job as president of his former boss, Joel Kramer’s non-profit, Growth and Justice think tank. I quote the release here: Hello friends and colleagues, We invite you to join us in welcoming Dane Smith as … Read more
St. Paul Pioneer Press union chairman issued this note today regarding ex-publisher Par Ridder’s system for squeezing ad execs. Obviously Ridder’s successor, Fred Mott, was willing to play along. 21-year veteran terminated after two years on so-called ‘PIP’ Fri, April 13, 2007 at 12:56 Longtime advertising account executive Larry Olson was fired today — after … Read more
I suspect I’m not alone in believing there are at least two elephant-in-the-room-sized topics the Star Tribune’s in-house, salaried, reader representative/ombudsman, Kate Parry, could have moved on Sunday rather than a fusty dissection of ethical overreaching in the Eric Black-Doug Tice blog, “The Big Question”. But that’s just me, I guess. I mean, Parry’s own … Read more
The following circulated through the Star Tribune newsroom last Friday on its way to Gov. Pawlenty: Dear Guild members, You might be interested in this description of how Star Tribune management is treating our brothers and sisters in the Advertising Operations Department. There will be more information on this soon. Respectfully, Unit officers Dear Governor … Read more
Unlike your average legal filing, the complaint Dean Singleton’s Media News Group has dropped on Par Ridder and Avista Capital Partners is a damned good read. Maybe that’s because Singleton has hired a former Star Tribune reporter, Dan Oberdorfer, to bring the case against the new owners and operators of his old paper. The complaint … Read more