Politizine.com's 1,000th blog post

Amazingly, this blog has reached its 1,000th post. Shocking, isn't it? With more than 60,000 hits and 100,000-plus page views, I am so surprised that it has lasted this long. Of course, it would probably be at 2,000 posts at this point if I did what other bloggers do and blogged each entry separately. But whatever. I have a habit of throwing a bunch of stuff into one entry, just to make sure I get all the small stuff in.
In celebration of this blog's milestone, I have a small announcement: On Friday, my wife and I launched a brand new hybrid online/print newspaper called OurConcord.com. The first edition is at drop locations across Concord and most of the content is online. The rest will be updated later tonight while I'm watching the Red Sox game.
For those of you interested in this new publication, please read the "Why Publish?" entry on the site for a rather lengthy explanation of what we're trying to do. On Friday afternoon, I picked up the print edition, 2,500 in all, and was amazed at how great it looks for a first edition. It is pretty impressive, if I say so myself, when you consider it was put together pretty quickly.
Because of this new endeavor and my family and work responsibilities, I will be curbing posts to Politizine.com and concentrating on producing more local content for OurConcord.com. Politizine.com will still exist but I really want to put what limited time and energy I have into publishing the other site. I will get into this a bit more in the very near future.

Barlett & Steele Awards

I received this email earlier today about these awards. Barlett & Steele are two of the best investigative journalists in the country. Check out their new piece in Vanity Fair about the $12 billion in Iraq which just vanished.

INAUGURAL BARLETT & STEELE AWARDS FOR INVESTIGATIVE BUSINESS JOURNALISM ANNOUNCED

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Reporters at The New York Times and The Sun in Baltimore have been awarded the inaugural Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism announced today.

“A Toxic Pipeline” by Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker of The Times received the first-place $5,000 award. Their stories documented China’s role in supplying a counterfeit drug ingredient that killed at least 100 people in Panama and is suspected of killing thousands of others around the world.

Their use of first-person interviews and public records to spotlight the issue of Chinese exports of drugs and food has had dramatic international impact, the judges said.

“On Shaky Ground” by Fred Schulte and June Arney of The Sun received the second-place $2,000 award. Their series in December 2006 tracked how Baltimore’s arcane system of property fees initiated in colonial times had evolved into a system of greed and lax oversight that preyed on the poor and elderly.

They assembled a customized electronic database to track hundreds of lawsuits, cases and files. An original, well-presented series focused on the paper’s own back yard and made a difference, said judges.

Receiving honorable mention (listed alphabetically) were:

--Bloomberg Markets, “The Secret World of Modern Slavery” by Michael Smith and David Voreacos.

--The Charlotte Observer, “Sold a Nightmare” by Binyamin Appelbaum, Lisa Hammersley Munn and Ted Mellnik.

--The Toledo Blade, “Business as Usual” by Joshua Boak and Jim Tankersley.

“Response to the inaugural Barlett & Steele Awards was dramatic, with the quality and number of entries a tribute to the dedication of U.S. journalists and publications during a difficult time for the media,” said Andrew Leckey, Director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. “Our panel of respected judges commended the entries and said the selection process required extremely hard choices.”
Biographies of judges and links to the articles are on the BusinessJournalism.org website.
The awards to encourage investigative business journalism are named for the team of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, who won two Pulitzers with The Philadelphia Inquirer and two National Magazine Awards at Time. They have worked together more than three decades and are currently contributing editors to Vanity Fair.
"Don Barlett and I are deeply honored that the Reynolds Center has established this award in our name," said Steele. "But, more importantly, we are gratified that it is providing leadership to recognize and encourage in-depth reporting of business." The Reynolds Center is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, named in honor of the longtime CBS news anchor, is a leading professional journalism school with 1,700 undergraduate and master's students.

Quick links: The Rush Limbaugh hates the troops edition

Here are some things I've saved over the past couple of weeks which are worth looking at:
First, here is that idiot Rush Limbaugh going off on the troops again: ["Limbaugh: Service members who support U.S. withdrawal are 'phony soldiers'"]. I guess the only "real" soldiers are the ones who take joy in killing, right Rush? Some Christian you are. And more evidence and reasoning for why we need a fairness doctrine for all licensed media organizations.
Here is the response from a veteran's group:

Here is another vet responding, with photos, of him, as a "phony "soldier": ["The Real Deal"].
Here is an AP story about vets coming home to face financial problems: ["Wounded vets also suffer financial woes"].
I don't like the fact that this article kinda laughs at people who are worried about meteorites: ["Meteorite Crash Breeds Mass Hysteria"]
The Boston Herald has an update on the status of Howie Carr's contract dilemma: ["Stalled Carr urges judge to rethink radio ruling"].
Boston news hottie Bianca de la Garza has landed at Channel 5: ["Bianca de la Garza"]. I was wondering where she went to because there were rumors she was leaving FOX25. And then, poof, she was back on TV, co-anchoring the 11 p.m. WCVB-TV newscast. While Googling for some news about Bianca, I came across this site, which is pretty amusing: ["Ogle Boston's Hottest News Woman, Feel Creepy"].
For all you Halo 3 junkies out there, here are some tips: ["Halo 3: First Tips"].
I was wondering when this was going to happen: ["FCC proposes 'fake news' fine"].
They're at it again!: ["Clinton campaign kills negative story"].

NECN to launch new show

Beginning on Monday, Sept. 24, NECN will bring New Englanders "News Day Live,'' a distinctive mix of breaking news, weather reports, frequent traffic updates, sports coverage, live field reports from across New England, and in-depth analysis with newsmakers and key NECN journalists.

The new show, which will air from 4 to 6 p.m., will be co-anchored by Beth Shelburne and Leslie Gaydos Monday through Thursday, and by Shelburne and Ally Donnelly on Fridays.

"NewsNight" host Jim Braude will be a regular contributor, offering his unique brand of opinion and analysis on the most important stories of the day.

"In a real sense, this is what makes NECN distinctive - a timely combination of up-to-the-minute news with a dedication to depth and analysis,'' said NECN Vice President of News and Station Manager Charles J. Kravetz.

"We're putting new resources to work in this important time period so that our viewers will get an unmatched level of news and analysis,'' Kravetz said, "not just news of New England but news for New England, wherever it happens -- locally, nationally or globally.''

NECN is the largest, most honored 24-hour regional news network in the country, with 3.7 million subscribers in more than 1,050 cities and towns in all six New England states. It is a partnership of Comcast and the Hearst Corporation.
For more information go to www.necn.com.

More tolls in NH?
It isn't just Massachusetts that is considering higher taxes to repair roads. The head of DOT has requested a hike in the tolls on the state's turnpikes: ["Tolls Would Rise 25 Cents Under DOT Plan"]. Great, thanks DOT. You're basically hiking my taxes another $260 per year. Why don't you just use the money you collect now for highway repairs instead of allowing the Legislature to use the money on other things? State tolls and gas taxes should only be used for road repairs. And what repairs are needed on the Everett Turnpike? I ride the thing every day and there is nothing wrong with that road. What is this guy talking about?

Channel 9 News Updates
I'm now subscribed to these pretty cool news updates from Channel 9, WMUR-TV. As many times per day as you like, they will email their news headlines to you. I've picked the 7 a.m., Noon, and 8 p.m. updates. I also receive news updates from the New Hampshire Union Leader and the WSJ.

Morse gets new radio gig

Chuck Morse, the author, two-time failed congressional candidate [aren't we all?], and self-proclaimed "rightwing extremist," will have a new gig on WBIX 1060 outside of Boston starting in September: ["Morse Code starting September 1"].
With things shaking up in the radio world down there - specifically, Howie Carr jumping to mornings at WTKK and no talent lined up to take the afternoon shift at WRKO - this is a good opportunity for Morse to try and tap into the afternoon drive time AM audience down in Framingham. Morse was last heard doing mornings down on WARL 1320, a 5,000 watt AM station in Attleboro and has a long history of on-again, off-again radio shows.
One of the neat things about Chuck is that while he is bats on some issues, he is dead-on correct on many others. As well, as I've noticed over the years, he likes to debate people from the opposite side of the fence. Folks like Noam Chomsky and his nemesis, Rep. Barney Frank, actually get airtime on his shows and that is a lot more than they ever get on other radio stations. In addition, he often gives dark horses and long-shots the chance to be heard [Disclosure: When he was on 1510 in the late 1990s, I was on his show a couple of times].
Of course, Morse has his work cut out for him. WBIX doesn't even post in the Top 30 of 12-plus numbers in Boston, according to the Arbitron diary: ["Market 11"]. In fact, looking at these numbers, Manch's WGIR-FM and WZID-FM, WUNR-AM's foreign language stew [and other foreign language stations], and Cambridge's tiny beautiful music station, WJIB-AM, chart higher. WBIX does have a trade deal with the Boston Herald, according to gossip I've heard. They get an ad in the Herald and the Herald gets a news sponsorship before and after news updates.
In order to make this work, a lot more promotion is going to be needed for the station. Here's hoping he has a good long run with this one.

More on Murrows
On the ride into work today, I heard WBZ 1030 News play a hilarious sports bit called "Who's on First," which won a Feature Award in the New England Large Market category of the 2007 Edward R. Murrow Awards.
In the Small Market New England category, which covers New Hampshire, WATD, the FM music/news station in Marshfield, Mass., won the Overall Excellence Award, as well as five news and sports awards. They also won an award for the station's Web site. Wow, indeed. The Burlington, VT public radio station, WVPS, which also plays jazz music, won five news awards. WEVO, the NHPR affiliate, won a single award, for news documentary.
It's pretty amazing that a little upstart FM like WATD can win so many awards, with only a few news people and a bunch of DJs, and with a fraction of the budget which a public radio station has to work with. It really comes down to the local owners, featured on "Greater Boston" a couple of years ago, who clearly build respect within their organization. There are rare, if any, job openings at the station, which means they retain employees. Congratulations to them.

Ralph Nader
Earlier tonight, Ralph Nader was on "Open Source," talking about his new book, "The Seventeen Traditions." It was a pretty good conversation between Nader and host, Christopher Lydon. Interestingly, during one of the bumper tags on WGBH, Interpol's "Untitled" was played as a backdrop.

Speeder?
Was that actually the Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives speeding by me, in a silver-gray Acura SUV, easily going about 80 mph, down Route 101, heading for the Seacoast on Sunday? Yeah, I think it was.

NECN wins Murrow
Doreen Vigue is the new PR rep. at NECN. Many people will remember her from her WRKO Diva's radio program. Anyhow, I get her stuff at work and while it isn't always local enough for the newspaper, it is worth mentioning sometimes:

NECN is proud to announce it has won a prestigious national Edward R. Murrow Award in the news documentary/large market category from the Radio and Television News Directors Association for the 2006 documentary, "Hidden Wounds.''

Written and produced by NECN Executive Editor Iris Adler, "Hidden Wounds'' is the moving portrayal of three Massachusetts veterans who return from war in Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the struggles they and their families endure as they seek treatment for and understanding of the debilitating illness. Beth Kidwell was the senior editor of the film.

"We are so grateful to the Lucey family, to Russell Anderson, and to Nate Fick for opening their lives to us, sharing their painful stories, and shedding light on such an important issue,'' said Adler. "Our hope is that 'Hidden Wounds' has helped other veterans and their families, and that the government will continue to step up aid to those who suffer from PTSD.''

Said Charles J. Kravetz, NECN vice-president of news and station manager: "The Edward R. Murrow Award is one of the most prestigious in television journalism and we are so honored to be recognized for our documentary, 'Hidden Wounds.' This is the third time the RTNDA has chosen to honor NECN for its work in documentary television journalism and this acknowledgement reinforces our commitment to in-depth quality journalism at NECN.''

A partnership between Comcast and the Hearst Corporation, NECN is the largest, 24-hour regional news network in the country, serving 3.6 million cable households in more than 1,050 cities and towns throughout New England.

Catching up on things, the mid-June edition

Alright, it is the middle of the month and I'm pretty behind on my blogging. In fact, I know I am behind on it because I've seen my visit numbers drop from 50-plus to 30-plus in less than two weeks. My new job has been taking up a lot of my time, as I get settled in to an old routine and learn some new tricks, too. Somehow, I think I'm on top of it, and then, I don't seem as organized as I thought I was right around deadline time. Granted, it has only been about a month. So, it will take a bit of time. But I'm so loving being back in the newspaper business.
I painted my new office last week, this funky off-green color. I realized after putting on two coats that there were holes which needed to be filled and the trim wasn't going on correctly. So, I filled the holes with spackle and will put up some tape for trim and then, will put on one last coat in the spots sometime over the next few weeks.
One of the things I love about my new office is that I'm right in historic Lexington center, literally a block from the green. It is so cool to see the kids taking the tour of the historic green as I ride into the office each day. And Lexington has free wi-fi in the center, so I'm so loving being able to get faster Internet than my company has, right outside the window of my office on my new Vista machine. Yeah baby!
Also last week, I finished up my Leadership Greater Concord 2007 classes with a graduation ceremony at the Chamber's annual Pinnacle luncheon. Here is a picture of me, below, getting a certificate and pin of appreciation:



Twenty-two of us from the greater Concord area spent 10 months together learning about the community, its intricacies, history, and culture, as well as leadership and how to apply it. Organizers noted that our class really bonded together well compared to previous classes. Most attribute it to the time we spent carpooling together to the first weekend retreat in the White Mountains. At the last class, we were all asked to contribute to next year's program, which I will probably do. It's a great program and I would advise any local residents interested in participating to sign up for it.

Webcasting
As I mentioned a few months back, Webcasting is probably going the way of the dodo, because of the new fees being placed on the broadcasters. Quite by accident, while Googling for Internet radio stations, I found this really cool station, 3WK: ["3WK"]. The station offers two options, indie rock and classic rock. I'm not a huge fan of classic rock but I like indie stuff, so I clicked on it and Wow. It is truly amazing and, frankly, it reminds me of my old Taste the Floor show on WMFO. I've learned about a lot of very cool bands that I wouldn't have found out about otherwise. Very cool indeed. Here's hoping they stay on the air a good long time so I can continue to listen to them.

Former astronaut launches Senate campaign
Jay Buckey, a former Air Force reservist and astronaut from Hanover, announced recently that he will be running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Sununu: ["Buckey08"]. While there isn't a lot of meat on his site, I'm intrigued by his campaign, since he hasn't run for office before and is a total novice. It kinda reminds me of some of the other campaigns launched in 2006, like Jim Webb, who unseated Republican and potential presidential candidate Sen. George Allen of Virginia.
I would be remiss not pointing out that there are two other Dems running against Sununu next year.
Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand is running for the seat: ["Steve Marchand"]. Both Buckey and Marchand are considered long-shots in this race but who knows these days. Marchand has been mayor for a little less than two years and also served a term in the city council, so he has some elective experience. One of the things I like about this guy is that one of his five main planks is "Personal Freedoms."
Katrina Swett, the wife of former Rep. Dick Swett, is also running: ["Swett for Senate"]. She too has a bit more meat on her Web site than Buckey, but most of us will remember that she originally supported the Iraq invasion [probably advice from her dad, Rep. Tom Lantos]. As well, Swett was previously a rabid gun control fanatic - in a state where there are liberals who own guns. This position helped contribute to her loss to then-Rep. Charlie Bass in 2002, despite having hundred of thousands of dollars more in funding. She was also the national co-chair of Joe Lieberman's presidential campaign in 2004. All three of these reasons are enough to question her validity to be a Senator representing our state.
Of course, the big question, is what the Shaheens do: ["Ex-head of N.H. Dem party pushes Shaheen for Senate"].

Gravel to be banned from future debates?
If the almighty Kos has his way, yeah: ["Gravel"]. It is interesting all the "all inclusive" Democratic bloggers are even thinking about keeping Gravel out. And Kos, jeesh. This is the guy spouting off about "crashing the gate" and "people-powered politics," and you can't get much more gate crashing or people-powered than Gravel. This is what happens when people get too powerful. They start wanting to limit things and keep their own. That's what's happening over at Kos. Big shocker.

Tell that to the Nader-haters
What if Al Gore didn't have his 2000 victory usurped but died while in office and Vice President Joe Lieberman became president. Would he be as bad is Bush?: ["President Lieberman: A Cautionary Tale"]. Would we now be at war with Iran? Who would pay for that war? How would we fight a three-pronged war, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran, and possibly even Gaza or who knows where? Leave it to Robert Scheer. I never would have thought of this angle.

Trent Lott thinks rightwing talk radio is too dangerous!
Wow, what a wake up call: ["Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill"]. The key line is this:

Comments by Republican senators on Thursday suggested that they were feeling the heat from conservative critics of the bill, who object to provisions offering legal status. The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: “Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.”

Umm, gee, you think? Pot, meet the kettle. Lott is correct about talk radio. It's one-sided and it has been destroying political discourse in this country for a long time. But on this issue, talk radio and the callers calling in, are correct. And Lott should be listening to the people out here who clearly don't want this bill and don't want amnesty. They want the wall built along the Mexican border and they want the millions of illegals rounded up and deported.

Thanks, Southwest
A big thanks to Southwest Airlines for great service and safe flights over the past six months to a number of destinations my family and I have had to fly to.

Short cuts
* This blog tracks the new free daily newspaper movement: ["Free-Daily.com"].
* This guy has some things to say to the newspaper business: ["10 obvious things about the future of newspapers you need to get through your head"]. I don't completely agree with him but his comments created quite a debate over here at Media Nation: ["What Craig hath wrought"].
* More evidence of Gulf War Syndrome: ["Gas May Have Harmed Troops, Scientists Say"]. Umm, yeah, you're a decade too late. I was doing radio shows about this in the mid-1990s. I guess it is better late than never.
* So much for enjoying the fizzy drinks: ["Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health"]. The culprit? Sodium benzoate, which is in almost everything.
* Semi-liberal columnist Sean Gonsalves pitches for Rep. Ron Paul here: ["Ron Paul for President?"].
* I want one of these: ["Consumers Can Now Monitor Energy Consumption"].

I won't be blogging much, if at all, on Father's Day but here is a message for all the fathers out there, from my column this week:

This Sunday is Father’s Day, a day to recognize Dads everywhere for their contribution to the family and society.
You would, however, never know it if you saw what has become of Father’s Day. Not unlike other holidays, Father’s Day seems to be less about Dad and more about being manipulated into buying some big-ticket item for Dad. I like big-tickets as much as the next guy. But I think it would be nice if we could start a new tradition of thanking Dad without all the consumerism. As a dad myself, I know the most precious thing right now is time with my family - not a big screen television or a power tool. I can buy those on my own dime, on my own time. A simple Thank You, tons of hugs, and a few cold ones, will do just fine.
So, Thanks, Dad. And to the other Dads everywhere, Salute.

The State of the News Media 2006
Here is a really interesting and thorough study on the state of the media in America, posted on Media Log yesterday: ["The State of the News Media 2006"]. I have only gone through the radio portion of it and wow, it pretty much shows a clear picture of how bad things are. I will look at the other portions of the studio at a late date but wow, what a study.