Having spent the past three days immersed as one of the editors involved with USA TODAY'S coverage of the devastating earthquake, it's hard to think about anything else.
The stories and photos and videos emerging from Port-au-Prince are so tragic and disturbing. None of us can begin to imagine what it is like, how much life the quake has taken and how long the road to recovery will be.
For every story of heroism and miraculous discovery of a loved one who has somehow survived, there are many more stories of devastation, death and despair.
I commend to you our stories from today, which do a good job capturing snapshots of what life is like in this island nation now, and how much help is needed and is already flowing in.
Here are a few links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-01-14-haiti-cover_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-14-haiti-usa_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/sharing/2010-01-14-Haiti-donations_N.htm
The third link is to the most hopeful story, about the enormous amount of money coming in from all sectors.
There are any number of ways to contribute. here is our currently list in case you are still looking for the best one:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/kindness/post/2010/01/how-to-help-victims-of-the-haiti-earthquake/1
This is one of those no-option situations, in my opinion. Any contribution, no matter how small, makes a difference.
These people, already among the world's poorest, need every bit of our help and prayers.
One last thing. I cannot believe the nonsense about this tragedy that have flowed from the mouths of evangelist Pat Robertson and radio's Rush Limbaugh. if you haven't heard about their idiocy, here is one last link to make you wonder why they have any followers at all.
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/nation/pat-robertson-rush-limbaugh-draw-fire-over-haiti-remarks
Later.
1.15.2010
1.07.2010
A touch of procrastination
I thought I might do it on Jan. 1. I was off with little to do but flip between college bowl games that I didn't care much about.
Then I figured I'd at least get around to it over the weekend of Jan. 2-3. But again, I put it off for no particular reason.
So here I am -- at least still within the first week of 2010 -- putting words to this blog.
I've decided this year that big resolutions with big goals don't make a whole lot of sense.
It's the little things you adjust that really matter -- as long as those things are for the better.
Little things are easier to track and remember, I think.
For example, I decided the first day back to work I was going to say hello to a few people I too often just breezed by on the way to my desk each morning.
Like the security guard at the front desk.
And the early morning web page guy.
So far, so good. As of today I'm 4-for-4, and each time I walk in I have remembered I want to be sure to say hello. They seem to like it. At least they've said hello or good morning back.
I also decided I wanted to pay attention to the money I spend on unnecessary things. So each time I take Route 7 to and from work and avoid the toll road, I am marking down in a little book the $1.50 in tolls I save each way. I am also keeping track of all the days that I bring my lunch instead of buying it, all the times I make myself a cup of tea or coffee at work (it's free) instead of buying something and all the times I make myself a cup of ice water instead of plunking $1.25 into the soda and water bottle machine.
It adds up. First three days I figured I saved $12.75.
Of course, I continue to make sure I walk every day or at least ride the exercise bike in the basement when it is too cold. I'm on a 10-day in a row streak since Dec. 29. (Yea! An early start.)
And, as usual in January, I am eating better, having a few less glasses of wine and generally taking better care of myself.
I dropped about 30 pounds last year and hope to drop more this year. The key, I have learned long after so many other smart people, is that taking it one day at a time is the only way to succeed.
Long-term goals and big plans are less effective for me, I have found.
Still, I do have a few larger ones.
To find new volunteer opportunities.
To get back into the freelance writing market and try to break into doing voice overs now that I've had the training and done a demo.
To spend as much time enjoying family and friends as I can.
And to not let weeks go by before I put a few thoughts down on this blog my daughter Megan created for me last Father's Day.
For now though, I'll drink water, avoid the donuts that are sitting on the counter and plan to take Route 7 home to save another $1.50.
Later.
Then I figured I'd at least get around to it over the weekend of Jan. 2-3. But again, I put it off for no particular reason.
So here I am -- at least still within the first week of 2010 -- putting words to this blog.
I've decided this year that big resolutions with big goals don't make a whole lot of sense.
It's the little things you adjust that really matter -- as long as those things are for the better.
Little things are easier to track and remember, I think.
For example, I decided the first day back to work I was going to say hello to a few people I too often just breezed by on the way to my desk each morning.
Like the security guard at the front desk.
And the early morning web page guy.
So far, so good. As of today I'm 4-for-4, and each time I walk in I have remembered I want to be sure to say hello. They seem to like it. At least they've said hello or good morning back.
I also decided I wanted to pay attention to the money I spend on unnecessary things. So each time I take Route 7 to and from work and avoid the toll road, I am marking down in a little book the $1.50 in tolls I save each way. I am also keeping track of all the days that I bring my lunch instead of buying it, all the times I make myself a cup of tea or coffee at work (it's free) instead of buying something and all the times I make myself a cup of ice water instead of plunking $1.25 into the soda and water bottle machine.
It adds up. First three days I figured I saved $12.75.
Of course, I continue to make sure I walk every day or at least ride the exercise bike in the basement when it is too cold. I'm on a 10-day in a row streak since Dec. 29. (Yea! An early start.)
And, as usual in January, I am eating better, having a few less glasses of wine and generally taking better care of myself.
I dropped about 30 pounds last year and hope to drop more this year. The key, I have learned long after so many other smart people, is that taking it one day at a time is the only way to succeed.
Long-term goals and big plans are less effective for me, I have found.
Still, I do have a few larger ones.
To find new volunteer opportunities.
To get back into the freelance writing market and try to break into doing voice overs now that I've had the training and done a demo.
To spend as much time enjoying family and friends as I can.
And to not let weeks go by before I put a few thoughts down on this blog my daughter Megan created for me last Father's Day.
For now though, I'll drink water, avoid the donuts that are sitting on the counter and plan to take Route 7 home to save another $1.50.
Later.
12.14.2009
Slamming the window
That loud, crushing sound Mets fans heard Monday was the final closure of their window of playoff opportunity.
John Lackey to the Red Sox?
Roy Halladay to the Phillies?
The Mets? They are seemingly sitting on their hands with their heads deep inside some other body part.
They lead the league in excuses, but little else these days.
This was a team built to win in 2006-2008 and they lost in the playoffs in 2006 and collapsed both other years.
Then age and injuries overtook them and 2009 was a disgrace, new ballpark aside.
Now, outside of the remaining possibility they will overpay for Jason Bay, it seems no impact players will be heading to Flushing this off season.
Who knows? Maybe everyone will get healthy and the Mets will compete for a time with what they have and a few low-profile additions.
But I wouldn't bet on it.
For the moment, this looks like the start of one of their 5-year periods of being uncompetitive and irrelevant.
Let's just say I'm not rushing to renew my Sunday ticket plan.
John Lackey to the Red Sox?
Roy Halladay to the Phillies?
The Mets? They are seemingly sitting on their hands with their heads deep inside some other body part.
They lead the league in excuses, but little else these days.
This was a team built to win in 2006-2008 and they lost in the playoffs in 2006 and collapsed both other years.
Then age and injuries overtook them and 2009 was a disgrace, new ballpark aside.
Now, outside of the remaining possibility they will overpay for Jason Bay, it seems no impact players will be heading to Flushing this off season.
Who knows? Maybe everyone will get healthy and the Mets will compete for a time with what they have and a few low-profile additions.
But I wouldn't bet on it.
For the moment, this looks like the start of one of their 5-year periods of being uncompetitive and irrelevant.
Let's just say I'm not rushing to renew my Sunday ticket plan.
12.10.2009
Farewell E&P
All of my colleagues in this every-changing, ever-challenged newspaper business probably know this already, but just in case....
It was announced today that Editor & Publisher, which has been THE newspaper industry trade journal for something like 125 years, is shutting down.
No print. No online. Not even a lingering tweet or two.
The news came from by parent company The Nielsen Co. this morning.
In a bitter bit of irony, I learned this news not from the E&P website, but from The Poynter Institute's Romenesko media news site.
How sad that this iconic newspaper industry outlet was beat to the punch on the story of its own demise.
Maybe they were too stunned to post or thought that if they didn't publish the news right away somebody in corporate might change their minds.
It is sad to see. When I was starting out, trying to land my first job in newspapers, it was the place to learn what was hot and important in the industry. The classified section at the back of the-then weekly magazine was the ultimate source for jobs. Few editors with openings -- we had them back then -- ever let a job search proceed without posting a classified ad in E&P.
When I grew to be an editor I did so too, until cheaper online sites like journalismjobs.com came along.
I must admit, I went for cheaper there and I stopped my print subscription to E&P a couple of years ago once it went from weekly to monthly in print. It was just to easy -- and too free -- to read it online. And online was updated every day.
So what killed E&P is pretty much what is challenging all print publications these days.
For too long we have given our valuable content away for free. Some efforts are under way now to try to erect pay walls. My sense is that will be of limited success, but it is worth exploring.
As for the end of E&P, it will be missed by people like me who have been in this business for decades and grew up on it.
But as we are learning increasingly, nostalgia doesn't pay the bills. Original content people can't get elsewhere -- at least for a few seconds after it is posted on your web site -- and plenty of it is key.
E&P no longer had enough of that. Just ask Romenesko.
It was announced today that Editor & Publisher, which has been THE newspaper industry trade journal for something like 125 years, is shutting down.
No print. No online. Not even a lingering tweet or two.
The news came from by parent company The Nielsen Co. this morning.
In a bitter bit of irony, I learned this news not from the E&P website, but from The Poynter Institute's Romenesko media news site.
How sad that this iconic newspaper industry outlet was beat to the punch on the story of its own demise.
Maybe they were too stunned to post or thought that if they didn't publish the news right away somebody in corporate might change their minds.
It is sad to see. When I was starting out, trying to land my first job in newspapers, it was the place to learn what was hot and important in the industry. The classified section at the back of the-then weekly magazine was the ultimate source for jobs. Few editors with openings -- we had them back then -- ever let a job search proceed without posting a classified ad in E&P.
When I grew to be an editor I did so too, until cheaper online sites like journalismjobs.com came along.
I must admit, I went for cheaper there and I stopped my print subscription to E&P a couple of years ago once it went from weekly to monthly in print. It was just to easy -- and too free -- to read it online. And online was updated every day.
So what killed E&P is pretty much what is challenging all print publications these days.
For too long we have given our valuable content away for free. Some efforts are under way now to try to erect pay walls. My sense is that will be of limited success, but it is worth exploring.
As for the end of E&P, it will be missed by people like me who have been in this business for decades and grew up on it.
But as we are learning increasingly, nostalgia doesn't pay the bills. Original content people can't get elsewhere -- at least for a few seconds after it is posted on your web site -- and plenty of it is key.
E&P no longer had enough of that. Just ask Romenesko.
11.19.2009
I don't qualify
I was born and raised in New York City and only briefly lived in the Midwest.
I not only went to college, I graduated with two degrees and went on to get a Master's. Plus, I was educated in part by Jesuits.
I don't hunt.
I don't fish.
I don't drive a truck.
I don't drink much beer.
I like to read things that challenge me.
With all those qualities in hand I have come to accept two things:
We're just not folksy enough. We think being educated is a positive.
As for me, there's this other major character flaw I've borne for more than 30 years.
I work in the media.
It's a wonder they let me vote and have a drivers license.
Later.
I not only went to college, I graduated with two degrees and went on to get a Master's. Plus, I was educated in part by Jesuits.
I don't hunt.
I don't fish.
I don't drive a truck.
I don't drink much beer.
I like to read things that challenge me.
With all those qualities in hand I have come to accept two things:
- I will never be the subject of a country music song.
- And Sarah Palin will probably never consider me a real American.
We're just not folksy enough. We think being educated is a positive.
As for me, there's this other major character flaw I've borne for more than 30 years.
I work in the media.
It's a wonder they let me vote and have a drivers license.
Later.
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