Earlier this month--after a Herald story on Boston's dessicated fountains was quickly followed by a Globe story on Boston's water-wasting fountains--I suggested that Globe reporter Donovan Slack might have taken her description of Mayor Tom Menino's love of fountains in general (she called the mayor a "self-described 'nut for fountains'") from the Herald piece, which was written by Michele McPhee.

Alas, I was wrong. Here, courtesy of a vigilant Media Log reader, is the relevant passage, from an April 22, 2004 story by Slack:

Paris has the sparkling Trocadero Gardens. In Rome, the great sea god Triton blows cascades through his conch shell into rippling pools below.

Boston, by contrast, has never been much on fountains. Across the city there are a grand total of 23, and many of those haven't worked for years, while Kansas City has 160, for example.

But with a few months to go until out-of-town guests arrive for the Democratic National Convention, Mayor Thomas M. Menino says he wants the city's fountains spouting again.

"I'm a nut for fountains," he said in a recent interview. "It's part of the beautification of the city." [emph. added]

My apologies to Slack and the Globe--both for failing to source this comment properly, and for crediting the Herald with early ownership of the fountain beat.

7/26/2007 4:08:36 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [1] |  

I've griped about the media's conflation of Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq recently, so I'm reluctant to do it again. But given today's Globe front-pager on the Al Qaeda threat--"Analyst counters Bush on Al Qaeda: Says biggest threat is in S. Asia, not Iraq"--I can't help myself.

First, kudos to the Globe for running the story above the fold on A1. (Oddly, the Times seems to have ignored it.)

Here's the problem: reporter Bryan Bender doesn't address the fact that Al Qaeda in Iraq only came into existence after September 11 until the story's penultimate paragraph--and then only by quoting Abraham Wagner of Columbia's Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism, who says:

In the Cold War it was called 'threat lumping.' It is creating a threat to justify whatever you are doing. Al Qaeda in Iraq never existed prior to the US activity in Iraq and I think it is still a small operation.

Now, that's an improvement over this Globe article, which allowed homeland security advisory Fran Townsend's conflation of the two Al Qaedas to go unquestioned. But when the two groups are differentiated in a quote, it doesn't carry the same weight as when the reporter does it him/herself. The former looks like an opinion; the latter looks like a fact.

Here's my suggestion: the Globe (and every other paper that writes about US foreign policy) should come up with a brief paragraph that's included in any story dealing with the two Al Qaedas. This info-nugget would explain that Al Qaeda in Iraq didn't exist before Sept. 11, and that, whatever ties the group may have previously had with the original Al Qaeda, they were intensified after the US invasion of Iraq. No controversy there; the president himself acknowleged as much earlier this week:

Al Qaeda in Iraq was founded by a Jordanian terrorist, not an Iraqi. His name was Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Before 9/11, he ran a terrorist camp in Afghanistan. He was not yet a member of al Qaida, but our intelligence community reports that he had longstanding relations with senior al Qaida leaders, that he had met with Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy, Zawahiri.

In 2001, coalition forces destroyed Zarqawi's Afghan training camp, and he fled the country and he went to Iraq, where he set up operations with terrorist associates long before the arrival of coalition forces. In the violence and instability following Saddam's fall, Zarqawi was able to expand dramatically the size, scope, and lethality of his operation. In 2004, Zarqawi and his terrorist group formally joined al Qaida, pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and he promised to "follow his orders in jihad."

Soon after, bin Laden publicly declared that Zarqawi was the "Prince of Al Qaida in Iraq" -- and instructed terrorists in Iraq to "listen to him and obey him."

Is that too much to ask?

7/26/2007 1:40:01 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

From today's lead editorial in the Herald:

You'd think that a world class city like Boston with a full card of mega-building projects on the horizon could figure out what to do about the little stuff--in this case the pushcart vendors being ousted by the redevelopment of the old Filene's building. [emph. added]

Two questions:

1. What, exactly, makes a city "world class"?

2. Might there be an inverse relationship between saying you're "world class" and actually being "world class"?

7/24/2007 4:57:43 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

If you're at all interested in religion and how it's covered, drop what you're doing and read this remarkable essay, in which LA Times staffer William Lobdell explains how covering the religion beat turned him from a born-again Christian into a jaded skeptic. (Via Romenesko.)

7/23/2007 7:53:25 AM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

Said article can be found here.

One addendum: in the story, I cite the Globe's coverage of the station's turmoil in Jane Christo's closing months as GM. I should also have mentioned the work done by the Providence Journal and my ex-colleague Dan Kennedy.

7/19/2007 10:46:22 AM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

On Monday, the Globe looked at the nasty smell on the Lynn and Nahant shorelines.

Today, it was the malodor in parts of Chelsea.

I like this gross-aroma series (which, btw, hasn't officially been identified as a series). But how long can the Globe keep going? How many more terrible smells can there possibly be in Greater Boston?

(Readers, that's your cue.)

In all seriousness, the Globe's smell-o-rama reminds me of a comment Brian McGrory, the paper's new metro editor, made when I spoke with him earlier this year. As I recall--and I'm paraphrasing here--McGrory said he wanted the paper's local coverage to give readers a stronger collective sense of place.  Thus far, I think he's succeeding--thanks to features like these, but also thanks to Matt Viser's strong performance on the What-Doesn't-Work-In-Boston beat.

7/17/2007 5:24:37 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [2] |  

Here's what David Marcus, the AP's Southern New England bureau chief, has to say about AP's failure to mention Jamie Eldridge in a recent article on the 5th Congressional District race:

What happened was that we did call the Eldridge campaign asking for the information. They did not get back to us in time for the story. But we neglected to mention that they did not get back to us in the story. Since then, they've gotten back to us, and we are producing a short separate [article] with that information [i.e., Eldridge's fundraising numbers]. We have covered the Eldridge camp in the past, and of course we will do so in the future.

My two cents: obviously, Eldridge should have been mentioned in the AP piece. But while the Eldridge campaign should expect to at least be acknowledged in any article on the race, I'd also say someone from the Eldridge camp should have initiated a call to the AP as soon as those fundraising numbers were public, simply to give Eldridge's totals the best spin possible. In the wise words of Charley at Blue Mass. Group:

Note to the Eldridge campaign: You might want to introduce yourselves to the AP reporter on your beat.

Note to AP: ... and vice versa.

7/17/2007 12:22:01 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [6] |  

Given my recent bellyaching about the Washington Post's conflation of Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq, I was heartened to see today's New York Times story on the subject. Here's how the Times's piece begins:

In rebuffing calls to bring troops home from Iraq, President Bush on Thursday employed a stark and ominous defense. “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that’s why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home.”

It is an argument Mr. Bush has been making with frequency in the past few months, as the challenges to the continuation of the war have grown. On Thursday alone, he referred at least 30 times to Al Qaeda or its presence in Iraq.

But his references to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and his assertions that it is the same group that attacked the United States in 2001, have greatly oversimplified the nature of the insurgency in Iraq and its relationship with the Qaeda leadership.

I do have one complaint, however. The Times story concludes that the president has distorted the links between Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq. So why is the story titled "Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert," instead of just "Bush Distorts Qaeda Links?"

Also, as Salon's Glenn Greenwald notes, today's Times story comes on the heels of a damning July 8 column by Times public editor Clark Hoyt, in which Clifford accused the Times of "slipp[ing] into a routine of quoting the president and the military uncritically about Al Qaeda's role in Iraq." But you'd never know that from the Times story itself.

7/13/2007 11:04:42 AM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

As Dan Kennedy has already observed, Jessica Heslam got it right: Howie Carr is back from vacation and broadcasting for WRKO, awkwardness be damned.

Judging from the 10 or 15 minutes I just heard, though, Carr may not be on for long. First up: Carr jokingly alluding to (though not actually mentioning) his impending move to WTKK--something to the effect of, I just got back from vacation, so how come I feel so great? Later, one caller congratulated Carr on getting a "good job." A few minutes later, Carr again alluded to TKK by offering fervent thanks to Don Imus ("How much can one guy do for another guy?").

This pissing match should make for unusally entertaining radio. But how long can Carr's bosses allow him to make them look bad? I predict he's off the WRKO airwaves by next week.

7/12/2007 4:15:28 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [1] |  

Take a look at today's Washington Post story on Al Qaeda's alleged resurgence and see if you can figure out what's missing.

If you said "Iraq," you're right--and the omission is inexcusable. If Al Qaeda is the strongest it's been since just before 9/11 (as the National Counterrorism Center has apparently concluded) the next question is obvious:

Is the Iraq War responsible?

Shame on the Post. But shame on AP, too, which rolled over and let Tony Snow conflate Al Qaeda in Iraq with the other Al Qaeda in its story:

The Bush administration has repeatedly cited al-Qaida as a key justification for continuing the fight in Iraq.

"The No. 1 enemy in Iraq is al-Qaida," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday. "Al-Qaida continues to be the chief organizer of mayhem within Iraq, the chief organization for killing innocent Iraqis."

The findings could bolster the president's hand at a moment when support on Capitol Hill for the war is eroding and the administration is struggling to defend its decision for a military buildup in Iraq. [emph. added]

Well, that's one interpretation.

The Post and AP aren't alone in their sin: earlier this week, New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt hammered his paper for recycling the Bush Administration's misleading conflation of the two groups. Even so...come on.

7/12/2007 2:18:52 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [1] |  

You'll get that here, along with my read on Mac Daniel's exit from the Globe.

Also: a juvenile journalistic feud, and the strange cruelty of Shaq's Big Challenge.

7/11/2007 6:58:19 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

As someone who grew up elsewhere, I've never fully wrapped my head around the extreme affection so many Bostonians seem to have for outgoing WCVB anchor Natalie Jacobson.

Don't get me wrong: she's obviously a very capable and accomplished newswoman. But something more is at work here; I just don't quite get what it is.

The Globe and Herald's write-ups of Jacobson's retirement don't fully explain the Jacobson Mystique. This Boston magazine profile from a few years back comes closer, but I still feel like I'm missing something.

So, Bostonians: can you help the rest of us understand why so many people love Jacobson so much?

P.S.--Looks like John Gonzalez was on the right track earlier this year, subsequent reports notwithstanding.

7/11/2007 2:14:50 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [3] |  

Busy day, this:

--Legendary anchorwoman Natalie Jacobson is leaving her desk at WCVB for something called a "entrepreneurial multimedia venture." The press release follows.

--Howie Carr wants a Suffolk Superior Court judge to clear him to go work at WTKK. The press release follows the Natalie Jacobsen press release.

--Globe transportation reporter Mac Daniel is leaving the paper to be communications director for the Mass. Turnpike Authority. As Aaron Read points out, this is a little awkward.

Thoughts, readers?

NATALIE TO SIGN-OFF WCVB ANCHOR DESK

ICONIC ANCHOR TO EXPAND HORIZONS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL MULTIMEDIA VENTURE

Boston ? Legendary anchor Natalie Jacobson announced her plans to transition off the anchor desk after 35 years at WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5.
Jacobson and WCVB President and General Manager Bill Fine made the announcement in a station-wide meeting earlier today.

Long considered Boston's most beloved and familiar anchor, Jacobson said, "I have enjoyed a phenomenal career at WCVB.  I'm privileged to have worked with a talented and caring team of journalists and to have shared many moments of life with the people of Boston and New England.  After 35 years, it's time to move on.  Life promises many opportunities, leaving me eager to begin my newest season."  Jacobson is working on a new multimedia business she hopes to launch later in the year.  She added, "My goal is to help guide my generation to our "next big thing."

A pioneer in local broadcasting, Jacobson joined WCVB as a reporter in 1972, weeks before the station went on-air.  In 1976 WCVB named the stellar young reporter the first woman anchor of an evening newscast in Boston.
Together with her former co-anchor Chet Curtis, she was at the helm when The New York Times cited WCVB as what is regarded as one of the best television stations in America.  In her storied tenure at Channel 5, Jacobson, known as "Nat" to viewers, has anchored nearly every live major event in New England including the Queen's visit to Boston in 1976, the Tall Ships Parade, Liberty's birthday in New York Harbor, the visits of Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, 4th of July concerts on the Hatch Shell/Esplanade, the dedication of the JFK Library, the Patriots appearances in various Super Bowls and the year of the Red Sox in 2004.

She has been on the front lines, reporting the stories that define the last three decades.  Jacobson's covered the Vietnam protests, Boston's busing crisis, the great Chelsea fire, the Blizzard of '78, the presidential campaigns of local sons Mike Dukakis and John Kerry, the impeachment proceedings against then President Bill Clinton and 9/11.


In addition to co-anchoring New England's leading evening newscast, Jacobson's reporting and anchoring skills have been instrumental in the many prestigious awards WCVB has been recognized with, including numerous national Gabriel Awards as America's  "Television Station of the Year."
Natalie has also contributed to many regional and national Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow (RTNDA), National Headliner and Peabody awards.
Jacobson's renowned one-on-one interviews with political candidates have often made news and have helped WCVB and its parent company, Hearst-Argyle Television, win the inaugural four consecutive USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism.

In May of this year, the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented Jacobson with the Governor's Award in recognition of nearly 40 years of television excellence.  Also in 2007, she was honored with the Centennial Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in journalism by Suffolk University.  In 2005, Jacobson was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTNDA.

Jacobson is a dedicated volunteer, helping numerous charitable and philanthropic organizations including the Genesis Fund, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Salvation Army, Franciscan Hospital for Children, American Heart Association and many local cancer fighting efforts.  She said, "My position at Channel 5 has offered me the gift of helping others as I otherwise could not.  I get back much more than I give."

 "There will never be another broadcast journalist in Boston like Natalie Jacobson," said Bill Fine.  "As Boston's premier anchor, Nat set the gold
standard.   Many of Nat's competitors over the years have found common
ground when speaking about her ? they all totally respect her as a professional and as a genuine role model for broadcast journalists.  Anyone who knows Nat will tell you this next step is far from retirement, but instead the beginning of an exciting new career and chapter in her amazing success story."

 Jacobson said, "I'm excited about moving on.  I have the same level of energy and passion as always and am eager to explore new possibilities.  I find it invigorating not to know exactly what is ahead.  Exploring is half the fun."

Fine added, "She's truly an icon.  With all due respect to the excellent journalists in this region, I don't believe it's possible that any past, present or future reporter or anchor in Boston can achieve the legendary status of Natalie Jacobson."

Known for her deep love of Boston, Jacobson plans to remain in the city and continue to be actively involved in the community.  She also said, "The lasting joy of these many years is the unique relationship I continue to share with our viewers.  They open their homes and hearts to me and I embrace the privilege."

Jacobson will officially sign-off July 18 on the 6pm newscast.  Viewers are invited to post their thoughts and messages to Jacobson on the "Natalie" page on TheBostonChannel.com.

*****


HOWIE CARR ALWAYS HAS AN OPINION--NOW IT’S ABOUT HIS OWN “INDENTURED SERVITUDE”

Declaratory Judgment Filed in Court Today

Boston, MA- Award-winning talk show host Howie Carr is never at loss for an opinion.  In this case, he has a strong opinion about his contract with Entercom Boston, LLC, owner of WRKO radio where Carr’s top-rated show is heard every weekday from 3:00-7:00 p.m.  Carr and his lawyer claim that a provision in Carr’s contract preventing him from working elsewhere in the marketplace is not enforceable under Massachusetts law.

“Entercom is willing to negotiate my contract-- as long as the bottom line means keeping me as a virtual indentured servant,” said Carr.  “My lawyer suggested I not talk about this.  What does he think, that I might say something controversial?”

Carr’s multi-year contract with the station expires in September.  Entercom had the option to extend Carr’s employment agreement for one additional year, through September 19, 2008.  However, they had to exercise that renewal option by merely providing Carr with written notice on or before March 19, 2007.  Two days before the renewal option was due to expire, on March 17, 2007, Entercom asked Carr to sign a one week extension of the option.  Carr not only signed that, but granted Entercom two additional extensions.  Despite being given three opportunities, Entercom did not meet its renewal obligation. 

By the time serious negotiations with Entercom began, Carr had already explored other options. Indeed he has received an offer from Greater Boston Media to host the morning show on WTTK 96.9 FM Talk and expects to be able to begin there on October 1, 2007.

“I’ve wanted to be on FM for a long time and being on in the mornings is the greatest challenge in radio,” said Carr.  “I plan to bring fast paced, ‘felon-free’ entertainment to morning drive.  This was just a better opportunity all around for me at this time.”

“The clauses in Howie’s contract which attempt to prevent him from working elsewhere in the marketplace--virtually indefinitely-- are clearly a violation of Massachusetts law,” said Bret A. Cohen of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., Carr’s attorney.  “There is a statute regarding covenants not to compete for employees in the broadcasting industry that says such covenants are ‘void and unenforceable’.  Therefore, we have filed a declaratory judgment in Suffolk Superior court today, seeking to allow Howie to essentially become a free agent and accept the Greater Boston Media offer.”

Carr hosts an afternoon radio show on Boston’s WRKO, which is a four-hour national program that discusses headlines and politics. His show is syndicated on seven other radio stations in six states. Carr also writes an award-winning column for the Boston Herald. He has won various honors including the National Magazine Award, for essays and criticism and has been nominated for an Emmy Award.  He is also the author of a book, ‘The Brothers Bulger,’ which spent 11 weeks on the New York Times non-fiction best seller list in 2006-07.  He was a Boston City Hall Reporter for the Herald, and later worked as the paper’s State House Bureau Chief. He worked as a political reporter for Channel 7, and as a reporter/columnist for Channels 2 and 56, all in Boston.

Carr added, “I look forward to my current listeners, and many new ones, joining me at a different place on the dial where we can discuss indentured servitude and other topical issues of the day!”

7/10/2007 4:21:30 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [6] |  

Today's Herald article on the latest YouTube video from someone claiming to be Joseph Druce--who murdered child-molesting priest John Geoghan in prison back in 2003--is an interesting piece of work.

Here's how the story starts: "As Web users flocked to view a prison security video posted by someone purporting to be the incarcerated killer of defrocked priest John Geoghan..."

And here's how it ends: "The new video comes days after the Herald was alerted to a video showing officers trying to enter the cell where the pedophile priest was strangled. That video has received more than 90,000 page views."

Here's what you wouldn't get from these descriptions: the Herald itself is almost certainly responsible for all that traffic. Remember, on July 6, the Herald put a screen shot of the first video--which shows prison guards trying to get into Druce and Geoghan's cell as the murder took place--on its front cover, flanked by snapshots of Geoghan and Druce. The headline: PRIEST SLAY VIDEO HITS WEB.

Before I saw the Herald that day, I had no idea the video existed; after reading Michele McPhee's story, I went straight to YouTube. Here's the front page in question (sans the top 2/3, which I couldn't scan):



To be honest, I'm still not sure what I think about the Herald effectively acting as Druce's publicist (or as "Druce's" publicist) here. But it's a done deal. At this point, the paper might as well be upfront about its role.

7/9/2007 6:00:50 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |  

So says the Herald's Jessica Heslam.

If she's right, Carr will be filling the AM drivetime slot formerly held by Don Imus, and going head to head with Tom Finneran.

Personally, I like Carr in that battle.

Addendum: for a taste of what WTKK listeners might be in for, check out my thoughts, back on March 8, on a manufactured (?) beef between Carr and Finneran:

Annals of embarrassing cross-promotion
How was the Herald’s March 5 cover lame? Let us count the ways. There was the schoolyard tone of the headline: WHACK JOB! OUR GUY HOWIE’S HOWLIN’ MAD, WANTS FINNERAN JAILED FOR HIS ON AIR ‘HIT’ JOKE. There was the great big photo of Howie Carr, the pugnacious Herald columnist, looking delicate and sensitive and haunted. There was the obvious promotion, not just of Carr's radio show on WRKO-AM, but of Finneran's WKRO show as well. (The WRKO microphone in the lower left-hand corner was a nice touch. Remember the Herald this Christmas, Jason Wolfe and Julie Kahn.)

And then, beneath Finneran's pic, there was this sober synopsis of the story in question: “Herald columnist and WRKO talk-show host Howie Carr wants a judge to throw radio colleague Tom Finneran — the former House Speaker and a convicted felon — in jail for joking on air about having Carr whacked and stuffed in the trunk of Gov. Deval Patrick's Cadillac.”

Judging from reporter Laurel Sweet’s “exclusive” on page three, the premise is this: since Finneran, the ex-Massachusetts House Speaker, is currently on probation for obstructing justice in connection with the state legislature’s 2002 redistricting, the joke should land him behind bars.

Maybe Carr really thinks WRKO fucked up by hiring Finneran. And whether he’s motivated by genuine outrage or just looking to pad his ratings, Carr has every right to cultivate a public feud with his co-worker. But does the Herald really need to play along and put this stuff on the cover, for God’s sake?

Here’s what Herald editor Kevin Convey tells the Phoenix: “The bottom line is, tabloids have to splash with something. . . . Howie has a huge radio audience and a huge audience of people who love him here at the paper, and the times we’ve splashed with him before, we’ve gotten a good response. In fact, if you take it strictly in terms of readership, that was the most highly read story online [at BostonHerald.com] that day.

“On a news basis, it’s not that big a deal,” Convey admits. “As far as news stories go, I wouldn’t class it with the news coming out of Iraq. But the truth is, on a slow Sunday, you have to make a choice, and that was the best choice we had at the time.”

Okay, Kevin. We forgive you. But Carr is another matter. Let’s all remember that, as Finneran prepared to join him on the WRKO payroll, Carr trotted out some nasty ad hominems via his Herald column. For example:

Tommy Finneran always thought he was the smartest guy in the State House. But yesterday, the former speaker started crying as he cops a plea at the federal courthouse, and this was all he has to say in his own defense. I was an idiot. I was a bad boy, a very bad boy. I am very, very sorry. And then he started choking up, and blubbering, and melting into a puddle, and from now on you can just call him Boo Hoo.

I know, I know — that’s what Howie does. Presumably he knows Finneran is just responding in kind, and all this outrage is just a ploy to garner some free PR. If not, the situation’s even more embarrassing than it seems.

7/9/2007 3:19:19 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [2] |  

Remember when the Herald waxed indignant about the dessicated state of Boston's fountains?

Well, now the Globe is waxing indignant, too--over the fact that 9 of the city's 24 fountains waste lots of water!!!!!

There are two things I really like about the Globe story. First, instead of sulking after the Herald established early supremacy on the fountain beat, the Globe found a new angle and ran with it.

Second, Globe reporter Donovan Slack's description of how one woman on the street reacted to the aformentioned disturbing news about Boston's wasteful fountains is priceless:

At the Public Garden, many admirers this week said they were surprised the fountains do not re use water.

"They don't recycle it?" asked Donna Francis, a visibly stunned visitor from North Carolina admiring Bagherra on Monday [emph. added].

Now, ponder this: if Boston only had one daily, one or both of these fountain exposes might never have been written.

I'll close with a question. When Slack calls Menino a "self-described 'nut for fountains,'" is she quoting Herald reporter Michele McPhee, who used the same quote in the Herald's earlier piece? I suppose that if Menino really is a "nut for fountains," he's probably used the phrase on more than one occasions. But if Slack got that chestnut from McPhee, I'd say the Herald should be credited.

7/5/2007 4:10:31 PM by Adam Reilly | Comments [3] |  

Got the Independence Day Blues? If I did my subject justice, this profile of BU professor Andrew Bacevich should help.

7/3/2007 10:40:08 AM by Adam Reilly | Comments [0] |