A few minutes ago, I raised some questions about Jeff Jacoby's column on Barack Obama's allegedly outsized ego. One of my queries: had Jacoby--who notes that Obama used the pronoun "I" 34 times in his speech announcing the federal takeover of GM--sought similar data on other presidents? And if so, why hadn't he included it?

I don't want to waste too much time on Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby's assault on Barack Obama's ego, because it's literally yesterday's news. I do, however, have a few questions after reading Jacoby's piece:

--Jacoby hits Obama for not going to Germany this past week to mark the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall.

In this week's Phoenix, I size up the ongoing feud between Herald columnist Howie Carr and "Ernie Boch, III," his mysterious Blue Mass. Group-based tormentor. (Note: EB3, as he's frequently called, is no relation to car magnate Ernie Boch, Jr.) In the process, I argue that Carr doesn't really seem to understand his nemesis--and that, despite some strong ideological and biographical differences between the two, there are some noteworthy similarities as well.

Some things to ponder in the wake of today's news that the New York Times Co. won't be selling the Boston Globe after all (Herald story here, Globe story here, entire memo to follow):

1. Given the speed with which the Times Co. decided to reject the bids assembled by Steve Taylor and Platinum, it seems--at least from the outside--like not a lot of deliberation was required.

As reported earlier today by Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch, there are some big changes afoot at the Globe's sports desk--including the hiring of Albert Breer from the Sporting News to replace Mike Reiss; Adam Kilgore moving from Red Sox to Patriots coverage; Chris Gasper taking over Tony Massarotti's online-columnist slot; and Julian Benbow moving to the Celtics beat.

The Globe story of the moment is the (possibly) impending sale of the paper--but mounting resistance to a new, high-cost health plan among the members of the paper's biggest union is a noteworthy subplot.

Earlier this afternoon, a letter went out from more than 100 employees to publisher Steve Ainsley. They're asking management to restore a "significant portion" of $1.

Just received an email sent from several Globe staffers to the leadership of the Boston Newspaper Guild (with the exception of the embattled Dan Totten), in which they ask the union to find some way to avoid implementation of what sounds like a very bare-bones healthcare plan.

In terms of management-union and intra-union dynamics at the Globe, what's really striking is the paragaph in which the signers claim they received misleading information from the NYT Co.

Back in July, when Boston Mayor Tom Menino arranged a $200,000 loan that allowed the endangered Bay State Banner to resume publication, Globe columnist Adrian Walker argued that the arrangment would dangerously diminish the Banner's editorial autonomy. "[I]ts independence is the only thing that makes the Banner worth saving, journalistically speaking," Walker wrote.

Fascinating twist in the battle for control of the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's biggest union: the Guild's executive board has taken action against Guild head Dan Totten for (if I'm reading the legalese correctly) allegedly inappropriate handling of union finances. The email sent to Guild members this afternoon follows; I'll post more as the situation develops.

Maybe not--in a recent column, Poynter analyst Rick Edmonds notes that claiming a loss on the Globe could help the Times Co. defray some recent capital gains:

Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson is on the record saying the company expects to close by the end of the year on the sale of its 17.75 percent share of the Boston Red Sox and the associated New England Sports Network.

Jim Concannon--who'll be news editor in Harvard's public-affairs office--takes a great deal of institutional knowledge with him. Here's the press release from deputy managaing editor of features Doug Most:

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Those of you who know Jim Concannon know they don't come more selfless. In
every role he's had here, and there have been many, it's always been about

 

 

As you may know, there's a movement afoot inside the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's largest union, to hold a recall election. The impetus? Dissatisfaction with the way the Guild's leaders--including Guild head Dan Totten--handled the recent concede-or-close threat from the New York Times Company.

According to the Guild's bylaws, the recall-election process is actually pretty straightforward:

A recall election may be initiated in two ways: (a) The Governing Board, by a two-thirds vote of its entire membership, may initiate a recall election process in the case of some or all union officers or delegates; or (b) the membership may initiate a recall election process with 20 percent of the membership signing a petition to the Governing Board for that purpose.

1. The Governing Board must so inform the membership of this decision and reasons for this decision within 10 days.

2. The Governing Board must call a general membership meeting for the purpose of discussing this decision.

3. The general membership will then have the power to call a special election under the election procedures in Article III. 

Earlier today, though, I was forwarded an email--originally sent by Totten--which argues, basically, that it's not that simple....