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Sources over at the old news building say the library memo has been rescinded or history rewritten so that it never existed. In either case, library clerks have now been instructed to inform Advertiser executive editor Jim Kelly of who uses the library, including their affiliation (whether they're from the Star-Bulletin, a television station, or elsewhere), but not what they were researching, which might be misconstrued as snooping. I guess that's progress.I'm still bothered by news coverage of recent action by the state regulators to close down the Hawaii Dental Health Plan. Both the Advertiser and Star-Bulletin covered the matter, although the 'Tiser's coverage was very thin.
The Star-Bulletin at least mentioned that the dental insurer was linked to the failed health insurer, PGMA. But somehow the failure of PGMA was simply passed off as another bankruptcy, glossing over the extensive and repeated allegations of fraud raised in a series of lawsuits against PGMA, its found, Peter Wong, and its officers and directors, including James Lindsey, founder of Hawaii Dental Health Plan. Somehow no-one seems to be able to get this F-word into print (FRAUD).
A closer look, and a little digging, would reveal the Lindsey was associated with Wong before and after PGMA's collapse. Even after the company went belly-up, Wong fled the state, and folks in Hawaii were left with millions in unpaid health benefits, Lindsey remained tied with Wong in new ventures in California. And fraud investigator Tom Hayes, who was retained by both federal and state agencies to find out what happened to PGMA, found large unexplained transfers of funds between PGMA and HDHP, Cayman Island bank accounts, etc.
I hoped that the new competitive news environment would push more reporting to that level of precision, but unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case.
Also--congratulations to another Kaaawa guy, Paul Arnett, who was named Star-Bulletin sports editor last week. He's a great reporter--hopefully that will translate into being a great editor as well.
It's been a busy week, but the mornings have been gorgeous. Low tide, vibrant colors. A bit of rain this morning, though.
The telemarketer who called yesterday didn't seem to think the Advertiser's PM edition is on its way out.
They're offering three months delivery at a reduced rate of 24 cents a day, seven days a week, during the initial period. That's $1.69 a week, $6.75 per month. Less than the Sunday paper alone at regular price. No bill until August. "And would you like the morning or the night paper?" I never heard what the regular rate would be after the initial three months.
All week I've been meaning to mention the dueling UH sports stories that started the week. The Sunday Advertiser led with the news that the new UH president is aiming to raid the athletic department's surplus funds. A good story. No byline, though. Perhaps it wasn't original? Or just a fine team effort? I'm not sure. But it was a good story. Key issue on the campus, and a clue of some kind about the new administration's attitude.The Star-Bulletin ran with a front page story of their own on football boosters with season tickets who will lose their seats and place in line if they request refunds for a game being changed to accommodate a national television feed. Also a good story in the local sports context which the 'Tiser had to follow the next day.
Comparing the two stories, the Advertiser had the weightier and more complex issue, but the S-B had the one likely to tweak more interest. And that's interesting.
I also noticed the Star-Bulletin is having some layout problems. An A-3 story on Wednesday was breaking words in all kinds of strange places: mos-t, sa-id, o-ne, a-nd, etc.
More on the library flap. The question of rights to Star-Bulletin stories and photos done prior to the dissolution of the JOA in March appears to be a tangled mess. The problem goes back to 1992-93, when Gannett was in the process of pulling a fast one. At that time, Gannett owned the Star-Bulletin and its position in the JOA, but wanted to buy the Advertiser and its morning time slot and, at the same time, increase its control over the JOA.So while negotiating the purchase of the morning paper, Gannett also rewrote the JOA and transferred various rights and assets so that they would become Gannett/Advertiser property after the sale. One part of this was to totally change the nature of the JOA and the joint business entity, the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, from sort of a marriage of equals to a Gannett-controlled entity. Among those assets grabbed by Gannett, apparently, were the contents of the joint library, including all those Star-Bulletin stories and photos.
Now fast forward back to this year. The Star-Bulletin is sold and begins publishing independently. Who owns the rights to the prior 117 of the Star-Bulletin? Do those now belong to Gannett and the Advertiser, or does Gannett just own a physical library of clips? It makes a big difference. If they own the copyright to anything the Star-Bulletin produced prior to March 15, 2001, Gannett can use them as their own, and that's very different from simply owning the research archive.
Gannett apparently believes it actually owns the copyrights. The rumor mill says Advertiser staffers have gotten approval to use Star-Bulletin file photos if no Advertiser photo is available, and Bulletin photographers have apparently spotted a few Star-Bulletin photos appearing in the Advertiser recently. There was even an incident yesterday when a S-B clerk was dispatched over to the Advertiser library to pick up an old photo of the victim in a 1975 murder which has jumped back into the news again. The photo was not in the library files, and was apparently in the Advertiser newsroom. It isn't clear whether the S-B photo was actually used in yesterday's Advertiser, but it was unavailable to the Star-Bulletin on deadline. Today's Bulletin arrived with a front page story accompanied by what appears to be the same archive photo used by the Advertiser yesterday. Since Gannett probably wouldn't let the Bulletin use their photo, it is looking like the Advertiser actually did use the old S-B shot. Very interesting.
Then there's another layer of legal questions. There are Star-Bulletin photographers who joined the paper when it was owned by Liberty newspapers and never worked for Gannett. Will Gannett somehow still be able to claim the copyright to their work, even though they never had a legal link to the newspaper chain?
Reporters have a stake in their old stories, but photographers are artists who are even more sensitive when their work is appropriated by others. You can bet there are folks from the Star- Bulletin now brushing up on copyright law and making appointments to get legal advice.
Still unresolved--whether the Star-Bulletin is going to invest in duplicating the library materials. If not, it will mean that the historical depth of Star-Bulletin reporting will be forever limited by the lack of easy access to stories that predate its computerized archive, which was started in about 1993.
I really don't have any excuse for inserting this photo of Wally, other than the fact that she hit such a good pose late yesterday. She's doing fine, although she suffers from an apparent allergy to fleas and has skin problems as a result. You wouldn't know it with all that lovely gray fur.
We're having tough times in the extended feline family, though. One of my sister's cats died several weeks ago, and Meda's sister called in tears this week after her much-loved gray tiger fell seriously ill. We've been through it and know how devastating this can be.
Ms. Wally
Rumors were bouncing through the Star-Bulletin's newsroom yesterday, keeping folks riled up. First came the word, unverified as far as I know, that staffers over at Gannett's Honolulu Advertiser have been told that their PM edition will be eliminated as of September 15. That would make sense, given cost-cutting pressures within Gannett these days. The problem is that I heard a similar rumor several months ago putting a shutdown date in July, so I would recommend some skepticism until this report can be confirmed.And then--Gannett spying on its competition? A bootlegged copy of a library memo was being passed around, which apparently directed clerks in the Advertiser's library to inform Advertiser executive editor Jim Kelly of the specific subjects being researched by any Star-Bulletin staff. The library was formerly a shared facility when the two papers were partners in a joint operating agreement, and Bulletin writers and photographers have had access since March 15 as part of the agreement to sell the S-B and terminate the JOA.
When the Star-Bulletin was put up for sale, under court supervision, Gannett's Advertiser tried to assert sole possession of the library, including indexed clippings of old stories as well as historic photographs by Star-Bulletin staff. In order to complete the sale, and with the federal court looking on, Gannett reluctantly agreed to give Star-Bulletin staffers continued access to the library for research for several years, during which time the Star-Bulletin's new owners can also arrange to duplicate its contents.
Apparently library staffers were unhappy about the directive and complained to the Newspaper Guild, but this matter appears to fall outside the contract.
Informing Kelly of the topics being researched by S-B staffers will in essence cut off access to the library for research on any sensitive matter, and folks down in the Bulletin's newsroom were hopping mad yesterday. The move was seen as another demonstration of a lack of professional ethics and a refusal by Gannett to extend what should be a natural professional courtesy, as well as a legal obligation under the terms of the sale.
Another day, another skirmish in the Honolulu newspaper war.
And this came in response to yesterday's entry:
Burl's response left me damn near peeing my pants. Thanks for sharing it. I spent a year talking to cats once...the result of circumstances not unlike your own. Frankly, I found it highly therapeutic. I have two of those Rosti spoons myself. Just because Burl doesn't enjoy good cooking implements and can't communicate on a higher level doesn't elevate him to the rank of Aribiter. Or does it? I'm not entirely sure on this one.Thanks for a good laugh anyway.
Ask a simple question about some spoons, as I did yesterday, and you never know what's going to happen.First came this outburst from the Star-Bulletin's Burl Burlingame: "For Chrissake, get a job! Get out of the house! I don't care if it's volunteer work! Organize our pressmen! (They're ready!) Don't spend your days talking to cats!"
Ouch. It was probably just the caffeine. After all, if he were serious, his life would be too full to waste time wandering through here reading about cats and spoons. Or is this some kind of sexist reflex? If I had asked for help replacing my favorite Palm or digital camera, or similar boy's toy, that would have been okay, but a cooking spoon?
But soon came several other more helpful replies, including one from a friend who corrected identified the blue spoon, which was apparently made in Denmark as part of a now classic series by Rosti. She also sent along this photo of her full set. There are several collectors and dealers online displaying wares by Rosti, and a set sold on eBay midday yesterday for over $27 (that eBay item can be viewed for a few more days).
Utensils by Rosti
But the Rosti spoon gave me the clue and inspired further investigation. Tiny print beneath the cooking grime say its made from Melamine, and a search for melamine cooking spoons finally found what looks like a reasonable substitute, or two. A place in Hollister, California, going online as happycookers.com, appears to have what I need at a very reasonable price. But whether these are really in stock and available remains to be seen.
Yesterday also marked 4-months since the first issue of the "new" and independent Star-Bulletin. The Sunday edition now has a full complement of sections, and there seems to be slow but recognizable progress in ad sales. All in all, I would be optimistic about its survival. Very good news for David Black, since this is one bet that will pay off handsomely for him if it succeeds. And good news for my friends, and former friends, over there at Restaurant Row.
They say no good deed goes unpunished. So although I thought the whole flap over coverage of the Cal Lee controversy was past, I weakened and ran Sjarif Goldstein's comments yesterday, which brought another nudge from Pat Bigold, who reminded me that his response was already sitting in my email in-basket. And since the divergent views do illustrate tensions among those "doing journalism" today, here's another round.
So here's Bigold's biting reply:
Sorry I missed that brief and and so tactfully composed mention of the "storm" Lee' "weathered" that was placed "down near the end of the story" on July 7.It's encouraging to see the S-B is now willing to make reference to its own archived reports about the rogue aspects of the St. Louis football program. But I'm disappointed that there's really no new ground being plowed in what remains a very fertile story. I mean ground that certain folks don't want turned over.
Referring to the suspensions and game forfeiture that followed the trashing of the Las Vegas hotel, and Lee's humble admission, "I take full responsibility for what happened," make it seem like he was a victim of circumstances beyond his control.
I first reported the Las Vegas incident in a Star-Bulletin story on September 25, 1998.
In recent coverage, there's been no reference to Lee's admission that he abandoned his players at 2:30 a.m. to go to The Strip and didn't return until it was time to load players on the bus to the airport.
I'd say that was a pretty important element of the story and that's why I made sure to ask Lee on the phone where he was while his players were running amok.
And there certainly was no mention of my later report that some players, too sick to awaken on time, were actually left behind at the hotel that morning! It's amazing that Lee even had his job after that incident.
As for the discipline, the players missed only one game (meaningless forfeiture against Kamehameha) and the rest of the suspensions were served so as not to conflict with any more games.
No coach was fired. No player was dropped from the roster. Lee made a gesture to resign which was immediately and quite expectedly rejected by the school president.
I just wish the S-B staff would make an aggressive effort to look beyond Lee's rhetoric some day and take a look at the regularity of serious player misconduct that has gone virtually or wholly unpunished under Lee's administration as AD. Staff misconduct has also been called into question on a number of occasions.
I discovered a surprising sequence of such incidents after working on the Las Vegas story. There were just too many to ignore. I began to report them and they remain in the S-B online archives. But, after a while, the S-B chose to play down or ignore St. Louis's darker side.
The decision by the paper's management to yank a column I wrote criticizing St. Louis's 84-0 humiliation of Damien last fall certainly was a case in point.
There were stories such as the assistant AD who brought strippers on campus and the incident in which two players were arrested for squirting urine at an off-duty cop that were either completely ignored or barely covered.
Why? You've got me.
The argument I often heard was, "Don't you think other schools have problems?" Well other schools were not the most dominant prep football power in the history of the state. That fact alone made St. Louis a very viable story, especially in a state where prep sports hold a much higher visibility than other states.
It almost slipped by yesterday. July 14, Bastille Day. The third anniversary of Kua's premature passing. She was one of our calico duo. It didn't hit me until mid-afternoon, and I spent a silent moment remembering and celebrating Kua, again.
Ms. Kua, 1987-1998
The day had started with a surprise rainstorm that swept in while we were down on the beach. When we left the house, it appeared mostly clear with a few clouds on the horizon, but when we got to the beach, a huge dark cloud was evident was hanging a sheet of rain out over the ocean, and appeared to take aim directly our little part of the world. It finally hit, complete with sudden wind and driving rain, sending other morning walkers running for cover. We hunkered down under our umbrellas beneath a tree, but still got soaked. Then, after a brief lull, it caught us again before we reached home. Then, within 90 minutes, the sun appeared and it turned into a bright, beautiful summer day.
Star-Bulletin sports writers thought they got the short end of comments here last week about the light treatment given to St. Louis football coach Cal Lee's past problems. I received another nudge yesterday morning to publish an email received earlier in the week from Assistant Sports Editor Sjarif Goldstein.
After reading what Pat Bigold had to say about the Cal Lee coverage in your diary, I felt compelled to forward to you this excerpt from the S-B's first-day story:Three years ago, St. Louis players and coaches were suspended and a game was forfeited after some players drank alcohol, damaged hotel rooms and hired exotic dancers after a game in Las Vegas."I take full responsibility for what happened," Lee said at the time. "I should have supervised better."
Despite intense public criticism, Lee weathered that storm.
But St. Louis' continued dominance of ILH football has created other problems. Last year, the ILH commissioned a panel to restore competitive balance in the league. One new rule limits teams to 65 players suited up for each game. St. Louis and Kamehameha each had more than 100 varsity players last season.
Also, St. Louis' 84-0 victory over Damien last year was a flash point for Damien President Brother Greg O'Donnell's decision that Damien will forfeit its game against St. Louis this season. The fallout has caused a radical restructuring of the ILH schedule format.
Granted, it's down near the end of the story and it isn't as prominent or as exhaustive as Pat would have written it, but his claim that there was NO MENTION of Lee's problems at St. Louis is false. There was, in fact, some discussion about how much we would mention the negative stuff (with no input from the higher-ups as far as I know) and we feel we were fair in that regard.
Fair enough.
The Hawaiian Humane Society's assessment of the Friday the 13th cat attack hysteria was buried in a tiny item in yesterday's Star-Bulletin. It quotes the Humane Society's Linda Haller:
"We basically feel it's just an unusual situation." The cats were feeding in an enclosed area, and when they got surprised by the dog, "they had no place to go but at the dog," she said.There's actually been a growing research literature on feral cat colonies and their control. One good source is a group called Alley Cat Allies which puts out a good fact sheet on feral cats.
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