P.R. On The Record

I'll be a panelist at the Public Relations Council of Alabama annual meeting at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Montgomery on Friday morning. I'll be on with Bob Corley, the Manager of the APT facility, and Sandra Polizos, who started FTR more than 26 years ago on Alabama Public Television. The PRCA folks have cleverly titled the session: Topic: "Going Off Record with PBS's "On the Record" Um, that should be "For", not "On"...but I understand. I seem to remember making that same mistake on-air in the first couple of weeks I hosted the program eleven years ago. Anyway, if you are a PRCA member, please do come to the panel, and bring questions!

FTR on 10/3/08

Y'all think we might talk about the economy again? You bet, including the state's Congressional Delegation voting almost to a man in favor of the "bailout". Kim Price of The Wetumpka Herald and Dana Beyerle of The NY Times Regional Newspapers will be on the panel as we discuss the week's news. This FTR airs at the new (and we hope at least stable) time of 9:00pm. It will also be broadcast on Sunday afternoon at 1:00, and then be placed online.

MMMM #14 - Birmingham Radio loses a major voice

Public Radio listeners in Birmingham will be without Steve Chiotakis after this week. He's been hired to be the morning voice of the "Marketplace Morning Report" and will be moving to Los Angeles! It is, needless to say, a great opportunity, and I can't think of anyone more qualified. Listeners nationwide will hear him on stations that carry Marketplace, including WBHM in Bimingham and the stations of Alabama Public Radio. Steve and I go way back...he was an intern in my (radio) newsroom at one point. Later we covered a truly memorable story when we gave MASS coverage to a Klan/Skinhead rally and protest in Linn Park. We kicked some serious butt against the competition, and Steve was a major part of it. Radio news is almost nonexistant these days, other than "rip' n' read", and I was always glad Steve landed in a place where he could do some serious journalism. In recent years, Steve has also been a regular guest on For The Record on Fridays, and it is there that we at APT will really miss him! Best of luck Steve...we'll be listening!

FTR of 9/26

I had already penciled in a segment on "The Economy" earlier this week when Wall Street drove off a cliff. Needless to say, that---and the candidates' reaction---will be a major topic Friday. The Friday program was scheduled to air at 10:00 pm because of the presidential debate. Now that Sen. McCain wants to pull out, I'm not sure just what time it will air. What will all of the nets do with a two-hour block of suddenly vacant broadcast real estate on a Friday night? Watch this space. By the way, George Altman, The Press Register, and Chris Waddle, Ayers Chair of Communication at Jacksonville State University will be the guests. It will be the first visit by Chris in a long time! By the way, I've added a link at the bottom of this page to the media-critique blog Chris writes, as well as a link to a blog by Brian Harris, a Montgomery blogger who also is in the criticism business.

A Brief Vacation - MMMM - Vulcan & The Malls

MMMM is on leave today....it will be back next Monday!

I was in Birmingham for the past few days and ran across an amazing number of folks from my past in Alabama's largest city, plus Former Governor Siegelman and his wife Laurie who were having breakfast in the same restaurant as me on Saturday. I went by Vulcan, my first visit since NBC-TV decided in their "Fleecing Of America" series a few years back that the money spent on restoring the statue was "pork"...GREAT job, all who were involved! (Hey, does that NBC reference make this post an MMMM?). And while The Montgomery Mall's last store--Steve and Barry's-- closed last week, Brookwood Village on the Homewood/Mountain Brook border is looking better than ever during my first visit in years. Nice work, whoever was responsible. Care to come visit the Capital City?

More posting later in the week!

"Literally" Watch

1:37 pm on CNN..companies are "Literally hemorrhaging money". It may feel like they're doing that, but it's really only economic pain.

FTR on Friday 9/19

The newly abbreviated FTR launches this week...airing at a one-time only time of 9:30pm. We'll revert to the half-hour schedule for the "Week-In-Review", with Alabama journalists discussing the events of the week. After this Friday the show remains a half-hour long, but moves to 10:00pm on the 26th because of the Presidential Debate that night. Each Sunday FTR is re-aired at 1:00pm, and, of course, you can always watch it online on our Video Page. Dave White of The Birmingham News and Sebastian Kitchen of The Montgomery Advertiser will be on the panel this week. The miserable economic developments during the week and voter registration will be among the topics we'll discuss.

MMMM #13 - Fair Reporting

Paul Krugman was ranting about lies told by the GOP in his New York Times column on Friday, and he included this observation about the media: "Why do the McCain people think they can get away with this stuff? Well, they’re probably counting on the common practice in the news media of being “balanced” at all costs. You know how it goes: If a politician says that black is white, the news report doesn’t say that he’s wrong, it reports that “some Democrats say” that he’s wrong. Or a grotesque lie from one side is paired with a trivial misstatement from the other, conveying the impression that both sides are equally dirty." Paul...it's even worse than you think. At least on the local-TV News level, they often don't even go to the trouble of trying to appear as if they're balancing the story. In both politics and crime stories, allegations are routinely accepted as statement of fact. Last week one station ran a clip in which Democratic VP Nominee Biden mistakenly urged someone in an audience to stand up and be recognized, but that person was in a wheelchair. Biden realized his error and urged everyone to stand in that person' honor. Honest mistake, no? So to "balance" that report, the station ran a clip about GOP VP Nominee Palin being greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. Nothing like wearing your allegiance on your rundown. But more to Paul's bigger question: if a campaign tells a lie, should the media call it a lie? Can we leave it up to the media to honestly decide what is a lie and what is the truth? Have we really reached the point when that question has to be asked?

"Literally" Watch

Listening to NPR this morning...I wasn't quite fully awake...stumblin' around making coffee and such, when I was sure I heard "literally turned to stone" on Weekend Edition....I pictured it as the lead story that night on the news..someone, a living breathing person had suddenly and unexpectedly turned to stone! Scientists would be shocked.... However when I went online to http://www.npr.org/, I discovered it was just another example for "literally watch" on the blog: ----------------------------------------------------- She said at one point she looked out her window and saw what every military spouse or parent dreads. "I saw the base commander come riding up and I saw the base chaplain and I literally turned to stone," Howard said. "I knew something had happened. And so I opened the door to a sea of sad faces and they told me Bill was gone." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This all happened way back during the Berlin Air Lift, by the way, so I don't feel too bad picking on the widow's grammar. (-: Literally Watch is a Public Service of this blog.

Late Summer/Early Fall On The Road

A few speaking engagements coming up, starting on Saturday (9/20) when I'll be MC at the Equality Alabama awards dinner in Birmingham...with Richard Cohen, President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center as the main speaker. On October 3rd, I'll be on a panel with Bob Corley and Sanrdra Polizos at the annual meeting of the Public Relations Council of Alabama at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa. Bob is manager of the Montgomery APT Production facility, and Sandra was the creator of "For The Record" 27+ years ago. She's now Public Relations Director at St. James School in Montgomery. Finally, on October 9th I'll be a repeat guest at Leadership Vestavia Hills, an eight day (over two months) effort to improve leadership in that Birmingham suburb.

We have met the enemy...

The Pentagon announced yesterday that it will start the competition for a new U.S. Air Force refueling tanker over after the November election. The decision from Secretary of Defense Gates comes after the GAO found so many problems with the process used to award EADS-Grumman the contract earlier this year that the report said there was a substantial chance the contract would have gone to rival Boeing if a fair process had been used. Alabama Governor Bob Riley's reaction? He told WSFA yesterday:

"They put it off for one reason and one reason only...to hope that they get a new administration that will go in there and play politics with the decision."

OK, let me understand..."they"....that would be Secretary of Defense Gates, the one appointed by George Bush, the one who works in The Pentagon, home of the U.S. Military Armed Forces,.."they" hope to "get" a new administration....(as if this is some kind of appointment process as opposed to an actual American election!)...all of those hard-core General and Admiral military types want Democratic Senator Barack Obama to defeat Republican POW Senator McCain in November to allow the Democrats to "play politics" with the tanker deal and award it to those commie-libs in Seattle and Chicago over the hard-working folks in South Alabama (uh, and France).

OK, now I understand.

NOTE: There's no FTR tomorrow (and we'll be on at 9:30 next Friday...and at 9:00 on subsequent Fridays.)

Everything Old is New Again...

The Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery is building an interactive "Museum of Alabama" inside the wing they added last year. And they showed off what's planned during a reception tonight. The same company doing the exhibits for the George Bush Library got the job...and they'll be presenting the story of Alabama through its people. Department Director Dr. Ed Bridges is trying to raise $8 Million for the project and has so far received about $3 Million, so he's got a ways to go. I was delighted to see (and hear!) my friend Bobby Horton there to talk about music as a history teaching tool. He played several songs illustrating the stories of Alabamians across the decades. Bobby is the true hidden Alabama treasure who performed much of the music for Ken Burns Civil War and Baseball documentaries. 2011 is the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and I know the exhibits in the new museum will help a new generation understand that complex event more than ever.

[P.S. Thanks to Bob Corley for providing the finger for the model photo]

Consumer Tapestry Alert

I'll admit my patience wears thin pretty quickly, especially when it comes to customer service (or I should say the LACK of it). A couple of weeks ago I ordered a tapestry from an online firm (www.tapestry.com) They had a product I wanted and having bought things online before, I felt comfortable dealing with them. A couple of days later I decided to see what the order status was. The sight said e-mail was the quickest way to find out, so I e-mailed. Next day, nothing. Day after, still nothing. So I called their "customer service" number and got a machine. Left a message. Next day, still nothing. Sent ANOTHER e-mail. Long story longer, this went on for two weeks till I sent another demanding they cancel the order. Today they responded, saying my tapestry was "in from the weavers" (these can NOT be made per order!) and they would cancel, but if I still wanted it...NO THANKS! I've since done a Google search under their name and found other customers who went through the same experience...zero contact from them after placing an order. So the lesson of the day is ALWAYS Google their name and go elsewhere if there are multiple complaints. By the way I ordered the exact same item from another firm (AllPosters.com), and since I've ordered from them before I'm confident this time the order will go through.

Literally Watch!

We note the following as part of our continued campaign against the misuse of the word "literally". On WSFA's 10:00pm newscast last night, in a story about a riverboat relocating to the Alabama River at Montgomery: "The new riverboat is on its way here...literally!" AND, in the Montgomery Advertiser yesterday: "The state retirement system is laughing off an almost $74 Million loss...The Retirement Systems of Alabama can afford to---literally." The problem in both cases is that there is no colloquial expression being used with the word literally. There is no "over the hill" or "end of the road" or "top of his class" or other expression to play off. A word of advice to all producers, reporters and writers: avoid using the word literally! You risk the wrath of your editor and could end up "on the street"...literally.

Goodby Cliff!

Cousin Cliff is gone. The longtime Birmingham chidlren's television star died Monday in a "respite-care" facility in Albertville.

I wasn't in Alabama during his heyday, the 50's and 60's, but I had met and interviewed him over the years and found him a charming, friendly, gentleman. Cliff Holman was 79. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

MMMM #12 - Palin & The Media

The old maxim "Answer the question you wish they had asked" crashed and burned in at least one high profile case during the GOP convention. It came in the midst of media questions about V.P. nominee Sarah Palin...(who, we'll note, has agreed to just one interview as of Sunday morning. It was offered to ABC's Charlie Gibson several days ago and is expected to take place late this week in Alaska. I suspect the campaign wants to keep her under wraps to avoid the many questions out there. Anyway, in case you missed it, CNN's Campbell Brown tried her best to pierce the "Question-You-Wish" defense as reporters tried to do their job by, duh, asking questions. Senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt demanded an end to what he called a "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee" for vice president. "This nonsense is over," Schmidt declared ( in a written statement, we note...all the better to avoid questions).

The CNN interview that caused all the fuss? "Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard?" Brown asked McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Just one?" "Any decision she has made as the commander of the (Alaska) National Guard that's deployed overseas is more of a decision than Barack Obama's been making as he's been running for president for the last two years," Bounds said.

Here's the much-watched interview segment on Youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqKYO7jzqBg

After that exchange, The McCain camp cancelled an appearance by McCain on Larry King as a punishment to CNN for allowing Brown to actually insist on actual answers. I'm not sure who's being punished there, but hats off to Ms. Brown for providing a high-profile example of actually listening to the answers and refusing to accept the non-answers that are so often offered by politicos and accepted by reporters in political campaigns.

And it is not only the right that's angry with the media. Read some of the assault from the Left on the blog "Left In Alabama"!

Also: over the weekend MSNBC made a big change in its talent linep after complaints, including chants of "N-B-C, N-B-C" during media criticism in speeches at the Republican convention. Here's the NY Times story.

Meanwhile the Pastor of Palin's church told his congregation Sunday to pray for the press. Larry Kroon said the media are to be "cherished and respected" and quoted 19th century philosopher Alexander de Tocqueville's works describing a free press and freedom of religion as essential pillars of democracy.

Amen.

It's big, REALLY, REALLY Big. And it starts Wednesday.

It is so ridiculously easy for me to show how little I know about certain topics...just let me get rambling on FTR about, oh, finance, for example, or the law, and CPA's and lawyers across the state have great party stories to tell. "Can you believe what..." With that disclaimer out of the way, a quick note about something that's happening Wednesday that as far as I can tell, has gotten diddly attention in the U.S. media. Maybe that's because it happening outside the USA? It's called "Large Hadron Collider"...a seventeen mile scientific instrument (yes 17 miles!)underground on the French/Swiss border. According to the London Independent, " One of its experimental chambers is bigger than the nave of Westminster Abbey." Anyway, scientists are going to use it for the first time on Wednesday, and the lunatic fringe wants us to worry that a great black hole will swallow the planet when they flip the switch. (Again, what do I know? But my mortgage payment is due right after Wednesday so I may just wait and see.) You can find lots of stories about it in the overseas media, and apparently a great photo series in the Boston Globe, but my computer kept locking up when I tried to load the page. I couldn't even copy the link. You try it! Anyway, let's hope the scientists know what they're doing, otherwise the day before 9/11 will suddenly be the most significant date in the month. [NOTE: There's no "For The Record" scheduled for this coming Friday, so please don't think we've been swallowed by a black hole or something. FTR returns on September 19th at 9:30, and then moves to a more permanent spot at 9:00pm on the 26th. Don't ask.]

FTR of Friday, 9/5/08

Tonight on FTR we'll talk with the head of The Alabama Commission on Higher Education, Dr. Gregory Fitch, Ph.D. On top of the list of questions: his reaction to the report this week predicting proration of the Fiscal 2009 Education budget. The Journalists are Bob Martin, the Montgomery Independent, and George Altman, The Press-Register. [NOTE: There will be no FTR next Friday, 9/12/08. The FTR on 9/19/08 will air at 9:30pm. And the FTR's after that will air Fridays at 9:00pm. Sorry for the jumpy schedule...you can always watch the programs online]

Neither Fish Nor Fowl

At the end of FTR two weeks ago, guest Zac McCrary with Anzalone-Lizst commented off-air that I had asked one of my "go-to" questions: what's the sense of having just two major political parties if there's no true difference between them. Specifically, I had quoted Governor Wallace's "not a dime's worth of difference" line. And it is true that I've been asking guests that question for a long time. That's because party cohesion is the way legislative agendas are achieved. It is also how individual voters can decide a candidate's general core-beliefs. It's an even more relevant question this election year.

There's the Bright/Love 2nd District race. Before he announced his candidacy, there was speculation that Mayor Bright might run as a Republican...OR a Democrat.

Last night at the GOP convention, Sen. Joe Lieberman was the closing speaker...the same Joe Lieberman who was Democrat Al Gore's VP running mate in 2000 and a Democratic candidate for President in 2004. Now he's an "Independent", trying to get Republican Sen. John McCain elected President. The Chicago Tribune on Monday detailed Lieberman's path across party lines: "Lieberman's relationship with Democrats dramatically soured in 2006, when he lost a primary to anti-war candidate Ned Lamont. But he went on to win the general election, running as an independent with strong backing from Republicans. The process left Lieberman feeling alienated from his former party, an outlook reinforced by the fact this year's Democratic nominee, Obama, was one of the few members of his party in the Senate to send Lamont money and formally back him."

Alabama Republicans, virtually all of whom used to be Democrats, are fond of saying they didn't leave the party...the party left them. But during Alabama elections season it becomes more and more difficult to tell the parties apart. Gun-rights? All of the TV campaign commercials show candidates holding shotguns. Gay marriage? Everybody is against it, though some Democrats will quietly endorse "domestic partnerships". Eliminate "pork"...a chorus of Yeas!!! (unless it's money being sent home by Alabama's delegation to Washington). Women's rights? Now the GOP is all in favor of women, or more specifically Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin, working and raising a family, though it wasn't too long ago that the GOP preached that women were supposed to stay at home and raise the kids.

It is to the advantage of the candidates, incumbent or otherwise, Democrat or Republican, to blur the party lines at election times because it gives them the wiggle room they need to convince you to vote for them. And since they control the Legislature, they continue to make it more and more difficult for third parties to make any real progress. And speaking of third parties, even Libertarians are getting into the party-blurring act this year. Bob Barr is the party's presidential candidate...the same Barr who wrote the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is now running under the banner of the party of get-government-out-of-my-face (though Barr frames the issue under the banner of "State's Rights"). Go figure.

MMMM #11 The Future of News

New York Times columnist Frank Rich makes a startling semi-prediction in his Sunday column: "Four years from now, it’s entirely possible that some, even many, of the newspapers and magazines covering this campaign won’t exist in their current form, if they exist at all. The Big Three network evening newscasts, and network news divisions as we now know them, may also be extinct by then." I was surprised to read that comment, even though I've been saying much the same thing in speaking to various groups across the state. It's Rich's timeline that I find surprising. Four years from now? 2012? There's not doubt that the tidal wave called the Internet has already floundered plenty of what the blogging community loves to call "MSM", as in Mainstream Media. Last month The Montgomery Advertiser reported 20 positions would be eliminated, including ten filled with real live breathing employees.Other outlets are in a careening* stage, sitting on the sidelines, trying to overhaul their operations to extend their useful lives as other vessels pass them by. For many, I'm afraid that will be rearranging the deck chairs. Small weekly newspapers have survived because there's nothing on the Net to replace the hyper-local information services they provide to their readers. Some of the large daily's have kept their head above water, adding video and slide shows to their websites, but still holding onto the very expensive process of chopping down trees to produce physical "papers" to toss into front yards using $4 gasoline to do so. But is The Times' Rich right? When the next round of would-be presidents are clamoring for your attention in four years, will it be an almost all digital campaign? With those who are text-poor and print dependent left behind? *I came across the original meaning of the word careening during research for an upcoming APT documentary. Ships would use the tides to intentionally lay their ships on their sides to allow the crew to clean the hull. The more modern meaning: To lurch or swerve while in motion works pretty well in the context of this story to describe the movement of traditional media toward that next election cycle and beyond. Hold on tight.