Saturday, December 31, 2016

Another Uneventful Night at the Los Angeles Times - NOT

On Christmas Eve last weekend the CO2 system was activated not once, but twice, which essentially shuts the press-room down, at the Los Angeles Times Production Facility. Nevertheless the men and women that produce the hard copy of the newspaper never skipped a beat and published the Christmas Day edition of the newspaper on time. Great job everyone involved and Happy New Year to you all.

Photo credit: Russ Harbour 










Friday, December 30, 2016

Seize the Charities - San Diego Free Press

Seize the Charities - San Diego Free Press: The Left should seek to harness the potential of direct aid to create organizations which aim to abolish the conditions which make charities necessary.

Today in Labor History

December 30  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Gathering in the back room of Behrens’ cigar shop in Sedalia, Mo., 33 railroad clerks form Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of the Railroad Clerks of America - 1899
 
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, who had brutally suppressed the state’s miners, is killed by an assassin's bomb. Legendary Western Federation of Miners and IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood and two other men were put on trial for the death but were ultimately declared innocent - 1905
 
GM sit-down strike spreads to Flint, Mich., will last 44 days before ending in union victory - 1936


December 29

After years of intensive lobbying by the labor movement, a comprehensive national safety law is enacted as President Nixon signs the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, creating the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - 1970
 
More than 15,000 United Steel Workers members at 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber plants end an 86-day strike, ratify 3-year contract - 2006









December 28

The coffee percolator is patented by James H. Mason of Franklin, Mass., placing himself forever in the debt of millions of caffeine-dependent working people – 1865
Auto workers begin sit-down strike for union recognition at GM’s Fisher Body plant in Cleveland - 1936

Country music legend Hank Williams attends what is to be his last musicians’ union meeting, at the Elite (pronounced E-light) cafĂ© in Montgomery, Ala.  He died of apparent heart failure three days later in the back seat of a car driving north.  He was 29 - 1952



December 27

President Roosevelt seizes the railroads to avert a nationwide strike. His decision to temporarily place the railroads under the “supervision” of the War Department prompts the five railroad brotherhoods to agree to his offer to arbitrate the wage dispute - 1943

December 26 
Knights of Labor founded. Constitution bars from membership “parasites,” including stockbrokers and lawyers - 1869
 
Workingmen’s Party is reorganized as the Socialist Labor Party - 1877

Read the LA Times response to Los Angeles Magazine's piece

Read the LA Times response to Los Angeles Magazine's piece

Friday Morning in the Blogosphere



It’s time to stop saying ‘old media’ - Poynter

Of poison pills and dying newspapers - San Diego Reader

The best journalism of 2016 - Columbia Journalism Review

Damn, We Wish We’d Written These 11 Stories - FiveThirtyEight

Our top five debunked fake news stories from 2016 - The Observers

'Profitable' Washington Post adding more than five dozen journalists - Politico

Newspaper publisher shot and killed in Philippines - Committee to Protect Journalists

Best of The Times’s Live Interactive Journalism on Facebook Live in 2016 - NY Times

Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro buys 2.5 million more shares of company - Chicago Tribune

The Gannett-Tronc bidding war showed us people are still investing in legacy media - Poynter

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

The Rams: The Original

The Rams: The Original: The return of the Rams to Southern California, after a 21-season hiatus in St. Louis, has been a disaster. Veteran coach Jeff Fisher presided over an offense that was as...

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Today in Labor History

December 22  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

A group of building trades unions from the Midwest meet in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences - 1897
 
Twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards.  By the time the fire was extinguished, 26 hours after the first alarm, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities - 1910
 
Amid a widespread strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare” - 1919
(Mobilizing Against Inequality: Unions, Immigrant Workers, and the Crisis of Capitalism: Are immigrant workers themselves responsible for low wages and shoddy working conditions? Should unions expend valuable time and energy organizing undocumented workers? Unions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have taken various approaches to confront the challenges of this significant segment of the workforce. As U.S. immigration policy is debated, readers will gain insight into how all workers benefit when wages and working conditions for immigrant workers are improved.)
 

Thursday Morning in the Blogosphere

Merly and I will wed this afternoon at 2:00 PM in Glendora, CA.



Black-owned Newspapers Receive $1.5 M. Grant From Gates Foundation - NJG

Dean Pulls College Newspaper over Concerns of Foul Language - Breitbart News

News and Observer parent buying Durham Herald-Sun - Triangle Business Journal

Newspaper carriers send out letters, claim they're not getting customer tips - 10 News


Al Poland Rest in Peace

I received this e-mail from Dan Ast regarding the passing of Al Poland. He sends his wifes address if you care to send a condolence card.
Al worked in the downtown plant and when the Orange county facility opened up transferred over there and retired from there. He was a nice person and I'm  sure some of you remember him. May he rest in peace.
Emmett Jaime

 Allen passed away on Thursday, June 30, 2016.
Allen was a resident of Port Falls, Idaho at the time of his passing.
Then the Los Angeles Times while still in Franklin High School.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday July 9 at 10:30 am at the Dalton Gardens Church of Christ 6439 N. 4th Street Dalton Gardens Idaho.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Helping hand for immigrants

Helping hand for immigrants: The new proposal by local government and charitable institutions for a $10 million legal defense fund for immigrants threatened with deportation by President-elect Donald Trump offers a helping hand to those who really need it.

Where are they now? Russ Newton


From the left; Russ Newton, Larry Brush, and Raul Campos

Our former boss at the Los Angeles Times, Russ Newton, has taken a job at the San Antonio Express-News as Executive Director Of Operations last month.

Today in Labor History

December 21  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Powered by children seven to 12 years old working dawn to dusk, Samuel Slater’s thread-spinning factory goes into production in Pawtucket, R.I., launching the Industrial Revolution in America. By 1830, 55 percent of the mill workers in the state were youngsters, many working for less than $1 per week - 1790
 
Supreme Court rules that picketing is unconstitutional. Chief Justice (and former president) William Howard Taft declared that picketing was, in part, "an unlawful annoyance and hurtful nuisance..." - 1921

Wednesday Morning in the Blogosphere


How to snag your first journalism gig - Julie Patel

366 links to understand fact-checking in 2016 - Poynter

Press bar demolition points to print decline - BBC News

Nielsen to Buy Tribune Media’s Gracenote Metadata - Variety

Sorry, Christie, newspapers are alive and kicking - North Jersey

The Daily Beast’s Jen Yamato Joins L.A. Times - Fishbowl L.A.

Wenner Media head interested in selling Us Weekly - New York Post

New friends every week when you write a newspaper column - Clarence Bee

The Do’s and Don’ts of Managing a Declining Print Product - Editor and Publisher

The Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE) Cut to “Sell” by The Zacks Investment - Daily Quint

Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times



In today's mail: $9.88 for a year of Sunday papers, plus unlimited digital access.



Los Angeles Times

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

LA Observed Notes: A mea culpa, good reads and many media moves

LA Observed Notes: A mea culpa, good reads and many media moves

Today in Labor History

December 20  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.


Delegates to the AFL convention in Salt Lake City endorse a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote - 1899
 
The first group of 15 Filipino plantation workers recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association arrive in Hawaii. By 1932 more than 100,000 Filipinos will be working in the fields - 1906
 
Thousands of workers began what was to be a 2-day strike of the New York City transit system over retirement, pension and wage issues. The strike violated the state’s Taylor Law; TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint was jailed for ten days and the union was fined $2.5 million - 2005

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere

One of the printing units of the printing press



Newspapers are over...but they can still be saved - Poynter

Concern for Welsh newspapers as print sites close - LeaderLive

The 2016 media year by the numbers, and a look toward 2017 - Ken Doctor

Half Of Newspaper Readership Still Print-Only - MediaPost Communications

Seven lessons for publishers from the Dallas Morning News - The Media Briefing

New York Times May Finally Be On The Verge Of A Sustainable Future - Nasdaq

Where fake news came from — and why some readers believe it - Los Angeles Times

Boston Globe uses Facebook groups to create direct connections with readers - Digiday

10 Awesome Christmas Newspaper Art Images From 100 Years Ago




Monday, December 19, 2016

Today in Labor History

An explosion in the Darr Mine in Westmoreland Co., Pa., kills 239 coal miners. Seventy-one of the dead share a common grave in Olive Branch Cemetery. December 1907 was the worst month in U.S. coal mining history, with more than 3,000 dead - 1907

A 47-day strike at Greyhound Bus Lines ends with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union accepting a new contract containing deep cuts in wages and benefits. Striker Ray Phillips died during the strike, run over on a picket line by a scab Greyhound trainee - 1983

Twenty-six men and one woman are killed in the Wilberg Coal Mine Disaster near Orangeville, Utah. The disaster has been termed the worst coal mine fire in the state’s history. Federal mine safety officials issued 34 safety citations after the disaster but had inspected the mine only days before and declared it safe - 1984

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere

Merly Fragata, Pastor Jim Miller, and Edward





NEWSPAPERS DELIVER ACROSS THE AGES - Nielsen

How To Stop Fake News AND Save Newspapers - Huffington Post

Some 198 UK local newspapers have closed since 2005 - Press Gazette

Retailers Are Abandoning Newspapers This Holiday Season - emarketer

Egypt's newspapers face uncertainty after printing price hikes - Al-Monitor

LA Times Didn't Hire Writer 'Cause He's Old, Fired Him for Testifying - OC Weekly

Hoping to earn rental income, The New York Times is redesigning its office - Poynter


Fake news through the years

Fake news through the years: In my 20 years as a Los Angeles Times columnist I came close to printing some untrue items — unwittingly, of course.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Today in Labor History

December 17  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Int’l Union of Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers merges with United Steelworkers of America - 1996

December 16
The National Civic Federation is formed by business and labor leaders, most prominently AFL president Sam Gompers, as a vehicle to resolve conflicts between management and labor. Not all unionists agreed with the alliance. The group turned increasingly conservative and labor withdrew after Gompers’ 1924 death - 1900
 
New York City’s Majestic Theater becomes first in the U.S. to employ women ushers - 1902
 
The Bagel Bakers of America union is continuing a work slowdown at 32 of New York’s 34 bagel bakeries in a dispute over health and welfare fund payments and workplace sanitation, the New York Times reports.  Coincidentally—or not—lox sales were down 30 percent to 50 percent as well.  The effect on the cream cheese market was not reported - 1951
 
Four railway unions merge to become the United Transportation Union: Trainmen, Firemen & Enginemen, Switchmen, and Conductors and Brakemen - 1968
Eight female bank tellers in Willmar, Minn., begin the first strike against a bank in U.S. history. At issue: they were paid little more than half what male tellers were paid. The strike ended in moral victory but economic defeat two years later - 1977
(United Apart: Gender and the Rise of Craft Unionism: At the turn of the twentieth century, American factory workers were often segregated by sex—males did heavier, dirtier, and better paid, work while women might be employed in a separate area performing related, lighter work. Men might cut bolts of fabric, for example, while women stitched cuffs onto sleeves. How this division of labor played out when an occupational group comprised of one sex went on strike is the subject of this book.)

Saturday Morning in the Blogosphere

Pressman Ron Williams preparing newsprint to keep the newspapers flowing



News Feed FYI: Addressing Hoaxes and Fake News - Facebook

Russ Stanton stepping down as Los Angeles Times editor - L.A. Times

Controversial newspaper bill set for Monday vote - Press of Atlantic City

Digiday's definitive guide to the year's best (and worst) in media - Digiday

The Washington Post announces expanded America desk reporting team - WaPo

Nearly a quarter of Americans say they have shared fake political news - Poynter

Tronc's two largest shareholders boosting stock in newspaper chain - Chicago Tribune


Thursday, December 15, 2016

Today in Labor History

December 15  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

AFL convention passes a 1¢ per capita assessment to aid the organization of women workers (Exact date uncertain) - 1913
 
The Kansas National Guard is called out to subdue from 2,000 to 6,000 protesting women who were going from min to mine attacking non-striking miners in the Pittsburg coal fields. The women made headlines across the state and the nation: they were christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times - 1921
 
Eight days after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related plants for the duration of World War II - 1941
 
Meeting in its biennial convention, the AFL-CIO declares “unstinting support” for “measures the Administration might deem necessary to halt Communist aggression and secure a just and lasting peace” in Vietnam - 1967
 
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone aged 40 or older - 1967
(The Essential Guide To Federal Employment Laws, 4th edition: This is a well-indexed book, updated in 2013, offering the full text of 20 federal laws affecting workers’ lives, along with plain-English explanations of each. An entire chapter is devoted to each law, explaining what is allowed and prohibited and what businesses must comply.)
 
California's longest nurses’ strike ended after workers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole approved a new contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., ending a 13-month walkout - 2003
 
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers union organizer Clinton Jencks, who led New Mexico zinc miners in the strike depicted in the classic 1954 movie Salt of the Earth, dies of natural causes in San Diego at age 87 - 2005
 
AFL convention passes a 1¢ per capita assessment to aid the organization of women workers (Exact date uncertain) - 1913
 
The Kansas National Guard is called out to subdue from 2,000 to 6,000 protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking miners in the Pittsburg coal fields. The women made headlines across the state and the nation: they were christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times - 1921
 
Eight days after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related plants for the duration of World War II - 1941
 
Meeting in its biennial convention, the AFL-CIO declares “unstinting support” for “measures the Administration might deem necessary to halt Communist aggression and secure a just and lasting peace” in Vietnam - 1967
 
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone aged 40 or older - 1967
(The Essential Guide To Federal Employment Laws, 4th edition: This is a well-indexed book, updated in 2013, offering the full text of 20 federal laws affecting workers’ lives, along with plain-English explanations of each. An entire chapter is devoted to each law, explaining what is allowed and prohibited and what businesses must comply.)
 
California's longest nurses’ strike ended after workers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole approved a new contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., ending a 13-month walkout - 2003
 
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers union organizer Clinton Jencks, who led New Mexico zinc miners in the strike depicted in the classic 1954 movie Salt of the Earth, dies of natural causes in San Diego at age 87 - 2005
 

Thursday Morning in the Blogosphere




The slow death of printed news - Poynter

Best News From Top  Publishers - Nuzzel

WLS locks in Limbaugh through 2019 - Robert Feder

Confessions of a digital chief at a legacy publisher - Digiday

Don't Blame Craigslist for the Decline of Newspapers - Politico

Newspapers, not TV, uphold press standards - Bristol Herald Courier

Alabama newspapers give away nearly 100 years of history - Poynter

America East: Where newspapers and technology meet - PR MediaRelease

News Media Blame Christie for Bill That Could Devastate Newspapers - NY Times

BND to begin printing five other Southern Illinois newspapers - Belleville News-Democrat

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

An anniversary I completely had forgotten

After working thirty-nine years, four months, and nine days for the Los Angeles Times I was informed over the phone by human resources that I was terminated on Monday December 12th, 2011. I had no clue I was under investigation, so it came as a shock to learn I was being investigated by human resources and terminated upon the completion of the so-called investigation.

I’m not at liberty to share why I was terminated or what my actions in response will be at this time; so stay tuned as this unfolds.


Newspaper Humor



Newspaper guy came for monthly bill, I said go cashless, use technology. He told me lol you're still reading newspapers.

Today in Labor History

December 14  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Some 33,000 striking members of the Machinists end a 69-day walkout at Boeing after winning pay and benefit increases and protections against subcontracting some of their work overseas - 1995

December 13

Death in San Antonio, Texas, of Samuel Gompers, president and founder of the American Federation of Labor - 1924

Monday, December 12, 2016

Today in Labor History

December 12  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

A U.S. immigration sweep of six Swift meat plants results in arrests of nearly 1,300 undocumented workers - 2006

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere

Baguio City, Philippines




Print is dead. Long live print. - Columbia Journalism Review

One rough year for newspapers, and Detroit feels it - Media Life

New York Times Shares Surge as It Breaks Free From an Industry - 24/7 Wall St

Cox Newspapers’ founder spins in his grave as lights go out at - Saint Peters Blog

Newspapers Gone Horribly Wrong… Bloopers Worthy Of Headlines - We Like Viral

L.A.-Bred Artist Who Created One of the Most Influential Comic Strips Ever - LA Weekly

Q&A: 'Instagrammer' paperboyo air tags LA

Q&A: 'Instagrammer' paperboyo air tags LA: London artist Rich McCor has been in Los Angeles air tagging some of the local landmarks.