Pittsburgh Media Scoops and Gossip
Welcome, newsroom pros and moles. Here's the spot for all the latest dish and debate on what's happening in Pittsburgh media. This is a forum to talk about issues affecting the Pittsburgh media scene.
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- Scaife Proves it's his Play-Toy, Again -- Matty Mattel, 23:54:43 04/25/09 Sat [7]
All through the Trib this week, and for the rest of the year and into next, will be constant, incessant reminders of how much Dick Scaife hates Arlen Specter. I'm not getting into the pros and cons of the man. It has every right to be on the editorial pages. But rest assured, you will see it everywhere in the Trib papers until the 2010 primary is decided and if his boy, Pat Toomey wins the nomination, Dick will turn his fire on whatever Democrat opposes Toomey.
It's this sort of thing, never mind the Tribspeak and brainwashed Trib-Kiddie rhetoric that appears here, that's the real reason for the paper's existence. It exists so Dick Scaife can order his minions to pump up his favorites, in this case Toomey, and thrash those who've displeased he (and, I assume, Beauregard). Specter claimed the top spot on the Scaife enemies list from Jim Rohr of PNC. No one would claim the Senator from Philly is a great guy personally. He was known to be sour, cocky and ill-tempered even before his illness, and like all politicians he plays both sides against the middle. Not exactly Mr. Warmth.
But please, Trib staff, don't insult our intelligence or delude yourselves by telling us coverage won't be affected. It will be what your boss wants it to be. No more and no less.
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- little league -- Voy boy, 14:51:39 05/01/09 Fri [5]
Did anyone hear about the email Smitty sent out in regard to covering Little league? I heard a writer from the VND wrote something about snickering in an email and Smitty went off about how Little League is what will increase circulation.
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- D.R. Law -- Shredder, 10:52:53 04/20/09 Mon [17]
When in doubt, overreach for an inappropriate word:
"Mr. Roddy testified that Ms. Jordan was "gob-smacked" when he told her she gave $10,000 to judicial candidate Cheryl Allen."
Paging Dr. Roddy, Dr. Roddy ...
"Mr. Roddy said that his experience ran contrary to a doctor's report that Ms. Jordan was psychotic and her memory was very impaired."
2 + 2 = 5. Just take Dennis' word for it:
"Under cross-examination from defense attorney Thomas J. Farrell, Mr. Roddy said he threw away the notes and deleted the tape recording of the interview."
Of course, the note destruction issue is crucial to both the case and journalism in general. Here's a fairly brief story on different sides of the debate
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=1785
My practice and experience with other reporters is that we all keep stacks of full note books for a long time. What do you do? And what have you seen of Dennis' desk and drawers? Full of papers and notebooks, or neat as a pin?
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- Pens coverage -- Michael Motorcycle, 06:48:10 04/24/09 Fri [10]
I'm more of a Pens rooter than an analyst, so I went online this morning to try and find out what strategy the Flyers used to keep the Pens out of the net last night.
Unfortunately, I didn't find it from Rossi or Molinari.
Oh, I got the standard and cliched "Flyers goalie stood on his head" report from Molinari, and Rossi's blog saw fit to patronize his readership with a couple of paragraphs about how stupid people who call up cable companies when the channel they are watching the game goes dark are, but nowhere did I find about how the Flyers defensemen began to attack less and push the Pens' forwards to the boards more in the second and third periods.
I found out about this strategic change from a stringer who covered the game for a Philadelphia newspaper.
Is it just me, or should the Pittsburgh hockey media concentrate on having an "attitude" less and focus on their coverage more?
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- why, oh, why hasn't this been mentioned yet? -- lovely, 19:38:44 04/26/09 Sun [8]
I sit here watching this drama unfold and wonder why anybody has yet to bring up this nugget of information.
It's really a perfect example of how one mistake in any newspaper can be fatal. Can you imagine the fate of the PG if a lawsuit were to be filed?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09116/965297-109.stm
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- Re: why, oh, why hasn't this been mentioned yet? -- Ill Literate, 23:45:10 04/26/09 Sun
- Re: why, oh, why hasn't this been mentioned yet? -- Nice try, but try again., 23:49:48 04/26/09 Sun
- Re: why, oh, why hasn't this been mentioned yet? -- Dewey Decimal, 04:28:08 04/27/09 Mon
- Re: why, oh, why hasn't this been mentioned yet? -- Bob Hoover Fan Club, 20:35:22 04/29/09 Wed
- Get tomorrow's Tribune -- Greensburger, 14:07:26 04/28/09 Tue [7]
Arlen Specter switches to the Democratic party? Tomorrow's edition of the Trib should be a pip.
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- P-G motorcycle column -- Wheels, 00:38:35 04/24/09 Fri [12]
OK, why do they have a weekly motorcycle column? Are there that maky bikers here and do they read the P-G? Looks like they pay freelancers to write it. One of them, Kimberlee Love, is Mike Seate's wife.
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- Where was the copy desk? -- Old Guy, 13:14:40 04/27/09 Mon [2]
P-G sports deskers must have been having a long lunch, so this abomination of a lead got into the paper:
--
Monday, April 27, 2009
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
SAN DIEGO -- Brian Bixler, in his fourth big-league plate appearance and his second swing of the season, after flying out the previous at-bat, knocked a two-run double into right field.
That right there equaled his entire RBI output from a 108 at-bat last season: two.
--
How about:
With one swing of the bat Sunday, Brian Bixler matched his RBI total from the 2008 season.
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- Bullfeathers -- I.M. Puzzled, 13:35:16 04/26/09 Sun [3]
Ah, Colin McTwocentsworth is at at it again, finding obscure people -- he calls this one "a noted Spanish researcher" -- who agree with him and Dickie Boy.
This time it's Gabriel Calzada Alvarez, a professor at that eminent pillar of learning, King Juan Carlos University in Spain, who supposedly has determined that "carbon caps" cost jobs. As Dickie pulls the strings, McTwocentswort types the words in his column in today's Trib.
That college in Madrid? It's been an educational cornerstone since it was formed way back in, uh, 1996. And that "noted Spanish researcher" Professor Alvarez? Even Google can't find him.
Sometimes, columns like this are called "spin." This one, to use one of Mr. McTwocentsworth's words, is "bullfeathers."
Oh, and that head on the column? Nugatory? Talk about archaic language. Look it up. It means trifling. Goes good with McTwocentsworth.
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- Buyout effect? -- On the outside, 09:53:03 04/15/09 Wed [28]
Did the Trib sports department take a lot of hits in the buyout? I ask because it seems to me that something is just a bit off the last couple of weeks.
I can't tell if its the design or the writing, but it just seems the overal presentation is lacking. Most of the writers seem to still be there. Was there a key buyout I might have missed?
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- Flush Plush: the PG's new feature -- Robin Leech, 12:40:00 04/22/09 Wed [3]
A bad economy, people cutting back, and THIS is what the Brown Box on the Boulevard/One of America's Great Newspapers gives its dwindling readership?
http://www.post-gazette.com/plush/
McKay is a great food writer. Why waste those talents having her produce a half-assed newspaper version of the "Robb Report?"
This has gotta be one of Beltway Dave's conceptions, or a product of the mediocre minds of one of his deputies. If not, someone there can enlighten us who deserves "credit" for generating this sorry excuse for a feature?
Wonder how long it'll be until there's another story on luxury workout machines for basset hounds?
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- Secret society -- newish, 14:11:33 04/16/09 Thu [6]
Don't laugh...
I'm new to the PGH media scene and a mentor told me about this forum. I'm curious...is this something that most major cities do? This little secret society of journalists play fighting with each other? I've only worked in smaller cities before, and haven't heard of this before.
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- Tea Party -- Ben Franklin, 19:27:10 04/14/09 Tue [24]
Anyone covering the Tea Party tax protest at noon at Market Square on April 15th? I heard that there will be a massive turnout.
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- Decline in baseball writers -- The Ghost of Damon Runyon, 15:32:29 04/15/09 Wed [5]
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-04-14-Baseball_writers_N.htm
From the article:
"The(Newark) Star-Ledger, the Beaver County Times near Pittsburgh and the East Valley Tribune in the Phoenix area have ceased sending reporters on the road this season. Pittsburgh's BBWAA chapter is down to nine members, the first in single digits."
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- The Sunday sports obsession -- Nick Tating Membrane, 10:25:10 04/19/09 Sun [5]
Look at the home page of the P-G today and find yourself essentially staring at what should be the sports page. I didn't do a count, but most of the space is given over to numerous articles on the Steelers (top of the page) as well as every other conceivable sport.
I realize this is a sports-obsessed town, and I realize that sports tend to gain more attention during hard economic times, but...I can't see how this works for the P-G in the long run. It's just embarrassing.
And I have a theory about the website metrics. The web gurus carefully track which stories get clicked on the most, and the ones which are forwarded...and management just reacts to that; PEOPLE LIKE SPORTS! DO MORE SPORTS STORIES!
Like I said, I understand the temptation to do this, and I realize we're all in uncharted waters here and watching the end of the newspaper biz as we know it, but maybe some good solid reporting would engage people as well....?
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- Beltway in the Clouds, as usual -- Nimbus, 00:38:31 04/19/09 Sun [2]
Whatever the major or minor criticisms of the PG's coverage of the police tragedy, no one can say they underplayed it. So it's strange the guy at the top--AGAIN--simply can't be bothered lowering himself to comment on a trauma that affected his readers. Why is that? Because he's too busy working on a weekly column that never engages his readers but instead slobbers over old political sages and expounds on insider nonsense, a column few except his old DC pals give a crap about.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09109/963719-372.stm?cmpid=bcpanel2
I despise the Trib, but the Blocks and their paper got no prize with this guy. Can anyone tell me one worthwhile thing he's achieved since he arrived except to bore everyone to death except the aforementioned pals in DC? Is he there for the paper? No. Is he there to allow John Robinson Block to think he has a prestigious name on the masthead? Almost surely.
The PG needed a Lou Grant type. Instead, Block brings in Massachusetts version of Louis Skolnick ("Revenge of the Nerds").
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- Stupid Trib Editor Tricks # 543 -- Repeater, 18:25:46 04/18/09 Sat [4]
This piece appeared in Thursday's Ticket and again in the Saturday edition. How dumb are these people? Was there no wire copy they could use to avoid the repeat, or do they just not know any better?
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/music/s_621144.html
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- Trib sports has no Passion -- Elaine Faneca, 21:58:06 04/17/09 Fri [2]
Is it just me or does the Trib write this story every single year about the time the Pittsburgh Passion season is about to start.
The recycled storyline is that these women have real jobs in the day and play football as a side thing.
You can read the latest version of this unoriginal idea at this link.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_621178.html
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- PG Spacewasters in Action -- Let's Not and Say We Did, 04:19:43 04/16/09 Thu [4]
What the HELL is the point of this? What's next? Telling us history regarding WQED, Heinz, Fort Pitt or KDKA?
Or is this to educate Shribman about the history of the city he so pointedly ignores?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09106/963047-369.stm
Honest to God, we have the site of Fort Pitt down at the Point, and we have The Pits at 34 Boulevard of the Allies!
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- Spacewaster -- I.M. Puzzled, 19:36:16 04/14/09 Tue [5]
This is kind of alate post because we were off the air, so to speak, but how about that story in the P-G on saturday?
A murder at a college. Page One, 33 inches of space, color head shots of the victim and the suspect.
Wow! Pitt? Duquesne? Carnegie-Mellon? Nope, Gettysburg College, half a state away.
Well, then, local students involved? Nope again. Victim was from Roosevelt, N.J. and the suspect is from Berks County.
And how about the details? She was a vegetarian. There was Stella Artois beer packaging was on the ground outside the apartment where the murder occurred. A stack of books could be seen inside the apartment. Compelling, huh?
Can anyone tell me why so much space was devoted to this story?
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- Explain This One -- I.M. Puzzled, 07:00:41 04/11/09 Sat [3]
A college student is murdered and her ex-boyfriend is the suspect.
Page One. Thirty-three inches of type. Color head shots of the victim and the suspect.
Wow! Pitt? Duquesne? Carnegie-Mellon? Nope, nope and nope. Gettysburg College, more than halfway across the state.
The victim must be local? Nope, she's from Roosevelt. N.J.
Local suspect, then? Nope. He's from Oley, Berks County.
Can anyone explain why the P-G went so far overboard on this one?
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- Slain officers coverage -- Media mogul, 19:37:02 04/09/09 Thu [15]
In what has been the biggest story since an FBI agent was killed late last year, the Trib's coverage is blowing away the PG.
Although it may be overkill, they've been devoting much more ink to this tragic incident - from exclusive stories about Poplawski to ongoing coverage in the Trib pm.
There's no doubt the PG won a battle or two, especially the story Tuesday regarding the 911 dispatcher, but I think the Trib won this war.
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- Bennett Mulls Mullets, makes no sense. As usual. -- Coach Buzzcut, 04:51:40 04/09/09 Thu [5]
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09099/961353-151.stm?cmpid=bcpanel1
Dang, ain't Mon Valley Hospital so lucky to now have her on their PR team to write newsletters and annual reports?
Since the PG still has her in their pages, I'd say they got the short end of the deal.
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- Bob Hertzel -- Bob Middleman, 07:08:54 04/09/09 Thu [2]
It was great to see an article by Bob Hertzel in The Beaver County Times on Tuesday. Welcome back Bob.
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- PG + KD = (snore) -- Kahn Crete Block, 14:26:56 04/07/09 Tue [21]
Does KDKA need comic relief from their long form afternoon newscast so badly that they feel compelled to regale us with the nerdy meanderings of PG Associate Editor John Allison? News partnership or not, listening to the guy prattle on like an aging English professor is about as stimulating as a glass of warm milk (or a couple Ambien).
Do KD and the PG actually think this yawnfest encourages people to buy their fading, shrinking, overpriced paper? Maybe Allison is another one of its drawbacks. At least Ginny Kopas Joe, sitting behind John, was getting some work done.
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- River Taxi -- Louie DePalma, 13:19:38 04/14/09 Tue [4]
Has anyone other than P-G staffers ever taken a ride on a river taxi? What number is greater: The number of river taxi passengers or the number of P-G stories shilling for river taxis? Brian O'Neill was the latest intrepid sailor. This has been a recurring story in the P-G and no one seems to care outside the Bunker on the Boulevard.
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- Is it any wonder? -- Dili Gent, 19:44:37 04/02/09 Thu [19]
So, the 10 year anniversary has passed of the death of a man, who was critical of Dick Scaife, whose body was found 60 feet from Scaife's downtown office. This is the 2nd suspicious death of someone who's activities would be motive enough for their common adversary.
And I see nothing in our local media in spite of the diligence of a certain similarly pseudonymed author. Furthermore, there are no curious responses to that Dili Gent's previous recent post concerning this subject.
Please feel free to correct any spelling mistakes that I may have made while you ponder why your papers are going down the tubes.
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- P-G AWOL editorial page -- Fat, Lazy & Sloth-like, 16:39:59 04/05/09 Sun [10]
Holy Toledo, the Pittsburg Post-Gazette editorial page was so TOTALLY AWOL on today's editorial page about the police shooting, its not funny.
NO EDITORIAL.
EXCUSE the first: The section printed five weeks ago.
Uhm, what about the WEB?
How could the so regulary shot-at Tribune-Review have a FULL editorial in its Sunday opinion section (not to mention at full Web editorial BEFORE 6 p.m. Saturday) and the PG Web site/print edition had... N-0-T-H-I-N-G.
Asleep at the switch. Comatose. Fat. Lazy. Arrogant.
How sad.
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- Trib designers (all around) -- Smutty Nose, 16:13:25 04/02/09 Thu [8]
Now, I know the papers designers are far from talented, but, have you seen some of the garbage that has been done by their marketing designers on the magazines?
Had a look at the recent "Care Giver" publication and I have no words for the horrendous nature of it's page and cover design. Do they truly expect this magazine to survive? Most of the photos are hacked up and faded around the edges, the cover image has a wonderful drop shadow added to it, and the type face is ridiculous. My 9th grade daughter could do a better job than this.
Does the Trib Total Media empire want to be taken seriously? If they do, this is not the way to do it.
Whom ever is in charge of these publications needs to be let go if they expect to survive.
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- Rob Owen. Embarrassment -- Me Dia, 16:32:40 04/04/09 Sat [5]
As a fellow member of the media, I am totally embarrassed by Rob Owen's lack of sympathy and compassion today.
Look at this blog entry. Three of the finest men in Pittsburgh are dead, killed by a man with an AK-47, and Rob feels the need to write this, telling us he was at the gym when he first saw the coverage and going on to critique the local news.
There is a time and place, Rob.
Now was not either.
http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/tunedin/archive/2009/04/04/officers-shot-in-stanton-heights.aspx
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