Fort Wayne Observed

Getting Noticed

UPDATE: Kara Hull's report on Tri-State University's "don't talk to the press" policy gets picked up by Romenesko.

MORE: What is Romenesko?

Blogging and Journalism

From Michael Hiltzik, who debuted a new L.A. Times-sanctioned blog today:

[...]the silly debate over whether blogging is "journalism." It all depends. Some bloggers report and research their items as aggressively as some newspaper, magazine and TV journalists. Some apply careful journalistic scrutiny to reporting done by others. Still others simply masticate news reports first served elsewhere, removing the flavor until the reports reach a form they consider politically or ideologically digestible. At the bottom of the barrel are blogs engaging in persiflage and lies. The blogosphere per se is just another information medium.

PREVIOUSLY: FWOb readers discuss whether I'm a journalist

A Little Help?

A few days ago, Zach Klein, a Fort Wayne native who lives in NYC, noticed this poster (via Bert Ehrmann of Dangerous Universe) for sale on AllPosters.com. Some of Zach's readers spent a few days trying to figure out the what images were used inside each letter, but were stumped by a few locations that don't seem to exist anymore. For a closer look, you can buy a 24 x 18 inch copy -- for the low price of $62.99.

Touching a Fiber Optic Nerve

There's an interesting discussion happening on the message boards at dslreports.com about what Fort Wayne customers think of Verizon's new fiber optic home service (FIOS).

• I have a friend who lives in a addition off of Ardmore near Elmhurst H.S. who already has it. They were out last week in my back yard connecting cable to the pole (Calhoun/Paulding area, Hillcrest Addition) and the installer would be back later to run the cable to the house. I can't wait to finally dump Comcast for FIOS and DishTV. I figured out that i will save roughly 25.00/month for TV & Internet services after I dump Comcast. I will also most like switch to VoiceWing or Vonage and save an additional 20.00+/month on phone service.

• I had mine installed on Tuesday and have had nothing but trouble. Constant reboots of the piece of crap dlink they left here. Also its a used router. WTF . How do i know its used your asking??? Well there's writing on the back in marker vz_fios3 gamelab3.. I am really disappointed in the tech support also. Any how I have changed the dlink out w/a multitech routefinder and still have to reset it at least 4 times a day. Speeds are very inconsistent also.

• I live in New Haven. But our address should be Fort Wayne. Not sure why, but I live in the George Town area. Anyway, I filled out some kind of form a few months back requesting service for Verizon FIOS. It said the neighborhoods with the most request, would be the first to receive the services. Three weeks ago, I received a phone call from one of Verizon's contractor asking me did I bury anything in my backyard within the last 2 yrs. I said, nope. Ok then she said, we will send someone out to mark any gas lines or buried cables in your backyard. A week few days later, they sent out someone to mark the gas lines with orange paint and flags. Then a week later, another Verizon contractor came out did some prep work on the phone box on the side of the house. Then a few days after that, they come back out to bury the fiber optic cable from the main to my house. Yeah baby!! He then said the final step would be for someone to come back out and install the new box. He said that wont be until a week or two. So I should be receiving a phone call soon, to hook up the box and service! Should be next week sometimes after Halloween. I did ask Verizon FIOS about the TV service. She said, they cant offer TV service yet because they waiting on the city of Fort Wayne officials to reach a agreement. HMMM!! Tell those morons officials to hurry up!!! Once that happens, then my home would final be rid of Comcast after all these years!! Been paying $80 per month for digital cable and $45 per month for high speed internet. My cable bill would be cut in half, but my high speed internet would be the same price but with double download speed.

• When Verizon came to my workplace, they had a map of the area and the different sections of the city marked off. The south and south east sections of Fort Wayne weren't suppose to be ready by the end of the year. I don't remember though what the exact boundary lines were. I think they were more towards teh east of Lafayette or maybe even to the east of Anthony. I though the Calhoun area was going to be available because I was thinking my church could upgrade our frame relay DSL line to fiber.

Running for Mayor?

Fort Wayne Politics has a post in response to Ben Lanka's article in today's JG about Republican's current county-wide dominance. Most of the post is on Republicans in Name Only, but there's also some speculation on the 2007 mayoral race:

Possible 2007 Democrat Mayoral Candidates:

Councilman John Shoaff
Councilman Tim Pape
Current Mayor Graham Richard

Possible Republican Candidates:

Councilman John Crawford
Matt Kelty
Former Mayor Paul Helmke

No Talking!

Kara Hull reports on Tri-State's new policy on speaking to the press, which sounds like it may have been hatched at Granite Broadcasting or Fort Wayne Newspapers.

Tri-State University launched a policy this month that bars students and employees from talking with professional journalists without permission from the school’s marketing department.

[...]The policy, sent via e-mail to all employees and students Oct. 14, instructs the campus community not to answer questions from reporters without prior permission from the university’s Department of Brand & Integrated Marketing. If a reporter contacts employees or students without the knowledge of the marketing department, they should refuse to answer questions and contact the department, the policy states.

The policy also instructs students not to invite reporters or media representatives onto campus or into a dormitory.

   

The policy – which [Patrick Johansen, director of Tri-State’s marketing department] said he crafted after 10 months of research – was created, in part, to protect student privacy and isn’t intended to silence their voices, he said. He said there will be no sanctions against students who violate the rule. The rule will also provide a learning experience for students and employees who aren’t trained to talk to the media, Johansen said.

   

“This is not a gag order,” he said. “The policy is not in any way trying to place a gag order on campus or stifle communication. We’re just trying to help everyone understand this is a serious business and it should be treated accordingly.”

Johansen said he has worked at other universities that have similar policies in place and felt Tri-State needed a media policy, too.

Students may not understand how information they provide to a reporter could be used, Johansen said, and the policy lets them know they’re not obligated to talk. It also protects their expectation of privacy in their on-campus rooms, he said.

From the policy:

• No member of the campus community should interact with media representatives without prior approval from the Department of Brand & Integrated Marketing.

• Be polite to the reporter but do not answer any questions. (‘I have no comment’ is always appropriate when talking to a reporter.)

• If possible, ask the reporter what the story is about, ask for a list of questions, and ask what his/her deadline is.

• Contact the Department of Brand & Integrated Marketing as soon as possible.

The Appearance of Impropriety

From today's Dooley Noted:

When former federal judge Jesse Eschbach died Tuesday, a flood of memories washed over those who had dealt with the highly respected jurist during the 38 years he spent on the bench.

One of those involved two former Fort Wayne newspaper reporters and the extent to which the judge would go to be fair with the media.

The reporters – Nancy Laughlin and the late Jerry Shackelford, both of The Journal Gazette – were in the federal building one day covering a proceeding in Eschbach’s court. A short time after it concluded, they made their way down the hall to the elevator and waited to go to the first floor.

After a few moments, the elevator stopped at their floor and the doors slid open. Standing inside, by himself, was the judge. To the surprise of the reporters, Eschbach stepped out of the car and told them to take his place.

Shackelford remembered Eschbach pulling him aside a few days later when he ran into the judge outside the building. “I don’t want you to think I don’t like reporters,” said Eschbach, who had a reputation as the sort who was always ready to discuss a point of law or legal process with reporters as long as it didn’t involve a particular case. “I just don’t want anyone to think I was singling you out for special treatment."

Watch Out!

Those of you in the televison business know that the November sweeps are right around the corner. Sweeps are periods used for measuring television audiences (based on Nielsen Ratings) and determining advertising rates. February, May, July, and November are all sweeps months, and this year's November sweeps are from Nov. 2 - 30.

The upcoming sweeps have plenty of drama built in. 21Alive had consistently finished at the top of the ratings, but in the two ratings periods since Granite Broadcasting bought NBC 33, News Channel 15 came out on top. Add in Granite's current financial woes, and you can bet there are plenty of people at WPTA who will be on pins and needles during the next few weeks.

Of course, the only people who really count when it comes to sweeps are those viewers that have been chosen by Nielsen (the company that tabulates the ratings) to keep a diary of what programs they watch.

But what if sweeps were confined to FWOb readers? (Clearly a much more intelligent and media-savvy group than the general populace...)

I've created a blog poll to answer that very question. (It's at the top of the sidebar.) Just select which news program you prefer, and when the results of the November sweeps are released, we'll compare them with the FWOb sweeps. (If you're reading this from 21Alive HQ or that of its partner in news, the Journal Gazette, rest assured that there's no way for anyone to trace your vote...)

Duh: Don't Buy Granite Stock

Linda Lipp has more on the state of Granite Broadcasting in this week's Greater Fort Wayne Business Journal:

And a respected bond analyst who has followed the company since 2001 said the $180 million Granite will earn from its sale of stations in Detroit and San Francisco this quarter will only be enough to keep the company afloat for another year — at best.

“Even if they pay down some of their debt, the stations they have left can’t generate enough income to cover their interest payments,” analyst Shelly Lombard, of Gimme Credit, said last week.

[...]The sales price Granite is getting for its WB stations in San Francisco and Detroit was a disappointment to shareholders, bond holders and other creditors. “People were hoping for $250 million,” Lombard said.

“What worked against Granite is that buyers knew they needed to sell,” Lombard added. “It’s like selling a house in the middle of a divorce. Everyone knows you’re desperate.”

The company said it plans to use $30 million of the sale proceeds for general corporate purposes, including interest and operating expenses. It also will acquire a $2.5-million stake in AM Media, which is buying the stations. The remaining $147.5 million could be used either to either repay debt or buy more major network-affiliated stations.

But Granite faces serious financial problems next year no matter how it chooses to use the proceeds from the station sales.

The New York company’s current debt totals $460 million, including $405 million in bonds. The annual interest is about $45 million.

If Granite uses $147.5 million to pay down debt, it would reduce its annual interest payments to about $30 million. But it would only be able to generate about $20 million to $25 million in earnings with its current holdings, Lombard estimated.

If Granite uses the $147.5 million for expansion, it could improve its earnings to $30 million to $40 million in 2006. That would fall short of the $45 million needed for interest payments if the debt isn’t reduced.

Good reporting by Lipp, but this isn't likely to be welcome news over on Butler Road.

RELATED: More on Granite Broadcasting

On Downtown

Sunday's JG featured two articles on downtown revitalization: a report on the future of the Downtown Improvement District and a profile of new DID director Dan Carmody.

Carmody, 50, puts consensus and cooperation at the top of his list of factors necessary to spur downtown development and vibrancy.

“There are,” he says, “three legs to every downtown stool: The corporate side, the public side and the small business and small property side. All three have to work together or you can’t succeed.”

   

[...]When he gets to Fort Wayne, Carmody says, the city’s three rivers will be an integral part of economic development planning.

   

“The rivers,” he says, “are a huge opportunity. I just really haven’t thought through how that might be tapped.”

   [...]“Downtown is the only place that’s gonna have a pedestrian experience,” he says. “It’s not a very pretty experience in most downtowns and certainly there’s a lot of work left to be done (in Fort Wayne’s) downtown.”

In reading about Carmody, one can't help but get excited about the possiblility that he's just the kind of leader we need to take the reins right now. Yes, studies are nice, but sometimes we hide behind them and tout them as a sign of progress without taking any real action. And what we need is action.

The good news: the Fort Wayne community is firmly behind the idea that we need to revitalize downtown. Now we just need a Pied Piper to get us to where we want to be.

Here's hoping Carmody can play the flute.