The CCT And Me
Sometimes you just have to get something off your mind, even if you know it has the potential to ricochet back and knock you upside the head. So here goes.
In a Feb. 21 posting on its website headlined "Recall Failed, A Look Back," the Chatham Concerned Taxpayers essentially blamed The Chronicle, me and Chairman of Selectmen Len Sussman for the drive to recall the three selectmen who voted not to renew Town Manager William Hinchey's contract. There's just so much wrong here. Where to start?
First, the CCT refers to the recall effort as a "folly," thus patronizing and insulting not only the citizens who sponsored the drive, but the more than 1,000 voters who signed the petitions as well. Those people were in fact exercising their right to petition the government for redress of a perceived wrong, something enshrined in our Constitution which I would think the CCT, whose leadership are conservative Republicans, would respect.
The recall did not fall "far short" of its effort. The recall bar is set high --- purposefully, to avoid attempts to remove selectmen for trivial or personal reasons --- requiring that 1,406 registered voters sign recall petitions for each of the three selectmen. The petition for Sean Summers garnered 1,102, 78 percent of the required number; Tim Roper's was signed by 1,057 people, 75 percent of the required number, and 923, or 65 percent, signed Florence Seldin's petition. The numbers did fall short, but not "far" short. And remember, more people signed the petition than voted for Summers and Seldin in their last election.
I'll bypass their flawed reasoning behind the need to get rid of Hinchey; never mind that during his tenure the town has been considered one of the best-managed on the Cape, maintains the lowest tax rate in Barnstable County and one of the lowest in the state, and continues to have a triple-A bond rating. Not to mention the fact that Yarmouth snapped Hinchey up as that town's new town administrator as soon as he was available.
CCT blames The Chronicle for creating a "firestorm," after the selectmen had already quietly decided to let Hinchey's contract expire, with an editorial headlined "A Hinchey Lynching?" Selectmen had worked out an agreement with Hinchey, they state, and if not for our editorial, "that would have been the end of it."
Except that nobody knew what was going on, which was the point of the editorial. It criticized the board for keeping the decision to get rid of the town manager a secret, and asked board members to divulge to the public their reasons for doing so. It was that secrecy that drew a crowd to the Nov. 19 selectmen's meeting, and prompted the subsequent recall.
CCT also cites our "news" article (quotes are theirs, not mine) about the situation, mostly because they and others continue to insist that Hinchey wasn't "ousted," as the story stated; no, his contract was simply allowed to expire. By a 3-2 vote of the board. Which terminated a contract that otherwise would have automatically renewed. If that isn't being "fired" or "terminated," I don't know what is.
CCT goes on to wonder why The Chronicle inflamed passions. They state that Hinchey has supplied us with many exclusive stories over the year and provided us with "special access," which we would lose when he leaves. This, they stated, was more important to the paper than "preparing for the difficult years ahead," whatever that refers to. I actually laughed out loud when I first read this. We have enjoyed no special access to Hinchey. In fact, we have gone long periods --- years, in fact --- when he has barely spoken to us, due to some perceived slight or another. Hinchey never ever fed us an exclusive story. EVER. Ask any local reporter with experience in Chatham, and they'll tell you that Hinchey will answer questions, provide detailed explanations of minutia when requested, and even joke quite jovially, but he never, ever simply volunteers information. He has never called me with a story. He returns calls, because he is a professional. But he does not initiate. He is not nor has he ever been a "special information source" for us, as CCT erroneously states.
Did we just want to stir up controversy to sell papers, the group asks. Well, duh. We report news to sell newspapers. The Hinchey situation and the recall were news, big news. So we played it big. They seem to forget that we broke the story last fall; we were the first to report in September that the selectmen were considering not renewing Hinchey's contract. If not for our continued reporting of the story, the board would have slipped the issue by and the members who voted against Hinchey would not have had to justify themselves --- poorly, in large part --- in public.
My son loves Steve Martin's "King Tut." I revisited some of the comedian's material from that era when I put the song on a CD for him. Summarizing our coverage, the CCT states, "All in all, it was a poor performance by the Chronicle and its editor Mr. Wood." I harken back to Mr. Martin's catchphrase of the "King Tut" period: "Well excuuuuuuuse me!"
They go on to attack Sussman for pointing out that those who oppose the board's decision had recourse through the charter. "The Chronicle lit the match and Mr. Sussman poured the gasoline," they state. "That wasn't right."
And is it right to blame Hinchey for the town's financial situation --- which is quite good, by the way, though you wouldn't know that from reading the CCT propaganda --- even though every budget, every expenditure was approved by various boards of selectmen and hundreds of voters at town meeting? Is it right to cite false and misleading information about the town's sewer project, including unfounded assertions that alternative methods would save millions and that the expanded sewer plant is designed with regional expansion as its goal?
Never mind. Their parting words note that Sussman apologized for his behavior, but that "no apology has been forthcoming from The Chronicle."
And none will. We have nothing to apologize for. We informed people, we reported the news, we editorialized about an important issue. We did not organize the recall; I did not even sign the petitions, even though I was asked. I still believe it was a mistake to dismiss Hinchey. Only time will tell.
My final message to the CCT: I challenge you to do something positive for the town. Volunteer for a nonprofit. Contribute to the library. Stop complaining that your taxes are too high.
There. Off my chest. Since this is bound to rile somebody, let me just add this disclaimer. The foregoing expresses my own views and opinions, and is not endorsed by The Chronicle. This blog is my independent forum and not associated with The Chronicle.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Just had to post my Writer's Block column from the March 3 Cape Cod Chronicle, to preserve it for posterity.
A Special ChroniLeaks Report
A mole deep within the bowels of Chatham town government has provided us with a copy of the double-secret, confidential, classified, for-selectmen’s-eyes-only first draft of the town profile, advertisement and qualifications for a new town manager. We here at ChroniLeaks believe it is vital to get this information out to the public, especially given the controversy over the “non-renewal” of the current town manager’s contract.
The documents shine a bright light on the expectations officials have for the new town executive as well as their perception of the state of the town.
In the 225-page profile, Chatham is characterized as a town with “a lot of money” and “wealth spewing out of every available orifice.” However, it makes it clear that the streets are not paved with gold; in fact, it states, the streets are barely paved at all thanks to the 100-year sewer project, and it recommends that a new town manager invest in a heavy truck or Hummer for all local travel.
The comprehensive profile discusses the town’s history, its strong points --- lots of well-educated retirees ready and willing to work on volunteer committees --- and its weak points --- lots of well-educated retirees ready and willing to work on volunteer committees. It outlines the economy of the community, focusing on the tourist trade, which thrives on the shifting sands of eroding beaches, the “quaint” downtown and historic assets, including shaky bridges and neon-painted houses. Real estate, or, as the documents state, “the sale of really expensive summer homes to people who will only use them a couple of weeks a year,” as well as construction or “letting developers do what they want,” and commercial fishing are also listed as important economic activities.
The initial draft of the profile stated that the town manager position is vacant due to “a coup within the board of selectmen by a cadre of change-seeking interlopers,” but this was later changed to “a decision by the board of selectmen not to extend the town manager’s employment contract,” although the end of this sentence included this cryptic symbol: ;-}.
Also included in the profile draft were mention of the new “friggin’ huge” police station and town hall annex, as well as plans to build a “humungo” fire station. A hand-written correction in reference to the sewer project changes “fleecing” to “financing.”
Under organization of town government, the initial draft states that the town manager, under the home rule charter, is responsible for the day to day workings of town government. There is a big black circle around this statement with these words penciled to the side: “That will change soon, bwaa-ha-ha-ha!!!” (extra exclamation points included).
Under the extensive “Challenges For The Town Manager” section were paragraphs headlined “Living in Chatham on $150K or less a year,” “Getting along with retired lawyers,” “Making sure staff members all speak the same language,” and “Learning how to jump when the selectmen say jump.” These were all excised from later drafts.
The ideal candidate, the draft profile states, will be a seasoned manager “without too much salt,” able to deal with complex issues and having strong organizational skills, leadership quality and the ability to tell a good joke, but keep it clean. The town manager must play a public role in town, attending civic functions, participating in the sing-a-long at the retired men’s club meetings, and substituting in left field for the Chatham Anglers as the need arises. The manager must be a champion swimmer, trained in lifeguard rescue techniques and knowledgeable in marine biology, preferably ichthyology with a specialty in chondrichthyes.
According to the draft qualifications for town manager, applicants must have the usual education and experience as well as “questionable integrity” (later drafts correct this to “unquestionable integrity”), have “strong-arm” organizational skills and the ability to dance the Elvis Twins under the table. Candidates were required, according to these early drafts, to also submit a list of the last 10 films or DVDs viewed, and the inclusion of any movie featuring Pauly Shore, Ashton Kutcher or Justin Bieber was grounds for automatic rejections. One draft referenced the film “The Golden Boys” along with the scrawled note: “Our ideal of what Chatham should be.”
Finally, the draft qualifications and application state that prospective candidates must be publicly accountable for their actions and agree to the placement of a web cam in their office and home. Computer experience is required, it states, including the ability to conduct a Google search on every person who speaks during the Public Forum segment of the selectmen’s meetings. Salary, it states, is subject to negotiations, “DOHWFATT” (Depending on how we feel at the time).
Public disclosure of documents such as these help ensure the transparency of government. We stand behind our sources and their right to slip us plain manila envelopes under the table, as well as our right to publish any and all public documents especially if it means we can make the powerful look silly. This, after all, is what democracy is all about.
A Special ChroniLeaks Report
A mole deep within the bowels of Chatham town government has provided us with a copy of the double-secret, confidential, classified, for-selectmen’s-eyes-only first draft of the town profile, advertisement and qualifications for a new town manager. We here at ChroniLeaks believe it is vital to get this information out to the public, especially given the controversy over the “non-renewal” of the current town manager’s contract.
The documents shine a bright light on the expectations officials have for the new town executive as well as their perception of the state of the town.
In the 225-page profile, Chatham is characterized as a town with “a lot of money” and “wealth spewing out of every available orifice.” However, it makes it clear that the streets are not paved with gold; in fact, it states, the streets are barely paved at all thanks to the 100-year sewer project, and it recommends that a new town manager invest in a heavy truck or Hummer for all local travel.
The comprehensive profile discusses the town’s history, its strong points --- lots of well-educated retirees ready and willing to work on volunteer committees --- and its weak points --- lots of well-educated retirees ready and willing to work on volunteer committees. It outlines the economy of the community, focusing on the tourist trade, which thrives on the shifting sands of eroding beaches, the “quaint” downtown and historic assets, including shaky bridges and neon-painted houses. Real estate, or, as the documents state, “the sale of really expensive summer homes to people who will only use them a couple of weeks a year,” as well as construction or “letting developers do what they want,” and commercial fishing are also listed as important economic activities.
The initial draft of the profile stated that the town manager position is vacant due to “a coup within the board of selectmen by a cadre of change-seeking interlopers,” but this was later changed to “a decision by the board of selectmen not to extend the town manager’s employment contract,” although the end of this sentence included this cryptic symbol: ;-}.
Also included in the profile draft were mention of the new “friggin’ huge” police station and town hall annex, as well as plans to build a “humungo” fire station. A hand-written correction in reference to the sewer project changes “fleecing” to “financing.”
Under organization of town government, the initial draft states that the town manager, under the home rule charter, is responsible for the day to day workings of town government. There is a big black circle around this statement with these words penciled to the side: “That will change soon, bwaa-ha-ha-ha!!!” (extra exclamation points included).
Under the extensive “Challenges For The Town Manager” section were paragraphs headlined “Living in Chatham on $150K or less a year,” “Getting along with retired lawyers,” “Making sure staff members all speak the same language,” and “Learning how to jump when the selectmen say jump.” These were all excised from later drafts.
The ideal candidate, the draft profile states, will be a seasoned manager “without too much salt,” able to deal with complex issues and having strong organizational skills, leadership quality and the ability to tell a good joke, but keep it clean. The town manager must play a public role in town, attending civic functions, participating in the sing-a-long at the retired men’s club meetings, and substituting in left field for the Chatham Anglers as the need arises. The manager must be a champion swimmer, trained in lifeguard rescue techniques and knowledgeable in marine biology, preferably ichthyology with a specialty in chondrichthyes.
According to the draft qualifications for town manager, applicants must have the usual education and experience as well as “questionable integrity” (later drafts correct this to “unquestionable integrity”), have “strong-arm” organizational skills and the ability to dance the Elvis Twins under the table. Candidates were required, according to these early drafts, to also submit a list of the last 10 films or DVDs viewed, and the inclusion of any movie featuring Pauly Shore, Ashton Kutcher or Justin Bieber was grounds for automatic rejections. One draft referenced the film “The Golden Boys” along with the scrawled note: “Our ideal of what Chatham should be.”
Finally, the draft qualifications and application state that prospective candidates must be publicly accountable for their actions and agree to the placement of a web cam in their office and home. Computer experience is required, it states, including the ability to conduct a Google search on every person who speaks during the Public Forum segment of the selectmen’s meetings. Salary, it states, is subject to negotiations, “DOHWFATT” (Depending on how we feel at the time).
Public disclosure of documents such as these help ensure the transparency of government. We stand behind our sources and their right to slip us plain manila envelopes under the table, as well as our right to publish any and all public documents especially if it means we can make the powerful look silly. This, after all, is what democracy is all about.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
This story had to be cut from the April 1 edition of The Chronicle:
All Roads Closed Beginning April 1
CHATHAM --- All roads leading in and out of town will be closed beginning today, April 1, as the town’s sewer project ramps up to full speed.
Dozens of work crews are expected to be digging up all major roadways and numerous back roads beginning at 6 a.m. and continuing until 6 p.m., seven days a week, through Memorial Day.
Town officials say they want to complete the first phase of the town’s sewer expansion project by the end of May to take advantage of favorable interest rates and to forestall further challenges to the validity of the project (see story, page 1). If crews can meet the deadline and keep up the pace after Labor Day, the 20-year sewer project could be completed in time for the town’s 300th anniversary celebration in 2012.
Officials said the extent of the work will not allow detours, since just about every major roadway will be dug up and impassable. Ferry service between Old Mill Boatyard and Harwich was being arranged, as well as helicopter airlifts from Chatham Airport.
Spokespersons for Chatham Village Market and Chatham Natural Foods said they had hired dozens of bicycle couriers to deliver food to customers. Local restaurants were planning to work with Meals on Wheels to provide dinners on demand.
Some residents may be confined to their homes during installation of grinder pumps.
For further information about this story, see the date on today’s paper.
All Roads Closed Beginning April 1
CHATHAM --- All roads leading in and out of town will be closed beginning today, April 1, as the town’s sewer project ramps up to full speed.
Dozens of work crews are expected to be digging up all major roadways and numerous back roads beginning at 6 a.m. and continuing until 6 p.m., seven days a week, through Memorial Day.
Town officials say they want to complete the first phase of the town’s sewer expansion project by the end of May to take advantage of favorable interest rates and to forestall further challenges to the validity of the project (see story, page 1). If crews can meet the deadline and keep up the pace after Labor Day, the 20-year sewer project could be completed in time for the town’s 300th anniversary celebration in 2012.
Officials said the extent of the work will not allow detours, since just about every major roadway will be dug up and impassable. Ferry service between Old Mill Boatyard and Harwich was being arranged, as well as helicopter airlifts from Chatham Airport.
Spokespersons for Chatham Village Market and Chatham Natural Foods said they had hired dozens of bicycle couriers to deliver food to customers. Local restaurants were planning to work with Meals on Wheels to provide dinners on demand.
Some residents may be confined to their homes during installation of grinder pumps.
For further information about this story, see the date on today’s paper.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Classic Comics
The announcement last week of the sale of two classic comic books for $1 million or more was bad news for most comic book collectors.
I've been reading and collecting comic books for more than 35 years. At first I bought and read the new comics that appeared on the spinner racks of my neighborhood drug store. It wasn't long before I began tracking down back issues, digging for them at yard sales, in used book stores, occasionally ordering from the dealers --- a new phenomenon at the time --- who advertised in the comics. My father drove me to the first comic book stores I ever went to. One was a dusty shop in a dingy Hartford neighborhood. Comics were not its chief business; it also carried used books and magazines. I distinctly recall asking the owner for his back issues of The X-Men. He reached up onto a shelf and brought down a big stack of comics. On top was the earliest issue --- in the single digits --- with newer issues deeper in the pile. The prices, maybe $5 or $10 for the oldest, were penciled on the first page. No plastic bags or boards to protect the fragile comics.
The other shop was more upscale, in a suburb; it was the first store I'd ever seen solely devoted to comics. All the stock was bagged and boarded, the comics stored upright in special boxes. They had comics that I couldn’t find at my local drug store, undergrounds and the emerging “ground level” comics. That's where I bought my issue of Marvel Spotlight #1, the first appearance of Werewolf By Night. I probably paid $5 for it.
In the past decade, the availability of old comics has exploded, thanks mainly to eBay. It's possible to find almost any comic ever published, and for the collector who is also a reader, and not so fussy about condition, it's a goldmine. “Reading” copies of even highly desired issues can often be had at a reasonable price. I've managed to stay within a budget, and get some key comics for my collection; I think the most I've paid was about $40 for a decent condition copy of House of Secrets #92, the first appearance of Swamp Thing.
EBay and the Internet in general has done a couple of things for comics: it’s flooded the market with lots of low-grade, inexpensive comics, and it’s increased the value of high-grade comics, thanks to third-party professional graders.
So why is the sale of Action #1 for $1 million and Detective #27 for $1,075,000 bad news?
It's not, if you happen to own either issue. Both can rightly claim to be the “Holy Grail” of comic book collecting, as dealers have pointed out in news stories about the sales, if, that is, you collect Superman or Batman comics. Action #1, dated June 1938, was the first appearance of the Man of Steel. Detective #27, dated a year later, featured the Dark Knight for the first time. There may be only 100 copies of each in existence, and few in high grades. Don’t expect to find one at a yard sale anytime soon, although that does still happen (a Detective #27 was discovered in an attic in 2007 in excellent condition).
The reason that’s bad news is that now everybody with a comic that’s more than a decade old will think it’s valuable, when the truth is that most comics less than 30 years old aren’t worth much at all. There are exceptions, of course, but generally anything published since 1980 or so won’t sell for more than a few bucks. You’re not going to retire off your copies of the Death of Superman or Spawn #1.
I advertise to buy old comics, and most of the calls I receive are from folks with a stack of old Archies, Richie Rich, Donald Duck or other fairly common titles. Even if they date from the 1960s or 1950s, unless they are in excellent condition --- like new, really --- those titles aren’t worth anything. I’ve got piles of those types of comics that I took off people’s hands, sometimes just to get to one copy of something I really wanted. I’ve given most of them to my son, who so far is only interested in the copies of Scooby-Doo.
But the people who call with these comics think they should be worth something because they’re old. They sound disappointed when I tell them I’m not interested or offer a few dollars, which I only do if there are some more desirable comics mixed in. They’ve heard the news about old comics getting big money, but they miss the nuances --- the scarcity, desirability and high grade of the ones that get the big bucks.
Don’t get me wrong. I still want to hear from people with old comics. I’ve found some great books that way. Superheroes from the ‘50s and ‘60s, horror comics, science-fiction books. My best score to date was a copy of Superman #6. Since I don’t collect Superman, I sold it and used the money to buy comics I wanted to read or needed for my collection. For me, that’s the bottom line. Not investment or resale value. I enjoy reading comics, and I want comics I enjoy in my collection.
But I won’t turn down Action #1 or Detective #27, if you’ve got one in the attic.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Goodbye, eBay
As of May, I’ll have been a member of the on-line auction site eBay for 10 years. During that decade, I’ve done a lot of business on the site, both buying and selling. But the one item I have posted for sale right now could very well be my last.
Like many others, I’ve become disillusioned with eBay. No longer is it the place to realize the best possible price for almost any item, from collectibles to clothing to cars. It’s now the place people look for bargains almost exclusively. I’m just as guilty as anyone, having sought things at a low price rather than go elsewhere and pay the real market rate. What this means as a seller, though, is that most of the things I’ve put up for auction in the past two years have either failed to get bids or resulted in sale prices way below what they realistically should have.
Arguably, this could represent the market setting the price, and in some categories, that seems to work. My field is comic books, and what eBay has done in this category is drastically depress the price of your everyday, average well-read comic book, because that’s the condition of most copies that people have dug out of basements or pulled down from attics trying to cash in on the on-line auction craze. Even 50- or 60-year-old comics in “good” condition often fail to get bids, because there are so many out there or the buyers are waiting for a better bargain.
Where eBay has changed the comic collecting field is in the realm of the high-grade collectible. These comics go for higher prices, but still, the price is often less than the value listed in price guides.
The last few times I’ve posted comics for sale, if I’ve sold anything, it’s been for the minimum amount. Perhaps I set my minimums too low, but judging by the fact that many others don’t get any bids at all, I think the market is just saturated. I’ve gone from highs --- in 1999, I sold a comic for which I paid 25 cents for more than $200 --- to the lows of not getting any bids at all on pretty good condition 50-year-old comics.
OK, so it’s sour grapes. But eBay itself has helped with the souring. Earlier this year, the company increased the final value fee it charges, a percentage of every sale made on the site. On my most recent sales, eBay took a cut of more than 17 percent. The company also recently eliminated the ability of sellers to leave feedback on buyers, significantly hobbling the ability of sellers to police the site.
And then there’s PayPal, the payment processing website that eBay owns. It’s almost impossible to sell on eBay and not accept PayPal; buyers demand it, and the site pretty much thrusts the option down the throats of sellers. While it offers the convenience of accepting immediate payment without having to set up a credit card account, PayPal also takes a hefty chunk of every transaction it processes. Between the two, eBay and PayPal can take more than 20 percent of each sale, which doesn’t leave much when you’re talking items that sell for less than $10.
Security is another issue. At Thanksgiving, I happened to check my email while out of town. I discovered a bunch of PayPal transactions I knew nothing about. Somehow, my account had become compromised. I immediately called my local bank and froze any PayPal transactions, and ultimately the only thing I lost was a lot of time straightening the situation out and reconfiguring my account. I was unable to use the account for a month while PayPal investigated the situation, and lost out on several eBay items I wanted to bid on because the sellers would only accept payments through PayPal.
To do well on eBay, you either need to have really good items that people really want, or sell high volumes of low-cost things. Many sellers have resorted to padding shipping costs to make up for the low sale prices, charging $10 to ship something that costs a couple of dollars postage. EBay says it is cracking down on such practices, but as yet I have seen no evidence of this.
My split with eBay is probably not permanent. I’ll still flirt with it, I suspect, if I come across something I need to turn around for a fast buck or find a listing for a comic or book or CD I really need for my collection. I’ve found another way to sell comics online, through a website devoted to the hobby that allows a seller to list issues for sale until someone comes along and buys them, and only then is a fee charged. I’ll be listing all the comics that didn’t sell on eBay, and then not spend a week worrying about whether I’ll get any bids. Shedding eBay anxiety can only make my life better.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
And Then There Were Two
When I moved to the Cape and began working for The Chronicle in 1982, there were nearly a dozen independent community newspapers covering the peninsula from Falmouth to Provincetown. With last Friday's annoucement that the Provincetown Banner has been acquired by Gatehouse Media, there are now exactly two independent papers left on the Cape, The Cape Cod Chronicle and The Falmouth Enterprise.
Just a few years ago, Gatehouse acquired Community Newspapers, publishers of The Cape Codder, Register, Harwich Oracle, Sandwich Broadsider, Bourne Courier and other Cape weeklies, as well as more than 100 papers throughout the state. Speculation is that Chicago-based Gatehouse may be eying the Cape Cod Times, Barnstable Patriot and Nantucket Inquirer, now that Rupert Murdoch has made it clear he plans to cut those and other properties loose from Dow Jones now that he has his paws on the Wall Street Journal.
Last week's Banner announcement came as something of a surprise, especially since Gatehouse last month said it will cut 60 jobs and not fill vacant positions at its papers, including the Cape properties.
This increasing corporatization of community news creates a blandness that is evident to anyone who picks up a Gatehouse paper. Sure, they look good; the printing's crisp and the layout is clean, though often uninspired. Content may come from any of the region's papers and is often not specific to the town paper it appears in. I can see the advantage of this. Short on local copy this week? Just pull something from the vast miasma of articles produced each week by the chain's other papers.
What these papers lack, however, is perspective. Staff turnover is high. I need both hands to count the reporters who have cycled through Chatham for The Cape Codder during the past few years. The focus therefore tends to be on bigger picture stories, since nobody running the papers has any insight into the community nor the connections to understand what is meaningful to the people who reside there.
While The Chronicle does not compete directly with The Banner, we shared a bond as small, feisty papers that more often than not scoop the local daily, thanks to the fact that our staffs live here, have many years of experience reporting on the local scene, and are part of the fabric of the community. I'm sorry to see The Banner go the way of the Cape's other weeklies, though if Gatehouse is smart its corporate editors will leave the paper alone and let it continue to cover Ptown the way it always has. And what about those often-racy ads? Will those pass corporate muster? Hey, as long as the client is paying, there's likely to be no big fuss.
What's happened and continues to happen on the Cape mirrors the fate of small weeklies across most of the country. Those that haven't carved out well-established niches for themselves --- which The Chronicle and The Enterprise have done, both papers having held back the corporate barbarians at the gate for many years --- are ripe for plunder or unfair practices by chain competitors who can afford to almost give away ads until the local independent dies of economic anemia. With fewer editorial voices and sources of news, the readers lose.
It could be argued that this is a fight among dinosaurs, that news is migrating online and print newspapers will be gone in the very near future. Sure, an online presence is necessary, and we're working to overhaul and upgrade The Chronicle's website to be more responsive to the needs of the community, but until readers become accustomed to looking up school lunch menus, real estate ads and other features of local papers online, there will be a place for the local weekly.
When I moved to the Cape and began working for The Chronicle in 1982, there were nearly a dozen independent community newspapers covering the peninsula from Falmouth to Provincetown. With last Friday's annoucement that the Provincetown Banner has been acquired by Gatehouse Media, there are now exactly two independent papers left on the Cape, The Cape Cod Chronicle and The Falmouth Enterprise.
Just a few years ago, Gatehouse acquired Community Newspapers, publishers of The Cape Codder, Register, Harwich Oracle, Sandwich Broadsider, Bourne Courier and other Cape weeklies, as well as more than 100 papers throughout the state. Speculation is that Chicago-based Gatehouse may be eying the Cape Cod Times, Barnstable Patriot and Nantucket Inquirer, now that Rupert Murdoch has made it clear he plans to cut those and other properties loose from Dow Jones now that he has his paws on the Wall Street Journal.
Last week's Banner announcement came as something of a surprise, especially since Gatehouse last month said it will cut 60 jobs and not fill vacant positions at its papers, including the Cape properties.
This increasing corporatization of community news creates a blandness that is evident to anyone who picks up a Gatehouse paper. Sure, they look good; the printing's crisp and the layout is clean, though often uninspired. Content may come from any of the region's papers and is often not specific to the town paper it appears in. I can see the advantage of this. Short on local copy this week? Just pull something from the vast miasma of articles produced each week by the chain's other papers.
What these papers lack, however, is perspective. Staff turnover is high. I need both hands to count the reporters who have cycled through Chatham for The Cape Codder during the past few years. The focus therefore tends to be on bigger picture stories, since nobody running the papers has any insight into the community nor the connections to understand what is meaningful to the people who reside there.
While The Chronicle does not compete directly with The Banner, we shared a bond as small, feisty papers that more often than not scoop the local daily, thanks to the fact that our staffs live here, have many years of experience reporting on the local scene, and are part of the fabric of the community. I'm sorry to see The Banner go the way of the Cape's other weeklies, though if Gatehouse is smart its corporate editors will leave the paper alone and let it continue to cover Ptown the way it always has. And what about those often-racy ads? Will those pass corporate muster? Hey, as long as the client is paying, there's likely to be no big fuss.
What's happened and continues to happen on the Cape mirrors the fate of small weeklies across most of the country. Those that haven't carved out well-established niches for themselves --- which The Chronicle and The Enterprise have done, both papers having held back the corporate barbarians at the gate for many years --- are ripe for plunder or unfair practices by chain competitors who can afford to almost give away ads until the local independent dies of economic anemia. With fewer editorial voices and sources of news, the readers lose.
It could be argued that this is a fight among dinosaurs, that news is migrating online and print newspapers will be gone in the very near future. Sure, an online presence is necessary, and we're working to overhaul and upgrade The Chronicle's website to be more responsive to the needs of the community, but until readers become accustomed to looking up school lunch menus, real estate ads and other features of local papers online, there will be a place for the local weekly.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Chamber Contretemps
Who's at fault for the dual massacres that have occurred within the Chatham Chamber of Commerce and the Chatham Merchants Association? It's impossible to pin responsibility on any one party; there's enough blame to go around, and most of it lies square on the shoulders of the leadership of both organizations.
Short background: In January, the chamber board, in a split vote, basically demoted the merchants from an association to a committee. This was widely seen as a punitive move to punish the merchants officers for failing to toe the chamber line. Earlier this month, the chamber leadership agreed to reinstate the merchants but with conditions, including the election of new officers. At the same Feb. 20 meeting that the merchants agreed to name new interim officers, members of the chamber, led by former merchants members, handed in a petition seeking the resignation of Chamber President Ray Braz and Vice President John Taylor. At the next chamber board meeting, last Wednesday, Braz, Taylor, Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz and three other board members resigned.
Merchants officers had for a long time angered Braz and Taylor by ignoring some chamber bylaws, which as a subgroup of the chamber, the merchants association was obligated to adhere to. It all appears to have begun with the merchants push for the Chatham Gift Card, which the chamber first sought to assume control of and later required that the merchants sign an agreement exempting the chamber from any liability due to the program. The merchants' efforts to deliver prescription drugs to local residents after Stop and Shop closed the town's last pharmacy also left the chamber open to liability, chamber officials said in a letter explaining their actions in dissolving the merchants association.
Clearly, there was more than just technicalities like bylaw infractions and liability concerns. Braz and merchants president Gus Johnson reportedly screamed at each other on a regular basis. Several members of both boards said being in the room with both men was often excruciatingly uncomfortable. Johnson, and at least one or two other merchants board members, had also not paid their chamber due by January, yet continued to hold their positions. Sure, that's a technicality, since they could have paid any time, but if I don't pay my car insurance, I'm legally not supposed to drive. Insisting on participating while not being a member in good standing was like sticking a middle finger into the face of chamber officers and saying, "Dare ya!"
Fire and water personalities and that old rubric, a failure to communicate, are, bottom line, responsible for this mess. A clean sweep of both boards was probably necessary before reunification could be realized. Even so, the bad taste left by the abrupt departure of Braz, Taylor and others, will linger. Those behind the petition will claim victory and may feel their oats a bit, something that risks a backlash.
The entire contretemps has had a negative impact on the reputations of both the chamber and merchants organizations. Largely because of the situation, the board of selectmen balked at the chamber's proposal to take on more of an economic development role in the town, with attendant town funding. While the professionalism of the chamber under Jeanloz and Braz was criticized by many merchants, it helped the organization be more effective, via a better web presence, more targeted events, and just a more business-like way of doing things. With the right replacements, that can continue. It will be up to the remaining chamber board members to handle that, as well as continue mending things with the merchants. Neither, alone, is an easy task. Together, they will be a challenge, to say the least.
Who's at fault for the dual massacres that have occurred within the Chatham Chamber of Commerce and the Chatham Merchants Association? It's impossible to pin responsibility on any one party; there's enough blame to go around, and most of it lies square on the shoulders of the leadership of both organizations.
Short background: In January, the chamber board, in a split vote, basically demoted the merchants from an association to a committee. This was widely seen as a punitive move to punish the merchants officers for failing to toe the chamber line. Earlier this month, the chamber leadership agreed to reinstate the merchants but with conditions, including the election of new officers. At the same Feb. 20 meeting that the merchants agreed to name new interim officers, members of the chamber, led by former merchants members, handed in a petition seeking the resignation of Chamber President Ray Braz and Vice President John Taylor. At the next chamber board meeting, last Wednesday, Braz, Taylor, Executive Director Danielle Jeanloz and three other board members resigned.
Merchants officers had for a long time angered Braz and Taylor by ignoring some chamber bylaws, which as a subgroup of the chamber, the merchants association was obligated to adhere to. It all appears to have begun with the merchants push for the Chatham Gift Card, which the chamber first sought to assume control of and later required that the merchants sign an agreement exempting the chamber from any liability due to the program. The merchants' efforts to deliver prescription drugs to local residents after Stop and Shop closed the town's last pharmacy also left the chamber open to liability, chamber officials said in a letter explaining their actions in dissolving the merchants association.
Clearly, there was more than just technicalities like bylaw infractions and liability concerns. Braz and merchants president Gus Johnson reportedly screamed at each other on a regular basis. Several members of both boards said being in the room with both men was often excruciatingly uncomfortable. Johnson, and at least one or two other merchants board members, had also not paid their chamber due by January, yet continued to hold their positions. Sure, that's a technicality, since they could have paid any time, but if I don't pay my car insurance, I'm legally not supposed to drive. Insisting on participating while not being a member in good standing was like sticking a middle finger into the face of chamber officers and saying, "Dare ya!"
Fire and water personalities and that old rubric, a failure to communicate, are, bottom line, responsible for this mess. A clean sweep of both boards was probably necessary before reunification could be realized. Even so, the bad taste left by the abrupt departure of Braz, Taylor and others, will linger. Those behind the petition will claim victory and may feel their oats a bit, something that risks a backlash.
The entire contretemps has had a negative impact on the reputations of both the chamber and merchants organizations. Largely because of the situation, the board of selectmen balked at the chamber's proposal to take on more of an economic development role in the town, with attendant town funding. While the professionalism of the chamber under Jeanloz and Braz was criticized by many merchants, it helped the organization be more effective, via a better web presence, more targeted events, and just a more business-like way of doing things. With the right replacements, that can continue. It will be up to the remaining chamber board members to handle that, as well as continue mending things with the merchants. Neither, alone, is an easy task. Together, they will be a challenge, to say the least.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
To Hard?
Perhaps, in previous posts, I was a bit too critical of David Carradine. Certainly, many people had pleasant experiences meeting the actor, and it is entirely possible that, as intimated in the Cape Cod Times recently, he was only "staying in character" at the recent book signing and by appearing to imbibe copiously on numerous occasions. Bottom line, it doesn't really matter; he and his fellow actors and crew members provided the town with an experience we're likely to remember for quite a while.
New Breach?
As I write this, on Sunday, April 22, the new break in North Beach approximately opposite Scatteree remains open. However, it may be even more tenuous than was initially thought. I went by at low tide late this morning and, from the vantage point of the mainland, it appeared to be shoaling over already. Distance and relative height can be deceiving, however, and it may be that the tidal delta along the inner beach is dry at low tide and is hiding the flow between the bay and the Atlantic. There was water within what looked like a 50-foot gap in the beach, but whether or not it was flowing wasn't clear. I'll know more tomorrow when I talk to more folks and see some aerial photos.
Again, bottom line, there's no telling at this point if the new break will become permanent or heal. It could go either way, but in the past, similar breaches have remained open for weeks or months and then closed. So I won't be placing any bets.
Perhaps, in previous posts, I was a bit too critical of David Carradine. Certainly, many people had pleasant experiences meeting the actor, and it is entirely possible that, as intimated in the Cape Cod Times recently, he was only "staying in character" at the recent book signing and by appearing to imbibe copiously on numerous occasions. Bottom line, it doesn't really matter; he and his fellow actors and crew members provided the town with an experience we're likely to remember for quite a while.
New Breach?
As I write this, on Sunday, April 22, the new break in North Beach approximately opposite Scatteree remains open. However, it may be even more tenuous than was initially thought. I went by at low tide late this morning and, from the vantage point of the mainland, it appeared to be shoaling over already. Distance and relative height can be deceiving, however, and it may be that the tidal delta along the inner beach is dry at low tide and is hiding the flow between the bay and the Atlantic. There was water within what looked like a 50-foot gap in the beach, but whether or not it was flowing wasn't clear. I'll know more tomorrow when I talk to more folks and see some aerial photos.
Again, bottom line, there's no telling at this point if the new break will become permanent or heal. It could go either way, but in the past, similar breaches have remained open for weeks or months and then closed. So I won't be placing any bets.
Monday, April 16, 2007
What's The Issue?
There's a three-person race for selectman in Chatham. The May 17 election is a month away. So far there has been little said about the race, which pits two incumbents, David Whitcomb and Ron Bergstrom, against challenger Leonard Sussman.
During the next few weeks, there will be profiles published and at least one debate, scheduled for May 2 at the Eldredge Public Library. Which issues will come to the fore? Is the town running smoothly, or is there room for improvement? Is the current board too soft on development? Should selectmen push harder for zoning revisions? Did the board bungle the zoning bylaw rewrite?
What do you think should be an issue in this race? What question would you like to ask the candidates?
Post your answers here. We'll link this to The Chronicle's website and try to get a discussion going.
There's a three-person race for selectman in Chatham. The May 17 election is a month away. So far there has been little said about the race, which pits two incumbents, David Whitcomb and Ron Bergstrom, against challenger Leonard Sussman.
During the next few weeks, there will be profiles published and at least one debate, scheduled for May 2 at the Eldredge Public Library. Which issues will come to the fore? Is the town running smoothly, or is there room for improvement? Is the current board too soft on development? Should selectmen push harder for zoning revisions? Did the board bungle the zoning bylaw rewrite?
What do you think should be an issue in this race? What question would you like to ask the candidates?
Post your answers here. We'll link this to The Chronicle's website and try to get a discussion going.
Final Word On 'Chatham'
OK, last post about the movie "Chatham." Really.
A bit more digging today has turned up some more interesting stories about the antics of the film's major actors. Look for a report in this week's Chronicle of a more general nature, but here's some of the stuff that I won't be putting in the paper.
Carradine's little performance at Yellow Umbrella Books was apparently even more sensational than I'd realized. He did make folks buy his "Kill Bill" book before signing copies of "Cap'n Eri." He was (apparently) quite intoxicated. He left a sour taste in many people's mouths.
On Sunday, on his way out of town, Carradine reportedly stopped by The Squire, ordered a drink, and toasted the town. Perhaps that made up for some of his antics. Maybe not.
Carradine was certainly the most colorful cast member. A regular at The Squire, he was never kicked out of the restaurant despite rumors to the contrary. There was an incident early on where he lit up a smoke in the dining room while having dinner with director Dan Adams. When a freaked out waitress appealed to Otis for help, he went in the back and got a fire extinguisher. He went up to the table and told Carradine to put out the smoke (can't remember if it was a cigar or cigarette) or he'd use the extinguisher. "Do you want to die?" Carradine reported. "I figure I can get off one good blast before you can get out from behind that table," Otis replied. A standoff. Tension. Then Carradine caves, and snuffs out the smoke.
Despite all that, Carradine genuinely appears to have invested a lot in this film. He reportedly hired someone to video tape things behind the scene. Perhaps he believes this will be a big acting break for him, getting him out of genre roles and into more mainstream, leading man type roles. At 70, it may be a bit late. But I have to admit the guy has paid his dues (has anyone seen "Sonny Boy" or "Evil Toons" or "Waxworks II?") and does deserve some recognition among larger audiences.
That said, he will be remembered in Chatham. Bruce Dern and Rip Torn were more low-key. Torn was apparently enamored of shellfishing. One story has him totting his clam rake around the set, not because he needed it as a prop but because he didn't want to lose it. Dern was visible but I heard no real scuttlebutt about his off screen activities.
As I mentioned in previous posts, Jason Alan Smith charmed many people with his Southern manners and self-effacing personality. One local shop owner told me that he gave copies of his book of photos to the cast and crew, and only Jason stopped by the store. Smith also attended the memorial service for Wendy Costello, wife of the owner of The Squire, even though he'd only been in town a short time and had only barely met Richard. He's a young guy and has a big, possibly important career ahead of him, and to his credit didn't burn any bridges.
OK, enough about the movie. Read more if you like in this week's paper, where there will also be a story about how the film has boosted, at least locally, the reputation of Joseph C. Lincoln, the long-dead novelists whose book serves as the template for "Chatham."
Next time, I promise to get into some town politics, and will henceforth try to make regular postings and give Chronicle readers an opportunity to sound off about local issues.
OK, last post about the movie "Chatham." Really.
A bit more digging today has turned up some more interesting stories about the antics of the film's major actors. Look for a report in this week's Chronicle of a more general nature, but here's some of the stuff that I won't be putting in the paper.
Carradine's little performance at Yellow Umbrella Books was apparently even more sensational than I'd realized. He did make folks buy his "Kill Bill" book before signing copies of "Cap'n Eri." He was (apparently) quite intoxicated. He left a sour taste in many people's mouths.
On Sunday, on his way out of town, Carradine reportedly stopped by The Squire, ordered a drink, and toasted the town. Perhaps that made up for some of his antics. Maybe not.
Carradine was certainly the most colorful cast member. A regular at The Squire, he was never kicked out of the restaurant despite rumors to the contrary. There was an incident early on where he lit up a smoke in the dining room while having dinner with director Dan Adams. When a freaked out waitress appealed to Otis for help, he went in the back and got a fire extinguisher. He went up to the table and told Carradine to put out the smoke (can't remember if it was a cigar or cigarette) or he'd use the extinguisher. "Do you want to die?" Carradine reported. "I figure I can get off one good blast before you can get out from behind that table," Otis replied. A standoff. Tension. Then Carradine caves, and snuffs out the smoke.
Despite all that, Carradine genuinely appears to have invested a lot in this film. He reportedly hired someone to video tape things behind the scene. Perhaps he believes this will be a big acting break for him, getting him out of genre roles and into more mainstream, leading man type roles. At 70, it may be a bit late. But I have to admit the guy has paid his dues (has anyone seen "Sonny Boy" or "Evil Toons" or "Waxworks II?") and does deserve some recognition among larger audiences.
That said, he will be remembered in Chatham. Bruce Dern and Rip Torn were more low-key. Torn was apparently enamored of shellfishing. One story has him totting his clam rake around the set, not because he needed it as a prop but because he didn't want to lose it. Dern was visible but I heard no real scuttlebutt about his off screen activities.
As I mentioned in previous posts, Jason Alan Smith charmed many people with his Southern manners and self-effacing personality. One local shop owner told me that he gave copies of his book of photos to the cast and crew, and only Jason stopped by the store. Smith also attended the memorial service for Wendy Costello, wife of the owner of The Squire, even though he'd only been in town a short time and had only barely met Richard. He's a young guy and has a big, possibly important career ahead of him, and to his credit didn't burn any bridges.
OK, enough about the movie. Read more if you like in this week's paper, where there will also be a story about how the film has boosted, at least locally, the reputation of Joseph C. Lincoln, the long-dead novelists whose book serves as the template for "Chatham."
Next time, I promise to get into some town politics, and will henceforth try to make regular postings and give Chronicle readers an opportunity to sound off about local issues.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Star Struck In Chatham
"Chatham" has wrapped filming. The final shots were done early Saturday morning, April 14, and involved the burning of the pool hall that forms one of the film's central plot elements. After the early week filming of numerous scenes in front of the block between the hardware store and Seaview Street, which was dressed to sort of resemble 1905 (see a slideshow of the shoot here), the sand was swept up and the modern signs and awnings were back in place.Ending filming didn't quite end the sort of minor league hysteria that's gripped the town for the past few weeks.
On Saturday afternoon, "Chatham" star David Carradine was slated to hold a book signing downtown. He was late for the 1 p.m. event; word on the street is that the book store owner had to cross the street to the Wayside Inn, wake the actor and escort him over to the store. By that time there was a line of people down the street waiting to get signed copies of Carradine's "Kill Bill Diaries" and the book upon which the "Chatham" movie is based, Joseph C. Lincoln's "Cap'n Eri." C
arradine duly signed books, sitting at a stool and smoking away. He reportedly became testy when folks brought in their own copies of the Lincoln book or didn't want his book. I showed up about 4:30 p.m., expecting him to be gone. I'd requested two signed copies of "Kill Bill" the previous day because I knew I couldn't get downtown by 3 p.m. He was still there, and seemed a bit, shall we say, unsteady. I greeted him and reminded him that we'd spoke earlier in the week on the set, but he just looked at me with rheumy eyes, asked my name again and added above his signature on the book in front of him. We'd actually met three times; once briefly at the shanties at Barn Hill, once at the graveyard shoot (see photo right) where he regaled me with stories, and earlier in the week. He was least garrulous on Tuesday, when I introduced myself as a reporter and asked some official, though softball, questions. Apparently I rated more conversation as a civilian. Maybe that's the Hollywood mentality.
What are people in Chatham going to talk about now that the cast and crew of the film have left town? The past month and a half have generated more than enough stories to keep people going until the summer arrives. Many of the stories involve the
exploits of Carradine, although Bruce Dern and Rip Torn pop up now and again. Mariel Hemingway didn't mix much with the locals, although she surfaced in a shop here or walking along the beach there. Jason Alan Smith impressed people with his Southern manners and genuine interest in local people and places. He seemed a bit more down to earth than many of the others. I had several chats with him (see photo right) and found him engaging. He seemed to feel he could relax here and not have to worry about most people giving him the gawking treatment. Most people. Not all. And he answered my questions in full, coherent sentences.
More to come...
"Chatham" has wrapped filming. The final shots were done early Saturday morning, April 14, and involved the burning of the pool hall that forms one of the film's central plot elements. After the early week filming of numerous scenes in front of the block between the hardware store and Seaview Street, which was dressed to sort of resemble 1905 (see a slideshow of the shoot here), the sand was swept up and the modern signs and awnings were back in place.Ending filming didn't quite end the sort of minor league hysteria that's gripped the town for the past few weeks.
On Saturday afternoon, "Chatham" star David Carradine was slated to hold a book signing downtown. He was late for the 1 p.m. event; word on the street is that the book store owner had to cross the street to the Wayside Inn, wake the actor and escort him over to the store. By that time there was a line of people down the street waiting to get signed copies of Carradine's "Kill Bill Diaries" and the book upon which the "Chatham" movie is based, Joseph C. Lincoln's "Cap'n Eri." C
arradine duly signed books, sitting at a stool and smoking away. He reportedly became testy when folks brought in their own copies of the Lincoln book or didn't want his book. I showed up about 4:30 p.m., expecting him to be gone. I'd requested two signed copies of "Kill Bill" the previous day because I knew I couldn't get downtown by 3 p.m. He was still there, and seemed a bit, shall we say, unsteady. I greeted him and reminded him that we'd spoke earlier in the week on the set, but he just looked at me with rheumy eyes, asked my name again and added above his signature on the book in front of him. We'd actually met three times; once briefly at the shanties at Barn Hill, once at the graveyard shoot (see photo right) where he regaled me with stories, and earlier in the week. He was least garrulous on Tuesday, when I introduced myself as a reporter and asked some official, though softball, questions. Apparently I rated more conversation as a civilian. Maybe that's the Hollywood mentality.What are people in Chatham going to talk about now that the cast and crew of the film have left town? The past month and a half have generated more than enough stories to keep people going until the summer arrives. Many of the stories involve the
exploits of Carradine, although Bruce Dern and Rip Torn pop up now and again. Mariel Hemingway didn't mix much with the locals, although she surfaced in a shop here or walking along the beach there. Jason Alan Smith impressed people with his Southern manners and genuine interest in local people and places. He seemed a bit more down to earth than many of the others. I had several chats with him (see photo right) and found him engaging. He seemed to feel he could relax here and not have to worry about most people giving him the gawking treatment. Most people. Not all. And he answered my questions in full, coherent sentences.More to come...
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
'Chatham' Makes A Splash"Chatham," the movie, is making a big splash in Chatham, the town on Cape Cod. Whether it's filming at the Oyster River shanties or one of the actors being asked to leave The Squire, the production has spiced up the usual drab time of March and early April, given residents something to talk about other than the unsightly appearance of the new community center or the seemingly endless series of road closures and detours.
I've written a few stories about "Chatham" for The Chronicle, going back to January when I did a front page piece announcing the production. This Tuesday, I spent a morning watching the cast and crew film a scene in Seaside Cemetery --- coincidentally, right across the street from my office --- and took some of the photos you see here (more can be found in a slideshow here). I'd already written the sort of "on location" story about the film the previous week, when I spent time on the set at the Oyster River Pirate Co. shanty at the end of Barn Hill Road. This week, my story was about a local resident who was serving as set decorator for the film. But I saw and heard more on Tuesday, and thought I'd post it here for those who are interested.
I spent some time talking to the guys in charge of the horses and livery; they were from Connecticut and brought with them a horse drawn hearse dating from the 1800s. They'd been in numerous films, including Amistad. Poor guys spent the entire cold, damp day standing there as background for the burial scene.
Some background for those not familiar with "Chatham." It's based on "Cap'n Eri," a book by Joseph C. Lincoln, a best-selling author in the early 1900 who lived part-time in Chatham. The story revolves around three retired sea captains, played by David Carradine, Bruce Dern and Rip Torn, who are sick of their sloppy ways and each other's horrible cooking. They decide to advertise for a bride for one of them to marry, so someone else can do the cooking and cleaning. Enter Mariel Hemmingway. A love triangle develops, and there's more plot elements along the way, including a temperance movement that culminates in the burning down of a pool hall that opens up in town (that's being filmed next week behind Chatham Hardware). Charles Durning plays a fourth sea captain who is the leader of the temperance movement. It's his funeral the rest of the cast was attending in the scene filmed this week.
After spending hours decorating the cemetery, positioning extras, setting up the camera, and making sure no headstones dated later than 1905 (the time of the story) were in shot, writer and director Dan Adams finally yelled "Action." About five takes of a longshot of the scene of a minister (played by singer Jonathan Edwards) saying a few words over the grave, with the rest of the characters, including Tony-award winning actress and Chatham resident Julie Harris, standing by silent and grim.During a break while the crew set up for a medium closeup, I had a chance to wander among the actors, talking to some locals playing extras, saying hello to Ms. Harris (whom I've met numerous times though she never remembers me; not that I fault her for that, she's in her 80s and had a stroke or two). She was gallantly escorted in both the scene and off-camera by young actor Jason Alan Smith, who helped her to a chair and got her coffee like a proper southern gentleman. He told me he was from a town near New Orleans, and so the dampness of the weather was familiar to him, though it was a bit colder than he would have liked it. "I'm too used to living in Los Angeles," he said.
I cornered David Carradine as he puffed one of his ever present cigarettes, which he keeps in a rather stylish case I suspect is his and not a film prop. I'd spoke with him briefly at the shanty shoot, when he asked if my newspaper had a crossword puzzle and what service it came from. Then he asked if we had comics, which precipitated a discussion about comics and comic books, with him telling me all about a 1940s comic he fondly remembered called Supersnipe.
Knowing his interest in comics, I asked him a question someone else had asked me: how much input did he have to the Superman speech in Kill Bill. He told me a long story about sitting up late one night with Quentin Tarantino in a parlor of a hotel in China during the filming of the movie. Someone had said something about Christopher Reeve being a poor Superman but a great Clark Kent. That sparked a discussion along those lines. The next day, Tarantino had the speech written. It was a great story, Carradine's point being how much Tarantino was willing to trust his actors and use them to feed the film.
The opposite, Carradine said, of Ingmar Bergman, who controlled everything. "He'd slap your hand," Carradine said, slapping my hand, "and tell you to look this way," he grabbed my jaw and shoved my had to the side. Once, Bergman sat down right next to the camera during a close up and said, "So what kind of expressions are we going to make today," Carradine said. "I didn't move a f****** muscle," he said. "And then everything was fine."
At that point, Carradine was called for the shot and I had to go back to my office. It was deadline day, unfortunately, and the end of that day's Hollywood encounter.Previously I'd spoke when Bruce Dern, who walked about how brave he thought director Dan Adams was for filming a movie on his home turf. Dern said he'd never been to the Cape --- Newport to film Great Gatsby being the closest he'd come --- but that like everyone else, had his own concept of the place. He said he was enjoying his time here.
I won't get into the gossip here, at least not yet. There are stories around town of Carradine being asked to leave the Squire for lighting up a cigar (it was actually Christians, reportedly), of Hemmingway being rather aloof, and of Smith dating one of the Squire bartenders (not true). Perhaps more of that will surface later.
Look for more postings soon. And let me know your experiences with the "Chatham" phenomenon. Hey, it beats writing about zoning.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Anatomy Of A Breaking New Story
Working under a weekly deadline has its plusses and minuses. This week’s big story, the announcement of the pending sale of Chatham Bars Inn for a record $166 million, illustrates both.
Clearly a story of great importance to the Chatham community. In fact we’d heard that the inn was to be sold the previous day, just hours before we had to finalize that week’s issue. The news came in from several sources, all either as rumor off-the-record responses to inquiries.
I contacted CBI’s parent company, once we waded through the levels of corporate ownership and identified the correct entity, but the person designated to speak to the press was not available. We had to make a decision, to either run with the unconfirmed reports of the inn’s sale or hold off until we received confirmation.
At this stage all we knew was that there was some sort of agreement to sell the inn to a buyer whose identity had yet to be established. We’d heard rumors like this before, related to CBI and other major properties. This time we were certain that the rumors were true --- because of off-the-record confirmation --- though we had little detail. Going with the unconfirmed story still carried some risk.
Understand, Cape Cod media, plucked and purged as it has been by corporate mergers and closings, is still competitive. We had to weigh the very real possibility that our competition would get wind of the story, and with a week to go before our next edition, scoop us with the new. To the average person this may not mean much, but to those of us who deal with local news day in and day out, it’s a matter of pride in our ability to do our job, and, admittedly, ego.
We opted to wait rather than risk going with an unconfirmed story, to hold our breath and hope against hope that the story would remain below the competition’s radar for another week.
Those hopes were dashed late Wednesday when several financial news services issued a brief notice about the sale of the inn. And then Thursday morning came the final blow in the form of a faxed press release. We knew we were not the only news organization to receive it.
I scrambled, made several phone calls to confirm the fax and get some other details on the record --- from some of those same sources who would only talk off the record just a little more than 24 hours earlier --- and wrote a story which we posted on our Web page about the same time the daily newspaper put theirs up.
I continued to work on the story throughout the day, intent on confirming the identity of the buyer. I’d been told Tuesday who it was, but was unable to confirm it; the initial press release from Great American, and its spokesperson in an interview, would not say who the inn was being sold to.
By midday, I’d talked to Richard Cohen, president of Capital Properties, the company that’s agreed to buy the inn. You can read about his comments to me in the news story on page one. But now I was faced with another dilemma. Apparently, I was the only one who’d confirmed who the buyer was. Do I put the information on the Web site, thus making it public for everyone, including our competition, or hold onto it and hope against hope --- again --- that the competition doesn’t get it before our next edition comes out?
I opted to hold off, and as we go to press this Tuesday, we’ve still got an exclusive on that important piece of information.
You can see the problems a weekly deadline poses for breaking news. Even if you have the inside track on something big, there’s often little chance the daily competition won’t also have it before the next edition hits the stands.
The Web is a great tool for disseminating news, but for a weekly paper, it can be problematic. We’ve wrestled with the idea of doing a mid-week update, but have yet to agree on criteria for the types of stories we’d highlight. We don’t want to tip our competition off on what we’re working on, nor do we want to remove any incentive for reading the print edition. As newspeople, we relish the idea of getting the story first and getting it out there. Yet the dilemma: do we hold something back if we have an exclusive, or share it with our readers on the Web as soon as possible?
A daily paper or a Web-only service doesn’t have to deal with these concerns. We’ve built up our Web site considerably, but the paper is still our bread and butter. We’re not a blog and we’re not a gossip site, so we still have to adhere to basic journalistic tenants, such as getting confirmation on the details of a story.
Did we make the right decisions in the case of the CBI story? I think we did. What do you think?
Working under a weekly deadline has its plusses and minuses. This week’s big story, the announcement of the pending sale of Chatham Bars Inn for a record $166 million, illustrates both.
Clearly a story of great importance to the Chatham community. In fact we’d heard that the inn was to be sold the previous day, just hours before we had to finalize that week’s issue. The news came in from several sources, all either as rumor off-the-record responses to inquiries.
I contacted CBI’s parent company, once we waded through the levels of corporate ownership and identified the correct entity, but the person designated to speak to the press was not available. We had to make a decision, to either run with the unconfirmed reports of the inn’s sale or hold off until we received confirmation.
At this stage all we knew was that there was some sort of agreement to sell the inn to a buyer whose identity had yet to be established. We’d heard rumors like this before, related to CBI and other major properties. This time we were certain that the rumors were true --- because of off-the-record confirmation --- though we had little detail. Going with the unconfirmed story still carried some risk.
Understand, Cape Cod media, plucked and purged as it has been by corporate mergers and closings, is still competitive. We had to weigh the very real possibility that our competition would get wind of the story, and with a week to go before our next edition, scoop us with the new. To the average person this may not mean much, but to those of us who deal with local news day in and day out, it’s a matter of pride in our ability to do our job, and, admittedly, ego.
We opted to wait rather than risk going with an unconfirmed story, to hold our breath and hope against hope that the story would remain below the competition’s radar for another week.
Those hopes were dashed late Wednesday when several financial news services issued a brief notice about the sale of the inn. And then Thursday morning came the final blow in the form of a faxed press release. We knew we were not the only news organization to receive it.
I scrambled, made several phone calls to confirm the fax and get some other details on the record --- from some of those same sources who would only talk off the record just a little more than 24 hours earlier --- and wrote a story which we posted on our Web page about the same time the daily newspaper put theirs up.
I continued to work on the story throughout the day, intent on confirming the identity of the buyer. I’d been told Tuesday who it was, but was unable to confirm it; the initial press release from Great American, and its spokesperson in an interview, would not say who the inn was being sold to.
By midday, I’d talked to Richard Cohen, president of Capital Properties, the company that’s agreed to buy the inn. You can read about his comments to me in the news story on page one. But now I was faced with another dilemma. Apparently, I was the only one who’d confirmed who the buyer was. Do I put the information on the Web site, thus making it public for everyone, including our competition, or hold onto it and hope against hope --- again --- that the competition doesn’t get it before our next edition comes out?
I opted to hold off, and as we go to press this Tuesday, we’ve still got an exclusive on that important piece of information.
You can see the problems a weekly deadline poses for breaking news. Even if you have the inside track on something big, there’s often little chance the daily competition won’t also have it before the next edition hits the stands.
The Web is a great tool for disseminating news, but for a weekly paper, it can be problematic. We’ve wrestled with the idea of doing a mid-week update, but have yet to agree on criteria for the types of stories we’d highlight. We don’t want to tip our competition off on what we’re working on, nor do we want to remove any incentive for reading the print edition. As newspeople, we relish the idea of getting the story first and getting it out there. Yet the dilemma: do we hold something back if we have an exclusive, or share it with our readers on the Web as soon as possible?
A daily paper or a Web-only service doesn’t have to deal with these concerns. We’ve built up our Web site considerably, but the paper is still our bread and butter. We’re not a blog and we’re not a gossip site, so we still have to adhere to basic journalistic tenants, such as getting confirmation on the details of a story.
Did we make the right decisions in the case of the CBI story? I think we did. What do you think?
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Every politician in America should immediately lose his or her government-sponsored health insurance and have to fend for themselves in the world of HMOs, co-pays, deductibles and and high medical costs. If that happened, we'd have universal health insurance and health care reform in a heartbeat.
We just received word here that our health insurance costs are going up again. We're lucky here at The Chronicle to even have an employer-sponsored health care program, but the costs are killing us, and crippling the business. If politicians want to do something that will benefit Americans, don't lower taxes --- reform health care and health insurance. Universal health insurance, at minimal costs, would put money into people's pockets which is now going to cover extreme premiums as well as medical costs for those of us with high deductibles. Just in my case alone, that would be an extra $400 per month, half of which I would gladly apply to some sort of government-sponsored health care program. If all Americans participated, the costs of such a program would be very low.
But it ain't gonna happen. Too many lobbyists for the industry, too many timorous congressmen and senators. Massachusetts is working on a plan, and while its goals are laudable -- to decrease the number of uninsured --- it will do nothing to help those of us who are insured but are paying through the nose, to the detriment of our family budgets. The majority of those who have health insurance need relief, in the form of lower premiums and reform of the health care system, which is the only way to reduce the huge chunk of our gross national product that goes toward health care.
Enough rant.
What we're working on for the March 2 edition of The Chronicle:
Chatham's human services survey finds residents have difficulty paying for house, and many older citizens worry about being able to remain in their homes.
The board of selectmen meets Tuesday to revisit the controversial harbormaster's budget, which the board voted to cut last month.
And a new fund-raising effort by the town's PTA will have everyone playing "Chatham-opoly."
In Harwich, we explore the fallout from the announced closing of three grades at the Holy Trinity School, feature a project to renovate the police department's communications center using donated equipment and Cape Tech students, and report on initial efforts to find a new superintendent of schools.
We just received word here that our health insurance costs are going up again. We're lucky here at The Chronicle to even have an employer-sponsored health care program, but the costs are killing us, and crippling the business. If politicians want to do something that will benefit Americans, don't lower taxes --- reform health care and health insurance. Universal health insurance, at minimal costs, would put money into people's pockets which is now going to cover extreme premiums as well as medical costs for those of us with high deductibles. Just in my case alone, that would be an extra $400 per month, half of which I would gladly apply to some sort of government-sponsored health care program. If all Americans participated, the costs of such a program would be very low.
But it ain't gonna happen. Too many lobbyists for the industry, too many timorous congressmen and senators. Massachusetts is working on a plan, and while its goals are laudable -- to decrease the number of uninsured --- it will do nothing to help those of us who are insured but are paying through the nose, to the detriment of our family budgets. The majority of those who have health insurance need relief, in the form of lower premiums and reform of the health care system, which is the only way to reduce the huge chunk of our gross national product that goes toward health care.
Enough rant.
What we're working on for the March 2 edition of The Chronicle:
Chatham's human services survey finds residents have difficulty paying for house, and many older citizens worry about being able to remain in their homes.
The board of selectmen meets Tuesday to revisit the controversial harbormaster's budget, which the board voted to cut last month.
And a new fund-raising effort by the town's PTA will have everyone playing "Chatham-opoly."
In Harwich, we explore the fallout from the announced closing of three grades at the Holy Trinity School, feature a project to renovate the police department's communications center using donated equipment and Cape Tech students, and report on initial efforts to find a new superintendent of schools.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Welcome to this blog. I plan on using it for a variety of purposes.
First off, some promises. I won't rant. I won't publish anything here that I wouldn't publish in the paper under my own name. I may do some reporting here, but it will only be to reinforce information either already presented or that will be presented in the paper.
I have no control over comments posted by others. I will endeavor to review these occasionally and respond if necessary.
Blogs are used for many different things; I see this as an extension of my newspaper work, but in a more personal way. I plan on offering some insights here that don't make it into the paper for one reason or another. I also plan on using the forum to offer broader comment on local and national issues. I may even occasionally write about unrelated matters, my hobbies, my family, my town, my friends, anything I think can provide insight or offer some entertainment or information.
I will also use this blog to give readers of The Chronicle updates on stories and previews of what we are working on for the upcoming edition. With the preliminaries out of the way, I'll do that right now: Here are a few stories you can expect to see in the Feb. 23 Chronicle:
In Chatham, a proposed quasi-public pier in Pleasant Bay faces opposition. Plans are underway to develop a new police facility at the annex property. And the Whales are coming!
In Harwich, Town Administrator Wayne Melville is likely to give his notice to the board of selectmen any day now. Police overtime is under scrutiny, and architectural students work with the community to design an affordable housing project.
Also, an economic summit in Chatham today sees business leaders optimistic for the nation, the state and Cape Cod.
See you soon.
First off, some promises. I won't rant. I won't publish anything here that I wouldn't publish in the paper under my own name. I may do some reporting here, but it will only be to reinforce information either already presented or that will be presented in the paper.
I have no control over comments posted by others. I will endeavor to review these occasionally and respond if necessary.
Blogs are used for many different things; I see this as an extension of my newspaper work, but in a more personal way. I plan on offering some insights here that don't make it into the paper for one reason or another. I also plan on using the forum to offer broader comment on local and national issues. I may even occasionally write about unrelated matters, my hobbies, my family, my town, my friends, anything I think can provide insight or offer some entertainment or information.
I will also use this blog to give readers of The Chronicle updates on stories and previews of what we are working on for the upcoming edition. With the preliminaries out of the way, I'll do that right now: Here are a few stories you can expect to see in the Feb. 23 Chronicle:
In Chatham, a proposed quasi-public pier in Pleasant Bay faces opposition. Plans are underway to develop a new police facility at the annex property. And the Whales are coming!
In Harwich, Town Administrator Wayne Melville is likely to give his notice to the board of selectmen any day now. Police overtime is under scrutiny, and architectural students work with the community to design an affordable housing project.
Also, an economic summit in Chatham today sees business leaders optimistic for the nation, the state and Cape Cod.
See you soon.
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