Spike Lee is in town, and he's bringing good news for the forgotten victims of Hurricane Katrina in southern Mississippi.
"He's going to do at least one more chapter on examining Katrina, and he's going to focus more on Southern Mississippi," Tiner said.
Or at least that's what Lee told Stan Tiner, the editor and vice president of The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss.
"I was at breakfast this morning, and I looked up, and Spike Lee sat down next me," Tiner said.
Tiner spoke to Lee for awhile and complimented him on his documentary about Katrina's effects on New Orleans entitled "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."
He proceeded to discuss with Lee the fact that Mississippi had received very light press coverage compared with Louisiana.
Tiner said Lee was already aware of the devastation that the area had been dealt at the hands of 30-foot storm surges, and the neglect that the federal government has allegedly shown in aiding the victims of the hurricane.
The aftermath of the tragedy continues to play out across the region, and the "Requiem" is not over yet.
- VANNAH SHAW / ASNE Reporter
Friday, March 30, 2007
'Press 666 now': Learn how to beat the smoothest operator
Overheard at the National Association of Minority Media Executives last night: A directory at GetHuman.com features 800 numbers and codes to bypass the most robotic automatic phone prompts for companies from JPMorgan Chase to Wal-Mart. It also grades each company.
Ironically, newspaper phone systems didn't score well. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both got Fs, along with The Washington Post, which features a mysterious instruction: "Don't press or say anything."
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Ironically, newspaper phone systems didn't score well. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both got Fs, along with The Washington Post, which features a mysterious instruction: "Don't press or say anything."
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
The American newspaper: 'A damsel in distress'?
On the door of room 745 at the JW Marriott is a cryptic, hand-penned message: "STOP THE PRESSES: PLEASE KNOCK."
Inside the hospitality suite is a makeshift studio where two men are trying to tell the story of the American newspaper. This week they have invited an elite handful of ASNE members to predict whether or not, well, the presses might literally stop.
PBS-published filmmaker Mark Birnbaum said this:
"We're posing the newspaper as a damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks ..." Manny Mendoza added, "about to get run over by the train."
And Mendoza should know. Just last year, the former TV and film critic took a buyout from the Dallas Morning News.
Chopin's "Nocturnes" played forlornly in the background as the pair explained their documentary. At first Birnbaum and Mendoza planned to call the film "- 30 -" in a reference to the traditional newspaper signoff. Ultimately, they christened it "Stop the Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril."
Here in suite 745 (price tag per night: $500), Birnbaum sleeps on the Murphy bed and Mendoza on the pull-out couch. Not knowing how much funding they'll ultimately get, they're trying to stay frugal.
That's a problem we can all identify with.
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Inside the hospitality suite is a makeshift studio where two men are trying to tell the story of the American newspaper. This week they have invited an elite handful of ASNE members to predict whether or not, well, the presses might literally stop.
PBS-published filmmaker Mark Birnbaum said this:
"We're posing the newspaper as a damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks ..." Manny Mendoza added, "about to get run over by the train."
And Mendoza should know. Just last year, the former TV and film critic took a buyout from the Dallas Morning News.
Chopin's "Nocturnes" played forlornly in the background as the pair explained their documentary. At first Birnbaum and Mendoza planned to call the film "- 30 -" in a reference to the traditional newspaper signoff. Ultimately, they christened it "Stop the Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril."
Here in suite 745 (price tag per night: $500), Birnbaum sleeps on the Murphy bed and Mendoza on the pull-out couch. Not knowing how much funding they'll ultimately get, they're trying to stay frugal.
That's a problem we can all identify with.
- APRIL YEE / ASNE Reporter
Connecting foreign news to local readers
Newspapers have been cutting back on coverage of foreign news for years. One new group is trying to help fill the gap.
Editors’ World, a membership organization, is designed to provide editors and news directors with information about global subjects such as immigration, trade, wealth, environmental policy and health care.
Nancy Hicks Maynard, the founder and director, said the group helps editors address the implications of what’s happening in the world in their local stories.
“The goal is to change coverage and to help news organizations,” said Maynard, co-founder of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, Calif. “This is to also let the public know that we’re part of the bigger world.”
Editors can register at EditorsWorld.org, which is now running a free trial period but plans to charge a membership fee later this year.
- ASNE Reporter / Sha’Day Jackson
Editors’ World, a membership organization, is designed to provide editors and news directors with information about global subjects such as immigration, trade, wealth, environmental policy and health care.
Nancy Hicks Maynard, the founder and director, said the group helps editors address the implications of what’s happening in the world in their local stories.
“The goal is to change coverage and to help news organizations,” said Maynard, co-founder of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, Calif. “This is to also let the public know that we’re part of the bigger world.”
Editors can register at EditorsWorld.org, which is now running a free trial period but plans to charge a membership fee later this year.
- ASNE Reporter / Sha’Day Jackson
Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts interviews Spike Lee
The first online version of ASNE’s The American Editor will feature an interview of Spike Lee, the 2007 convention's closing luncheon speaker, by Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts Jr.
Lee came to ASNE to discuss his documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts", about the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. Lee and three guest panelists, residents of New Orleans affected by Katrina, appealed to journalists not to let the story of Katrina die.
Pitts interviewed Lee in 1994 for the release of “Crooklyn”. Pitts said that he is a fan of Lee’s work, particularly of the 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing”.
“I like Spike Lee, I haven’t liked all his movies, but I like Spike Lee,” Pitts said.
Pitts also said he appreciated the themes present in Lee’s 2000 film, “Bamboozled”.
“I loved what Spike was trying to say, … about how we as African Americans play ourselves in terms of our own image in entertainment media.”
Pitts -- a Miami Herald columnist, author, and professor -- is sure to do justice to Lee’s message with his interview. Pitts says he has always had a passion for words.
Pitts won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for his commentary on Sept 11.
Lee came to ASNE to discuss his documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts", about the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. Lee and three guest panelists, residents of New Orleans affected by Katrina, appealed to journalists not to let the story of Katrina die.
Pitts interviewed Lee in 1994 for the release of “Crooklyn”. Pitts said that he is a fan of Lee’s work, particularly of the 1989 film, “Do the Right Thing”.
“I like Spike Lee, I haven’t liked all his movies, but I like Spike Lee,” Pitts said.
Pitts also said he appreciated the themes present in Lee’s 2000 film, “Bamboozled”.
“I loved what Spike was trying to say, … about how we as African Americans play ourselves in terms of our own image in entertainment media.”
Pitts -- a Miami Herald columnist, author, and professor -- is sure to do justice to Lee’s message with his interview. Pitts says he has always had a passion for words.
Pitts won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for his commentary on Sept 11.
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