Broward New Times columnist Bob Norman joins WPLG Local 10 [UPDATED X3]

UPDATED @ 2:50pm: Random Pixels spoke with Norman just a few minutes ago. He says Channel 10 approached him about working for the station. "They asked me if I'd be interested in bringing my brand of journalism to the station and I accepted," said Norman. He rold me he's excited about the new challenge but adds, "It's not easy leaving New Times after 13 years."

UPDATED @ 3:30pm: Norman's boss at New Times, editor Eric Barton, talked with Random Pixels a short time ago and said this: "It's a sad day for us. He was the face of this paper; he put us on the map."

I asked Barton why Norman's posts sometimes generated hundreds of comments. Barton told me, "I think that one of the things Bob did was to create a discussion with his readers. He'll be sorely missed."

UPDATED @ 5:40pm: WPLG's Steve Owen tweets: "Extremely proud Bob Norman is coming to work at Local 10. It's proof that great journalism is still alive and well."

...
Just received this email:

I am very happy to announce that one of the finest journalists in South Florida is bringing his talents to the best television station in the market.

Bob Norman has worked for the Broward New Times for the past 13 years. Prior to that, he worked at the Gannett newspaper in Ft. Myers. Bob is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and his wife Brittany is a reporter at the Sun Sentinel.

In his reporting career, Bob has done remarkable work. He has broken countless big stories. He’s exposed corruption. He owned the Scott Rothstein story and many other scandals involving top political leaders in Broward County. He is a top notch reporter, who knows the market and knows how to get to the truth.

Bob will contribute to both on-air and online. His very popular blog, The Daily Pulp, will be moving to Local10.com, under the name Bob Norman’s Blog.

Bob joins us on May 23rd. Prior to that he will be spending some time in Dallas with our talent coaches to help with his transition from newspaper to television. Please make him feel welcome.

Bill Pohovey

VP/News Director

WPLG І LATV Miami І Post-Newsweek Stations

3401 West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Pembroke Park, Florida 33023

Norman is not the first South Florida print journalist to make the switch to television.

WPLG's Michael Putney got his start in broadcasting when he left the Miami Herald in 1981 to take a reporting gig with WTVJ. He joined Channel 10 in 1989.

CBS 4's Eliott Rodriguez was hired away from the old Miami News by WTVJ in the early 80's.

More recently, journalist Jim DeFede, was hired a few years ago by WFOR after leaving the Miami Herald.

Bob Norman knows Broward!

Last April 29, WPLG Local 10 scored a coup of sorts in local television circles when it lured veteran investigative reporter Bob Norman away from the weekly newspaper, Broward-Palm Beach New Times.

Channel 10 then shipped Norman off to a  reporter boot camp in Texas where they show newbies how to walk and talk while holding a mike.

They did a good job.

Bob's been filing regular reports on all sorts of stuff in Broward.

About a month ago, Bob went on the air with his first report on a brand new, $25 million Broward County School Board bus depot that sits empty on the edge of the Everglades.

In the report, Bob can be seen walking through an unlocked door and strolling through the unoccupied building, unchallenged by any kind of security. Fascinating stuff to be sure.

But, did Channel 10 realize that when they hired Bob they'd be getting half a reporter?

What's that you say? You've been watching Bob's reports and he looks like he's all there.

Well, that's the problem. He's all there alright....in Broward County.

Bob, it seems, has no idea there's anything worth reporting south of the Miami-Dade/Broward County line.

Since Bob started filing his reports a little over a month ago, he's done nothing on Miami-Dade. And that's strange since he works for a station that gets 50% of its viewership from south of the Broward County line.

Now I'm pretty sure Bob reads the paper and watches his own station.

And if he does, he knows that Miami-Dade is ground zero when it comes to corruption and waste in government. After all, we've got stuff going on down here that makes Broward County seem like Mayberry by comparison.

Hell, down here in Miami we erect monuments that celebrate corruption.

They're building a monument to corruption right now on the site that used to be occupied by the Orange Bowl. You may have read about it, Bob. It was in all the papers.

It's called the Marlins Stadium.

Anyway, Bob, I know you're busy up there in Broward and haven't had time to check up on things down here.

And, maybe you're also a little leery of venturing down I-95, what with all the crime and stuff. Miami can be a very scary place to someone from the sticks.

So, let me save you some time and help you out a bit by showing you some places you might want to check out when you're able to free up your schedule.

Below is Miami City Hall. You wouldn't believe the stuff that goes on inside this building. Miami has been called a banana republic for a lot reasons. Most of those reasons start right here in this building. Need I say more?

Next up, the 31-story Stephen P. Clark Government Center.

This is where our new mayor and county manager work and oversee more than 27,000 county employees and manage a budget of billions of dollars. Surely you can find something worth reporting on here.

Now if any Random Pixels readers want to tip off Bob about graft, corruption or nefarious activities, go for it.

But, Bob is obviously very busy up there in Mayberry Broward.

So why not send those tips here to me here at Random Pixels? I'll sort through them and prioritize them forward them to Bob. It's the least I can do.

Oh, one more thing Bob. When you do decide to finally come down....make sure you bring your passport.

Bob Norman has a new blog

Former Broward-Palm Beach New Times staffer Bob Norman's new blog is up and running at WPLG Local 10's website. Writes Norman:

This blog isn’t about me. It’s about you — and about this odd and awesome place where we live. Thanks to you the old blog truly became an intrinsic part of the town, like a little online revolution. It was a gathering place, sometimes a hearth, sometimes a madhouse, like a costume party where everyone is saying whatever the hell they want to say, no matter how brilliant or boorish. It’s a community, with solid regulars (I won’t start to list them because it will get too long), and I hope you’ll get to know them here too and join in when you feel the urge.

At first glance, it appears that Channel 10 is sparing no expense as they roll-out their new franchise. Norman's blog sports a spiffy new logo with the catchy name, "Bob Norman's Blog."

Norman, a staff writer at BPB New Times for 13 years, moved to WPLG Channel 10 late last month.

Station honchos are hoping that loyal readers of his wildly popular Daily Pulp blog, will now become loyal viewers of Local 10 News. WPLG will, no doubt, also experience a spike in their web traffic.

Channel 10 has not announced when Norman will appear on the air.

Meanwhile, BPB New Times has renamed Norman's old blog, "The Pulp." Much of the content for the blog is being written by BPB New Times editor Eric Barton.

Q: What happens when you turn over a rock in Broward County? A: Scott Israel and his supporters slither out.

Click here to enlarge.

UPDATED Monday, July 29 @ 3:00pm: Sun-Sentinel - BSO deputies are reminded not to take gifts.


UPDATED Sunday, July 28 @ 6:30pm: Sheriff Scott Israel appeared on Michael Putney's show today. Click here to see the complete interview.

________

Recognize these names? Ken Jenne, John Timoney, Carlos Noriega, Donald Warshaw, Cheryl Cason and Tom Hunker.

If you follow the news closely, then you know that all of those people, at one time or another, were in charge of various South Florida police departments.

And all were ethically challenged. And a few were just downright corrupt.

Ken Jenne, was Broward County's top cop from 1998 until 2007. In September 2007 he agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and mail fraud charges.  Jenne got a year in the federal pen.

Miami Police Chief John Timoney got in trouble after it was learned that he drove a brand-new Lexus SUV for more than a year "without paying the car dealership a penny."

Carlos Noriega was Miami Beach's police chief from 2007 until 2011. During his tenure, he grappled with one scandal after another, including drunken cops joyriding in police ATVs on the beach and a  deadly 2011 Memorial Day shooting.  Towards the end of his term as police chief, Noriega was also dogged with questions over his decision to give official-looking police badges to a select group of friends.

Donald Warshaw, who was Miami's police chief before becoming city manager, was indicted in September of 2000 on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and mail fraud. In 2001 he was sentenced to a year in prison.

Cheryl Cason was the police chief of the tiny, crime-ridden town of Opa-Locka until her retirement this year. Hired in 1984, Cason had two failed drug tests and more than 22 disciplinary charges before becoming chief.

Tom Hunker, until he was fired last March, was police chief of the tiny Village of Bal Harbour. Hunker, a retired Miami Beach narcotics detective, became enmeshed in scandal after questions were raised over his department's handling and spending of millions of dollars in cash seized from drug dealers.

Now, it might be time to add another name to that list.

Last January, Scott Israel, the former police chief of North Bay Village, became the latest law enforcement professional to head the Broward Sheriff's Office, the largest, fully accredited sheriff's department in the country.

A little more than a week after taking office - and even before he'd learned the location of all the elevators at BSO headquarters - Israel raised more than a few eyebrows when he invited Ken Jenne, the disgraced former Broward sheriff and convicted felon, to visit him in "the $1.6 million office space Jenne used public funds to redecorate."

And while Jenne's visit to BSO wasn't a secret, something Israel did in secret shortly before his swearing-in is now the focus of some scrutiny.

Early last week Local 10's Bob Norman reported that Israel took "a five-day luxury cruise to the Bahamas on a $35 million super-yacht ... paid for by the sheriff’s largest campaign donor, construction magnate Robert Pereira."

Norman reports Israel reimbursed Pereira for the trip with a check for $1500.




Israel claims he did nothing wrong by accepting the yacht trip; but his reaction to Norman's straightforward questions about the trip say otherwise. Any reporter who's ever cornered a corrupt politician will attest to that.

Norman also reports that shortly after Israel refused to answer his questions, he called Local 10 to say he'd never talk to Norman again. Again, the reaction of a public official with something to hide.

A few days after Norman's first report, Israel went on a local radio show to defend himself. But not just any radio show.

Israel went on the Rich Stevens Show on WFTL-AM. In a video that looks like it was shot by a five year-old, Israel described Stevens as "the consummate professional."

And, while all this was going on, something very bizarre happened. A website called the "Broward Bugle" sent out this tweet:

Channel 10's Bob Norman acting erratic and aggressive. Time for BSO deputies to detain him. #taser #redbroward
— Broward Bugle (@BrowardBugle) July 25, 2013

So what is a Broward Bugle, you ask, and why are they calling on BSO deputies to "detain" and "taser" Bob Norman?

Last May, Broward Bulldog executive editor Dan Christensen wrote this of the "Bugle" and its backers:

The registered owner of an online Broward “news” operation contributed over $120,000 to a political group that made payments to a firm owned by Sheriff Scott Israel’s campaign manager, Amy Rose, and to her husband.

Andrew James Miller, 29, gave the money to Taxpayers for Integrity in Government last August, amid Israel’s successful bid to unseat then-Sheriff Al Lamberti, election records show.

Miller is a protégé of flamboyant South Florida-based political consultant and prospective gubernatorial candidate, Roger Stone. Miller describes himself on his Twitter page as a “political pirate, provocateur, street fighter.”

[...]

The secretive Bugle does not identify its publisher or staffers by their real names. Its Hollywood attorney, Holiday Hunt Russell, would not answer questions about his client. Stone, an Israel supporter with a reputation as a political dirty trickster, has been rumored for months to be behind it because of stories with headlines like last month’s “Lamberti has Chutzpah.”

[...]

“I’m nervous talking about this. I don’t want to say something wrong,” said Miller when asked about the Bugle. “I’m not the one running it. I know who is, but I’m not at liberty to give any names. It’s above my pay grade.”

Said Stone, “I’m not going to talk about the Bugle, I’m really not."

Scott Israel, Broward's top cop, apparently has no problem rolling out the red carpet for a convicted felon or accepting a trip on a multi-million dollar yacht from a billionaire who just wants to be the sheriff's "friend." A "friend," who according to Israel, wants nothing in return. All of this while Israel seemingly gives tacit approval to a shady website that exists for no other reason than to attack Israel's critics.

The sheriff, it appears, has forgotten two adages, "You are judged by the company you keep,"  and "Appearances are everything."

When Scott Israel's term as Broward sheriff ends, he may looked upon as the most ethical person to ever hold that office.

But until that happens, if I were a Broward County taxpayer, I'd be nervous about Scott Israel.

Very nervous.

_______


Sun-Sentinel: Sheriff: Yacht trip with campaign supporter broke no laws

Local 10: Sheriff Scott Israel makes new hires to 'connect with community'

WPLG Reporter Bob Norman assaulted

Okay, let's go over this one more time for those of you who may not have gotten the memo.

It's not against the law to take pictures or videotape on a public street.

To be more specific, if Bob Norman from WPLG shows up and starts shooting video at the Sun Recycling plant in Pompano Beach where you just happen to be a foreman, you can't stop him if he's not on your property.

Furthermore, it's not advisable to get into a scuffle with Norman, who looks like he might be 6'2" or 6'3".

But, if you do opt to get physical with Norman and he gets the best of you; don't steal his microphone.

(NOTE: TV reporters are ALWAYS accompanied by videographers who tape everything and then put it on the air so that everyone can see what an ass you are. Also, in most places, video of someone stealing something is called "evidence.")

And finally, if you are that recycling plant foreman who has just committed assault and theft, DO NOT - REPEAT - DO NOT CALL THE POLICE ON YOURSELF!

But, that's what happened Tuesday.

According to Norman, when he showed up at the recycling plant to shoot some video, a foreman confronted him and said "[you're] not allowed to "take pictures" of the plant. I asked him why, he said, "Because I said so."

Norman will have the entire story - along with more riveting fight video - tonight at 11pm on Channel 10.

Until then, you'll just have to make do with this slide show.

Norman does report that he didn't press charges against the foreman. Maybe he was in a magnanimous mood.

Last month, Jose Lambiet reported that Norman narrowly escaped a "misdemeanor trespassing charge in connection with an on-the-job incident" after "Norman allegedly entered without permission a Parkland horse-farm that’s the target of a lawsuit from neighbors."

Introducing South Florida's biggest hypocrite

Click to enlarge.

Consider these two individuals if you will:

One is a respected, hard-working political reporter who writes for the Miami Herald.

The other, is a resident of almost crime-free Pembroke Pines and a Federal Aviation Administration employee who blogs anonymously on government time. His blog is littered with the worst kind of left-wing hate speech imaginable.(Yes, liberals are capable of hate speech.) The rest of the time, this government employee/blogger visits the websites of local newspapers looking for content to steal.

The political reporter is Marc Caputo.

The blogger is someone who calls himself "Rick."

His blog is the South Florida Daily Blog. For those who don't know "Rick," he's the self-appointed gatekeeper of the South Florida blogosphere.

A few years ago "Rick" ran a widely-read blog called "Stuck on the Palmetto."

And then one day he posted a particularly homophobic comment that caught the attention of Bob Norman, who at the time worked at Broward/Palm Beach New Times:

Rick at Stuck on the Palmetto got going this morning with a rather rancid take on Michael Mayo's column in the Sun-Sentinel about the isolation of gay inmates at the Broward County Jail. His post on the column, illustrated with a bar of soap, ends thusly:

"Hey, if the guys wants to mix with general population, let them mix with general population. Better yet, before they transfer, let's give them some high heels, lipstick, pink tutus and a big, Costco-sized tub of Vaseline."

The notoriously thin-skinned "Rick" took exception to Norman's criticism and a pissing match ensued in the comments section below Norman's posts.

Pretty soon, "Rick" dropped a clue about his employer in one of his comments. Norman soon figured out what "Rick" did for a living and surmised that "Rick" was spewing a lot of his hate on government time.

So, "Rick," fearing that Norman was about to expose him, did what cowards and bullies always do when someone hits back: He shut down his blog and went into hiding.

(We all know what cockroaches do when someone turns on the lights.)

Here's what Norman wrote at the time:

A little background: Rick is/was probably the most active blogger in South Florida. He mines the newspapers and the larger Internet for his material and posts several times a day, illustrating just about every post. I'd say he averages three to four hours a day on it. Just an educated guess.

Everyone by now has gathered what line of work he's in, thanks to his bullhorning of an obscure jab that was tucked away in a comment on the Pulp. Now it's time for you to put two and two together. I've devoted half my career so far to exposing waste, corruption etc in government. So I'm not going to lie and say my eyebrows didn't raise a notch when I found out what Rick does for a living. It crossed my mind that all that Palmetto time might be better spent doing his actual job, which is not an unimportant one at all.

I barely gave it a second thought, though; this wasn't a job for Pulpman. His blog was decent and who knew how he juggled it with his job to make it happen. But when he started accusing me of bashing police and made himself out to be some avenging angel of law enforcement, it did irk me. It's the one issue Rick -- solid, middle American, mind-numbingly normal Rick -- gets totally irrational about. I knew why he was biased, but nobody else did. Basically I thought he should admit what line of work he was in, in general terms. We tussled about it a little in the past and I nudged the guy over the weekend. I thought it was harmless.

Fast forward to last Sunday.

In a post on his blog, "Rick" accused Miami Herald political writer Marc Caputo of being "Marco Rubio's wingman in Miami."

Rick ended his post with this:

Seems to me that it wouldn't take much time or effort for Didziulis or any other reporter with the time and resources to assemble a reporting portfolio that would clearly show Caputo's bias.

Which has to make one think of glass houses and stones, you know.

In a tweet last Saturday, "Rick" called Caputo, the Herald's "Republican hack."

Seriously, "Rick?" A "Republican hack?"

Here's "Republican hack" Marc Caputo, questioning Republican Rick Scott back in 2010 when Scott was running for governor. Listen closely as Caputo lobs one softball question after another at candidate Scott.

Need more proof that Caputo is a "Republican hack" and a Rubio "wingman?"

Watch this video from last October as Caputo peppers Sen. Rubio with questions about his friendship with David Rivera. At the time, Caputo wrote of the exchange: "Sen. Marco Rubio preferred to get rained on Monday than answer questions about a criminal investigation into his long-time friend and ally, Congressman David Rivera."

(Scroll down to the very bottom of this post to see more examples "Republican hack" Marc Caputo's "bias" when it comes to writing about Rubio.

And here's one of my faves. Watch as "Republican hack" Marc Caputo sends Herman Cain's handlers into panic mode in 2011 when he tries to get the Republican presidential candidate to share his thoughts on the "Cuban adjustment act" among other things.

Yesterday, I emailed Caputo the link to "Rick's" post and asked him if he'd seen it.

His response:

Judging by the appearance of the link, this is the guy who trolled me on Twitter. I blocked him. Someone gets blocked for being anonymous, false, stupid, hypocritical and a name-caller.

Interacting with people like this is like handling feces: no matter how clean you are, their stink clings to you if you deal with them.

So I haven't read the post. Nor will I. When I first got trolled a few weeks ago, I quickly scanned over the blog (which has about 200 readers). I saw what he's up to. He wants to drive traffic by making inflammatory remarks because he can't produce good content with original reporting.

In his post, "Rick" called Caputo "thin-skinned" for blocking him on Twitter.

A few years ago I had a little fun at "Rick's" expense after he wrote a post about a paintball attack on his car. Rather than leave a comment on my post, "Rick" sent me a whiny email asking "why don't you like me?" and "what it is I've ever done to deserve whole posts dedicated to making me look like an ass?" Remember, this comes from a guy who called Caputo, "thin-skinned"

So, "Rick"...here's some free advice. The next time you feel the need to call someone a "hack", you might want to do some basic research so that you get your facts straight and don't end up making a complete ass of yourself.

More advice: If  you're accusing someone of being thin-skinned, hypocritical and a "hack," you might want to make sure that, #1, you're not thin-skinned yourself, #2, you're not a hypocrite, and #3, you're not a "hack."

Ditto for impugning someone's ethics.

From where I sit, Rick, you're batting zero.

Now, go get your f**king shine box.

__________

Published in the St. Petersburg Times, March 9, 2010: Rubio's campaign image belies history of $250 million in pork requests.
__________

Rubio speaks out on turnpike deal 

Monday, April 7, 2008
by MARC CAPUTO, Herald staff writer

House Speaker Marco Rubio said Monday he used obscure budget language that helped a friend and blocked a $265 million turnpike deal due to concerns over the Department of Transportation's potentially "cozy" ties to "monopolistic" contractors. 
 
__________

Here's part of a 2009 Caputo story on Rubio, who after he left the speakership, got nice "consulting" contracts from two hospitals he steered money to. (Jackson and Miami Children's).

Lawmaker joins 2 others in web of lobbying ties

A state legislator, his wife and a former House speaker are all linked to hospital lobbying and consulting in two deals that are raising eyebrows. 

Monday, February 9, 2009 
by MARC CAPUTO, Herald staff writer

In a legislature where public votes and private profit can collide, one alliance stands out: the trio of Rep. Esteban "Steve" Bovo, his wife and former House Speaker Marco Rubio .

Bovo, a freshman Republican from Hialeah, is the in-house lobbyist for Miami Children's Hospital. He sits on a House budget committee that helps decide how much state money hospitals and healthcare providers in the state receive.

As Bovo was taking office in November, Rubio was leaving, due to term limits. Rubio took his top assistant -- Viviana Bovo, Bovo's wife -- with him to work at a new consulting -lobbying firm, Florida Strategic Consultants.

The company in December then scored two contracts worth $102,000 and $96,000 with Miami Children's and Jackson Memorial hospitals, respectively.
__________

And here's another Caputo puff-piece on Rubio from 2003 ...

LAWMAKERS SKIP OUT FOR MARLINS

Tuesday, October 28, 2003
by MARC CAPUTO, Herald staff writer

A handful of South Florida legislators missed what was hyped as one of the most important votes in state history last week as they watched the World Series live Thursday from the comfort of the Florida Marlins invitation-only owners' box.

The absence of the lawmakers went largely unnoticed until late Thursday night, when votes became critical as political trouble bedeviled one of the bills to create a South Florida branch of the Scripps Research Institute with $310 million from taxpayers.

Most prominent among those missing: Rep. Marco Rubio, the Coral Gables leader of the House Republicans, whose absence comes as he is courting the votes of fellow Republicans in his bid to become speaker in 2006. Also missing was Rep. Gaston Cantens, a one-time speaker candidate and current majority whip, whose duties include orchestrating floor votes.

The Random Pixels Drama Queen of the Year Award goes to....

...Broward County mega-lobbyist/sleazeball Bernie Friedman.

Friedman tried a blocking maneuver on Local 10 reporter Bob Norman this afternoon at Broward County Hall as Norman was attempting to interview Sun Recycling executive Phil Medico about illegal dumping done by his company.

After Norman gently pushed Friedman aside, the lobbyist started screaming like a little girl.

I'd never heard of Friedman until I saw Norman's report this evening; but he strikes me as the kind of guy who got picked on a lot at school. Like everyday.

It's obvious Friedman has never heard of the saying, "Don't ever write a check with your mouth you can't cash with your ass."

Nice job, Bob! Next time, you have my permission to push his sorry ass down the escalator!

And, congratulations, Bernie! You are the first ever winner of the the Random Pixels Drama Queen of the Year Award.

Watch the confrontation by clicking here.

A few more thoughts about the Herald

A few friends at the Herald sent emails this morning in response to this post.

from David: "Thanks for the kind words Bill. I hope we can pull through OK, and at least manage to perform this noble profession even if in spurts. -D"

from Ellie: "Yup-- that shoulda been the headline. Very sweet, heartfelt posting. Thanks for giving a sh*t."

Last night while trying to make sense of the day's happenings I kept thinking of this line from the classic newspaper movie, "All the President's Men."

Ben Bradlee played by Jason Robards tells Woodward and Bernstein:

"You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a shit. You guys are probably pretty tired, right? Well, you should be. Go on home, get a nice hot bath. Rest up... 15 minutes. Then get your asses back in gear. We're under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing's riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys fuck up again, I'm going to get mad. Goodnight."

None of this probably matters to those journalists who lost their jobs yesterday.

But to borrow a phrase from Ellie: some of us do give a sh*t and can't bear the thought of losing the Herald. FWIW.
______________

UPDATE: Broward New Times writer Bob Norman's blog post on the Herald cuts has elicited almost 100 comments so far.

Notable are the comments by Dave Barry and other Herald staffers - some named and some anonymous.

Legendary retired Herald reporter Arnold Markowitz also weighs in:

Arnold Markowitz says:
Does the "Anonymous" so bitterly criticizing Bob Norman for publishing the victim list really work at the MH? In the news department? What is that one's job?

Info for comparative newcomers: What you're complaining about today isn't new at all, although it probably hurts more now. During my time at the MH (1967-2001)the newsroom was almost always top-heavy. Usually someone was working one management step above his or her capacity-- sometimes two or even three steps. Very few of those(I was one)understood that and went back to what they did well.
We almost always had at least one determined jive turkey in a position to inflict wounds on the paper and/or the news staff.

Do Rick Hirsch and others deserve the beating they're taking here? I hope not, but I could run out of breath naming past managers who did fit those pejorative descriptions.

Somehow we survived them and even thrived for a very long time while the Herald was owned by people who wanted it to succeed as a news medium. It was a newspaper then. We could and did think of it as ours. Now it's hard to think of it as anything more than a stock exchange listing.

'witz

Posted On: Wednesday, Mar. 11 2009 @ 11:40PM

Neil Rogers remembered

Question: How many "chronics" showed up for Neil Rogers' memorial service Friday in Wilton Manors?

Answer: Quite a few.

If you are a Neil Rogers fan, you know what a "chronic" is.

If you weren't a fan, "chronic" was Neil's term for someone who called his show too often or a listener whose life revolved around the show.

Many of the stories on Neil following his death last Dec. 24 mentioned that he had no immediate family.

That's not entirely true.

Neil had a big family which was made up of the tens of thousands of listeners who tuned in daily to his show.

And I'm here to report that if Friday's turnout was any indication, many in Neil's extended family appear to be rejects from the King Mango Strut.

The crowd which numbered at least 200 - maybe more - filled up the main room at the Center for Spiritual Living in Wilton Manors.

The Sun-Sentinel's Tom Jicha - a long-time friend of Neil - filed this report on the service.

Neil Rogers' memorial service Friday played just like his radio program: raucous, bawdy and free-form.

The irony is the legendary talk-show host, who died Christmas Eve at 68, disdained events such as the one at the Center for Spiritual Living in Wilton Manors.

As his friend and attorney Norman Kent said, "Who else would have taken a week's worth of calls on whether he should go to his mother's funeral?" Rogers didn't go.

The memorial was a trip down memory lane for South Florida radio buffs. Rogers' long-time producer, Jorge Rodriguez, came with a video tribute. Rodriguez rebutted a favorite saying of Rogers' that South Florida is a bedroom town with no sense of community or cohesion. "Neil created cohesion."

Rick Shaw spoke fondly and eloquently of Rogers, who harangued him unmercifully for years until they finally met and became friends. "He turned out to be so kind and gentle. I was really surprised." Shaw said he didn't think "anyone could have brought this august group together except Neil."
[...]
Duff Lindsey, a program director at WQAM during Rogers' run there and now a DJ at WFLL, AM 1400, was taken aback at their first meeting by how quiet he was in a social setting. "Jorge did most of the talking."

Lindsey quickly learned Radio Neil was a different person. "You didn't program Neil. He programmed you." Lindsey dreaded the occasions when he would get a memo from upper management saying, "You have to talk to Neil about …"

Bob Green, a program director of WIOD when Rogers was there, recalled that he and Neil had a good relationship "most of the time."

WIOD of old also was represented by Teri Griffin, a news and traffic reporter at WIOD, "or I was until Wednesday," and Roger Magolin, who was the late Mike Reineri's producer for many years.

The shocker of the day was the appearance of Boca Brian, who produced the hundreds of brilliant musical bits that brightened the "Neil Rogers Show." Boca Brian is actually Boca Brittany.

Here are a few shots I made during the service.

"Boca Brian" and the Miami Herald's Ellie Brecher

L to R, former WIOD program director Bob Green, Neil's producer Jorge Rodriguez and "Boca Brian"

Neil's friend and attorney Norman Kent

Attorney and friend Norman Kent eulogizes Neil

Neil's long-time producer Jorge Rodriguez speaks

L to R, the Sun-Sentinel's Tom Jicha, David Hine, friend of Neil for 25 years and  Norman Kent watch a video tribute to Neil

The crowd at Neil's memorial reacts to the video tribute

L to R, long time Neil Rogers friend David Hine, attorney Norman Kent and  Miami Herald reporter Steve Rothaus watch video tribute to Neil

Tribute to Neil included video clips

Playing "Gotcha! journalism"

One of the most important rules in the game of "Gotcha! journalism" is to get your facts straight and all your ducks in a row before making accusations.

Today, Broward New Times' Bob Norman, the paper's Sun-Sentinel Criticizer-in-Chief, posted a brief item on his blog about the Miami Herald's Marc Caputo breaking a story that was picked up by the AP and subsequently published on the Sun-Sentinel's website.

Norman linked to a post on the Herald's political blog where Caputo quibbles over the fact that the Sentinel posted the AP story on their website but deleted any mention of the Herald running the story first.

This is the line on the Sun Sentinel's website that rankled Caputo: "The threat was first reported by a South Florida newspaper on Thursday."

I'm sure both Caputo and Norman are adequate journalists but I've got them both beat when it comes to remembering stuff. The reason for that is because I'm old!

Caputo joined the Herald a short five years ago. I've been living in Miami and reading the Herald since 1960. Yes, I'm pulling rank!

Kudos to Caputo for breaking the story but on the journalism Richter scale it hardly measured a ripple. Caputo's "scoop" was a mere 235 words. Certainly no one's going to compare it with Woodstein's Watergate reporting.

But the story was his baby and he had every right to beat up on the Sun-Sentinel for "borrowing" it.

However had Caputo done a little research he would have discovered that when it comes to "borrowing" stories and running them without attribution, the Herald has more skeletons in their closets than a big city medical examiner.

As soon as I saw Caputo's blog post I immediately recalled this classic Jim Mullin piece from the June 12, 1997 issue of Miami New Times.

In it Mullin documents how the Herald systematically "borrowed" stories from the Daily Business Review about a Port of Miami scandal. The DBR had been running stories on irregularities at the port for some eight months when the Herald started "borrowing" their stories without attribution.

DBR editor Ed Wasserman (who is now a Herald op-ed columnist) was so pissed that he spent thousands of dollars on a billboard that was erected at "Biscayne Boulevard at Thirteenth Street, [and] angled so that it point[ed] directly at the Miami Herald's headquarters across the street."

The billboard displayed images of the DBR's front pages with the dates they appeared and the Herald's pages with dates they appeared which were after the DBR's run dates.

The billboard also carried this legend: "Don't wait for the Herald to catch up."

The point here is that Caputo is taking the Sun-Sentinel to task for something the Herald has routinely practiced over the years. Remember; I've got an excellent memory! ;)

So Marc, if you're thinking about erecting a billboard across from the Sun-Sentinel, my advice would be: DON'T!

Some more advice: Next time you you challenge someone to a game of "Gotcha!" you might want to do a little more research!

Discontent at One Herald Plaza

"There are people walking around the newsroom who look like they're about to throw up." -Miami Herald staffer in an email last Thursday after the paper announced yet another round of staff cuts and furloughs.
...

A few months ago, I started a little feature on this blog called "Anders Watch."

It was my way of highlighting what I saw as the continued dumbing down by Miami Herald executive editor Anders Gyllenhaal, of Miami's last remaining, reliable information source. There may be others responsible, but Gyllenhaal's in charge.

It now appears that I'm not alone in that opinion.

Broward New Times blogger Bob Norman has posted the contents of an email  that was written and signed by some of the Herald's most respected and gifted staffers.

We're hoping to start a discussion about the quality of our front page, and the newspaper in general, by being blunt: We barely recognize it these days.

Local news does not have to be shallow and cheesy. The readers who still buy our product aren't buying it because they care what [reader] 'Gordon Geck' has to say.

They buy it because they can read about what their city and county governments are doing in thoughtful prose by Matt and Martha, and Chuck; because they want to know something about the lives of their neighbors in obits by Ellie; because they care deeply about their children's schools; because they want David Smiley to tell them about the happenings at Miami Beach City Hall in a lively tone; because they can find out about their relatives' welfare in Haiti from Jacqueline Charles; and because they can't put down those features by Audra and Robert Samuels.
[...]
We wish to make clear at the outset that we are not, in any way, attacking our colleagues, whose work and dedication we value. The direction this paper is taking has been dictated at the highest levels. Of course, we respect the authority of management to make vital decisions on the paper's content and direction.

We simply want a place at the table, because we, too, care deeply about The Miami Herald.

Some of the points made by the staffers in their email echo points that I've tried to raise here on my blog.

"Earlier this summer," [says the memo] "we printed several letters from readers who said ... one verbatim ... "enough is enough'' with the front-page obsession over where LeBron James lives, eats, socializes and is seen. We are told such sentiments have become commonplace in the Letters to the Editor basket."

I wrote about Herald's fascination with LeBron back in July.

But much of the staffers' ire is directed at the person at the paper who made the decision last Sunday to

"devote... the week's most desirable newspaper real estate to a series of tweets from our readers about 9/11.

Click here to enlarge.

We know almost nothing about these people. The names could be real, but maybe not. It doesn't really matter in Twitter world. So, in a story that begins on the top of our front page, we have 'geomens' and 'Karl B Gordon Geck' and 'Neko-do' and 'Miami Herald user' and 'Afro-Cheez' offering such trenchant and profound observations as: 'I was sleeping,' and 'In my car...Coming home from the gym,' and 'Standing at my kitchen sink.' "

"Is there any reason why our dwindling pool of readers would care about any of this?

Speaking of dumb front page story placement...I wonder why they didn't mention this?

Just a bit of inside baseball from someone who has friends at the Herald. It's extraordinary that this email was leaked in the first place. While many at the paper are frustrated, it's rare that their frustration gets aired so publicly.

Norman posted the email late on Friday, so there hasn't been much discussion in the blogosphere....yet.

(Take the time to read the entire email here.)

"Rick" at the South Florida Daily Blog offers his thoughts: in a post titled "But Will They Listen?

Probably one of the most distressing things to watch in a workplace is a group of talented, motivated workers who want to do better and who are willing to give it their all, battle a management staff who just doesn't get it as they continue to steer the company down a dead end road.

This is where the Herald and many major newspapers are at today. There are a lot of accomplished writers out there who are ready to work hard if it means that they can keep writing for a living. Unfortunately, they are being led by inept and incompetent managers and owners who either don't have the tools or, as in the Sun-Sentinel's case, the inclination, to fix whatever is ailing their newspaper.

I applaud those Herald writers that laid it on the table in this letter. But considering the lack of energy that the Herald bigwigs have shown us thus far, I hold little hope that anything of substance will come of it.

Rick's sentiments are backed up by one Herald employee who has told me in the past that staffers have been complaining to management for years about the issues raised in the email.

They haven't listened in the past, so why would anyone expect things to change now?

Miami New Times silent on its own future!

IMPORTANT UPDATE @ 9:30pm: I just got off the phone with Miami New Times on-line editor Jose Duran who commented on part of this post. (see below)

In putting this post together I used a quote from a source who told me that New Times used to pay photographers $150 for on-line slide shows but was now paying $30. That information was erroneous.

Jose tells me that a few other papers in the New Times chain do pay $30 to less experienced photographers for slide shows. However that's not the case here in Miami.

Jose says that he pays based on the photographer's experience but rarely pays less than $100 for slide show.

Jose further explains that he has a weekly budget for freelancers and keeps a tight rein on expenses.

Jose also told me that when he took over as on-line editor at New Times earlier this year he re-examined closely what freelancers were being paid. Wanting to get as much bang for his buck as possible he re-adjusted some freelance rates downward. Jose says that he made that decision entirely on his own and not because of any edict from New Times higher ups. Jose believes that his freelance rates are still fair.

So thanks Jose for setting the record straight. It's not my intention here to pass along bad information.
______

Miami's scrappy and outspoken free-weekly New Times loves to cover controversy and dig up stuff that Miami's mainstream media ignores or just refuses to report.

They're Miami's journalistic equivalent of a turd-in-a-punch-bowl.

But one story they've shied away from is the one that's happening in their own backyard.

It's a story that both the Miami and Broward editions of New Times have avoided. Even Broward New Times press watchdog Bob Norman has been uncharacteristically silent.

As far as I can tell neither paper has printed one word about the deep financial doo-doo that New Times' parent company Village Voice Media finds itself mired in.

But a source tells Random Pixels that Miami New Times is cutting back on freelancer expenses and now only pay shooters $30 for an on-line slide show. "They used to pay $150 and won't use anyone who [now] wants that amount."

Meanwhile New Times' sister paper in New York, the Village Voice, is reportedly "on the balls of its ass financially."

"...expense accounts are essentially a thing of the past. One VV reporter paid out of his own pocket to fly to Ohio and rent a car and a hotel room last week to do a story on the election. Normal after-work events, like a going-away party for an intern at a bar, are being paid out of the editors' own pockets. And, we hear, Voice reporters have been buying their own pens and notebooks because the paper has no extra office supplies."

And just yesterday the Village Voice laid off three more employees "including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics."

Back in Miami my source predicts that Miami New Times and its Broward sister will merge within six months.

My tipster can't say however, if or when Miami New Times will get around to reporting this story.

Will the Herald fold this year?

Back in January I wrote a post on the Herald's future that expanded upon this story on 24/7 Wall Street that predicted the Herald might not survive 2009 in its current form.

Today 24/7 Wall Street updates that prediction.

"The Miami Herald, which has a daily circulation of about 220,000. It is owned by McClatchy, a publicly traded company which could be the next chain to go into Chapter 11. The Herald has been on the market since December, and but no serious bidders have emerged. Newspaper advertising has been especially hard hit in Florida because of the tremendous loss in real estate advertising. The online version of the paper is already well-read in the Miami area and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Herald has strong competition north of it in Fort Lauderdale. There is a very small chance it could merge with the Sun-Sentinel, but it is more likely that the Herald will go online-only with two editions, one for English-speaking readers and one for Spanish."

Those scenarios, that might have been unthinkable two or three years ago, aren't so far-fetched in light of news today from Herald parent company McClatchy.

McClatchy's flagship paper, The Sacramento Bee, announced today "it is eliminating 128 jobs today, or 11 percent of its workforce, and will impose pay cuts on remaining workers."

Similar cuts are expected at the Herald, the announcement coming perhaps as early as this week.

Broward New Times blogger Bob Norman reports his sources say "they expect a 20 percent reduction of [the 240 strong] staff in the newsroom, which translates to about 50 lost jobs. Furloughs and pay cuts are expected for survivors."

The Herald now is a shadow of what was once a strong, thriving, dominant source of information in South Florida.

It's hard to imagine what the paper will become after taking this latest hit.

One Herald staffer called me Saturday night after hearing of the Sun-Sentinel cuts last week.

"Our business is finished," the staffer said with a heavy sigh of resignation. "It's over; this is a bloodbath."

Room at the top...

...or the incredible shrinking masthead...
...

Broward New Times blogger Bob Norman has posted a list of many of the Miami Herald staffers whose last day at the paper was Thursday.

More than a few of them devoted most of their adult lives to making the Herald what it is...or once was. I'm not sure if it's possible to say goodbye to all that experience and still put out a quality paper. We'll see.

Miami New Times editor Chuck Strouse also weighed in with a brief tribute.

However, what Chuck didn't write about, are his own troubles at Miami New Times, a paper which some in Miami say, has seen better days.

Over the past year or so, Chuck has watched his masthead shrink as one experienced writer after another has left. Some of those who've left include writers Joanne Green, Rob Jordan, Emily Witt, Calvin Godfrey, Tamara Lush, Isaiah Thompson, and most recently Janine Zeitlin whose last day was yesterday.

Zeitlin's resignation leaves the paper with just two staff writers, one of whom is a restaurant critic.

Associate editor Frank Houston has also announced his intention to leave the paper.

Chuck's not a happy man these days. At a recent going-away gathering for a departing staffer, Chuck was described by one New Times insider as "looking like someone had just run over his puppy."

But while the Herald is letting people go, New Times is looking to hire new people to replenish its masthead.

They're looking for full-time staff writers and a managing editor.

Whether those new hires will be enough to lift New Times out of the morass that it now finds itself in remains to be seen.

Not only is feisty paper losing people, it's also losing pages and advertising. Not too many years ago the weekly's page count was usually 132 pages or more. The page count these days barely climbs over 80.

The physical dimensions of the paper have also been pared down in the wake of a recent re-design.

Chuck isn't the only editor at New Times to experience problems.

Managing independent-minded journalists has always been a task akin to herding cats as Chuck's predecessor at New Times, the legendary Jim Mullin, would attest.

In the summer of 2005 Jim had his hands full of problems, caused by an out of control managing editor.

The July 22, 2005 issue of the Daily Business Review reported in a story about the managing editor that "more than a dozen editorial staffers reportedly have left the newspaper over the past 17 months."

However, things were about to get worse for Mullin.

Less than a week after that story appeared in the Daily Business Review, Art Teele walked into the lobby of the Miami Herald, put a gun to his head and splattered his blood and brain matter all over the Herald's polished marble floors and towering glass windows.

That same day an issue of New Times had just hit the streets with a story titled “Tales of Teele: Sleaze Stories.” The article contained excerpts from police reports accusing Teele of corruption, drug use and paying prostitutes for sex. Some say the New times article pushed Teele over the edge.

A month later Mullin announced his decision to step down as editor of the paper after 18 years.

Over those 18 years Mullin labored mightily to shape and mold New Times until it became an integral part of the South Florida journalism landscape, breaking stories that the Herald couldn't or wouldn't do.

It was must reading for many in power in South Florida; one reason being just to see if they were a part of the current week's issue.

If they did end up in the paper more often than not it wasn't good. New Times didn't do many puff pieces on politicians.

And Mullin didn't just go after politicians.

And once, after a classic New Times piece that made fun of the very unfunny Dave Barry, a Herald executive said "...he wanted to squish us [New Times] like insects."
There was even talk of legal action against New Times.

But now, some in South Florida say that New Times is not the same paper it once was.

"The paper has deteriorated greatly from a few years ago," says a veteran Miami journalist.

The paper which once carried such journalistic heavyweights on its masthead like Kirk Semple, Tris Korten, Robert Andrew Powell, Rebecca Wakefield and no pun intended, Jim Defede now has a stable of unknown contributing writers that apparently no one reads.

Recently Herald managing editor Dave Wilson told an incredulous Isaiah Thompson, that he hadn't read Thompson's gritty New Times story on sex offenders prior to his own paper publishing a similar story.

When I pointed this out to a former New Times staffer he responded: "Wilson may not be far off the mark; from what I hear, not many people are reading New Times these days."

Maybe with an infusion of new blood Chuck Strouse can rebuild New Times into a respectable semblance of its former self. Or maybe not.

In the meantime Jim Mullin has moved further up the boulevard, buying the monthly paper Biscayne Times early last year.
__

DISCLAIMER: I worked as a freelance photographer for New Times during the Mullin years and most recently wrote articles for his new paper, the Biscayne Times.

Now, this is a "newsman!"

 

Used to be that newsrooms at large American newspapers were smoke-filled, noisy caverns that had all the ambiance of a toxic waste dump.

Newspapers employed chain-smoking men - called "newsmen" - who drank liquor by the gallon - usually from a bottle kept in the bottom drawer of their desks - and who cursed and ate red meat. And they could fight, too.

And then something happened.

Newspapers started taking themselves a little too seriously.

Newrooms were renovated and took on the look of insurance offices with sound-muffling carpeting and walled cubicles..

Papers started hiring "journalists" with college degrees who ate sushi for lunch instead of steak. And most of them looked like they couldn't fight their way out of paper bag.

Gone was the two-fisted newsman who could fight and f*ck as well as he could cover a story.

Well, not all of them are gone.

Today, outside the federal courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale where disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein pleaded guilty to five felonies, we got a glimpse of a newsman who still knows how to take care of himself. (Video here.)

Broward-Palm Beach New Times reporter Bob Norman was there and describes the scene:

Outside the courthouse Kim Rothstein addressed the media. "Today is the saddest day of my life," she began.

Then she said that her life had been devastated after marrying the "sweetest man" and that she has been "isolated and wrongfully maligned." She repeatedly declared that she had nothing to do with her husband's crimes and complained of the "public slurs and accusations" against her. We have video of her appearance on the way.

After her talk, [bodyguard Joe] Alu escorted her to a nearby white Cadillac Escalade SUV. As they approached the vehicle, WSFL/Sun-Sentinel reporter Jack Hambrick dashed over to get a question in with Kim, nearly outrunning the wires connected to his cameraman, who stumbled on the way. As Hambrick approached Kim, Alu blocked him physically and pushed him away.


Newsman Jack Hambrick, (l.) and bodyguard Joe Alu
The altercation escalated, and Hambrick drove Alu, a muscular and tattooed man who goes by the nickname "Meaty," backward and then down onto his back in some bushes. They wrestled in the bushes for a time before Hambrick was pulled off of Alu. "He's a cop, he's a fucking cop!" yelled Alu's son, Dominic, referring to Alu's service with Plantation Police Department. At one point Dominic and the cameraman nearly got into it themselves.

It should also be noted that CBS4 reporter Jim DeFede was in classic old-fashioned newsman mode when he asked two of the best questions of the day outside the courthouse. As Kim Rothstein was wrapping up her remarks, Defede asked her, "When did Scott tell you he was a crook?" and "The money he stole; did you have fun with it?" (Listen to Jim at the beginning of the video at the top of this post.)

Circulation continues to plummet at the Herald

Circulation figures released today for the nation's newspapers are "showing that the largest metros continue to shed daily and Sunday circulation -- now at a record rate."

This also holds true for the Miami Herald. Editor and Publisher magazine reports, "daily circulation at The Miami Herald fell 15.8% to 202,122. Sunday is down 13.1% to 270,166."

However that reported daily number of 202,122 is slightly at odds with a Herald story from a month ago when the Herald's Andres Viglucci reported, "[el Nuevo Herald] circulation has been holding relatively steady as The Miami Herald's -- now at around 190,000 daily and 275,000 Sunday -- has plunged."

Is the Herald "fudging" their numbers?

The Herald, which was once the largest and most influential paper in the state, is now third in circulation behind the St. Petersburg Times and Orlando Sentinel. Yes, the Orlando Sentinel!

To see how the Herald's numbers stack up against other U.S. papers click here.

(Bob Norman of Broward New Times takes a look at the Herald's declining numbers here.)

I'm not sure what the business plan at the Herald is. Their circ numbers continue to decline along with the overall quality of the journalism they're producing.

The only thing I am certain of is that firing experienced journalists won't reverse the decline in circulation.

Goodbyes at the Herald

Some 50 Miami Herald journalists - victims of the latest round of job cuts - said their final goodbyes yesterday.

Bob Norman has the farewell memo sent out to the newsroom by Senior Editor Mindy Marques.

A few names jumped out at me.

One being that of Georgia Tasker.

If some one's keeping a list of South Florida journalism icons, Georgia must be pretty close to the top.

She's been at the Herald for 40 years and has been the garden writer since 1979, writing elegantly about South Florida's gardens, ecology and all things green.

Another departure is that of Luis Rios, the Herald's director of photography.

Rios had only been at the Herald for 6 years, but his impact was felt last Monday when the Herald won yet another Pulitzer Prize for photography.

former Miami Herald director of photography Luis Rios
Knowledgeable insiders say it was Rios who prodded photographer Patrick Farrell to return to Haiti three times after his initial visit to that hurricane-ravaged country in September.

And it was also Rios - along with other photo editors - who fought with squeamish and vacillating higher ups, to get some of Farrell's more horrific pictures in the paper.

The resulting images shot by Farrell in his four trips earned him - and the Herald - a Pulitzer.

Rios's award? The loss of his job.

But fret not Herald readers; the paper still has a dance critic!

Oops!

A couple of corrections caught our eye today...correcting errors that weren't quite as egregious as the one above, but amusing nonetheless.

First, from the New York Times:

Correction: October 8, 2014
An earlier version of this column, using information from the San Francisco Giants, described incorrectly the cast member of “Beach Blanket Babylon” who sang “God Bless America” at Tuesday’s game while wearing a giant hat depicting the San Francisco skyline. She is a performer from the show, not a drag queen from the show.

And this from TV station Local 10:

A clarification tonight about a story investigative reporter Bob Norman brought you last night at 5:30.

In that report we stated Broward Sheriff Scott Israel's new driver, Deputy Bryan Conroy, is the sheriff's brother-in-law.

Conroy is actually the sheriff's brother's wife's sister's husband… which would be the sheriff's brother's brother-in-law. Sorry for the confusion...

No...no confusion at all, Local 10. Thanks for clearing that up. I think.