Book's photos will capture Ike's fury

Word journalists don’t like to admit this, but we recognize that sometimes when people don’t read the words, they still look at the pictures. As it relates to Hurricane Ike, in many cases, the pictures taken by Enterprise photographers told the story better than words ever could have.

In the days and weeks before and after Ike, our Web site featured almost daily photo galleries of storm-related activity.

So, as we did following Hurricane Rita in 2005, we are putting it all in a book. A small collection of writers and editors have been feverishly researching facts, writing and rewriting to enhance the relatively small written portions of the book, which is primarily photographs.

“Rita Captured” was a nice piece of work, but, “In Ike’s Wake,” will be better for a wide range of reasons.

A primary reason for improvement is simply because we’ve done this before and our 2005 book was a learning experience, so we’re doing some things differently this time. For example, though our staff members are entirely responsible for the content, the book is being designed by someone who specializes in book designs. It’s also being printed elsewhere in the United States and will be shipped directly to customers (estimated shipping date Nov. 28th) so they don’t have navigate downtown Beaumont’s currently treacherous streets to pick it up --- or wait for our nonexistent (translation: volunteer) shipping department to pack it up and mail it to them.

Those things, as well as the projected quality of the book, have elevated its cost a bit, but in the end, we feel like we will be able to give the public a better product. The book will sell for $34.95, plus tax, (which means $37.83) plus shipping and handling (which means $43.78 per book.) Until Oct. 23, the offer also includes a free DVD of more than 1,000 additional photographs – an extra that later will add $14.95 to the cost.

The more than 150-page book will contain more than 250 full color photographs documenting the storm from preparation through recovering and encompassing the entire Southeast Texas region.

And it’s not a coincidence that it would make a perfect Christmas gift for anyone hoping to preserve this part of their personal history. Order on-line at http://ike.hurricanebook.com/

Enterprise says "Beaumont" for a reason

My previous blog, along with an article that appeared on the business page of The Enterprise on Tuesday has apparently created some confused people. Several employees have been approached by members of the public wanting to know when, or if, they are moving to Houston.

The answer is simple. They aren’t. We aren’t. The Enterprise isn’t.

The headline on Tuesday’s article plainly said "Enterprise closes mail, pressroom." The sub-head, perhaps less clearly said, "Publishing center moves to Houston." Together that summarizes the content of the article and the previous blog: The Enterprise’s printing and mail room operations will be moved to its sister paper the Houston Chronicle, but NOTHING else is moving to Houston.

Some people apparently took the sub-head as having a meaning all its own and/or think the "publishing center" means the reporters, editors, advertising sales representatives and everyone else involved in publishing the paper. It doesn’t. Because of the changes 17 people no longer work here – but 165 of us still do. We all live and work and shop and send our kids to school here. We’re not going anywhere.

Those of us who’ve made our lives and homes here for decades are a bit taken aback that you think we would leave our friends, our families, our churches, our way of life . . . to work in Houston. (I mean, have you SEEN that traffic? It makes the IH10-US 69 interchange at 5 p.m. Fridays look fast-paced.) We are equally appalled that you think we would move news operations there and still hold ourselves up to be a local newspaper -- which we are.

Newspapering isn’t a phone-it-in kind of profession. If our advertising representatives were trying to service their local customers via telephone from Houston they would be, essentially, telemarketers (shudder). And, though our delivery team in the circulation department has evolved from a collection of pre-pubescent boys on bicycles, it is still very important that they remain based in Beaumont.

Our reporters and editors immerse themselves in the events of the day in order to accurately report them for our readers. Good journalism isn’t about talking heads speaking bureaucratic gibberish -- it’s about the people that gibberish affects. It involves interviews and research, and sights and sounds and smells that turn an event from simple regurgitation of facts to storytelling at its best. Good journalism can make bad news worth reading -- witness many of the recent Hurricane Ike stories.

So, relax. We’re not going anywhere. We were in Beaumont for your parents, your grandparents and your great-grandparents and we intend to be here for your grandchildren as well.