Paper's pages capture moments in history

In the last couple weeks, the front pages of The Enterprise have featured stories highlighting major events of the past decade. Reporters were assigned to research stories from specific years and recommend the most significant events, which then were determined by a committee of editors.

There were many major stories in the last 10 years, but it’s important to remember that, for more than 129 years of major and minor news stories, this newspaper has taken a leadership role in reporting. The Enterprise has made a difference reporting local and world news for readers across the globe.

In my more than 30 years here, these are a few of the major events witnessed from the newsroom:

Jan. 28, 1986: I stood in the middle of the newsroom with other staff members watching on television as the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., exploding 73 seconds after liftoff. The explosion killed all seven of the crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space. The Enterprise published an Extra edition with details.

June 7, 1998: The world watched as national media converged on Jasper to report the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. and the eventual trials of three men charged with his murder. Stories and photos from Enterprise staff members appeared in newspapers, magazines and books across the globe.

Nov. 7, 2000: In a rare moment of modern history, Americans went to bed on election night not knowing who had been elected as their president. Presses didn’t start their final run until well after midnight, but the majority of local readers got the right news: That the election was still undecided.

Sept. 11, 2001: While driving to work, I heard a radio bulletin about the first plane that crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. I thought, “what a horrible accident.” I was driving up the parking garage ramp when a bulletin about the second plane aired and I realized that this was no accident. Though the story wasn’t local, it had local impact. It was a day like no other in the newsroom.

Feb. 1, 2002: On a bright Saturday morning, the space shuttle Columbia fell apart in the sky over East Texas, killing seven astronauts and leaving a debris field that spanned hundreds of miles. As the largest nearby newspaper, The Enterprise became ground zero for coverage, again sharing photos and information with news media around the world.

Sept. 24, 2005: Weeks after reporting on Hurricane Katrina and reaching out to help evacuees of that storm, Southeast Texas was hard hit by Hurricane Rita. A crew of reporters and editors stayed in The Enterprise’s downtown building to post news to the Web. It would be months before The Enterprise would print an edition that didn’t contain the words, “Hurricane Rita.”

Sept. 13, 2008: Less than two weeks after evacuating from the threat of Hurricane Gustav, some coastal residents decided to try to ride out Hurricane Ike. But tides and storm surges hit areas with high water, causing mass destruction and substantial loss of life. The storm would change lives forever and leave coastal residents feeling insecure. One year before, Hurricane Humberto hit the area, growing from a tropical depression to hurricane strength in hours. The area experienced three damaging hurricanes in less than three years.

There have been other moments, painful and triumphant — the 2004 tragic death of 6-year-old Tre-Devin Odoms; the 2002 loss of much-loved lawyer Cris Quinn to a disgruntled client with a shotgun; the construction of a downtown art museum, followed by an energy museum and the State Fire Museum and others; Disney’s discovery of Southeast Texas and placement of a giant fire hydrant downtown to kick off their remake of “101 Dalmatians” followed by a 1998 trip to China (Texas) for the opening of “Mulan.”

It took me years in journalism to realize that part of my passion was related to my love of history. I feel grateful that my job has allowed me to participate in the writing of history’s first draft.

As we move toward a new year and a new decade, we at The Enterprise hope to continue to play an important role as your source of news and information.

Printed paper still holds special value

A reader made a simple request last week for a copy of The Enterprise in which an article about a co-worker had appeared. It’s a common request, so we have practices in place on how to quickly and efficiently fulfill those needs.

The question, for those newspaper naysayers out there, might be, “Why did he want it?” Why would someone want a newspaper article containing words his co-worker submitted and a photograph his co-worker supplied to us? After all, he had the originals, why would he want a copy from the newspaper?

Did he think we wrote a particularly brilliant headline? Did his photo look especially good on the low-quality off-white paper that is newsprint?

No, he wanted the copy of the newspaper because being in the newspaper remains a big enough deal to enough people that those moments are worth preserving.

It’s one of the arguments I present to people who want to tell me that there will be no newspapers in 10 years: People still want to hold a paper in their hands and they still want to cut out that article and stick it in a scrapbook.

It’s true that in 10 years it might come as a computer printout rather than from their newspaper rack, but to many, many people, newspapers still hold a level of importance and respect that can’t be duplicated by online media.

■ ■ ■

A small group of my family members was among the thousands who thronged to college graduation ceremonies this weekend. As we stood among the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd afterwards, waiting to catch a glimpse of “our” graduate, we noticed that we also were part of another phenomenon: We all reached for our cell phones.

Whether talking, texting or checking messages, it seemed at that moment virtually every person in the crowd was connected to someone else in some way.

Even a decade ago cell phones weren’t all that common (remember pagers?), nor were they compact little devices with all manner of applications.

Technology in the newspaper industry and in the world at large has moved at what seems to be hyper-speed.

It is that technology that appears to be on the forefront of developing and expanding media.

Remember when cell phones were just for making calls? Now they are your calculator, navigation system, Web access, gaming system and musical entertainment. If you’re a fan of Twitter, you can even receive updated Beaumont Enterprise headlines on your cell phone.

The message here is to embrace technology and get on board. If you don’t, you’ll spend a long time looking for a pay phone — where all you can do is call someone.

■ ■ ■

Sometimes if it seems too good to be true, it actually is true.

One Enterprise subscriber left a voice mail this week seeking verification of a phone call she had received.

Very suspiciously, she said she had received a call from someone representing The Enterprise who told her she could get the eEdition, an electronic version of The Beaumont Enterprise, for a penny per month in addition to her regular print subscription.

Before she committed, she wanted to verify the identity of the representative and the authenticity of the offer.

Both are completely legitimate. Existing subscribers can get the eEdition for a penny per month. Go to BeaumontEnterprise.com for details.

Just don’t try to convince your spouse that your subscription to our eEdition is their Christmas present. You’ve just been outed.

■ ■ ■

Speaking of Christmas, it’s a good time to remind our readers that producing a daily newspaper requires some dedication to the process and product.

Many local refineries and other manufacturing plants keep shifts going through the holiday. Also working are the first responders and hospital or nursing home employees, hotels and some restaurants — and your newspaper staff.

You get a newspaper every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year because someone works to produce and deliver it to you.

Your support of our efforts makes them worthwhile. Thank you for that, and have a Merry Christmas.

Messages need filtering before sharing

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009

Last week I received a slightly panicked phone call from a reader who received a frightening text message warning from a friend.

The message warned that criminals were placing car seats containing dolls covered with blood along the roadside in remote areas hoping to lure women, specifically mothers, into stopping to assist the apparently injured infant. When those women stopped to get out of their car, they were attacked by “gang” members who would rob them, beat them and sexually abuse them.

The slightly panicked reader was my daughter ­— who’s spent enough of her life exposed to journalism to recognize the possibility of a false rumor when she hears — or reads about them.

An online search at Snopes.com — a reliable Web site even we, at The Enterprise, frequently use — proved the point. Sure enough the panicked text message was a complete falsehood: www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/carseat.asp.

Through the years, we’ve all received those kinds of messages from well-meaning friends who want to protect us from a perceived danger. The rumor from a couple of years back about gang activity in the parking lots of a local discount store comes to mind.

That one wasn’t true. Neither were the numerous stories about people who wake up in icy bathtubs with kidneys missing. On the flip side, signs at gas stations warn you of the potential for static electricity and cell phone use around gasoline vapors. That one is true.

So, please, if you receive such a message, don’t share it until you’ve checked it out. It’s one more piece of evidence concerning the source of information and the importance of having trustworthy sources.

Newspapers don’t print rumors, but we can help dispel them.

• • •

We had complaints from several readers in the past week about the posting of the BISD salaries in a database on our Web site.

The complaints all appeared to be from BISD employees who felt that we had violated their privacy and embarrassed them by publishing such information. At least one was so offended that he vowed to never read The Enterprise again.

The first thing I have to say about that is “OK.” We get it. We know that everyone considers their salary to be a private matter, but in the case of public employees, which BISD workers are, that’s just not true.

Employees who are paid by tax dollars are public employees, and their compensation, including salary, overtime and anything else paid by taxpayers, is therefore part of public record and available to anyone who cares to seek it. The Enterprise just made it a bit easier for the curious masses by posting a database on our Web site.

We’ve posted similar information on Jefferson County and State of Texas employees and have plans to post salaries of employees at other area school districts.

Angry BISD employees should, instead, celebrate that, though their salaries are public record, their income tax returns aren’t. Our president and other officials don’t have that amount of privacy, and for an important reason, voters have a right to know where their money is coming from and going to.

Apparently our online readers agree with our decision to make the information available. The information has been viewed more than 100,000 times since it was posted a week and a half ago.

• • •

A New York Times article recently reported that older adults embrace new technology at a rate that might surprise some.

The story reported that “viewers 25 to 64 years old use the DVR more frequently than do those 12 to 24 years old.” Further, it reports that, “people over 65 . . . spent 47 percent more time than the previous year watching embedded video within social networks . . . a 98 percent growth in the amount of time users spent watching video.”

People who think they have the market on technology covered might want to check what Grandma and Grandpa are doing in their spare time. It might be embarrassing to find they have more Facebook friends than their more youthful relatives.

Traditional newspapers take leap forward

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009

Readers have asked more than once in the past couple of years if we are going to stop printing The Beaumont Enterprise.

My answer always has been an emphatic, “No,” but to younger questioners I have modified that to, “Not yet.”

Read farther before you start shouting the news from the rooftops. I don’t mean we won’t be writing and distributing the news. Rather I acknowledge the fact that eventually a printed newspaper might become a relic.

Just as fewer and fewer people write letters they send by the U.S. Postal Service; and fewer and fewer people actually get a printed pay stub on payday; it seems logical that one day newspapers also will exist primarily in an electronic form.

We’ve already taken a step in that direction with our eEdition, but the thought is that one day readers will be able to download newspapers to their choice of electronic reading devices.

The Hearst Corp., parent company of The Enterprise, made another step in that direction last week in announcing the purchase of Skiff, a company that will offer information from Hearst-owned publications in digital form. Differing from existing electronic readers, Skiff will display advertising as part of its capabilities.

The venture would make Hearst “the first publisher with its own end-to-end digital publishing system and reading hardware,” according to a news release.

It’s a wonderful development for a company that a decade or more ago made investments in E Ink Corp., which makes screens used in Kindle and other readers. The company’s interest in the concept is not new.

Since Hearst also owns many popular magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, the Oprah Magazine and others, the implications for both the company and consumers are clear — and exciting.

* * *

Businesses across the country are innovating and changing to meet the challenges of today’s economy, but (perhaps because of my perspective) I dare say media businesses, in particular newspapers, are right up there in efforts to change and innovate.

Among the latest experiments raising eyebrows among traditional journalists is a plan announced by the Dallas Morning News, in which some of the news staff reports to members of the paper’s advertising staff.

Some would say that’s comparable to putting the football team in charge of watching the buffet. The paper put some measures into place that might make it workable, but it’s still something that is bound to make reporters and editors uncomfortable.

* * *

Some readers still are calling to express confusion and frustration concerning our Sudoku number puzzle.

Probably close to a dozen have called to complain that there’s a problem with our puzzle because when they go on line to check answers, the numbers don’t match up. That’s because they aren’t supposed to. We no longer use that puzzle.

Our original Sudoku included instructions for puzzle fans to go online to get the answers.

About six weeks ago we made some internal changes involving how we produce the newspaper pages. That Sudoku puzzle wasn’t compatible with our new production system, so we changed to a different puzzle. Because we had gotten complaints from readers about having to go online to get puzzle answers, we chose a puzzle that included an answer guide.

Then came the uproar. To have the space to publish answers, the puzzle was smaller — too much smaller, according to many readers.

When we explained our good intentions, those same readers said they didn’t need answers, at least not as badly as they needed larger squares to work the puzzle. As one caller put it, “It’s math. There’s only one answer. Why would you need the answers unless you wanted to cheat?”

So we did away with the answers and made the puzzle larger. Readers can no longer find those answers on-line. That was a different puzzle. Now there are no answers, no peeking, no cheating — just math.

Online can't replace face-to-face shopping

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009

Monday was touted across the country as “Cyber-Monday,” the day on which many people took to the Internet to do holiday shopping online.

While none of us argue with the convenience of shopping that way, those concerned about the local economy would like to encourage you to shop locally.

Online shopping might work for hard-to-find items or even basics that are readily available, but there’s nothing like the face-to-face shopping relationship you’re going to get with local merchants.

It is the local sales tax and property tax dollars that help finance local government services and programs.

It is advertising dollars that also help support the local media, such as this newspaper. That doesn’t mean this suggestion is totally self-serving.

It simply should serve to remind you of the importance of local businesses to the local economy.

* * *

There are few things that elicit a more painful growl from the editors’ offices than a bad headline.

It seems we’ve had more than our share of misspelled words in headlines lately.
Headlines in general perform an important role in newspapers and online publishing.

It is the role of the headline to attract a reader’s attention and make him or her want to read a story.

Sometimes the headline is very direct; at other times it might “tease” a reader into delving into the story.

A headline can be a wonderful thing. To paraphrase the poet John Keats, “A perfect headline is a joy forever.”

In copy editing, a perfect headline contains the right balance of information, nuance, attention-getting, and, when appropriate, humor.

We have some staff members who pretty regularly score with one of those perfect headlines. In fact, at The Enterprise, we have a staff member who has won all kinds of headline awards.

In headline writing, it is acceptable to use a play on words, and it sometimes makes for great headlines. For example, “Wither report” on a story about the area experiencing a rare drought and “Throws of agony” on a piece about a baseball pitcher with arm problems.

When such headlines work, they are great. When they don’t, they are terrible. It is a very delicate balance.

In the last week we’ve also had several good ones — “Liquid assets” about the Sabine Neches waterway and “Dose of reality” about the arrival of the H1N1 flu vaccinations at the health department.

Historically, newspaper headlines were to contain a subject and an active verb, no “to be” verbs and no lines ending in prepositions.

Those rules eased a bit in the past few decades, but there still are limitations as to the content of headlines.

Computers made headline writing easier, but again, that doesn’t mean our copy editors can fit three four-syllable words into one one-column headline. Headline writing is still an imperfect art.

I’ve frequently wanted to write an essay on the evolution of the headline. An editor starts out with the perfect headline, but it doesn’t fit the space. So he or she changes a word, then another. In the end, ideally, we have a different, but still perfect headline. In reality, we have a thought that has been greatly modified from its original form.

Sometimes that explains why we, or our readers, get confused by a headline that started out making sense and ended up as a bad headline.

* * *

Readers might have noticed a National Federation of the Blind advertisement in The Enterprise last week.

The ad called attention to the fact that The Enterprise is one of 14 local newspapers in Texas that allows the organization use of its content in providing newspapers to the blind and others who cannot read because of visual or physical disabilities.

The service makes our newspaper available via telephone line, or in Braille by way of the Internet. Grants and donations provide funding for the service. Participation in the free program requires proof of eligibility.

Those interested in obtaining the service can contact the National Federation of the Blind newsline coordinator, Stephen Tompkins,toll-free at 1 (866) 636-3289 or can sign up for the service at nfbnewsline.org.