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December 2012 Newsletter of The Press Club of From the President “We Have Seen the News, and it is us” – Ed Byers ’s Future This is my final The future of The Plain Dealer has become a published in the . Guild members column as president national story, a story that took another dramat- who stay will have some of their previous pay of The Press Club of ic turn last week, when Local 1 of the Northeast cuts restored. But there is also language in the Cleveland. (If you Newspaper Guild ratified a new contract deal that allows additional layoffs if “the Com- could be so kind, with the company that calls for 58 layoffs among pany ceases to publish a print edition … at least please hold your union members beginning May 1. one day a week.” applause until the But the deal also extends the union contract has not commented on completion of this column. Thank you.) through February of 2019, offering more pro- the negotiations. Nor has it revealed whether its When I was approached to run in tection to the journalists who remain in the new “digital-first” strategy will result in publish- 2007, I was told it would be a two-year newsroom. ing the print version of The Plain Dealer only hitch, but somehow, two turned into According to reports, the guild currently three days per week, as it has done at some of its three years and four turned into five represents 168 journalists and support staff. other properties. years. It seemed as though each year, The first reduction will reduce that number to If that does happen, The Plain Dealer would there was encouragement to stay on for 110. Another five guild members can be laid become the largest newspaper in the country to “one more year” – just one more year— off in 2014. The Plain Dealer also has about 50 abandon daily publication, according to USA so I did, at the behest of a great group exempt managers. No word yet on how many Today. The Plain Dealer’s print circulation has of board members – none of whom of them will be cut, but guild president Harlan declined to 219,509 daily and 315,978 on Sun- wanted the job! Spector was told that management layoffs will day but total readership is up when digital edi- But thanks to their dedication, direc- also be “significant.” The New Orleans Times- tions are included, according to the September tion and guidance we have made some Picayune, which has the same parent company, report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. wonderful strides. Our membership Advance Publications, went through similar Terry Egger, publisher of The Plain Dealer, numbers have stabilized, this monthly cuts and kept about 30 managers. said in an article on Cleveland.com that the newsletter underwent an extreme make- Similar reductions here would leave The Plain agreement with the guild should hasten the over, the website was upgraded and the Dealer with about 135 newsroom employees, not planning process. “We’ve seen what happened Excellence in Journalism contest went counting staff members from the other Advance in other [Advance] markets,” he said. “I would online, both for entering and judging. subsidiaries here, Cleveland.com and The Sun say in the next two or three months we should Social media? In 2008, we . In 2000, The PD had more than 400 k n ow.’’ LinkedIn, but few of us knew what a newsroom employees. Egger, who is retiring in January, is reportedly “” or a “” was. Social The new contract also allows copy produced planning a series of meetings with community media was in its infancy, but we jumped by non-guild members for Cleveland.com to be continued on page 3> on it, establishing a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Feagler, Manuel, McGahan, Mitchell, Skoch While we have been quick to embrace Named to The Press Club of Cleveland’s Board of Directors change, we also love to celebrate our Five new board members have been Great Lakes Publishing’s Ohio Club’s traditions. The two annual signa- approved by The Press Club board to serve Magazine, a publication cov- ture events, The Cleveland Journalism two-year terms. ering the best in travel, arts, Hall of Fame Induction and the ever- The new board members are: Ohio history and life in the Buckeye expanding All-Ohio Excellence in Magazine editor Linda Feagler, WEWS TV- State. She served as senior Journalism Awards continue to make us 5 News Director Jill Manuel, Dix & Eaton editor of Cleveland Magazine unique among professional journalism Senior VP Amy McGahan, WKYC TV-3 for four years before joining organizations in the state of Ohio. anchor and managing editor Russ Mitchell the staff of Ohio Magazine in 2002. This is a great organization and I have and Lorain Morning Journal Editor Tom Through the years, she has won been honored to serve as your president Skoch. awards for her work from the Society of for the past five years, which they tell The new board members were approved Professional Journalists and The Press Club me is some sort of record for longev- unanimously at the Oct. 19 board meeting of Cleveland. ity. Well, whatever. All I can tell you it and will be installed with a full membership Linda is a trustee of the Ohioana Library that it has been a fun run. Never a dull vote at The Press Club’s annual meeting / Association, Ohio’s nonprofit organiza- moment, for sure. holiday party on Dec. 12 at Nighttown. tion dedicated to preserving and promot- continued on page 2 > Linda Feagler is the senior editor of continued on page 4>

28022 Osborn Road Cleveland, Ohio 44140 | 440-899-1222 | Fax: 440.899.1010 | www.pressclubcleveland.com 2 The Press Club of Cleveland December 2012

Happy Holidays Holiday Cheer was in abundance at Night- town on 12-12-12 as The Press Club spon- sored its annual Holiday Party and Annual Meeting. There was much merry-making, new officers and board members were sworn in and as you can see, everyone had a great time. They all agreed, these parties just keeping better and better every year. Thanks to Lynn Bracic and Debi Weslek for their hard work in making it all happen. more pics on page 4

From Scribe to Shill, From Fourth Estate to ROI & Corporate Communications By Laurie Mitchell, Certified Personnel Consultant I have never taken and informational epithets describing their that I’m targeting my experience at people a Journalism, Public employers for the benefit of corporate and who aren’t familiar with what journalists Relations, Commu- agency hiring influences! do on a daily basis.” nications or Business My use of heretical phrases such as As imminent PD downsizing once again course although I “compellingly crafted”, “robust wordsmith- increases competition amongst local jour- excelled in Honors ing” and “personality” to describe the nalists to land suitable business and non- English & Literature in caliber of résumé copy necessary to pique profit roles, those who brand themselves high school and col- the interest of overworked managers and as versatile communicators will have the lege, and one of my HR screeners has not always been appreci- advantage. graduate school profes- ated by J-school grads needing to reinvent As 2012 comes to a close, a heartfelt sors regularly read my papers out loud to themselves or transition to the dark side. thanks to all of my clients, candidates, the class. (Yes, I have stayed at a Holiday But, those whose egos are not overly applicants and buddies for many hearty Inn Express.) After grad school, I fell into vested in their “college placement office” or good laughs, wonderful shared journeys a career as a writer, editor, and stringer white bread “outplacement” version, and and happy endings, and enduring relation- without a single clue about what is taught who understand the imperative to regard ships. May everyone enjoy the blessings of in J school. their résumé as a product sell sheet and a family and this holiday season, and Later, when I morphed into a head- stand-alone writing sample demonstrate may your 2013 be filled with only good hunter, I gleaned from print journalist an open mindedness and flexibility that things, and may all of us continue to go applicants that they had been schooled to talent acquisition professionals cherish and from strength to strength, success to suc- write simply and eschew padding, flesh- respond to. cess. ing out any semblance of hyperbole, and This week, a Plain Dealer reporter color commentary. Oh, the sharp retorts emailed “Thank you so much for the Laurie Mitchell & Company, Inc. received when I critiqued or edited their advice. On one hand, changing my résumé Marketing Communications résumés, and encouraged them to incorpo- is a challenge because I’ve always looked at Executive Search rate a bit of professional storytelling, some it as a simple summary of my professional [email protected] anecdotal parsing of job accomplishments, career. But on the other, I have to recognize www.LaurieMitchellCompany.com PRESIDENT FROM PAGE 1 Press Club Member On January 1, 2013, Stuart A publication of Warner will officially assume Anniversaries: December 2 years The Press Club of Cleveland duties as president and I want 16 years to take this opportunity to wish Gail Bellamy John Ettorre Editor Stuart nothing but the best and 13 years David Pfriem Lee Moran I hope you will give him all the Ken Krizner Tim Ryan Tom Quinn Associate Editor support he needs to keep The 4 years 1 year Maryana Bradas Press Club of Cleveland strong William A. Wynne Marilyn Mongeon Quill and prosperous. Betsy O’Connell Contributing Reporters Susan Elder Here’s to another 125 years! 3 years Stu Warner Paul Schrimpf John Betchkal Ed Byers -Ed John Revay December 2012 The Press Club of Cleveland 3

PLAIN DEALER FUTURE FROM PAGE 1 The leaders to explain the ongoing changes. Cleveland right now.” The guild’s Facebook page, SaveThePlain- y The guild said in an email to The Press Club versar Anni of Cleveland and others that those leaders Dealer, has more than 5,000 followers. of Cleveland 125th should ask some of these questions: “We’ve heard from thousands of people on “Serving and honoring communications • Will The Plain Dealer continue to be pub- our Facebook page and on our petition site professionals since 1887.” and in person,” Spector told Poynter. “I’ve not lished daily? President: Ed Byers • How can The Plain Dealer maintain quality talked to one person who thinks these cuts are Medical Mutual of Ohio journalism after laying off one-third of its staff? a good idea.” 216/687-2685 • With the heavy emphasis on digital pub- But USA Today reported that Newhouse lication, what will you do for readers who do doesn’t believe that maintaining daily print op- Vice President: Stuart Warner not have computers and depend on the paper erations is sustainable anymore because of fall- The Write Coach LLC as their primary news source? ing revenue and that Advance is steering more [email protected] The story has reverberated around the nation resources to newspaper websites such as Cleve- land.com. Secretary & Treasurer: Carol Kovach through print and online articles in such pub- 216/986-6060 lications as The Times, USA Today, Former Times-Picayune journalist Rebecca the Columbia Journalism Review, the Ameri- Theim wrote in an article for the Columbia VP Membership: Pat Panchak can Journalism Review and others. Journalism Review’s website that a similar Editor-in-Chief, IndustryWeek reported about the outpouring of public support did nothing to VP Sponsorship: Dustin Klein community effort to try to save The Plain Deal- change the New Orleans paper’s fate. Smart Business Network er, which included a Save The Plain Dealer bash She warned Plain Dealer employees to expect on Dec. 6 at the Market Garden Brewery. a lot of secret management meetings as the ex- VP Marketing & PR: Mary Patton The brewery even released a new beer, 7-Day ecutives determine who will go and who will Patton Public Relations Lager, which it says is “best when enjoyed daily, stay. But she also said to expect “unfirings.” because one a day keeps ignorance at bay,” ac- “Times-Picayune management was appar- VP Programming: Kathleen Osborne Hathaway Brown cording to . ently so confident that everyone in the news- Co-owner Sam McNulty, a former delivery room would be thrilled to join the bold new Board of Directors: boy for the PD, told the Times he had invited move that they were taken completely off-guard Jeff Bendix Steve Newhouse, chairman of Advance’s digital when at least 14 employees asked to stay instead Advanstar Communications arm, to the event. Newhouse declined to attend said, ‘Uh, no, thank you.”’ but he was represented at the event in a Clint Locally, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported Michael Bennett Cleveland Jewish News Eastwood-style interview with an empty chair. that many advertisers “realize they don’t need In an email to McNulty, Newhouse said Ad- a mass circulation print vehicle seven days a Margaret Bernstein The Plain Dealer vance was “working to develop a localized ap- week to reach their key audiences.” proach that will allow us to continue to fulfill Mark Bachmann, a partner at the Marcus John Betchkal our commitment to quality journalism in an Thomas LLC ad agency, told Crain’s that adver- General Electric, retired increasingly digital world,” according to the tisers would be hurt if the changes result in a loss Maryana Bradas Times. of subscribers. “Otherwise, I’m not usually run- Business Wire Much of the community’s concern has been ning five- or seven-day-a-week programs,” said M. Jane Christyson centered around the unconfirmed reports Bachman, whose company’s clients include GE that The Plain Dealer would publish only on Lighting, the Ohio Lottery and Shearer’s Foods. Howard Fencl Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Poynter Bernie Moreno, president of Collection Auto Hennes Paynter Communications Institute noted on its website that Advance has Group, first said to Crain’s that he wasn’t con- Thom Fladung already reduced staff and publication frequency cerned about the reduction of publication days The Plain Dealer at The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Pa- because he only advertises in The Plain Dealer Bonnie Godbey triot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., The Post-Stan- on Saturdays. Bruce Hennes dard in Syracuse and at its papers in Alabama However, when he was told the paper might Hennes Paynter Communications and . All of the properties have been not publish on Saturdays, he replied, “Yikes, Lee Moran turned into new companies. that’s not good,” according to Crain’s, which The News-Herald There is also speculation, Poynter reported, also noted that he said the size of the PD’s Denise Polverine that in Portland is a candidate future audience would still be the No. 1 factor cleveland.com for cuts in staff and printing frequency. in determining his ad support. Richard Stewart In Cleveland, the guild has responded with TV Channel 3 pointed out that the three- DigiZoom Media a proactive campaign, which has included bill- day-a-week publication schedule could hurt boards, TV and newspaper ads and social me- those who deliver the paper. Many of them live General C General Counsel to dia. “Hot in Cleveland” star Valerie Bertinelli on the income from seven-day delivery. The Press Club of Cleveland and Iron Chef are among the “There are a lot of carriers who depend on David Marburger celebrities who have backed the guild. this job. There are people who’ve been doing it Baker & Hostetler Spector said his members have been receiv- for 10, 20 years,” Desiree Brown, who delivers up to 380 papers to homes each day, told the Executive Secretary ing positive support from the community. Lynn Bracic TV station. “They really depend on The Plain “It’s been overwhelming,” he told The Ameri- Professional Management Concepts can Journalism Review. “It’s a big story in Dealer, and they’re passionate about it.” 4 The Press Club of Cleveland December 2012

More Happy Holidays

NEW BOARD MEMBERS FROM PAGE 1 ing works by Ohio authors. She is also a Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC and Bloom- on the days and weeks that followed. He also member of Cleveland State berg Television, in addition to stories in key anchored the live CBS Special Report cover- University’s advisory commit- trade publications. age of the capture and death of Osama Bin tee for the College of Liberal Amy joined Dix & Eaton in 1997 and has Laden on May 1, 2011. Arts and Social Sciences. 13 years of public relations experience. Pre- Russ has been honored with multiple local Jill Manuel has been news viously, she was associate director of com- and national Emmy Awards, a National director at NewsChannel munity relations for the Cleveland Hearing Association of Black Journalists Award and 5 since August 2008. Jill & Speech Center and public relations associ- the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma oversaw the transformation of the WEWS ate for The Eliza Jennings Group. In both Delta Chi Award. newsroom into a new model called “The positions, she acted as a liaison with com- A native of St. Louis, Mitchell graduated Newsroom of the Future,” a move designed munity organizations, conducted media and from the University of , and began his to better serve consumers in communities community outreach and education, and professional career at KMBC in City. all over . coordinated special events. Tom Skoch has been with The Morning Under Jill’s leadership, NewsChannel 5 She is a member of the Public Relations Journal in Lorain for 28 years, won a prestigious Peabody Award for the Society of America and serves as an Annual most recently as editor since investigation, “Operation Deep Freeze.” Fund Class Representative for Baldwin- 2008. Previously he was the Prior to moving to Northeast Ohio, Jill Wallace College, where she earned a bach- newspaper’s Opinion Page was the news director at CLTV in Chicago, elor’s degree in speech com- editor, and, for many years, its the Tribune-owned 24-hour cable chan- munications. managing editor. nel. Jill was also an executive producer Russ Mitchell is evening Tom is a Cleveland native at WBBM-TV in Chicago, and a senior news anchor and managing and has a journalism degree from Ohio producer at Fox News in New York and editor of WKYC TV-3. In University. , D.C. January, he joined WKYC He was a reporter for The Cleveland Press Jill as a M.A. in Public Communications from CBS TV where he was for 10 years, then served as associate direc- from Syracuse University anchor of the CBS Evening tor of public relations at University Hospitals and a B.A. in Philosophy News weekend editions and The Early Show of Cleveland for a few years before joining from Lawrence University in on Saturday, along with being a national The Morning Journal in 1984. Appleton, Wisconsin. correspondent for CBS News Sunday The new Press Club of Cleveland execu- Amy McGahan is a senior Morning, the CBS Evening News, and The tive committee will consist of: President: vice president at Dix & Eaton. Early Show. Stuart Warner, Vice President: Pat Panchak, Amy has placed financial and Russ was on the anchor desk with Dan Secretary/Treasurer: Carol Kovach and feature stories in national media outlets, Rather on Sept. 11, 2001 and reported from Immediate Past President: Ed Byers. Their including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Ground Zero and other parts of Manhattan terms commence Jan. 1, 2013. December 2012 The Press Club of Cleveland 5 House of Horrors – Rob Sberna (Special to the Byliner) Cleveland investigative that was imposed by the court. This case journalist Robert Sberna was more like a mass murder than a serial is the author of House killing in the sense that the crime scene, of Horrors (Kent State the victims, and the killer were all found University Press), which simultaneously. So the case went from the exposes the twisted world shocking discovery of bodies on Oct. 29, of , who 2009 to a crime that was under investiga- gained international attention after mur- tion. Reporters couldn’t speak with the dering 11 women on Cleveland’s East Side. police, the coroner, or anyone else con- Through several one-on-one interviews nected with the case until the end of the with Sowell, House of Horrors takes read- trial in August 2011. At that point, I had ers into the world of the killer, complete to scramble to get my interviews and write with firsthand accounts of the women the book to meet my deadline. who managed to break away and survive Has anybody said “I saw it on the news, Sowell’s homicidal wrath. why do I need to read a book about it?” Sberna, of Strongsville, is an inves- What is it about your book that is differ- tigative journalist who contributes to ent? several national publications. He has My book is unique because it includes covered police and court beats for news- my telephone interviews with Sowell. I papers in the Midwest. His writings have spoke with him a half-dozen times. I also appeared in the Washington Examiner, interviewed extensively people who knew The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Neoconomist, Sowell well, including his prison bunk- his house after being attacked. Although Crain’s, and Ohio Magazine. Crain’s, and mate, his sister, and other family members. neighbors witnessed these events, it’s trou- The Byliner caught up with Sberna In addition, I was able to speak with six bling that nobody from the neighborhood at The Press Club’s Holiday Party at women who were attacked by Sowell, but called the police. If the police had this Nighttown. escaped. The result of all of those inter- first-hand information, then maybe Sowell What motivated you to write House of views was that I was able to provide readers would have been stopped earlier. Horrors? with some understanding, albeit bizarre, of What kind of sage advice can you offer I could see fairly quickly that the Sowell why a person would commit such heinous others who are considering writing a book? case was developing into a national news acts. I would encourage anyone to give it a story, so I initially drove over to the What repulsed you most about Anthony shot. But it can be difficult. The writing Imperial Avenue crime scene out of a Sowell? itself can be a long, tedious, and solitary news-hound’s curiosity. When I arrived, His extreme narcissism and his complete process. Also, with a nonfiction book, like the coroner technicians were in the process lack of remorse for his crimes. In our con- mine, the writer is very reliant on coopera- of carrying body bags from the house. As versations, he showed no sense of compas- tion from sources. That can be extremely I stood on the sidewalk watching, several sion for the victims or their families. He frustrating when you’re on a tight deadline. older ladies near me were crying. They was mainly concerned with having the When the initial manuscript is completed, had an intuition that their daughters were public know that he was a distinguished the hours of editing begin. When the book among the victims. They told me a bit Marine, and that his attorneys had done a is finally printed, the job of marketing about their daughters. And as the Sowell bad job of defending him. begins. Publishers nowadays seem to have story unfolded, I found myself wanting What is the lesson we learn from House very small marketing budgets for anyone to know more about the backgrounds of of Horrors? but their big-selling authors. So it’s incum- these women. I was also interested in how This may not directly answer the ques- bent on authors, especially first-timers, to 11 women could have disappeared with- tion, but I’ve come to realize that maybe hawk their own books. I’m not much of out their families or the police, or Sowell’s the community was a little quick to accuse a salesperson, so that’s been interesting, neighbors noticing a pattern. Basically, the the police of indifference and negligence in to say the least. Actually, the publishing book was my attempt to answer those ques- this case. There were numerous suspicious cycle is so long (for me, it took three years tions. activities around Sowell’s house, including from book proposal to book launch), that What were your major obstacles? a naked woman falling from a second-floor I actually felt more of a sense of relief than The major challenge was the gag rule window, and another woman running from accomplishment when it was finally over.