By Kwanwoo Jun
(In New York)
I. VIDEO (2:36 aired by an NYU TV broadcast)
II. TEXT (436-word published by Pavement Pieces, an NYU online magazine)
III. PHOTO (one still image published by the NYU magazine)
IV. VIDEO
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Occupy Wall Street
By Kwanwoo Jun
LOWER MANHATTAN, New York -- Robert J. Carlson Wednesday camped out for an eighth straight day in Lower Manhattan for Occupy Wall Street, a grass-roots movement aimed at expressing anger over what critics call a financial system failure that favors the rich at the expense of ordinary citizens.
Like hundreds of other activists eating, sleeping and rallying at Zuccotti Park on Cedar Street and Broadway, the 25-year-old from Jersey City, N.J., had his own idea for drawing the public attention: a $20 bill taped to his mouth.
“I started with a $1, and I moved to a $5, and I moved to a $10, and I moved to a $20,” Carlson said. “Either tonight or tomorrow, I’m switching to a $50 and eventually I’ll get up to a $100. “
Carlson wanted to raise public awareness of the three-week movement. Handwritten on the bill was “#Occupy Wall Street” in a black, bold face. A small flag was also placed behind his neck. His strategy worked well. Many passers-by approached him to talk in curiosity. Conversation started with how the bill ends up hanging in front of his mouth but soon shifted to serious discussions about the nation’s flawed financial and tax systems.
Behind Carson were thousands of people rallying at Zuccotti Park. Soon they began marching north towards Foley Square, north of City Hall, Wednesday, in a first major demonstration in New York since police arrested about 700 protesters for obstructing traffic on Brooklyn Bridge on October 1. The crackdown actually helped draw mainstream media attention to the protest that first emerged on Wall Street on September 17.
Carlson said he was a finance worker but refused to identify his firm. He was carrying a sign “I could lose my job for having a voice.”
“This is not just about Wall Street,” Carlson said. “This is about some very serious economic issue that has to do with structural corruption in the way we do business.”
Carlson said he wanted to see change. “I’d like to see accountability for people who are siphoning money and hoarding money from society and people in general for their own benefit,” he said. “My dream right now is to get communications, to get people talking and to get people thinking about ideas and solutions for these issues.”
Carlson used up most of his annual leave in joining the movement. He returned briefly home only twice to take showers in the past eight days. He said he wished to stay at Zuccotti Park as long as he needed to.
His experience there was enlightening. “I’ve been sleeping for 25 years.” Carlson said, “My dream started the second this movement started. This is my dream. That’s why I’m here. We are going to get communications. We are going to get people talking about ideas and solutions for these issues.”
He wore a T-shirt when he first came to Zuccotti Park eight days ago but later changed his clothes to a shirt and tie in protest to the initial portrayal by Fox News and other conservative media of Occupy Wall Street activists as young hippies or homeless people.
With food, medical supplies and even sleeping bags provided to protesters for free at Zuccotti Park, some homeless people and hippies mingled with Occupy Wall Street protesters. But few really cared about who they were as long as they could communicate. Some sat in a circle to debated pending issues. Some played music. Some had fun playing with a dog on a makeshift bed. Some produced a protest sign out of a recycled pizza box. Camaraderie filled the space.
The issues all boiled down to economic injustice and income inequality.
Bucky Sparkle, 39, and his wife Emily Sparkle, 42, were among the volunteer activists at the park. The Sparkles, together with their son Kadin, 4, traveled from Northampton, Mass., to join the rally in New York Tuesday night.
Sparkle who runs a small business at Northampton insisted that the business influence in politics distort information flows and government policies.
“I want to get corporate influence out of politics,” Bucky Sparkle said. “Once we start to get better information, we can have our governing bodies with people that we elect in, and our government process start to make better decisions that are more people-based. I would love democracy. That will be cool. I’ve never lived in one. I’m hoping to someday.”
As their son was blowing soap bubbles, Sparkle held a paper sign “Corporate Lobbyists Can Change the Law for Cheap.” His wife held her own sign “Turn Off Your TV. Anti-Corporate News is Not Broadcast on Mainstream Media.” They strolled around the park and often posed for a camera for journalists.
Economic inequality increases, Sparkle said. “In general, 99 percent is sliding down and one percent is getting stronger and stronger,” he said.
John Samuelsen, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said his 35,000 New York bus and subway workers were in sync with Occupy Wall Street. “We are here for the long haul,” Samuelsen said. “We are not happy with the way things are going in America. Working families are continuing to bear the burden of the tax cuts that have been granted to wealthy folks in New York.” He was talking about the $5 billion tax cut by the New York State government for the rich and the steep budget cut to welfare and education programs.
The union presence added vitality to protesters in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. Union members in identical uniforms moved in small groups. They looked more organized than other protesters. Marching protesters carried various signs and flags. Some beat drums, blew a whistle, jabbed their clenched hands in the air and rocked their bodies to the percussionist rhythms. Many passers-by stopped or slowed their way to watch the march across the street. Some onlookers pulled out cell phones to take a photo. “All day, all week, occupy Wall Street,” marchers said in a chant that filled the windy and refreshing air.
John Harris, 56, a bicyclist from Brooklyn, stopped to see the march near City Hall and said the procession was reminiscent of what he had seen decades ago when tons of people took to the streets to oppose war.
“It’s likely that what happens will fizzle out as time goes by, but who knows?” Harris said. “If they continue to pursue anti-capitalist agenda it’s only a matter of time before certain elements of the intelligence community are going to take a notice of it. They will start infiltrate the movement and co-opted it the way they did in the 60s and 70s.”
Prior to the march, Carlson was thinking of whether to change his clothes -- especially his smelly, sweat-soaked and stained shirt -- after days of camping out.
“Maybe not,” Carlson said. “I think it will be profound if I left that dirty.”
# # #
Sunday, September 11, 2011
10 years after 9/11
By Kwanwoo Jun
EAST VILLAGE, New York -- Lieutenant Joseph Curl, a lucky New York firefighter, was traveling in Mexico during the September 11 attacks a decade ago. None of his close friends and colleagues was hurt or killed. But a firehouse, where he currently works, lacked such luck.
Curl’s firehouse on East 2nd Street lost six men at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and in January this year, a seventh to cancer linked to his work at Ground Zero following the attacks.
A total of 343 firefighters perished in the search and rescue operations following the terrorist attacks.
Marking the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Sunday, Curl, 50, was among hundreds of firefighters who attended a special mass for the fallen in the neighborhood at Most Holy Redeemer Church, a block up from his firehouse. Church bells rang at noon. A somber mood filled the church on East 3rd Street as people in dark blue uniforms trickled in to take a seat. The portraits of the seven fallen firemen and a small Stars and Stripes flag decorated a bulletin board that was neatly placed on a tripod. A wreath of flowers -- white chrysanthemum and lilies -- was laid at the bottom.
Curl prayed for the fallen and their families. He also thanked God that luck had been on his side in the past 20 years, but he knew luck could change sides anytime.
After all, Curl puts his life on the line every day. He can retire anytime as he is now entitled to a pension after serving 20 years of the service. But he loves his job so much that he just cannot quit in fear.
“Never for a minute. Never for a second,” Curl said in a terse, resolute response to a question if he had ever thought of quitting the dangerous job.
What has made him carry on is not a lack of fear but a confidence in people’s support for his job that he has always been proud of. “I remember my first day as a fireman, riding in a fire engine and pulling up next to a bus,” Curl said in a convincing tone after the 90-minute mass. “People waved at us. People loved us. I got in 1991. I felt it immediately. We have been always popular.”
But he had no fantasy about his safety.
“Good things and a lot of pretty horrible things happen,” said the stout and shaven-headed fireman. Danger, grief and loss seemed already a part of his daily life. “We have many anniversaries on the job,” he said. “We remember our former brothers all the time. We have announcements made everyday. Fire safety messages they tell us different tips on how to remain safe in our job.”
During the special mass, he said he prayed for “the families who lost loved ones and the survivors who deal with the process of grief and loss” that he luckily did not have to go through in the past. “I’m blessed,” he said.
His firehouse on East 2nd Street consists of two units -- Engine Company 28 and Ladder Company 11. Each company has a truck of its own with six firemen aboard. The “engine” unit focuses on putting out blazes while the “ladder” unit focuses on searching and rescuing those trapped by fires.
On September 11, 2001, the “ladder” unit of the firehouse bore the brunt of the tragedy. The entire six firefighters of Ladder Company 11 – Mike Quilty, Matt Rogan, Rich Kelly, Edward Day, John Heffernan and Mike Cammarata – were buried to the debris when the South Tower collapsed over them.
“Unfortunately, (the Ladder Company) 11 truck was not so lucky,” said Sean O’Sallivan, a captain who had been with Engine Company 9, which also joined the search and rescue operations with Ladder Company 11 at Ground Zero. He was also in the Sunday mass. “We were in the North Tower. We were going up to the 25th floor. That’s when the South Tower collapsed. So, we evacuated the building. And then the North Tower collapsed.”
O’Sallivan said his company luckily managed to escape the collapse. “We were very fortunate that we didn’t lose anyone on that day,” he said.
But O’Sallivan refused to elaborate further on the traumatic situation. “It’s something you can’t forget if you try. You try not to dwell on it but you can’t forget it.” He then zipped up his mouth and hurriedly left the church.
The firehouse on East 2nd Street has seven bronze-made rectangular plaques displayed out on the wall. Each plaque carries the name of each fireman killed in “SUPREME SACRIFICE” at Ground Zero. A dark brown vase of red flowers and six small Stars and Stripes flags rested neatly below the plaques.
“You never forget the love these people showed,” Father Sean McGillicuddy of Most Holy Redeemer Church said after the mass. “It doesn’t take away grieving, but it gives us consolation and helps us see death through God’s eyes, not just our eyes. Our neighbors and our friends among those who passed away were heroic on that day.” The Roman Catholic priest said he saw “hope” in the fallen. “These people in uniform are faithful people and hopeful people,” he added.
On January 9 this year, Roy Chelsen, a fireman of Engine Company 28, died of bone-marrow cancer that was linked to his weeks of work at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks. An extensive study of the health impact that toxic dust and fumes caused by the attacks may have on firefighters and other rescue workers is currently underway.
On Friday, two days before the mass, a retired Roman Catholic priest who declined to give his full name and instead identified himself as Monsignor Donald dropped by and blessed the firehouse on his own. Reciting a breviary and draping a purple stole around his neck, he performed a 15-minute ritual of administering absolution to the dead before the firehouse.
“At the moment of their death, because they gave up themselves, they began absolution already,” the retired priest said.
# # #
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Hong Kong project
By Kwanwoo Jun
- Consolidation sets a new trend in the media industry. Journalists are increasingly required to be more versatile. They are under growing pressure to do the text, photo and video to tell a story. How does it work at professional, mainstream media outlets? I seriously tried out the new trend during my internship in Hong Kong. It's a meaningful experiment. There were, of course, pros and cons.
II. (TEXT - 591 words) published by AFP
III. (PHOTO - 5 still images) published by AFPPHOTO
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gTo6ct_AQDdvk_I9z43aWvVpcQJQ?docId=CNG.9a3370ec1dc9a647e7c8833946576610.331&index=0
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gTo6ct_AQDdvk_I9z43aWvVpcQJQ?docId=CNG.9a3370ec1dc9a647e7c8833946576610.331&index=0
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| This photo taken on August 15, 2011 shows passengers looking out of the windows of a tram running in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands still jump aboard the former British colony's 107-year-old system every day, even though this form of transit has all but disappeared in most major cities. AFP PHOTO / Kwanwoo JUN |
HONG KONG (AFP) — They shake, rattle and roll alongside flashy cars on streets lined with skyscrapers, but Hong Kong's retro-look trams are as much part of life in the glitzy city as they were a century ago.
Known as "ding-dings" for the sound of their bells, the iconic double-decker trams are beloved of tourists and are being celebrated in a city exhibition -- but for thousands of commuters and shoppers they remain daily workhorses.
Office worker Eric Lee says they have a special place in his heart and he often chooses a tram over the quicker and more comfortable public-transit options in the modern metropolis, including a super-efficient subway system.
The "ding ding" sound stopped Lee from crying when he was a child -- much to his mother's delight -- and later set him on a path to becoming a collector of tram memorabilia, some of which are on show at the exhibition.
"When I was young, I was always crying," the 26-year-old office worker told AFP, as he settled into a seat on a trolley's upper deck, giving him clear views of Hong Kong's teeming urban landscape.
"My mom brought me to the tram stop. When I heard the ding-ding sounds from trams, I stopped crying. I can't explain why. But it's such a good memory."
Lee has designed a tram-shaped wrist rest for computer keyboards, published a tram photobook and turned a tramcar into a coffee shop as part of the exhibition of some 300 items displayed at Victoria Peak, a tourist attraction overlooking the city and harbour.
Not all Hong Kong residents are quite so taken by the former British colony's 107-year-old system, the largest of its kind still in operation, which has survived despite heavy competition from cars, buses and subways.
But at HK$2.30 (29 US cents) for a ride anywhere on the 118-stop system, which traces much of Hong Kong's old shoreline along a 30 kilometre (18-mile) track, it remains popular while trams have disappeared from most major cities.
Apart from the price, a whiff of nostalgia blowing through the open windows in the sealed and air conditioned city also draws passengers to the teeth-chattering and often crowded rides on one of the 163 trams.
"It has become a part of Hong Kong, and it's our heritage," said local lawmaker Pan Pey Chyou. "I just couldn't imagine what Hong Kong island would look like without the trams being there."
British tourist Rupert Shield, 38, figured the system was "definitely worth two dollars and thirty (cents)", despite the lack of air conditioning.
"A bit hot, a bit crowded, but you know you get a good view from up top," he said. "I'm surprised many people still use it other than tourists," he added.
In many European and North American cities, tram systems had disappeared by the mid-20th Century as critics dismissed them as too rigid and vulnerable to delays caused by a single accident.
But now some large urban centres, including Paris and Auckland, are taking another look, as they restore, upgrade or even expand their electric-powered streetcar system, citing its environmental and cultural heritage value.
French utility giant Veolia, which took over management of Hong Kong's tram service in 2009 and bought the system outright in 2010, is upgrading the city's system with more comfortable seating, while keeping the cars' heritage facade.
"No one can say forever. But personally, I think that (the tram system) will stay here for a very, very long time," said legislator Pan. "I think for the next century, probably it will still be there."
Copyright © 2011 AFP. AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be used for commercial purposes, reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence. AFP materials may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal non-commercial use. As a newswire service AFP does not obtain release from the subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, graphics or quoted in its text. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted material where the marks and material are included in AFP photos or content. You shall be solely responsible for obtaining any and all the necessary releases from whatever individual or entity is necessary for any of your uses of AFP material. You agree to indemnify AFP from any losses, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) it incurs as a result of any claim based on your use of its materials in violation of these terms.
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| This photo taken on August 15, 2011 shows electric-powered double-decker trams in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands still jump aboard the former British colony's 107-year-old system every day, even though this form of transit has all but disappeared in most major cities. AFP PHOTO / Kwanwoo JUN |
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| This photo taken on August 15, 2011 shows passengers boarding a tram running in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands still jump aboard the former British colony's 107-year-old system every day, even though this form of transit has all but disappeared in most major cities. AFP PHOTO / Kwanwoo JUN |
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| This photo taken on August 15, 2011 shows the driver (L) and passengers standing on the lower deck of a tram running in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands still jump aboard the former British colony's 107-year-old system every day, even though this form of transit has all but disappeared in most major cities. AFP PHOTO / Kwanwoo JUN |
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| This photo taken on August 15, 2011 shows passengers riding a tram running in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands still jump aboard the former British colony's 107-year-old system every day, even though this form of transit has all but disappeared in most major cities. AFP PHOTO / Kwanwoo JUN |
More video pieces done
(In Hong Kong)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Interview: AP's Charles Hanley
Untold story about AP's 2000 Pulitzer Prize
“They tried time and time again to kill the story, and ... we refused.”
By Kwanwoo Jun
“They tried time and time again to kill the story, and ... we refused.”
By Kwanwoo Jun
MANHATTAN, New York -- Charles Hanley, 63, is one of only four “special correspondents” still active in The Associated Press. Hanley and two of his colleagues (Sang-Hun Choe and Martha Mendoza) teamed up to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for investigative reporting on a U.S. military massacre of civilians at No Gun Ri, South Korea, in 1950.
Eleven years after receiving the coveted journalism award, the Pulitzer Prize, Hanley talked about bits of an in-house secret behind the prize-winning story: his then-top bosses of The AP were reluctant to publish his story about the American killing of an estimated 400 unarmed Korean refugees during the early days of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Hanley said his bosses (then-President Louis D. Boccardi and then-Executive Editor William Ahearn) had tried to kill the story but failed to do so.
The U.S. military authorities had denied The AP report, but a Pentagon investigation later confirmed the civilian killing and led to then President Bill Clinton’s statement of regret in January 2001.
During the 90-minute interview at The AP building at 450 West on 33rd St. in Manhattan, Hanley’s voice was calm. His eyes often glared when he recounted the details of his former bosses trying to kill the story. The AP published the story in September 1999 after a 14-month review.
Hanley described his team’s work for the Pulitzer Prize-winning piece as “a stunning experience” of facing and overcoming the resistance from the then-leadership of The AP. Robert Port, then special assignment editor who had pushed for the publication of the story in talks with The AP leadership before he quit in 2000, said the top AP bosses feared the story would vilify U.S. servicemen. “You make these soldiers look like criminals,” Boccardi told Port at a meeting, according to Port’s contribution to “Into the Buzzsaw” published in 2002. Boccardi and Ahearn, who retired from The AP in 2003 and 2000 respectively, were not immediately available for comments.
“They tried time and time again to kill the story, and time and time again, we refused,” Hanley said. “We kept trying to find new ways to write it to overcome whatever their problems were, and the problems were never articulated. It was simply some kind of innate fear of big-explosive stories.”
“We didn’t publish it 14 months,” Hanley said, adding his team had to go through “a very extremely bitter period” of having the story reviewed before its publication.
Hanley said he, as main writer of the story, had to modify the lead paragraph in what he described a “very soft” tone in a deal with The AP leadership in order to get the story published. The revised story starts with the following paragraph: “It was a story no one wanted to hear: Early in the Korean War, villagers said, American soldiers machine-gunned hundreds of helpless civilians under a railroad bridge in the South Korean countryside.” Hanley said its previous versions were more straightforward in describing the U.S. killing of civilians. “It didn’t damage the essence of the story,” he said. “It was either publish or not publish it, a pretty black and white thing.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 6, 1947, Hanley graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a B.A. in journalism. He joined The AP in 1968 in Albany, N.Y., where he became a political correspondent and bureau news editor. He moved to The AP Foreign Desk in 1976 and served as assistant and then deputy managing editor in 1987-92, after which he was named as special correspondent, a title awarded to a handful of journalists at The AP. He and his wife, Pamela Hanlon, reside in New York.
In the meantime, Hanley had the countenance of an affable uncle whom I met in my neighborhood. Wearing a white shirt and a blue tie, he had a tidy mustache. He had thinning hair, with thick hair only on the sides and back.
When I arrived at his office on the 14th floor, he escorted me to a conference room. We passed by his “special correspondent” desk which was not special. It was just one of many other desks in the office. His desk commanded a nice and unhindered view, facing west by the window towards New Jersey across the Hudson River.
Q: Would you describe your job title, special correspondent?
A: The title was initiated in the 1950’s by The AP for people who are considered to be senior and high-quality journalists. At the moment, there are four of us, still active. Three of them are domestic (special correspondents Linda Deutsch, David Espo and Helen O’Neil) and I’m the only international special correspondent. In most cases, we are feature writers who work on major projects. I’ve done a lot of reporting in recent years on climate change and on nuclear arms control. These are two particular areas of interest. Of course, in the past decade, I did a lot of reporting from the Iraq war and from the Afghanistan war. I look for big subjects: the subjects that cross the many boundaries and many national and international borders.
Q: Would you tell me how you started work in journalism?
A: I attended a small university, St. Bonaventure University, and obtained a degree in journalism before joining The AP in 1968. The head of the journalism department was friendly with The AP’s bureau chief in Albany, N.Y. That bureau chief was on the university’s journalism advisory board. So they had a relationship. And so my journalism department head recommended me to them, to The AP. Even today but even more back then, The AP was considered part of the top tier of American journalism. To work for The AP was considered quite a plum as we called to get that kind of job. So I ended up there actually starting off on a temporary basis.
Q: How do you find story ideas?
A: You just pick it up here and there. I can remember years ago (“As Russian Crime Grows, So Do the U.S.-Russian Police Links,” Feb. 20, 1994) I was planning to write about organized crime in Russia and their international presence outside Russia. I got hold of a specialty periodical on international criminal developments. This was a small university think tank that was interested in international crimes. Just perusing that, I saw a very brief mention of the fact that a leading Russian mafia figure had moved to the United States. I knew this hadn’t been reported anywhere. It turned out that the scholar who wrote this spotted it in a Russian publication, a publication of the Russian interior ministry. In other words, the police agency in Russia had written about this in their own in-house journal. He happened to be a scholar looking at everything. He ran across this but he made hardly anything of it. But I recognized that this was a very good story. And I got very lucky because, on that same trip, working on international crimes, I stopped by Interpol, the international police agency in France. This was really quite a coup because I was writing a feature on their computer system that they were modernizing. And it was a feature about Interpol. They demonstrated their computer and data that were in their computer. I asked them to check on this name, which they did not even recognize. What they turned up, I couldn’t take notes because it would have been suspicious for me to take notes. They just wanted me to see how the computer worked and nothing more. I had to memorize as things were scrolling up. There was a series of messages exchanged between the FBI in American and Russian law enforcement people, the Russian Interior Ministry, about this guy, his travel, etc., about what he is likely to do in America and sort of things. So I was trying to memorize as much as I could while I was watching it. This proved to be the heart of the story. I was able to report that Russians said they thought he was going to assassinate a particular crime figure in America. He traveled here and he traveled there. I had all of that information with attribution. As you know, every story is different, but one has to develop a sense of what’s new. You have to familiarize yourself enough with an area so that you know that this has not been reported.
Things often fall into your lap. Sometimes you are assigned to things by an editor. But mostly, it’s simply immersing yourself in certain areas so that you recognize stories when they pop up.
Q: You’ve earned many awards for journalism. What are you most proud of? Why?
A: Obviously, the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. The No Gun Ri thing, which was just a stunning experience for any journalist.
Q: A stunning experience in terms of what?
A: The most important part of the experience was, journalistically, the resistance – we then encountered – from the leadership of The AP. (then-President Louis D. Boccardi and then-Executive Editor William Ahearn) They tried time and time again to kill the story, and time and time again, we refused.
We kept trying to find new ways to write it to overcome whatever their problems were, and the problems were never articulated. It was simply some kind of innate fear of big-explosive stories. That is really what it came down to. In the end, the way we succeeded was to get words out in the news business and elsewhere about the story that was being suppressed.
So they finally had to relent and let us publish it. But it was a very extremely bitter period that lasted a year. We didn’t publish it 14 months. We would have published it 14 months earlier.
Q: I remember watching a multimedia package for the story, too.
A: We were forbidden to talk to (The AP) television. However, I did talk to television, not directly but through a liaison in London to give them an early heads-up. I did the same thing with (The AP) multimedia. At the last minute, the managing editor sent a deputy to multimedia and told them that “We looked at your package. We want you to eliminate everything except the text story and the still photographs that go with the story.” The head of multimedia went to the managing editor and said, “No, we are going to put out this whole package. And they did and they won the multimedia award of the year from Columbia University. In effect, they won a Pulitzer with their multimedia while we were winning a Pulitzer award for reporting.
You see they were still so afraid of the story that they thought maybe it could fly below the radar, nobody would notice and we just slip the story out. That’s why we ended up with a terrible lead. The lead: there was a story no one wanted to hear.
Q: Kind of weak, isn’t it?
A: Very weak. Yeah. Very soft. We relented on that because we wanted to get the story out. In fact, there was one major newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, which took our story and rewrote it the way I had written it originally.
I was the guy who wrote the story. And I was the guy who stood up most to the bosses. I dealt with them (then-President Louis D. Boccardi and then-Executive Editor William Ahearn) directly. I argued with them I got thrown out of the executive editor who threw me out of his office at one point because they were so embarrassed by themselves and by what they were doing. They didn’t want to talk about it. They didn’t want to hear about it. As I was leaving, I said, “You can’t cover up the My Lai massacre.” But I knew we would win because we were in the right. I was a former deputy managing editor and special correspondent. And I knew they wouldn’t dare try to fire me or do anything drastic.
Q: Was there any moment you would like to give it up?
A: No. No. Of course, we did compromise on the lead paragraph. But it didn’t damage the heart of the story. It didn’t damage the essence of the story. You know there was no compromise. It was either publish or not publish it, a pretty black and white thing.
I knew we would win. We had to win. It was an extremely difficult time. I had one friend at The AP whom I could confide in and who would figuratively pat me on the back and tell me I was right. But other people who should have been helping us, middle manager types, just disappeared. Once they realized that two top bosses (then-President Louis D. Boccardi and then-Executive Editor William Ahearn) wanted to kill the story, they would not argue on our behalf.
Q: Would you give some advice to young, aspiring journalists?
A: I’m hardly in a good position to advise anybody about how to go about becoming a journalist in today’s environment. I can only say that it’s a wonderful occupation. The standard advice today, of course, is learn all the media. In another word, learn to do video and take photos as well, still photos, etc. And be ready to do anything. I guess the conventional wisdom is that storytelling is evolving into a multimedia thing. And I suppose that may be true.
But still the very skill is to be able to write in an interesting and engaging way. Of course, find great stories. And really great ones come along pretty rarely. But when you get one, it’s very, very exciting.
Q: What is the bad side of journalism?
A: The hours are long and unpredictable, the work is hard, the pay is poor, and sometimes it's dangerous. But I suppose many of life's best occupations have the same “bad side.”
Q: How has journalism changed since you came into journalism?
A: Journalism has changed tremendously since I entered the field professionally in 1968. After all, I started on typewriters. And although we computerized steadily in
the 1970s at our home offices, I was still relying on the typewriter into the early 1980s in my international travels, before finally switching over to early versions of laptop computers. The digital age led to greater volume and speed in news reporting, greater access to remote areas via satellite communications, and eventually to on-line combinations of text, photos, video and audio that could not be imagined when I began my career. Essentially, of course, the mission is the same, to try to establish and report the facts of important events. But for me one of the greatest changes has been the ability to “show”' rather than simply “tell” the reader those facts, through on-line posting of documents, video interviews, links to authoritative online sources and the like. When used properly, this can give today's journalism much more credibility than in the past.
Q: Have American newsrooms changed over the years? How? For better or worse?
Q: Have American newsrooms changed over the years? How? For better or worse?
A: I'll address simply the matter of personnel -- the journalists in the newsroom. In that regard, there are vastly more women in American journalism today than when I started more than 40 years ago. There are also more minority-group members, although that is not so noticeable. This, of course, is all for the better.
Q: What do you think of the state of American journalism today?
A: Most of my career, I have regretted what I've seen as the trivialization of American journalism, the growing focus on “celebrities,” unimportant “scandals,” sensational crimes and such. I think that grows worse every year. Today it's joined by another kind of trivialization, the treatment online, in blogs and other forms, of barely concealed opinion -- from whatever source -- as “journalism.” Related to that is the idea that “citizen journalism,” reporting by ordinary, untrained people online, is somehow legitimate journalism. There is still excellent print journalism in America, particularly in investigative reporting by The New York Times, the Washington Post and, at times, The AP. But unfortunately U.S. newspapers are declining, in number and in circulation, and I don't believe such non-newspaper initiatives as the investigative unit Pro Publica can make up for those losses.
Q: What do you think is the future of American journalism?
A: Despite the pessimism in that last answer, I believe that the U.S. is a country so diverse, educated, involved and interested that there will always be a demand for a basic level of good, relevant journalism. It's hard to see that emerging from the current online collection of outlets, but I suppose it may be found online someday as the best newspapers evolve into mainly Internet presences.
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Monday, December 20, 2010
Tourism: lifeline to Philly
By Kwanwoo Jun
CENTER CITY, Philadelphia - “Major” Samuel Nicholas posed for a photo at a tourist’s request. In a green tailcoat and under a black cocked hat, he made a pompous look as if he were a real Continental Army officer. The shutter clicked, and he resumed his position, strolling back and forth on the hallway of a visitor’s center.
A historical impersonator in Philadelphia, Nicholas’ job is to interact with tourists and help them feel a real sense of U.S. history. On any given day, he might chat with tourists, pose for pictures, give directions or answer questions about the American Revolutionary War.
Nicholas, 37, works at the Independence Visitor Center, a 21st-Century modern building in downtown Philadelphia, although he “lives” in the 18th century. And while Nicholas himself is a single man from Mansfield, Pa., his historical alter ego talks about his “lovely wife Mary Jenkins Nicholas” and their “five children.”
Whenever Nicholas cracked a joke, visitors burst into laughter -- a response he says he always loves.
“My presence makes their experience come alive,” he said, smiling.
Nicholas, who has worked for Historic Philadelphia for 15 years, is one of the tens of thousands of employees in the multi-billion-dollar tourism industry in Philadelphia, a city that would lose its vitality without funds tourism generates.
In Philadelphia, tourism brought in $5 billion in visitor spending and $8.2 billion in both direct and induced business sales in 2009, according to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.
Tourism in Philadelphia galvanizes local hotels, shops, restaurants, and markets. It also keeps double-decker buses for museums, local farms and construction sites busy.
Visitor spending in Philadelphia resulted in $1.2-billion tax revenue last year, helping schools, libraries and other public services stay afloat, GPTMC data show.
Tourism in Philadelphia was a bigger employer than transportation, insurance, food stores and banking in the region last year, sustaining 83,664 jobs, or 5 percent of the total employment, the data show.
“If the tourism industry drops away, it will be a very sad and unfortunate thing to Philadelphia,” Nicholas said.
While tourism is still a major industry in Philadelphia, recent numbers indicate Philadelphia’s tourism industry is being affected by the economic slowdown.
GPTMC data show 36 million domestic travelers visited Philadelphia in 2009, down 1.9 percent from 2008, with visitor spending plunging 13.2 percent year-on-year.
But Ethan Connor Ross, research director of GPTMC, said Philadelphia’s tourism economy has picked up again, citing a Smith Travel Research report on a 5-percent increase in hotel occupancy this year.
“Philadelphia’s drop in tourism in 2009 was in line with national and global trends -- the great recession caused a pullback in overall travel activity,” Ross said. “2010 has been a stronger year – people with the means are ready to travel again.”
Philadelphia Economic Index shows the city’s economy declining again since 2007 after years of slow recovery, with factories continuing to close. The city knows tourism can be a real economic and job booster.
Philadelphia, the birthplace of American independence and democracy, has more cultural and historical relics than any other U.S. city – a great boon to tourism.
Across the street from the visitor’s center is the Liberty Bell Center, where a cracked bell is on display as an icon of American independence and international freedom.
The bell was first hung in 1753 onto the Pennsylvania State House where America’s independence was discussed and declared in 1776. It has since served as a symbol of anti-slavery and suffrage movements until it cracked in 1846.
The bell that no longer rings still attracts 13,000 visitors a day in season, according to the National Park Service that supervises the center.
“It is still doing a pretty damn good job, cracked or not,” said Robert Schulte, a park ranger, referring to the endless streams of visitors flowing in to see the bell. “Right where you are standing is the most popular spot in the city.”
The Liberty Bell Center building sits in the middle of the most historic square mile in the United States.
To the north of the Liberty Bell Center stand the Independence Visitor Center and the National Constitutional Center. The United States Mint building and the grave of a U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin are just to the right of the centers.
Right to the west of the Liberty Bell Center is the Declaration House, where U.S. founding father Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Down to the south are the Independence Hall, formerly the Pennsylvania State House, that announced the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Randy Garrison, 56, a tourist traveling from Dayton, Ohio, who was traveling with his wife, said he hoped to bring his children to visit Philadelphia. “They need to see the heritage and the history of the country,” Garrison said.
Philadelphia has actually launched an aggressive and smart campaign to attract tourists for more than 10 years.
This year, GPTMC, a main tourism promoter for Philadelphia since 1997, has decided its successful “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO” campaign, which started a year ago.
The campaign focuses on a simple slogan designed to entice people to visit Philadelphia, a city named after two Greek words -- “philos” meaning “love” and “adelphos” meaning “brother.”
Campaign posters and banners use no complex pictorial images. Instead, they use the friendly Post-it designs that carry only the slogan written simple in black and red. It aims to put Philadelphia on everybody’s list as a place to go.
The ads rely on various platforms like outdoor banners, TV, online, print, radio and in-theater commercials. They often target tourists in other major U.S. tourist cities, promoting the mindset of “I’ve been to New York and Washington. Let’s do Philadelphia this time.”
The slogan has been so popular that bars and bakeries in Philadelphia are actively using it for marketing their products, with a “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO” ale and a “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO” cheesecake.
In June, Philadelphia became the world’s first city to showcase its tourist attractions via a mobile application to demonstrate how much it values tourism.
The Find Your Philly mobile application features five tours, or “treks,” focusing on the city’s history; arts and culture; science and multicultural aspects; as well as the expanded convention center, due to reopen in March 2011.
Convention business is another part that Philadelphia focuses on to boost international visitation. The ongoing $786-million expansion of the convention center would make it possible to host two major conventions simultaneously.
In September, SugarHouse Casino opened its doors on the Delaware River waterfront. The city quickly connected SugarHouse to the public transit system in a smart bid to get tourists off the streets and into the casino.
One of the tourism marketing successes in Philadelphia was the creation of a thriving business enclave in the city’s central Midtown Village. The city has renamed the former brothel district.
The “Gayborhood” area has turned into a bustling spot for trendy restaurants, cafes, bars, clothing stores and souvenir shops since it adopted its new name.
GPTMC and other tourism agencies and sponsors have constantly supplied the district with things to enjoy and maintain vitality. In June, a three-week summer event featured a gay film festival, a photo exhibition and a block party.
“Before it was the ‘Gayborhood,’ it was a red-light district,” said Nelson Hernandez, 23, who works at an area cafe. “Once it’s substantiated, the local community that cultural backgrounds have been in legitimizes the area here.”
He said many restaurants, shops and cafes in the neighborhood are owned by the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The shops carry “rainbow” stickers to demonstrate acceptance of all people, gay or straight.
A few blocks away from the gay district, “Major” Nicholas was still having fun with tourists at the Independence Visitor Center. His friend “Trooper” Robert Hare joined him, spinning an old wood top on the hallway.
Work seemed not really work to Hare, 37, an employee of Historic Philadelphia, who was impersonating a member of the Philadelphia Light Horse Troop who escorted General George Washington, commander of the Continental Army.
“If you find something that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. -Benjamin Franklin,” Hare said in an 18th-century hunting frock made of orange-colored thick cloth, a common garb won by American volunteer troopers.
Nicholas was demonstrating some of his 18th-century antique items – including an army sword, a bugle, a stylus pen and sheets of ivory for taking notes – to tourists.
On his antique desk, Nicholas placed a note for visitors: “Questions answered with sarcasm and wit. You have been warned.” He said his note was aimed at drawing more attention from visitors than his colleague’s note “Questions cheerfully answered.”
The witty notes, just like GPTMC’s smart campaign slogan, carried the same underlying message: Come visit Philadelphia.
(Extra photos)
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