Walzer gets to depose Connor, doesn't get personnel files

TL editor/publisher Richard Connor has to submit to questioning by former editor Allison Walzer's attorney, a Philadelphia federal judge has ruled. However, Walzer doesn't get the boatload of TL personnel files she claimed would help prove that she was discriminated against because she is a Jewish woman. Dumb question: Why did a judge in Philly and not Scranton rule in the case?

TL signs with new classified ad provider

The tiMesLeader loves eMarketplaceXpress, audience development boss Kathy Schwartz says. She also notes that the old KR program was bad, bad, bad.

Venesky to Soprano: Don't eat out of the Susquehanna

TL outdoor writer Tom Venesky uses a talk with colleague Joe Soprano to get into a column about fishing. He also misspells "Lake Wallenpaupak."

Connor: I'm sorry, you're sorry

Saying 'sorry' was a hard lesson for Richard Connor of the TL to learn. Etc.

Butkiewicz, Woelfel named to top jobs at the TL

Joe Butkiewicz is the new managing editor, Anne Woelfel the assistant managing editor, Lindsey Jones the presentation editor and Dave Konopki the sports editor. Kudos to all.

God is dead: The TL cites the Scranton Times in a staff edit

We missed this on Thursday, but the institutional voice of the Times Leader cited in support of its staff editorial... the Times-Tribune of Scranton. Does this mean that TL plans to publish a Scranton edition are on hold?

Zing! Walzer calls McHugh's son "virtually unemployable"

The allegation comes in Friday's TL, writing about the newspaper's latest response to former editor Allison Walzer's discrimination suit.

Clutch work from the T-T's Jason Farmer at fatal Scranton fire

Great work at a sad scene.

Steve Mocarsky of the TL does the polar plunge

A cute story in the Times Leader from Steve Mocarsky, who jumped in a cold lake and lived to talk about it. Note that the picture was taken by Mocarsky's wife.

Walzer: Connor won't hire me, McHugh has it out for the Jews, etc.

Allison Walzer can't get a job at the Times Leader. Wow. Former TL editor Allison Walzer alleges in court papers that Connor is retaliating against her, continuing a course of conduct that started with Pat McHugh -- who favored Catholic charities over Jewish ones, Walzer claims. She alleges that McHugh traded favors with a Catholic charity to get his son a job and his wife a board position. Good stuff.

Kudos to Dave Janoski of the CV, who had the story Thursday - scooping the TL

Roger DuPuis II of the Times-Tribune also writes about his snow tales

DuPuis walked from his South Scranton home to the paper and barely made it, he reports in Thursday's paper.

Lisa Sokolowski of the TL stood up on Valentine's Day by 70-year-old singer

We have visions of some third-string PR flack in New York City laughing at the pathetic reporter from "Wilkes-Barre" working during the storm of the century and calling every five minutes to talk to Engelbert Humperdinck, a singer that the PR flack probably couldn't pick out of a lineup. Not every day as a reporter is glamourous.

Wernowsky of the TL: My editor made me walk to work, people don't fight to write weather stories, etc.

Wernowsky blogs about the newspaper's weather coverage, the mayor being a big meanie to a TV girl, and other things at the Times Leader.

The St. Valentine's storm of 2007: Who won?

Today will be one of the few days when readers look forward to the newspaper, devouring it online and in print. Who hit a home run? Who mailed it in? Discuss. To start:

The TL's one and only video was shot at 10 a.m. -Wednesday- by online "producer" Lee Ann Orsheski. From her deck. Craptacularly bad.

The roof collapses at the library, and the TL's Ed Lewis waits until the 14th paragraph to mention the books. Classic.

The CV's Denise Allabaugh does her old buddy Ed Lewis one better, by writing about the destruction of a library while only using the word "books" once. Her lead is also identical to the TL lead.

Sledding pictures of the little kids of TL VP Kathy Schwartz -- taken by Schwartz -- are mixed in with staff shots. Stay classy, TL.

As others have noted, the Times-Tribune video contained an amazing variety of snowblowers, most within a block of the Times-Tribune

Worst-ever use of good Flash animation: Winter driving advice.

Matt Kemeny of the Times-Tribune in Scranton turns in the lead of the year: "Brian Wrightson thought his dome was invincible."

Ken Vogel gets made fun of (kind of) by Wonkette

For former TL Harrisburg reporter Kenneth P. Vogel, this is kind of like kissing your sister. Wonkette makes fun of Vogel's employer, The Politico, for filling its Web page with photo galleries of staffers at events. The screen grab (above) shows Vogel. But Wonkette only bothers to identify Vogel and his pals as "three Politico staffers." So Vogel gets blog fame, but not with his name attached. Click through to the Politico gallery to see other pictures of Vogel, as well as lots of Hill tail.

Chris Kelly: Everyone reads weather stories

"Some people will read the stories on the commissioners, taxes and Iraq. Everyone will read the stories on the snow," Chris Kelly writes in today's paper. "Newspaper columns, like snowstorms, are measured in inches. In terms of substance, there’s not much to this one. In fact, I wrote it for no other reason than that it was snowing." Oy.

Kellar: My old TL editors were dangerous SOBs

Times Leader Jerry Kellar takes a couple shots at the old regime at the end of his column, recounting stupid orders from (presumably) Walzer and Iseman.

Everyone welcome new reporter Sherry Long to the TL

Sherry Long comes to Wilkes-Barre from The Ellis County Press, a weekly in little Ferris, Texas, just down I-45 from Dallas. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Tex. and has also worked at the Henderson (Tex.) Daily News. Welcome.

TL Web Editor Joe Soprano welcomes Long to northeastern Pennsylvania

TL writes a love letter to WNEP's Jill Garrett

Jessica Grizzanti of the Times Leader writes a strangely amateurish puff piece about Jill Garrett, WNEP's health "reporter." No mention of the VNR scandal Garrett got caught up in a year ago.

Jill Garrett caught using video news release without attribution (Beale's Bites)

Richard Connor: I collect typewriters and I like Maureen Dowd

The Times Leader editor and publisher mails it in this week with ruminations about kids today and their buying habits.

Times-Tribune source in prison case held in contempt

A month (!) after a judge ruled that a Scranton Times-Tribune source illegally leaked grand jury testimony to the newspaper, the Times Leader (Friday) and The Times-Tribune (Saturday) are on the story, kind of. The source, state narcotics agent James Kolojejchick, was fired in the summer of 2004 and is to be sentenced for contempt of court in March. Ron Lieback of the TL names reporter Jennifer Henn and editor John Murphy as the newspaper staffers involved in the case, while Michael Race's terse nine-paragraph story does not. Neither piece really does the story justice, given the stakes (the shield law for reporters, as well as a lot of professional reputations) involved.

Click the headline for the TL story, click here for the T-T story

Read the January 2004 Scranton Times story that started it all

Chris Ritchie turns up in journalism story

The former Times Leader editor is in a Lancaster New Era story about the ethics meltdown at the newspaper there.

Coffee with Alan K. Stout and Steve Corbett

The Weekender editor has a lengthy interview with former colleague Steve Corbett. The story at least addresss, but glosses over, Corbett's messy and sudden departure from the TL in 2002.

Read Corbett's blog on the WILK site, which has lots of ball-busting and a few typos

Jolyn Resnick is dead

We're sorry we didn't learn of this earlier, but Jolyn Resnick -- the feisty Wilkes-Barre City Hall reporter who covered Mayor Tom McGroarty for the Times Leader -- has died of pancreatic cancer. Resnick was at the TL from 1999 to 2002 and covered City Hall from 2000 to 2002. Barely a year after being named the paper's top reporter, she was demoted suddenly and was forced out in October 2002 shortly before her cancer diagnosis. The obituary includes memorial information. Condolences.

Resnick talks with WNEP about living for a year with pancreatic cancer (Nov. 18, 2003)

A good Resnick story about municipal mismanagement in Wilkes-Barre

I say Scranton, you say Scanton, let's call the whole thing off

Two days after its Feb. 4 publication, this is still on the Voice Web site. Stay classy, CV.

Kelly: Barbaro was just a horse

So who is "a certain veteran journalist whose opinion I would respect even if he couldn’t fire me for insubordination," as Chris Kelly put it in the Sunday Scranton paper?

Connor: We went local and put Renita Fennick, Joe Butkiewicz and Anne Woelfel in command

Times Leader editor/publisher Richard Connor says the TL putting locals in leadership positions might hold some lessons for the chamber, searching for a new president.

Crazies still get their letters in the CV

Ric Morris of Nanticoke is one of those guys who thinks criminals read the Voice to adapt their operations to avoid police detection. "The general public doesn’t need to know how the LEAs do their crime solving," the letter reads. Apparently no one edits these letters before publication.

The TL's Sandy Snyder goes on (and on, and on) about her house

Quite a lot of value for Wilkes-Barre readers when an editor talks about her carpet.

New editor at the Pocono Record

Jesus, what a terrible story. "A thorough review of 100 high-caliber applications from all corners of the United States?" "A great leap forward in the Record's effort to become a 24/7 multimedia local news organization?" This shit reads like the Onion. Does this mean they're not calling Iseman back for a second interview?

Former TLer Kevin Hoffman to take over Twin Cities alt-weekly

This is a little late, but former Times Leader reporter Kevin Hoffman has been named editor of City Pages, the Village Voice Media-owned alternative weekly in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Kudos.