$1.36m payout for WYOU's Gabrielle Prutisto and Stephen Yevchak, entertainment weekly reports

The Scranton entertainment weekly Electric City reports that former WYOU reporter Gabrielle Prutisto and former WYOU cameraman Stephen Yevchak will share a $1.36 million "arbitration ruling" in the wake of a traffic accident they were in while on station duty. Prutisto -- now working for fellow former WYOUer Frank Andrews Shimkus, a state rep in Harrisburg -- gets $650,000, while Yevchak gets $710,000, if Electric City is to believed. What was being arbitrated? Who did the arbitrating? Is this worker's comp? A lawsuit settlement? Union stuff? Any insight would be appreciated.

Brian Fees of The Daily Review in Towanda writes about his moment in the Rocket's sights

It was Brian Fees of The Daily Review in Towanda who asked the seemingly-harmless queston that got Roger Clemens all wound up. Fees writes about the incident, and the Yankees, in today's paper.

UPDATE: Also, Chad Jennings talked to Fees and wrote a story about the exchange in today's Times-Tribune. Read it here.

Who ticked off the Rocket?

Update: here is the answer (but not the question) on YouTube.

Let us say at the outset that we're not talking about the Pentagon Papers here. But today's papers all had stories about Roger Clemens ending his postgame press conference in a huff Sunday after a reporter asked a question about "negative things" written in the press. Everyone wrote about it. The T-T's Donnie Collins referred to him as an "unsuspecting reporter." Dave Konopki of the Times Leader called him "a reporter from a small newspaper in rural Pennsylvania." The New York Post merely called the reporter "someone." Again, this isn't as crucial as, say, the books at the library in Kingston. But if the fellow triggered a Rocket temper tantrum and caused the press conference to end early, isn't his identity newsworthy?

Scott Walsh of the Times-Tribune wins writing award

The American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association honored Walsh at the group's recent meeting in Indianapolis. Kudos.

TL letter writer: Why did you cover clown convention and not my convention of early childhood educators?

The TL didn't cover your convention, Leanne Grace of Shickshinny, because it hates freedom. Or because no one gives a shit about early childhood education.

David Burger: New entertainment writer in Bakersfield

David Burger, who left The Times-Tribune in 2005 to work at his hometown Bakersfield Californian, has been named the paper's chief entertainment writer. This means he has to blog. Read and enjoy.

Roundup: Linday's the hottest

God knows this site has had its share of misspellings, but for the last week the headline on Stacy Brown's Hollywood blog has been: "Linday's The Hottest."

A tipster reports that Steve Corbett is done with his morning show on The Mountain 102.3 FM and will be taking over the 3-7 p.m. slot on WILK.

Scranton native and former reporter Bob Patterson would like you to take a look at his blog at thesmirkingchimp.com

We're a week late getting to this, but Chris Kelly of The Scranton Times has with his column a lengthy video... depicting him in an underground toilet. Judge for yourself.

Times-Shamrock statehouse reporter Michael Race has resigned to take a PR job with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Meet his replacement, Robert Swift, a Harrisburg vet and former statehouse reporter for The Pocono Record.

Scranton Times publishes guest piece trashing ex-cartoonist for Pulitzer

(Update: In fact, the column was first published in the Birmingham News on May 9. FYI.)

Walt Handelsman, the former Scranton Times cartoonist who won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his work at Newsday, gets raked over the coals by an Alabama cartoonist whose guest op-ed appeared this week in The Times-Tribune. "And what’s next?" Scott Stantis of the Birningham News asks. "The Family Guy gets a Pulitzer? The Simpsons? American Dad? The Jib-Jab guys?" Meow!

More tributes to Jerry Kellar

(Updated to include Gene Padden's tribute from Electric City.)

Times Leader Publisher Richard Connor, former TLer Bill Savage, Scranton Times sportswriter Donnie Collins and Electric City Editor (and former TL sportswriter) Gene Padden all wrote nice pieces about Jerry Kellar, the Times Leader sportswriter who died a week ago at age 46.

Connor: Kellar's death reminds me of my plaque in the lobby

Savage: Good times on the road with Kellar back in the day

Collins: Kellar was a pro - and looked out for me

Padden: Kellar was a huge influence on me as a journalist

Times-Shamrock puts out a sharp Office convention site

In fairness to the folks at Times-Shamrock, it should be noted that the site promoting The Office Convention in Scranton is very non-Times-Shamrock looking. The convention, set for October, might be the biggest thing to hit Scranton since Harry Chapin played at the CYC. Anyway, the site -- with lots of pictures from the recent visit by the actors who play Angela and Kevin -- looks good. Kudos.

Nexstar for sale?

That's what James Haggerty and The Times-Tribune of Scranton (as well as other papers) reported Friday. Nexstar operates WBRE and WYOU. Our tipster reports: "The article says Nexstar is hoping to make additional revenue off its web sites. If PaHomePage.com is an example, that could generate at least 75 cents in revenue a year!"

(Post updated to point to T-T story rather than DMN story)

Question the T-T's Dave Falchek about wine at noon

Falchek will talk live online about wine. Be sure to stop by.

What if they held an election and the newspaper didn't come?

Not to be dicks, but did anyone let the TL know that there was an election today? Obviously, this is a hard time there; Jerry Kellar's funeral was Tuesday morning. But man. No election coverage on the Web. Zero. Zip. The Voice had 11 stories online plus a photo gallery, appropriate for an election with many contested county and Wilkes-Barre city races. The Times-Tribune in Scranton ran live election results and took the time to count all the write-ins which would be deciding the high-profile commissioners' race there. Even the Hazleton paper had three stories online. It's a shame.

Times-Tribune to have reporters working election night

That's the gist of a "story" in today's paper. If you read to the fifth graf, you get the news: Because the county isn't counting write-in votes -- expected to play a pivotal role -- until the end of the week, the newspaper will have extra people working to count them tonight. Good for them.

TL sports writer Jerry Kellar has died

Jerry Kellar, 46, died in his sleep Saturday at the Plymouth home he shared with his parents before their deaths. A cause of death was not listed.

Sports editor Dave Konopki's Sunday column about Kellar

Bill O'Boyle's Sunday mainbar

The CV shows class by running a piece about Kellar and his work

Joe Sporano's midday note

Monday's obituary

Kellar's last column, a May 9 piece about the death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock

Times-Shamrock M&A strategy makes CNN

CNN Money contributing writer Jeff Cox -- former editor of the Hazleton Standard-Speaker, a tipster reports -- wrote a piece for CNN's Web site about Times-Shamrock's domination of the news market in eastern Pennsylvania and how it mirrors national trends.

More on the bloodbath at WNEP

James Haggerty of The Times-Tribune has more on the heads rolling at WNEP after Oak Hill's takeover at the beginning of the week.

Speculation that WNEP's Mike Lewis will head south to WAVY-TV in Nofolk, Va.

A funny and strange page from another Mike Lewis, whose blog is titled "Rants in your Pants"

News & Notes

Stacy Brown, City Hall reporter for The Times-Tribune of Scranton, now has a blog about Paris Hilton, Michael Jackson and the rest.

Al Sweeney writes, in a Times-Tribune letter to the editor, that public criticism of the six-figure salaries WVIA execs pull down is "inappropriate"

Newsday cartoonist Walt Handelsman, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, worked on The Scranton Times back in the day

Times-Tribune editor Jessica Matthews starts writing a tech column. Week one: "Spring cleaning a click away." Look out Walt Mossberg!

Sheena Delazio of the TL made to write self-congratulatory story about the TL getting an award from the YMCA

Sheena Delazio of the TL made to write self-congratulatory story about the TL's annual scholarship contest

Husband of Scranton native wins Pulitzer Prize

Winner Hank Klibanoff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is married to North Scranton product Laurie Leonard Klibanoff. Terry Bonifanti of The Times-Tribune has the details.

The idiot's guide to understanding the Boston Herald libel case

A jury ordered the Boston Herald to pay $2.2 million to a judge after the newspaper published libelous stuff about the judge that it heard from another source and didn't verify. Sound familiar? Gawker editor Choire Sicha talks with Abovethelaw.com editor David Lat about the case. It is insightful and funny and scary.

TL, T-T Web sites all quiet re: terror training camp in Gouldsboro

The NYT, CNN and other news organizations are leading this afternoon with the story of the "terrorists" who were planning to attack Fort Dix. News tip: The Albanian crew rented the house at 2717 Eagles View Drive in Gouldsboro, 25 miles from the TL and T-T newsrooms. They also practiced shooting at State Game Lands 127 near Tobyhanna. You'd never know by visiting the TL and T-T Web sites, though.

You, too, can rent the Albanian Pocono Terror Den

Read the charging document

Chris Kelly's awards

This may have been a quirk or glitch in the Times-Tribune's Web site, but a list of "Chris Kelly's awards" was published on the Web as part of Saturday's paper. Kudos.

Times-Shamrock pays $3.1m for S-S land, buildings in Hazleton

The newspaper has not reported how much was paid for the business, but $3.1 million for real estate in downtown Hazleton is not too tacky.

Firings at WNEP

This totally unsubstantiated rumor comes in over the transom: "At least four people were not "rehired" by the new owners of WNEP. Assignment editor Mike Rudolf; Operations Mgr, Len Modzelski; Engineer Bob Schacht; and Photog Dan Harvey were all let go. Everyone at WNEP, I'm told, had to meet with GM Lou Kirchen and was either led out the door or were told they're staying. Word is this is just the first stage of possible changes."

New flag, other changes announced by Connor in Page One column

Richard Connor explains the new look ("more professional") and other changes in his column. Somewhere, Deb Withey is rolling over in her grave. He also says the biggest threat to newspapers are... reporters who cover the media. Fuckin' press.

Allison Walzer says you're a liar, and you're stupid, and you were sneaking around behind her back

Oh, boy. If you follow the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, have we got a present for you. Take all the concealed anger a newsroom holds. Mix in some petty slights, a dose of jealousy, a gallon of bile and a lot of money. The result is a 73-page federal court filing full of anger, cheap shots, dish and the weight of at least one staffer. It's Allison Walzer's response to the TL's motion for summary judgment. Strangely – or not strangely – no one has reported on it.

If you're like us, you'll feel dirty by the time you're done reading it. It's a great window into her lawsuit against the paper, which has proceeded largely in the shadows. The low/highlights:

• Everyone, and we mean everyone, has been deposed in this case. Allison. Pat. Iseman. Clark. Joe Butkiewicz. Diana Kurutz! Paige Danoff, Allison's daughter!

• Alison was the “main household breadwinner”

• Allison made $1.74 million from 1996 to 2005! In Wilkes-Barre!

• Since getting the boot, Allison averages $12,000 a year.

• A guy at a temp agency (!) told her she was “kryptonite” in Wilkes-Barre.

• McHugh gave scads of free advertising -- including a free 12-16 page tab three times a year! -- to the Catholic Youth Center. And he hates Jews.

• McHugh made Allison walk his dog.

• McHugh was “a poor student at Miami Dade Community College and Florida International University,” while Allison went to Cornell and Columbia.

• Clark Van Orden tips the scale at 270 pounds!

• Di was going to get rich and famous through her daughter's work as a child model.

• Allison says she was Clark's BFF. Clark says he was scared shitless of Allison. Allison now says Clark is a lying turd.

• Allison says Iseman orchestrated the whole thing “for his own personal ambition.” (?)

And on and on and on. Oh Allison also says Matt Golas is really stupid. And that McHugh hates Jews and women and especially Jewish women. There's a lot of inside baseball about Sharon Petchel and Claire Schecter. And bar mitzvahs. Enjoy. (The files are hosted on another site and will download as .pdf files. If you have a good reader you can search by keyword for your favorite parts!)

Former TLer Kevin Hoffman getting knocked around on the Interwebs

Kevin Hoffman covered schools at the Times Leader in the late 90s before earning his master's degree at Columbia University. He now edits the alt-weekly in Minneapolis/St. Paul and apparently is causing a stir. Or something. Read on if you like.

Former CV staffers sue for overtime

The four former Citizens' Voice district circulation managers claim they had management titles but line-worker jobs. The Voice published a short item in Tuesday's paper.

Update: The TL published a story by Terrie Morgan-Besecker today.

Lou Dobbs broadcasting from Hazleton Wednesday night

It promises to be a good old time.

Second-day story on Standard-Speaker sale to Times-Shamrock

Dave Singleton reports from Hazleton on the announcement to staffers there. Sign of the times: Singleton's story also appeared in the Voice and the Standard-Speaker. The story also includes a worthwhile video of one of the Walser boys making the announcement and of Scott Lynett making some remarks in what looks to be the mailroom in Hazleton.

The TL doesn't have much in an unbylined staff/wire piece

The most interesting thing in this brief history of the Standard-Speaker is that the fourth generation of Walser family ownership only lasted five years. Beware, Lynetts.

"Why is this happening?" The young Lynetts and Walsers ask in a joint letter in the Standard-Speaker. "Because it is time." I wonder what old man Walser has to say.

Shawn Kelly of the S-S reports that the Lynetts plan to be involved in the Hazleton community

Scott Lynett tells an unidentified S-S reporter that there are no plans to fold the paper into a larger NEPA paper or anything like that