tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post1421551730156316786..comments2024-01-03T06:15:28.953-05:00Comments on Northeast PA media news and gossip: Corbett: This one homeless guy I talked to at the TL was in better shape than the newsroom staffNEPAmediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10096996915800680201noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-2821647645116450962007-05-01T13:36:00.000-04:002007-05-01T13:36:00.000-04:00Hot scoop: I have just learned that the writer who...Hot scoop: I have just learned that the writer who calls himself "Mark Twain" was actually some guy named Clemens.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, well into the 1960s, the New York papers were filled with gossip columns and commentary with bylines like "Cholly Knickerbocker" and shit like that. Probably the Philly Inquirer, too.<BR/><BR/>Times change and the standards change. I think Roderick Random should be terminated with extreme prejudice and Borys should step forward to take his place.<BR/><BR/>But that doesn't make this some kind of Jayson Blair case. There's no intent to deceive. It's just a tradition that's outlived its usefulness, yet another example of the time warp that Times Shamrock exists in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-18538730987223832712007-04-30T16:23:00.000-04:002007-04-30T16:23:00.000-04:00Maybe you should call the Philadelphia Inquirer, a...Maybe you should call the Philadelphia Inquirer, ask for any editor and inquire if the paper would let you cover politics, run a column with a bogus name and then use that name as a real person in your column. On second, thought, don't phone. The Inky editor would think he/she was getting a crank call and dial 911. By the way, readers are often stupid. So are local journalism clerks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-52960568894712610102007-04-30T02:15:00.000-04:002007-04-30T02:15:00.000-04:00"Borys and his editors went too far today when he ..."Borys and his editors went too far today when he refers to Roderick as a real person in his column. That's a total fraud." <BR/><BR/>7:22, are you mentally disabled? A fifth-grader using his 30 minutes of nightly computer time? <BR/><BR/>Readers aren't stupid. And Scranton Times readers have been seeing third-person references to Roderick since the Truman administration. Seriously. Most readers have a better understanding of the newspaper than many newer reporters. <BR/><BR/>A fraud? You need to adjust your tinfoil hat. I encourage you to picket the newspaper Monday and start a petition drive. Call the AP. Send copies of your petition to the District Attorney, Philadelphia Inquirer, AP, FBI field office and Bill O'Reilly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-30770066245665750842007-04-28T19:22:00.000-04:002007-04-28T19:22:00.000-04:00Borys and his editors went too far today when he r...Borys and his editors went too far today when he refers to Roderick as a real person in his column. That's a total fraud and I would hope he would be reprimanded if he did that in any new article or column. Tradition is one thing, making reference to a person as if that person really exists defrauds readers who are not part of the silly inner circle that orchestrated and perpetrates this terrible joyride that passes as journalism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-67792527599621179782007-04-28T19:19:00.000-04:002007-04-28T19:19:00.000-04:00Whether Borys functions as reporter or columnist, ...Whether Borys functions as reporter or columnist, he's dull and a company man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-16393173977393880532007-04-28T11:53:00.000-04:002007-04-28T11:53:00.000-04:00Finally, another mature voice of reason.Finally, another mature voice of reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-54870179974476089602007-04-27T22:34:00.000-04:002007-04-27T22:34:00.000-04:00"Roderick Random" may be a vestige of old-school n..."Roderick Random" may be a vestige of old-school newspaper days, but it's hardly meant to deceive anybody.<BR/>Borys is up-front with sources that "I'll be doing something in Roderick Random" on this...." Political insiders know who Roderick is.<BR/>So I'm not sure at all what the point of the pseudonyn is now in 2007.<BR/>Lots of newspapers and magazines used to have those kind of institutional columns that got passed from person to person. <BR/>The New Republic has T.R.B., which actually has been several different people, like Michael Kinsley. The New Yorker had something similar. <BR/>Most of those bogus pseudonyms have fallen by the wayside, and now Roderick just makes me think of Ann Landers' daughter taking over the column and still running the same old picture, or how the guy who created Batman died 20 years ago, but it still appears in papers under his name but drawn by somebody else.<BR/>Standards have changed, and it's time to kill off Roderick and let Borys step out of the shadows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-33768437965165932552007-04-27T18:41:00.000-04:002007-04-27T18:41:00.000-04:00That doesn't make yours good, Borys. Break a story...That doesn't make yours good, Borys. Break a story every now and then if the bosses let you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-46288646058783462952007-04-27T07:59:00.000-04:002007-04-27T07:59:00.000-04:00Yes, I much prefer the TL's non-existent political...Yes, I much prefer the TL's non-existent political reporting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-42978172171620818302007-04-26T17:04:00.001-04:002007-04-26T17:04:00.001-04:00The straight political reporting leaves something ...The straight political reporting leaves something to be desired as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-89123899978381349702007-04-26T17:04:00.000-04:002007-04-26T17:04:00.000-04:00I agree. The column is flat. No spark. Dull.I agree. The column is flat. No spark. Dull.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-34654480147333128732007-04-26T15:59:00.000-04:002007-04-26T15:59:00.000-04:00When journalism standards were higher that simply ...When journalism standards were higher that simply would not have happened. And, frankly, the column isn't really all that good anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-69810060584105209122007-04-26T12:16:00.000-04:002007-04-26T12:16:00.000-04:00"But then the debate arises about whether Borys, a..."But then the debate arises about whether Borys, a political reporter, should double as Borys, a political columnist."<BR/>Who besides yourself is having this debate, 1:44? You'd have trouble tallying all the political reporters in the country who double as columnists.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-13900774924101821862007-04-24T13:44:00.000-04:002007-04-24T13:44:00.000-04:00A name is all anybody asked for in the first place...A name is all anybody asked for in the first place. But then the debate arises about whether Borys, a political reporter, should double as Borys, a political columnist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-68812945742567181502007-04-24T00:16:00.000-04:002007-04-24T00:16:00.000-04:00No one is trying to con anyone here. Roderick has ...No one is trying to con anyone here. Roderick has been a part of the paper since the beginning of time; the Lynetts love tradition above all. It's a nice touch and an old-school salute to the paper's history. People in the know understand that Borys is currently the column's author; people not in the know may not be able to identify the author, but they don't believe that someone named Roderick Random has been writing a political column for the last 60 years. I would argue that the average Times reader understands that the column represents the newspaper's attempt to give a weekly dose of political insight and analysis. <BR/><BR/>If I were the editor I might add Borys's name to the tagline at the end of the column. But I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over the current arrangement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-31766000201183811652007-04-23T20:08:00.000-04:002007-04-23T20:08:00.000-04:00Get real. If Borys wants to follow in Joe Flannery...Get real. If Borys wants to follow in Joe Flannery's footsteps that's his problem. The newspaper managers should know better if they want to be taken seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-86527898136916397932007-04-23T20:06:00.000-04:002007-04-23T20:06:00.000-04:00Corbett thought Roderick Random was real.That's th...Corbett thought Roderick Random was real.That's the whole point.<BR/>Not everybody has the inside track, particularlty readers. Corbett only recently moved to Scranton and didn't spend his years in Wilkes-Barre following the Scranton Times. They were small time back when thew Times Leader was great. No taint here.Just that the Times taint upfront when it should be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-16948442770938305782007-04-23T19:46:00.000-04:002007-04-23T19:46:00.000-04:00I am fine with Corbett bringing it up, but it is u...I am fine with Corbett bringing it up, but it is unethical to do a radio show spot on an issue and not call the other side for comment.<BR/><BR/>Even worse is calling another journalist/media outlet unethical and then failing to get comment. It taints Corbett's whole arguement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-9199153497924368052007-04-23T19:22:00.000-04:002007-04-23T19:22:00.000-04:00Laugh and mock this issue all you want but adverti...Laugh and mock this issue all you want but advertisers and subscribers are talking about this and aren't laughing. Neither are people who understand what journalism schools teach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-77199279875746864482007-04-23T17:16:00.000-04:002007-04-23T17:16:00.000-04:00What they say is that Larry the editor might want ...What they say is that Larry the editor might want to get it together if he cares about continuing to salvage his own reputation as well as the reputation of the newspaper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-43405372409784426732007-04-23T16:19:00.000-04:002007-04-23T16:19:00.000-04:00Borys is the newspaper's main political reporter a...Borys is the newspaper's main political reporter and Borys should use his name on any column about politics he writes for the paper.<BR/>How hard is this to understand?<BR/>If no ethical issue remains, why can't Borys enter those "op-ed" columns in any journalism contest?<BR/>He can't because the standards for journalism as its practiced at gtood newspapers bans such a trick as fraud, dishonesty and of no use in a real newspaper. Let's pose this question to our peers at the Poynter Instituteand and see what they say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-16300076892217204032007-04-22T16:32:00.000-04:002007-04-22T16:32:00.000-04:00The current Roderick Random is Borys the flying sq...The current Roderick Random is Borys the flying squirrel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-64854014113725399312007-04-22T12:18:00.000-04:002007-04-22T12:18:00.000-04:00"Roderick Random" has been part of the T-T scene f..."Roderick Random" has been part of the T-T scene for probably 40 years now, and we're just figuring out it's a pen name? <BR/><BR/>It's an OP-ED piece, it never has been hard news. For years, it was written by Joseph X. Flannery; before him, a gentleman named Calpin wrote the column, I do believe. Somewhere in the there was a guy named Walter Toolan, who took a turn at writing it. If I had to bet, I'd say Chris Kelly now writes it. Whatever the case, the column was almost always dead-on, all of the info therein was solid and reliable.<BR/><BR/>It's no different than that Sunday column McGlynn did for years(maybe still does). Was it Party Animals? Same deal, why all the fuss?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-52261411607030600922007-04-21T22:54:00.000-04:002007-04-21T22:54:00.000-04:00How did J.T. die? I believe his name was James Ta...How did J.T. die? I believe his name was James Taylor, just like the singer. He used to stand in the window of the bank next door to the TL and take notes on the comings and goings of TL managers and editors. If you spoke to him he was friendly and polite. Once a week or so he would deliver a shopping bag full of writings and clippings to Michele Harris in the newsroom. He was finally jailed after violating a restraining order that ordered him to stay out of the TL. He was in jail for some time, and the day he got out he was right back inside the TL, grinning and dropping off his writings.<BR/>As for Corbett, he rocks, and always has. NEPA is lucky to have him back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21128745.post-22385117061265069862007-04-21T18:34:00.000-04:002007-04-21T18:34:00.000-04:00So let's try to be serious for a moment. The colum...So let's try to be serious for a moment. The column, even if it's good, can't even be entered in a journalism contest. Is mocking real political commentary and taking readers for a ride more important than real journalism that is judged, appreciated and commended?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com