• Erin Nissley of The Times-Tribune reports in detail on the newspaper's lawsuit, with remarks from lawyers on both sides as well as Larry Beaupre
Exciting! "I've never seen such a vast and blatant example of plagiarism in my 40 years of journalism," Times-Tribune Managing Editor Larry Beaupre reports after the T-T sued the TL for cribbing Scranton obits for the TL's Scranton edition. The T-T sued the TL in Lackawanna County for unjust enrichment, fraud, etc. Good stuff.
All of you who thought you'd never see the Times Leader try to break into the Scranton market: These are strange days indeed. After scrantonedition.com soft-launched a few weeks ago, real printed editions of the Times Leader's "Scranton edition" hit the streets today.
"I’m not condoning the use of street names; my job as a crime reporter brings me in regular contact with multiple law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendants, witnesses and victims," Ed Lewis writes. "That’s why I want to be called “The Ambassador."
Romenesko picked up Connor's Sunday piece, where he extols the virtues of Maverick John McCain. "I could have overruled but didn’t because I believe our process was democratic, the decision a mirror of what appears to be the sentiment of many persons, perhaps even a majority," Connor writes, "and because I respect the intellectual honesty of the members of our editorial endorsement board."
A blog in Washington state is reporting that a blog in Maine is reporting that the Portland Press Herald is reporting that Times Leader Editor/Publisher Richard Connor is part of a group trying to buy the Maine newspapers owned by the Blethen family. Connor, the Portland paper reports, was born in Maine.
• The Times-Tribune reports more about what reporter Dave Singleton heard and where he heard it
Fight! The Times-Tribune of Scranton reported that someone yelled "kill him" at the Sarah Palin rally in Scranton on Tuesday. The threat was national news, and was fodder for Keith Olbermann's show that night. 
Have you noticed how those Starbucks coffee shops! They're everywhere!
We've never heard of PV Media Group, but prnewswire says James McDonald -- who "has run two of the nation’s largest weekly newspapers in Manhattan and Philadelphia, while also overseeing the launch of a hugely successful newspaper for then-Capital Cities/ABC Publishing in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., market" -- is the new vice president of sales. Kudos.
We're just happy to have a new mug. But Dave Iseman impressed his bosses at the News-Leader of Springfield, Mo. enough that they picked him over 22 other applicants to run the paper's editorial page. Click above to read editor Don Wyatt's laudatory story announcing the move. Kudos.
That's the obvious conclusion after Connor – who wrote about the spate of anti-Semitic vandalism in Wilkes-Barre – writes that people he knows have twice recently talked about "Jewing them down" and the like. Thing is, Connor's daughter is married to a Jewish guy. Oops! He also gets a shot in at Obama for good measure.
The Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors have picked their winners for 2007. Winners from The Times-Tribune are Jessica D. Matthews, Butch Comegys, Joby Fawcett and David Falchek. Winners from the Citizens' Voice are Michael P. Buffer, James Conmy and Heidi Ruckno. Winners from The Times Leader are Aimee Dilger and Fred Adams. Kudos to all.
Update 12:49 p.m.: Wonkette picked up the story. Heh.
Times Leader Managing Editor Joe Butkiewicz writes a nice piece about one of the surreal bits of newspapering: Writing the obituary of a loved one. Butkiewicz's father-in-law, Edmund Poggi, died earlier this month.
Getting the band back together: Paul Sokoloski, a sports columnist at The Express-Times in Easton, is returning to Wilkes-Barre to work at his old paper, the Times Leader.
Richard Connor wrote a so-so advance column for the Sunday paper about Hillary's plans to march in Scranton's St. Patrick's parade on Saturday, and about how the Clintons have been been campaigning in Pennsylvania generally.
We didn't click on the link at first either. But former Times Leader News Editor Mike Liechty has hung out his own shingle as a freelance editor. Liechty – who uses Joe Student as a reference but not Allison Walzer or Dave Iseman or any current Times Leader employee – will polish up your blog for "$25 a page." Liechty characterizes his departure from the Times Leader in 2006 like this: "Having achieved all of his goals at the Times Leader, Mike resigned to seek other challenges."
This week's installment of political commentary from Times Leader Editor/Publisher Richard Connor.
