CV says BIlly D. indictment makes its allegedly libelous story OK

Judge Mark Ciavarella will rule on whether the Voice can add Billy D.'s indictment, which was unsealed after testimony in the libel case ended, will be added to the record.

Former TL designer Rob Fucci checks in

Fucci, now back in Massachusetts, is praying for the TL.

Louis DeNaples talks with the Scranton Times

The Scranton Times published Sunday a huge package about Louis DeNaples, the "Dunmore businessman" who is reputed to be the man behind the man when it comes to everything in northeastern Pennsylvania. DeNaples is trying to get a slots license, so it's now in his interest to talk with the press about how clean he is. Tough journalism or puff piece? Read the stories and discuss.

TL newsroom thinks Times-Shamrock sux, deluges Gary Pruitt with e-mail

Missed this story yesterday afternoon from the AP's Mike Rubinkam on how the TL is the last kid on the playground.

Iseman writes of the bureau, lesbians, and gargling

But not of Times-Shamrock, McClatchy, or Knight Ridder.

Letter writer: I love the Times Leader

Connie Storer of Wilkes-Barre is the author

The TL's story on how it's the last KR orphan

Interesting tidbit from the story: Renita Fennick states as fact that Pat McHugh is leading a group of bidders. Though McHugh is quoted in the story, no one asks him about it.

The upshot of all this: the TL can now claim to be Knight Ridder's flagship newspaper.

WYOU down to five reporters

This comes from Beale's Bites, an excellent NEPA television news blog.

Read the TL's lawsuit against Skrep and Vonderheid

The TL published the text of the suit on its editorial page. There you have it. You do wonder why the commissioners would want to continue to keep Luzerne County in 1965.

And then there was one

Wilkes-Barre always has to be special, right up to the end. McClatchy has sold off all its unwanted newspapers except one: The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Is there a bidding war? Or are there any bidders (at the minimum price) at all? If you were expecting any insight from the TL business staff, your expectations were misplaced.

Stacy Brown of the Scranton Times gets a plug

Having met Stevie Wonder qualifies as newsworthy in Scranton, since a reporter for the Times was written up for his connection to the Wonder family.

TL goes after Luzerne County in FOI suit

Despite all the hot air in the Walzer regime, it seems like the TL has really ratcheted up its FOI vigor in the Golas regime. This time the target is a potentially illegal vote on the part of the Luzerne County commissioners.

Was Sembrat a virgin?!?

The Delaware County (Pa.) Times has a sweet tabloidish story about TL sports writer Steve Sembrat, who got two to four years Monday for trying to hook up with a little girl he met on the Internet. The little girl was a cop. Not to ruin the story, but a couple highlights:
-- Sembrat "raised a handcuffed arm to wave at a colleague from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader"
-- "the defendant was quoted as stating that he never had a sex partner"
-- He never, ever, ever thought about tying up young girls and having sex with them until 2004.

Sembrat gets two to four years

Terrie Morgan-Besecker makes the trip to Media to write the last story of the man who, when accused of soliciting sex from an underage girl, confessed. To Dave Iseman.

Steve Corbett, en espanol

Sure, it's a year old. But read a story that a paper in El Salvador wrote about former TL columnist "Steve Corbett, columista de Santa María Time, ha escrito columnas desde que el juicio de Michael Jackson dio inicio en la corte de Santa María, California."

The words "Renita Fennick" appear on Romenesko

Very exciting. Let's just hope Renita has a job by the end of the week.

TL is hard-hitting, CV easy to read while pooping

That's the Sunday morning insight on the TL letters page from Dick Holodick of Wilkes-Barre. Are these letters for real?

Diamond City editor: We love our bosses

"He's young, hip, and one helluva motivational speaker," Gene Padden gushes of CV publusher Scott Lynett. Of the CV: It's "a strong paper with a loyal readership." Quite a love-in down in Wilkes-Barre.

McHugh leading group to buy TL??

The plot thickens. Saturday's TL cites an anonymous source who reports that publisher Pat McHugh has an assembled an ownership group of Philly money to buy the TL. Be sure to read the comments on the official TL discussion board at the bottom of the page.

Todd Meyers, Jon Fox quit the TL

Two more bite the dust: Meyers, the city editor, and Fox, the Wilkes-Barre City Hall reporter, are departing for greener pastures. Matt Golas doesn't say exactly where in his newsroom note, but Meyers will be doing PR (where?) and Fox will be working for an outfit in D.C.

CV letter writer: I like two newspapers

Idea: The CV closes while the TL lives on

Interesting, Renita Fennick. Interesting. Recommended reading.

Blondie voted #1 comic in Scranton Times

Editor Lawrence K. Beaupre writes a lengthy history of Blondie for subscribers. Must be read to be believed.

CV circulation up, TL circulation down

Newspapers only publish stories with terms like FAS-FAX if their circulation goes up. If circulation goes down, no story. That's why there's no corresponding TL link.

TL publishes letter from staffer uneasy about criticism of Times-Shamrock

Kudos to the Times Leader editors for their willingness to publish a letter from within the building critical of all the anti-Times-Shamrock rants. It begs the question for an interesting story: What about all the line employees at the TL who just want to get along and desparately hope to have a job there in a few months? Not everyone there is a footloose reporter or an executive with a KR buyout in their contract.

Bids for TL due today

The Times Leader didn't publish a story on the deadline, though the Citizens' Voice did. Pat McHugh tells Nichole Dobo that "several" bidders have visited the newspaper.

Anonymous source tells TL that Yucaipa may visit

“The reporting was not just negligent, it was reckless and out of control"

That's what a lawyer said about stories in the CV about a NEPA businessman. That man's libel trial against the Voice and reporters Ed Lewis and James Conmy concluded on Friday. A ruling from the bench will come in a couple months.

Read the CV's story wrapping up the trial coverage

Oops: Robert Kalinowski picks up a correction on his Thursday story about the libel case

We'll-miss-the-TL letters come in

Readers say they'll miss the TL (which isn't dead yet, by the way).

Susquehanna County man loves the TL's TV guide

Welcome Derek Levarse and Jamie Raub to the TL

Both fellows will be working for Joe Petrucci on the sports desk. Matt Golas has the details in his newsroom note. Don't sign any long-term leases, fellas.

More -- much more -- on Richard Connor's bid to buy the TL

This is the most insightful story to date on any non-Times-Shamrock buyer for the newspaper. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a big story about Richard Connor, his family and his money. A must-read. Interesting that the Fort Worth paper (a former KR paper) didn't slip the TL a copy of its story last night.

Casey Jones: Save us. Please, save us!

The deafening sound of silence in Wilkes-Barre re: the impending demise of the TL saddens Mr. Jones. Someone should put all these self-serving columns (we're great, Lynetts bad, you'll miss us) together into a book.

Wife of man targeted by CV stories says she was questioned about his alleged shady deals

The libel case against the CV continued for another day Wednesday, Kevin Amerman reports.

CV unable to force its law-enforcement sources to testify, judge rules (TL sidebar)

Read Robert Kalinowski's CV story about the case

Plleeeese read this letter to the editor

A Mary Ann Daywood of Plains wants the TL to stay, and she's willing to misspell words in the newspaper to make sure the paper stays.

WNEP does a brief story about the potential demise of the TL

The story is about what you would expect. Some people like the Leader. Others like the Voice.

Hapless, lazy, hopeless

Some might say that describes using a Tuesday 'newsroom note' as a Wednesday staff editorial. Not the stuff of Pulitzer prizes.

TL letter writer: A two-newspaper town is good

An uncommonly articulate letter to the editor in the TL (from a Swoyersville man, no less) attacking the simple-minded letter from the temp agency magnate that supported a one-newspaper town.

Comny on the stand: CV libel case continues

Word to the wise: When you write a story that could be potentially shaky, remember that you could be on the stand five years later explaining who you did and didn't rely on. CV reporter James Comny admitted Tuesday that his stories about Thomas Joseph's alleged improper dealings did not have any law-enforcement sources. Makes you wonder who his sources were, then. The plaintiff's attorney will probably be asking that question in the coming days. Ed Lewis, the main writer on the stories, was nowhere to be found on Wednesday, though the same attorney would like him to testify. Another test of Pennsylvania's shield law awaits.

Read the CV's take on the story

God bless the little creatures at the CV

Not a good day for the CV or for Times-Shamrock. The Times Leader piles on, with a staff editorial along with the usual Matt Golas newsroom note about how retarded it was for the Voice and the Scranton Times-Tribune to ignore the Lynett family tour of the Times Leader on Sunday and then write a story about the tour that relies solely on the TL story. Romenesko bites, making the flap (Citizens' Voice unable to confirm parent's tour of KR paper) his lead story for a time.

Question: Is Golas writing specifically to get on Romenesko?

Former publisher Connor tours TL plant with potential buyers

Richard Connor was a publisher right after the strike started in 1978. A solid effort from Renita Fennick. NOTED: In the last legs of the story is the unattributed claim that the newspaper is worth $50 to $80 million.

Joseph libel suit against the CV continues

Another day, another round of accusations that the Voice is full of anonymously-sourced, slipshod reporting. Kevin Amerman from the TL reports.

Robert Kalinowski of the CV reports about how a (possible) source of the story was allowed to leave without testifying on the Voice's behalf

NewsAlert: Lynetts, others tour TL on Sunday

Why, oh why, are there no pictures? Potential new owners walk through the newsroom at 11:15 a.m. Sunday and no one takes pictures? Christ. Anyway, the TL also reports that the rumor mill says that a former publisher, but not Dale Duncan or Mark Contreras, may buy the paper. Maybe they will give Allison the paper to settle her lawsuit.

Matt Golas, in his Monday newsroom note, mocks the Lynetts for not writing about their visit in the CV or the Scranton paper, says they are soft, makes odd reference to a Department of Justice investigation (all after Sherwood item)

Scranton Times editor Steve Daily says he'd like to blog about blogging

Buried in the business editor's column was a mention of nepamedia.blogspot.com. How sweet.

Coverage of CV libel lawsuit continues

It's been interesting comparing CV and TL coverage of the Thomas Joseph libel lawsuit. Terrie Morgan-Besecker has written every story for the TL, while it's been a rotating cast for the Voice. Saturday, it was Nichole Dobo. Friday's testimony was from an expert witness who said Joseph lost a lot of money because of the CV's erroneous reporting. Note the interesting lines at the end of Dobo's story. The Scranton Times stayed away from the story again Saturday.

CV story on the libel trial involving the newspaper

Scranton Times goes behind the scenes of Frank Andrews Shimkus' win

The analysis, from Borys Krawczeniuk's Roderick Random, says Andrews won because he's on TV a lot and because the other strong candidates took away from each other. No mention of Frank's professional ethical lapses.

Scranton Times-Tribune shooter Jason Farmer wins at APME

Inexplicably, the Scranton newspaper did not mention its staffer winning in its wire story published Friday. The Pocono Record, where Farmer was working at the time he did the winning work, had more information.

UPDATE: Jason Farmer is not to be confused with Ed Farmer, a journeyman right-hander who pitched for the Phillies in 1982-83. Fucking bloggers!

Welcome Megan Reiter to the Scranton Times-Tribune

Formerly of the Punxsutawney Spirit, Megan Reiter is a new reporter at the Scranton Times-Tribune. It's not clear who she is replacing.

Reiter rides along with a constable in '04

Reiter isn't a technology buff

Bob Kadluboski was the man behind controversial CV advert

The towing company operator put an ad in the Voice before this week's election -- an ad that criticized two candidates but didn't say who paid for it. Publisher Scott Lynett and ad director Mark Altavilla both say they are very, very sorry, James Conmy writes. It only took Comny and the Voice four days to catch up to Jon Fox's TL story about the same topic.

Earlier:

The TL writes about the screwed-up political ad in the Voice

CV gets ripped by J-prof at libel trial

CV reporters Ed Lewis and James Comny were portrayed Thursday as inferior reporters and editor Justin O'Donnell was portrayed as asleep at the switch. Not a good showing for the Voice, if you believe a Temple University professor called by the plaintiffs to testify as an expert witness about how slipshod the CV's coverage about Thomas Joseph was.

Also:

Terrie Morgan-Besecker's other Friday story about the trial

Tim Gulla writes Friday's CV story about the trial

Weather man loses arbitration case against WYOU

Phil Yacuboski of WYOU was trying to get out of a one-year no-compete clause, according to Kevin Amerman's story. No dice.

CV might be a little screwed in its libel case

It's hard to tell, but if you read Terrie Morgan-Besecker's story closely you learn (or think you learn) that the CV wants to put its confidential sources on the stand, but the judge won't let it. As it is, the judge has tossed as evidence the search warrant affidavit, an affidavit "that, in some instances, is similar" to what the anonymous sources told the newspaper. In other words, the CV has no evidence that its stories were true.

The TL has decided to go wall-to-wall with two stories in Thursday's newspaper. The CV had one, by Robert Kalinowski. The Scranton Times-Tribune has taken a pass on the story.

Read the Citizens' Voice version of the story

Read the TL's other Thursday story about the libel lawsuit

How the pros report the potential sale of their newspaper

With relentless, well-sourced, astute reporting. That's what the Philadelphia Inquirer, in the same situation as the TL, has been doing. To bad the readers in Wilkes-Barre aren't enjoying similar reporting.

Frank Andrews Shimkus wins in primary

The former (and perhaps future) WYOU-TV news director won the democratic primary Tuesday in his bid to join the Pennsylvania state legislature after a race where he got a free pass on his professional ethical lapses. The victory seems to have emboldened the people who oppose him chiefly for personal reasons (problems with booze and women):

The man behind Dohertydeceit.com unveils plans for Shimkusdeceit.com

Also, be sure to read what Howard Beale and his commenters have to say over at Beale's Bites:

Beale's Bites (NEPA TV news blog)

The TL's Matt Golas lays out the newspaper's goals

"We will continue to be the only media here to take chances, try something different, break a rule once in a while, surprise you." Etc. etc. etc. Sounds like the results of a brainstorming session of some kind.

CV libel case goes to trial

Terrie Morgan-Besecker was at day one of a trial involving the CV and a businessman who the newspaper alleged had ties to organized crime and Billy D'Elia. James Conmy and Ed Lewis wrote the stories in question. Too bad TMB didn't describe how they looked sitting at the defendant's table. Neither the TL nor the CV get into an obvious question: Will the newspaper be forced to reveal its confidential sources as part of the trial? If push comes to shove, will Lewis and Comny pull a Judith Miller and go to jail to save their source?

Read Robert Kalinowski's CV story about the case

Read the 2001 stories that triggered the lawsuit

Casey Jones talks about Scott Lynett's hot body

You can't beat a column about a publisher's "pale, pasty body." Casey also ensures that he won't have a job in the new world order with another TL column/editorial/story about how horrible life will be in the non-TL future, and only the Lynetts are to blame. Worth reading for the camp value alone.

Enjoy the wild reader responses to the AP's W-B story

The Times Leader apparently does not moderate comments during the weekend, otherwise it would have stripped out the shots at the newspaper left in the comments section of the AP's story about the newspaper.

Letter writer: Two-paper town is good

Michael Stair of Mountain Top (or Mountaintop, if you like) writes the CV editor to report that he likes having two papers. It's far down in the letters column.

Your mom will be reading about Wilkes-Barre on the AP wire

Times Leader alum Mike Rubinkam wrote a takeout about the Wilkes-Barre newspaper war that moved on the wire Friday. Matt Golas, Dave Iseman, Larry Holeva, Jerry Kishbaugh (!) and Scott Lynett all make appearances. It does a good job of looking back at the bad old days of 1978 when the newspaper strike started and today's battle lines were drawn.

Hanover Area school board asks judge to toss TL FOI lawsuit

John Davidson reports that the lawyers for Hanover Area want to sit on the terms of a settlement it reached with the parents of a disabled student. The TL says freedom must reign. A judge will decide.

TL's Golas to CV's Dobo: Drop dead

Well, not quite. But TL editor Matt Golas is crying in his beer that Nichole Dobo didn't use his money quote in her Sunday takeout on the future of newspapering in NEPA. "Nichole is a reputable reporter. I hope this was just an oversight and not a case of censorship, an example of managing the news," Golas writes at the end of his newsroom note. Maybe it was a case of the reporter picking the quote she felt was most newsworthy! What a chickenshit thing to cry about -- the reporter didn't use the quotes he thought was most relevant. You could fill Public Square with interview subjects who have the same complaint about TL reporters... or about reporters at any newspaper in the land.

Golas should know better.

Here's another self-serving story from the TL about how its demise would be a loss for humanity

Seriously, read it all the way to the end of this Renita Fennick story. When it's not crowing about how much the newspaper cares about the community ("The Times Leader has dedicated a full-time reporter, Mark Jones, to the community advocate beat") or bragging about all the money it dispenses ("The Times Leader gives about $130,000 in cash each year") it is blowing publisher Pat McHugh, detailing his humble beginnings in Miami and his rise to the most benevolent man in Wilkes-Barre ("Since Pat McHugh came aboard, the employee and corporate financial contributions (to the United Way) have gone up fourfold").

Yuck. Talk about a story that should not have been written, much less published.

Shit: CNHI visits Wilkes-Barre, may buy the TL

Iseman and his cohorts will be wishing the Lynetts swooped in if Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., aka the Alabama public employees retirement system, buys the TL. CNHI makes Pat McHugh look like Joe Pulitzer. However, Renita Fennick's inside sources say a sale to CNHI seems unlikely.

The TL, according to the Voice, may be fucked

An uncommonly solid read on the future of the TL, as well as the future of the larger Wilkes-Barre newspaper market. There's real reporting, CV Publisher Scott Lynett's remarks aren't taken at face value, and historic perspective. Kudos to Nichole Dobo for departing from the CV's usually shrill, partisan "reporting."

Dave Iseman says it's tense in the TL newsroom

Don't read this if you're looking for a real peek into the newsroom or into Dave Iseman's recent experiences there. Do read this if you're looking for the usual bragging about how "scrappy" the TL is ("get close and we might try to look up your pant legs"), mixed in with kissing the ass of the editor ("no sacred cows...our top editor, my boss, lives by that") and the publisher ("a congenial newshound in publisher’s clothing").

Scranton Times publishes puff piece on Frank Andrews Shimkus

Incredible. The Scranton Times profiles a guy who a) lied about his name, b) worked as a TV news director while publicly kicking around running for office c) is still "consulting" for a TV news station while running, d) puts on his resume master's and doctoral degrees from an unaccredited school (which he uses to teach at the University of Scranton), and e) appeared on the cover of a pay-for-play "magazine" under questionable circumstances.

And the Sunday profile, from Borys Krawczeniuk, only addresses the name lie -- and gives him a free pass on it. The rest, all documented and on the record, is ignored. The profile is the definition of uninsightful. Except for the disclosure that his favorite movie is "Pay It Forward," reason enough to not vote for the guy.

What a disappointment.

The TL's Matt Golas: Freedom of speech is a good thing

The thought comes in Friday's newsroom note, about the anti-Saudi student letter that got the people at Wilkes University all riled up.

Christopher Kelly thanks his favorite teacher

It's the feel-good story of the week, from the columnist at the Scranton Times.

TL's FOI lawsuit against W-B police continues

The city wanted a judge to dismiss the open-records lawsuit, but Judge Michael Conahan told the city no dice. Note that the ruling came in late April and the story came May 6. Zzzzzz...

Scranton Times wins some penny-ante awards you don't care about

Kudos to Jeff Sonderman, Michael Mullen, Jim Conroy and Jessica Matthews for winning some awards.

Kudos to Jeff Sonderman of the Scranton Times

Sonderman noted at the end of a story about Allied Services that Times Publisher Edward Lynett is on the board at Allied. Other journalists would do well to emulate such transparency with the reader.

Voice tracks potential TL buyers

Kudos to the CV for tracking down the guys from Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, in town to kick the tires at the Times Leader. But what hotel were they at? Don't just say "a city hotel." The Red Roof Inn on Kidder Street?

TL writes a story about publishing a letter to the editor

Seriously, the Times Leader spends more time quoting editors than they do regular joes in Wilkes-Barre. This time, it's TL Editorial Page Editor Jean LaCoe explaining that letters to the editor are important. “I’d rather not shield our readers from opinions that some might label as extreme.” You go, girl.

Read Jean LaCoe's 2005 unveiling as editorial page editor

Breaking: Chuck Rappaport and Matt Golas both delivered papers in Chevy Chase

That's not all! The TL copy editor and EIC, as young fellows, both lusted after the same raven-haired beauty at the town pool. Draw your own conclusions. In other news, Joe Butkiewicz summers at Cape Cod and you don't.

Classic: The TL misspells Fred Ney's name on 1A

Michael Buffer stumbles on page one, giving the CV folks something to chuckle about. Fred Nye -- er, Ney -- of course, was a longtime CV reporter before becoming a flack for Kanjorski. Nye. That's funny.

WTF? The CV jerks off Jeff Namey

The Citizens' Voice wonders why it has credibility problems. And then it publishes garbage like this Elizabeth Skrapits "story" about the newspaper making up an award and giving it to Wilkes-Barre school Superintendent Jeff Namey.

Where do you start? With a quote from publisher Scott Lynett, of all people, saying that Namey is so wonderful the newspaper created an award just for him? With a lead that indicates that the best thing about Wilkes-Barre students is that they are well-behaved on trips? Was this story for a gag edition that mistakenly got published? How can anyone who works across from Coughlin High School and sees their motley collection of students bestow such an award?

The school district's legals must be up for bidding again. People of Wilkes-Barre: When the TL is liquidated, this is what you have to look forward to.

A TL buyer may or may not have been on the premises

Renita Fennick's story is filled with a bunch of guesses and no-comments. Did someone come to the TL or not? McHugh was gone? Then why weren't you tailing him? Would a visitor come during the wee hours? Then stake the building out around the clock. Same goes for the printing plant. That's how they do it in the pros.

Disappointing.

Temp boss: Too much news duplication in W-B

Chris Hackett, who runs a temp agency in Wilkes-Barre (and who is probably tired of having to put classifieds in two newspapers) writes in a CV letter to the editor: "Bottom line, if we end up with a single newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, everyone wins."

Except for the people who lose their jobs, who Mr. Hackett could undoubtedly employ as assemblers for $7 an hour.

What a fuckhead. But kudos to the CV for publishing a letter that was slightly critical of the newspaper.

More from the TL about its Kingston police blotter battle

We fight for open records blah blah the Kingston police are meanies blah blah they will see the light blah blah.

A story makes it official: Joe Petrucci takes over as sports editor

A short story in today's Times Leader fleshes out the installation of Joe Petrucci as sports editor. (A mug would have been nice.) Not bad for a veteran of the Pocono Record.

UPDATE: Thanks for the mug.

Joe Petrucci is the new sports editor at the TL

Joe Petrucci replaces Kurt Knapek, who is moving with his wife to South Carolina, TL editor Matt Golas reports. Kudos to Petrucci. We'll see how long he has a sports department to run.

CV: Kingston Mayor Haggerty accuses TL of playing politics with FOI lawsuit

TL editor Matt Golas agrees to be interviewed by CV reporter James Conmy, which is a nice professional courtesy. (Scranton Times editor Larry Beaupre has vowed in print not to be interviewed by the Times Leader). Otherwise, pure vanilla in the CV's report on the TL's FOI lawsuit against Kingston and its running-for-state-office mayor James Haggerty.

TL has a big Sunday story about its potential sale

A mixed bag from writers Renita Fennick and Dave Iseman. The Times Leader, congentially unable to report on itself, suddenly starts writing about its "healthy" operating margin of 20.4 percent in 2004. Twenty percent! No wonder Allison Walzer was banking so much.

On a positive note, it is nice to see some reporting that approached objective and unbiased. On a negative note, it seems awfully self-serving. It's hard to admit that the TL is a dead end, from a business point of view. The first newspaper in a two-newspaper town that is losing traction in every metric, despite all the fluff pieces about the downtown movie theater and so on.

Kurt and Stacy Knapek head south

TL editor Matt Golas broke bread with Dave Iseman and the Knapeks last night. Sports editor Kurt Knapek and designer Stacy Knapek are heading to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to work on the newspaper. Isn't Lane Filler there?

TL sues Kingston for police info

One of the cool things about not really having a boss (like the people at the TL) is that you can sue everyone like crazy. What are they going to do, fire you? Is there even a Knight Ridder corporate office that the Times Leader is answerable to? Anyway, Mayor Jim Haggerty calls the lawsuit "a thinly veiled attempt to torpedo my candidacy for state Senate and hijack a primary election." He's probably right, but he should have thought of that every time he stuck it to the Times Leader for the past three years over penny-ante police blotter info.

TL: A day late, here's our story about the MediaNews deal

This ain't a weekly here, folks. Renita Fennick namechecks Ron Burkle in her story about how the supermarket magnate and FOB is still interested, along with the newspaper guild, in buying the last of the KR orphans in places like Wilkes-Barre and Akron. A funny reality show would be a race to see who can -- by automobile -- visit all the rump KR cities first. Requirements would finding the diviest bar in each city and having a drink. Start in Duluth and work your way east. Good times.

Jane Jacobs gets a mention in the Scranton Times after all

Reporter Dave Falchek notes that Jacobs once worked on the Scranton Republican, which later became part of the Scranton Tribune, which later became part of the Scranton Times. She thought that demolishing three blocks of Lackawanna Avenue to build a mall was a bad idea, and many local urban-planning types worship her. That's all we learn about Jacobs as far as Scranton is concerned.

Newspaper Guild: We'll still love the CV even if we buy the TL

"To leave hard-working newspaper people feeling like cattle in an auction is reprehensible," Matt Golas, editor of the Times Leader and friend of the working man, tells TL reporter Renita Fennick in a story that also features CVers Heidi Ruckno and Angela Wolfer.

An interesting story. We learn that a) apparently no buyers have been to the TL to kick the tires and b) The CV, which once had 200 unionized employees, now only has 135 total employees. Could the Lynetts be thinning out the ranks to make room for TL refugees once the day of rapture arrives?

Sphincters tighten in W-B as the best 'KR orphans' go off the market.

Oh, shit.

The Times Leader's hope of being the player to be named later in a giant newspaper deal involving the heavies in St. Paul and San Jose just went out the window.

Hearst, MediaNews, Gannett and the Stephens all worked out a deal that gets the Pioneer Press in St. Paul and the Mercury News in San Jose off the market, along with two other California newsapers. One in three reporters west of the Mississippi will be working for a new publisher by the time the dust settles.

The TL is now knocking around with a motley crew that includes the likes of Aberdeen, S.D. and Fort Wayne, Ind. It's telling that the last two words in the AP's thousand-word opus were these: "Wilkes-Barre, Pa."

The best thing that could happen is that the TL is packaged with the Philly papers and sold to someone who is willing to pay more than the Lynetts.

Did you know: writer and urban theorist Jane Jacobs once was a reporter for the Scranton Tribune?

You learn something every day. Jane Jacobs, famous for her book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," was born and raised in Scranton and even worked on The Tribune long before it was folded into the Lynett empire. Regrettably, the Times-Tribune does not seem to ever have written of her, at least in the last six years. How interesting a story would it have been had the newspaper paid her way to come back to her hometown for a few days, walk around, and write something up for her old paper? Her take on urbanism in Scranton in the 21st Century? She was only one of America's preeminent thinkers on the topic. An opportunity squandered, regrettably but not surprisingly.

CV: Newspaper Guild, please don't buy the scab TL

The story, which is by reporter Nichole Dobo and quotes reporter Heidi Ruckno, is about the CV union's unhappiness with essentially funding the purchase of the TL. Not an unreasonable concern. But if the local at the CV thinks anyone in the world who matters in this deal gives a shit about them, they are sadly mistaken.

The story had an interesting note: The Guild/Yucaipa people will be in the TL soon to talk to employees. Have there been any other buyers kicking the tires in the TL newsroom?

TL's Golas: We are tough when it comes to right-to-know stuff

A 90s TL open-records case involving the Hazleton Area School District has popped up in a brawl the Inky is having with a Philly suburb. Matt Golas uses the occasion to give the Times Leader a shout-out for its tireless FOI work. Amazingly, he restrained himself from calling out the Citizens' Voice, which has (ahem) a short history of FOI battles.

Golas also did a nice job of glossing over the fact that the TL lost the Hazleton case (actually the state supreme court declined to hear it, allowing the unfavorable appeals court ruling to stand) and now that case is being used against newspapers across the state.

Stephen Daily named new Scranton Times business editor

Longtime Scranton Times business writer Stephen Daily is the paper's new business editor, according to a story in the Sunday newspaper. The story does not mention that he is the third business editor in three years.

Scranton Times shield law debacle gets a little statewide attention

Philadelphia First Amendment attorney Michael Berry writes in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg about two threats to Pennsylvania's shield law for journalists -- including the court order (on appeal) for The Scranton Times to disclose its confidential source for a story about a a grand jury investigation of corruption at the Lackawanna County Prison. The issue deserves a lot more attention than its gotten.

Kudos for CV staffers for winning some state awards

Michael Hockenbury, Leonarda Bilbow, Steve Bennett and Jonathan Bombulie all hit it big on something called the "Keystone Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Spotlight Contest." Party on.

It should be noted that it helps to have friends in high places. The local SPJ chapter is run by CV lifer Pat Trosky. That may or may not have anything to do with why the TL never ever wins anything, according to the "Keystone Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists" Web site.

Froggy 101/98 KRZ payola investigation spreads

The New York AG was already investigating the two Entercom-owned stations in NEPA. Now the feds are getting involved too.

TL sues Hanover schools over secret settlement

The parents of a special-ed student got $69,000, and the TL wants to know the inside details. "It seems outrageous to us that the district would make a secret payout and expect that it would go unchallenged,” Iseman tells Kris Wernowsky. You tell 'em.

Frank Andrews Shimkus: His master's degree is from an unaccredited school

There's no personal animus with this guy. Really. But the greasy way he lied about his name, worked as news director while talking about running and continues to consult while running rubbed us the wrong way.

So we checked around.

And it turns out that Frank's masters degree is from Antiedam Bible College/Biblical Seminary and Graduate School in Hagerstown, Maryland. The school, which has a .org Web address, is not accredited by any agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Repeat: The master's degree Frank Andrews Shimkus has on his resume -- and teaches at the University of Scranton with -- is from a school so low you can't get a federal student loan to go there.

Antiedam notes on its Web site, www.antietambiblecollege.org, that it is accredited by the "Transworld Accrediting Commission," which has a Web site of www.traccom.org and sounds official enough. Problem is, Transworld is not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, an oversight organization that operates with the blessing of the federal education department. Transworld might as well be five guys at Gonda's in Wilkes-Barre.

Now, this is not the same as a diploma mill. But the school is unwilling or unable to meet the minimum standards set by nationally known and accepted accrediting agencies. And Frank Andrews is bragging about having a master's degree from the joint. Just the guy I'd want leading my news operation.

Search the Council for Higher Education Accreditation database:
http://www.chea.org/search/search.asp

Search the U.S. Department of Education database:
http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.asp

See where AndrewsShimkus says he has the degree:
http://local.wnep.com/10years/v2/bios/andrews.html

TL to Pulitzer committee: Drop dead!

The TL was shocked -- shocked! -- to read that the Pulitzer bigshots in New York City bemoan the lack of vigorous investigative journalism at small to midsize dailies. Because, darn it, the TL is just the best little newspaper in the world and no one could possibly question their journalistic vigor. Sherwood, blah blah, Sunshine Act, blah blah. Smaller papers than yours have won the Pulitzer Prize. If the TL has not, why not?

The TL's Rory Sweeney: A bad man

So says the granddaughter of the angry grandma in the classic Larksville Basketball Hoop Spat. Her grandma is just THE BEST, and would never hurt anyone, and rules are rules, and she is the best grandma EVER, and Rory Sweeney contributes to "media-fueled fanaticism." P.S.: When I read the line calling Sayso "a forum where people could voice their heart-felt thoughts and concerns," I thought it was another letter from Iseman's mom.

Dean Singleton close to buying Calif. KR orphans

The downside for the TL: McClatchy's willingness to sell KR orphans in small groups means that the Lynetts of Scranton have a better shot on their presumptive TL-only bid. Polish up those resumes, fellas!