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Nov. 8, 2024

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Colleagues,

Good Friday morning on this Nov. 8, 2024,

ATTENTION, VETERANS: Our country celebrates Veterans Day on Monday, and Connecting would welcome from our veterans the following for Monday's issue: Your branch of service and dates of service, and your reply to this question: Why are you proud of your military service?

I hope you'll take time over the weekend to reflect on this and send along your thoughts by Sunday evening.

AP's first venture with livestreaming of a presidential election was a success, and our colleague Meg Kinnard, who anchored the livestream, gives us details.

She notes that the AP team broke a record for number of viewers of an AP livestream, with over 13 million total views and that it was the #2 trending spot across the entirety of YouTube.

Congratulations to all involved.

Today’s issue also brings thoughts from several of your colleagues in the aftermath of Tuesday’s elections.

Have a great weekend – be safe, stay healthy, live it to your fullest.

Paul

AP’s first livestream of presidential election a success

AP’s election night livestream crew, from left: Sagar Meghani, White House radio correspondent; Jack Auresto, deputy Washington bureau chief (video); Craig Broffman, news editor, Washington video, and Meg Kinnard, national politics writer and livestream anchor. (Photos by Serkan Gurbuz, AP video journalist, Washington)

Guests on the show, for segments on Congress and the presidential race, were, from left, Farnoush Amiri, AP Congressional correspondent; Michelle Price, national politics reporter, and Kinnard.

Meg Kinnard – AP's inaugural livestream of a presidential general election night went off without a hitch, thanks to the most professional and wonderful folks in the business.

We started at 5 p.m., and went until 5:35 a.m. when, just after I had started to pack up to head to my hotel, our race callers alerted me that we were going to make the call. So I hopped back on set, made the announcement, and then crashed.

I'm just so proud of our team. We broke a record for number of viewers of an AP livestream, with over 13 million total views. Additionally, we were the #2 trending spot across the entirety of YouTube.

If I attempted to thank them all, I would certainly leave someone out, so to all who were part of this historic event for our organization, thank you for all that you did to make it a success.

I'm looking forward to seeing where we go with this in the future!

He's got friends in high places...

Our colleague Dennis Conrad now has friends in high places, as the Garth Brooks song goes.

He explains with a bit of tongue in cheek after Tuesday night's gubernatorial race in North Carolina:

“We made it! Four years ago, my pandemic pal Josh Stein and I stood together in Greensboro hoping we would make it through 2020, the year of the virus. Today, I am still here and my buddy, Attorney General Stein, has just been hired for a new job, governor of North Carolina. He was offered the promotion by more than 54 percent of the NC electorate. Me? I am still breathing. I consider that a landslide win."

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Josh and Dennis are both Democrats who met one time, at a 2020 Joe Biden rally where Josh, then North Carolina’s attorney general, and Jill Biden spoke. They posed for the photo above. “I don’t expect to meet him again,” Dennis said. “I just have confidence he will do a good job in a state where my grandchildren live and go to school. That is all I care about.”)

A new start – or not?

Norm Abelson - As to the current state of the US and the world, I've decided to live by Eleanor Roosevelt's way of dealing with difficult times: “Don't curse the darkness; light one small candle.” After all, there is nothing my anger, disappointment, fulminating or quitting can do to improve things. But if we each make the effort, I believe we can start to bring change.

It's pretty evident, post election, that one of our continuing problems is the growing distance between us, the breaking down of community, and all that means to a functioning democracy. Do we in fact have different opinions, different beliefs? Of course. But do we need to express them with rage and closed minds, rather than at least trying to come together to reach some accommodation.

Being a citizen in a democracy means more than just complaining and casting a vote. Each of us should find some way to get involved, no matter how small the effort. We can bring change about by united actions, if only for the future of our children and grandchildren.

Here's one idea, the kind of thing I plan to work on:

Some years back my friend, Phil Cunningham, a professor of religion, and I started a group called Uniting Against Hatred. We brought together small groups with different religions, lifestyles and issues. Meeting in church basements, each week another member would lead the discussion. The following Sunday we would all be guests for services at different members' congregation, where the clergy would tell us a bit about their faith.

Our early discussions started with each of us being careful not to hurt anyone's feelings, but as time went on, we became more trusting, sharing our deeper feelings, asking more meaningful questions of each other. The subjects ranged from racism, poverty, antisemitism, politics and more. We found that most differences were not so deep that we couldn't accommodate them to each other. Now each of us was bringing our new understandings to our own congregations, clubs and civic groups. It was a small start, not unlike Mrs. Roosevelt's lighting one small candle.

Soon the word spread, and a noted Boston publisher asked us to put together a book about how we can live in peace and understanding with each other. We decided each member would write a chapter of the volume, which was titled. “Making Common Cause”

My chapter ended this way: “If we profess a belief in something bigger and better than we, something to reach for, than surely it is a blasphemy of the highest order not to live together in respect, even affection. I believe that is the closest we can come to God.”

Cutting back his media consumption

Steve Hendren - I disagree with the NYT prediction of a post-election media bump. I have shut down all of my news alerts and will cease consuming most television news. Instead, I will maintain my PBS and Washington Post subscriptions but will carefully avoid exposing myself to any video of the incoming president and his speech and behavior. I will continue to monitor the news through reputable sources and advocate for our democracy. 



Found: A non-partisan route to political engagement

Tammalene Mitman - Ever since my first part-time clerical job in the Concord, N.H., bureau, I've helped run AP vote-gathering operations.

At first, I helped then-COB Jon Kellogg with the first-in-the-nation presidential primary and other contests in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Years later, I helped then-COB Elaine Hooker handle the Connecticut operation.

More recently, I've been assigned minor roles on one of the many quality control teams that work remotely on election night for the national effort.

I've always wanted to do something more, but struggled to find a way to participate in a non-partisan fashion — a requirement if one wants to also help tally the votes for the AP.

I found that role this time around. I began my day on Tuesday by making the hour-long drive up the west coast of Sebago Lake in Maine to the Naples Town Hall. There, I spent two hours observing for the Maine League of Women Voters.

At 10 a.m., I drove home, filed my report to the League, and took a long nap. At 5:30 p.m., I signed on and began working for AP Elections.

This morning, I was delighted to read about the League's efforts both in a story in the Portland Press Herald (League of Women Voters reports harassment, intimidation at several Maine polling places) and in the League's own report.

I heartily encourage all Connecting readers to consider becoming LOWV poll-watchers (yes, men are welcome!) next time around. It's truly important work and all of you have the skills and experience to do it really well!

Writing therapy

Ron Powers - Many of us, I am sure, are feeling depressed about Tuesday and anxious for the future.

For those considering some writing therapy, I want to share this video, a recent TEDx Talk presented by my daughter, Shelagh Johnson. Shelagh is an English professor and writing instructor at Bowie State University, a historically black college near Baltimore.

PS: I am very proud of her!

Connecting wishes Happy Birthday

Mike Gugliotto

Dennis Redmont

On Saturday to…

Howard Goldberg

Andale Gross

On Sunday to…

Rachel Ambrose

Stories of interest

Trump’s return to power raises serious questions about the media’s credibility (CNN)

Analysis by Brian Stelter, CNN

Donald Trump’s return to power is a hinge point for the American media – in ways big, small, and to be determined. His defeat of Kamala Harris is raising questions about the media’s credibility, influence, and audience. Some of the questions might not be answerable for years.

But journalists are asking each other: What does this “red wave” election say about the information environment in the United States?

In the hours after Trump won reelection Tuesday, some of his loyalists asserted that his victory is a complete repudiation of the news media. For a time on Wednesday morning, The Federalist’s lead headline was not about Trump, it was about the “corporate media industrial complex” being “2024’s biggest loser.”

Legacy media “is officially dead,” The Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh wrote on X overnight. “Their ability to set the narrative has been destroyed. Trump declared war on the media in 2016. Tonight he vanquished them completely. They will never be relevant again.”

That’s wishful thinking on Walsh’s part — Tuesday’s marathon election coverage was a testament to the media’s relevance — but the point is that many Trump voters share his wish. They believe the national news media is a big part of what ails America. Not only do they distrust what they read, they often don’t read it in the first place. Can anything be done to change that?

Read more here.

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A Master of the Media Evolved Yet Again in 2024 (New York Times)

By Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin

In his improbable journey to the apex of American power, President-elect Donald J. Trump has always adapted to the media tool of the moment.

As a young mogul on the make, he made himself a fixture of the Manhattan tabloids, then pivoted to the newfangled realm of reality TV as master of NBC’s “The Apprentice.” He recognized the power of Twitter long before other politicians and, in 2016, used countless cable news interviews to propel his candidacy to victory.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris partly by, once again, adjusting to the new realities of mass communication. He bypassed traditional gatekeepers like “60 Minutes” on CBS in favor of the online celebrities and podcasts that have exploded in popularity, particularly among young men.

The personalities courted by Mr. Trump — Adin Ross, Theo Von, the Nelk Boys — may still be something of a mystery to the millions of Americans who rely on mainstream newscasts and celebrity anchors like Anderson Cooper.

Read more here. Shared by Dennis Conrad, Mark Mittelstadt.

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Here’s how the American press can survive four years of Trump (Guardian)

Margaret Sullivan

Everything we know about the next US president suggests that the press in America will be under siege in the next four years as never before.

After all, Donald Trump has portrayed the media as the “enemy of the people”, has suggested that he wouldn’t mind seeing journalists get shot, and, in recent months, has sued CBS News and the Pulitzer prize organization.

Now, with what he considers a mandate, he’ll want to push harder.

“He’ll use every tool that he has, and there are many available to him,” predicted Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post and the author of Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post, published last year.

Baron told me on Wednesday that the president-elect had long been on a mission to undermine the mainstream media, and that he would be more empowered in a second term.

Every would-be autocrat sees to it, after all, that an independent press doesn’t get in his way. Often, it’s one of the first democratic guardrails to be kicked down as a nation moves in an authoritarian direction.

“Trump is salivating at the chance to sue a journalist for a leak of a classified document,” Baron said, perhaps using the century-old Espionage Act to exact a harsh punishment, even a prison term.

Read more here. Shared by Richard Chady.

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Jeff Bezos Congratulates Trump on Victory (New York Times)

By Benjamin Mullin

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, on Wednesday congratulated President-elect Donald J. Trump on his victory, a sign of a potential thawing between Mr. Trump and the billionaire tech mogul.

“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Mr. Bezos posted on the social media platform X. “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”

Mr. Bezos’s fraught relationship with Mr. Trump has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after his decision to end The Washington Post’s tradition of endorsing presidential candidates. The Post was set to endorse Mr. Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The decision prompted immediate blowback at The Post, causing several opinion staff members to step down from their positions on the editorial board, setting off a wave of subscriber cancellations and drawing a rare rebuke from the legendary Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Read more here.

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Election night television viewership drops sharply from 2020 and 2016 (AP)

By DAVID BAUDER

The idea of grabbing some popcorn and watching television to see who America has chosen for its next president was far less appealing this year than in the past.

The Nielsen company said that 42.3 million people watched election night returns between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump pour in Tuesday night. That’s down sharply from the 56.9 million who watched in 2020, when Trump competed against Joe Biden, and the 71.4 million who tuned in on election night 2016, Nielsen said.

Election night is often known as the Super Bowl for TV news, but this year even the NFL’s conference championship games were watched by more people.

Television viewership in general has slipped over the past decade with people cutting cable and satellite subscriptions, so it’s hard to know how much this downturn reflects people turning elsewhere for news that night, or simply less interest in following the results.

Read more here.

AP classes, by the year...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a listing of Connecting colleagues who have shared the year and the bureau where they started with the AP. If you would like to share your own information, I will include it in later postings. Current AP staffers are also welcome to share their information.)

1951 - Norm Abelson (Boston)

1953 – Charles Monzella (Huntington, WVa)

1955 – Henry Bradsher (Atlanta), Paul Harrington (Boston), Joe McGowan (Cheyenne)

1957 - Louis Uchitelle (Philadelphia)

1958 – Roy Bolch (Kansas City)

1959 – Charlie Bruce (Montgomery)

1960 – Claude Erbsen (New York), Carl Leubsdorf (New Orleans)

1961 – Peter Arnett (Jakarta, Indonesia), Strat Douthat (Charleston. WVa), Warren Lerude (San Diego), Ed Staats (Austin)

1962 – Paul Albright (Cheyenne), Malcolm Barr Sr. (Honolulu), Myron Belkind (New York), Dave Mazzarella (Newark), Peggy Simpson (Dallas), Kelly Smith Tunney (Miami)

1963 – Hal Bock (New York), Jeff Williams (Portland OR)

1964 – Rachel Ambrose (Indianapolis), Larry Hamlin (Oklahoma City), John Lengel (Los Angeles), Ron Mulnix (Denver), Lyle Price (San Francisco), Lew Simons (New York), Arlene Sposato (New York), Karol Stonger (Indianapolis), Hilmi Toros (New York)

1965 – Bob Dobkin (Pittsburgh), Harry Dunphy (Denver), John Gibbons (New York), Bob Greene (Kansas City), Jim Luther (Nashville), Larry Margasak (Harrisburg), Rich Oppel (Tallahassee)

1966 – Shirley Christian (Kansas City), Mike Doan (Portland, OR), Edie Lederer (New York), Nancy Shipley (Nashville), Mike Short (Los Angeles), Marty Thompson (Seattle), Nick Ut (Saigon), Kent Zimmerman (Chicago)

1967 – Dan Berger (Los Angeles), Adolphe Bernotas (Concord), Lou Boccardi (New York), Linda Deutsch (Los Angeles), Don Harrison (Los Angeles), Frank Hawkins (New York), Doug Kienitz (Cheyenne), David Liu (New York), Bruce Lowitt (Los Angeles), Chuck McFadden (Los Angeles), Martha Malan (Minneapolis), Bill Morrissey (Buffalo), Larry Paladino (Detroit), Michael Putzel (Raleigh), Bruce Richardson (Chicago), Richard Shafer (Baltimore), Victor Simpson (Newark), Michael Sniffen (Newark), Kernan Turner (Portland, Ore)

1968 – Lee Balgemann (Chicago), John Eagan (San Francisco), Joe Galu (Albany/Troy), Peter Gehrig (Frankfurt), Charles Hanley (Albany), Jerry Harkavy (Portland, Maine), Herb Hemming (New York), Brian King (Albany), Samuel Koo (New York), Karren Mills (Minneapolis), Michael Rubin (Los Angeles), Rick Spratling (Salt Lake City), Barry Sweet (Seattle)

1969 - Ann Blackman (New York), Ford Burkhart (Philadelphia), Harry Cabluck (Pittsburgh), Dick Carelli (Charleston, WVa), Dennis Coston (Richmond), Ron Frehm (New York), Mary V. Gordon (Newark), Daniel Q. Haney (Portland, Maine), Mike Harris (Chicago), Brad Martin (Kansas City), David Minthorn (Frankfurt), Cynthia Rawitch (Los Angeles), Bob Reid (Charlotte), Mike Reilly (New York), Doug Tucker (Tulsa), Bill Winter (Helena)

1970 – Richard Boudreaux (New York), David Briscoe (Manila), Sibby Christensen (New York), Richard Drew (San Francisco), Bob Egelko (Los Angeles), Steve (Indy) Herman (Indianapolis), Tim Litsch (New York), Lee Margulies (Los Angeles), Chris Pederson (Salt Lake City), Brendan Riley (San Francisco), Larry Thorson (Philadelphia)

1971 – Harry Atkins (Detroit), Jim Bagby (Kansas City), Larry Blasko (Chicago), Jim Carlson (Milwaukee), Jim Carrier (New Haven), Chris Connell (Newark), Bill Gillen (New York), Bill Hendrick (Birmingham), John Lumpkin (Dallas), Kendal Weaver (Montgomery)

1972 – Hank Ackerman (New York), Bob Fick (St. Louis), Joe Frazier (Portland, Ore.), Terry Ganey (St. Louis), Mike Graczyk (Detroit), Denis Gray (Albany), Lindel Hutson (Little Rock), Brent Kallestad (Sioux Falls), Tom Kent (Hartford), Nolan Kienitz (Dallas), Kent Kilpatrick (Detroit), Andy Lippman (Phoenix), Ellen Miller (Helena), Mike Millican (Hartford), Bruce Nathan (New York), Ginny Pitt Sherlock (Boston), Lew Wheaton (Richmond)

1973 - Jerry Cipriano (New York), Susan Clark (New York), Norm Clarke (Cincinnati), Marty Crutsinger (Miami), Steve Fox (Los Angeles), Joe Galianese (East Brunswick), Merrill Hartson (Richmond), Mike Hendricks (Albany), Tom Journey (Tucson), Steve Loeper (Los Angeles), Jesus Medina (New York), Tom Slaughter (Sioux Falls), Jim Spehar (Denver), Paul Stevens (Albany), Jeffrey Ulbrich (Cheyenne), Owen Ullmann (Detroit), Suzanne Vlamis (New York), John Willis (Omaha), Evans Witt (San Francisco)

1974 – Norman Black (Baltimore), David Espo (Cheyenne), Dan George (Topeka), Robert Glass (Philadelphia), Steve Graham (Helena), Tim Harper (Milwaukee), Elaine Hooker (Hartford), Sue Price Johnson (Charlotte), Dave Lubeski (Washington), Janet McConnaughey (Washington), Lee Mitgang (New York), Barry Shlachter (Tokyo), Bud Weydert (Toledo), Marc Wilson (Little Rock) 

1975 – Peter Eisner (Columbus), Charles Hill (Charlotte), Jim Limbach (Washington), Bill McCloskey (Washington), David Powell (New York), Eileen Alt Powell (Milwaukee)

1976 – Brad Cain (Chicago), Judith Capar (Philadelphia), Dick Chady (Albany), Steve Crowley (Washington), David Egner (Oklahoma City), Marc Humbert (Albany), Steven Hurst (Columbus), Richard Lowe (Nashville), Mike Mcphee (Boston), John Nolan (Nashville), Guy Palmiotto (New York), Charlotte Porter (Minneapolis), Chuck Wolfe (Charlotte)

1977 – Bryan Brumley (Washington), Robert Burns (Jefferson City), Charles Campbell (Nashville), Carolyn Carlson (Atlanta), Dave Carpenter (Philadelphia), Solange De Santis (New York), Jim Drinkard (Jefferson City), Ken Herman (Dallas), Mike Holmes (Des Moines), Brad Kalbfeld (New York), Larry Kilman (Atlanta), Scott Kraft (Jefferson City), John Kreiser (New York), Peter Leabo (Dallas), Kevin LeBoeuf (Los Angeles), Ellen Nimmons (Minneapolis), Dan Sewell (Buffalo), Estes Thompson (Richmond), David Tirrell-Wysocki (Concord)

1978 – Vinnie D'Alessandro (Hartford), Tom Eblen (Louisville), Ruth Gersh (Richmond), Monte Hayes (Caracas), Doug Pizac (Los Angeles), Charles Richards (Dallas), Reed Saxon (Los Angeles), Steve Wilson (Boston)

1979 – Jim Abrams (Tokyo), Peter Banda (Albuquerque), Brian Bland (Los Angeles), Scotty Comegys (Chicago), John Daniszewski (Philadelphia), Frances D’Emilio (San Francisco), Pat Fergus (Albany), Brian Friedman (Des Moines), Sally Hale (Dallas), Susana Hayward (New York), Jill Lawrence (Harrisburg), Warren Levinson (New York), Barry Massey (Kansas City), Phillip Rawls (Nashville), John Rice (Carson City), Linda Sargent (Little Rock), Joel Stashenko (Albany), Robert Wielaard (Brussels)

1980 – Alan Adler (Cleveland), Christopher Bacey (New York), Diane M. Balk (Indianapolis), Jeff Barnard (Providence), Mark Duncan (Cleveland), Bill Kaczor (Tallahassee), Mitchell Landsberg (Reno), Kevin Noblet (New Orleans), Jim Rowley (Baltimore), David Speer (Jackson), Hal Spencer (Providence), Carol J. Williams (Seattle)

1981 – Paul Davenport (Phoenix), Dan Day (Milwaukee), John Flesher (Raleigh), Debra Hale-Shelton (Little Rock), Len Iwanski (Bismarck), Ed McCullough (Albany), Drusilla Menaker (Philadelphia), Kim Mills (New York), Mark Mittelstadt (Des Moines), Roland Rochet (New York), Lee Siegel (Seattle), Marty Steinberg (Baltimore), Bill Vogrin (Kansas City)

1982 – Dorothy Abernathy (Little Rock), Al Behrman (Cincinnati), Tom Cohen (Jefferson City), John Epperson (Chicago), Ric Feld (Atlanta), Kiki Lascaris Georgio (New York), Nick Geranios (Helena), Mike Gracia (Washington), Howard Gros (New Orleans), Dan Juric (East Brunswick), Robert Kimball (New York), Rob Kozloff (Detroit), Bill Menezes (Kansas City), David Ochs (New York), Cecilia White (Los Angeles)

1983 – Elise Amendola (Boston), Donna Cassata (Albany), Scott Charton (Little Rock), Sue Cross (Columbus), Mark Elias (Chicago), Alan Fram (Newark), David Ginsburg (Washington), Lisa Hamm-Greenawalt, Diana Heidgerd (Miami), Sheila Norman-Culp (New York), Carol Esler Ochs (New York), Jim Reindl (Detroit), Amy Sancetta (Philadelphia), Rande Simpson (New York), Dave Skidmore (Milwaukee), Barbara Worth (New York)

1984 – David Beard (Chicago), Owen Canfield (Oklahoma City), Wayne Chin (Washington), Jack Elliott (Oklahoma City), Kelly P. Kissel (New Orleans), Joe Macenka (Richmond), Eva Parziale (San Francisco), Walt Rastetter (New York), Malcolm Ritter (New York), Keith Robinson (Columbus), Cliff Schiappa (Kansas City), David Sedeño (Dallas), Andrew Selsky (Cheyenne), Patty Woodrow (Washington)

1985 – Beth Grace (Columbus), Betty Kumpf Pizac (Los Angeles)

1986 – Joni Baluh Beall (Richmond), David Beard (Jackson), Tom Coyne (Columbia, SC), Dave DeGrace (Milwaukee), Alan Flippen (Louisville), Jim Gerberich (San Francisco), Howard Goldberg (New York), Mark Hamrick (Dallas), Sandy Kozel (Washington), Arlene Levinson (Boston), Robert Meyers (London), David Morris (Harrisburg), Bob Seavey (Lima), Barbara Woike (New York)

1987 – Donna Abu-Nasr (Beirut), Jim Anderson (Mexico City), Dave Bauder (Albany), Chuck Burton (Charlotte), Beth Harris (Indianapolis), Lynne Harris (New York), Steven L. Herman (Charleston, WVa), Elaine Kurtenbach (Tokyo), Rosemarie Mileto (New York), John Rogers (Los Angeles)

1988 – Chris Carola (Albany), Peg Coughlin (Pierre), Frank Eltman (New York), Kathy Gannon (Islamabad), Steve Hart (Washington), Melissa Jordan (Sioux Falls), Bill Pilc (New York), Kelley Shannon (Dallas)

1989 – Charlie Arbogast (Trenton), Susan Boyle (New York), Ted Bridis (Oklahoma City), Paul Randall Dickerson (Nashville), Ron Fournier (Little Rock)

1990 – Frank Fisher (Jackson), Dan Perry (Bucharest), Steve Sakson (Baltimore), Sean Thompson (New York)

1991 – Amanda Kell (Richmond), Santiago Lyon (Cairo), Lisa Pane (Hartford), Wayne Partlow (Washington), Ricardo Reif (Caracas), Bill Sikes (Buffalo)

1992 – Jennifer Garske (Washington), Kerry Huggard (New York)

1993 – Jim Salter (St. Louis)

1994 - Glen Johnson (Boston)

1995 – Elaine Thompson (Houston), Donna Tommelleo (Hartford)

1996 – Patricia N. Casillo (New York), John Khin (New York)

1997 – J. David Ake (Chicago), Martha Bellisle (Carson City), Pamela Collins (Dallas), Madhu Krishnappa Maron (New York), Jim Suhr (Detroit), Jennifer Yates (Baltimore)

1998 – Alan Clendenning (New Orleans), Guthrie Collin (Albany), Mitch Stacy (London)

1999 – Melinda Deslatte (Raleigh), Laura Rauch (Las Vegas)

2000 – Carrie Antlfinger (Milwaukee), Gary Gentile (Los Angeles), Tom Tait (Las Vegas)

2004 - Jim Baltzelle (Dallas)

2005 – Ric Brack (Chicago), Frank Jordans (London)

2006 – Jon Gambrell (Little Rock)

2008 - Steve Braun (Washington)

2013 - Alex Sanz (Atlanta)

Today in History - Nov. 8, 2024

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Nov. 8, the 313th day of 2024. There are 53 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 8, 2000, a statewide recount began in Florida, which emerged as critical in deciding the winner of the 2000 presidential election. The recount would officially end on Dec. 12 upon orders from the U.S. Supreme Court, delivering Florida’s electoral votes and the presidency to George W. Bush.

Also on this date:

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln won reelection as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. McClellan.

In 1889, Montana was admitted to the Union as the 41st state.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”

In 1942, the Allies launched Operation Torch in World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1950, during the Korean War, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the U.S. presidential election over Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

In 1974, a federal judge in Cleveland dismissed charges against eight Ohio National Guardsmen accused of violating the civil rights of students who were killed or wounded in the 1970 Kent State shootings.

In 2012, Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the January 2011 shootings in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, slammed into the central Philippines, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattening villages and displacing more than 5 million.

In 2016, Republican Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice.

In 2018, tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire in Northern California that would become the state’s deadliest ever, killing 86 people and nearly destroying the community of Paradise.

Today’s Birthdays: Racing Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. is 82. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 75. TV personality Mary Hart is 74. Actor Alfre Woodard is 72. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 70. Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro is 70. Filmmaker Richard Curtis is 68. Chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay is 58. Actor Courtney Thorne-Smith is 57. Actor Parker Posey is 56. Actor Gretchen Mol is 52. News anchor David Muir is 51. Actor Matthew Rhys is 50. Actor Tara Reid is 49. TV personality Jack Osbourne is 39. Actor Jessica Lowndes is 36. Baseball player Giancarlo Stanton is 35. R&B singer SZA is 35.

Got a photo or story to share?

Connecting is a daily newsletter published Monday through Friday that reaches 1,900 retired and former Associated Press employees, present-day employees, and news industry and journalism school colleagues. It began in 2013. Past issues can be found by clicking Connecting Archive in the masthead. Its author, Paul Stevens, retired from the AP in 2009 after a 36-year career as a newsman in Albany and St. Louis, correspondent in Wichita, chief of bureau in Albuquerque, Indianapolis and Kansas City, and Central Region vice president based in Kansas City.

Got a story to share? A favorite memory of your AP days? Don't keep them to yourself. Share with your colleagues by sending to Ye Olde Connecting Editor. And don't forget to include photos!

Here are some suggestions:

- Connecting "selfies" - a word and photo self-profile of you and your career, and what you are doing today. Both for new members and those who have been with us a while.

- Second chapters - You finished a great career. Now tell us about your second (and third and fourth?) chapters of life.

- Spousal support - How your spouse helped in supporting your work during your AP career. 

- My most unusual story - tell us about an unusual, off the wall story that you covered.

- "A silly mistake that you make"- a chance to 'fess up with a memorable mistake in your journalistic career.

- Multigenerational AP families - profiles of families whose service spanned two or more generations.

- Volunteering - benefit your colleagues by sharing volunteer stories - with ideas on such work they can do themselves.

- First job - How did you get your first job in journalism?

- Most unusual place a story assignment took you.

Paul Stevens

Editor, Connecting newsletter

paulstevens46@gmail.com