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Connecting
July 07, 2022
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Colleagues,
Good Thursday morning on this July 7, 2022,
Reed Saxon’s college graduation came a half-century later than expected, but it has happened.
And I hope you will join me in congratulating our Connecting colleague, who was a staff photographer in the AP’s Los Angeles bureau before he retired in early 2021.
Reed relates how it all took place in our lead story for today’s Connecting.
In a continuation of our series on colleagues with a journalism family legacy, our colleague Dave Lubeski – sports director at the Washington AP Broadcast News Center for 35 years – tells about all of his family journalism ties.
How about sharing your story if there are journalism ties in your family?
Have a great day – be safe, stay healthy!
Paul
Reed Saxon: a proud Cal State/Northridge journalism graduate
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Photos/MyGradImages.com
Reed Saxon - Nearly half a century after my anticipated graduation date from California State University, Northridge, I have finally made an honest person of myself. This past May I took the walk that was supposed to happen in 1973.
It almost didn’t happen, even now. A few years ago, heading to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, my wife (and fellow CSUN alum) Lisa and I came across a CSUN alumni event at a nearby park. Heck, we’re both from there, so we dropped in. Long story short, we met Michael Ryan, an administrator at what is now known as the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication, the former Journalism Department at what was known as San Fernando Valley State College when I started there.
Hearing my tale of woe – too many incompletes, getting too busy working to finish it off, starving along the way - Ryan crafted a path for me to make up some credits online and, finally, graduate!
SO – I finally walked the walk on May 22. I’m technically a member of the 2020 class, but this year was the first time we could do anything in person. At 72, I was probably the oldest grad, and likely older than most of the faculty.
I am so grateful to all those who got me through this – Lisa and Michael, mainly, and Curb College dean Dan Hoskins. Also, University president Erika D. Beck, who is a real hoot, and hugged me as I crossed the stage. I now have a BA in Journalism!
Now I just need to find a job! Oh, wait. I had one. 42 years at AP, 50 in the biz all told.
Never mind.
(Spotted by Mark Mittelstadt)
Family News Business
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Bill Kurtis with Cynthia Hecht at the National Press Club in Washington in 2011.
Dave Lubeski - sports director at the Washington AP Broadcast News Center from 1974 thru 2009 - My multigenerational story of family in the news business begins with my brother, Dan. For a brief time, we worked together at a radio station in Houston (KTRH) where I was the sports anchor and he was a news anchor on the station's All News Radio Weekend Report. He later moved into radio sales and eventually we again worked at the same company, which happened to be the Associated Press, when he was an AP Broadcast Executive based in Phoenix.
While at the AP, I married into a family of broadcast journalists. My wife, Cynthia Hecht, is a 20-year veteran of AP Radio as a news anchor and business and consumer reporter who also covered political conventions and shuttle launches.
Cynthia's cousin is the TV documentarian Bill Kurtis who was a law student at Washburn University in Topeka working part time at the city's then only TV station in 1966. He was on the air filling in for a vacationing news anchor when a massive tornado tore through the town. He was credited with saving lives with his urgent on-air plea "for God's sake, take cover" which got him some attention that resulted in a job offer from a Chicago TV station. 56 years later, he is still remembered in Topeka for his tornado warning. (Bill keeps his Kansas roots active. Although he still lives in the Chicago area, he owns a cattle ranch in Southeast Kansas that is run by his daughter and her significant other. We see him now and then when he comes home for a visit.)
Another of my wife's cousins, the son of Kurtis's sister, Is Brian Schodorf of Schodorf Media Creative, a Chicago based TV documentary company that produced Chicago At The Crossroad, which won five Chicago/Midwest Emmys.
Cynthia's niece also took part in the family business, working in Portland, Oregon, and then Nashville as a news producer at Newsy, an Atlanta-based news company owned by E.W. Scripps.
Jumping in France for D-Day 2022
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Special To The Valley Press
Palmdale, California
NORMANDY, France — We had been airborne aboard the C-47 dubbed “Pegasus” less than 10 minutes when our jumpmaster shouted, “Get Ready!” We stood up, hooking our static lines in the cavernous interior of the World War II troop carrier. Six minutes, three, one, and “Go!”
We flew from the coastal tip of Cherbourg, France, to Utah Beach where the 4th Infantry Division waded ashore in the face of Nazi bullets and booming artillery on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Seventy-eight years later, we flew in an airplane built for one of the biggest chapters of the Second World War in Europe.
Eight of us, in rapid succession, vaulted from the door, at 100 mph, about 1,500 feet above the WWII drop zone where Pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division jumped into France in the pre-dawn hours of D-Day.
They were the first paratroopers to land in France and we were the most recent. We trained and jumped to honor the ones who won the Second World War. My parachute snapped open with a jolt. I could see Utah Beach, but it was time to turn toward the drop zone of French farmland.
Thump! I rolled in rain-damp grass and collapsed my canopy. Ahead, lay a long walk for this Cold War veteran, humping 50 pounds of gear. The evening walk was easy with no Nazi troops trying to kill you coming down in darkness amid anti-aircraft fire.
With my teammates, I walked into a village to toast our jump and the heritage of D-Day and the Liberation of France.
Connecting mailbox
Mulling conspiracy theories of JFK assassination
Joe Galu - I have never been much of a conspiracy theory person, but there are still many mysteries from JFK's assassination that still haunt me.
We both read extensively, but my Google searches do not give any indication WHO found the magic bullet, just supposedly an FBI man. He 'found' or planted' a virtually undamaged bullet with no blood or other tissue on it on a hospital gurney -- most strange.
Several reports quoted the autopsy doctors in Washington as saying the brain had already been autopsied before they got a hold of it. No one and no document (that I know of) has ever owned up to this in any way. Somebody autopsied at least the brain before it left Dallas, on the plane ride to Washington or in Washington. Even all these years later, this remains a total mystery. The official autopsy doctors also say the throat wound was damaged (surgically) to the point that it was impossible to tell if it was an entry or an exit wound -- also critical to the official version.
Is there any way of suspecting anybody other than the FBI since they may have 'had' the magic bullet. Ballistics experts say the magic bullet plus the bullet fragments from JFK and Connelly add up to a bullet too big and too heavy for Lee Harvey Oswaldl's rifle, or so they say.
The FBI took the Zapruder film apart, frame by frame (all of them numbered), and put it back together to spread out the jerky movements when Zapruder heard gunshots. It made it easier to convince the Warren Commission that LHO fired all three shots. It was a great way to bring suspicious eyes on the FBI, which had no right to tamper with evidence.
The National Archives keeps releasing materials from 1963, but none of the recently released materials answers my questions.
You know I'm 80, but I still hope to know some clearer information before I kick the bucket.
If you've found out anything about these things, please let me know,
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Remember a TV series called ‘Wire Service’?
Chuck McFadden - Did you know (did any of us know?) that there once was a television series called “Wire Service”?
Yup. Described as the "Adventures of three globetrotting reporters working for an international wire service.” Ran for a year back in 1956. Undoubtedly the reason it had such a short run was that the promotional material had a photo of a UPI printer.
Starred George Brent, Mercedes McCambridge and Dane Clark.
I think it’s due for a revival. With AP featured this time.
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Check out ‘Spelling Bee’
Bruce Handler - If you like anagrams (Connecting, July 6) or just finding words in a jumble of letters, check out the New York Times' "Spelling Bee."
Unfortunately, in today's media world, you must be a NYT subscriber. Or you can subscribe separately just to NYT Games for $20 a year.
As you spot more words and rack up points, you rise through the rankings until you hit "Genius." And should you get every single word in the puzzle, you are crowned "Queen Bee."
Take a look. It's lots of fun for retired journalists.
Connecting photo gallery
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Adolphe Bernotas - George Arfield’s sky shot of Anchorage prompts me to share the pictures of Marguerite and me with mushers on the Denver Glacier two weeks ago in Skagway.
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Charles Monzella - If you're in the market for another sunset photo, here's one I took July 3 on Cape Cod showing The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the middle of the setting sun.
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Ray Newton - Taken with my mobile phone at the flag ceremony of Prescott (Arizona) Frontier Days ``World's Oldest Rodeo, July 1. Record crowds and record number of contestants for this year's June 28-July 4 events - 134th year of the rodeo. The fireworks here were on horseback, steers and bulls.
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Michael Weinfeld - You asked for our favorite photos taken with iPhones…Here’s one of mine. I spotted this turtle while kayaking on Monument Lake a couple of minutes from our house in Monument, Colorado. I liked how the reflection of the reeds in the water matched the yellow lines on the turtle’s neck.
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Connecting wishes Happy Birthday |
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Story of interest
Covering mass shootings has become routine – and endless. But it doesn't get easier. (USA TODAY)
By Nicole Carroll
We’ve got reports of a mass shooting.
Who is working tonight?
How soon can we get to the scene?
How many dead? How many wounded?
Do we have photographers there? Get there.
Report what we know. Confirm. Write it up.
Post the story. Send the alert.
Divide into teams. Victims. Shooter. Community. Gun. Investigation.
How graphic are the photos? Edit the video.
More dead? Update the story.
This is how we cover a mass shooting.
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Today in History – July 7, 2022 |
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Today is Thursday, July 7, the 188th day of 2022. There are 177 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 7, 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.
On this date:
In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey (mahn-tuh-RAY’) after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.
In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C. for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln: Lewis Powell (aka Lewis Payne), David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the federal government.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
In 1946, Jimmy Carter, 21, married Rosalynn (ROH’-zuh-lihn) Smith, 18, in Plains, Georgia.
In 1948, six female U.S. Navy reservists became the first women to be sworn in to the regular Navy.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1990, the first “Three Tenors” concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome’s Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the World Cup championship.
In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.
In 2010, Los Angeles police charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city’s “Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)
In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.
In 2016, Micah Johnson, a Black Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men; the attack ended with Johnson being killed by a bomb delivered by a police robot.
Ten years ago: Jubilant Libyans chose a new parliament in their first nationwide vote in decades. The Obama administration declared Afghanistan the United States’ newest “major non-NATO ally.” Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska (ahg-nee-ESH’-kuh rahd-VAHN’-skuh) of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth Wimbledon singles championship; about five hours later, she and sister Venus were back on Centre Court to win the doubles final.
Five years ago: Islamic militants attacked a remote Egyptian army outpost in the Sinai Peninsula with a suicide car bomb and heavy machine gun fire, killing at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in the turbulent region in two years. A federal appeals court dismissed Hawaii’s attempt to challenge Trump administration rules for a travel ban on citizens from six majority-Muslim countries, saying it didn’t have jurisdiction to address the issue.
One year ago: A squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home. (More than 40 suspects have been arrested, including at least 18 Colombian soldiers and 20 Haitian police officers.) Former President Donald Trump sued Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, claiming that he and other conservatives had been wrongfully censored. A federal judge ruled that the Air Force was mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a Texas church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database, which should have prevented him from purchasing firearms. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season, beating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to wrap up the series four games to one.
Today’s Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 95. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough is 89. Rock star Ringo Starr is 82. Comedian Bill Oddie is 81. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 79. Actor Joe Spano is 76. Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 75. Country singer Linda Williams is 75. Actor Shelley Duvall is 73. Actor Roz Ryan is 71. Actor Billy Campbell is 63. Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 60. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 59. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 56. R&B musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 56. Actor Amy Carlson is 54. Actor Jorja Fox is 54. Actor Cree Summer is 53. Actor Robin Weigert is 53. Actor Kirsten Vangsness is 50. Actor Troy Garity is 49. Actor Berenice Bejo (BEH’-ruh-nees BAY’-hoh) is 46. Actor Hamish Linklater is 46. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 42. Rapper Cassidy is 40. Country singer Gabbie Nolen is 40. Actor Ross Malinger is 38. Actor-comedian Luke Null (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 32. Pop singer Ally Hernandez (Fifth Harmony) (TV: “The X Factor”) is 29. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 28. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 27.
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Got a story or photos to share? |
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Connecting is a daily newsletter published Monday through Friday that focuses on retired and former Associated Press employees, present-day employees, and news industry and journalism school colleagues. It began in 2013 and 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 Midwest 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
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