News Cycle

Reza Saberi, father of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi, was summoned yesterday to the office of Tehran deputy prosecutor Hassan Zare Dehnavi (also known as Hassan Haddad) because of his statements to the international media that she was on hunger strike, and that she appeared weak from going without food.

During the meeting, Dehnavi pressured him to retract these statements, according to Reporters Sans Frontieres.

Four members of Reporters Sans Frontieres today were in their third day of a hunger strike in Paris in solidarity with Roxana Saberi, the journalist from the United States who was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Iranian court. The protests are intensifying and are spreading around the world in the run-up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

“We appeal to Roxana to end her hunger strike,” Reporters Sans Frontieres said. “We have already taken over the hunger strike in Paris and we will soon be doing the same in London, New York, Madrid and Brussels. She needs to know that she is not alone.”

Saberi’s lawyer, Abdulfatah Soltani, told Reporters Sans Frontieres that he tried in vain to visit her yesterday to ask her to call off her hunger strike. He explained that the deputy prosecutor refused to let her sign a legal representation contract with the Human Rights Defenders Centre, which is led by Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, a human-rights lawyer.

Ebadi said: “Under Iranian law, Roxana has the right to be freed on bail pending the appeal, so why isn’t she being freed?”

There was no comment from the Iranians.

Reporters Sans Frontieres continues to call for Saberi release. Such an act of clemency by the Iranian authorities in the run-up to World Press Freedom Day would be seen as a conciliatory gesture, the organization added.

The Tehran prosecutor general, Ghorbanali Dory Najaf Abadi, said yesterday: “The journalist could be freed if she were to request a pardon from the Supreme Leader of the Revolution. Otherwise, justice will take its course.”

Seven journalists and two bloggers are currently imprisoned in Iran, which was ranked 166th out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Sans Frontieres press freedom index.

Meanwhile, North Korean authorities say that they are allowing consular access to two detained U.S. journalists and that the women “will be dealt with” according to international law, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea said.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested on March 17 while working on a documentary on North Korean trafficking of women across the China border. Several sources on the Chinese side of the frontier told the international media that the North Korean border guards probably crossed the Tumen (the river that forms the border) while Ling and Lee were filming on the Chinese bank.

“Recently, we were informed by the authorities that the investigations are now proceeding. I am informed, through that communication from the authorities, that the two arrested have consular contact,” Vitit Muntarbhorn, the U.N. official, told a briefing at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, D.C. “I welcome a constructive response … because it’s really the first time we’ve had a response with some substance, rather than just pure total repudiation of the mandate of the special rapporteur,” he said.

“They say that now the investigation is ongoing and that the two have consular contact. And they’ve also added that the two will be dealt with in accordance with relevant international laws -— whatever that means,” Muntarbhorn said.

Here is a video highlighting President Barack Obama’s press conference last night from the White House.

The Tribune Co., owners of The Baltimore Sun, gave everyone a primer yesterday in how not to handle a layoff by limiting information and treating its staffers in an unprofessional manner.

Information about the layoff came out through a slow drip, and no official announcement. Even this morning, a day after the deed was done, there is no press release detailing the cutbacks on the corporate website. This not only causes confusion both inside the newsroom and out, but it fertilizes the rumor weeds that spread.

The only corporate comment has come from Renee Mutchnik, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, who said: “We’re going to become a 24-hour, local news-gathering media company so we can more effectively gather content and distribute it among our different platforms — print, online and mobile.

“As everyone knows, more and more readers are moving online, and advertisers are following them.

“This is our plan for success, not just survival.”

But there are no details on that plan. Are they going to shut down the print product? If not, how do they expect to produce a quality print product with so few people? Will you continue to be a news organization, or will you shift to an information service? Are there plans to beef up the website? There are also rumors of Tribune shifting personnel to Chicago, any truth to that?

By the way, there was no definitive answer to the number of people laid off. At various times throughout the day media reports had it at 15, then 58, later 60, and finally 61. This is roughly 29 percent of the 205 editorial staff. Some were notified on Tuesday, others Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild memo states that in addition to the editorial layoffs, The Sun has laid off seven employees in other departments including advertising and customer service.

For the record then, 61 people from editorial and seven from the business unit have been dismissed, as best as anyone can tell.

“It’s stunning, just the breadth of them across the board,” The Sun quoted Angie Kuhl, the paper’s unit chairwoman for the Guild, which represents 148 newsroom workers, including 40 who were laid off Wednesday. “They are clearly trying to move to be an information producer, not a newspaper publisher. It is a flattening of the newsroom,” Kuhl told Editor & Publisher’s Joe Strupp.

The notifications to staffers were a joke. Some got word on Tuesday, others on Wednesday. Four journalists covering the O’s-Angels baseball game were notified by phone, as documented by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

(Tough times in the newspaper biz. Two writers for the Baltimore Sun in the press box here got the news — by phone during the game — that they had been laid off in the latest round of cost-cutting. Stay classy, Baltimore Sun management.)

(UPDATE: Make that three reporters and a photographer axed by the Sun during the game.)

It wouldn’t be so bad if the O’s were away, but they were playing in downtown Baltimore. Notifying the employees before going to the ballpark wouldn’t have been too much to ask, would it? I certainly hope they did not file a story.

David Ettlin, writing on his blog “The Real Muck,” gives a graphic minute-by-minute account of the Tuesday-Wednesday Massacre, including this tidbit of one staffer getting the news. Go to his piece, it’s a great read:

Ellie Baublitz, who put in 22 years and four months as a Sun editorial assistant after a few years as a community news freelancer, wore a spritely yellow outfit to work Wednesday, to “cheer people up” — but having heard from a newsroom confidant of the Tuesday Night Massacre, she came prepared.

“I stuffed two shopping bags into my briefcase, just in case I needed them.”

About 2 p.m., as the newsroom awaited an expected announcement, Ellie and fellow editorial assistant Fay Lande were summoned by a top editor into a glass-windowed conference room overlooking the newsroom and told of their layoffs.

Ellie came out in tears and, by one reporter’s account, “That really broke the newsroom up, when Ellie broke up.”

In a telephone chat Wednesday night, Ellie acknowledged the account as “pretty accurate,” and recounted how colleagues cheered and applauded staffers leaving the building after getting the same fate.

“It was pretty ugly down there,” Ellie said. “They probably did me a favor. The last couple of years have been really bad.”

There are so many better ways to handle such an awful situation. I know from my own experience that managers take no joy or glee going through this process. But there are steps they can take to make sure people are treated with respect, and that information is properly and clearly communicated. (Communication at a newspaper, who would have thought of that?)

1. Notify those affected in person on the same day. Notify them in private, not in glass window offices so everyone can watch (as described by Ettlin above). Give them the dignity of saying good-bye to their co-workers if they so choose.

2. Gather the remaining staff so the chief executive officer can tell them face-to-face. Thank the leaving staff publicly for their fine service; emphasis that this was a business decision and does not reflect their integrity or hard work. Describe the vision for the organization’s future and what the company’s goals are as it moves forward. Invite questions and answer them honestly.

3. Issue a press release detailing how many people were laid off, what departments they came from, and how many are left. Thank the departing employees, and include language about the future of the organization. This eliminates the rumors and water-cooler chatter.

UPDATE, 4:23 p.m. Eastern, April 29, 2009: The Associated Press is reporting this afternoon that The Baltimore Sun has laid off nearly 60 people in its newsroom, including veteran editors and managers, columnists, photographers and designers. Earlier reports had the figure as low as 15 people being let go.

A spokeswoman for the newspaper says managerial-level employees were laid off at the end of the day Tuesday, and union-represented employees were informed Wednesday afternoon.

The Sun did not disclose how many people lost their jobs, but the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild says 37 people were let go Wednesday. Staffers who were laid off Tuesday say about 21 managers were let go.

Maryland’s largest newspaper is owned by Tribune Co., which is operating under bankruptcy protection.

Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher writes was the first to report the eventual size of the layoff this morning:

The mass exodus of editors at The Baltimore Sun is expected to approach 20, according to Newspaper Guild leaders at the paper, who said the layoffs are part of a shift away from traditional newspapering and toward multi-platform content.

They also fear that more cuts, to guild members, are looming with as many as 20 rank-and-file jobs expected to go.

“They are clearly trying to move to be an information producer, not a newspaper publisher,” said Angie Kuhl, Guild unit chair at the Sun. “It is a flattening of the newsroom.”

Her comments followed Editor Monty Cook’s meeting with newsroom staffers late Tuesday, in which he announced at least 15 of the editor-level layoffs, which included both top editorial page editors.

Kuhl said the editor departures are expected to grow to 20 before the end of the day, but do not include Cook. “This is really a devastating hit,” she said. “These are experienced journalists with a wealth of knowledge.”

A source told DCRTV.com:

“Fifteen mid- and top-level editors just laid off at the Sun… The casualities include: Deputy Managing Editor Paul Moore, Editorial Page Editor Ann LoLordo, Op-Ed Editor Larry Williams, Med/Sci Editor Patricia Fanning, Sports editors Ray Frager and George VanDaniker, Copy Desk Chief John McIntyre, Systems Editor Steve Auerweck, three bureau chiefs (leaving none), Regional Editor Jay Apperson, and Photo Assigning Editor Chuck Weiss. All editors were told to leave the building immediately. A security guard was stationed on the skywalk between the building and the employee parking garage. Rumor has it the Guild employees will get layoff notices this week.”

Another source told the website:

“I just read through your brief about the 15 layoffs at the Sun and noticed you have no names for the three bureau chiefs. Their names are Joe DeCarlo, Dan Clemens, and Bill Caulfield. Also receiving a layoff was Eileen Canzian, who was one of our Metro editors and one of the brightest journalists in the room. Their experience, expertise and institutional knowledge – not to mention a genuine love for the city of Baltimore and the surrounding area – will be sorely missed.”

One editor laid off is John McIntyre, whose own blog You Don’t Say is a favorite of mine. He writes about his departure on the blog.

Yesterday, the grim economics of the newspaper business made April 28 my last day at the paper. It was, as they say in theatrical circles, a good run. I had more than two decades of the company of some of the smartest and funniest people I have ever known, working for supportive editors of the paper, and in all that time we struggled day after day to make The Sun a formidable newspaper. We succeeded more often than we failed, and no man has been more fortunate in his colleagues than I have.

But when the curtain falls, you are supposed to get off the stage, and this is my final post at baltimoresun.com. I expect to continue blogging elsewhere, but you will no longer find me at my post here. In addition to colleagues who have been great fun, I have had the good fortune to collect a remarkable corps of loyal readers, and I salute you all with gratitude and affection. You have enriched my life.

This is a colorized transmission electron micrograph depicting the A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1) virus, while in the virus’ first developmental passage through a chicken egg. This is an H1N1 strain of influenza A. (Photo credit: Dr. E. Palmer; R.E. Bates; published on www.sciencedaily.com.)

A national study among 1,039 physicians released today revealed that a majority of physicians reported that there is some level of risk that the Swine Flu will result in a worldwide catastrophic pandemic.

More than 63 percent of the physicians shared that opinion, the study reported. But only 15 percent of the physicians responded by saying that the government was prepared to deal with a pandemic.

CNN reported at 11:20 p.m. Eastern that 159 people have died of swine flu in Mexico. Hospitalizations for suspected cases of the illness have declined, Mexican Health Minister Jose Cordova said today that there are 1,311 people in the hospital with flu symptoms. The Health Ministry’s fatality estimate increased from 152 yesterday. In the United States, there were 69 suspected cases.

The study, conducted on Monday by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, was designed to obtain physicians’ perceptions of the recent news that The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has declared a public health emergency in regard to swine flu.

Above top left is a colorized transmission electron micrograph depicting the A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1) virus, while in the virus’ first developmental passage through a chicken egg. This is an H1N1 strain of influenza A. (Photo credit: Dr. E. Palmer; R.E. Bates; published on www.sciencedaily.com.)

When asked to rate the federal government’s level of preparedness to deal with a swine flu pandemic, 15 percent of physicians reported that the government was prepared to deal with a pandemic. Less than one-quarter of physicians (21 percent) reported that the government was not prepared for a pandemic. A similar percentage of physicians (22 percent) were either concerned or extremely concerned that the virus would have an impact on their families, and 16 percent were not concerned that it would have an impact on their families

Among the findings:

Physicians were asked: On a scale of one to seven, where one indicates that your belief that the current situation has a no risk of resulting in a catastrophic pandemic (a large number of deaths worldwide) and seven indicates an extremely high risk, please rate how risky you believe a swine flu epidemic to be. Indicate your prediction regarding the outcome of potential situation.

They responded:

1 – No Risk 1%
2 – Low Risk 13%
Bottom 2 14%
3 – Somewhat Low Risk 14%
4 – Neither At Risk or Not At Risk 9%
5 – Somewhat At Risk 49%
Top 2 14%
6 – High Risk 12%
7 – Extremely High Risk 2%

They were then asked: Using a similar scale, where one indicates that the government is unprepared for a pandemic and seven indicates that the government is extremely prepared; please rate our government’s ability to prepare for a possible pandemic.

They responded:

1 – Not At All Prepared 5%
2 – Not Prepared 16%
Bottom 2 21%
3 – Somewhat Not Prepared 16%
4 – Neutral 12%
5 – Somewhat Prepared 36%
Top 2 15%
6 – Prepared 14%
7 – Completely Prepared 1%

They were also asked: Based on what you may or may not already know about the swine flu cases originating from Mexico, please indicate your level of concern regarding whether this virus will have an impact on you and your family using a scale from one to seven. One indicates you have no concern and seven indicates you are extremely concerned.

They responded:

1 – Not At All Concerned 3%
2 – Not Concerned 12%
Bottom 2 15%
3 – Somewhat Not Concerned 11%
4 – Neutral 12%
5 – Somewhat Concerned 41%
Top 2 21%
6 – Concerned 18%
7 – Extremely Concerned 4%

The Newspaper Association of America announced today that it plans to cut its staff by almost one-half and will cease publication of the print edition of the trade magazine Presstime. It will continue in digital form.

The association eliminated 39 positions this afternoon, and will retain 43 staffers. According to Jennifer Saba of Editor & Publisher, association president and chief executive officer John Sturm told staffers through a memo that the steps were necessary and were taken at the direction of the board. “To be direct, industry economics compelled this round of staff reductions – to ensure we remain an affordable value to our members,” he wrote.

The last print edition of Presstime will be the May 2009 issue but the NAA will continue to publish a digital form. “Continuing the Presstime mission online is part of the transformation very much in line with the changes our members are making to their own businesses,” spokesperson and Presstime publisher Su-Lin Cheng Nichols said.

The brutal environment has caught many in the industry off-guard with unprecedented advertising revenue declines. “As it is clear from news coverage of the first quarter financials, this downturn is sharper and more severe than anyone saw coming even six months ago,” Sturm wrote. “Unfortunately, no one has suggested that the bottom has been reached yet.”

It’s not often that the runner-up in the Miss USA pageant wins so much notoriety, but Miss California Carrie Prejean has certainly done so with her now-famous answer to the gay-rights question on marriage.

For some reason, it’s now important to ask the contestants questions that are more issue-oriented than a presidential press conference. When asked by Perez Hilton whether the rest of the United States should follow Vermont’s lead and legalize same-sex marriage, she answered in the only way she knew how. She stood tall and told him what she believed: That marriage was meant to be between a man and a woman.

“In my country, and in my family, I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. … I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

That has created a firestorm on the left. Prejean has been ridiculed by numerous left-wing bloggers and media pundits. Rachel Maddow for the way she phrased her answer:

Perez Hilton, for his part, has skunked to ultimate lows on his blog, not only with his vile name-calling, but also with this truly idiotic posting:

You can’t alienate your audience, especially if you’re competing for the title of MISS USA! You need to represent the people, not just YOUR beliefs.

Huh? I guess we don’t want anyone who might have a mind of her own? I thought that was the point of asking a contestant a question. Represent the people? Perez needs a reality check. According to a recent CBS News Poll, although six in 10 Americans think some form of legal recognition is appropriate for same-sex couples, only a third of Americans think those couples should be allowed to marry. So, in reality, she was representing the people. Or maybe for Perez, the voice of the people means only the minority of Americans who agree with him.

But most importantly, Prejean may have lost the Miss USA title, but she won something far more valuable. She demonstrated to all the value of integrity. She stood up, and with her dream on the line, told the world what she believes, even though it may had shattered that dream. She didn’t insult the people who thought differently, she didn’t call anyone names; she just had the guts to stand on stage and voiced her beliefs in a respectful manner.

She has told Access Hollywood that she is standing by her answer. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I stated an opinion that was true to myself, and that’s all I can do. It did cost me my crown. It is a very touchy subject and [Hilton] is a homosexual, and I see where he was coming from and I see the audience would’ve wanted me to be more politically correct. But I was raised in a way that you can never compromise your beliefs and your opinions for anything. I feel like I won.

Amen. She won the most important crown any of us can hope for. Her crown of integrity and honesty will last longer than a Miss USA crown, and it sure shines brighter than the garbage being thrown at her from people like Hilton.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this morning demanded that Iran immediately release American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was tried behind closed doors and sentenced by a revolutionary court to eight years in prison on a spying charge.

“We believe she should be freed immediately, that the charges against her are baseless and that she has been subjected to a process that has been non-transparent, unpredictable [and] arbitrary,” Clinton told reporters at the State Department.

“We hope that actions will be taken as soon as possible by the authorities in Iran, including the judiciary, to bring about the speedy release of Miss Saberi and her return home,” she said, adding that the Obama administration is continuing to work with Swiss intermediaries who represent U.S. interests in Iran to secure her freedom.

“We are … hoping that these remarks lead to actions,” Clinton said, referring to Ahmadinejad’s comment on Saberi’s appeal.

Iran’s chief justice Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Monday urged the judiciary to consider immediately an appeal.

Shahroudi has told Tehran’s justice department chief Abbas Ali Alizadeh that the accused has the right to appeal and fair trial, the IRNA news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi as saying.

He asked Alizadeh to consider “all aspects of the case, including material and spiritual elements of the crime fairly, quickly and exactly”.

It’s Pulitzer Day, as a select few will win the Holy Grail of journalism awards. The announcement is made at a press conference at Columbia University in New York City at 3 p.m. Eastern, but winners are notified earlier in the day as a courtesy.

One of my great pleasures as a journalist has been to be in newsrooms as announcements are made that colleagues have won. Newsday has won 19 Pulitzers, and has been a finalist 18 times. I was there for 19 of those 37 announcements, and each one was special. I also enjoyed the fact that I played a small role as news editor for two of the winning projects. (Just to be clear, the news editor has no substantial writing role in these projects, the prizes are for the reporters who justly deserve the credit. But I do have that pride of being part of the process nonetheless.)

I spent most of 2008 in either hospitals or recovering from surgeries so I did not have the opportunity or the strength to do a lot of reading. But the one thing I have learned is that you don’t have to work for The New York Times or Washington Post to provide quality reporting. There’s great journalism going on outside the Beltway and Manhattan. So, this year, watch out for the little guys! From what I saw, these are the projects I liked:

In Public Service: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s six-part series on toxins in everyday products and the failure of regulatory agencies to monitor them. “Chemical Fallout” looks at “chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn’t.”

In International News: McClatchy reporters Tom Lasseter and Matthew Schofield of McClatchy Newspapers wrote “Guantanamo: Beyond the Law,” an eight-month investigation of the detention system created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that found that the U.S. imprisoned innocent men, subjected them to abuse, stripped them of their legal rights and allowed Islamic militants to turn the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into a school for jihad.

In Feature Reporting: Joanna Connors of Cleavland Plain Dealer for “Beyond Rape: A Survivor’s Story.” Her editor, Susan Goldberg, describes the piece as such: Connors writes about a story she kept quiet about for more than 20 years: her chance encounter with a dangerous felon on parole; the nightmare of the trial; her subsequent years of coping and denial; and, finally, her search to find the man who raped her so she could try, at last, to move on from an incident that changed and scarred her life.

In Commentary: Chris Rose of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Rose has been receiving a lot of attention for his chronicles of the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans since 2005, giving us in great detail the struggles that city and its residents have faced.

This year will be notable for at least one reason, it’s the first year that prizes will be expanded to include many text-based newspapers and news organizations that publish only on the Internet. The Pulitzer Board also has decided to allow entries made up entirely of online content to be submitted in all 14 Pulitzer journalism categories. So this year, lets hear it from the smaller papers and online organizations.

Roxana Saberi

An Iranian revolutionary court has convicted American journalist Roxana Saberi of spying and sentenced her to eight years in prison after a closed one-day trial.

Her father, Reza Saberi, told NPR’s Scott Simon from Tehran that he was not allowed into the courtroom to hear the verdict. Saberi’s lawyer was not allowed to ask the court about bail. She has been jailed at Evin Prison in Iran since Jan. 31.

NPR reports that Reza says Roxana wants to go on a hunger strike “to draw the attention of the Iranian authorities who have sentenced her without justifiable cause.” He notes, however, that she is weak and “if she does [go on a hunger strike], it can be very dangerous to her health.”

Agence France-Presse is quoting Reza as saying her daughter was tricked into confessing. “Roxana said in court that her earlier confessions were not true and she told me she had been tricked into believing that she would be released if she co-operated. Her denial is documented in her case, but apparently they did not pay attention to it,” he said. “We are very shocked and we were not expecting it.

“We were hoping for six months and then clemency.”

The deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Robert Mahoney, says her sentence is too harsh.

“We believe that Roxana Saberi’s trial was not transparent,” he said. “And it does not seem that she has been treated fairly. We would call on the Iranian authorities to release her on bail pending appeal because we believe she should not be confined in Evin prison.”

NPR’s CEO Vivian Schiller has appealed to the Iranian government to show compassion and allow Saberi to return immediately to the United States.

Saberi, 31, an Iranian-American freelancer from Fargo, N.D., was first detained in January, although no formal charges were disclosed. She told her family that she was initially held for buying a bottle of wine. A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said later that Saberi, left, was being detained at Tehran’s Evin Prison for reporting ‎without proper accreditation.

CPJ reports that political prisoners are often jailed at Evin Prison.

At least two journalists have died ‎there in the last six years amid circumstances that have not been fully explained, ‎CPJ research shows.‎ Omidreza Mirsayafi, a blogger serving ‎a 30-month sentence on a charge of insulting ‎religious figures, died at the prison in March under mysterious circumstances.‎ In July 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died from a brain hemorrhage that resulted from a beating at Evin Prison. An intelligence agent charged in the killing was acquitted after a flawed trial. Kazemi had been jailed because she took photographs outside the prison.