Okay, I’ve made the phone calls and done the research. Yes, I’ve reported the Miami Herald’s hiring of public relations guru Bruce Rubin, who helped the newspaper form its “media strategy” after the Jim DeFede firing. So brace yourself; you’re getting 100-proof, straight-to-the-gut, first-rate-newspaper grade information here. First off, it’s…
I never was much afraid of lightning until I moved to Florida and experienced my first couple of afternoon summer thunderstorms (which seem more intense on the Gulf Coast for some reason). Now I really don’t like to be outside when the sky is rumbling. Why? Kevin Deutsch of the…
Buddy Nevins illustrates his aversion to solid reporting today in the Sentinel with this pathetic newslet on North Broward Hospital District heart surgeon Michael Chizner. He calls Chizner a “star heart doctor” and lets Wayne “I Want To Suck Your Blood” Huizenga and other hacks spew forth on the Sentinel…
Sun-Sentinel movie reviewer Phoebe Flowers unleashed some serious pent-up emotions about her former bosses at the Miami Herald in her blog yesterday. It involved the death of Boyd Ogle, a long-time English and journalism teacher at Stranahan High and father of Miami Herald book editor and movie critic Connie Ogle…
The Black Journalism Institute. Has a nice ring to it (better than, say, the Yellow Journalism Institute, anyway). A place for disadvantaged African-American youth to learn some of the finer points of the newspaper game. They’re planning to build one on Sistrunk Boulevard. Fort Lauderdale commissioners voted unanimously last week…
So you’ve probably seen the tempest in a teapot with Tom Fiedler. If not, read the comments in the post below. I’m going to do a little bit more reporting on this, but until then, let’s move on to … The DBR Beating a Subpoena Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold…
Tom Fiedler The admission is buried deep inside a long Miami Herald business column: The newspaper hired a “public relations executive” to handle “media strategy” for the newspaper after it fired columnist Jim DeFede. Herald writer Douglas Hanks III drops the little bombshell as an aside in his Business Monday…
Photo Illustration Congratulations to Jennifer Babson for taking your run-of-the-mill “fishermen find severed human head” story and turning into a minor masterpiece. I know, I know, people find human heads in South Florida all the time — bobbing in canals, washing up on the beach, jamming up their garbage disposals…
Airstrike Victim On the front page of today’s Sun-Sentinel, Robert Nolin writes of the “treat” we’ll get during the Air & Sea Show this year when we say goodbye to the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. The ol’ Top Gun chestnut is being retired for the F-18 Hornet. Makes the heart…
There’s been a lot of controversy lately regarding the New Times’ takeover of the Village Voice and the resulting carnage at the legendary weekly in New York. Blood has been spilled, great reporters have left or been fired, a lot of people are concerned. I don’t pretend to understand what’s…
So I was interviewing Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle last night about a story and he starts going off about the media, specifically about the Sun-Sentinel. Here’s a synopsis of what was said: Naugle: It’s a national crisis. People have really lost faith in the media and the new media…
The Palm Beach Post’s bloated blogosphere has apparently had a bit of a shake-up. Cops reporter Andrew Marra is no longer writing crime (he’s gone to GA) and taking over his crime blog, Behind The Yellow Tape, is reporter Stephanie Slater. Her debut is fairly promising. There’s a post featuring…
Not A Breast Examiner The Herald’s Jennifer Lebovich scores again this morning with an incredible story about a seemingly kindly 76-year-old man who went door-to-door offering free breast exams to women. But Philip Winikoff wasn’t a doctor — he was just a dirty old man with a black medical bag…
There have been lots of stories in the newspapers about the political feud in Deerfield Beach, so you probably know the basics. City Commissioner Steve Gonot wants to get rid of City Manager Larry Deetjen. Deetjen’s forces are trying to kick Gonot out of office. Armed guards have been hired…
At left is Satterlee A reader has correctly answered the burning question: Who is the third wheel in that weird Alan Koslow/Mara Giulianti photograph? The answer: Joy Satterlee, director of the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. The winner: Asa Boynton, the famed Hairy Fairy and neighborhood crime fighter. He…
The Sun-Sentinel reported this morning that the Fort Lauderdale City Commission awarded a sweet little land deal on Sistrunk Boulevard to the Westside Gazette. You may not know about the Westside Gazette. Few do. It’s a tiny black newspaper that has demonstrably lied about its circulation figures to pump up…
Photo Illustration The Miami Herald has taken budget-cutting to a new extreme. Management has eliminated the receptionist position at its much balleyhooed Pembroke Pines bureau, virtually locking out the public. There’s plenty wrong with a newspaper closing its doors to readers, but I don’t think I can improve on what…
What Does This Man Have Against The Sentinel? For the first time since last year, the Sun-Sentinel was kept from the Pulitzer Prize winners’ circle. It had to be a tough pill to swallow, since the newspaper had three finalists (a strong showing any way you look at it). I…
The blending of shoe marketing and sports reporting was on display Sunday. Dominating the front page of both the Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post were feature stories about the same thing: The Heat’s Dwyane Wade’s penchant for falling down on the court. It might seem like a weird coincidence…
Kevin Underwood. Voracious reader. Loved fucking Anne Rice. Claims he can 450 words per minute with an 80 percent comprehension rate, which is ridiculously high. Also claims he scored a 35 out of 36 on the reading portion of the ACT (with a 29 overall score). Had a weird thing…
. Call Them Boca Rats A few stories this morning demand to be given space here. The first comes from the Broward Times. Yes, Elgin Jones has struck again, this time with a major scoop about Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Carlton Moore’s involvement in a behind-the-scenes land land grab in…
Koslow (center) and Mara (Right) This photograph, which I acquired a while back, speaks volumes about Hollywood. In the center there is Hollywood lobbyist Alan Koslow. He represents just about every developer in Hollywood while his law firm, Becker and Poliakoff, also has a contract to lobby for the city…
