An Early-Season Appearance by My Favorite Apple

They're here! I don't normally expect the Stayman apple to appear until about October 15, but they showed up today in my travels and they are beautiful, big, tart and perfect for my butternut squash soup.

The soup is good without the Stayman, but it becomes memorable when it is the season for an apple whose peak is only a few brief weeks in the fall. The more tart the apple, the better the soup. Now, I gotta go find a good butternut squash. 

MMT's 'Legally Blonde' Perky and Lively

Mill Mountain Theatre's lively production of the musical version of "Legally Blonde" picks up a slow-ish pace in the second act and becomes a good evening's entertainment on the Trinkle Main Stage.

The movie version launched the career of Reese Witherspoon 20 years ago and this is generally the same story with a few added touches to accommodate the musical emphasis. In fact, the real love story in this version becomes interracial (though without a kiss at the end to seal the deal, it becomes awkward).

Through the first act, much of the dialogue/lyric was difficult to decipher, but it seems to have worked itself out by the second half and created a fun evening of song and dance ... especially dance, which was lively, athletic, and enthusiastic.

Director and choreographer Kristen Brooks Sandler ("Mama Mia" and "A Chorus Line") handles a wealth of theatrical talent deftly. The production calls for a large group of actors, but partly because of Covid, the MMT production does quite well with a dozen, several of them playing multiple parts in the production.

Mill Mountain Theatre's Producing Artistic Director is the producer, a task well-suited for her.

The familiar plot involves a young, bright, seemingly empty-head young UCLA student (majoring in fashion merchandising) who decided she has to follow her boyfriend to Harvard Law and in an unlikely turn of events, she not only follows him but outshines him. 

"Legally Blonde" runs through Oct. 17 and you can buy tickets by calling 540-342-5740.

 

That's (from the left) Tom Field, Me and Gene Marrano. 

Old Home Week at Public Television

Yesterday's appearance on Gene Marrano's "Bu$iness Matter$" at Blue Ridge Public TV in Roanoke was more like in-breeding than a family reunion. Here sat Gene, Tom Field and me talking like it was 2010.

Tom helped formulate the business plan for the now-defunct (and legendary, I might add) Blue Ridge Business Journal before leaving it (something I only found out at this interview) and I came in as editor beginning with the second issue. That lasted about 20 years before. In the interim, Tom returned to the BRBJ (where Gene had become a freelance contributor) as general manager.

I like these photos by WBRA's Lisa Fenderson.

After The Roanoke Times bought the publication, everything was good for a while, but then The Times thought it needed to have a hand in running a successful business publication. 

Tom and I saw the writing on the wall, resigned (I "retired" because I could) and started Valley Business FRONT. Eventually, the Journal died of its own inefficiency (and not because of a "bad business model," which The Times' publisher claimed.

Anyhow, I left the FRONT a few years ago in order to finish a novel ("CLOG!") and ultimately Gene took over as editor, where he is doing a yeoman's job. Gene has never been afraid of work. 

It was good to sit and chat about old times and new developments for 26 minutes and I even got to pose with my old bud Cookie Monster (and I took home a PBS coffee cup). 'Twas a good time for us.

My old bud and me.

Megan Schnabel

Neil Harvey

Cardinal Raids Roanoke Times Again

Got a note while walking a bit ago that Megan Schnabel, Metro Editor at The Roanoke Times, will now work for Cardinal Press, the new, online-only staff-raiding upstart operated by ex-RT employees.

Markus Schmidt, who has covered politics for the Times-Dispatch in Richmond, will do that for Cardinal, it was announced this morning, so the raiding appears to be spreading outward to other Lee Enterprise-owned properties.

Megan, a solid professional, was a business writer/editor at TRT, who took my post as editor of the Blue Ridge Business Journal when I left to co-found a business magazine (FRONT) a few years ago. She didn't last, moving back inside the Times building, and the BRBJ failed under Times leadership. It had thrived for more than 20 years with its business model, called by the then-publisher of TRT Debbie Meade "a failed business model," which it was not. That publisher is now with Cardinal in a top, founder's position.

I mentioned to the executive news director, Dwayne Yancey, the other day that Cardinal was giving The Times quite a bit of competition and he said that was not true, since it was online-only and didn't accept advertising. I think I'm right in my assessment. Cardinal's raiding and other job opportunities are hurting a Times news product that also today lost Neil Harvey, a solid courts reporter for quite a while, to Radford University.

Right now, The Times is in the emergency room from a news standpoint and Cardinal hasn't even published its first edition (and won't for a bit).

Already, it is leaning heavily on other Lee Enterprises properties ("sisters" to The Times) for news coverage, some of which has to do with the Roanoke/New River Valleys, most of which doesn't. It has replaced Doug Doughty's long-time excellent coverage of the University of Virginia sports with dispatches from the Charlottesville Daily Progress, what was once considered a small, inferior paper to TRT. Not any longer.

News from Richmond and the General Assembly--long a strong point for TRT--is being handled by the Times-Dispatch and Roanoke mentions are all but incidental. Schmidt's coverage, we are promised, will heavily emphasize Roanoke/New River issues and representatives.

Harvey's loss adds to an ever-increasing bailout from a newsroom that went for more than 10 years without giving employees a raise and only recently accepted a union. We'll see how effective that union is shortly.

I'm waiting to hear about the future of people holding the newsroom together at this moment: Columnist Dan Casey (the only reason a lot of people get the paper); high school sports reporter Robert Anderson, who does a yeoman's job on a difficult but vital beat and has big readership; Lawrence Hammack, Jeff Sturgeon, Alicia Petska, Casey Fabris, Alison Graham, Mike Gandolff, Tad Dickens, Mike Allen and Todd Jackson. Two publications at Smith Mountain Lake (magazine and newspaper) and the photo department have two employees each. That's the bulk of what's left and boys and girls, that's not enough--even though these people are superb journalists.

I haven't seen any reference to sports coverage by Cardinal Press or the other publication that recently announced its birth in Roanoke, former reporter Henri Gendreau's Roanoke Rambler, which is publishing now. The Times leans heavily on sports, but when Doughty left under what I understand was a questionable circumstance after more than 40 years with the paper, even that titan got shaky.

This journalistic soap opera isn't over. In fact, it is my guess is that we're nearing the end of the beginning and at the end of the end, one will be standing and I won't predict which. That's waaaaaay above my pay grade.

McGill University Photo

The Real Effectiveness of Shots, Masks

While the nation's Republican governors in fully Republican-run states were screaming "bloody murder!" over President Biden's mask-wearing and vaccination mandate yesterday, the Associated Press went to work building the case for both.

From a recent study of 600,000 cases of Covid-19 April through mid-July, we find out that unvaccinated people are 4.5 times (that's 450 percent) more likely to become infected and 10 times more likely to become hospitalized than their stubborn brothers and sisters. Those unfortunate enough to follow the advice of those governors, Fox News or Tucker Carlson are 11 times more likely to die of Covid complications. 

Imagine sitting in a study group of 11 people, knowing that one of you would survive the next few weeks. That's a living room full of people who could be your sons, daughters, cousins, nephews ... Tell those loved ones that 90 percent of the people in the hospital with Covid have not been vaccinated against it. 

Even among old people (I'm 75 and am one of them), while vaccination's effects are waning for them, the shots still remain around 80 percent effective and with the upcoming booster shots, from what I've read so far from trusted sources (that would not be Fox), protection will again soar.

For those of you who are more chicken than eagle, let me say that the shots don't hurt. I've had my two and they are a slight pinch, even when the nurse giving them is one of those "shove it in the shoulder and move along" military types. The damn shot doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt!

Please, please, regardless of what the far right tells you about "individual rights" and the left's desire to strip you of them, this is a national health emergency, not a game of one-upmanship. We have lost a substantial number of people thus far and the emergency is still in full force, thanks primarily to the effort to get people to stubbornly refuse what has been proved to be effective treatment and behavior.

Get the shot(s). Wear the mask outside your home. Please, do it for the children, if for nobody else. Their death rates are already soaring.

The CDC director recently said, "We have the scientific tools we need to turn the corner." The implication is strong: If we don't use the scientific tools, we die. 

Susan among the rocks in the Roanoke River.

The Light of Late Summer in Roanoke

My friend Susan and I did a late afternoon paddle down Tinker Creek to its meeting with the Roanoke River and we found some lovely late summer/pre-dusk light Here's what it looked like. 

Henri Gendreau (left) of The Rambler and Dwayne Yancey
 of Cardinal Press at Dwayne's retirement gig.

A Step Forward for the Region's Journalism

 It strikes me today as Cardinal Press announces its new publication in this region that we've come a hell of a long way from the time 57 years ago when I first sat at a typewriter in the sports department of the Asheville Citizen.

The evolution has gone something like this: lead (hot type), to paper (cold type), to digital-plus, to digital only, to non-profit.

The two new publications announced this week--Cardinal and The Rambler--will be all digital and they will be structured completely differently from the newspaper, which inadvertently inspired them. 

Henri Gendreau's Roanoke Rambler is an investigative/literary weekly publication that is up and running. Cardinal Press was announced today as an internet-only alternative to the Roanoke Times, though it will not compete for ads. The publication has business support and is non-profit.

These types of publications are springing up all over the country and they are likely the future of journalism, a welcome evolution. It is considerably less expensive and environmentally sensitive to produce journalism on the internet only.

Print publications spend gazillions of dollars on printing and mailing or hand-delivering and neither of those will be an issue for the online-onlys. The issue will be staffing. Cardinal plans to begin with a full-time staff, small but experienced.

Both new publications say they will depend heavily on freelance writers in a market that is saturated with them (us, actually, since I'm a freelancer). The pay in this area ranges from nothing at all to about $500 for a feature story. Gendreau says his publication will pay $100 for news stories and fiction. Cardinal has not announced its pay schedule. 

One of the very real drawbacks to opening a new publication is paying writers. What are they worth? What will they cover? How much expertise do they bring? When and how will writers be paid? They are all questions to be answered, but so far both the new publications are heavy with former Times journalists, which is a good thing.

I want to sincerely welcome both new publications because every locality needs a brisk, competitive press. Roanoke is lagging without competition for its ever-shrinking daily newspaper, but this should pump up the volume a bit for everybody. It will also put some of The Times' journalists, who went for a decade without a pay increase under Warren Buffett's company, in a better position. My guess is that there are a lot of quiet smiles around The Times today.

 

Dwayne Yancey has a new direction for his career. (This is Yancey at an
Overnight Sensations production where he was one of the playwrights.)

A New Gig for Journalist Dwayne Yancey 

Former Roanoke Times editorial page editor Dwayne Yancey, who announced he was leaving the daily newspaper after serving it for 39 years a few days ago, will resume his storied career as executive director/editor of Cardinal Press. That is a new online-only publication covering Southwest Virginia. 

Luanne Rife

This from Luanne Rife, a former Roanoke Times reporter who took retirement recently, on Facebook a few minutes ago:

Soon after Luanne Rife took an early retirement buyout from The Roanoke Times, Chris Turnbull reached out to offer congratulations and to ask about her plans. She mentioned that The Secular Society, which was concerned about what would happen to the region as more and more journalists lost their jobs, had just asked her to look into the feasibility of creating a regional online news service focused on enterprise stories.

Chris replied he had been talking with several business people in Southwestern and Southside Virginia who shared similar concerns and were trying to find a way to support regional journalism.

Chris had been working with Dwayne Yancey to establish a business fellowship, funded by several businesses, that would be similar to The Secular Society’s investigative fellowship. The newspaper turned down their proposal.

Luanne reached out to Dwayne to ask what he thought of an online venture. He expressed interest if certain conditions were met.

The idea was to build a donor-supported nonprofit news agency that would focus on politics, the economy and culture.

Former Times Publisher Debbie Meade

Who better to help with that than former Roanoke Times publisher Debbie Meade?

Debbie has an incredible knowledge of publishing, business, nonprofits and donor development. She joined Chris and Luanne as founding board members, and Cardinal Productions was incorporated in late June.

In August, we made an offer to Dwayne to become our inaugural editor. He’s recruiting a staff of veteran full-time and freelance journalists, and we plan in late September to launch our website.

[NOTE: Meade was publisher of The Roanoke Times for several years and was replaced when the paper was sold.]

There is, of course, much more to this story, and we can’t wait to tell it as it unfolds.

The following is from Cardinal's press release:

Won’t this hurt local newspapers?

We're not competing with newspapers. We're not selling advertising or subscriptions, the two fundamental sources of newspaper revenue. Nor are we covering the same things. We're not a substitute for newspapers. Our goal is to cover some of the stories that aren't being covered by other news media. Our morning newsletter will, in addition to touting our own stories, link to key stories others have reported in the region, so we might drive some traffic to existing newspaper websites.

How can I be assured the coverage will be editorially independent?

We've written this into our by-laws. .We're led by and hired respected journalists. Ultimately, the proof is in our work.

Why are you doing this now, when newspapers are really one the ropes?

Yancey, a little dressier.

Because there are gaps in coverage that newspapers aren't covering, can't cover and, in some cases, have never covered. Also, newspapers, by definition, cover their immediate communities. We're looking for stories of broad regional interest across Southwest and Southside. We're not here to cover individual city councils or school boards; we're here to look for regional trends.

How is this different from the declining industry of newspapers?

We are not a newspaper. We are solely online. That means we don't have the expense of printing and distribution. We're also not trying to cover everything; we are focused on a handful of topics. Further, we're doing in-depth coverage; we're not trying to provide newspaper-of-record coverage of government meetings, fire, wrecks and crime. We are also a non-profit, which creates a different relationship with readers.

Are my contributions tax-deductible?

We have filed for 501c3 status and expect to obtain non-profit status by year's end.

Will there be a paywall?

No. We want our content to reach the broadest possible audience. We rely entirely on donations and grants. Has this model worked anywhere else, in a region the size of ours? Y

es, in places both bigger and small. In Virginia, there are non-profit news sites in Charlottesville (Charlottesville Tomorrow, founded 2005) and even Rappahannock County (Foothills Forum, founded 2014). In North Carolina, the Carolina Public Press (founded 2011) began as a news site covering western North Carolina. And then there are sites such as the Texas Tribune that cover an entire state (and a big one, at that).

What will you cover now, versus six months from now?

That depends entirely on how successful fund-raising is. Our budget calls for an editor, three reporters and a development officer – plus a corps of experienced freelancers. We won't start at full funding so will not have three reporters on staff – probably two, a business writer and, ideally, a political writer, plus some of those experienced freelancers. As we approach full funding for our initial budget ($600,000 a year), we'll hire that third reporter – a general assignment writer to help fulfill the “culture” part of our coverage. We can't put a timeline on that. Before we expand beyond that, we will need to grow our funding beyond that projected $600,000 and make sure that funding is committed for multiple years. Before we hire anyone, we need to make sure we can pay them, not just now but in future years. We will be cautious about expanding too quickly. We prefer to do a few things well than try to take on too much.