-30-

I owe you an explanation.

When I started this blog back in 2005, I did so as a way to point out the flaws in my profession, and to let people know what goes on behind the scenes in local news, whether it was WNEP using Wikipedia as an on-air source, the firings of veteran WBRE personnel, or WYOU's Dialing for News. I never set out to make anyone look bad; I've worked alongside many people here, and most are wonderful people who love to do what they do...to tell the stories people want to know, and need to know.

For better or worse, I did that here. Beale's Bites attracted a lot of attention, namely from current and former journalists in the area, who shared their stories and their experiences, both good and bad. Unfortunately, some of that drew in the people who wanted to do nothing more than mindlessly grind axes and call people names. Even the best moderation couldn't keep that away.

The negativity got to me, and I had to back off. So I did. One day, I logged out of the blog and my e-mail account, and stayed away for about three months. I hope you could understand that, even if you wondered why I never responded to any e-mails. Time passed, and I thought about returning, so I checked my e-mail, and found plenty of supportive messages, urging me to keep it up, provided I didn't end up like Jimmy Hoffa.

So I returned, rested, refreshed, and ready to go. All would be well, except for the fact that the negativity returned, perhaps twice as bad as it was. Endless comments to wade through, calling people names, bringing personal matters into the discussion, etc. But that wasn't the spark that made me, once again, log out, and drop out.

One day, I received a phone call from an acquaintence who works in the "business." The message I received from a family member was regarding a matter at the station, and that the person specifically wanted to let me know about it. I took that as a sign. "You're busted, Howard." The fact that the call was placed to my home, and was given to a family member, troubled me. I was not about to lose my friends and my career over a blog, and let that affect my family in any way.

I logged out, and never returned, not even to check e-mails.

I do hope you can understand why I did what I did. Regardless, I felt I owed an explanation to everyone who read Beale's Bites or e-mailed me. You are the people who helped make this site what it was intended to be, an open and honest discussion about the state of journalism in this area. I can't thank you enough; this site was never about me, it was about you (at the risk of sounding like WYOU's promotions department!).

But I will not be able to continue Beale's Bites anymore, for the various reasons listed above. I've retired, turned in my press pass, gone to that great newsroom in the sky (where the water cooler always works), whatever you want to call it. There's still a few blogs around here where you can get your insider fix, such as NEPA Media. A former news director also has a VERY excellent blog about his experiences in journalism. I won't link to it, because I don't know if he'd want the attention, but I'll bet a lot of you already know about it. E-mail me if you'd like the link.

As for the title of this post, it was used to signify when a story ended. One of my former editors told me this was used back in the newspaper era (sometime before computers, but after stone tablets), so a reporter who filed a story had a way to let the editor know when the story was done, as opposed to, "Did I miss the last page of this story? I don't know!" I've used it ever since, as a tribute to the days when journalism was in the interest of the public, and not in the interest of the shareholders. Hopefully those days will return.

Thank you all.

-30-

Journalism degree costs more

Some colleges across the nation are changing the tuition prices for students who major in certain fields, because of things like "the high salaries commanded by professors in certain fields, the expense of specialized equipment and the difficulties of getting state legislatures to approve general tuition increases." For journalism students at Arizona State University, it means they'll pay an extra $250 per semester (freshmen excluded).

Yet, students who want to go into broadcast journalism will be lucky to earn more than $23,000 per year in their first job. I would say they'd be lucky to earn $21,000 per year, as I've seen job postings for full-time journalism jobs where the salary is far less (in one case, $15,000 per year!).

Many news directors always wonder why it's getting harder to find a good journalism student. Here's a hint: they went into public relations to make more money.

Photographer killed in chopper crash once worked at WNEP

One of the four journalists killed in Friday's crash involving two news helicopters over the skies of Phoenix, Arizona was a former WNEP employee. KNXV photographer Rick Krolak worked for WNEP in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and also spent time in New York at stations in Elmira and Binghamton.

While WNEP is the only station around here with a helicopter, Skycam 16 has seen its share of crowded skies. Andy Palumbo wrote in his blog about one such experience during a NASCAR race at Pocono a few years ago.

"Skycam wasn't the only chopper in the air over the track. State Police were up. A private helicopter was circling, as well as one or two from the television network covering the race. [...] There were four or five helicopters over Long Pond that day and our pilot made sure we stayed out of trouble. Each of us was assigned an altitude. We kept out of each other's way. Still, I was relieved when the noon broadcast was over and we headed to the pad at WNEP."

Those of you who've seen WYOU's old promos on YouTube know that the station had a helicopter for a brief period in the early 1990s. According to one Beale's Bites reader, station management at WYOU and WNEP met to discuss things such as "how close, how far, aerial spacing, right of way" between both helicopters, to prevent what happened in Phoenix.

Tragedy in the sky

Four people died in Phoenix, Arizona today when two television news helicopters collided as they followed a car chase. The pilot and photographer aboard each helicopter died.

Part of me wonders why something like this didn't happen sooner. In large markets like Phoenix, every station has a helicopter, and whenever there's a car chase, up they go. Combine that with a police helicopter, and you've got perhaps four or five hovering close to each other, trying to pay attention to the chase, and to each other. It's a recipe for a tragedy, which sadly happened in this case.

For those of you who aren't squeamish, there is video of the last seconds of video of one of the helicopters.

Hazleton's back in the spotlight

A federal judge just decided that Hazleton's immigration ordinance - the law that brought so much national attention to our area - is unconstitutional. At the time I posted this, WBRE and WYOU already had a breaking news update posted on its website. WNEP didn't have anything.

This is sure to be the top story on all three stations tonight, so I'd like to know your thoughts on tonight's coverage. Respond here, or shoot me an e-mail!

EDIT: Typo fixed. L before E!

Celebrity news, BEGONE!

A lot of you paid attention and applauded when MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski ripped up a script about Paris Hilton a couple of weeks ago. Now, here's something new to buzz about. CNN anchor Jack Cafferty also expressed his disgust with celebrity news by asking to skip a story about Lindsay Lohan.

I don't know if both Brzezinski and Cafferty's on-air displeasure was real, or scripted, but it's refreshing. I'm fed up with all of the attention paid to spoiled celebrities who get arrested, when there's more than enough local and national/international news to "fill the void" in a newscast. If there's one good thing to be said about the news stations in this area, it's that they're not obsessed with celebrity news.

WYOU reporter now writing for newspaper

Former WYOU reporter Phil Yacuboski has been hired as a writer for Scranton's Electric City. He's also done some work for them in the past.

A reader also swears to have heard Yacuboski reading the news on an area radio station this week. Is true, perhaps that non-compete clause from Nexstar is no longer an issue?

Buyer beware

It's pretty bad when you have to do a story about people using your station's website to try to scam people. WBRE reported this week that scammers were trolling classifieds ads on PAHomePage.com to find people to rip off through so-called advance fee fraud. You know how it goes; seller posts ad, scammer sends check for more than the actual price, asks seller to send difference. Good luck getting your money.

(PAHomePage.com's classifieds now sport a warning from WBRE consumer reporter Jeff Chirico on how not to lose your money.)

To be fair, PAHomePage.com isn't the only place where scammers look for suckers. Anyone who's posted a classified ad, in the newspaper or online, has probably gotten a bite from someone hoping to rip them off.

We somehow impressed New York City

I spent the past week getting caught up on some off-Internet work, and look at what I missed! Two accused cop killers from New York City pick the Poconos as their hideout, just like the Fort Dix terror suspects, and the area is swarmed by reporters from the Big Apple.

A person with close knowledge of the whole affair writes in to say that WBRE and WNEP did great coverage by teaming up with their respective network affiliates in NYC. "Apparently all of NYC guys left with stellar impressions of the Scranton news market... go figure!"

The folks from WNBC probably didn't leave with good impressions of the State Police. The aformentioned source reports a trooper from PSP Swiftwater ordered the combined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton/NYC press corps off I-80 around 6:15 p.m. last Wednesday, and killed WNBC's live shot after the crew didn't move its satellite truck.

"The bottomline, PSP was awfully difficult to work with during this ordeal. It wasn't until midnight that a dispatcher from Swiftwater informed everyone about the nuts and bolts, and she only did it out of compassion for the lack of repsect all night long."