Happy Holidays from the Hardreading Staff!
December 19, 2012
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SEIU Goes Anti-Psychotic
December 19, 2012When a local labor union decides to take a workplace dispute public in a newspaper ad campaign, the knee-jerk locale would be the Boston Herald, champion of all things blue-collar.
Not so in the case of the SEIU’s current crusade against HealthBridge that surfaced in a Tuesday Boston Globe ad:
A HealthBridgeWatch video:
This isn’t the first healthcare organization the SEIU has targeted. The union also has a longtime beef with BIDMC, as the hardworking staff at Campaign Outsider has previously noted.
So far, the SEIU hasn’t made a dent in HealthBridge’s image. We’ll see if the Globe ad helps.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, HealthBridge, HealthBridgeWatch, SEIU | Permalink
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Hall of Fame/Hall of Shame
December 16, 2012Interesting split decision in today’s Boston Globe sports pages over Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, which is currently underway.
Commissioner Emeritus Bob Ryan makes his position clear from the get-go.
I’m not voting for Bonds, Clemens, or Sosa
I am in possession of the toxic ballot.
It is the Hall of Fame ballot voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) have dreaded for the last five years. Our feet are finally being held to the bonfire. How will we as a body judge the candidacy of the all-time home run leader, the only man to win seven Cy Young Awards, and a man with 609 career home runs who is the only person to homer 60 times or more in three seasons?
Absent, shall we say, a complicating factor, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa would be ultra-mortal locks. Based on the numbers, there wouldn’t be the slightest hesitation in checking the box next to their names.
But what sports fan doesn’t know there is a complicating factor?
The rest of the piece has Ryan wrestling with/explaining his choices. The final score:
Summing it up: Yes to [Jeff] Bagwell, [Craig] Biggio, [Edgar] Martinez, [Jack] Morris, [Mike] Piazza, [Tim] Raines, and [Curt] Schilling. Sorry to anyone else not named Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire , and Palmeiro.
By contrast, Globe baseball scribe Nick Cafardo skipped the Hamlet stuff and just included this in his Sunday Baseball Notes column:
Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Alan Trammell, Tim Raines, and Jack Morris were all checked on my Hall of Fame ballot.
Reasoning, we hope, to come.
Crosstown at the Boston Herald, meanwhile, no mention whatsoever of the Hall. It’s not like there are no BBWAA voting members at the feisty local tabloid – Steve Buckley, Jeff Horrigan, and Michael Silverman are listed on Wikipedia‘s BBWAA roster.
We’ll let you know if they let us know.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Barry Bonds, Baseball Writers Association of America, BBWAA, Bob Ryan, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hall of Fame, Nick Cafardo, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa | Permalink
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Local Dailies Kerry On with Senate Speculation
December 16, 2012It’s no secret that the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald inhabit entirely different political landscapes here in the Bay State.
Exhibit Umpteen: Their respective takes on who might succeed Sen. John Kerry (D-Reporting for Due-ty) if he gets what is widely regarded as a well-deserved nod for Secretary of State.
From Saturday’s Boston Globe piece by Glen Johnson:
A number of US House members, including Representatives Edward J. Markey and Michael Capuano, are also possible Democratic candidates in a special election.
From Friday’s much more expansive Boston Herald column by Howie Carr:
That’s what you now see when you try to access the Herald website. Except none of the links – Full Site, Basic Mobile Site, Get App – actually link (at least not at 1:39 Saturday morning).
Luckily, the hardtyping staff is one of the Herald’s up to 17 home delivery subscribers, so we can tell you that this is what Carr wrote:
Let’s go down the congressional list. Ed Markey’s wanted this seat since 1984, but he could never risk his safe seat, lest he lose and starve to death. One of his only jobs in the Dreaded Private Sector was driving an ice cream truck. Now Mr. Frosty will have a free shot.
Ditto, Mike Capuano. He’s morphed from an unrepentant Somerville hack into a twitchy, MoveOn mouthbreather. Remember his exhortations to his union thugs on the Common about spilling a little blood?
The hardguessing staff anticipates more than a little blood in what looks like an inevitable Senate bakeoff.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Ed Markey, Glen Johnson, Howie Carr, John Kerry, Mike Capuano, Secretary of State | Permalink
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Scott Brown’s Mash Note to Himself
December 15, 2012Oddly enough, it was the Boston Globe – not the Boston Herald – that ran this Scott Brown op-ed that was all about . . . him.
A pleasure and a privilege
FOR THE past three years, I have had the great honor and privilege of serving the people of Massachusetts in the Senate. Although I served for only three years, and losing this past election was disappointing, that disappointment is tempered by the great respect I have for the judgment of the people of this Commonwealth. To all the people of Massachusetts, I count myself in your debt, for the confidence you placed in me, and for allowing me to represent you.
Nut graf:
I never wanted to go to Washington just to be a senator. I ran because I believed our country was on the wrong track, and I thought I could help by being an independent voice more interested in building bridges than burning them. I kept my promise to be bipartisan, and to serve the interests of everyone in our state.
After that, Brown shifts to the Royal We (hey – he’s cavorted with kings and queens, yeah?):
Because we refused to bow to special interests, because we were willing to work across the aisle, we actually got things done to make a positive difference in the lives of our people. We should be incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished.
This collaborative and constructive approach helped us pass a Wall Street reform bill to rein in the excesses that brought on the financial crisis . . .
Hold it right there:
Brown actually weakened the Dodd-Frank Act, but why get technical about it, right?
The rest of the Globe op-ed is the usual Scottie-Come-Lately litany of bills where Brown saw which way the wind was blowing, then voted with the prevailing breezes.
Re-elect him at your own peril.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Dodd-Frank, Scott Brown, Scottie-Come-Lately | Permalink
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Herald Pulls ‘Crosshairs’ Headline
December 14, 2012The hardreading staff noted a few hours ago that the BostonHerald.com homepage had the headline “Kerry in the crosshairs if nominated for state” right next to its coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
To its credit, the paper has now corrected that unfortunate pairing.
Homepage at 4:20 pm:
Sad, sad day.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Kerry in the crosshairs, Newtown CT, Sandy Hook Elementary School | Permalink
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Unfortunate Headline of the Day
December 14, 2012BostonHerald.com homepage at 1:35 pm:
Of course, the Herald couldn’t know, when it wrote the “Kerry in the crosshairs” hed, what would transpire only hours later. But it’s a damn good argument to stop using gun references in headlines.
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, John Kerry in the crosshairs, Newtown CT, Sandy Hook Elementary School | Permalink
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Boston Globe’s Papal Cut
December 13, 2012That old Pontifox, Benedict XVI, was all tweetness and light yesterday as he took to Twitter to bless the faithful (over one million served so far).
Of course everybody’s reporting on the gala debut – except the Boston Globe. Its print edition had no mention of it – versus the Boston Herald, which splashed it all over Page Two:
Faithful flock to @pontifex
Pope Benedict XVI’s debut tweet kicked His Holiness’ coolness factor up a notch yesterday, but the 85-year-old’s messages of faith will have more merit if he actually socializes with his growing flock of followers, social media experts say.
“It’s one thing to know the Pope’s on Twitter but when the Holy Father — or one of the cardinals — responds to me on Twitter, it’s like, wow, then I’m connected,” said Todd Van Hoosear, principal of Cambridge social media consulting firm Fresh Ground. “That’s social. That’s where they really ought to take it eventually.”
And just so the circle will be unbroken, that same Todd Van Hoosear went to @pontifex and plugged his Herald appearance (see bottom tweet):
That sort of digital communion is a beautiful thing. As opposed to some of the truly nasty stuff going up @pontifex.
Meanwhile, back at the Globe, they still haven’t jumped on the Popewagon. The only Pope-a-Tweet they have is a preview from last week.
The hardworking staff will let you know if they seek our indulgence.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: @pontifex, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Pontifox, Pope Benedict XVI | Permalink
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Herald on Tim Cahill Mistrial: Not Exactly Martha C(r)oakley
December 13, 2012Not only did the prosecution of former Massachusetts Treasury Secretary Tim Cahill on ethics violations end in a hung jury, so did the Boston Herald’s coverage of the verdict.
From Hillary Chabot’s column today:
Defeat seen as big blow for Martha Coakley
Attorney General Martha Coakley’s stunning courtroom defeat in the Tim Cahill trial dealt another blow to her political career — spoiling her hopes of rebooting her image and marring her chances for a gubernatorial run, political observers said yesterday.
“Anyone eying the field for the ‘14 gubernatorial race certainly is no less enthusiastic about doing it after today,” said Dan Cence, a key state Democratic operative, after Coakley failed to net a corruption conviction against the former state treasurer.
Added Democratic consultant Mary Ann Marsh: “Obviously it’s a loss for her in that some people will think that while people are sick of politics as usual, this jury thought she was overreaching.”
Then again, from the Herald’s editorial on the trial:
Far from innocence
This was never going to be a slam dunk. This case against ex-Treasurer Tim Cahill was always tricky to understand, a complex stew of politics and of governing. And then there was the “but everybody does it” defense.
And so at the end of the day we can’t fault jurors who wrestled for seven days with weeks of testimony for not being able to reach a verdict. Nor should anyone fault Attorney General Martha Coakley for bringing the case in the first place — although there will be many who fall into that camp.
Yeah – like the Herald’s own Hillary Chabot.
Not to get technical about it.
Bottom line: Score one for the separation of news pages and editorials.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Herald, Dan Cence, Hillary Chabot, Martha Coakley, Mary Ann Marsh, Tim Cahill | Permalink
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Herald on the Ball Re: Napoli Deal
December 12, 2012So maybe the Mike Napoli signing isn’t sealed and delivered just yet.
From John Tomase’s column in today’s Boston Herald:
Catch to Mike Napoli signing?
Injury issues may put contract in jeopardy
Mike Napoli was the Red Sox [team stats]’ primary target of the offseason, and he might become their first casualty.
No one on Yawkey Way had anything to say on the matter last night, but alarm bells have been sounding ever since the one-week mark of his three-year, $39 million agreement passed without an official announcement.
Last night the estimable Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports speculated that Napoli’s deal might have hit a snag, noting that he was supposed to be introduced at a Fenway Park [map] news conference yesterday.
Interestingly, what reportedly did happen yesterday was Napoli’s physical. Which has led to all kinds of speculation, as the Herald piece notes.
Meanwhile, crosstown at the Globe, the dead-tree edition had nothing on the Napoli deal, but the website caught up this afternoon with this piece:
Red Sox trying to close Mike Napoli deal
The Red Sox are trying to work through some issues that have prevented them from formalizing a new deal with Mike Napoli, according to a major league source, but nothing is resolved yet.
It seems like for days now the Red Sox have been on the verge of an announcing that Napoli had been signed to a three-year, $39 million deal, but none has come.
A newly acquired Red Sox player usually comes to Boston for a physical and officially signs the contract. Then, the player is introduced at a Fenway Park press conference.
Call Napoli the player to be quizzed later.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Fox Sports, John Tomase, Ken Rosenthal, Mike Napoli, Red Sox | Permalink
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It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town 