January 28, 2013
The nightclub fire that killed 233 people in Sao Paulo Santa Maria, Brazil, yesterday has, as many have pointed out, haunting similarities to The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island a decade ago. Both Boston dailies noted the echoes in their print editions today, one much more vividly than the other.
The Globe ran the story Page One, but it was a pickup from the New York Times.
The Globe did toss in a couple of local references:
The disaster ranks among the deadliest nightclub fires in history, comparable to the 2003 blaze at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island that killed 100 people, one in 2004 in Buenos Aires in which 194 were killed, and a fire at a club in China in 2000 in which 309 people died. In 1942, a fire at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston killed 492 people . . . The scene recalled the 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., at which the rock band Great White was performing. During the show, pyrotechnics set fire to flammable soundproofing foam that lined the walls and ceiling, killing 100 and injuring 200.
The Herald coverage, though, cut much closer to home:
Lead piece:
Fire rocks Hub Brazilians, survivors of R.I.’s station
‘It’s just heartbreaking … that someone else has to go through this’
The pyrotechnic fire that killed at least 233 people in a crowded Brazilian nightclub yesterday stunned the still traumatized survivors of Rhode Island’s 2003 Station nightclub blaze and prompted prayer vigils among the Boston area’s large Brazilian community.
“It’s just heartbreaking to know that someone else has to go through this,” said Gina Russo, 45, of Cranston, R.I., a survivor of the Station nightclub fire, who has undergone 54 surgeries to date after more than 40 percent of her body was burned. She lost her fiance in the fire.
“It’s everybody’s worst nightmare,” said Aguilar Martins of
Lynnfield, a 42-year-old Brazilian who attended a vigil at the First Brazilian Baptist Church in Charlestown. “We’re so far away, you can’t really do much about it.”
Except tell the stories as best you can.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Brazil, Kiss, New York Times, Rhode Island, Santa Maria, The Station nightclub | 
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January 27, 2013
One little word was big enough to make page 3 of today’s Boston Herald:
‘Bqhatevwr’ he said
Scott Brown’s Twitter troubles light up Web with jokes
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown set off an Internet sensation early yesterday after a string of odd messages were posted on his Twitter account, including one that appeared to be a misspelling of “whatever,” that turned into a popular online trend.
The tweets of “whatever” to critics began appearing on Brown’s official account after midnight yesterday, including one post that said “Bqhatevwr.”
Twitter users soon used the nonsensical word in famous quotes and pop culture references as the term became a Twitter trend . . .
Compounding the problem: Brown later deleted the tweets. But that didn’t stop the waves of ridicule that subsequently washed over Brown.
Funny thing, boston.com had the story (via the Huffington Post) yesterday morning, but it didn’t make today’s print edition.
Your punchline about respective editorial judgment goes here.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, boston.com, bqhatevwr, Huffington Post, Scott Brown, Twitter | Permalink
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January 27, 2013
Today’s Boston Herald puts on the Page One pom-poms for the Olde Towne Team and its prospects for the upcoming season. Via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages:
The piece in the Sports section has a level of optimism that’s exclusive to pre-spring-training days.
A nice view at the top
Cherington optimistic as spring training nears
Two weeks from today, nearly three dozen Red Sox pitchers and catchers will be in Fort Myers, bracing for their first spring training workout. And shortly thereafter, predictions will begin to roll in.
Not even the Mayans would be so bold as to call the Sox a playoff team.
Ben Cherington respectfully disagrees.
“I believe we will contend,” the Red Sox general manager said Thursday in a sitdown with the Herald. “There is no reason we shouldn’t contend in 2013. But we also want to build something really good for a long time. We’re confident we will.”
A confidence that’s likely exclusive to him, but why get technical about it.
Meanwhile, the Sox went for more traditional advertising in the Boston Globe:
Odd approach, yes? Except in Red Sox Nation, of course.
Also odd, the ad did not run in the Herald. Then again, maybe the Sox figured the Page One promo was enough.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Ben Cherington, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Fort Myers, Red Sox Nation, Red Soz, spring training, The Newseum, Today's front Pages | Permalink
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January 26, 2013
Lots of political prognostication in the local dailies today about who might do what in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat about to be vacated by John Kerry (D-Am I Secretary of State Now?).
Start with the the Boston Herald, which turns half of Page One over to the prospects of Rep. Stephen (Peek-a-Boo) Lynch (via the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages).
Lynch earns a split decision inside: Hillary Chabot’s piece has the headline, “Menino Shaping Up As Ace in Hole for Lynch,” while Joe Battenfeld’s column presents a less-optimistic slant:
Botched report spells trouble for pol
Even by Massachusetts political standards, this was one of the worst non-campaign announcements ever.
U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch’s bungled will-he-or-won’t-he drama over his possible entrance into the U.S. Senate fight left voters confused and Democratic leaders shaking their heads — not a great start for a campaign.
If Lynch does announce he’s getting in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey — and many Democrats and Lynch supporters are still convinced he will — the first question will be: “When did you decide to run — before or after your advisers prematurely leaked word you were running and you denied it?”
Ouch.
Crosstown-rival Boston Globe gives its conjecturing the power position: Page One (via ditto) upper right above the fold:
The Frank Phillips/Michael Levenson piece indicates that Scott Brown (R-Show Me the Money) might be leaning toward skipping a third Senate bakeoff in three years and running instead for governor in 2014. Enter the Great Mentioner, starting with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld:
Weld did not return calls seeking comment. But his associates said it is highly unlikely the former governor, who returned to Boston this fall after living in New York for a dozen years, would plunge back into politics.
“He has no interest,’’ said Stephen Tocco, a partner with Weld at ML Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. “He is too busy growing his practice and settling into Massachusetts.’’
Not to mention Weld has said (as noted by the hardreading staff) that not running for office is a condition of his employment at ML Strategies. Although – yes, yes – contracts are made to be broken.
Regardless, next?
Another high-profile Republican — Kerry Healey, the former lieutenant governor — did not rule out a Senate candidacy, saying only that it is “premature to say’’ if she would be interested in the seat if Brown does not run.
Conspicuous by his absence was Charlie Baker, who ran a credible if largely uninspired campaign for governor in 2010. It will be interesting to see if in the next round of chinstroking, Baker is part of the mix.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Weld, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Charlie Baker, Ed Markey, Frank Phillips, Hillary Chabot, Joe Battenfeld, John Kerry, Kerry Healey, Michael Levenson, ML Strategies, Scott Brown, Stephen Lynch, Tom Menino | Permalink
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January 26, 2013
Friday’s Boston Globe won the Robert Kraft Girlfriend Sweepstakes with this minimally juicy item:
Lander at postseason premiere of ‘Movie 43’
Ricki Noel Lander, also known as Patriots owner Bob Kraft’s girlfriend, walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of “Movie 43” on Wednesday night. Lander has two small parts in the ensemble comedy, which was co-directed by Rhode Island’s own Peter Farrelly. Also at the screening were Farrelly’s pal (and Martha’s Vineyard regular) Larry David and Boston-bred actor Neal McDonough.
Friday’s Boston Herald landered no such story.
To be fair, though, the Herald’s Track Gals (without Megan!) did have Bruins Ice Girls Kasey of Stoneham and Emilie of Attleboro prepping for Night at the Fights at the Garden.
Once again, the local dailies battle to a tie.
Sweet.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Night at the Fights, Ricki Noel Lander, Robert Kraft, TD Garden, Track Gals (without Megan!) | Permalink
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January 24, 2013
Two very – wait for it – different takes on former Chelsea housing authority honcho Michael McLaughlin in this morning’s Boston papers.
The Globe puts the story in the power position: Page One, upper right.
McLaughlin charged in hiding of pay
The former chief of the Chelsea Housing Authority was charged Wednesday with four felony counts of deliberately concealing his inflated salary from state and federal regulators from 2008 until he resigned in 2011, triggering a scandal that has rocked Massachusetts’ public housing system to its foundation.
US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced the federal charges against Michael E. McLaughlin, 67, of Dracut, alleging that McLaughlin deliberately underreported his annual salary by up to $164,000 a year in mandatory reports to state and federal housing regulators. The charges were contained in a document that is normally used when the defendant has agreed to plead guilty.
(Explanation of that last: “the charges against [McLaughlin] came not from the grand jury, but in a document called a criminal information. Prosecutors normally file such a document when a defendant agrees to a plea deal.”)
Crosstown at the Herald, the story appears on page two, and from an oblique angle:
Feds charge Tim Murray’s buddy
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray’s surprise exit from the 2014 governor’s race could be tied to federal charges brought against his one-time associate Michael McLaughlin yesterday for falsely boosting his salary, local politicos speculated.
“It probably reinforces what a lot of people were thinking last week,” said Richard Tisei, a former Republican state senator who ran unsuccessfully for Congress. “The whole McLaughlin scandal would have hobbled any potential run for governor, and it would have lasted during the whole campaign. You can’t go an inch into that story without Tim Murray’s name popping up.”
McLaughlin, the embattled former Chelsea Housing Authority director, was a longtime Murray fundraiser, and there are ongoing questions as to whether he pressured staffers to give to the lieutenant governor’s campaign. Murray reportedly was also questioned by federal investigators.
The Globe waited until the fifth graf to drag Murray into McLaughlin’s mess.
Slowpokes.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Carmen Ortiz, Chelsea Housing Authority, Michael McLaughlin, Tim Murray | Permalink
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January 23, 2013
Three little words signal the difference between the local dailies today in their coverage of the new Suffolk County sheriff.
Boston Globe:
Aide named to replace Cabral as sheriff
Tompkins began inmates program
Governor Deval Patrick appointed a former aide to Andrea J. Cabral to succeed her as Suffolk County sheriff on Tuesday, saying he was not concerned that Steven Tompkins could be seen as a political hire.
“By the way, it’s a political job, so the folks that are criticizing it as a political hire, tell them: they’re right,” Patrick told reporters shortly after administering the oath of office to Tompkins, who will serve until the 2014 general election.
Boston Herald:
Gov: You’re right, sheriff pick’s ‘political’
Gov. Deval Patrick unabashedly admitted the hiring of new Suffolk Sheriff Steve Tompkins — a career public relations man and former campaign adviser to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren with no law enforcement experience — was a “political hire.”
“It’s a political job,” the governor said with a smirk last night. “So the folks that are criticizing it as a political hire, tell them they’re right.”
With a smirk. How very Herald.
Also very Herald: Howie Carr’s column on who got screwed in the deal (Boston City Council President Steve Murphy) and why (“Andrea Cabral hates Murphy. He ran against her once” and “Mumbles Menino hates ex-city councilor Michael ‘Flats’ Flaherty,’ who would return to the City Council if Murphy exited).
How very Boston.
4 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Andrea Cabral, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Deval Patrick, Michael Flaherty, Steve Murphy, Steven Tompkins, Suffolk sheriff, Tom Menino | Permalink
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January 22, 2013
(With apologies to Hubie and Bertie)
Both local dailies had items on Anna Burns (This Wife Is on Fire!) Welker’s Facebook flameout after the Pats and hubby Wes dropped the ball in Sunday’s AFC title tilt. Boston Herald’s Inside Track:
Wes Welker’s wife takes a page from Gisele Bundchen’s book
Gisele Bundchen hasn’t rung in yet, but our new favorite Patriot wife, Anna Burns Welker, got on Facebook yesterday and ripped Ray Lewis after the Pats fell to the heinous Baltimore Ravens in theAFC Championship game. “Proud of my husband and the Pats. By the way, if anyone is bored please go to Ray Lewis’ Wikipedia page. 6 kids, 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player. A true role model.”
Boston Globe’s Names:
Wes Welker’s wife rants about Ray Lewis
Not everyone is thrilled that Baltimore is going to the Super Bowl. The day after Ravens QB Joe Flacco outplayed flaccid Pats QB Tom Brady, wide receiver Wes Welker’s wife, Anna Burns Welker , posted a nasty note about Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis on her Facebook page. “Proud of my husband and the Pats. By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis’s Wikipedia page,” wrote the former Miss Hooters International. “6 kids 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player! A true role model!” (Welker’s wife was referring to a January 2000 bar fight in which two men were stabbed to death. Lewis and two others were indicted for murder, but the charge against Lewis was dropped and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice.)
Nice touch, that Miss Hooters International thing. But only the Track Gals (without Megan!) had this:
At this juncture we feel it’s our duty to point out that Gi is in no danger of losing her hated nickname: Jinxele. Since the advent of The Bundchen Era, 12 has lost two Super Bowls, two AFC Championship games, one AFC divisional playoff game and one AFC wild card game. He’s missed a season with a wrecked knee and was walking in a cast right before Super Bowl XLII.
To be fair, the Globe did have the better Aly Raisman photo.
Herald:
Globe:
That’s fun!
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Aly Raisman, Anna Burns Welker, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Gisele Bundchen, Hubie and Bertie, Jinxele, Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Zdeno Chara | Permalink
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January 21, 2013
The cover story in the Sunday Boston Globe Magazine features sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy’s promo for his new book on former Red Sox manager Terry Francona.
Set the record straight?
Maybe not so much.
From Shaughnessy’s piece:
Our writing process was simple and structured. Terry and I would meet, usually in a hotel coffee shop or restaurant. I’d record a couple of hours of conversation, then disappear for a few weeks to write. When a chapter was finished, I’d e-mail it to Terry, and he’d call back with corrections, clarifications, and occasionally a deletion.
“Do we have to call Heathcliff Slocumb ‘useless’?” he’d say. “Let’s take that out.”
Gone.
“I know you don’t like Schill, but we’re not going to call him a blowhard in my book.”
Fine. Schill is not a blowhard. Not in this book, anyway.
And Shaughnessy was not a journalist. Not in this book, anyway.
Michael Silverman’s Baseball Notes column in the Sunday Boston Herald reinforced that point.
Tito: Book no hatchet job
Terry Francona did not set out to hurt anybody’s feelings when he co-wrote a book about his eight years with the Red Sox.
If the owners are not happy with their portrayal — and how could they be? — as being more concerned with image than substance and as not loving baseball as much as Francona, the former Sox manager owns up to that.
He felt he was being honest, after all. When he was fired or quit in October 2011, his own feelings were hurt. So, without any malice or forethought on his part, it sounds kind of natural to Francona that not everyone is going to be chuckling about how they are portrayed in the book.
Actually, no one but the owners will have anything to complain about. That’s because, according to Silverman, “[a]ny potentially touchy stories about players were vetted, via one-on-ones with Shaughnessy, so that nobody is surprised.” And Francona adds, “I checked with everybody — I didn’t use anything that I thought would make people mad.”
Anyone besides the hardreading staff mad about that?
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Herald, Boston Red Sox, Dan Shaughnessy, Michael Silverman, steno, Terry Francona | Permalink
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January 20, 2013
Now that Lt. Gov. Tim Murray (D-Pressed) has made his high-speed exit from the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial race, rampant speculation about who might emerge as alternatives has officially begun.
As is only fitting, the Great Mentioner stopped by both local dailies in Murray’s wake, with – wait for it ! – decidedly different results.
From Joe Battenfeld’s Saturday Boston Herald column:
Here’s one scenario: Joe Kennedy, the father. Sources say the former congressman may not have completely shaken off the political bug. One Democratic source said there has been increasing chatter about Kennedy mulling getting back into politics. But there is even more buzz that his son, newly elected U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, could be a gubernatorial prospect.
While the elder Kennedy and many other Democrats say he’s happy living in the private sector, he — or his son — could always come in as the Democratic shining knight to keep the GOP from taking over the Corner Office.
Another Herald piece adds this:
As Murray bows out, race for gov is on
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray’s stunning decision yesterday to bow out of the 2014 gubernatorial race shook up the Bay State’s political landscape — likely nudging potential candidates for the Corner Office closer toward a run.
State Treasurer Steve Grossman has made his intentions about a likely run clear, but candidates such as Attorney General Martha Coakley and U.S. Rep. Michael E. Capuano could also decide to take the plunge.
“The race now is wide open,” said Democratic consultant Mary Anne Marsh. “Steve Grossman becomes the front-runner as of today, and you’ve got to think Martha Coakley is looking a lot more closely at it.”
Crosstown at the Boston Globe, there was this:
In addition to [State Treasurer Steve] Grossman, potential Democratic candidates include Donald M. Berwick, a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and State Senator Dan Wolf, the founder of Cape Air.
Murray’s exit could also clear the way for US Representative Michael E. Capuano, an urban liberal who would draw some of the same supporters as Murray. Capuano, a former Somerville mayor, said this week he will not run for Senate.
His spokeswoman, Alison Mills, said Capuano “has already received a great deal of encouragement and will consider other opportunities at the appropriate time.”
Charles D. Baker, a Republican who ran for governor in 2010, is considering another run as well.
Donald Berwick?
Dan Wolf?
But no Martha Coakley?
Seems like the Great Mentioner had an off-day at the Globe.
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Charles D. Baker, Dan Wolf, Donald Berwick, Martha Coakley, Michael Capuano, Russell Baker, Steve Grossman, The Great Mentioner, Tim Murray | Permalink
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It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town 