THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2006
Thursday Edition: Airport Courtesy Carts Hit Passengers
It
is something I have wondered about so many times as I watch courtesy
carts, loaded with passengers, fly down crowded airport
concourses. Those golf-cart-like shuttles weave through weary
passengers as people tug heavy bags, try to manage hyperactive children
or listen to MP3 players.
I wondered if the carts ever hit pedestrians.
WCCO-TV's David Schechter did more than think about it; he went after it. He found that, at the Minneapolis airport, the carts have injured 60 passengers in the last four years alone. Some of those victims were little kids and old folks.
It just makes you wonder what you might find at your airport.
ReadTheBill.org
A Web site, ReadTheBill.org, has begun
banging the drum to force Congress to post the wording of proposed
legislation online at least 72 hours before a floor debate. The notion
behind the movement is that, too often, legislators do not read the very
legislation they are voting on -- so the public should be able to. The Washington Post, Roll Call, Investor's Business Daily and The New York Times have taken notice.
There are alternatives, but none of them do what ReadTheBill.org is suggesting. The Library of Congress's Thomas search engine tracks all legislation, but last-minute amendments might not be posted until after the vote.
GovTrack.us and a Washington Post page also have tracking programs for legislation.
The Simpsons v. the First Amendment
The Associated Press reports:
Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment
(freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress
of grievances). But more than half can name at least two members of the
cartoon family, according to a survey.
The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum
found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family
members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five
First Amendment freedoms.
Blogging the Trial
Trials that do not
allow cameras in the courtroom can be deadly dull to cover. But that has
not stopped enterprising journalists from generating a lot of interest
in the Enron trial.
One of the most talked-about blogs these days is the Houston Chronicle's Enron trial blog. (See the impressive stats.)
The trial itself is sometimes about as interesting as watching banks merge, but the Chronicle
staff has filed the snarky, if sometimes less-newsworthy,
minute-by-minute details of what is really happening in the courtroom
for the
four months it is likely to last. There are usually several posts each
day with telling details that would never make it into print.
The blog describes
seating patterns and apparently growing friendships on the jury. The
blog describes the cowboy boots being worn by an L.A. attorney who has
"gone Texan" for the trial. It also describes how some people sleep in
the courtroom.
For example, read these passages:
February 27 -- Enron
Task Force Director Sean Berkowitz has now used shoes and groceries to
try to make sense of Enron's complex business and finances for the jury.
Today Berkowitz, whose home office is Chicago,
asked witness Wesley Colwell to use grocery store finances to explain
reserves. Thus the jury was educated about a business holding cash in
reserves to cover future liabilities with discussion of produce
spoilage and returned groceries.
A pretty bright idea
given that rotten tomatoes and dairy sold after the expiration date is
a lot easier to understand than the trading, hedging and commodity
world of Enron. Heck, even some analysts admitted they didn't
understand everything going on in Enron's books back when the company
was a respected powerhouse.
On Feb. 14 Berkowitz
asked then-witness Ken Rice to explain gross margins and "income before
interest and taxes" by using a shoe store. Again, the cost of making
shoes and the sale of shoes -- so much easier to get your head around
than the sale of some asset to a side company run by Andy Fastow.
A lot of the entries are details of testimony. But then there are details like this too:
One of our loyal blog
readers with a good eye noticed in courthouse sidewalk photos from last
week that Jeff Skilling's lawyer Daniel Petrocelli was sporting cowboy
boots.
It's true -- this Jersey native who lives in the Los Angeles area no less has gone Texan with his footwear.
"They were a Christmas/'going-off-to-trial' gift from my father-in-law," Petrocelli said.
Made from alligator,
he finds them comfortable and he states "I'm not taking them off until
Jeff is a free man." Since that would make sleeping potentially
uncomfortable and showering quite messy, we'll assume he doesn't mean
that literally.
Look at this passage from February 23:
While (Paula) Rieker shows little emotion, the pressure of testifying under (Dan) Petrocelli's sometimes grueling cross has made its mark.
Rieker does have a
nervous quirk that appears to be have risen in frequency as the
intensity of the questioning has increased -- she presses her tongue
between her lower cheek and gums, sometimes swishing it along the
bottom row of her teeth.
This is just part of the Chronicle's massive coverage. Look at these other online features:
Blogs:
• Full Disclosure: Business writer Loren Steffy at the trial.
• Legal Commentary: Lay-Skilling trial analysis from Texas attorneys
• Gallery of key Enron players
• Catch up in chron.com's Enron archives
• Talk back in our Enron forum
• Get Enron stories via RSS
KTRK-TV analyst Joel Androphy's Enron blog includes a fun a scorecard for the trial.
Juror Pay
One story idea that I picked up from reading the Chronicle's
blog on the Enron trial is the issue of juror pay. It is something to
consider when you are covering a long trial, or even a trial that lasts
a week. Jury duty is a sacrifice. Read this:
An attorney wrote to
the court on behalf of the worried juror. Before court began today,
Skilling's lawyer Daniel Petrocelli mentioned to the judge that there
could be a concern about the juror feeling too much pressure.
The law states that
an employer must hold your job open when you are on jury service but it
does not require that an hourly employee be paid for hours they are not
working. It might be different for non-hourly workers depending on
terms of the employment.
Jurors sometimes are
told they won't be paid in long cases and usually an attorney or the
judge himself or herself calls the employer and breathes some civic
duty into them.
In the Enron
Broadband Services trial last year, U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa
Gilmore said she contacted the employers of two jurors who complained
they were going broke while they serve on the jury. Gilmore said the
companies "are not mom-and-pop" operations, and it appeared she
convinced them to pay the jurors during their absence.
That case lasted 3-1/2 months and unlike this trial, jurors did not always have Friday off
to at least check in at work one day each week.
The amount the
federal courts pays jurors is minimal -- $40 each day you come to
the courthouse; 44.5 cents for each mile driven. And if you come from
more than 50 miles away, $146.00 for hotel lodging, or $38.00
subsistence if you stay with a friend. Other expenses including road
tolls, parking and public transportation may also be covered.
Some employers who pay employees for jury duty do require that the employer get that $40 a day.
A Radio Story for Teaching
Once in a while, I
come across a story that is so well told I just pass it along to you,
not to localize, but to learn from or to use in your newsroom teaching
and discussions. This story is from my friend John Burnett at National Public Radio.
The piece explores how commercial fishing boat owners in New Orleans
are still waiting to salvage their vessels. The story hones in on one
boat owner, a Vietnamese immigrant who watches as a crane untangles his
boat from the wreckage of others.
Listen to John's
precise descriptions that paint pictures and "take the listener there,"
rather than merely pointing us toward a scene. The soundbites are
subjective and explanatory rather than factual. You will hear rich
sound that places the listener at the scene. I especially like the
crackle of the two-way radio and the sound of a boat being set down by
a crane.
Teachers:
You can use this in your classroom a demonstration of how to start a
story quickly then pay it off with a strong end. There are many magic
moments in this story that surprise and engage the listener. Listen to
the copy talk about a "ball" of boats, then a soundbite explains what
the copy means, it does not merely repeat the phrase, as so many
soundbites do.
Newsrooms: This can be a great tool to discuss how to enrich podcasting with more than the drone of a narration or endless soundbites.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas,
edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites,
as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes
directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be
provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends
upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors
and inaccuracies found will be corrected. Posted at 12:53:22 AM
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