WNYmedia.net: “Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”

November 21, 2011 5:51 pm ⋅ 6 Comments ⋅

Yes...This was actually my horoscope today. Scary right?

By now you’ve all heard the news that our longest and most beloved contributor Alan Bedenko has decided to take a paid blogging gig with our friends at Artvoice:

Via Facebook:

If you missed the news, our longtime contributor and friendAlan Bedenkohas taken a paid blogging position @Artvoice. We wish Alan nothing but the best of luck in his new venture and look forward to working closely with him again in the future. While we are sad to see Alan go, we are even more excited about the new direction WNYmedia.net will be heading in 2012. We’ll have more information on the future of our website and the future of covering important news and information in WNY over the upcoming days.

With the news that Alan has moved onto a different pasture (not so much greener), questions about the future of WNYmedia.net and what this means for us need to be addressed.

The short answer. We aren’t going anywhere. (you can read the long answer below)

OLDMISSION ACCOMPLISHED. ONTO A NEW ONE.

When I started this website venture with a lifelong friend in 2003, we had a few simple goals in mind:

  1. Share information though a community website that would give people a place to collectively voice opinions and advocate for things theybelievein.
  2. Become an important player in the local media and political landscape.
  3. Play a role, as large as possible, to rid ourselves of Republican control locally and nationally (Remember 2003 we had GWB, Joel Giambra and others still at the realm)
  4. Eventually make a living and have fun doing it.

I am proud to say that, at least for now and with the help of a host of amazing people along the way, those goals (for the most part) have not only been met but actually shattered.

So as we come to the close of another election cycle and brand spankin’ new year, I have been left with a tough decision on where to go from here. It’s one I’ve lost much sleep over the past 6 months and continue to put all my efforts, even as Im writing this post.

BLOGGING IS NOT DEAD. IT’S JUST DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT NOW

In seven years, we have seen dramatic shifts in technology, political climate, news gathering tools and what blogging has evolved into. Twitter and Facebook specifically all but eliminated the vast “minor leagues” of local blogs and bloggers we could chose to promote onto WNYmedia.net.

When this site first started, we were on the cutting edge of technology. Hell, we were streaming live video and live blogging events before Margaret Sullivan even knew what blogging was.

Over the last two years, the mainstream media hacks caught up to the times and stole all our cool toys. It was only to be expected.

In seven years a lot has changed for me personally andprofessionally. I know its hard to believe but I’m not perfect. As the publisher of this website, I have made my share of mistakes and blunders along the way. Some of our experiments have worked great and other blew up in our face. But unlike other outlets who have come and gone over the last seven years, WNYmedia.net is still here and actually stronger than ever heading into 2012.

The biggest mistake I’ve made over the last few years was that with all these new technologies and news gathering tools popping up around us, I sat back and let what is the tool (blogging) become our platform. Instead of embracing something different, everyone else had the chance to catch up.

The past six months have left this website a bit stale. Our partnerships dried up and some important people have moved on. Though we had another great election cycle, it became more difficult for those who remained to create content on a daily basis. Keeping the same look and format for 3 years has been a problem as well, leaving our database painfully slow and bulky.

While I do not want to dissolve WNYmedia.net, I also do not want to keep going in the same direction we’ve been heading for the past two years. Not justtechnologicallyspeaking, but politically as well.

Though it took longer than I hadanticipated, I have come to some answers about where we go from here.

A NEW DAY

As the publisher of this website, I’ve never been afraid to blow things up and start again. Doing so has scared people away as much as it has brought new people in over the last seven years. I could seriously write a book about the inner workings of this site, decisions that were made, fights that were had, ideas that were left on the table and the people who have come and gone. Hmm…

2012 will see us heading in an entirely new direction as we take blogging to the next level through some innovative tools to cover news and influence people.Our main beats will still include politics, government, sports, media, and community activism. But now, we will enter a groundbreaking new era in our history of providing you information about the most important topics on a daily and up to the minute basis.

Most importantly, we hope this will no longer strictly be considered a “liberal political blog”. Sure we will continue to have left leaning analysis and opinions, but those subjects will be better separated than they have in the past.

As hard as it might be to shake that reputation, we plan on putting serious efforts into turning this into more of a daily news gathering operation and informational mega site for WNY than trading in people’s political opinions. Well… sort of :) We hope that with the current shakeup and departure of some long time contributors, some of thatvitriol you have come to love or hatewill eventually fade from recent memory.

I have putsignificanttime, effort, money and resources into what will be the brand new WNYmedia.net coming online in the next few weeks. The redesigned WNYmedia.net will be simple, but intensely focused on live news coverage, using the latest social mediatools to more directly inform, generate discussion and establish new take on blogging that will moreeffectively present a wider variety of WNY opinion-makers. It will be part aggregator, part original content and act as a repository for what people are doing online all day in Buffalo and the surrounding areas.

The new site will also include more resources and tools for people to participate in citizen journalism including the opportunity to get paid to cover live events and even a kick ass mobile app to tie everything together that will hopefully be available by summer 2012.

As this post is gettingexcruciatinglylong, I’ll save the intimate details about the new format and tools for another post later in the week.

To conclude, I’m extremely proud of what we have built over the last seven years and even more excited about what I see as the future of web publishing and what it will bring to Western New York.

As a few more regular contributors will be leaving us over the next few weeks, I want to publiclly thank everyone (past present and future) who put so much time and effort into making this website what it has become.

With the help of some awesome new people (and a few crazy ones) we will continue to be Buffalo’s social media outlet of record for years to come.

More in the coming days. Promise.

Posted in: All Posts, blog, blogging, Facebook, future, joel giambra, Life, Margaret Sullivan, Social media, technology, twitter, Website, Western New York

Good Riddance, You Bums

November 21, 2011 9:35 am ⋅ 6 Comments ⋅

Like a prom night dumpster baby...

What the fuck?!

First off, thanks for your thoughts and prayers during my convalescence. Great to be back. In reality, I wouldn’t have blogged much about WNY and politics and the usual dumb stuff I tend to go on about due to the fact that a third party who may or may not be connected to the now failed Chris Collins re-election campaign paid me to not blog during the final stretch. (Three bucks is three bucks… Thanks “Lick Nangworthy”!) As anybody knows, if you pay me money, I’ll blog (or not blog) about any subject, or pack up and move somewhere else. (You hear me, Geoff?! I’ll bite any hand that feeds me!) But now I come here and I see this…

Now how in the hell am I supposed to ride the coattails of the successful blogs of Smith and Bedenko?! Sure, it was easy to steal their concepts and add to those themes some lame puns, bad photoshop images and goofy videos (all in the name of “satire”), as long as we were under the same banner of WNYMedia.net! But now, I’d be sponging content from another website instead, and it’s just not the same.

My old friend Chris Smith was the one who asked me to blog here (again, you now know who to blame) and Alan was welcoming from the start, and I consider him a friend. Well, an “internet” friend at least, I can count on my fingers the times I’ve met him in person. You know, it’s mostly through Facebook and Twitter that I communicate with him, and he hasn’t “untagged” any of the doctored photos of him I’ve posted on those sites, so that’s gotta count for something, right? And he at least took the time to thank me by name right here on this site:

I want to thank Marc, Chris, Kevin, Brian, Chris C., Chris VP, Nate, Paul, Eric, Christina, and the dozens of other contributors and writers weve hosted over the past six years.

Wait, what the hell?! I’m not listed there! “And the dozens”?! Now I know how the actors who played the Professor and Mary Ann felt when they heard the first version of the theme to “Gilligan’s Island”

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I’d like to take the time to wish Chris and Alan all the best in their new home. Best of luck, you magnificent bastards.

But mostly “bastards”…

:)

Posted in: All Posts, comedy/satire, tommunisms

Good Bye, Old Friend

November 21, 2011 7:30 am ⋅ 22 Comments ⋅

Back in 2005, I was still writing the blog I had started in 2003 using Blogger.com. I had a growing audience, a bit of influence, and blogging was new and revolutionary. In April of that year, Marc Odien invited me to have my blog hosted on the WordPress platform at his creation, WNYmedia.net. Since then, the site and my blog have gone through many iterations, reformations, designs, strategies, and ideas. We went from a standalone to a white-on-black group portal, back to standalones, and back to a group portal where it remains today.

My focus used to be somewhat broader than its become in recent years, but ultimately my site was about what I found interesting. Thats the guiding principle under which Ive operated all these years.

Its with much excitement and some trepidation that Im announcing my departure from WNYMedia.net starting today. Chris Smith and I will soon be writing online for Artvoice, western New Yorks alternative regional weekly, under the guidance of editor Geoff Kelly.

Parting with WNYMedia.net is quite bittersweet. While Im thrilled with the opportunity to write for a new, different audience as part of an established alternative news outlet, I will always be grateful to Marc for giving me this platform, which we collectively transformed into a genuine player in the local media scene.

Bloggings meteoric rise in influence has waned somewhat in recent years, as social media platforms deliver similar content in a more immediate way. I wouldnt say blogging is dead its just different. It sure isnt 2003 anymore.

I want to thank Marc, Chris, Kevin, Brian, Chris C., Chris VP, Nate, Paul, Eric, Christina, and the dozens of other contributors and writers weve hosted over the past six years. Id like to thank Craig from the late Buffalog for paving the way for Buffalocentric blogging during the last decade.

But above all, Id like to thank you who read me every day for taking that time. Id like to thank the people who commented for your participation in what has oftentimes been a great conversation about us as a city, as a region, as a state.

Marc and WNYMedia.net will continue and Im sure theyll continue to do great things. I leave with no hard feelings or bad blood. I wish him, and the site, the best in all things.

Metropolitan Buffalo is a great place thats ready for its close-up. I like to think we took a close look at the region without first applying a rosy tint.

Posted in: All Posts, Life, metablogging, post-format-standard

Escape the Urban Book Review: Robert Kull’s “Solitude”

November 20, 2011 6:34 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

In February 2001, Robert Kull took the concept of “escaping the urban” to its logical extreme: he moved to an uninhabited island in the glaciated fjordlands of southern Chile and lived alone for a year. On purpose. The only companion he packed in was a cat named Cat – all other kinship he discovered while there.

The non-fiction shelf of your local bookstore is full of what my agent calls “stunt books.” Authors place themselves in gimmicky and often preposterous scenarios to create a new frame for an old story: reading the entire encyclopedia, living a year according to a strict interpretation of the Bible, walking or biking or kayaking across a continent. Kull is less stuntman than hermit. His quest was the oldest: spiritual, not contrived drama, more Coptic guru than Bear Grylls.

Robert Kull, according to his own description, is an ex-woodsman, part time scuba instructor,Buddhist/New Agefusionacolyte and (now)successful PhDcandidate at the University of British Columbia. In 2000 he managed to convince his dissertation committee to allow him to spend a year alone inthe wilderness to research the affect of prolonged isolation on the human psyche. He would be both observer and subject, and kept daily journals to study and record hisactivities, mood, and ramblings. Because Kull is missing a leg and likes to sit and meditate, thosediary entries contain more stream of consciousness than action narrative. The intimate (but fortunately edited, though a more forceful slashing would have been welcome) daily log forms the bulk of this book, broken by various interludes to explore themes of technology, scientific inquiry, and the Big Mind of creation.

I was initially entranced by Kull’s concept, and my own longing for remote Patagonia. The book’s front half moves right along as logistical concerns dominate: choosing the right remote island, procuring gear and supplies, planning a year’s worth of meals, building a cabin in the raging wind and rain, finding and stacking firewood for the coming cold, exploring inlets and isolated pebble beaches to discover ducks, dolphins, seals and limpets.

But as he settles in to a long winter of isolation, as anxiety gives way to comfortable introspection, Kull loses all readers except the most devoted (trite?)spiritual explorers. I stubbornly stuck around waiting for the moment he would snap, smear gratuitous psychological carnage across the page, a sign of solitary induced dementia finally evident. Instead, Kull forms friendships with Butter Belly Diving Ducks, sees reassuring spirit faces in the rock formations on the mountain sides, and only seems to dread the expected depression that will come with reintegration into human society. He finds pleasant Solitude, not Loneliness, and his self-indulgent self-criticism aside, seems more content countingshellfish on the shore than facing bustling Vancouver again.

Most disappointing, however, was that despite his constant introspection, Kull could neversee the irony of his entire endeavor: the human society he shunned produced the technology that made his mission possible. Kull did not paddle out to an island and build himself a cabin out of the materials he found there.The ChileanNavyshipped in pallets of gear for him: lumber and nails and screws and plastic sheeting to build his cabin, solar panels and a wind turbine to make electricity for incandescent light and his computer and sat-phone, a rigid inflatable raft with two outboard motors. While Kull asks himself whether he is really alone if he can email his pseudo-partner any time he wants, he never contemplates whether he could have traveled to his island in the first place without two tons of stuff.

Self-help junkies, rapt meditators and quasi-spiritual investigators will enjoy Kull’s quest into the self and the occasionally interesting insightsinto life it provides.Wildernessenthusiasts will ask themselves if they could pull of a year near Tierra del Fuego, may experiencea momentary twinge of jealousy, but ultimately will only wonder how this book ended up in the outdoor section of Barnes and Noble.

Posted in: All Posts, Book Review, Escape the Urban, Life

The Transition Team

November 19, 2011 4:22 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

Erie County Executive-elect Mark C. Poloncarz proudly announced the formation of his transition teams executive committee. This committee, led by businessman Michael Joseph will work closely with the current administration to ensure a smooth transition so that the Poloncarz administration can begin its work on behalf of the Countys taxpayers.

Michael Joseph brings an incredible wealth of business experience to the transition team as the President of Clover Management, a real estate development and management company. In addition, Joseph is an active member of our community, having served or still serving on a number of civic and non-profit boards including the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Jewish Federation of WNY, Buffalo Seminary, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the University at Buffalo Foundation.

I am honored to have Michael Joseph serve as my transition teams chairman, said Poloncarz. Like me, Michael believes that County government serves an important role, namely to provide the highest quality services to taxpayers at the lowest possible cost. I believe Michaels experience in not only building a successful business but also serving as a well-respected civic leader in our community will help lay the ground work for my administration.

Michael Joseph said, I am honored to serve County Executive-elect Poloncarz as his transition teams chairman. This is an incredible opportunity to help chart a new course for our community and restore faith in good governance. Mark did an exceptional job serving as our independent taxpayer watchdog, and I am confident he will make our County government more efficient and use our tax dollars more effectively as County Executive. I am 100% committed to ensuring a smooth transition and setting the stage so that his incoming administration can hit the ground running on January 1st.

Poloncarz and Joseph noted that the transition team will consist of an executive committee and eight sub-committees representing the various areas of County government and resemble the committee structure of the Erie County Legislature. These sub-committees include: Community Enrichment, Economic Development, Energy and Environment, Finance and Management, Government Affairs, Health and Human Services, Public Safety and Public Works.

More information regarding these committees and the transition itself can be found on the new transition website at http://www2.erie.gov/transition/ which was launched yesterday.

In introducing the executive committee Poloncarz said, In forming this executive committee, my goal was to ensure it reflects the incredible diversity of our community. I will rely on the expertise and unique viewpoints that each of these members bring to the table to help me recruit an administration representative of all of Erie County. I encourage anyone who would like additional information or is interested in serving our community under my new administration to visit the transition website and submit their resume.

The executive committee is comprised of the following members:

Michael Joseph (Chairman)President and Chairman of Clover Management, Inc.

Bernard TolbertFormer Senior Vice-President for Security in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and retired Special Agent in Charge (Buffalo) for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, Tolbert has served on the boards of numerous community organizations, including: the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, Medaille College, Cradle Beach Camp and Kids Escaping Drugs.

Cindy Abbott-LetroFormer host of AM Buffalo, media consultant and community volunteer. Abbott-Letro, a prominent leader in the cultural tourism sector, serves on the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and is the former Chair of the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Robert FineFounder and Chairman of the law firm Hurwitz & Fine, PC. Fine has maintained an active role in many organizations including serving on the Board of Directors of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, the Erie County Industrial Land Development Corporation and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

Toni VazquezOwner and operator of Urban Family Practice, a small business medical facility serving more than 11,000 patients annually in a poor, multi-cultural community on Buffalos Lower Westside. Additionally, Ms. Vazquez is a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association, member of the Hispanic Womens League and a current board member of the Amherst Senior Citizens Foundation and Sisters Hospital Foundation Gala Fundraising Committee.

James EaganExecutive Vice President and Partner of Midwood Financial Services, the largest privately held distributor of financial products and services via the bank and brokerage channels in the United States. Eagan is a member of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authoritys Board of Commissioners and the Board of Directors of Erie Countys SPCA.

Lisa LudwigActress, owner of production company Free Fall Productions and Managing Director of Shakespeare in the Park. Ludwig is a leader in the annual Curtain Up! theater celebration, Vice President of the Theatre District Association and past Secretary of the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo.

Frank MesiahPresident, Buffalo Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and retired Regional Administrator in the Division of Equal Opportunity Development for the New York State Department of Labor. Mesiah is a member of several organizations, including: the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Legal Aid of Buffalo, Greater Buffalo YMCA and the Near East Side Health Task Force.

Brenda McDuffiePresident and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League. McDuffie currently serves on several Boards, including: WNY Foundation, Buffalo State College, Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau and is on the Trustee Council for Kaleida Health Systems.

Kenneth PetersonExecutive Vice President of WHO Government Solutions. In that role Peterson has specialized in the areas of education reform, alternative energy programs and affordable housing projects and has represented diverse clients like labor unions, employer associations, municipal housing authorities and others.

Patty DevinneyField Coordinator for the Western New York Area Labor Federation. Devinney, a registered nurse, began her labor career more than 30 years ago by aiding in the unionization of the 800 nurses at the Buffalo General Hospital.

Alisa LukasiewiczSpecial Counsel for Phillips Lytle LLP and former Corporation Counsel for the City of Buffalo. Lukasiewicz has extensive experience in representing municipalities in all aspects of civil litigation, while concentrating her practice in the area of labor and employment law and education law. She also serves on the Board of managers for the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society and Board of Directors for the Casimir Pulaski Association.

Jonathan RiveraVice President and Branch Manager of HSBC Bank and former aide to Congressman Brian Higgins.

Jennifer ParkerFounder and President of Black Capital Network, a small business consulting company providing strategic planning, public relations and graphic design services to support business advancement and development and owner of JacksonParker Communications, a public relations firm. Parker is currently a member of the board of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, creator of the Harlem Book Fair BUFFALO and the Buffalo Book Fair, and has served on the board of WNED-TV, the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

Posted in: All Posts, government

The Late Nick Mendola Podcast, 11/18/11

November 18, 2011 2:38 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Had a chance to catch up with FreeDarko, Bleacher Report and the wonderful TheClassical.org‘s Bethlehem Shoals this morning — both our babies cooperated — to get his take on the NBA Lockout. Besides taking money out of his pocket, Shoals has another somewhat unique take… and he’s on the players side. All that and some talk on adjectives and adverbs in today’s featured interview.

Here it is,Downloadand listen.

Email: nick@fcbuffalo.org

Posted in: All Posts, bethlehem shoals, billy hunter, david stern, free darko, NBA, podcast, Sports, theclassical.org

You Are Where You Live Documentary

November 18, 2011 1:48 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

On December 11th, join the Clean Air Coalition for the premier of their documentary, You Are Where You Live by Vince Mistretta.

The film chronicles the personal stories of The Clean Air Coalition’s fight for the people’s right to a healthy environment by following Coalition members Ann Sciandra, Rosa Caraballo and Renata Pokrasky.

This documentary is a part of Squeaky Wheel’s Channels Series.

Channels: Stories from the Niagara Frontier, addresses the need to disseminate information about current social and political initiatives with the goal to educate people about important issues in their communities.

The free screening will be shown at the Burchfield Penny, 1300 Elmwood Ave on Sunday, December 11th at 3PM.

CAC Film Postcard-web

Posted in: Activism, All Posts, CACWNY News

Congress Requesting Further Action Regarding Justice Thomas

November 18, 2011 1:09 pm ⋅ 29 Comments ⋅

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28) Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee today sent a follow-up letter to the US Judicial Conference requesting that the matter of Justice Clarence Thomass failure to disclose required financial information be referred to the US Attorney General.

The letter, signed by 52 Members of Congress, was drafted after new details emerged showing Justice Thomas correctly disclosed his wifes income for at least 7 years before failing to disclose the same information between 1997-2007. Other records, filed by Mrs. Thomas employers, indicate she was paid at least $1.6 million (previously known to be approximately $700,000) during the years her husband reported she had no income. Willful failure to disclose required information would be a violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Said Slaughter, The new details that have emerged show that Justice Thomas had a firm understanding of the steps necessary to properly disclose all information required by federal law. Knowing this, his failure to properly disclose financial information between 1997 and 2007 is even more curious. It is high time that the appropriate authorities fully investigate this issue to determine if his failure to disclose this information was willful.

In addition, Rep. Slaughter delivered a petition that had been circulated by CREDO Action, calling for similar action. The petition was signed by 131,386 Americans, and called on the Judicial Conference to refer the issue of Justice Thomass non-disclosure to the US Attorney General for further action.

Of the petition, Slaughter said CREDO Action members have played a huge role in our efforts to hold Justice Thomas accountable. This petition is proof that the American people care deeply about the integrity of their courts. Regardless of ones title, no one should be above the law.

Between 1997 and 2007 Justice Thomas checked the box none for spousal income on his annual financial disclosure forms, despite the fact that Virginia Thomas earned income from several organizations during this time period, including the Heritage Foundation. When the inaccurate disclosures were made public, the Justice amended his forms and stated that he had misunderstood the reporting requirement.

Newly found copies of old disclosure forms indicate that Justice Thomas had properly completed his disclosure forms for at least 7 years before he began checking NONE on the section seeking details about his wifes employment. Those copies also indicate that Justice Thomas failed to make proper disclosures for a total of 13 years (previously known to be at least 5). Other records, filed by Mrs. Thomas employers, indicate she was paid at least $1.6 million (previously known to be approximately $700,000) during the years her husband reported she had no income.

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the Judicial Conference, an administrative agency for the federal courts, to refer to the Attorney General any judge or justice whom it has reasonable cause to believe willfully failed to make required disclosures.

Slaughter has previously worked to bring clarity to the questions surrounding Justice Thomass failure to properly disclose financial information.

On September 29th, Slaughter led a letter of 20 Members of Congress asking the Judicial Conference to take action regarding Justice Thomass apparent violations of the Ethics in Government Act. On October 14th the Judicial Conference replied to report that this letter was referred to Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure.

With todays letter, Slaughter continues her efforts to seek appropriate answers to the outstanding questions regarding Justice Thomass financial disclosure.

 

 

 

Posted in: All Posts, Clarence Thomas, Ethics in Government Act, Judicial Conference, Judicial Conference of the United States, Louise Slaughter, Slaughter, Thomas, united states

Tight Local Sweeps Race Goes Down to Wire

November 18, 2011 8:59 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

The local news battle from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the November sweeps is tighter than all the runners will be at the start of the Turkey Trot.

Round 3 of the November news ratings battle in the early evening waspretty much a draw between Channel 2 and Channel 4 in the first sweeps competition since Channel 4 lost Oprah Winfrey as its lead-in.
Channel 2 leads by such a tight margin from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. after three weeks that the winner of the four-week battle may not be decided until the sweeps period endsthe night before theThanksgiving race.
In week 3, Channel 2s Daybreak won over Channel 4s Wake Up! at 6 a.m. by half a point. After three weeks, Channel 2 leads in that time period by four-tenths of a point. That is much tighter than it was a year ago when Channel 2 held a lead of more than a point.
At 5 p.m., Channel 2 won by three-tenths of a point in week 3. However, Channel 4 won by one-tenth of a point at 5:30 p.m. and at 6 p.m., meaning the stations were only separated by one-tenth of a point from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in week three. Channel 2 had a combined rating of 27.4, Channel 4 a combined rating of 27.3. Channel 7 is a poor third, with a combined rating of 12.0.
After three weeks, Channel 2 leads by two-tenths of a point at 5 p.m., three-tenths at 5:30 p.m. and one-tenth at 6 p.m. All of those leads are within the statistical margin of error. A year ago, Channel 4 won all time periods by healthy margins.
Channel 4 continues to dominate at noon (where Channel 2 doesnt compete), 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. so it will easily claim the title of overall news leader.
As a Syracuse University graduate, naturally I hope that the child abuse allegations that surfaced on ESPN Thursday night against assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine prove to be baseless and this isnt another case of an assistant coach luring young children with the access to a storied athletic program as the head coach doesnt do enough to stop it.
ESPN reporter Mark Schwarz should hope the accusations prove to be true because one of his reports Thursday night came close to convicting Fine and left out significant details that separated this case from the recent Penn State scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. ESPNs report this morning was briefer and much fairer, making you wonder if the network is backtracking just a little bit. That impression was wrong. It hasgone heavywith the story all this morning.
Schwarz spoke Thursday night of the accusations of former SU ball boy Bobby Davis (who claims he was abused for years starting at age 12 and is now 39) occasionally without attribution, which made them sound like the truth rather than allegations. Schwarz added that one possibility that the accusations werent corroborated when first made several years ago was because boys or men are reluctant to admit being sexually assaulted.
After hearing his report, I immediately went to the website of a Syracuse paper. The Syracuse Post-Standard reported that it had investigated the accusations for six months starting in 2002 (as had ESPNs Outside the Lines) and Syracuse police (unlike the Penn State situation) had been made aware of them. The paper and ESPN declined to report the story back thenwithout corroboration and the police dropped it as well, apparently because the statute of limitations had expired. The university also launched a four-month investigation in 2005 and concluded the accusations were unfounded.
The major difference from the earlier investigations to now is that Davis older stepbrother, also a former ball boy, now claims he also was abused by Fine about 35 years ago. The Post-Standard reported that one of Davis brothers had previously failed to corroborate Davis accusations. It is unclear if the university was referring to the same relative. It is clear that one would prefer someone other than a relative to corroborate accusations like this.
Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim strongly defended Fine and reportedly said Davis has told a thousand lies.
Well have to wait to see how this all plays out. But Fine already is a loser. He has been placed on administrative leave and in the current climate is presumed guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. Even if the latest police investigation exonerates Fine, he has lost his good name. If he is guilty, Syracuse Universitys good name, and possibly Boeheims, will take a much bigger and deserved hit.
pergament@msn.com

Posted in: All Posts, media, Uncategorized

CBW in the spotlight

November 17, 2011 2:19 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I thought that things couldn’t get much busier than they were last week. I was wrong!

This weekend CBW took up drill and saw and set out to turn an empty space in our brewery into a walk in cooler. It took four days, help from fivepeople (our eternal gratitude goes out to Ed, PJ, Scotty, Mike and Kevin) and one trip to the ER, but we have gone from this:

Cool enough… but could it be COOLER? That was a pun. Because we're putting in a cooler.

To this:

I title this image, "Four people working, and Dan"

Gimp may have destroyed the EXIF data on that image when I cropped it, but it was taken at 11:11 pm last night. I don’t know about you guys but that’s at least 41 minutes after I’m usually asleep. I was the first to leave, too. I don’t know when the others finally went home. Maybe they never did, and are still cutting 2x4s and screwing them onto the frame with a glass-eyed, zombie-like stare. There’s no way to be sure.

As the pictures show, progress has been made. There’s a thingwhere before there was no thing. I’ve said in the past that it’s amazing to see the brewery area turn into what it will look like when we’re in production, and it’s an entirely different level when the change is happening through your own hands.

That’s excitement enough. Over the weekend I said to myself, “Thursday’s post will be about construction. That will give me a lot to talk about.” And then the news kept on coming.

The big one, which I hinted at last week, is that CBW is one of three finalists in Crowley Webb’s Twenty-Five Hour Workday. The winner will get 25 hours of ad work from the firm for free. This is, quite obviously, a big deal, especially for us as it will come right when we’re about to open. If you’re reading this then you know about our mission to Embeer Buffalo. We want that meme to spread to every man, woman and child in Western New York. You can make that happen: the winner will be chosen by popular vote, with one vote being cast per email per day.

This means that that gmail address you have counts as one vote. Your work account is a second. The .edu you still have laying around is a third, and maybe there’s still that @yahoo.com from the heady days before Google’s hegemony. All of those count as discrete votes, and can be cast daily. If we’re going to win this, we’re going to need a fully armed and operational voting bloc.

Even if you only want to vote for us once, that’s okay. We’ll take any and all support we can get: friend of the brewery Dan Gigante’s You and Who captured our early lead from us and is currently in first place, and Triad Energy and Recycling could rocket to the top at any time. All three of us are equally deserving of Crowley Webb’s efforts. But, as George Orwell famously said in his how-to book on building a successful society, some are more equal than others. Right? I mean, that’s what I took away from the book. What I’m trying to say is please vote for us.

Then there’s our Kickstarter. Wow. With 27 days to go, we’ve raised $12,440 of our $15,000 goal. As a reminder, if we don’t reach our goal by the ending date then we don’t get any money. At this point I have to believe that’s a “when we’re funded” and not an “if,” but that eventuality will only come about with your help. We are awed and humbled by the outpouring of support we’ve received already and I have no doubt that this exciting stream of love and excitement will continue.

Quite a lot of our success is due to the insane amount of press we’ve been getting. Yesterday Ethan’s face was on the front page of the Buffalo News, telling of the story “Giving Buffalo a beer — or many — of its own” contained within. Monday saw “Community Beer Works: It’s close, but needs your help!” grace the front page of Buffalo Rising’s website. Then there’s that ridiculous word, the blogosphere: we’re grateful to Carla atThe Beer Babe and local homebrewer Aaron Chapnick for their posts about our Kickstarter.

I had intended for boththe construction and the self aggrandizing link sections to be longer. In the end, though, I know that while I enjoy the sound of my own voice the rest of you have a limit. Thank you for reading this far. Allow me to link to the Twenty-Five Hour Workday one more time and, as a reward for reading all of this, please take my thanks and an animated gif of a dog that I found on Reddit.

Posted in: All Posts, beer, Kickstarter, Link dumps, press, Thirsty Thursday