NewspaperAlum

The Day the Camera Blinked at the Rose Bowl

Woody Hayes.  Photo Credit: ART RODGERS / LOS ANGELES TIMES

Times photographer Art Rogers shows Pasadena police officer Jay D’Angelo how he was holding his camera when shoved by Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes before Rose Bowl football game.  Rogers filed a complaint with the Pasadena Police Dept. (Credit: Steve Fontanini/Los Angeles Times).

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They say the camera never blinks.

Well, it might have flinched, just a bit on January 1, 1973 during the Rose Bowl, when Ohio State Buckeyes celebrated coach Woody Hayes preparing for battle against USC, shoved L.A. Times photographer Art Rogers’ camera into his face. It was reportedly no minor shove, since Rogers required medical treatment.

According to Rogers, he was one of a half dozen persons photographing the coach huddling with his team during warmup drills, just minutes before the start of the game. As the huddle broke, Rogers positioned himself low, using a long lens before Hayes charged out and jammed the camera into his forehead.

“That ought to take care of you, you son of a bitch,” Hayes growled.

Hayes told an AP reporter: ``This photographer kept pushing in and trying to get a picture of me at close range…I turned my back on him and he went around on the other side and stuck the camera in my face again.

“This time I pushed the camera away and made some remark, but I did not hit him. I just made a shoving motion to get the camera out of my face.”

During a post-game interview, when asked to give his version of events, Hayes exploded into a tirade: “Oh, for Jesus Christ’s sake, forget it,” he snapped and threw the microphone he was holding onto the floor. “That’s the end of this interview. Those are really big stories.” Before storming past reporters, the OSU coach, howled: “He (Rogers) wasn’t hurt.”

A misdemeanor battery charge filed against Hayes with the Pasadena Police Department was subsequently dropped by Rogers because he reportedly “had received an ‘appropriate communication’ from Hayes.”

The L.A. Times provides a detailed report of the whole twisted affair of ``Shovegate’’ in their photography blog, Framework.  http://is.gd/vVD08W

But the biggest blow suffered during the day, as it turned out, wasn’t the L.A. Times photographer, but the Ohio State Buckeyes who were trounced by the Trojans, especially by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham (who scored four touchdowns), 42-17 in Pasadena.

Bill Lucey
[email protected]
January 1, 2014

October 1, 1910: The Bombing of the L.A. Times

October 1, 1910, is a day that will live in infamy at the Los Angeles Times.

It was on this day, shortly after 1 a.m., when 20 Times' employees were killed after a time bomb constructed of 16 sticks of 80 percent dynamite connected to an alarm clock detonated in an alley (known as ``Ink Alley'') next to the Los Angeles Times building at First Street and Broadway in Los Angeles.

The bomb exploded with such violence, that many were convinced an earthquake had struck.

To many, it was known as the ``Crime of the Century.''

A night city editor, the principal telegraph operator, and many more dedicated newspaper employees fell to their death amid the destructive carnage. At the time of the explosion, there were 115 people in the building.

Additional bombs were planted in the bushes of the homes of L.A. Times executives, Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the newspaper, and Felix J. Zeehandelaar head of a Los Angeles business organization. Both of these bombs failed to detonate.

After the rubble and the dust had cleared, it didn't take long to figure out the motive of the bombing. Otis, the publisher of the Times was a staunch anti-unionist and leader of the Merchants and Manufacturing Association, a powerful group of business owners.

After some investigation, it was determined the bombing was carried out by a Midwestern labor union in retaliation for the paper's aggressively anti-union policies and practices.

Two primary perpetrators of this cowardly act:  J.B. McNamara, and J.J. McNamara (both brothers) were arrested, tried and sent to prison. They were spared the death penalty only through the skillful bargaining of their defense attorney: Clarence Darrow.

During the course of the trial, Otis tore into the unions, labeling them: "anarchic scum," "cowardly murderers," "leeches upon honest labor," and "midnight assassins."

Those who were killed on this fateful day were buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where a bronze plaque lists their names.

For those who want to learn more about this bombing, Scott Harrison of The Los Angeles Times has put together a photogallery (at the Times’ photo blog Framework) .

-Bill Lucey

[email protected]

October 1, 2013

Miami Herald Employees Warming Up To New Digs

Many thanks to the Miami Herald  for passing along photos of their new 150,000-square-foot home in Doral, in the 3300 block of Northwest 91st Avenue, a small city on the west side of Miami-Dade County. The new facility is perfectly tailored for the new media as reporters and  photographers more and more rely on modern technology (smart phones, digital cameras, etc) to better and more efficiently cover breaking news, politics and sports for their 1.5 million readers.
 
While admittedly it’s taking Herald employees a little time getting comfortable with their new headquarters, away from One Herald Plaza with its spectacular view of Biscayne Bay, their new home, which once housed the U.S. Southern Command, comes equipped with a fully-stocked workout room (something they didn’t have at their previous home) and a more expansive newsroom with an interlocking grid of desks and offices, creating a sharp and modern synergistic flow from department to department, where even editors are now more accessible.

-Bill Lucey

[email protected]

July 23, 2013

 A peek inside the CND (Continuous News Desk), the heart of the Herald's news operation. Editors at the table are holding the daily afternoon news planning meeting. Photo Credit: Courtesy / Miami Herald.

 A large group of MHMC (Miami Herald Media Company) employees poses outside the company's new building in Doral shortly after the move from downtown Miami, Photo Credit: Courtesy / Miami Herald.

-- MHMC executives, including Publisher David Landsberg, cut the symbolic ribbon designated the opening of the new facility. Photo Credit: Courtesy / Miami Herald.

 

A Dip into the L.A. Times Photo Archive: Election Night, 1950

Well before CNN's John King and his touch-screen election board came along, L.A. Times editorial writer Bob Hartman gave his own spin on the election results to KTTV in the Times' city room on November 7, 1950;  an election which resulted in California Gov. Earl Warren being elected to a third term, Richard Nixon winning the race for the U.S. Senate, and Edmund (Pat) Brown capturing the California attorney general race.

A very special thanks to the L.A. Times Photography Blog, Framework, for sending this photo along.

Bill Lucey
[email protected]
June 22, 2013

Let There Be Light! 82 Years Ago, an Electric Newspaper is Unveiled

Compliments of the L.A. Times' photography blog, Framework  , comes a truly historic image of The Los Angeles-Times Richfield `Electric Newspaper' at the corner of 6th and Hill streets.

This novel news bulletin service, one of the first in the United States, became a reality on October 12, 1931, when it began splashing short snappy news bulletins (local, state, national and international) based on reporting from multiple sources, including telegraph, telephone, radio, mail and messenger across a dazzling board in incandescent letters four feet high during the five hours of its nightly operation.

Given that the Times faced fierce competition from other metropolitan dailies during the 1930’s, the idea behind this unique bulletin service was to whet reader’s appetite for the next morning’s print edition in hopes they buy the Times at their local newsstand.

The Times reports that it has never been determined exactly when the Times Richfield `Electric Newspaper' was discontinued.

Bill Lucey

[email protected]

May 23, 2013

Even Press Photographers Were Wild About Harry

Right in the thick of his bruising presidential campaign, with the election less than six months away, The Los Angeles Times photography blog, Framework,  shared this truly historic snapshot of Harry Truman in June 14, 1948, posing with a gaggle of press photographers at Union Station, including staffers from The L.A. Times. Ray Graham to left of Truman, and Phil Bath on the right.

The L.A. Times Photography Staff Says Cheese!

A special thanks to the Los Angeles Times photography blog, Framework  for sharing this snapshot of the their photography staff from 1941. The photo was originally published in the January, 1941 edition of ``Among Ourselves’’, the L.A. Times’ employee newspaper.

For those astute newspaper historians-you're absolutely right- the camera doesn't lie, that is indeed General Manager Norman Chandler and Editor L.D. Hotchkiss pictured in the group shot. On Feb. 26, 1941, Chandler was elected President of Times-Mirror Co.

Pictured here, beginning from left to right kneeling: Jack Herod, Hugh Arnott, J. H. McCrory, chief photographer. Standing left to right: Robert Ritchie, Maurice Terrell, Robert Jakobsen, General Manager Norman Chandler, Editor L.D. Hotchkiss, Phil Bath, Al “Red” Humphreys, Marshall Benedict, Horton Churchill, Paul Calvert and Art Rogers.

Well Before Rachael Ray-There Was Bertha Haffner-Ginger

Compliments of the Los Angeles Times' photography blog, Framework , comes this delectable
snapshot of Bertha Haffner-Ginger from 1914 conducting one of her cooking classes, appropriately named ``The Times’ School of Domestic Science,'' which were held at the L.A. Times.

Haffner-Ginger landed at the Times' in 1912 to teach the region how to cook through the use of test kitchens, classrooms and hands-on training. Her specialty was Mexican cooking.

Capturing When The L.A. Times Went Dark

It was nice to hear from the L.A. Times, who shared this historic photo with NewspaperAlum of their newsroom from December 10, 1941, three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Los Angeles experienced its first World War II blackout.

Times’ editors, however, were permitted to continue working with lamps.

For other incredible photos from the Times,’ check out Frameork,  the Times' Photography Blog or follow them on Twitter.

Bill Lucey
February 16, 2013
[email protected]

America's Team: Photos from the Archives of the Big D: Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News around 1900. Fireside Desk and Fireplace in the room belonging to Col. A.H. Belo , the founder of Dallas Morning newspaper, along with business partner George Bannerman Dealey.

Dallas Morning News newsroom from 1933 or 1934. From Left: Aaron Griffin, Police Reporter, John Rosenfeld, Amusements Editor, Wayne Gard, Copy Reader, (barely visible behind Rosenfeld),  John E. King, Managing Editor, Miss Ogla Utley, secretary to G.B. Dealy, J.S. French, Market Editor,  Ms. Marian Snyder Green, Reference  Department, T.C. (Doc) Daniell, lunchroom manager, A.L. (Coke) Wimmer, Telegraph Editor, Alvin Thomas, Copy Clerk, Harry C. Withers, Managing Editor of the Dallas Journal, Louis Head, copy editor,  Elmer G. Luter, Asst City Editor, Chauncey Brown, copy editor, Dick Lee, copy clerk, Jack Patton, cartoonist,  Ms. Edith Cranebell, secretary to Managing Editor. Seated: Miss Ruth Buckner, Circulation Dept Secretary, Ms. Betty Trible, receptionist, Ms. Evelyn Goebel, secretary to Ted H. Barrett, City Editor,  Miss Fairfax Nisbet, Amusements Writer, Miss Mary Carter Toomer, Society Editor, Kenneth Foree, Night City Editor.

Felix R. McKnight, former DMN editor working on the John F. Kennedy assassination page in the Dallas Times Herald newsroom, Nov. 22, 1963.  Far left is James Chambers, Jr. co-publisher, Blackie Sherrod standing next to McKnight. Far  right is A.C. Green

Dallas Morning News newsroom, 1938. Young skinny Paul Crume, front left. Across from Crume sits Ken Hand, who wrote a column called ``Off-Hand.’’ Two desks to the left of Crume is Maureen Osborne Fussell, the first woman reporter at the paper, according to longtime reporter, Ruth Buckner.  Crume was the Dallas Morning News' front page columnist and humorist for more than two decades.

Dallas Morning News Young Street Bldg around 1982. At the layout desk is James Davis, lower left, Shirley Newsome, center.

NOTE: Photos provided courtesy of the Dallas Morning News