Alabama Public Television won a $3,000 My Source Education Innovation Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for “Flying Over Alabama: The Whooping Crane Story,” its online video on the migration of whooping cranes.
The award, one of 39 handed out in March in Washington to winning stations nationwide, recognizes public broadcasting stations that use pioneering approaches and emerging digital technologies to serve the educational needs of their communities on the air, online, at home and in the classroom.
Station puts anchorman on temporary leave, hides bio on website
Roy Hobbs, ABC 33/40’s weekend anchorman, is on temporary leave. The reason? A run-in with the law. Twice.
His first encounter, date unknown, was when a Birmingham police officer found him in Woodlawn with a prostitute, suspended driver’s license and no proof of insurance. Hobbs was let off with a warning.
The second encounter, Friday night, ended with an arrest. Police say they found Hobbs with crack and a crack pipe. He was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. The arrest report also indicates he was under the influence of drugs at the time.
He was released Saturday morning on $800 bond.
Hobbs’ court date is May 10.
The station’s website removed him from the Talent Bios page, but has not removed his actual bio page. (Update: It has now been removed.)
Here’s his bio:
Roy Hobbs brings a wealth of experience to the weekend anchor desk at ABC 33/40. He is a veteran who has covered stories ranging from the Challenger disaster to the O.J. Simpson trial.
While Roy comes to Birmingham after a year as the morning anchor at the NBC affiliate in Kansas City, he has spent much of his career in the South and was eager to move to Birmingham. He previously anchored the No. 1 morning newscast during his three years in Nashville and he spent six years as the 5:00 anchor at the Fox affiliate in Atlanta. During that tenure, his newscast was one of the highest rated in the country.
Roy has received five Emmy Awards and numerous nominations. He is a longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and helped found the Houston chapter. He has also served as Vice President of the Nashville chapter and President of the Atlanta chapter.
In 2001 he joined a group of Black Journalists on a mission to Kenya to discuss freedom of the press at the invitation of East African Black Journalists and the Kenyan government.
Roy loves to be involved in the community by speaking to students at area schools as well as churches and other community groups. He has a large collection of comic books and records, enjoys movies and, of course, covering the news of the day.
His most recent column appeared Wednesday, but his Friday and Sunday columns didn’t run in their scheduled slots.
Is he on vacation? Did he take a buyout?
We asked Archibald and editor Tom Scarritt for comment; we received no reply.
Instead, MOBster Kyle Whitmire was kind enough to share a copy of Archibald’s most recent column, one that apparently will never run in the News. The column focuses on newsroom staffers who took buyouts and the recent economic troubles that plague most daily newspapers. Archibald notes that more than 500 years of reporting experience have walked out the door in just 2 years.
And the last time anyone saw Archibald in public? He was on a panel last Tuesday night at the Birmingham News for a Society of Professional Journalists event. The topic of discussion?
Journalism and ethics.
• • •
John Archibald: You have a right to know about News buyouts
It’s hard to look at Ginny MacDonald today and not hear the Neville Brothers in my head, singing their version of that old hymn, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Undertaker, undertaker,
Won’t you please drive real slow?
That Miss Crazy, that you carry,
I sure hate to see her go.
I hate to see her go.
Plus, I want to see the bumper snicker on her hearse. What does it say?
Reports of her death have been greatly exacerbated.
No. Ginny Mac — Birmingham News transportation diva and Driver’s Side columnist — is not exactly dead. Not to you, anyway.
But today is her last day as a full-timer in the newsroom. She’ll keep writing a weekly column on Mondays, but no more front page stories from her about bridge collapses, speed traps or trooper madness.
Why do I tell you this? Because you buy the paper, most of you, and you know Ginny. You have a right to know that she, like so many experienced and trusted news gatherers, has taken a company buyout.
Today is a dark day at The News. It marks the last day not only for Ginny, but for health writer Anna Velasco. By May veteran political writer Tom Gordon — with more stored memory than an iPad — will be gone. So will young Erin Stock.
It’s not just a News thing, it’s a news thing. They tell us, in fact, that our readership is good and ad revenue is rebounding. But technology and economics have worn on profitability in all news operations. Ours is no exception.
But it hurts. In all, since buyouts were offered in 2008, The News has lost more than 500 years of reporting experience. Decorated reporter Dave Parks — who pretty much discovered “Gulf War Syndrome” — went. State editor Glenn Stephens, who could pilot a newsroom through a storm with an even keel, is gone. Food writer Jo Ellen O’Hara left us, as did outdoors writer Mike Bolton.
We’ve lost 32 people in the newsroom. Twenty were reporters, the real workhorses.
That may look small next to losses at the Raleigh News and Observer, which has seen its news staff fall from 250 to 115, or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which cut 93 news staffers in one chunk last year. But it hurts.
If there is good news, it is that The News still has 125 people working to gather the news in Alabama’s largest newsroom.
Still, we mourn the losses to the News family. We mourn the loss to readers, to this community, to the republic.
As legendary editor Gene Roberts told a group of journalists last week in New York, journalism job cuts are more than economic news. They’re a matter of public interest.
“This not just a problem for journalism, this is a problem for democracy,” he said. “What a democratic society does not know, it cannot act upon.”
He is right. You need to know. Think of what you know of your government, and try to separate it from the news. Alabama’s most notable corruptions — Don Siegelman, Guy Hunt, Larry Langford, Jeff Germany, the 2-year college system — all started with reporters on the ground. Issues such as the county’s bond debt and crime in neighborhoods bubble to light in the press.
Those of us left in the newsroom will keep digging. For readers. For the republic. For ourselves, for Ginny and Dave and Anna.
We believe there will always be a need, and a market, for news.
There better be. News, as Roberts put it, is “democracy’s food.”
“If we are going to come up with solutions, then democratic society has to understand that there is a problem,” he said.
Occam’s RazR: “Is Birmingham Ready for an Online Newspaper?”
Capstone Report: “The News today is more interested in hiding the truth than reporting it.”
The Ben Franklin Follies: “I don’t believe a news enterprise committed to investigative reporting and quality journalism can produce profit margins that will satisfy Wall Street, hedge funds or institutional investors.”
• • •
Update: The Birmingham News did run Archibald’s status in the print edition. However, you can judge the progressive wording.
April 16: “John Archibald is taking a break.
His column will resume Wednesday.”
April 18: “John Archibald’s column will return soon.”
“I told them at that time that I’d try to make it work, and if not, I’d walk away from it. … I had been here for 11 hours and just couldn’t do it. I was angry.
“I don’t think it (not publishing the column) was a good call, but I understand the pressures (Scarritt is) under.”
Scarritt said,
“I believe strongly in the future of newspapers and the vital role they will play in our communities going forward. I believe there are ways to talk about our current challenges that recognize we do have a future.”
Intern: Birmingham Home and Garden and Business Alabama magazines
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Over the Mountain Journal, a suburban Birmingham biweekly newspaper, has changed editors after 17 years.
Publisher Maury Wald laid off editor Cara Clark in March “due to the economic slump we’re continuing to struggle with.” The newspaper also laid off Lucy Merrill, features writer for 14 years.
On Monday, Laura McAlister began as the new editor of Over the Mountain Journal. McAlister, shown at left, formerly served as Web editor for the Birmingham Business Alliance and Birmingham Magazine.
Clark, shown at right, said by e-mail:
“As it was explained to me, (Over the Mountain Journal) has sustained revenue losses for many months now, and the publisher could no longer afford to pay my salary.
“With the newspaper industry suffering nationwide, it has been a concern, but our editorial staff (both of us) thought we had a strong enough niche in the community to keep things going. It was quite a surprise when we were told the situation.
“For me, it came at a time when I’d just returned from nearly a month-long embed with the troops in Afghanistan. I think it was time for a change, but a bit more preparation would have been helpful. Still, I hope to return to Afghanistan this summer. Meanwhile, I’m looking for work locally, as I’d just signed an apartment lease before the layoff.
“Being with the troops and experiencing life in Afghanistan was a long-time dream and life-changing experience. It taught me much about myself, including my ability to adapt to inhospitable circumstances in a war zone. I left at the end of December and returned near the end of January.”
Sent to us by our friend and MOBster, Dennis Pillion …
Journalism Ethics: A Panel Discussion
Ever wondered how far a journalist will go to get a story? How do news organizations decide what to cover? Should journalists live by rules of how to treat their sources and the public?
Last week, editor Abigail Millwood and art director Lane Gregory resigned from Portico magazine, Media of Birmingham has learned.
Millwood announced her departure in an e-mail Friday. In a follow-up, she said she left to spend time with her son and pursue book ideas before attending law school in the fall.
Gregory left on March 29. Interviewed by e-mail, she cited differences with magazine president Harvey Bishop, who has not responded to requests for comment. Gregory is looking for freelance design work.
The Birmingham-based monthly publication, started in 2001, won Folio’s award for Best Regional Magazine in 2004 and 2005. No word on if or how the positions will be filled.
Update April 9: Thanks to our commenter Sam, we have confirmed that Portico’s sole account executive Katie Rochester has resigned, saying all three were overworked. She is currently looking for another job.
It’s unclear what Portico’s future is, given that no staff members are left, and Bishop has not responded to requests for comment.
Co-assistant managing editors Chuck Clark and Scott Walker are now co-managing editors, effective today. Clark oversees metro, business and features, while Walker oversees editing, production, photo, art and sports.
The Alabama Broadcasters Association handed out its Best in Broadcasting Awards, or ABBYs. WERC (960 AM, 105.5 FM) and CBS 42 (WIAT) won six awards each at the fourth annual ceremony held on March 20.
Birmingham winners in bold.
Television
Judges Merit Award for Public Service Announcement: “Do Dah Day 2009,” WBRC
Public Service Announcement: “T-Town Paws,” WVUA
Promotion: “Best Things About Home,” WBMA
Commercial: “Father’s Day,” WBMA
Website: fox10tv.com, WALA
Local Programming: “Poison in the Air,” WIAT
Judges Merit Award for Reporter: Jonathan Hardison, WBRC
Reporter: Phillip Ohnemus, WIAT
Judges Merit Award for Sports Anchor: Adam Bagni, WNCF
Sports Anchor: Rick Karle, WBRC
Weather Anchor: James Spann, WBMA
News Anchor: Bob Grip, WALA
News Series: “Justice for Bridget,” WVUA
Judges Merit Award for Feature or Franchise: “Staying Above Water,” WIAT
Feature or Franchise: “County Road 12: Sammy the Cat,” WSFA
Spot News: “Mayor Langford Verdict,” WVTM
Regularly Scheduled Newscast: WIAT
Service Project: “One Class at a Time,” WIAT
Station of the Year: WIAT
Radio
PSA
Small Market: “Community Calendar,” WUAL-FM
Medium Market: “Breast Cancer,” WHLW-FM
Large Market: “97 Jamz Fall Festival,” WBHJ-FM
Promotion
Small Market: “Massacre on Meighan,” WKXX-FM
Medium Market: “Vintage Gospel,” WVAS-FM
Large Market: “Langford Coverage,” WERC-FM
Commercial
Small Market: “Dad’s BBQ,” WKXX-FM
Medium Market: “Rosie’s,” WXFL-FM
Large Market: “CB Roofing – Leaky Office,” WERC-FM
Welcome to Media of Birmingham, a news and information site about journalism, advertising, public relations, new media and marketing based in Birmingham, Ala. The site went online in 2006, and the group behind it was founded in 2003.
Roy Hobbs, ABC 33/40’s weekend anchorman, is on temporary leave. The reason? A 
Sort of.
On Monday, Laura McAlister began as the new editor of Over the Mountain Journal. McAlister, shown at left, formerly served as Web editor for the Birmingham Business Alliance and Birmingham Magazine.
Journalism Ethics: A Panel Discussion
Last week, editor Abigail Millwood and art director Lane Gregory resigned from 
The Alabama Broadcasters Association handed out its 
Media of Birmingham 