TJ Sullivan in LA

Imported From Detroit ... Really?

2011-02-25T07:22:00.001-08:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

That commercial about the Big D. The one hawking a sweet ride. That stylistic pitch that plants the words "Imported from Detroit" in the brains of loyal American-car buyers nationwide. The TV ad that first aired at a two-minute length with a 313 rapper at the wheel ... all stereotypically super-serious ... leering at the camera ... saying ... declaring ... contradicting the stereotypical portrayals of Motown as a source of decay ...

"This is the Motor City, and this is what we do ..."

I liked it.

A lot of current and former Detroiters liked it too.

It imbued us with a rare strain of pride. Not the pride that accompanies the grand achievements of athletes who play in suburban arenas, or of local boys and girls who make good and forget where they're from. Pride that comes from what the city once was, as well as from what it is. Pride that runs as deep as the pigments in Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals. Pride as enduring as the Spirit of Detroit statue, or that 24-foot, fist-and-forearm monument to Joe Louis. Pride that, despite deep wounds and unprecedented losses, our hometown remains tough, rough, resolute and straight-up raw.

The message was made in Detroit, but to my ears, and I expect to the ears of a few others, the pronouncement was more majestically profane. Something like: Made in #$@&-ing Detroit!

Then a couple weeks went by.

A couple weeks of reading news.

A couple of weeks of pondering whether a TV ad could do a whole town proud.

I decided otherwise.

I changed my mind because, as the commercial suggests, Detroit defies the canards. It's been there, way down there, in a place no other city has been, or wants to go. It hasn't just been down those roads, it built those roads. In some parts of the city, those roads are all that's left.

The idea of a car being "imported from Detroit" is so retro it's cool. It'd be even cooler if the car was actually built in the actual City of Detroit. But, as the car maker's Web site explains, this sedan is assembled in Sterling Heights.

No games. No lies. Sterling Heights is part of the Detroit Metropolitan Area, as entitled as any neighboring municipality to warm itself beneath the blanket brand name of "Detroit." And, as any Detroiter knows, the auto industry once put plants all over the metro area. But, to be clear, as most any real-estate agent in the region can attest, in 2006, Sterling Heights ranked as one of the top-10 safest cities in the US among cities with populations between 100,000 and 500,000, which is to say, the suburb of Sterling Heights is no City of Detroit.

When homeowners in Sterling Heights put their houses on the market, they surely emphasize the suburban identity, the safety, the schools ...

When Homeowners in the City of Detroit put their houses on the market, they don't often boast about the schools, especially now that state officials in Michigan have ordered Detroit Public Schools to begin implementing a plan to close half the city's schools.

Close.

Half.

The.

Schools.

Nothing new to Detroiters. A long time coming. Old story. Dire straits. A distraction from good news, like the recent boost in graduation rates to a four-year high. Some say such closures will never happen. But, there it is. A plan. An alternative to bankruptcy. An order. Close 'em. Close half the schools.

Half.

The Detroit News broke down the potential in terms of classroom sizes:

"Grades K-3 from 17-25 students to 29 in 2012-13 and 31 in 2013-14."

"Grades 4-5 from 30 students to 37 in 2012-13 and 39 in 2013-14."

"Grades 6-8 from 35 students to 45 in 2012-13 and 47 in 2013-14."

"Grades 9-12 from 35 students to 60 in 2012-13 and 62 in 2013-14."

Which reminds me ... "Say nice things about Detroit!"

When I was a kid, growing up in the City of Detroit, back in the '70s, a booster began a campaign to improve the city's image. "Say nice things ..." The message appeared on billboards, stickers, buttons ... They figured it'd help if Detroiters thought of their city as a "nice" place. A city has to want to change. So, say "nice things" for a change.

I recall snickering.

Nice? What was nice?

My whole kid world was consumed by caution. Lock the doors ... Close the windows ... Stay away from there ... Don't go looking for trouble ...

Every Oct. 30th, an annual doomsday dubbed "Devil's Night," we stood sentry behind the bushes out front to ward off vandals as hundreds of buildings citywide were set ablaze.

When I was in the sixth grade (at a Catholic school, by the way), my class was told that a classmate's father, a public-school teacher, was in the hospital recovering from stab wounds he received when one of his students attacked him.

We were programed to flee. Getting good grades was important, we were told, not just to get better jobs, or to live better lives, but to get out. To get to the suburbs. To get to another state. Wherever. Just get someplace nice. But, oh yeah, "say nice things about Detroit."

By the time the rest of the nation began to freak out over kids taking guns to school, the metal detectors in some Detroit public schools had rust on them.

Nice things existed. Nice things remain. New money in the form of movie and TV production has transformed Detroit's bombed-out neighborhoods into post-apocalyptic backlots, though, local talk of turning the Motor City into Hollywood East seems about as likely as a return to hatchbacks and T-tops. The impressive, on-location, TV cop drama "Detroit 187" gets better every episode, and even manages to posit the possibility that Detroit is on the verge of a renaissance. But inexplicably bad ratings could send cast and crew packing come spring.

Regardless, it's all nice for now. The commercial. The movies. The TV show. But, just as I found it hard to notice nice things when I was a kid in Detroit Catholic schools, it's even harder to imagine kids in Detroit public schools noticing what's on the blackboard, let alone anything nice, when they're packed 60 to a classroom.

Sixty students ... Sixty cell phones ... Sixty iPods ... One teacher.

Detroit means a lot of things. Tough ... Rough ... Dangerous ... Music ... Motors ... Business ... The Detroit Hotel of this suburb ... The Detroit Association of that suburban group.

Being an adjective is nice, same as being Imported from near Detroit is preferable to being Imported from China.

But being Imported from the City of Detroit ... That'd be really #$@&-ing nice.

(Twitter Me)

Cross-posted at LAObserved.com.

— TJ Sullivan

Boonville, Mo ...

2011-02-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

Now I need to send a couple copies of my novel "Boon" to the Boonville, Mo., public library.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

'Boon' in the Bluegrass

2010-08-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Fall 2010 Issue of Kentucky Alumni

My novel, "BOON," received a nice write-up in the Fall 2010 issue of Kentucky Alumni magazine, the alumni publication for my Alma Mater, the University of Kentucky.

"BOON" has received many favorable reviews since it's release this past winter, including being ranked a Top-100 bestseller in the Kindle store at Amazon.com, and spending more than seven months in the top-10 on a Diesel eBooks top-seller list.

"BOON" is available for purchase from most any bookstore (chains and independents), as well as online at Amazon.com. It comes in hardcover, paperback and digital formats.

(Twitter Me)

PLEASE NOTE: There may be some disruption in accessing my blog during the coming weeks as I migrate to a new blogging software. In the meantime, please excuse the redirects.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

My iPod, May 2010

2010-05-02T18:11:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest monthly iMix of what I'm listening to on my iPod. Click this link, or the box above, to visit the iMixes at iTunes.

(Twitter Me)

More information about TJ Sullivan's debut novel "Boon" is available at WhatTheBoon.com.

Volcano Was 'A Lava, Not A Fighter'

2010-04-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

I got a very nice write-up today from Courtney Hazlett, a broadcast journalist and author of The Scoop for MSNBC's TodayShow.com.

Courtney and I spoke Wednesday about the two weeks I spent procrastinating, er, I mean writing more than 100 humorous Tweets in the persona of the Icelandic volcano @Eyjafjallajokul. It was great fun, and, much to my surprise, remarkably popular. I did nothing to promote it, didn't follow a single person who wasn't following me first, and yet, somehow, it attracted more than 2,500 followers in less than two weeks time. So why stop? Because there's only so much funny in one character. As I mentioned to Courtney, the volcano had the good sense to stop, and so did I. Just imagine the needless suffering that could have been eliminated had the producers of the Police Academy movies shown such restraint.

From Courtney's column:

In the real world, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was a menace, but in the Twitter world, @Eyjafjallajokul was “a lava, not a fighter.”

Between April 15 and April 27, the ash-spewing Icelandic volcano had a Twitter persona — and a following of 2,510, at last count.

[SNIP ...]

The man behind it is T.J. Sullivan, journalist and author of the novel “Boon.” Sullivan said via phone that doesn’t make a habit of tweeting in the voice of a natural disaster, but this was “a great way to procrastinate” as he works on his second book.

Read the full column at this link.

(Twitter Me)

PLEASE NOTE: There may be some disruption in accessing my blog during the coming weeks as I migrate to a new blogging software. I currently use the Blogger FTP Publishing platform, but it is set to be shutdown for good on May 1.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

A Few Blog Disruptions Expected

2010-04-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

Due to the planned shut-down of FTP publishing by Blogger on May 1, readers may experience some difficulty with RSS feeds and when accessing archived posts here at TJSULLIVANLA.com during the next few weeks. In addition, the URLs of some archived posts might have to be changed. I'm still working on the transition, but I'll update the status as soon as I get it all worked out.

Stay tuned and thanks for your patience ...

-- TJ

LA Today: Poolside in Downtown LA

2010-04-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Downtown Los Angeles, as seen from the roof of the Barker Block Lofts.

Captured this one with the Google Phone (G1) camera.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

This American Line

2010-04-09T13:05:00.001-07:00

The shortest lane stretched seven carts back from the register, all the way to the makeshift tables constructed of plywood and four-by-fours, the kind of tables that warehouse stores routinely load with discount-priced, name-brand fashions from foreign countries; well-known labels that advertise in major magazines, on billboards, and on TV. The woman in line just ahead of me turned her head, looked back and around, beholding the busyness that surrounded us. She held several items in her arms -- a bulk-sized cylinder of disposable cups, some paper plates, napkins … But no cart. No cart? Anyone without a cart in a warehouse store is immediately suspect. No one just stops by a warehouse store to pick up a few paper products.

I scanned the nearby lanes and, as I surmised, she had an accomplice.

A man with a cart full of items stood in the line to our left, his eyes making contact with the woman every few seconds. She kept her elbows tucked to her sides and made small, subtle motions with her hands, pointing first to her cashier, then to his, clearly seeking direction. Did he want her here? There? The man responded by opening his hand, his wrist still resting on the cart handle, his fingers up and tight together, as if to say stop ... stay ... wait.

How devious! This man and woman were playing two lanes at once. Call it what you want, but I call it taking cuts.

I spoke on impulse, said something like "that's not cool," to the woman, who shot me with a bewildered look and a terse reply.

"What?"

"Playing two lanes at once," I said. "The store's busy. Everybody waits their turn, but we all have to pick one line. Just pick one."

There are lots of ways to say something like that, and I'm not sure whether my tone was civil, or curt. But the words that came out of the man with the cart in the next lane suggested that I had been curt.

"Shut up, we're not breaking any laws, she's fine," the man said.

He appeared, to me, like a husband. I can't really explain what a husband looks or sounds like, except to say that I'm married and he looked and sounded the way I would look and sound if someone dressed my wife down in a checkout lane.

I laughed, not intentionally, but out of incredulity, the same way I did 20-some years ago as a restaurant waiter after I’d accidentally spilled an entire glass of Cabernet Sauvignon on a customer in a cream-colored suit. I wasn't laughing at the guy, I was laughing at the tragic irony of the situation. He wore a cream-colored suit. He ordered red wine. A law governing checkout lane etiquette? Of course! A law! Why not a law? Laws are the 21st Century solution to everything, and this churlish situation was in desperate need of something like that. By all means, summon the state Legislature, place the US Congress under call … Phone the President on the red line! The golden rule needs teeth. All of America seems to have forgotten that most basic childhood mantra: No cuts. No cuts. No cuts.

Somebody had to speak up.

I knew what I wanted to say. I had the word right at the edge of my brain. It was a grown-up word, a positive word, the only word I needed to utter and everyone within earshot would surely nod in agreement, but then … the word was gone. It slipped away and out of my head. So, I said something less ideal.

"Unethical."

I said it was “unethical” to take cuts, which, in a warehouse store checkout lane is like ... well, uh … like ... like ranting about ethics in a warehouse store checkout lane.

"Ethical?" the husband said. "What's ethical? What are you talking about? There's no rule. No rule. No law. No ..."

My brain went offline and became locked in a word-search stutter "it's ... it's ... it's ..."

Everyone was staring at me with their ears.

This was my Ira Glass moment, my "This American Life" story. This was the point at which the music crescendos and wanes to clear the way for the voice of that public-radio icon, Ira Glass, so that he can offer a poignant moment of reflection, explaining that this is where I realized I'd passed the point of no return, that I could either continue to argue and risk looking like a hothead, or capitulate. I could apologize. I could walk away. Pick one. Same result. I lose.

This was what Ira Glass describes as "the cringe," that moment in which we realize that "the world sees us differently than we really are ... and not in a good way."

There I was, standing behind my cart, this word "unethical" hanging in the air between checkout lanes, when some guy in line behind me speaks up, my one-man cavalry.

"It's discourteous," the guy behind me said.

I didn't know who he was. Still don’t. But the moment I heard his voice I wished he hadn't tried to help. By this point, even I had begun to doubt whether I’d done the right thing. As bad as it felt to be branded a fool, I preferred it to being seen as an agitator. So, I didn't turn around to thank the guy behind me, nor did I explain that, yes, "discourteous" was a much better word than "unethical," but still a negative word, and not the positive one I’d lost.

I was ready to let it all drop when the guy behind me picked it up again.

"That's the problem with you people," the guy behind me said. "You people come to this country and you don't have any respect for it."

I didn't just cringe, I immediately said what I thought: "THAT is not at all what I'm saying," I said.

Up until that moment I had completely overlooked a detail that obviously made a difference to the guy behind me. To him it was not only obvious, but a far more serious issue than simply taking cuts in a checkout lane. You see, the woman in front of me, and her husband, appeared to be Asian Americans, though, of course, it was impossible to determine exactly how many generations their family had been in the USA.

I'm fifth generation Irish American, which I rarely profess, but when I do it often elicits some crack involving alcoholism.

The husband, justifiably I think, told the racist guy behind me to stuff it. The wife let the guy have it too.

I finally turned to have a look, couldn't help myself, and, sure enough, the racist guy behind me wasn't just white, he could have reasonably been mistaken for a relative, my brother maybe, or a cousin. Irish. Got to be some Irish in there.

I cringed again.

"I'm not saying that at all," I repeated, quietly this time, as though lowering my voice would further dissociate me from the white racist guy behind me.

"Why don't you people go back where you came from," the white racist guy behind me continued, and all I could think about was every white racist I'd ever encountered, most of whom I met while in the course of performing my duties as a journalist during the past 20 years. I used to puzzle about what it was that made some racists confide in me their utterly ignorant points of view, especially when it never had anything to do with the stories I happened to be reporting at the time. Did they think I agreed with them? Was it because I'm white too? Of course. That was exactly it. Racists believe skin color determines character, or lack thereof. So, they also assume everyone who looks like them shares their hatred. Ignorance has no off switch.

I hesitated to respond.

Few in the news media report these kind of stories, except the radio program "This American Life." It tells tales like this all the time, and I can only imagine how difficult it is for them to persuade people to particpate. This is a discussion from which many shy away, not just for the fear of being misunderstood, but the fear of what might be revealed.

During the last presidential campaign, for example, an episode of “This American Life” titled "Ground Game," which first aired on October 24, 2008, focused on union members who’d been challenged to confront the racism of colleagues who refused to vote for presidential candidate Barack Obama simply because of his race.

One of the union members interviewed for that show remarked that he regretted the experience. However noble the quest may have been, it opened his eyes to the hate that he never realized existed in the hearts of his friends and coworkers. This was hate he could not quell, and it changed his perception of the people he saw every day.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who used to know folks like that, at least until I realized it. Thanks to the ease of e-mail and the reconnections afforded by social-networking sites like Facebook, such revelations have become even more common. It happens every so often. Someone I’ve known for years will include me in an e-mail forward of some racist joke they thought was funny. My response is always the same. I express my disappointment. I describe the joke as “ignorant.” I tell them to forget my e-mail address.

As the fracas between the couple and the racist man behind me continued, I noticed another checkout lane open up. I moved fast, physically distancing myself from all three participants without so much as a word.

The verbal confrontation went on, and, though I couldn’t see, it sounded as though it nearly came to blows. The woman’s voice boomed as she warned the racist guy behind her that she would sue if he hit her ankles with his cart.

I felt ashamed, as though I should at least walk over and apologize to the woman and her husband, but I couldn’t. Not only was I unsure of how to express what I felt, I was afraid of being misunderstood. I never for a second suggested anything hateful, I simply objected to blatant line cutting, which, granted, now seems ridiculously insignificant considering how things had escalated. As for the racist guy, nothing I had to say could save him from drowning in shame. My only motivation for diving in would have been to comfort the couple and to save face. I wanted to show the couple, and all those strangers around us, that I was not with this loser, that I knew ignorance when I heard it, that this isn’t the way our American life is supposed to be.

And if I went that far, I’d have to go further. I’d have to give a history lesson, to explain that this was not why we go to war, not what our soldiers die defending. This is what we’ve been struggling for centuries to change. Even my ancestors were victims of it for generations. The term “you people” may sound nicer than a racial epithet in 2010, but it’s really just a cowardly way of saying what “dirty Irish” meant in the 19th Century. Merchants may no longer post the 21st Century equivalent of “NINA” signs in their windows -- signs so named because they said “No Irish Need Apply” -- but the message is imparted in other ways -- in attitudes, in tones of voice, in body language. My great, great grandfather changed his name from O’Sullivan to Sullivan in the hope that, without an “O,” it would be more difficult for ignorant people to determine his ethnicity. The Irish were ridiculed publicly, and popularly, as inferior. They weren’t the first, and, I’m sorry to say, they weren’t the last.

Had I started in on the racist guy, I’d have told him that every time I hear someone denigrate or demonize minorities, I translate the words into “dirty Irish mick,” but I didn’t say anything. No one else did either.

No one spoke up. No one. Not necessarily because they were on the side of the racist guy, but probably because lecturing someone on race relations in a warehouse store checkout lane is like … well … it’s like ranting about race relations in a warehouse store checkout lane. Where does it stop? After pulling items from the guy’s cart to highlight the many countries that manufactured the goods he’s purchasing? While checking the labels of his garments to list the nations that put the clothes on his back? Before following him out to his car to reveal that, though it may be the product of an American company, it was either assembled abroad and/or comprised of parts from several different continents?

As I loaded my purchases into my car I watched for the couple in the parking lot, figured I could at least offer a handshake. I didn’t see them, but I thought about them all the way home. I’ve thought about them most every day since.

I’ve encountered several more instances of line cutting in the past couple weeks, but I care a lot less about it now.

Queues. Lines. Americans are obsessed with lines. So many people boast about the short cuts they succeed in taking -- short cuts on their commute, short cuts in business, short cuts to buying, or selling, a home -- then they decry the unfairness of those who cut in line ahead of them. Many proudly declare the accomplishments of their ancestors, the ones who came to America with nothing in their pockets, yet they fail to see the hypocrisy of demonizing today’s penniless immigrants. American politicians on both sides of the issue talk about all of this in terms of lines. Who should stand in what line? Who should be allowed to stand in the line? Should we close the line to this group, or that group, or all groups?

Basic human decency rarely warrants a mention.

I once asked a conservative Congressman how he could reconcile his radical stand on immigration with his Christian morals, particularly the biblical ideal imparted in the phrase “love thy neighbor.” He didn’t respond, but an aid said later that I had submitted my question too late, other questions were in line ahead of mine, there wasn’t time to address my concern.

Decency.

That’s the grown-up word I forgot while standing in line.

It appears I’m not alone.

(Twitter Me)

TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel “Boon.”

My iPod, April 2010

2010-04-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

LA TODAY: 'This American Life' in LA

2010-03-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click Photo to View Larger Version --

"This American Life" host Ira Glass, at a KCRW event Saturday in UCLA's Royce Hall, exhibiting a talent for making balloon animals.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

Remembering Hank

2010-03-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Photo by Sophie Bassouls/Corbis Sygma

The poet and novelist Charles Bukowski died on this day, March 9, in 1994.

In his memory, an excerpt from his poem "Old Man, Dead in a Room," first published in "The Outsider" magazine in 1961:

"... and as my grey hands
drop a last desperate pen
in some cheap room
they will find me there
and never know
my name
my meaning
nor the treasure
of my escape."

Roger Ebert has a nice online memorial to Bukowski set up at the Sun-Times Web site. Check it out.

(Twitter Me)

More information about TJ Sullivan's debut novel "Boon" is available at WhatTheBoon.com.

My iPod, March 2010

2010-03-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

Figured I'd try posting iMixes for a couple of months and see how it works. Click this link, or the box above, to visit the first of my monthly iMixes at iTunes.

As always, I welcome your thoughts in either the comments section, or via email.

(Twitter Me)

More information about TJ Sullivan's debut novel "Boon" is available at WhatTheBoon.com.

Detroit 2010

2010-02-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

A brief slideshow featuring a few of the photos I shot with my Google Phone camera during a recent trip to Detroit.

Also, view photos individually in the Darkroom.

(Twitter Me)

More information about TJ Sullivan's debut novel "Boon" is available at WhatTheBoon.com.

Journalist To Novelist In One Step

2010-02-03T18:31:00.001-08:00

Six years ago I quit my job as a newspaper reporter to go write books.

No. Not just books.

I quit my job as a journalist to go write novels.

Fiction.

Now, given the current condition of the newspaper industry, that probably makes me look like a genius to some, as though I ought to be waxing rhapsodic on the eve of my debut novel's publication. ["Boon" is available in stores and online. View the trailer at YouTube, read an excerpt, or visit WhatTheBoon.com.]

Indeed, several newspaper friends have inquired in recent weeks as to how they might do the same thing. How, they ask, does a journalist becomes a novelist?

"How?"

I've written and rewritten the answer to that question at least 100 different ways in the past week, all of which amounted to very poetic piles of steaming horseshit.

You want to know how? My answer is "no."

No.

Few journalists have ever accomplished anything worthwhile without first hearing "no" -- No, you can't talk to him ... No, you can't have that document ... No, you aren't allowed -- so that's my answer.

No.

When I started down this road, back in 2004, my life was good. I'd been a journalist for 15 years, more than half of which I'd spent writing for a growing, mid-sized newspaper in suburban Los Angeles. It was a dream job, well, as close as I was going to get to a dream job in journalism anyway, and the only job I wanted at that particular paper, a position that allowed me to spend weeks at a time researching and writing in-depth stories, but with enough flexibility to also dive into bigger news events as they occurred -- murders, manhunts, wildfires. Sure, if The New York Times had rung me up and invited me to come work for them, I'd have gone, but the only reason anyone from that paper ever called was to pitch a subscription special, and, well, I was OK with that.

The trouble was, I never intended to spend my life working for newspapers.

The only reason I got into it was because newspapering was the route most of my favorite writers took -- Twain, Hemingway, Thompson. Journalism was a way to see the world, or, at least, more than I would have seen otherwise. Writing for a newspaper provided me the kind of access no amount of money could buy, not that I had any money to begin with. I met heads of state, royalty, saintly people, and heartless scoundrels. I heard tales of tragedy, loss, and redemption straight from those who'd experienced it, and sometimes I even saw an injustice put right because the newspaper published a story about it. My experience was no more remarkable than any other reporter's, but I loved it, all of it, even the hate mail and the threats, which I quickly learned to interpret as indicators that I was doing the right thing.

But, then, one day I just woke to the realization that I'd stayed too long.

The newsroom reaction to my departure was mixed. Some of my colleagues were very supportive, while others treated me like a silly heart, as though the pressure had finally gotten to me, their well wishes the sort of sweet nothings you'd expect to see inscribed on Valentine candies.

"Good luck."

"You're brave."

My sources in government circles shared with me the wildest explanations they'd heard, gossip about how I'd finally stepped on the toes of some pol powerful enough to demand my dismissal. A few even offered to speak to my boss on my behalf, in defense of my job. A book? Even they could have made up a better excuse than that.

The most frank assessment came from one of my favorite editors, who, I'm glad to say, is still a good friend. She called the move "a mistake."

It was the most wonderful thing anyone could have said to me.

"A mistake."

It was the same as saying "no."

No, you can't have that. No, you can't go in there. No, you're not on the list.

So, how does a journalist become a novelist? There's not much in the how-to realm of writing that hasn't already been said so many times in so many books that bookstores dedicate entire sections to the issue. About all I can add is what you're bound to hear thousands of times before, during, and after writing your first damn book:

No.

No, you can't do it. No, you'll never do it. No, don't even try.

No.

More information about TJ Sullivan's debut novel "Boon" is available at WhatTheBoon.com.

An excerpt of "Boon" is online at TJSullivanLA.com.

Official 'Boon' Web Site Now Online

2010-01-31T21:21:00.001-08:00

The official Web site for my novel, "Boon," went live Sunday night.

The new site offers readers an opportunity to learn more about the book, its characters and setting (be sure to check out the character profiles). There's video and audio, as well as events listings, and press info.

Check it out at: WhatTheBoon.com.

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

'Don't Ever Tell Anybody Anything ...'

2010-01-28T11:19:00.001-08:00

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I died and what my lousy adult life was like, and how I could turn away from writing and all before you were even born, and all that Harper Lee kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth ...

RIP J.D. Salinger.

The New York Times obituary.

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

Boon: A Novel, and Playlist

2010-01-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

When I was outlining my novel "Boon," I created a playlist of songs with themes similar to those in the story, or that I identified with particular characters. This is that playlist.

Also ... I'll be the guest at tonight's SPJ-LA Mixer in Downtown LA. More info at LAObserved.com

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

First Book Signing Set for 'Boon'

2010-01-20T11:06:00.001-08:00

The first book trailer for "Boon" is online [short version above, full-length version at right]. Although the concept of book trailers may seem odd to some, it's becoming more common in the book industry for both fiction and non-fiction. I'm interested in hearing what you think about the concept.

Also ... I'll be making my first official appearance as the author of "Boon" on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Society of Professional Journalists - Los Angeles Chapter Mixer in downtown Los Angeles.

The mixers are very casual, so I expect to keep it brief, a Q&A perhaps, more of a conversation than a "talk." The focus of the discussion will be the journey from journalism to fiction. I initially referred to it as a "road" from journalism to fiction, but changed my mind as the word "road" implies that there is a distinct path between the two worlds, which, in my experience, is not the case.

There will be no reading. I learned long ago to never read aloud in a bar. But, I will gladly sign a few books.

THE LOWDOWN:

WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: The back room at the Redwood Bar and Grill, 316 W. 2nd Street in downtown LA; 213-680-2600. Street and lot parking is available in the area. The bar is close to the Civic Center Red Line Metro stop.

COST: It’s free fun for all! (You’ll have to buy your own drinks. Happy hour ends at 7 p.m.).

SPJ-LA asks that you let them know you’re coming by sending an e-mail to: spjlosangeles@gmail.com.

More info is available in the SPJ press release on the event. Download it in pdf format. Or, view it online at the SPJ-LA Web site.

Hope to see you there.

More information about "Boon" is available on the Books page.

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

Can This Machine Save Bookstores?

2010-01-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

Will bookstores become extinct?

I don't think so, and here's just one reason why: The Espresso Book Machine.

The ability of the EBM to create books on-demand at the point of sale not only makes it possible to greatly reduce the amount of real estate that bookstores have to lease (shelving one sample book of every current title takes a lot less space than shelving dozens), but it also eliminates shipping costs, and ensures that no bookstore will ever run out of a particular title. In green terms, it means far less books will be returned to publishers [to be destroyed] since books will only be printed on-demand.

Pretty cool stuff.

The EBM was in the news again this week with the announcement of a new agreement with Xerox. As the LA Times Jacket Copy blog highlights in its January 14 post, the EBM is expected to show up at seven new venues this year (mostly university libraries and bookstores). Bookstores have so far been slow to embrace the EBM, both because of the cost (about $125,000 per machine, says Jacket Copy) and concerns about digital files and piracy (the EBM makes it possible to print more than 2 million books in Google's public domain catalog, which has been the focus of much legal wrangling).

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

LA TODAY: First Sunset of 2010

2010-01-01T18:21:00.001-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

The first sunset of 2010, as seen from Santa Monica, CA.

Captured this one with the Google Phone (G1) camera.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

The Beach, 2009

2009-12-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

Just a last look at one of the last mornings on the beach for 2009. Looking forward to 2010.

Happy New Year!

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

TJ's Top 5 Xmas Movies

2009-12-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

In reverse order of preference, I give you my top five Christmas movies, and wish you all a very happy holiday:

5. A Christmas Story (1983): Inspired storytelling by any measure, and probably the only Christmas script to ever contain the term "electric sex."

4. The Matador (2005): Often overlooked as a holiday movie, the second half of this tale does indeed occur during the holiday season. Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis. (Kinnear delivers a line that writers have no doubt wanted to say to their friends at least a thousand times: "Please tell me you know you mixed two sports in a metaphor.")

3. The Ice Harvest (2005): Guns, tinsel, strippers, John Cusak and Oliver Platt. Nuff said.

2. Elf (2003): This movie could have stopped after the first few minutes and still have made this list. Will Ferrell sitting on Bob Newhart's lap! Funniest ... sight ... ever.

1. Bad Santa (2003): This movie is for those who've seen It's a Wonderful Life a few too many times, at least enough to root for George Bailey to hurry up and jump before Clarence the angel shows up to ruin the show. Seriously, if hearing Jingle Dogs gives you a nervous tick, or if just the thought of Bob Dylan's Christmas In the Heart prompts you to ponder violence against yourself or others, just put the kids to bed, then go wrest that fifth of Old Grand Dad from the cushions of the foldaway couch downstairs, and pop this bit of adult holiday bliss into the DVD player. Billy Bob Thorton, Tony Cox and Lauren Graham are truly hilarious, but the best bits are those with John Ritter and Bernie Mac. Sad to say that Ritter died not long after Bad Santa was made, and Mac passed away in 2008.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Go (1999) and Die Hard (1988), both of which are set in Los Angeles during the holiday season. Die Hard II (1990) is also set during the holiday season.

(Twitter Me)

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

Thank You, 'Editor and Publisher'

2009-12-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Editor & Publisher is closing.

I know this because it was reported by The New York Times.

So far, The New York Times is still in business. But Editor & Publisher isn't going to be for much longer, and, ridiculous and sappy as it seems to get emotional about a trade publication, well ... I am.

Like a lot of journalists, I wouldn't be where I am without Editor & Publisher. I'd still be a journalist, of course, but I definitely wouldn't have followed the same path, which means many of the important stories I fought to report might never have been reported. I might not have met the same friends. I might not have even met my wife.

No joke.

I'm in Los Angeles today because E&P sent me to Idaho ... and then New Mexico ... and then ...

I'll explain.

As I approached graduation in the late 80s, the classified section of E&P Magazine was the most valuable item in the newsroom. It was to me, and every other journalism grad hoping to land a job at a newspaper, the only link to our future, the only publication that listed what few jobs the industry had to offer.

Unlike most of my friends, I applied to all of them. Regardless of whether I met the qualifications, I wrote each and every newspaper that placed an ad.

In addition, I tapped the E&P Yearbook for the addresses of newspapers that didn't have jobs posted, but which were publications that I respected, and hoped to someday join.

I must have typed more than 60 letters on my Remington portable typewriter that spring, and maxed out my credit card on photo-copied clip sets, 9x10 envelopes, and first-class postage.

Thanks to E&P, I received five jobs offers, including one on the British Virgin Island of Tortola. The editor of that one apologized for not being able to pay my moving expenses, but, by way of consolation, she assured me that both rent and rum were very cheap. Needless to say, I didn't take that particular job.

But, the job I did take also resulted from an E&P classified. It was in Ketchum, Idaho, a weekly with an editor who let me crash in a spare room at his house for a few days until I found a place of my own.

Less than a year after that, still in Ketchum, I received a phone call at work from an editor in Santa Fe. He said he'd kept my letter of application for a job they'd advertised in E&P long before I took the job in Idaho. He'd tracked down my whereabouts by calling the references I'd listed. He said they'd already filled the investigative reporter slot, a post for which I clearly wasn't qualified, but they had an opening in sports and wanted me to fill it.

Sports? The closest I'd ever come to sports reporting was to take agate while working the late-night shift on the sports desk at the Lexington Herald-Leader. I wasn't a sports writer. I was an investigative reporter, or, well, I was going to be.

The editor didn't care about that. "You don't belong in Idaho," he said. "You belong here."

Two weeks later, I was again packing everything into my little, gray Chevette and driving hundreds of miles to live in a place I'd never been, all because of a job I'd found through E&P.

Like many of my colleagues, I continued to refer to E&P's classified section many times in those pre-Internet years, usually in response to some newsroom nonsense that had pissed me off. At one newspaper the editor eventually took to hiding the company copy of E&P, an apparent response to the many pay raises he was forced to offer to keep his best staffers on staff.

But E&P has always been far more than a collection of classified ads. As my experience in this industry increased, so did my appreciation for E&P's reporting, and its role as a watchdog of the industry. E&P has been the first place many journalists turn to report unethical behavior in their own newsrooms, situations that would probably never get dealt with were it not for the watchful eye of E&P.

Times change. Life goes on. There are now and will continue to be watchdogs to keep the journalism industry honest. But we owe a lot to E&P.

I don't know where I'd be without it.

-- TJ Sullivan is the author of the novel Boon.

Cross posted at LA Observed

Trackbacks:
Fitz & Jen
Romenesko
Los Angeles Times

'Boon' Available Online Now

2009-12-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

My novel, "Boon," won't be released officially until early next year [Feb. 16, 2010], which, as I've been told by many a bookstore manager, means you can't make an over-the-counter purchase of it yet. However, both the paperback and hardcover editions are already available from several booksellers online, including Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

"Boon" is also available as an eBook, including formats for Kindle, Microsoft Reader, and Adobe eReader.

Google Books offers a preview of the paperback edition, as well as links to more sellers.

Book signings will be held starting in February. Updates will be posted on my books page, at the official Boon Web site, and at Facebook.

(Twitter This)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Rain and Rainbows

2009-12-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Rain in Los Angeles is national news ... but we actually saw just enough sun today for a couple killer rainbows.

Captured this one with the Google Phone (G1) camera.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Soup, Soup, Soup ...

2009-12-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan --

I found a recording I did in 1997 of the poem "Soup," one of the pieces I often read at poetry readings in LA during the late 1990s -- places like The Midnight Special bookstore, which, sad to say, has long since closed. I uploaded the "Soup" audio to the Web site, along with the text of the poem.

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Sunrise Shadows

2009-12-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Today's sunrise ... as seen on the wall of a sound stage at Fox.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: A Green One

2009-11-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Today's sunset ... as reflected.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Westside Sunrise

2009-11-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Shot with the Google Phone G1 --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Beverly Hills Adjacent

2009-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Shot with Google Phone G1 --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: The Breakfast Club

2009-11-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Sunrise today, Santa Monica Bay.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photographs at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The Sire of Wilshire Returns!

2009-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Steve Jones, the self-proclaimed Sire of Wilshire (a nod to the physical address of his former home at Indie 103.1 FM), is back on the air!

The former host of Jonesy's Jukebox is now hosting a two-hour program every Sunday at BBC 6, according to both MusicWeek and the BBC 6 Web site.

His first show, to which you can listen online, aired Sunday, Nov. 1. The show's title is "A Month of Sundays with Steve Jones."

You'll recall that Indie 103.1 went off the air in January, when pretty much all we heard from Jones appeared in a press release from MSOPR, the public relations company that represented Jones' group, The Sex Pistols. See LA Observed, Variety, LA Weekly and OC Weekly for more background.

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Same Old Story ...

2009-10-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

Sorry to say it, but we all knew this was coming.

As reported a few minutes ago over at LA Observed, the Los Angeles Times appears to be in layoff mode again.

Same story on the other coast, at The New York Times.

Have to wonder how these publications can hope to retain subscribers while letting go the talented folks who produce the content.

Wishing the staffs of both newsrooms all the best ...

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Umbrella Watch 2009

2009-10-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Disclosure: I shot this photo in December 2004 ... which is just about the last time we saw any rain in Los Angeles. But, if what the forecasts, and the skies, are saying is true, we're in for a storm.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Road Trip to SB Mission

2009-10-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

285+ Book-Related Links

2009-10-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan --

As promised, I have completed my search for book-related blogs and Web sites. All 285 of the sites listed here have been confirmed as active, meaning they've all featured fresh content in the past 30 days, or so. Of course, this is by no means a complete list. If you've got a few book clubs, book blogs, and/or book-related Web sites to suggest, send them along and I'll gladly append the list.

Enjoy ...

1 More Chapter

(The) 3 R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness

38th Ave. Diva Readers

About Last Night

(An) Adventure in Reading

Adventures in SciFi Publishing

Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books

Allison’s Attic

Alvah's Books

American Booksellers Association

American Library Association

Amitava Kumar

As usual, I need more bookshelves

At Home With Books

Avery, an anthology of new fiction

Bagels, Books and Schmooze

Bailey’s and Books

Barnes & Noble's Book Club

Beatrice

Bermudaonion's Weblog

Beth Fish Reads

Biblio File

Bibliophile By the Sea

Bibliofreak

Bibliolatry

Big A little a

(The) Big Read

Bloggin' 'bout Books

Blue Archipelago

Bluestalking Reader

(The) Bluestocking Society

Book Addiction

Book-a-rama

Book Awards Reading Challenge

Book a Week with Jen

(The) Book Bench

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Book Blogs

Book Browse

Book Chatter and other stuff...

(The) Book Chick

Book Chick City

Book Club in a Box

Book Club Girl

Book Club Classics

Book Club Classics - Facebook Link

(The) Book Club Cookbook

Book Clubs Resource

Book Crazy

Book Divas

Book Dragon's Lair

Book Group Buzz

Book Group Expo

(The) Book Lady's Blog

Book, Line, and Sinker

Book Lust - Nancy Pearl

Book Movement

(The) Book Nest

Book Nut

Book Reviews by Bobbie

Book Room Reviews

(A) Book Sanctuary

(The) Book Show

Book Slut

Bookavore

BookBigot

BookDwarf

Bookfoolery and Babble

BookFox

Bookgasm

Booking A Room With A View

Booking Mama

Bookish Ruth

Booklorn

Bookopolis

Bookpuddle

Books on the Nightstand

Books-a-Million's Book Club

Books and Bars

Books and Cooks

Books and Other Thoughts

Books and Quilts

Books in Every Room

Books, Inq.

Books Lists Life

Books ‘N Border Collies

Books on the Brain

Booksellers Blog

Booksie's Blog

Booksquare

Bookstack

BookTryst

Bookworm with a View

(A) Bookworm's World

Booninja

Borders Book Club

(The) Boston Bibliophile

Brandywine Books

Breaking the Spine

Callapidder Days

Care's Online Book Club

Caribou’s Mom

Carolina Gal's Literary Cafe

Chick with Books

Chicklish

Cindy’s Love of Books

Color Online

(The) Complete Booker

Condalmo

Confessions of a Real Librarian

Conversational Reading

Critical Mass

DailyLit

Dannyreviews.com

Daughters of Catastrophe

Devourer of Books

Diary of an Eccentric

Diane Rehm's Reader's Review

Distraction no. 99

Don't Miss Books

DoveGrey Reader

Dreadlock Girl

E. Lockhart

Early Word

Eating My Words

Educating Petunia

(The) Elegant Variation

(An) Embarrassment of Riches

Emerging Writers Network

Eos Books - The Next Chapter

Escape to Books

Everyday I Write the Book

Ex Libris

Fizzy Thoughts

(A) Fondness For Reading

Fresh Ink Books

Fyrefly’s Book Blog

GalleyCat

(A) Garden Carried in the Pocket

(A) Girl Walks into a Bookstore

Girls With Books

good reads

Globe Books

Great Books and Fresh Coffee

Guardian Unlimited

(A) Guy's Moleskine Notebook

Harper Collins Reading Group Resources

Hamza's Chronicles

Here in the Bonny Glen

Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading?

(A) High and Hidden Place

Historical / Present

Huffington Post Book Club

In the Pages

Independent Bookstore Photo Gallery

If you're just joining us

Insatiable Reader

Jacket Copy - Los Angeles Times

Jenn's Bookshelves

Jezebel [Posts tagged "books"]

J. Kaye’s Book Blog

Jonathan Maberry’s Big, Scary Blog

Joy’s Blog

Just Books

Kelly’s Pulitzer Project

Kimbooktu

Kittling: Books

Lesa Holstine

Librarily Blonde

Library Queue

life happens while books are waiting

(A) Life in Books

Lit Lovers

(The) Literate Housewife Review

Literary Rejections on Display

(The) Literary Saloon

Living a Quotable Life

London Review of Books Online

Long and the Short of It [Romance reviews]

Long and the Short of It [Erotic reviews]

Lost in Books

(a) lovely shore breeze. . . .

Maggie Reads

Mark Athitakis’ American Fiction Notes

Maud Newton

Maw Books Blog

Medieval Bookworm

(The) Mermaids Bookshelf

Michele – only one “L”

(The) Millions

Minds Alive on the Shelves

Missy's Book Nook

Moby Lives

Mostly Fiction

(The) Mumpsimus

Musings of a Bookish Kitty

my cozy book nook

My Friend Amy

My Tragic Right Hip

Naked Without Books!

Nathan Bransford

Necessary Acts of Devotion

New Pages

Not Enough Bookshelves

Notes from Camp Swampy

(The) Novel Bookworm

(A) Novel Challenge

Novel Journey

(A) Novel Menagerie

Novelists, Inc. Blog

Of Books and Bicycles

Omnivoracious

Omnivoracious' Amazon Blog

One Persons Journey

Oprah's Book Club

Out of this Eos

Pages Turned

Paper Cuts -- The New York Times

Passion for the Page

Patti's Pages

Peeking Between the Pages

Pop Culture Junkie

Pop Goes Fiction

Presenting Lenore

(The) Printed Page

(A) Progressive on the Prairie

Publishing Insider

(The) Pulitzer Project

(The) Reader’s Advisor

Reader's Circle

Reader's Corner:

(A) Reader's Respite

Reading and Writing Podcast

Reading At The Beach

Reading Local: Portland

Reading Group Choices

Reading Group Guides

(The) Reading Journey

Reading to Know

Reading With Monie

Ready When You Are

Rebecca Reads

Redlady's Reading Room

ricklibrarian

(The) Roaring 20’s

Rose City Reader

S. Krishna’s Books

Santa Monica Citywide Reads Blog

Savvy Verse and Wit

(A) Sea of Books

(The) Second Pass

Semicolon

Serendipitous Readings

Seven Impossible Things

She is Too Fond of Books

She Reads Books

She Reads and Reads

Shelf Life

Short Stack - Washington Post

Signatures

Slaves of Golconda

(The) Sleepy Reader

Slushpile.net

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Snapshot

SnarkSpot

So Many Books

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Soliloquy in Blue

Splash of Red

Stacy’s Books

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

Stephanie's Written Word

Stone SouP

(The) Story Prize

Suburb Sanity

Tanzanite's Shelf and Stuff

Three Guys One Book

Tiny Little Reading Room

Too Many To Count

Trashionista

Trish's Reading Nook

USA Today - Books

Vroman's Bookstore Blog

Whimpulsive

White Readers Meet Black Authors

Worducopia

Words to Mouth

Wordswimmer

(A) Work in Progress

Wowowow/Books

Writer Unboxed

(The) Written Nerd

(A) Year of Books

You've GOTTA read this!

(Twitter This)

I hope to see you at Facebook.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Cactus Surrenders

2009-10-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

First Review of 'Boon'

2009-09-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

The first review of my novel, "Boon," is in ...

Here's the blurb:

"In his first novel, 'Boon,' T.J. Sullivan imagines a world where the news is produced not by perfectly objective, detached automatons but instead by human beings with real vulnerabilities, obsessions, distractions and temptations. It’s a story of manipulation and opportunism, portraying a constant struggle between doing what’s required and doing what’s right. The strength of the narrative is Sullivan’s indefatigable use of detail, which lets the reader feel each character’s every hunger, every pain and every breath."

-- M.E. Sprengelmeyer, The Communicator

Coming Winter 2010. In the meantime, I hope to see you at Facebook.

(Twitter This)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Santa Monica Pier, 100

2009-09-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

For more info on the 100th birthday of Santa Monica Pier, click this link.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Stop Potchkying and Write

2009-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Writer's Digest

While reading the September issue of Writer's Digest this past weekend, I ran across an unfortunate truth that bears repeating.

It was in a Q-and-A with author, blogger and Creative Commons proponent Cory Doctorow, who was asked what he tells writers seeking advice on getting their books published.

Doctorow responded by observing that many of the writers who ask that question haven't even finished writing their books. Not that it's wrong for writers to consider their ultimate goal, but, as Doctorow says, when questions like this turn into research tangents, they consume time that should be spent writing.

So true.

I see this all the time at writers conferences and workshops. The workshops are the worst. That's where I never fail to find an attendee or two who hasn't finished their book despite the fact that the workshop is intended for those with completed manuscripts. I mean, it's not like anyone checks. Though some of the best workshops screen applicants by requiring the prior submission of sample chapters, I've never heard of one that actually verifies the existence of a completed manuscript. In most every case it's an honor system, so all you absolutely have to have is a valid credit card.

Foolish as it might seem to some, it's easy to understand the appeal of jumping ahead like this. Writing is lonely work and belief can be hard to come by. For first-timers, mere participation in such an event might in itself seem a form of validation, something to share with all the naysayers because, of course, only real writers attend novel writer's workshops, right?

In the end, however, the result is often quite the opposite of what the writer expected.

Instead of going home energized and inspired, these folks can end up feeling overwhelmed and dejected. Not only do they have trouble relating to the experiences of those who have completed a book, or two, or three, but they also compare their unfinished work to the finished work of others and unfairly judge themselves unworthy.

You can't compare a novel in progress to a completed book no more than you can compare a half-mixed bowl of cake batter to a fully baked cake. You have to do the work. You have to finish the book ... then focus on how you're going to make it better ... then brainstorm about how to market it to agents and publishers ... and then you worry about how to negotiate a contract.

Doctorow describes the activity using the Yiddish word "potchking." Though I'm not sure about WD's spelling -- Wiktionary spells it potchkying -- the definition is the same either way. As Doctorow explains, if you're potchkying, you're "fiddling around."

"Once you are taking the time you should be spending writing and using it (for example) researching technical questions about negotiating the fine details of your contract with your publisher -- who as of yet doesn't exist because the book isn't written -- you are no longer writing. You are potchking."

Now, it should come as a surprise to no one to learn that, yes, I have been known to procrastinate. I may, at times, even be worthy of the title Captain Procrastination. But this isn't that. Not exactly anyway. Potchkying could arguably be defined as non-procrastination because the intent is to make forward progress on a project, even if the result is just as nonproductive.

So, stop potchkying and write!

Twitter Me

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Blood Red Sun

2009-09-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Today's view from the Westside of a blood red sun, courtesy of the Station Fire.

No pyrocumulus cloud today.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Pyrocumulus Cloud

2009-08-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Today's view from the Westside of the Station Fire. That's the InterContinental Hotel in Century City (perhaps better known by its former incarnation as the Park Hyatt) in the foreground. Remember, this photo was taken in a location more than 40 miles from the fire that created that pyrocumulus cloud.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Smoke Plume from West LA*

2009-08-30T16:50:00.001-07:00

-- Photos By TJ Sullivan -- Click Images to View Larger Versions --

Today's view from the Westside of the Station Fire.

* UPDATE: Apparently this photograph is of what's called a pyrocumulus cloud, which is created by the intense heat from the fire.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Station Fire from West LA

2009-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Today's view from the Westside of the Station Fire.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Sunset On Santa Monica Blvd

2009-08-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Sunset today with the Mormon Temple in silhouette.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Fan Page Up At Facebook

2009-08-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the release of my novel, "Boon," I now have a fan page at Facebook.

Shameless self promotion? Yes. Of course. But, if I don't tell you about it here, you'll end up hearing about it on the street and we all know how things can get distorted and blown out of proportion that way.

I'll have much more info to share in the next couple months. We've got time. The novel is coming in Winter 2010, which is why I'm busy doing things like setting up Facebook pages and learning about planning book signings and readings, etc ...

In the meantime, I hope to see you at Facebook.

Here's a brief synopsis of "Boon":

Set in the suburbs of Los Angeles, "Boon" tells the story of a young newspaper reporter who becomes mired in the murky world of small-town politics when her journalistic pursuit of the facts becomes tangled with her personal pursuit of homeownership, a situation that ultimately forces her to make a choice between fulfilling her dreams and fighting for what she believes in. The quest for truth and square footage exacts a steep price in T.J. Sullivan’s witty, suspense-filled debut novel.

(Twitter This)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Paramount Ranch

2009-08-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

For more info on the historic Paramount Ranch movie set click this link.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The Novel Cafe Expected To Close

2009-08-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

The Novel Cafe at 212 Pier Avenue in Santa Monica appears to be in its final days of operation.

After nearly 20 dimly lit years of providing writers with a musty, unpretentious, AC-free place to write for hours on end, that most rare and wonderful location is expected to go dark forever. The counter staff says it's likely to happen before the end of the month, though no official date of closure has been set.

A letter to patrons that was recently taped to the front window says the closure is the result of a landlord-tenant dispute:

"We are sorry to inform you that due to the landlord refusing to renew our lease, The Novel Café after almost two decades will no longer be at 212 Pier Street ..."

The note goes on to list the locations of several new branches of The Novel that have opened up in the past few years, but anyone who's ever been to the original knows that none of the others come close to capturing the character of the place on Pier.

Like a lot of writers, I've spent thousands of hours (no exaggeration) at The Novel during the past dozen years, or so. I've written the better part of two novels on those wooden chairs, and then some. In fact, I value and respect the place so much that I've gone out of my way to protect it. When people have asked where I like to write, I either offer them one of the less-favored locations, or straight out tell them that it's none of their business. For all the writing I've done there, I never wrote about The Novel. In fact, I cringed every time another tourist guide published nice things about it, knowing how these things go.

Places like The Novel on Pier Avenue are far too uncommon in a city full of writers, especially since Wall Street got into the coffee business.

This one was one the greatest. It will be missed a great deal.

(Twitter This)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Twitter Down

2009-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

Twitter crashed hard this morning, and, as of this post, it's "still down."

Facebook is having trouble too. So is LiveJournal.

The Washington Post's TechCrunch blog is having a little fun with it:

Since most of you spend your entire work day screwing around on Twitter (luckily I actually get paid to do this), you may be left wondering what to do now. No worries, we have a list.

* UPDATE 8:19 a.m. -- Twitter is back up, but so very slow. And, odd as it seems, the Twitter update box on my blog [see right column] seems to be preventing this page from loading. I may disable it in the interim.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The Last (Or Latest) Newspaper Buyer

2009-08-04T14:01:00.001-07:00

This time last year, my friend ME Sprengelmeyer was busy reporting on the presidential campaign for Denver's Rocky Mountain News, not to mention preparing for the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Denver in late August 2008.

But then the Rocky closed in February, and, like a lot of journalists who've found themselves in that situation in the past few years, ME knew right away that he was not going to find another job as a Washington correspondent for another newspaper.

So ... he purchased one.

Seriously. Someone actually bought a newspaper. My friend, ME Sprengelmeyer still believes in the power of print.

This week ME Sprengelmeyer became the proud owner of The Guadalupe County Communicator in his home state of New Mexico.

Having worked as a journalist myself in New Mexico for seven years, I was especially eager to talk to ME about this endeavor. He allowed me to record our recent conversation, and to post it online.

From a pay telephone on Route 66 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, ME discussed the experience of being laid off, how one goes about purchasing a newspaper, and what he hopes to accomplish.

ME's first edition will be published later this week, so, as you might expect, his effort has captured the attention of many other writers. Today alone ME was featured at the blog of his former editor, John Temple, and he received a nice mention at Romenesko.

Best of luck, ME.

(Twitter Me)

UPDATE: More observations about ME's endeavor at Fitz & Jen.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Nasturtiums

2009-07-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Water beads on nasturtium leaves in the expansive gardens outside the Los Angeles headquarters of www.TJSullivanLA.com.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: More Getty Brush Fire Photos

2009-07-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

-- Photos By TJ Sullivan -- Click Images to View Larger Versions --

(Twitter Me)

A couple more photos of the brush fire burning near The Getty.

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Getty Fire Off the 405

2009-07-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan --

A quick first shot of the smoke plume from the brush fire burning off the 405 near The Getty this afternoon. Will try to get more up soon.

(Twitter Me)

* UPDATE: More photos of the fire now online at this link

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: A Couple Hours South

2009-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

-- Photo Collage By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View XXL Version --

A couple hours south of Los Angeles you'll find San Diego's Pacific Beach, home of great surf and the Crystal Pier Hotel, which offers cottage accommodations actually located on the pier, over the water. It's the only thing like it in Southern California. This photo is a view from the second floor of the main hotel structure. Click photo to view an extra large version in separate window.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Vertical Surfing

2009-07-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

-- Photos By TJ Sullivan -- Click Images to View Larger Versions --

(Twitter Me)

A couple more images from San Diego's Pacific Beach this past weekend.

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Who Says Girls Can't Surf?

2009-06-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Technically this was taken at San Diego's Pacific Beach this weekend, but, the way I see it, San Diego will eventually be an LA suburb anyway, which makes it LA Today material.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Beach Weather is Here!

2009-06-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Surf's Up!

2009-06-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Crowd Pays Respects to Jackson

2009-06-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Index / Click Photos for Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more photos at this link of the crowd that gathered Thursday afternoon outside UCLA Medical Center after news of Michael Jackson's death was reported.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Iran Election Protest

2009-06-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Index / Click Photos for Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more photos from the protest at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Bye Bye Analog

2009-06-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

Friday is the day.

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Meters After Makeover

2009-06-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: A Shot of The OC

2009-06-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

Laguna Beach.

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

This is Only a Test

2009-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Be sure to play it in "High Quality" by clicking the "HQ" button, which will appear after you click "play."

Audio level increased ... hope that's better.

-- TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Valets Stealing Street Parking

2009-05-19T08:45:00.001-07:00

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

This report from NBC4's Ana Garcia ought to sound familiar to anyone who's tried to park anywhere near a club or restaurant in LA after 6 p.m.

Previous posts about parking in LA at this link.

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Another Volley Knot

2009-05-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

-- Photo By TJ Sullivan -- Click to View Larger Version --

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Volleyball Net Knot

2009-05-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Hermosa Beach Pier

2009-05-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Reinforced Masonry

2009-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Hermosa Beach at Dawn

2009-05-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

(Twitter Me)

View more LA Today photos at this link.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Photo of LA Natl Cemetery

2009-05-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Life & death.

(Twitter Me)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Congratulations Calvin!

2009-05-03T11:21:00.001-07:00

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The 135th Kentucky Derby

2009-05-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

No easy pick in this weekend's Kentucky Derby, but keep an eye on "Pioneerof the Nile," winner of the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby with Jockey Garrett Gomez aboard.

[Photo index]

— TJ Sullivan

Right On, John Rabe!

2009-04-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

I can't really explain why I got such a kick out of this today. Perhaps it's simply the damned-the-rules, question-authority, I'm-gonna-do-it-anyway spirit of the thing. Whatever it is ... Right on! John Rabe!

(via LA Observed)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

April is Poetry Month: No. 2

2009-04-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

So ... I figured I'd drag out a few old poems, and publish a new one or two.

Cancellation
by T.J. Sullivan © 1998

The newspaper carrier
Kept throwing my paper farther and farther
Away from the porch

It used to be that he’d hit the door with it at 4 a.m.
The sound of tightly wound newsprint hitting wood
Woke me up most mornings
But it had been months since
I heard the thud

For a few weeks he was throwing it on the steps
Leading up to my door
Then the porch below it
His favorite spot in December was the walk
In front of the house
Two months later the paper was on the curb
Then it was in the street

I stumbled out that morning
Half asleep and hung over
In boxers and a white cotton Fruit-of-the-Loom t-shirt
Then he rammed me from behind with
That station wagon with the bad muffler

There were photographs of my under-dressed
Corpse
In the newspaper the next day
Complete coverage
With a map showing exactly where my house is located
And a dotted line where his car skittered over me and away
They think he headed for Calgary

My neighbors said I was quiet
Except for that Cuban salsa music
And those mornings when I would just scream
'(Expletive deleted)'
But other than that, they didn’t notice me much

I’ve been dead for about five months now
And my porch sits yellowed and full of newspapers
The new carrier on my route was told
'Make sure you hit the porch
There have been some complaints
And we don’t like
Cancellations.'

— TJ Sullivan in LA

April is Poetry Month: No. 1

2009-04-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

So ... I figured I'd drag out a few old poems, and publish a new one or two.

Summer In Los Angeles
by T.J. Sullivan © 2009

I only miss
The damp cool
Of basement cellars
In desert heat,

When the sun feels
Magnified
Like an obsession
For driveway bugs,

That's when I miss
The dark nooks
Of granite pantries
And cement floors,

I lay in bed
Kick the sheets
Watch gray dust bunnies
Cling to the fan,

Beads of sweat soak
My pillow
New ideas melt
Into brown stains,

In the kitchen
I drop ice
In tiffany glasses
To watch it crack,

Cubes hiss and die
Shrink and fade
And then I swallow
A brief escape,

I pour myself
Back to bed
Slip between warm sheets
And dream of mold.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Today: Philippe's French Dipped

2009-04-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Philippe's, Chinatown, Los Angeles.

— TJ Sullivan

LA Today: The Santa Anita Derby

2009-04-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

— Photo By TJ Sullivan —

Jockey Garrett Gomez aboard Pioneerof the Nile in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

[Photo index]

— TJ Sullivan

Thanks, But No Thanks, Sen. Cardin*

2009-03-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

cardin.senate.gov

US Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, has proposed a way for Washington D.C. to assist in the recovery of the American newspaper industry.

His idea is to exempt newspapers from that most American of burdens — tax payments on everything from revenue to charitable contributions (should anyone happen to be so civic-minded as to donate money to save a newspaper). To take advantage of this offer, however, a newspaper would have to operate as a non-profit.

Although newspapers could continue most of their primary functions (like keeping a watchful eye on U.S. Senators like Cardin), they wouldn't be allowed to make political endorsements. That's a no-no in the tax code.

Of course, even if they were allowed to editorialize as non-profits, they'd best abstain, at the very least, from editorializing on issues involving taxation (considering the obvious hypocrisy).

The following quote from Cardin's statement appears at AdAge.com:

"We are losing our newspaper industry," Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, D.-Md., said in a statement. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy."

Sure, there are already a couple non-profit newspapers in operation without the aid of such a law. Besides that, Cardin is not the first elected official to express concern for the threat posed to democracy by dying newspapers, and with good reason.

Much as politicians love to complain about "the media," they know full well that without ethically bound, professional newspaper journalists, the ability of elected officials to communicate with constituents would be limited to two-minute TV reports, radio talk show blather, and an Internet so full of pundits and patent lunatics that it's damned hard to find serious news bloggers (or whatever the term is this week for unaccredited, unaffiliated, smart, reporter-like writers who publish online).

Surely all of Washington is wondering where officeholders will turn in the future when their complicated piece of legislation is being misconstrued and misunderstood in 30-second sound bites. Or, perhaps more importantly: Who do you sic on a crooked opponent if not a newspaper reporter willing to invest weeks digging through records and receipts?

Seriously. The CBS program 60 Minutes only has 60 minutes a week (less than that if you discount the air consumed by Andy Rooney). And lest some think Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh are capable of carrying such water, think again. Both come with far too much of their own baggage to carry anything for anyone else.

As much as Americans love to hate their local newspaper, deep down most people (especially the ones seated near the center of the aisle) have always believed that they could trust the paper more than any other source.

Which is precisely the problem with ideas like this.

As I've said before, government assistance of any kind won't wash with the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics, particularly the sections of the code that call upon journalists to:

* Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived ...

* Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility ...

* Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.

I have no reason to doubt that Sen. Cardin's intentions are anything but honorable, but that doesn't matter. Should he succeed in saving newspapers this way in the short term, he will most certainly kill them in the long run.

Should this legislation pass, all subsequent non-profit newspaper coverage of Cardin and his Congressional colleagues would be tainted by a public perception of reciprocation.

No bad news would be bad enough, and good news would always be considered a quid pro quo.

It matters little that no such thing is being requested, nor offered. Perception in this situation is reality (and I haven't even addressed the First Amendment issues).

It's easy to guess where all this is going.

So, thanks, Sen. Cardin, but no thanks. The newspaper industry can only be hurt by government assistance.

* Post updated/corrected 10:30 pm PDT

More at Fitz & Jen.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

President Barack Obama in the OC

2009-03-19T00:02:00.001-07:00

As noted at LA Observed, I've uploaded 23 of the photos I shot Wednesday during President Barack Obama's visit to Orange County, CA.

Visit the index page at this link. Once there, click photos to view larger version.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Pelosi Says Frisco Paper Must Survive

2009-03-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, is troubled about the potential loss of the San Francisco Chronicle, so much so that she's reportedly urged the US Department of Justice to consider being more flexible with regard to merging or consolidating business operations.

In addition, she said the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy will soon hold a hearing on the newspaper crisis and the potential for antitrust laws to complicate possible solutions.

Here's the gist from the Chronicle's Web site, SFGate:

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, released by Pelosi's office late Monday, the San Francisco Democrat asked the department to weigh the public benefit of saving The Chronicle and other papers from closure against the agency's antitrust mission to guard against anti-competitive behavior.

"We must ensure that our policies enable our news organizations to survive and to engage in the news gathering and analysis that the American people expect," Pelosi wrote.

The speaker said the issue of newspapers' survival and antitrust law will be the subject of a hearing soon before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, chaired by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga.

Pelosi's spokesman, Brendan Daly, said the speaker was moved by the recent announcement by the Hearst Corp., the parent company of The Chronicle, that it would be forced to sell or close the paper if it could not achieve major cost-savings quickly. Hearst has said the paper lost $50 million last year and that this year's losses will likely be worse.

Read the rest of the story at SFGate.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Government Aid ... for Newspapers?

2009-03-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Graphic by TJ Sullivan

MediaFile at Reuters lists several different attempts at providing government aid for newspapers, which sounds a little like the Woodsman taking a loan from the Big Bad Wolf.

Watch out, Red.

Here's a snippet from Robert MacMillan's post:

The last time I mentioned the word “bailout” in connection with newspapers, I caught my fair share of flak from the conservative blogosphere for even entertaining the notion. I also caught a few rounds from Connecticut lawmakers who thought that I was suggesting their attempt to help secure tax breaks for struggling newspapers amounted to a bailout.

Having said that, it looks like Washington state is getting into the aid game as Hearst Corp weighs killing its Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.

Read the rest at Reuters.

*Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Eli Broad: 'You Can't Afford to Lose'

2009-03-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad explains why "you can't afford to lose newspaper journalism."

(via 92Y, MediaMemo and Fitz & Jen)

*Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

'NPR is Cancelling All Newspaper Subscriptions'

2009-03-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Graphic by TJ Sullivan

If this is an early April Fool's joke, it's not very funny.

Romenesko at Poynter.org posted a copy of a memo Thursday from National Public Radio.

The subject line — "saving money."

The gist:

"As of April 1 NPR is cancelling all newspaper subscriptions."

Not that newspapers mind serving as tip sheets for radio and TV, among others, but, as observed by LA Observed, now these guys are going to be taking it for free.

Read the full memo at Poynter.org.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Paper Cuts Put Boxers On the Ropes

2009-03-12T17:34:00.001-07:00

By Mike Luckovich

The decline of boxing is a side effect of the newspaper crisis.

So says Kevin Iole, a columnist for Yahoo! Sports, and I'm inclined to agree.

As Iole explains, the fight game is in decline despite the existence of several thriving boxing Web sites.

The reason — Never underestimate the power of a good sports section.

Newspaper sports sections aren't simply popular because they cover sports. They're popular because they employ skilled professional writers who know how to speak to all readers, not just sports fanatics. Of course, not every sports section is good at this, but most of them are, and the ones that do it well not only look to feed the fans, but to educate new ones.

Much as the dictum "no cheering in the press box" has become a cliche, it's as true as it ever was. Sports writers can't be cheerleaders and reporters at the same time. Without a doubt, for every reader attracted by boosterism, hundreds more are put off by it.

The same is true for movie reviews, music reviews, theatre reviews, etc ...

Readers love to hear about a genuine winner, and good newspapers love to tell those kinds of tales. Stories like that generate excitement. They entertain. They can even bring communities together. It's just one more example of the crucial role newspapers play in American life.

It's also another good reason to spread the word about why we should all care about the crisis facing newspapers.

But don't just take my word for it. Here's a snippet from Kevin Iole's column:

“It’s hard to have a star when the sport is almost completely neglected by newspapers,” said Michael Katz, late of the New York Times and New York Daily News and one of the finest boxing writers ever. “Most newspaper sports editors don’t have a clue about boxing and don’t even consider it when they’re planning their coverage.”

The sport has a thriving following on the Internet, where there is more information available than ever before. There is a website in which you can access the fight-by-fight record of nearly every boxer ever. There are websites that breathlessly deliver even the most mundane boxing news.

There are tremendous amounts of video of boxing available on the web and there are forums where fans can chat about it all day and all night.

The problem is, most of the fans who go to those sites are already hardcore fans.

“The websites are basically preaching to the converted,” said Katz, who is semi-retired and living in Las Vegas.

There aren’t, though, newspaper reporters who are spending the time to learn the fighters and who make the boxers larger-than-life figures to the readers of the paper. It was common many years ago for beat writers to stay in a fighter’s camp the entire time he was in training, just as baseball’s beat writers now make the annual trek to either Florida or Arizona to chronicle spring training.

Read the rest at Yahoo! Sports.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Big Cuts for Calfornia 'Bee' Papers

2009-03-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Miami Herald, which is owned by the McClatchy Co., announced Wednesday that it plans to cut 19 percent of its staff -- that's 175 positions -- as well as require weeklong, unpaid furloughs and salary reductions for those who remain.

Salary reductions are planned to be as high as 10 percent for employees earning more than $50,000 a year.

The Herald's publisher, David Landsberg, is reported to have said the following in an e-mail to employees:

''About 175 employees will lose their jobs as a result, and we will eliminate another 30 vacant positions, for a total reduction of 205. Reductions will occur in all areas of our operation and at every level in the organization ...''

[Snip ...]

"While there will be tightening of news pages on various days, we have worked hard to maintain our newspapers at the quality level our readers have come to expect.''

Meanwhile McClatchy Watch has been keeping tally of the layoff announcements at several other McClatchy papers, including The Fresno Bee, which reported Wednesday that it will lay off 63 staffers, reduce salaries, eliminate management bonuses, and make other unstated changes to reduce newsprint costs.

Other McClatchy cuts in California include those taking place at The Sacramento Bee, where 128 jobs will be eliminated -- about 11 percent.

The Modesto Bee expects to cut 11 newsroom employees, and wages will be cut by 2 percent to 10 percent for most of the remaining staff.

Another McClatchy paper, The Kansas City Star, reported that it expects to cut about 150 positions, or 15 percent of its workforce.

The Telegraph, a McClatchy paper in Macon, Georgia, plans to cut 18 staffers and reduce pay.

Many other McClatchy papers also are making cuts. See the list at McClatchy Watch.

Also see the post at Romenesko.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

LA Times Not on 'Endangered' List

2009-03-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Saba, of Fitz & Jen, wants to know "What's with Time's obsession with the newspaper industry?"

For the second month in a row [that's last month's cover story pictured at right], TIME magazine has dedicated space to the crisis facing the newspaper industry, this time with a list of "The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America." Making the list means these publications are, in TIME's estimation, the most likely to close or go paperless (digital-only) in 2009.

Most surprising -- the Los Angeles Times isn't on it.

Here's the list in the order in which the names appear in TIME:

1. The Philadelphia Daily News

2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune

3. The Miami Herald

4. The Detroit News

5. The Boston Globe

6. The San Francisco Chronicle

7. The Chicago Sun Times

8. NY Daily News

9. The Fort Worth Star Telegram

10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer

More about the list, including the reasoning behind each newspaper selected, is online at TIME magazine.

(Twitter This)

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Meadow was a 'Writers Writer'

2009-03-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Photo source: Pulling for James B. Meadow

Journalist James B. Meadow died this weekend.

A writer for more than 25 years at Denver's recently shuttered Rocky Mountain News, Meadow was badly injured Friday in a bicycle accident, possibly after suffering a heart attack.

Meadow's friend Brad Bawmann sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues Sunday evening.

Here's a portion:

Thank you for your prayers, warm thoughts and love for OUR friend James B. Meadow.

Sadly, he has left us for a better place.

It is likely that James suffered a massive heart attack during his Friday afternoon bicycle ride in Chatfield Reservoir and was unconscious or nearly that before he hit the ground.

A hard-body cyclist and exercise beast, James had undergone heart valve replacement a few years back. In fact, earlier in the week, his cardiologist had told James not to ride in this year's upcoming "Triple Bypass," some crazy spin up and down Colorado's mountains that isn't easily accomplished in a Range Rover much less an 18-speed.

Perhaps this contributed to his fall and subsequent death. I don't know.

What I do know is how privileged I am to have known him. A great writer, a big thinker and a kind soul -- James always made me laugh and always made me get out the damn dictionary to look up some word he'd used in story or
conversation.

As one friend put it, James was a "writer's writer." He never settled for less, and during the course of this weekend I told many folks James probably forgot more about the English language than I will ever know. He was meticulous to a fault and insightful to cause pain and tears. As you may have seen from his colleagues' comments on Facebook and in the newspapers James gave a lot of people a lot of gruff for wanting more ...

More information is available at the Facebook group Pulling for James B. Meadow.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

A Journalist in Need

2009-03-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

A Photo of Meadow is in Rocky Mountain News slideshow.
See Photo No. 35 by Judy DeHaas at this link*

Please keep journalist James B. Meadow in your thoughts this weekend.

Meadow, a writer for more than 25 years at Denver's recently shuttered Rocky Mountain News, is reported to have been badly injured Friday in a bicycle accident.

Jeremy Story, a Denver PR professional, has posted online the text of an email from one of Meadow's friends, Brad Bawmann, who appears to have been the first person contacted by emergency responders.

Here's a portion of Bawmann's e-mail, as posted by Story:

Early Friday afternoon, James crashed during a bicycle jaunt at Chattfield Reservoir. I suspect he was celebrating the completion of his hardscrabble work for renowned photographer John Fielder and their upcoming book about Colorado’s ranching royalty.

Moments before James jumped on his bike, he wanted to read to me one last version of how the Salazar family profile should end. After hearing both versions, I told James he was Picasso with words and to stop fretting the difference. Beautiful either way, I cared less what ending he settled upon but asked that he continue to write — even without his day job at the Rocky.

Then, around 5-o’clock in the evening, I received a call from the emergency department at Swedish Medical Center. Did I know whose phone this was they were using to call me from? Beats me, I said, you’re calling me. Back and forth we went..someone was hurt and they didn’t know who it was..with a little help from Verizon we discovered that it was James.

James had been in a terrible accident, twice revived and air-lifted to the trauma center. This morning James lies in critical and unstable condition at Swedish with tubes and monitors and chords wrapped around his bruised body. As family and friends gather we hope and pray for a miracle.

So I ask you, whether you know James or not, whether you’ve read his daily glimpses into human life or not, whether you are a faithful person or not, give me this one prayer for James. Heal his seemingly insurmountable injuries. Let his life continue, selfishly, so that we may read more of his mindful observations and raucous ruminations and that our friendship will live another day.

Read the entire e-mail at Denver Public Relations Blog.

And think good thoughts for James B. Meadow.

* Photo pictured in screen grab is by Judy DeHaas, Rocky Mountain News.

** Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Even a US Congressman Doesn't Get It!*

2009-03-03T15:18:00.000-08:00

Photo from polis.house.gov

How can you expect the average reader to understand where news comes from when even a US Congressman appears clueless about the importance of newspapers?

Check this out ...

Speaking at a neighborhood event near Denver this past weekend, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis seemed to dance on the grave of the Rocky Mountain News and the demise of newspapers in general as he extolled the virtues of citizen journalism and "new media," despite having recently sought the endorsement of another member of the old media, The Denver Post.

Polis, a newly elected Democrat from Boulder who's known for being tech-savvy, put it this way (listen online):

"So, the Rocky Mountain News published it's last edition yesterday. And, I have to say, that when we say, 'Who killed the Rocky Mountain News,' we're all part of it. We truly are, for better or worse, and I argue it's mostly for the better ...

"Newspapers are dying ...

"Media is dead, and long live the new media, which is all of you. And really, this is a new age of citizen journalism."

I'd love to quote from the Congressman's personal Web site, but his Terms of Use ban anyone from quoting his content without written permission. If only newspapers could enforce such terms, maybe people would actually have to go to the newspaper Web sites to get that newspaper's news and ... Now that's an idea!

(via Romenesko)

* UPDATE: Polis laments.

** Audio of the speech is available online from Pulse Productions and The Colorado Progressive Voice.

-- TJ Sullivan

*** Cross posted at www.KnowNewspapersPetition.com

David Foster Wallace's Unfinished Work

2009-03-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

The March 9 edition of The New Yorker includes a story about the late author David Foster Wallace and an excerpt from his unfinished novel, "The Pale King."

One portion of the story describes how Wallace's wife, Karen Green, found him the day he took his own life:

Green returned home at nine-thirty, and found her husband. In the garage, bathed in light from his many lamps, sat a pile of nearly two hundred pages. He had made some changes in the months since he considered sending them to Little, Brown. The story of “David Wallace” was now first. In his final hours, he had tidied up the manuscript so that his wife could find it. Below it, around it, inside his two computers, on old floppy disks in his drawers were hundreds of other pages—drafts, character sketches, notes to himself, fragments that had evaded his attempt to integrate them into the novel. This was his effort to show the world what it was to be “a fucking human being.” He had not completed it to his satisfaction. This was not an ending anyone would have wanted for him, but it was the ending he chose.

There is much more to the story. Find it at The New Yorker.

(via The Washington Post)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

The Rocky's 'Final Edition'

2009-02-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

The decision to put the Rocky Mountain News up for sale was made two months ago.

That day, Laura Frank, an investigative reporter at the Rocky, observed the following:

"That was a difficult and shocking announcement. And do you know what the reaction of so many people in the newsroom was? To whip out a notebook and a pen and start taking notes. Now a few of us were writing about it, but not all of us. But that's what we do. It's in our DNA."

As has been said before on this site, we understand and admire that journalists have this sense of service, and these ethical boundaries that keep them from helping themselves. At every turn newspaper people are focused on serving the readers.

We also understand and admire why journalists are averse to signing petitions.

So we ask that you do the next best thing.

Do the thing you're best at.

Pass on what you know.

Teach your family and friends and neighbors why newspapers matter.

Explain to them that this is not about the medium of paper, but rather that it concerns the preservation of the news-gathering organizations we call newspapers.

Educate everyone around you about the crucial role newspapers play in democracy.

Help people see that newspapers are the tip sheets for every other form of media.

Show them that nobody else does what you do, and why our society will be lost without it.

Please help us spread the word.

And please, pass on our URL.

And, by the way, Laura Frank, you're now one of my heroes.

* Thank you to Matthew Roberts and everyone who put together this very well-done video tribute to the Rocky. As noted, it's hosted at Vimeo.

** Cross posted at Know Newspapers

— TJ Sullivan in LA

- 30 -

2009-02-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

Download pages from today's final edition at this link

— TJ Sullivan

Another Major Newspaper Closes

2009-02-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

Graphic by TJ Sullivan

Sorry to say that our friends at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver will no longer have a newspaper after Friday's edition is put to bed.

The Rocky is closing.

From the Rocky Mountain News:

The Rocky Mountain News, less than two months away from its 150th anniversary, will be closed after a search for a buyer proved unsuccessful, the E.W. Scripps Co. announced today.

"Today the Rocky Mountain News, long the leading voice in Denver, becomes a victim of changing times in our industry and huge economic challenges," Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, said in a prepared statement. "The Rocky is one of America’s very best examples of what local news organizations need to be in the future. Unfortunately, the partnership’s business model is locked in the past."

The Rocky has been in a joint operating agreement with The Denver Post since 2001. The arrangement approved by the U.S. Justice Department allowed the papers to share all business services, from advertising to printing, in order to preserve two editorial voices in the community.

However on December 4 Scripps announced it was putting up for sale the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers, because it couldn’t continue to sustain its financial losses in Denver. Scripps said the Rocky lost $16 million in 2008.

I wish all my friends at the Rocky well and will keep them in my thoughts.

Among those I know who will lose their jobs tomorrow are several former Ventura County Star staffers: M.E. Sprengelmeyer, David Montero, Matt McLain and Chris Schneider.

Unfortunately, this is yet another sad reminder of why we need to educate people about what we're losing, and to join together in search of a solution before any more papers close. Please consider signing the petition at Know Newspapers

— TJ Sullivan in LA

*Cross posted at www.KnowNewspapersPetition.com.

LA Times Headquarters Off the Market

2009-02-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

First of all, since the Los Angeles Times headquarters was never really ON the market it's hard to justify saying it's now off.

Secondly, I'm no expert on bankruptcy law, but, having reported at length on a few sizable BK filings, I have to ask how in the world Tribune Co. could have hoped to legally liquidate any significant assets at this point in its bankruptcy proceedings.

Nonetheless, Chicago Business is reporting that the Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co. has shelved its plans to sell the LA Times headquarters downtown and the Tribune Tower in downtown Chicago "because of cratering real estate prices and the company's late-year bankruptcy protection filing."

Here's a snippet from the story at Chicago Business:

Even in a good market, it would have been difficult to value the properties. Tribune Tower was completed in 1925 and contains about 526,000 square feet of usable office space. The five-building Times Mirror complex totals about 750,000 square feet and was built between the 1930s and the 1970s.

(via Romenesko and LA Observed)

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Last Rites for Frisco's Last Paper?

2009-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

— Photo by TJ Sullivan —

It looks like San Francisco could lose its only remaining mainstream daily newspaper.

LA Observed points to a report published Tuesday on the Chronicle Web site that details an announcement by The Hearst Corp. warning of possible closure.

From the story in the Chronicle:

In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished "quickly" the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year, Hearst said.

Read the rest of the story at the Chronicle Web site.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers

Los Angeleno Now Blogging From NYC

2009-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

James Sims the scoop blog

James Sims, a native Los Angeleno and CSUN alum who recently lamented the dearth of Los Angeles theater critics, has begun a blog of his own.

Currently a grad student in New York City at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Sims has begun blogging mostly about entertainment news at The Scoop. Having grown up on Hollywood backlots and movie sets, Sims ought to bring an informed perspective, and I'm not just saying that because he's one of my former students from CSUN.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Are Newspaper Journalists to Blame?

2009-02-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Newspaper Journalist,

KnowNewspapers.blogspot.com*

You're misunderstood, not just in terms of how vital your newspapers are as news-gathering organizations, but for what you do, or, rather, what you don't do, or maybe just what people think you don't do on purpose.

Seriously, people don't get you.

Never mind what you know. Of course, you consider media conspiracy theories ridiculous, if only because your ranks are teeming with so many Type A personalities that even the mere whiff of a newsroom plot would result in a stampede for the exits with everyone vying to be the first to blow the whistle and win the Pulitzer.

Out there in the World Wide Web, however, it sounds like you're in cahoots to dupe the universe.

And that's not all. A lot of people also appear to believe you've got some mad desire to continue killing trees by maintaining paper as your primary news-delivery method, as though you're secretly addicted to those nauseating chemical solvent smells that so often waft from the press into the newsroom, as though you enjoy the added deadline stress of having some desk editor admonish you with statements like: "Those are union drivers waitin' out there, mister." As if ... as if ...

Paper? Good riddance.

No doubt, the Internet is both your industry's present and future, and you dominate the Web as much as you dominate the airwaves. Regardless of the medium, the overwhelming majority of mainstream news is first reported by newspapers, then followed by everybody else. Newspaper journalists mine the gold, and now you're getting the shaft.

The latest grim predictions are all but foregone conclusions. The former editor of The Des Moines Register Geneva Overholser, who is now the director of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism, recently stated her best bet during an appearance on the KCET program SoCal Connected:

"We're going to have major American cities with no daily newspaper within the next year. I'm willing to bet quite a bit of money on that. We have newspapers for sale around the country in cities from Miami, to Denver, to Seattle, to San Diego, and no one wants to buy them."

You and Overholser surely see the colossal domino effect to come, not just for newspapers, but for all the other news organizations that harvest newspaper content, as well as for the democracy over which all you journalists keep watch.

Still, there are countless other bright people blissfully waving you goodbye.

"Shut up."

That's what Wonkette said a couple weeks ago in response to the petition launched to highlight your plight.

If it's sympathy and understanding you seek, you probably won't find it at blogs like Wonkette:

"What you’re so pathetically grieving is your fading culture, a masturbatory profession of over-educated overpaid typists who had a stranglehold on American journalism for 30 years or so ..."

The reader comments on that one were even less flattering.

Yet, as unreasonable as all that may seem to you, it's not the reason so few signatures have appeared on the petition that calls for a week-long blackout of all free-access newspaper Web sites.

The effort to emphasize your importance to society and democracy has gone viral.

The YouTube video explaining the petition's intent has logged more than 2,400 views. In addition, more than 45 different Web and print publications have either reported or opined on the petition's merits.

Some comments have even been favorable, though perhaps the most telling observation came from a journalist who blogs as scoopgirl. She says she expects to soon be counted among the casualties of budget cutbacks:

"Sadly, the people who run this industry (from the WSJ to the NYT to my own bosses) appear to be thinking in the short term for a new business model. The layoffs will help the bottom line, for now.

But with fewer reporters, there will be less news. We will lose those necessary eyes, for both our advertising purposes and our information purposes. It's a vicious cycle.

So, at the end of the day, I just don't know that I believe that a day without online news is the answer. Or maybe it is, for calling attention to a service many people take for granted."

Yet another point of view comes from Just Journalism, a blog that observes the "online petition has only attracted 163 signatures."

The current total is displayed in the box at right.

So, why so few signatures?

It's certainly possible that the idea proposed by the petition is more ridiculous than, say, asking people to work for free.

Or the reason could be you -- newspaper journalists.

From the onset, the petition effort was sure to be a difficult sell simply because journalists are so averse to putting their mark on anything resembling a petition.

Admirable as that standard may be, it's nonetheless a stumbling block for those seeking to draw attention to your cause.

If you're waiting on the suits and CEOs to save you ... well ... the layoff rolls are filled with the names of former newspaper journalists who were waiting on the same thing.

You must get actively involved in this, but, rather than ask you to go against your own code, how about this: What if all you had to do was what you do best?

What if all you had to do was to take the time to communicate this complex issue to those closest to you, to explain why newspapers matter to your wives and husbands, your mothers and fathers, your brothers and sisters, your best friends and neighbors?

That's it. Just explain and encourage them to pass on that wisdom to their friends and family. And, of course, it couldn't hurt to point all these people in the direction of the official petition Web site at KnowNewspapers.blogspot.com.

No ethical standards stand in the way of any of that. And, no doubt, you've probably been doing plenty of that for years already.

Do more of it.

Of course, the alternative is to let everyone else sort it out, including those who don't want anything more to do with your sort. Unlike you, however, they don't seem to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

— TJ Sullivan

Cross posted at LA Observed.

* KnowNewspapers.blogspot.com is the official site of the Web blackout petition.

"No News" logo by Will Sweat.

'Major Cities ... No Daily Newspaper'

2009-02-19T12:40:00.001-08:00

*** Read about the Web blackout petition at this link ***

An interesting report about the online newspaper Voice of San Diego aired last week on the KCET program SoCal Connected.

Reported by Judy Muller, the segment included an interview with Geneva Overholser, former editor of The Des Moines Register and now director of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism.

Newspaper journalists in particular ought to be interested in Overholser's prediction for the year to come:

"We're going to have major American cities with no daily newspaper within the next year. I'm willing to bet quite a bit of money on that. We have newspapers for sale around the country in cities from Miami, to Denver, to Seattle, to San Diego, and no one wants to buy them."

Related: The Web blackout petition.

* Cross-posted at LA Observed.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Murder of Russian Reporter Still Unsolved

2009-02-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

The New York Times reports that a Moscow jury has acquitted three men accused of having a hand in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.

The murder of Politkovskaya was particularly brazen and, considering the evidence, likely tied to her reporting. Another reporter from Politkovskaya's newspaper was shot this year, on Jan. 19.

From The New York Times story:

Ms. Politkovskaya was a strident critic of the Kremlin, and her killing in 2006 underlined the shrinking freedom allowed dissenters in Russian society. Investigators and colleagues concluded that someone had ordered her death to silence her, and some suspected the hand of state officials in the crime.

But the three men who were tried on murder charges in a cramped courtroom this winter were peripheral figures: two shaggy-haired young Chechen brothers accused of acting as a lookout and a driver for the suspected triggerman, who has never been arrested, and a former police investigator accused of organizing logistics for the killing.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.

— TJ Sullivan in LA