Reunited?

This weekend, my high school class will celebrate out 20th anniversary of graduation ... otherwise known as a reunion.

I will not be there.

I wrestled with the decision, but ultimately decided to pass.

Why? Well, bear with me here ... I'm going to try and state my case in a way that doesn't make me sound like a complete jerk. But, I might fail.

The town where I grew up was small, quiet, rural, overall a decent place to raise kids. But, it was also a town where everyone seemed to know everyone else. And if you didn't have the correct last name, it was hard to get ahead in athletics or, sometimes, socially.

Despite that, my high school experience was a good one ... I wasn't "cool" ... nor was I a "loser" ... but was happily tucked into the netherworld in between.

However, when college beckoned, something inside me was happy to leave, and not look back.

For some reason, I fell out of contact with most of the folks I graduated high school with, even my closest friends.

Why did this happen? Well, it seems my specific group all had big goals and big ambitions, and those seemed to come before old high school friendships.

I made new friends in college, many of whom I am close to today, then began my travels to pursue a career.

That path caused me to move several times, and any chance I had at re-connecting with high school classmates, disappeared.

It also caused a new cast of characters to enter my life ... folks I consider my closest friends right now.

Oh sure, there were random meetings with the high school gang ... maybe at an Akron bar, maybe inside a mall, but most were fleeting.

That's why, a decade ago, it didn't surprise me when my mother called, and told me I was listed as "missing" as the Class of 1989 was organizing it's 10-year reunion.

(By the way, this is how the old hometown works. I was discovered to be "missing" when my name was printed in the local, once-a-week community newspaper, read by an old neighbor, who proceeded to call my mother.)

So, I got in contact with the reunion organizers, and attended.

It was honestly nice to see some of the folks, including a couple old baseball teammates and some old friends.

But, some of my closest pals chose not to attend.

And, to top that off, the entire evening felt, well, awkward to me.

You see, in the time since high school, I had lived on a college campus that was 5 times the size of my hometown, in Illinois' second largest city, and in a pair of Ohio's largest metro areas.

I was working in the media, and was employed next to the television anchors and reporters who were beamed into local homes every night.

I had traveled extensively with friends from college and work.

And now here I was, back in the same small-town, with a group of people I didn't feel especially close to, reliving days that, while they were enjoyable, were certainly not the highlights of my life, nor anything I think about all that often.

To top it off, all of our "bios" were published in a pamphlet for other classmates to read. These included our jobs.

There was a strange feeling of "hero worship" directed towards me, because of my role as an Executive Producer. In fact, one former classmate said "Wow, you pretty much own that station don't you?"

My response was "No, you don't realize how far down the ladder I really am."

This reaction was extremely uncomfortable for me. Many of my classmates were accountants, pharmacists, architects, all very good jobs. Yet for some reason, working at a tv station made me a sensation.

When a former baseball teammate saw that I lived in a Cleveland suburb, he asked if I attended a lot of Indians games.

When I said that I made it to 6-8 a year, his jaw fell open.

And that's when it hit me in a wave. The small town feeling. My former classmates weren't used to living in the shadow of a large city. They weren't used to knowing people who worked in television. They weren't used to seeing live trucks driving around ... or a 10-minute drive to see the Cleveland Indians.

And I don't fault them for this. They're good people, living good lives. They stayed in the area of the old hometown because that's where their families still live. And there's nothing wrong with any of that.

It just wasn't for me anymore. I don't think I'm better than any other graduate, mind you, I'm just a different person, in a different place.

Flash-forward to today, and the 20-year reunion.

A decade has brought a lot of change. The Internet has allowed me (through this blog, and especially, Facebook) to reconnect with a few of the high school classmates that I was closest with.

It's the same group that did not attend the 10-year reunion, and will not be attending the 20-year, either.

These are the people I want to see, the people I want to catch up with. And if our travels allow that to happen, you can bet I will take advantage.

So, to the rest of the Class of '89 ... I wish you best on this reunion weekend.

To those attending that might have a desire to catch up, and don't think I'm a colossal jerk for writing this, drop me a line.

As for me, I'll spend the weekend looking forward to the future, instead of reliving the past.

Off A Cliff

Anyone who's read this blog for a regular basis knows I'm a pretty big baseball fan (despite being a fairly lousy baseball player.)

And, most of you also know the Cleveland Indians were/are/and will ever be my team.

Some of you may also know I've been a little disenfranchised this season with the front office, and business office, and just about any single one of the Tribe's other offices.

So, I feel like I should add my two cents on the Cliff Lee trade.

You see, while I'm a baseball fan, I'm also a realist.

The economic structure of the game is such that the Tribe will always be stuck developing players, only to watch them walk away for greener pastures.

I'm ok with that.

That means teams like the Tribe must be strong in another area, player procurement and development. Namely ... scouting, drafting, and coaching.

This is where I feel the Mark Shapiro regime as General Manager has come up short.

When you have to trade the Sabathias and Lees of the world, you're not doing it to restock the farm system, you're doing it to plug holes in the dam from where that system has failed.

Which brings us to the Lee trade.

Unlike 95% of the other fans out there, I'm not upset Lee was dealt. It was the prudent thing to do, faced with a ball club that's likely going to be as bad next year as it is this year.

It's the return that has me fuming a bit.

You see, the Tribe's largest area of need is upper level, high-impact pitchers. This deal netted exactly one of those.

It also landed the Tribe a teenager, with huge amounts of "upside." Which is fine.

But, as any fan knows, a lot can happen to a player between the time he's 18 ... and the time he might be ready for the bigs.

But again, you have to trade for this type of player, because you've failed to acquire many of them on your own through the draft.

It's the last two components of the deal that downright baffles me.

Mark Shapiro decided to buy low on a pair of players ... to acquire a catcher and a shortstop.

Now, keep in mind, even if the team trades Victor Martinez, they still have four ... yes four ... catchers between AA and the majors who seem capable enough.

As for the shortstop, well he's going to be next year's utility infielder, since ownership won't allow any new expenditures.

So, in my opinion, Mark Shapiro traded one of the ten, best starters in the majors for a starting pitcher (because he's failed to develop them), a high-upside kid (because he hasn't drafted many of them), and two players who can "fill out" the 2010 roster cheaply.

As a Tribe fan, I hope deep down that this deal will work.

I mean, if Mark Shapiro has one talent, it's the acquisition of good players in deadline deals.

It's too bad he has to use that ability more than any Indians fan could ever hope.

Wither Ethics?

I have to say that the past couple of weeks have great fodder if I were teaching a journalism class (Mr. Strukel, you out there?).

And it really makes me question where journalism is going.

The first big moment, for me, was during the Michael Jackson death coverage.

TMZ.com apparently became the "go-to" source for much of the breaking developments.

There's one small problem, though. You see, TMZ holds its website to different ethical standards than the mainstream media.

They can report something and just say "we're told" ... without ever having that 2nd or 3rd level confirmation.

But, what's really disturbing to me, is when local television stations use TMZ as a source for their own stories in the evening news.

At least one station in this market does that on a regular basis. Perhaps they feel it's acceptable, given their "tabloid" format.

I happen to know they prefer to "push the envelope" when it comes to journalism.

But, at what point is the line crossed ... at what point do you stop trying to confirm anything (even if it's "celebrity news"), and just go with what you think is correct?

Even CNN got into the act during the early hours of the Jackson coverage.

They actually ran a graphic over their coverage that used the phrase "unconfirmed reports." Isn't their job actually to confirm those reports before passing them along?

But, what really caught my eye about the downfall of ethics occurred yesterday.

And this time, it wasn't at a broadcast station ... it was in a newspaper (and on their website.)

The NY Post (another "tabloid" outfit) reported on the Erin Andrews/peephole video story.

It's certainly salacious. A beautiful ESPN sideline reporter is surreptitiously video taped naked through a peephole drilled into her hotel room wall.

Most mainstream papers and websites picked up on this.

But, the NY Post took things to the next level. You know, instead of just running the file photo of Erin Andrews like everyone else (including me here), the Post actually used screen captures FROM THE ILLEGAL VIDEO.

Yes, they put black bars over what Monty Python famously called the "naughty bits."

But, essentially, this means someone at the Post either downloaded or viewed the illegal tape, which by that point in time had actually been yanked from its originating website under threat of lawsuit by ESPN and Andrews' lawyer.

Now, nothing disappears in the Internet forever ... reading comments on the Andrews story on various sites, commenters have made clear that the video is still available on various peer-to-peer torrenting sites out there.

But, here the point. The video was captured illegally. It was distributed illegally.

So, why on Earth would a newspaper actually use photos from that "illegal" video?

Simple ... to sell papers. And to flush journalism right down the pipes.

It's telling that those photos ran within days of the death of Walter Cronkite.

I'm sure he's looking down from above ... shaking his head at what his business has become.

Poll Dancing

Imagine my surprise today when I opened my mail, to find that I have a new polling location for upcoming elections.

And the new site is somewhat surprising to me.

You see, instead of voting at the quaint little church right down the hill ... instead, I'll be casting my ballot at a local "alternative" school.

I find this interesting on a couple of levels.

First, the church seems to me to be the perfect spot for polling. Quiet, empty on Tuesdays, ample parking, etc.

Secondly, there's been a recent trend to get schools OUT of the polling process, because of concerns over security and traffic.

Add to the fact that the new location is an "alternative" school ... and it's even stranger.

You see, these types of schools are set up for students who, for one reason or another, seem to fail in the traditional school environment.

Even its mission statement states that learning "will be accomplished by emphasizing the development of both academic and social skills."

So, here my question: Will these students benefit from the disruption of their daily routine, by a parade of strangers entering and exiting their parking lot and building.

Perhaps they will. Perhaps it will serve as a real-life lesson in democracy.

Or, it just might cause such a distraction, that learning on that particular day will become even more difficult.

I happen to know for a fact that neighbors of the school weren't really happy when it opened, probably because of the influx of "non-traditional" student in their neighborhood.

I wonder how they feel now ... knowing the congestion that voters will bring to the area.

Boss Time!

I'm a happy boy today.

You see, as a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, I've been waiting patiently for a tour date in Cleveland.

Today, we got one ... set for November at the Q.

It will be Bruce and the E Street Band's first trip to the Rock and Roll capitol in almost two years.

And what a two years it's been.

Bruce and the band lost longtime keyboardist Danny Federici to cancer, wrapped up a second leg of the "Magic" tour, released a new album, and toured the world again in support of "Working On A Dream."

There were some fears for me, at least, that perhaps the rust belt would be skipped because of the economy, but Bruce will follow-up on a Super Bowl promise and return to town.

What makes this even more exciting for me, is that the Cleveland stop will be the 3rd to the last show of the tour (at least right now.)

Usually, Cleveland is early in the tour itinerary, before the band has completely put it together.

The shows are good, but not as loose as they are towards the end of tours.

Factor in the idea that this could be the last appearance of the E Street Band for some time, and I'm really crossing my fingers for a special evening.

At least I can hope Bruce will break out "Rosalita" ... one of my all-time favorites, and a song that's been skipped in recent Cleveland tour stops.

Now all I have to do is get some tickets!

(By the way, if you want to play "Where's Waldo" with the photo included in this entry, it is a fabulous picture of me and the Boss!)

The "South of 480" Bias

I hate to continue to critique my former industry (and former colleagues) ... but its stuff like this that really gets my blood boiling.

When I worked in television news, we always joked about the existence of a "south of 480" bias.

In other words, news crews only traveled into Summit County and beyond for stories related to crime, death and destruction.

For some reason, reporters would gladly drive to Put-In-Bay or Ashtabula to cover a story, but hated driving to Akron ... even though Akron is closer than either of those other locations (making for an easier day.)

You see, here's a dirty little secret of tv news. "Smart" stations cover stories where the ratings boxes are located.

I seem to remember one year, when there was a sudden spike in the number of Nielsen families in Richland County.

Well, you know what that meant ... suddenly Mansfield became a much more important area to cover.

Why do they do this? Well, the higher the ratings the more you can charge for ads.

Well, when the full-fledged advent of delivering news online through websites arrived, I for one was glad.

This was surely something that would break down regional barriers, right?

I mean, while you want Nielsen families to tune in to your broadcasts, you want everyone to use your website.

Sadly, that still isn't happening.

A check of my former employer's website finds the following stories as the top news items south of I-480.

An July 4th attack that might be a hate crime. Gunshot victim in Barberton. Texas dog found roaming the streets of Brunswick (debatable whether this should be an "Akron-Canton" story). Man found hanging in Stow playground. Canton shooting victim mourned. 1200 arrests in "Operation Falcon." 7th child enticement in Stow.

Whew. It seems like the "south of 480" area is a horrible place to live.

Now, these stories SHOULD be here, don't get me wrong. People want to know when bad things happen in their neighborhoods.

But, they also want to know the GOOD things that happen there as well.

Looking at my former employer's news for the area north of 480 ... you see stories on free health care, Cuyahoga County reform, a setback for a Chagrin Valley church, a dentist paying patients to come to their appointments, a new ethics policy for Cleveland city workers, and local businesses using social networking for marketing.

To top it off, that section features "previews" of 4 weekend events: the unveiling of the rebuilt Superman house in Cleveland, the city's Ingenuityfest, a church rummage sale, and the Cain Park Arts Festival.

Notice the difference?

The "south of 480" area of the website is filled solely with crime. The north of 480 is almost devoid of crime.

Why? Well crime is easy to cover. Easy to pull out of newspapers. Easy to get via press releases. Easy to acquire through beat calls. Easy to show a "presence" in the Akron-Canton area, even though that "presence" is entirely bad news.

And the weekend previews really, really get to me.

You see, this weekend, downtown Akron happened to host an Italian-American Festival. It was the 62nd year for this event, but its first since moving downtown. There were 70 vendors, 2 music stages, games, great food, and much more.

I was in attendance last night ... and on Friday night alone, THOUSANDS of people packed into the downtown area to experience the fun. Akron was alive. It was a wonderful event.

So here's a question. If the station/website listed above can take so much time to write weekend previews of great events in Cuyahoga County, why not take 10 more minutes and post a few words about a great event in Summit County? An event that likely will draw crowds larger than that rummage sale, and equal to the other events.

My theory ... it's because very few of the website contributors live in Summit County. They write about the events they go to, and not about the ones they pass on. Which is fascinating to me.

I once sat in a morning meeting, where a corporate news guru pointed out that the meeting participants were very homogenized.

All were white, many were single, there weren't a lot of men, and there weren't a lot of parents in the room.

He concluded that our story selection might be biased, because we were determining our coverage based on what we were interested in, but not necessarily what the general public thought was important.

It was a fascinating lesson.

Well guess what, these stations have cured that problem, but now suffer from a regional bias.

There aren't a lot of people who live south of 480 who can make their voices heard. Even if it's for something simple, like writing a preview of an Italian-American Festival.

So, as a consumer who lives south of 480, and likes living south of 480, I urge you to keep supporting you local newspapers, radio stations and their websites. Places like akronnewsnow.com, ohio.com, and cantonrep.com.

Otherwise a news void could turn into a news vacuum for those of us living in the undiscovered country.

Catching Up

Well, my post-a-day promise has gone by the wayside ... but I'm still here!

It's funny how a visit from your folks combined with a holiday weekend will keep you from writing.

Anyways, not a whole lot to add today ... other than a reiteration of how much I love living in modern times.

I've added some words here before about using Facebook to reconnect with old friends who I've lost touch with in the days since high school.

Well, another one has come out of the woodwork ... after Googling my name and being led right to this blog!

I know that a lot of people argue that the Internet makes the world a lot less personal, and that can be true.

But, it can make the world a lot more personal as well.

I think the key is this ... if you're young, you can't live on a computer.

Get outside, breathe some air, cause trouble with your friends.

Laugh, dance, have fun.

But, when you get to be a little older ... and you've lost contact with the people who you laughed and danced with in the first place .. this is a great tool to reconnect, share some memories, and relive the old days. Even if they weren't necessarily the GOOD old days.

Not only that, I discovered that he's a blogger as well!

Well, his blog is now part of my blog, joining the honor roll on the right ... and I look forward to reading his thoughts and words as well.

So anyways, to my old/new friend, welcome aboard, and I'm glad you found me!

Hopefully, the modern world will keep us in touch.