The Newsroom

In 1968, Hubert Humphrey's campaign for president seized on Republican VP candidate Spiro Agnew's inexperience, warning, in one celebrated TV commercial, that the first-term Maryland governor was just a "heartbeat away from the presidency."
John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin drew a similar response today from CNN's Paul Begala: "Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency," Begala wrote, also noting that the first-term Alaskan governor comes from a state "with more reindeer than people."
The difference: One was a paid political advertisement, the other, journalism - a line that has never seemed more blurred than it does now. Perhaps it's simply the latest example of Marshall Mcluen's "medium is the message" doctrine coming to fruition, but you get the sense that Obama v. McCain may really come down to CNN v. Fox News.
I'm cautious not to rail against this too much. As much as the newspaper establishment preaches fairness and objectivity, the truth is that some of our most notable ancestors were opinion sheets whose biting commentaries were deemed important enough to protect, in the form of the First Amendment. To this day, we write editorials, we endorse candidates, we allow columnists and bloggers to voice opinions all the time.
To believe that all of this doesn't, on occasion, cloud our news judgment is to deny that we're human beings. In some cases, it's embedded institutionally - for every Washington Post, there's a Washington Times.
Does that make it harder, or easier, on you as a consumer of information? It depends on how vigilant you choose to be. Just be warned ... in today's world, it's way to easy to hear what you want to hear.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My first real role model in this business was a grizzled old chain smoker with white hair, a goatee and a fuse that was ready to pop at any time. Think Don Quixote in a really bad mood.
By the time I got to know Bill Harmon, he'd traded in his press credentials for a teaching gig at Southern Illinois University, though unlike most before and after him, his classroom was a newsroom. As faculty managing editor of our school paper, the Daily Egyptian, Harmon introduced a generation of young reporters and photographers to the real world of journalism - one where the editors cursed, deadlines were law and the paychecks were just enough to get you that used Ford Pinto you'd been eyeing.
I'm pretty sure Harmon liked us, but his was a tough love unlike any I'd ever experienced.
His biting critiques of the paper - posted in red pen for all to see - were often accented with an "Ughh!," a "Double Ughh!!," and, on really special occasions, a "Triple Ughh!!!" He was known to throw the newspaper across his tiny office, though you were never sure if it was because of something he'd read or if one of his always-lit cigarettes had burned to the stub and singed his fingers.
And yet, as much as we feared the man, we knew he was right and weren't about to ignore the lessons in truth, fairness and good, old-fashioned street reporting he was pouring down on us every day.
My colleagues at the time including Mark Edgar, who became a top editor at the Dallas Morning News; Melissa Malkovich, sister of John and herself later a TV news producer; and a host of others who have made journalism their life's work.
Often, I'll stumble across an SIU journalism alum from another generation, and invariably the discussion turns to Bill Harmon. The stories are almost always the same, but it's the principles he instilled in us that provide the real bond.
Harmon was never afraid, for instance, to take on the university hierarchy - in fact, he reveled in it - even at the ever-present risk of losing his job as a non-tenured faculty member. It was, again, about truth and fairness, about the newspaper as a guardian of the public trust, and about the awesome responsibility all of that carries.
He eventually retired and, as proof of how complex we human beings are, ran a florist shop in nearby Herrin, Ill. As strange as that sounds, it made a certain amount of sense, too. Don Quixote was a dreamer, after all.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some of you are familiar with Jay Mariotti. More of you recognize Roger Ebert. Both from the Chicago Sun-Times - Mariotti the acerbic sports columnist, Ebert the Pulitzer Prize winning film critic. Mariotti resigned this week, declaring his newspaper (and others) "dead." Ebert responded today, declaring Mariotti "a rat." Must reading for anyone who believes passionately in the future of the newspapers.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While some of you watch Barack Obama tonight, I'm preparing a Sunday column on his ripping of Chicago Cubs fans. Certain things you don't mess with.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hats off to Herb Fischer, who retires tomorrow as county schools superintendent. I've had the pleasure, over the years, of covering and working with a number of outstanding community leaders, and Fischer ranks right up there among the best of them. His candor when it came to the challenges of public education in a diverse and economically challenged region such as ours was refreshing, and right on target. At the same time, he understood that a big part of his community leadership role was making himself visible. He is a leader, a statesman, and above all, a gentleman.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting call today from a reader who wanted to know why The Sun did not publish a Page 1 photo of Michelle Obama in yesterday's paper, but printed a big picture of Hillary Clinton today.
Candidly, we erred in not giving the start of the convention bigger play in Tuesday's paper. Sometimes we get lost in our definition of local news - believing it's only about things that happen locally, and not stories that may happen elsewhere but have overwhelming local interest. Certainly the conventions fall into the latter category.
We fixed that today, though in the mind of this reader, it gave the impression that we either favored Clinton or were somehow racially motivated to keep Obama off the front page.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sharon Gilbert, in her blog, linked to our posting yesterday on how to file a freedom of information request. Please, if any of you happen to file such a request, let us know. As I wrote to Sharon, a strong grassroots movement may be the best way to ensure that the message of transparency in government is taken seriously.
Here, too, is a link to Joseph Turner's tale of FOIA frustration, from the Red County blog.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you're so inclined, here's how to file a freedom of information request on a federal level and in California. It's your right to know. Don't give it away.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take note of Robert Rogers' efforts to obtain a seemingly simple piece of information on embattled San Bernardino police officer Brad Lawrence. While on a certain level, you can understand a misunderstanding and, hence, a delay in that information being released, we seem to be at a point of Information Lockdown. It's not the first time, and won't be the last. But as we've seen with the Bill Postmus story, it's the public (you) that's penalized when government bodies invoke their perceived right to do business privately.
Just today, I received a call from a member of the community who's fighting a similar battle with San Bernardino over a Freedom of Information Act request that has received, shall we say, a less than expedient response. He could sue, but that would require an attorney and court time.
In the meantime, we'll hear this public official or that public official tell us what a firm believer he or she is in open government.
So which is it? Do you walk the talk or not?
Sadly, we've all allowed these First Amendment rights to erode over the years. Call it another consequence of our increasingly lost sense of community. If we don't vote, if we don't get involved, what's it matter if our right to know is taken away?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A colleague asked for more detail on David Dreier's Fair And Simple Tax plan, mentioned in the earlier post. In simplest terms, it consists of three tax rates: 10 percent for the first $40,000 in income, 15 percent for $40,001-$150,000 in income, and 30 percent for anything above that. It would hang on to some long-standing tax advantages (mortgage interest, for instance), but would simplify the tax process to a single-page form. Dreier introduced his plan in January.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Talkin' politics with Congressman David Dreier this morning. The Glendora Republican came by our Inland Valley Daily Bulletin offices on one of his regular visits to the 26th district, and with the Democratic convention up and running, it seemed a good time to get the other side's point of view.
Like many Republicans, Dreier thinks Hillary Clinton would have been a more formidable candidate for president and believes John McCain has crept up in the polls in part because Barack Obama "embraces the ideological philosophies of the past," which don't work today.
Dreier sees an example in the one issue that seems to unite America right now - the need to prop up a sagging economy. Part of Obama's answer has been to raise capital gains taxes. Dreier wants to lower capital gains rates as part of his proposed Fair And Simple Tax plan (FAST) - a program he believes McCain will embrace.
He called presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden a "pretty good pick under the circumstances," citing Biden's roots in the industrial northeast and his experience on international matters.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a sliver of my Sunday column, in praise of Esther Estrada's motives in pushing for a City Council subpoena of key players in the Operation Phoenix scandal:

The councilwoman's fight is remarkable on several fronts.

It also challenges those who speak about transparency, but practice something quite different.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

An otherwise unremarkable little political ad in our sister paper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, upset some readers who wondered why Ron Stark was declaring himself city clerk of Rancho Cucamonga. Stark, who works in the Bulletin's advertising department, pays for an ad each week to promote his radio and cable show. At the bottom of this week's ad was his "Ron Stark/City Clerk" campaign logo and a note to "Please vote Nov. 4th."

Wrote one reader:

I was very disappointed to see a "Misleading Advertisement" in this morning's edition by one of your own employees. If you go to the "City News" section, page 13 - you will see an advertisement by Ron Stark (the paper's Retail Sales Manager) declaring himself the "City Clerk" within his "Voice of The Inland Empire" ad. The current "City Clerk" for Rancho Cucamonga is Debra Adams not Ron Stark as the ad would have you believe? Shouldn't the ad read "Ron Stark for City Clerk" Please Vote November 4th, as opposed to readers assuming the City Clerk also works for the Daily Bulletin? Having one of your own employees take advantage of your readership for their own personal gain in this manner, is highly offensive and possibly borders on being a conflict of interest. Is the Daily Bulletin supporting what the content of the ad states, that your own Retail Sales Manager is the City Clerk, or is the paper supporting Ron Stark for City Clerk? Can anyone claim what they want in your paper as long as they have the money to pay for it? I assume he pays for the ad like everyone else does? Not even the Presidential Candidates can advertise in this manner, they have to say John McCain or Barack Obama for President, not President. If you continue to run the ad, at least have it corrected to show "Ron Stark for City Clerk", that way the paper looks impartial and show's no favoritism to one of their own.

And the answer is ...

Mr. Stark works in our advertising department - apart from our news division - and like any private citizen who chooses to run for public office, is free to pay for a political ad (which he did). Because of his involvement in the newspaper, his race is not one in which we would endorse a candidate.

As for not including the preposition "for" in his campaign logo, that is not an uncommon practice in political campaigns. You see it (or don't) in campaign literature quite often, and there are no formal rules governing that. Here are a few examples, for what it's worth (and, no, I couldn't help myself on that last one).

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a blast from the past - Michael J. Boguslawski - "Bogey" to those of you who remember his consumer-advocate reports on KCBS and elsewhere. Of late, he's been writing a consumer column in the Daily Press, and has a new gig as general manager of the Apple Valley Auto Spa. (Ask for the "Bogey" special top premium car wash.)

Here he is from back in the day.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm enjoying reading Sharon Gilbert's blog posts encouraging reason and logic when it comes to the relationship between county workers and their bosses. These things cut both ways, obviously, but Sharon's point (stop drawing lines in the sand) could apply to the ugliness we're also seeing in the Rialto school district and the San Bernardino police department.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't usually post press releases here, but given how strongly we all feel about elections and our civic duty to participate, I thought you might be interested in this call for pollworkers.

Pollworkers needed.pdf

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In light of yesterday's Jack Brown letter, I was struck by this posting on Sharon Gilbert's blog. Managing a workforce as large and widespread as the county's is an incredibly difficult task, especially with the kind of controversy that has rattled the executive offices. While they approach the subject in very different ways, it strikes me that both Sharon and Jack are trying to offer voices of reason here.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This will publish in the "Voice of the People" section of the newspaper in the next couple of days, but thought it was worth a mention here too. It was sent to me this afternoon by Jack Brown, chairman of Stater Bros., who in recent weeks has talked about how the county's reputation for corruption makes it difficult for the rest of us. His words in praise of county employees are well said:

I am the son of a former San Bernardino County worker. My father spent his entire adult life serving the citizens of San Bernarino County for over 27 years until his untimely death.

Make no mistake ... America's largest county is served by America's best county workers.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's something that often gets lost in discussions about the future of newspapers - the cost of the paper itself.
As if our business fundamentals weren't challenging enough already - with the shift toward online and a declining overall economy - newsprint prices are increasing steadily. That's a major part of our expense base, and it's hastening our efforts to pack more information into less space. You've probably seen some of this, in the form of more briefs, shorter stories and smaller sections. (There's another reason for this, of course - the time constraints of active Americans. Studies are all over the place on this, but the average time spent reading a daily newspaper is in the 20-30-minute range.)
Will the cost come back down? Probably, at some point. But for now, it's a delicate balance, as we try to provide more content while controlling our newsprint expenses. And while online is unquestionably a huge part of our future, the printed newspaper is still the medium of choice for the 60,000 subscribers and single-copy buyers who receive The Sun each day, and for the advertisers who want to reach them.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Indulge me here.
Let's set aside, for the moment, a debate over the merits of Operation Phoenix. Let's assume, as we've argued, that it's the right program, wrongly managed.
What would you do to save it?
How would you restructure it?
How would you restore public confidence, increase accountability and maximize the program's impact and visibility citywide?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Malcolm Schwartz, our copy desk chief, points out this one from today's Sun:

"... Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties will host a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Farmer Boys, 10475 Mountain View Ave., Loma Linda. All donors will receive a coupon for a free cheeseburger combo at Farmer Boys, (and) A FREE CHOLESTEROL TEST ..."

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I stumbled across a souvenir edition of the old Sun-Telegram from Jan. 23, 1949 - the day after our old downtown facility opened. It was a fascinating reminder of the newspaper's history, San Bernardino's past, and how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Some tidbits:

- The Sun was founded on Sept. 1, 1894 by W.A. Selkirk and N.J. Levinson, "but they quickly disappeared under the impact of the economic difficulties that traditionally mark the launching of a newspaper enterprise."

- "San Bernardino was a hotbed of Secessionists during the Civil War, and there was much unrest and lawlessness. Fights were common with or without and excuse."

- In 1949, The Sun and other newspapers were fighting to recapture audience and advertisers who were being lured away by alternative media. "When radio first came into the picture, it took a big chunk of national advertising away from the newspapers," said H.P. Graham, then-general manager of The Sun's ad department.

And finally this, in the category perhaps of "don't let your words come back to haunt you" - a congratulatory ad from the county Board of Supervisors:

"As champions always of the cause of right, the San Bernardino Sun and Evening Telegram will be honored down through the years of future generations and this building will stand as a monument for justice ... on behalf of all the people of San Bernardino County, we wish you continued prosperity and success."

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We'll call this the first in a continuing series on the stories, people and experiences that have punctuated my 32 years in the newspaper business.

The early morning of Feb. 2, 1980, I was working the cop beat in Albuquerque when a call came over the scanner of a disturbance at the state penitentiary in Santa Fe.
After debating a few minutes whether to go, I hopped in my car and made the one-hour trip. The images and haunting memories that followed have lasted 28 years.
Thirty-three inmates were killed over a 36-hour period in the most violent prison riot in U.S. history. Though 43 people - 11 of them guards - died during the infamous Attica riot of 1971, Santa Fe represented a savagery unmatched by anything before or since.
As a young reporter, I jumped at the chance to stay on the story - day and night through that cold weekend outside the prison gates, and in the weeks and months that followed.
I followed inmates who were transferred to prisons in Arizona and Marion, Ill., the "new Alcatraz" where reputed riot leader Michael Colby was sent after the rampage.
I sat in the living room of a quiet bungalow in Albuquerque, where the mother of a 19-year-old prisoner killed during the uprising talked in hushed tones of her regrets as the parent of a child gone astray.
I saw the blood stains and heard the horror stories - of "protected" inmates tortured, one by one, with makeshift knives and blow torches; of severed heads stuck atop broomsticks and paraded around as if props in some hellish version of Mardi Gras; of desperate guards who prayed for a death that never came.
More than any story I ever covered, the terror of Santa Fe shaped my view of prisons and justice - toward redemption and rehabilitation not as an emotional salve, but a pragmatic and necessary response to an inmate population that continues to spiral out of control. That 19-year-old was camped in the same prison dormitory as hardened, career criminals and likely would have become one himself if they hadn't ended things for him.
It also gave me a bird's-eye view of government accountability at its worst. Mark Colvin, who wrote "The Penitentiary in Crisis," had this to say to a group of college students many years later:
From about 1976 until after the 1980 riot, the administration of the Department of Corrections was in complete disarray. Lines of authority were unclear after the department went through a series of very confusing reorganizations. So many people in the administration thought that they were in charge that in reality no one was in charge. There was a complete lack of accountability and oversight of operations at the prison. The chief of security at the prison told us that he had not inspected the night watch (which was the shift in which the riot started) for security lapses in over four years before the riot, because he thought that the captain of the guards (his subordinate) was doing this, which in fact he was not. So it was a case in which the "right hand never knew what the left hand was doing." Also, the guard force itself was very demoralized (the turnover rate was 80 percent, meaning that 80 percent of the guards quit during the year). So many of the guards, with some exceptions, really could care less what happened. They just wanted to get through their shift as best as possible and go home.
How many of those same words have we used to describe some contemporary institutions here in San Bernardino? Indeed, I've thought a lot about Santa Fe with regard to Operation Phoenix - both as a solution (recognizing the need for prevention and intervention) and as part of the problem (what can happen when no one's minding the store).
At some point, I'd like to go back - to see with my own eyes if the ghosts of Santa Fe have been exorcised, or merely forgotten.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In light of the Bill Postmus controversy, Josie Gonzales, San Bernardino County's fifth district supervisor, tells me she has voluntarily taken a drug test and will report the findings as soon as she gets them.
County Treasurer Dick Larsen last week proposed random drug screening for elected officials, top administrators and executive staff after revelations surfaced that assessor and former supervisors chairman Postmus spent time in rehab and may have been addicted to meth.
The county's legal team quickly ruled that mandatory random testing would be illegal, but Gonzales said today the public needs to feel assured that their elected leadership takes this issue seriously.
Gonzales is the first supervisor to publicly step up on this. Earlier, Supervisor-elect Neil Derry said he supports random testing.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've just taken two phone calls regarding the lead story in today's Sun involving a study that essentially blames immigrants for contributing to global warming. The calls - one from a reader, one from a well-known political leader - couldn't have been more different.
I'm not going to identify either caller - these were private conversations with the editor and not interviews - but their reaction underscores how highly polarized the immigration debate is.
The reader was upset that the story, in his mind, was sympathetic to "illegal aliens," and he's tired of seeing that in our newspaper. "Just report the facts," he told me.
The public official chalked up the report to demagoguery and wondered what compelled us to even print it. Interestingly, this is a high-ranking Republican whose party is often aligned - rightly or wrongly, fairly or not - with the Center for Immigration Studies, which conducted the study.
It does raise an interesting point about how a newspaper handles - or should handle - a story that, in the paper's best judgment, leads to an unfair, offensive or outrageous conclusion. In this case, the study notes that poor immigrants who move to this country in search of a better life consume more fuel and energy, and produce more carbon dioxide emissions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where this is heading, especially when you factor in the Center of Immigration Studies' far-right approach to the subject matter.
While not dismissing the study out of hand, the reporter approaches it with a certain measure of skepticism. The reader-caller picked up on that, and didn't like it. The public official picked up on it too, but felt it would be ignored by the masses and that the center's "destructive" message is just what the demagogues ordered. His answer - don't print the story.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My old buddy and fellow editor Dave Butler is quick to point out that things tend to get darkest before they go completely black. Which ties in nicely to a conversation I had this morning with David Allen, our columnist at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, about our ever-growing lost sense of community.
It's sort of the "bowling alone" philosophy - that we've increasingly disconnected from things that historically have tied us together. It helps explain why membership is down in social and civic organizations, why in San Bernardino only about 20 percent of voters bothered to cast a ballot in the last mayoral election, and why, today, the two major presidential candidates seem able to sidestep the issue we all seem to care about the most - the economy.
It also helps explain the decline in newspaper readership over the past three decades, but that's a subject for a later post.
The point is, we can sit back and accept it as part of our natural aging process, or try to find ways to restore youth and vigor to a way of life we've come to take for granted.
As a newspaper editor, I see it all the time as it relates to First Amendment issues and your - repeat your - right to know. The code of silence surrounding Bill Postmus' reported drug problems while serving as chairman of the board of supervisors and as county assessor is a vivid example of government self interest trumping your rights as citizens and taxpayers.
It's no more comforting when a member of the board of supervisors claims he or she was unaware of what was going on - knowing that such a troubling admission will create little backlash from a public that by and large couldn't care less about government accountability.
Sadly, words like these are preaching to the choir, since people who engage in blogs and read newspapers tend to be more civic minded.
Which begs the question, how can we better shine a light on a situation that's getting darker by the moment? Let's not let it go completely black.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My favorite story of the day. Can't wait to read about the honeymoon.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My column today, on another adventure in parenting.

And this fanmail from some flounder ...

Steve,
I have no idea how old you are. Shouldn't matter, if you are a parent, you must have knowledge as to how a sperm reaches an egg.

Do Not Wait until your daughter becomes pregnant even before she has a period (you know, MENSTURATION) to tell her "boys lie." The boy will not die if you (the girl/victim) doesn't allow them to relieve the strain they are experiencing between their legs.
Oral.. not sex? Ha! Disease, yes. Spreadable, yes.. very easy. Reputation, easily lost with one posting on the 'net.
When boobs grow, explain why. When hair appears, explain PUBERTY and all that goes along with it.
Blood in her underpants.. assuming she wears any these days. Allow her to express her feelings and fears of what it REALLY means?
If you ain't got no wife, then do you have a mother? Or do you have a sister? Do you have an aunt? A female friend?
If they don't have more experience than you no doubt have, then don't push the subject conversation off on them.
When I was quite young, I was told you could NOT become pregant "the first time." I KNOW this is still being repeated - as we speak.
Explain the dogs fornicating on the lawn. Why? How? Blood every cycle, why? Another fallacy is not getting pregnant during the bleeding stage of sloughing off one's eggs.... Having the above knowledge and more will help clarify that which they have been hearing on TV, the 'net, radio, etc.
Do you hear me, kiddo? Speak the words NOW! Get them understood. Scare the crap out of them so that they know they are dealing with the rest of their lives.
My sister got pregnant without marriage early in her life.. resulting in a "shotgun-wedding." Two unhappy marriages followed... two children... No art school which was her dream. All because she thought that "pulling out" was safe.. The first few drops are the most potent.

I wonder if you will have the nerve to write the story when your kids make you a grandfather "before your or their times."
Your poor, uninformed kids deserve better parenting.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Blogger Sharon Gilbert has an interesting take on transparency in government - a phrase our electeds love to use but struggle to practice. That's putting it nicely, I know.
San Bernardino County is notorious for this, thumping its chest over national awards it wins for making its budget process accessible, then doing everything in its power to keep you in the dark on the stuff it really doesn't want you to know.
When we do find out - example: Bill Postmus' dependency problem - they shamelessly try to convince you that it was still the right thing to do.
In San Bernardino, the Morris administration seems to have played the same game with the Operation Phoenix scandal, arguing that the sanctity of the investigation trumps your right to know. It's a pattern of behavior that lends credibility to former Phoenix chief Glenn Baude's assertion that he was placed on administrative leave at least in part for speaking to the press, the city's denials notwithstanding.
And when does "due process" cross over into deceit and fraud? We'll see what answer emerges in the days and weeks ahead.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our metro editor, George Watson, and I were remarking today how certain significant news items seem to fly by, practically unnoticed, while things we think are less important get a bigger reaction.
Case in point - a story George wrote in yesterday's Sun regarding a war of words between Paul Biane and Bill Postmus. Here's the lead:

Hours after county Assessor Bill Postmus accused Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane of staging a political coup d'etat, Biane responded Tuesday by saying he knew of one occasion when the assessor had gone to a rehabilitation center for substance abuse.

The story has gotten plenty of reaction in the blogosphere. What's interesting is what people are focusing on (Postmus' saucy accusation) and what they're not (Biane's rather startling admission).

Let's put this in context. Rumors of Postmus' drug use and rehab stays have been floating around the county for a couple of years, intensifying when the then Board of Supes' chairman went MIA during wildfires in his district. His colleagues on the board clammed up, the county fought tooth and nail to block our efforts to get access to Postmus' schedule (which may have proved that he was in rehab), and as recently as last week, Biane expressed shock at news reports that Postmus may have been using meth. Here's Biane's direct quote from last Friday:

"I am extremely concerned about the allegation of illegal drug use by Assessor Bill Postmus. I call on the assessor to publicly and personally refute this allegation if it is untrue. Otherwise, the assessor should resign his post immediately."

Four days later, Biane was telling us: "I think it's fair to say that I know he has been to rehab once. In 2006, I was aware that he was leaving for rehab."

To be fair, going to rehab and illegal drug use aren't necessarily one and the same. But Postmus was chairman of the board in 2006 and he was in rehab. Is that not something the public ought to know about? More to the point, how reckless was it for the board and top county administrators to deliberately block efforts to make this information public?

Let's take it a step further. When Postmus decided to leave the board to run for county assessor, he did so with the backing of people like Biane who were clearly aware of his problem. And what about Postmus himself - a man whose life, it appears, was being ripped apart at the seams? Did his "friends" - Biane counts himself among them - simply stand back and allow it to happen?

Whose interests were really being protected here?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A couple in Banning dropped me a line this week to take issue with a column I wrote earlier this year:

Mr. Lambert,
Your column of June 1st, '08, was quite eloquent regarding the loss of a young child. maybe if the 16-year-old child had parents that didn't allow her out at 2 a.m. the morning of this tragedy. If your column was on the lack of parental supervision instead of the experience of losing a child it would have meant more. Nowhere in your column did you mention the time of this accident! Please include all the facts if you are going to write a story again.

While I understand the sentiment, the fact is that we'll never know all the facts. I never lost a child, but I did lose a brother, to suicide. If I've learned anything from that experience, it's that no amount of "what ifs" will ever bring him back. Parents and siblings are human beings, and on occasion, each and every one of us will let our guard down. But for the grace of God go any of us on this one.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The oldest daughter started kindergarten today. My youngest turns 4 on Friday. I turn a year older Sunday. Can we slow things down a little here? Please?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The discussion below on Ryan Hall ("Seeing red (white and blue)") reminds me of the ongoing debate over flag desecration and whether it ought to be a crime. My view hasn't changed since I wrote this column in 1999, as editor of a newspaper in suburban Philadelphia:

Three votes.
It's all that separates free speech as we know it from its most imposing threat in more than 200 years.
At issue: A proposed constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration, one version of which has passed the U.S. House of Representatives while another barrels its way through the Senate.
If backers are successful in getting the necessary 67 Senate votes -- 64 have committed so far -- the amendment would go out to all 50 states for consideration.
On the surface, it might seem an easy call. Flag burning is a stupid, senseless and horribly offensive act -- one that this newspaper, which features the flag symbol in its nameplate, would never condone.
And yet, it is that sense of patriotism -- and our indelible support of free speech as the most precious and fundamental of human rights -- that makes it impossible to defend any such amendment.
By making flag desecration a crime, we give greater value to a piece of cloth, a symbol, than the rights of the people whose freedom it represents. That's not the kind of America our founding fathers envisioned when they crafted the First Amendment, which allows you and us to express ourselves freely and openly regardless of our politics.
Flag burning is a form of expression. Radical, yes. Profoundly unpatriotic, without a doubt. But by banning it, we commit an even greater sin.
For if unpopular forms of expression aren't protected, then nothing is. Make one exception, redraw the line even a little, and the die is cast.
It's a precedent we cannot afford to set.
Nor can we look upon the symbolic desecration of a flag, regardless of that cloth's honor or importance, as more vile or punishable than a Klan march or any other form of expression that insults one's race or religion.
As long as those acts are peaceful, they're protected by the First Amendment.
Sixty-four senators disagree with us. But don't disregard their political motivations. A formal vote isn't expected until sometime in early fall -- right before the November elections.
In the meantime, backers of the flag amendment will be lobbying hard for those three swing votes.
They mustn't get them. We cannot permit ourselves, or vote-starved lawmakers, to get carried away with emotion, politics or a misguided sense of patriotism.
To do so would make a mockery of the very institution flag-amendment supporters want to protect. And send us down the same dangerous path those brave early patriots fought so hard to save us from.

Here's a link to other editorials on the same topic.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The late "Bo" Taylor (left) with Terrance Stone

Among those mourning Monday's death of Darren "Bo" Taylor is Terrance Stone of Young Visionaries Youth Ministries in San Bernardino.
"Man, that was a good dude," Stone told me this afternoon. "He was my mentor. He was the one I called for advice whenever I needed it."
Taylor gained fame as a former Los Angeles gang member turned interventionist. He crusaded against gang violence, working the streets, hosting a radio show and helping to organize, with USC's Pete Carroll, UNITY One, which focuses on intervention and prevention.
He died of cancer.
"I remember when I was still in gang, and he had this intervention thing going, and it helped convince me to turn things around," Stone said.
Today, Young Visionaries is among the most respected gang intervention efforts in the San Bernardino area. When Stone and his group held the first Mynisha's Circle awards ceremony at Cal State San Bernardino in May 2007, Taylor made sure he attended. He also paid Stone's tuition at Cal State LA.
"His personal honesty, his opinion, meant so much to me and others."

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This Getty images picture of Big Bear marathoner Ryan Hall, which ran in The Sun on Aug. 3, drew the wrath of one reader who believes draping the flag is unpatriotic. The reader, a retired Navyman, says the newspaper was insensitive for allowing the picture to be published.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped into an impossible job. He hasn't made it any easier, we argue in this upcoming editorial on the state budget stalemate:

... His fatal flaw, the error that doomed his governorship, was his first gubernatorial act -- slashing the vehicle license fee as he promised he would when he ran to replace Gov. Gray Davis in the 2003 recall election.
Trouble is, without the $6 billion a year or so that the VLF would have been providing, Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have had to borrow more than ever, driving up the state's interest payments.
Worse, just about his whole governorship has consisted of budget bickering and of one budget standoff after another.
Instead of accomplishing big things, the Dems and GOP do nothing but fight about how to deal with the perennial, structural deficit the state faces, which runs about $15.2 billion and counting.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

County Assessor Bill Postmus has decided to open up about allegations of drug use - sort of, well maybe, no not really. Seems a lot words for a "no comment."
We've talked a bit about damage control, especially as it relates to Operation Phoenix. An earlier Sun editorial cited the Tylenol tampering case in the early 1980s as a classic example of how to handle a crisis.
How should Postmus handle his PR nightmare? Tell us what you think.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Beginning with the September issue, Inland Living Magazine - published by our very own Inland Custom Publishing Group - will be available at select Borders, Barnes & Noble and B Dalton bookstores. The following month, at 22 Stater Bros. supermarkets.
The popular magazine had been available through targeted distribution and subscriptions only.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If it hasn't already, the mainstream media's navel gazing over our handling of the John Edwards affair is about to outlast public interest in the story itself.
It's understandable, on a certain level. Former presidential candidate admits to an affair that the mainstream media had all but ignored despite dogged reporting by supermarket tabs.
Were we asleep at the wheel?
Were we protecting a candidate?
Or were we simply too proud to acknowledge that we'd had our bottoms handed to us by the National Enquirer?
Local newspapers can claim some immunity since these are not stories we typically report on directly, but rely on our wire services to provide us.
And yet, there are parallels between a story like this and, say, the Bill Postmus case. When the Victor Valley Daily Press last week broke the story of the county assessor's alleged methamphetamine addiction - and when we followed the story up the next day - we'd merely confirmed whispers that have been around for months.
Several things enter into play there, most notably the relevance of the story and our ability to confirm it.
In the case of Edwards, the national media seemed to treat it largely as a non-story, one that became even less relevant as Edwards' candidacy weakened. In truth, it has more to do with arrogance, and our skepticism of anything reported by someone other than our own.
The relevance of the Postmus story, on the other hand, is indisputable, and is at the center of our two-year effort - including a lawsuit - to gain access to his calendar and other documents.
The problem was confirming what so many in county government seemed to know.
I've talked in previous posts about the use of unnamed sources and other devices reporters use to confirm information. In upcoming posts, we'll talk more about libel laws and media ethics.
In the meantime, here's what some others are saying about the Edwards story.
What say you?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My daughter's all set for kindergarten, which starts Wednesday. What's it all mean? Here's an excerpt from my column, which publishes in Sunday's Sun:

I can try to look at this rationally - as simply a transition from preschool to something more serious. But when it comes to our kids, parents can never really see things objectively.
These are our little babies, long after they seek fame, fortune and heartbreak on their own. And as we get older, their road from kindergarten to high school graduation becomes a superhighway, where time and brand-new life experiences flash at warp speed.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's an interesting vantage point - from the middle here - to watch both sides in the Operation Phoenix debate continue to throw very personal barbs toward each other. I was particularly taken by a recent post that started out with pointed criticism of the city's structure, but which quickly went into attack mode on Jim Penman and Wendy McCammack.
A part of me can understand that, given the attacks going the other way, which begs the Rodney King-esque question, why CAN'T we all just get along?
We tried to make this point during last year's race for city attorney, when it became apparent that the preferred candidate of the mayor's office was simply there to try to get Penman out of the way. It was one of the reasons the newspaper endorsed Penman, to underline that when it comes to collaboration, you need to walk the walk.
A year later, we're no further along.
It's easy to blame the other side for being less than cooperative. Not so easy to blame yourself for being less than fair.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

By demand:

While her more outspoken contemporaries - most notably, Wendy McCammack and Neil Derry - tend to grab the headlines, San Bernardino City Council member Esther Estrada seems to find the right moment to say the right thing.

A formal inquiry, played out in public, appears to be the only way to get those answers. With the subpoena powers the council apparently has, we encourage other council members to line up behind Estrada's suggestion and push forward with a full-fledged probe.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As I touched on in a post yesterday, newspapers were late to the game when it came to the internet.
We feared it. We didn't understand it. We avoided it in hopes it would go away.
Result: eBay, craigslist and social networks such as myspace and youtube - each of which grabbed pieces of what we did, took advantage of emerging technology and captured huge handfuls of an audience we'd taken for granted.
In this regard, newspapers aren't that different than other struggling industries. Like them, we're trying to make up lost ground - with mixed results.
Though our own web traffic is growing - at sbsun.com, July page views were nearly double the total from a year earlier - making enough money online is a challenge. There, too, we're not alone. Traditional revenue models don't always fit online, which is why even something as wildly popular as youtube was losing millions of dollars a year when Google bought it for $1.65 billion in 2006.
What Google is banking on is widening its own portfolio of online services - adding social networking to its already powerful search business - and in the process, creating more advertising opportunities. While it remains to be seen if that gamble will pay off, it underscores the variety of ways people use the internet, and the need to continue changing, continue adapting.
This blog is an extremely modest example of that - a way for the newspaper to better interact with the community.
A more vivid example is the work our senior content editor Louis Amestoy is doing on the Western Region Little League tournament - combining words, pictures, video and live audio streaming in a way that has driven overall sbsun.com traffic to more than 100,000 page views a day, or the equivalent of 3 million a month. That variety - and the traffic it generates - creates very different opportunities for advertisers, large and small.
We see that now, and are willing and eager to devote resources to grow and diversify our audience.
NEXT: The internet and the newspaper's public service mission.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Input from some of you helped shape tomorrow's Sun editorial, in support of San Bernardino City Councilmember Esther Estrada's call for an investigation into Operation Phoenix. Here's an excerpt:

The blogosphere is rattling with posts supporting Estrada and demanding more openness by the Morris administration.
Even the attorney hired by ousted Phoenix director Glenn Baude said he would "welcome the full-blown city inquiry hinted at by Councilwoman Estrada for the sake of the city and my client."
A far cooler response came from Mayor Pat Morris, who told our reporter, "it is the job of the city manager and mayor to keep the council apprised on city administrative matters and answer their questions." That's part of the problem, and why we support a full-blown investigation by the council.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Reporters Robert Rogers and Andrew Edwards have an interesting post, on their SBNow blog, from the lawyer for former Operation Phoenix director Glenn Baude. You might recognize James Curtis from his days on Court TV, E! Entertainment and his own syndicated show, Curtis Court. He's also a former Riverside County District Attorney. I met Curtis at Black Voice News Publisher Hardy Brown's annual birthday/fundraiser last December ... he's a good MC, too.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Something we do as editors that we never used to is measure what's being read online. We'll discuss this in greater length in future posts - including how those of us in print news resisted the internet for far too long - but I thought I would quickly share with you some web-traffic highlights from our coverage of the Western Region Little League tournament.
Senior content editor, and Sun-Bulletin web guru, Louis Amestoy reports the following:

- Monday and Tuesday were the busiest days on sbsun.com this year. Two of the busiest ever with more than 130,000 page views.
- We've had five consecutive days of 100,000-plus page views.
- In the first five days of the tournament, sbsun.com has generated more than 600,000 page views.
- Average page views per monthly visitor is a whopping 12.2 page views, which testifies to the strength of our photo galleries.
- We've had more than 370,000 page views into our photo galleries since August 1. Almost all of the Little League galleries have topped 10,000 page views, while some have eclipsed the 25,000 mark.
- The Little League blog has been updated more than 140 times and has generated more than 4,100 page views. Last year, the blog generated about 1,200 views.
- The first 18 games have been streamed live with play-by-play and nearly 10,000 unique viewers have listened to these streaming webcasts. The games have been called by staff and Little League volunteers.

These are more than just numbers, but speak to the growing demand for immediate news and information online. It's a whole new world ...

Posted by Steve Lambert at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I blogged last week about the editorial board process. I was at our San Gabriel Valley newspaper today and couldn't make our editorial board meeting, but our assistant editorial page editor, Jessica Keating, said Operation Phoenix was the topic of the day.

There was some concern about the selection of a city manager following Fred Wilson's resignation, and that in light of the Operation Phoenix scandal, the mayor needs to choose someone who can right the ship.

Our community board members were happy that council member Esther Estrada spoke up about a possible inquiry into Phoenix, while several board members said they were tiring of Chief of Staff Jim Morris doing the mayor's talking.

Speaking of, I've been asked a few times recently why The Sun would keep referring to Jim Morris as Pat Morris' son, since it is generally known in the community. This is something we've discussed here. The prevailing thought is that it is relevant given 1) that Jim Morris is not on the city's payroll because of nepotism rules, and 2) the very visible way the younger Morris represents his father in the community. It is not, as some have suggested, a "dig," but an important point of reference.

What say you? Are we beating a dead horse with this one?

Posted by Steve Lambert at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Something you can expect to read about more, here and elsewhere, is the opportunity exporting provides businesses of all sizes in helping to push us out of recession.
Larry Sharp, president and chief operating officer of Arrowhead Credit Union, and Lori Van Arsdale, a city council member in Hemet, dropped by this morning to talk about a major conference that's taking place in Palm Springs in October to encourage small and medium-size businesses in particular to take advantage of export opportunities.
"Long term, we have to get out of our dependence on housing to drive our economy," Sharp said.
That's true in many parts of the country, and certainly so here in the Inland Empire, where the housing downturn has had a ripple effect throughout the economy.
Sharp and Van Arsdale are part of the California Inland Empire District Export Council, one of four DEC's in California. The groups are part of a collaborative with the U.S. Commerce Department to increase exports from the United States, even up our trade imbalance and kick start the economy.
One example they cite is the "green" industry, which has the potential of generating trillions of dollars in revenues and is heavily in demand worldwide as countries 1) look to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, and 2) have become more sensitive to environmental concerns.
That's certainly an opportunity in the IE, which many believe could become a green-industry incubator in the years ahead.
It doesn't have to be something of that magnitude, however. With the emergence of internet-base marketplaces, mom-and-pop shops can become big-time exporters. Van Arsdale cites, as an example, Bear Flag Republic in Hemet, which specializes in vintage clothing and memorabilia and now does most of its business online - 60 percent to 70 percent of which goes overseas.
The District Export Council meeting is Oct. 15-18 at the Wyndham Hotel in Palm Springs. Registration is available online at www.decconference.com.

FOOTNOTE: Many of you know that Mr. Sharp has been battling some health issues. I'm pleased to report that he looks great and shows no sign of jumping off the fast lane.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The antithesis of the previous post is the annual Black Rose Awards, designed to honor what's right and good in our community. It's sponsored by the Black Culture Foundation, which has put out a call for nominations for this year's recipients. Here are the details, from our friends at Dameron Communications in San Bernardino:

If you know someone who gives their time to make a better community, the Black Culture Foundation wants to know about them. It's seeking nominees for the 19th Annual Black Rose, Humanitarian of the Year and Community Volunteer of the Year awards. It will present these awards Friday, Sept. 26 at a dinner in the Valencia Room of the National Orange Show Grounds. "We are looking for people who are doing over and above what they are paid to do every day," says Margaret Hill, chairman of the Black Rose Awards program. "Many of these people don't toot their own horn, but do so much for the community, they deserve recognition."

To give the committee time to review all nominees, nomination forms should be turned in by Aug. 22. To obtain a nomination form, contact Hill at (909) 864-3267. Although the awards program focuses on the Black community in San Bernardino, Hill says, an award winner need not be Black, nor a resident of the city. Many community leaders in law enforcement, education and other public venues have been recognized, and people living in places such as Riverside, Chino, Rialto and Fontana have received the awards in honor of work done to benefit the Inland Empire as a whole.

The Foundation is selling tickets to the awards ceremony for $50 each. Tables of 10 can be reserved for $500. To order tickets or reserve a table, contact Hill at (909) 864-3267. The event begins at 6 p.m. in the National Orange Show - Valencia Room, 689 South E Street, San Bernardino. (Access is on Arrowhead Ave.) It starts with a social hour, followed by dinner and the ceremony at 7 p.m.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In tomorrow's Sun, metro editor George Watson writes one of the best perspective pieces I've read on why vigilance is so important when it comes to exposing wrongdoing in our county and seeing to it that it doesn't continue to rear its ugly head. Here's a sliver:

"So here we are once again, the county has found itself back in the news, and it ain't good. For most folks outside of the area, the names may change from Eaves to Hlawek to Foster to Postmus, but the story remains the same. The county has a sullied reputation that for folks like (Stater Bros. chairman Jack) Brown, not only makes life a little harder, but bothers them to their core. It just forces people to wonder about the legitimacy of anything that comes out of the county, even if it's not government-related."

Posted by Steve Lambert at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm off to the Western Region Little League tournament, just a few miles from our offices here. Once again, hats off to our senior content editor, Louis Amestoy, who finds new ways to ramp up our tournament coverage each year. Check out this year's tourney blog and other coverage.
I'll have to admit, it won't be quite as much fun for me this year. In '07, my first cousin managed the Arizona team, which won the tournament and earned a trip to Williamsport. But it is baseball. The kids love it. Their parents love it. And we're lucky here in San Bernardino to host it.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's how "off the record" typically works. A reporter might have a private conversation with a source in an effort to find out what's really happening, with the understanding that the information would not be linked to that source but instead independently corraborated by others.
Sometimes the rules aren't followed, and it forces everyone to do damage control.
Right now, the Morris administration is taking a hit in the blogosphere for what appear to have been off-the-record comments by Chief of Staff Jim Morris to another newspaper in the region. Shortly after the story was posted online, it was removed, replaced by a sanitized version.
My favorite off-the-record tale followed a plane crash in Denver in the late '80s. I was a junior editor at the Rocky Mountain News at the time, and several of us in the newsroom were watching a TV news reporter do a live interview with an FAA official. Unable to get the answer she wanted on some piece of information, the reporter - live, on the air - asked if he would confirm it "off the record" ... in front of half a million viewers.
Usually, we're smarter than that - knowing, if nothing else, that if we burn a source, we're not likely to get him or her back.
Many of the facts that have emerged in recent weeks on the Operation Phoenix story and Bill Postmus' struggles began as off-the-record, or deep background, information, which we later fleshed out through good followup reporting. That's how it ought to work.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a link (sort of) to my appearance this morning on Dennis Baxter's radio show on KCAA, 1050 AM. Hit the podcast button under Dennis' picture. You'll need an audio player on your computer. I'm an hour and 30 minutes into the show, so you can scroll your way there. We talked newspapers, blogging, Operation Phoenix and Mynisha's Circle. Thanks to Dennis and crew for their hospitality.

Posted by Steve Lambert at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)