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Yes We Cannes! The Yacht That Tells a Lacht -- Everything, Actually -- About Copley Newspapers
By Don Bauder | Posted June 10, 2008, 1:06 p.m.
There is a great Mel Brooks satire about the French Revolution. Count de Monet (pronounced Count da Money) rushes up to King Louis and screams, "Your majesty, your majesty, the peasants are revolting!!" Replies Louis, "That's right. They stink on ice." In this context, seldom have I heard more comment about a Copley Press story than I have heard about a Burl Stiff society column Sunday (June 8). The dateline was Cannes, France. Stiff effervesced about "tuxedos and champagne in the afternoon" and "glamorous parties on gorgeous yachts till dawn's early light." Copley Publisher "David Copley brought his yacht, Happy Days, to Cannes for this year's [film] festival." He brought some La Jolla Beautiful People with him, and mixed with the likes of Lady Monika Bacardi of Monaco. Meanwhile, back in San Diego, the Union-Tribune was raising the newsstand price to 75 cents after cutting back sharply on editorial content and quality. There were extensive employee buyouts in 2006 and 2007 and layoffs in 2008. Employees expect bureaus to be closed and more layoffs this summer. Those running SignOnSanDiego have gone to the guillotine, but the product has shown no improvement. The Internet radio experiment bombed. The company has dumped Illinois and Ohio papers and peeled off other assets, leaving only the U-T and the tiny Borrego Sun. Management admits that revenue and profits are down sharply. But there is one thing you can say about Stiff's Cannes story: employees and ex-employees almost never read the Beautiful People columns. This one got a lot of readership. And comment.
Once again we see history repeat itself. While David fiddles in Cannes spending his inherited millions, the Copley Press burns. We all know anything neglected eventually dies. In this case the sooner the better as the U/T is a disaster as it biased reporting undermines its creditability. This raises the question; is the paper significant any longer. I suppose the answer is Yes, if you’re an advertiser, and no, if you’re looking for the truth.
While the “news industry” has been, and is, going through dramatic changes, the sooner Mr. Copley decided to divest himself of this remnant, the one formerly known as the Copley Press, the better for San Diego in general.
By JustWondering 6:49 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #1: David Copley has had a heart transplant and may have decided he will party for the rest of his life. (He partied plenty before the surgery, too.) That is his decision, and I don't dispute it. But to display his conspicuous consumption in his own newspaper at a time when the paper's quality is declining sharply while the price goes up, and the company battles with severely depressed employees (fighting with the Teamsters, protesting when ex-employees file for unemployment compensation, e.g.), the company is publicly thumbing its nose both at its customers and at its employees. The fact that no one prevented this obscenity tells you all you need to know about that company. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 9:29 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Ira and James Copley must be rotating in their graves. It's too bad that when Jim Copley started chasing his secretary around the office he could not foresee what her son would one day turn into. The first Mrs. Copley must laugh her head off that the son of the tramp who wrecked her marriage is now wrecking the paper itself.
By HellcatCopley 10:27 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
David Copley is a lazy trust funder-nothing more.
Copley can party the rest of his life all he wants to, BUT, he has a duty, maybe not a legal duty- but a moral and ehtical duty to the paper, it's employees and the City and County of San Diego, to run the company in a responsible manner.
If the paper folds there will be thousands of people out of work, both directly and indirectly from such a disaster. The taxpayers would then end up footing the bill for the social services these out of work people would end up using.
So what Copley is doing may be legal, but it is ethically and morally wrong. Very wrong.
A wise man once told me that you can tell the TRUE character of a person by watching how they treat people they DON'T need. That is true with Copley. He cares about one person and one person only-David Copley.
I'll be honest with you, I have no respect for that trust funder-never have and never will. If he had a heart attack and croaked over tomorrow I would not sweat it one bit. I know, that is cold, but that is how I honestly feel about the guy.
By JohnnyVegas 11:01 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Last, compare David Copley to Ottis Chandler of the L.A. Times.
Night and day. Both trust funders for sure. But Chandler worked his tail off in every single department of the L.A. Times, starting when he was 15 years old, and turned that paper, IMO, into the best in the country (OK, many people say the NY Times is the best-not me).
A true sign of character-for both.
By JohnnyVegas 11:05 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #3: Your calling Mrs. Copley a tramp is quite harsh, I believe. Also, the collapse of the U-T has arisen largely from demographic and technological factors. However, your observations, as always, are astute: the U-T has done worse than other metro dailies. Since David has been CEO, he has to take the blame, even though, as far as I can determine, he is not very active. But whom else do you blame? The sloppy, juvenile hit pieces have to have been tolerated, if not encouraged, at the top of the organization. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 11:29 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #4: If David Copley wants to party (and as far as I can figure, that is all he has ever done), he has a responsibility to make sure that competent people run the paper so that the community is informed. But that is not happening. The U-T is not a reliable source of information. San Diegans are cheated. The word, however, never makes it too the yacht, aptly named Happy Days. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 11:36 a.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #5: Yes, Otis Chandler did an excellent job at the LA Times. He, too, must be turning over in his grave. One wonders if Sam Zell will destroy the entire Tribune organization, including the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, several other papers and TV stations and the Chicago Cubs, who are finally winning games. The Cubs haven't won a title for 100 years or so; wouldn't it be ironic if they were headed for the World Series, then failed financially before they got there? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 12:10 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Perhaps "tramp" seems harsh, but I would bet dollars to donuts that the first Mrs. Copley called Helen worse than that.
By HellcatCopley 12:27 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
You know, Don, if the UT were a well-respected paper and David was known for working himself sick (as opposed to partying himself sick) then it would be a tragedy to watch demographics and technological factors undo it. But this seems more like just desserts. In 1974 Helen froze the paper in amber journalistically and then did not make any plans beyond tossing control of into the lap of her obviously incompetent son. She must have realized during the decades-long period between her asumption of control and her death that David was not and could never be up to the task. What is happening now could have been predicted from 'way off.
By HellcatCopley 12:37 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #9: You may be right on that observation. There is a long court record that might contain some interesting epithets used by all sides. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 5:11 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #10: As I understand it, Helen was told by one top Copley executive back in the 1970s that David did not have it. That Copley executive was fired and went on to a top job at a larger and much more prestigious metro daily. I recently talked with a friend of his who says that he is not talking about it. I assume that omerta was part of his departure package. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 5:17 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Re: David Copley and the San Diego Union Tribune
One can't but help but think of the following quotation from William Blake:
"A dog starv'd at his master's gate predicts the ruin of the State".
By Portofinoan 10:09 p.m., Jun 11, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #13: An apt statement, that. A former executive of the U-T used to say, "Absentee ownership is one thing. Absentee management is quite another." That executive -- a very good one -- was fired. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:01 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Corpulent Copley cuts loose dozens of woefully underpaid employees, yet retains the pricey services of Burl Stiff. You can't fault Dave for not having a sense of humor.
By Scott_Marks 8:42 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Interesting aside: Burl Stiff has not been an employee of the UT for a l-o-o-o-ng time. Rather, he's an independent contractor for the "society" column. The fact that the UT even publishes such rot as a "society" column underscores Helen and David's inability to keep up with the times and understand the demongraphics of the city. Having ageing La Jolla socialite Karin Winner at the helm does not help anything. I doubt la Winner could find Lemon Grove or Santee or Clairemont on a map -- they just don't exist in her gilded realm. Sometimes I am surprised she can find her way from her digs in La Jolla to her job in Mission Valley ... bet she gets lost all the time. La Winner's great-grandpappy was Col. Milton A. McRae, co-founder of Scripps-McRae (now Scripps-Howard) and United Press International. I guess being related to someone gives you qualifications.
By HellcatCopley 10:12 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Here is a link to an excellent article published by the L.A. Times on death of Otis Chandler. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-...
By anony_mous 10:27 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
In 1999, The LA Times published a special Sunday magazine devoted to the Staples Center.
The Times had agreed to share the profits from the issue with Staples Center as part of a complicated arrangement by which The Times became a "founding partner" of the arena.
When Otis Chandler found out he issued a statement that included the folowing:
..."If a newspaper, even a great newspaper like the Los Angeles Times, loses credibility with its community, with its readers, with its advertisers, with its shareholders, that is probably the most serious circumstance that I can possibly envision. Respect and credibility for a newspaper is irreplaceable."
Even having been almost 15 yrs removed from an active role in the paper, Chandler cared deeply about how The Times was regarded.
I can't fathom anything like this coming from David Copley. It's pretty obvious he cares nothing about his "moral and ehtical duty" to the paper.
By anony_mous 10:42 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #15: Yes, Burl Stiff and Diane Bell are both star columnists. What do visitors to San Diego, who happen to pick up the newspaper, conclude about the town? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 11:13 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #16: Yes, Burl Stiff has been on a contract basis for as long as he has been writing the column, as far as I know. When I was with the paper (for 30 years) I always thought that one of the most deleterious misjudgments Copley executives made was to mix with La Jolla high society. Then to publicize this mixing in the Copley paper was even a worse mistake. All the time I was there I avoided mixing with the Beautiful People except at certain functions tied to San Diego Opera, to which I was a major donor and board and advisory board member (and opera lover). And even at some opera events, the business establishment would arrange the seating so that I would be with top execs who would tell me not very subtly that I should provide more help to local businesses. I would politely say my job was not to help local businesses; it was to report fairly and honestly about their activities. I aimed my reporting at investors, not at the executives. They were not appeased. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 11:49 a.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Don, Don ... 30 years with the paper and you apparently never got the picture: in the 1960s Helen Copley was viewed by "La Jolla Society" as a homewrecker and uneducated mid-western boor. It took the cache of certain families (notably the Scripps/McRae/Winner clans) to open a few doors for her. The paper was a vehicle to buy Helen some level of social acceptance: thus, the perpetuation of a "society" column long after they had any relevance. Notice the family name "Winner" here -- as in newsdoll Karin Winner, the ageing La Jolla socialite who nominally is the editor of the UT.
By HellcatCopley 2:01 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
I aimed my reporting at investors, not at the executives. They were not appeased. Best, Don Bauder
============================================
And the crusades against the ballpark scams certainly proved that up!
I think a majority of residents were in your corner on those scams, and if not then they certainly are now.
By JohnnyVegas 2:02 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
I have always wondered how Burl Stiff wound up replacing Eileen Jackson as society columnist after she died. I also believe that Burl Stiff is a pen name, and not his real name.
By Burwell 7:53 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #21: I wasn't in San Diego in the 1960s, so can't comment on the opinion of La Jolla society then. (Even if I had been, I wouldn't have known the Beautiful People's predilections.) Yes, Karin Winner is a Scripps, and not a distant one. She is a direct descendant of those at the very top of the Scripps clan. When word of this got out, employees knew she would make it to the top. I agree that the U-T's continuing coverage of high society is atavistic. Most newspapers have given that up. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:41 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #17: Definitely worth reading on Otis Chandler. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:44 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #18: I remember that controversy and Otis Chandler's reaction while in retirement. There were several things about that incident that couldn't have happened at the U-T. First, LA Times staffers raised hell about it, and publicly. No one would have dared to do that at the U-T. Second, the LA Times published a lot about the controversy, and much of it was self-criticism. The Union-Tribune has never tolerated self-criticism, except over some picayune issue. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:48 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #22: The community voted for the ballpark subsidy 60-40. We few opponents warned that the City couldn't afford it and the infrastructure would suffer grievously. We were right on both counts, but I'm not sure the community would change its mind even now. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:52 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #23: I believe Stiff worked for an advertising agency when he was given a Copley contract. He still may. He had a close friend at the paper, I understand. I believe his real name is Burl Stiff. I barely know him, but I have never disliked him personally. I just think that his fawning coverage of high society is out of date. I even have a low opinion of such journalism when he covers a San Diego Opera event. And I think the San Diego Opera is the best thing about San Diego. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:59 p.m., Jun 12, 2008 > Report it
I'm not sure what a story about a rich boy spending his inheritance legally is doing in a blog labeled "Scam Diego," and I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the vitriol is being hurled by a guy cut loose from the very same (competitor) publication that he trashes on a regular basis.
Ditto for the childish attacks on the harmless if irrelevant Mr. Stiff. Yes, Don, the company that dumped you is in financial difficulty, as is virtually every traditional print periodical, whether run by the Beautiful People or Heroes of Labor. (See: Times, New York). And the sun rises in the East.
Yawn.
By observer 7:05 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Don, were you "a guy cut loose from the very same (competitor) publication that he trashes"?
Or is "observer" trash talking you??
I thought you retired from the UT.
By JohnnyVegas 8:21 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #29: Yours is an interesting post but it has one fatal flaw: I was not fired or "cut loose," as you put it, by the Union-Tribune. If anyone in authority at the U-T tells you that, the person is either uninformed or lying. It is certainly fair to say that the U-T was delighted to get rid of me. But my retirement was 100 percent my decision, and I never discussed the possibility of it with anybody in authority at the U-T until roughly three weeks before it happened. My wife and I had already built our retirement home before the U-T knew anything about it. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:27 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
I have a mental picture of David Copley stepping onto Happy Days, causing it to list 20 degrees.
Really, he makes sumo wrestlers look skinny.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he the inspiration for the Monty Python "Wafer Thin Mint" sketch in the movie Meaning of Life?
By Fred_Williams 9:22 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #30: Yes, I retired from the U-T, as I state above. No one pushed me out the door, although I was despised by many in top management, both in La Jolla and Mission Valley, and several had been trying to get Helen Copley to fire me for years, even before I opposed the Chargers and Padres giveaways.They didn't like my columns about scams, criticism of corporate accounting, and warnings that the stock market was crazy in the late 1990s, among many things. The business community complained vociferously about me, but I did have readership and the company knew it, and that's why I was not canned. Beginning in late '02, we put our Mt. Helix house on the market, but managed to keep it secret. We had a kinky escrow on that house. In March of '03 I informed the editor that it was possible I would retire that month if the escrow went through. I never heard from her for ten days. (They may have been celebrating.) In any case, the escrow went through and it appeared that I had left abruptly. In fact, the U-T wrote that I had left abruptly, and I considered that disingenuous because I had told the editor that I might be retiring that month and had heard nothing. So there were only 5 or 6 work days between the announcement and the time I retired, but that was because of the ten days in which I had received no response. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 9:30 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #27: The ballpark vote was a classic example of what is wrong with "democracy" as practiced in San Diego.
First, a wealthy special interest with a billion dollar development at stake put up almost $3 million dollars to promote the measure. There was nothing close to an equal incentive for any one party to step up to contribute a substantial sum against the measure.
Second, as the Grand Jury found in their investigation: "The Grand Jury concludes that the City of San Diego Mayor and possibly other members of the City Government may have violated the laws governing the conduct of public officials once an issue has been placed upon the ballot for voter action, specifically: after August 8, 1998, the date upon which the issue was placed on the ballot, by planning and taking improper steps designed to produce a favorable vote on the Proposition C, the Redevelopment and Ballpark Project, on November 3, 1998."
The pro Prop C people (primarily funded by the Padres, of course) outspent the group against prop C 111 to 1. Put into perspective, the Padres spent $8.84 for every yes vote, while the opposition spent $0.13 for every no vote. With the city illegally promoting the measure, the Padres winning the National league pennant, the city's illegal boosterism and the fact almost no campaign was raised against it, still over 40% over the voters rejected it. If it was an honest measure about building a stadium (rather than being a "redevelopment") it would have required 2/3 vote and would have lost. Of course on top of everything else, the city and Padres then did a bait and switch and didn't adhere to the MOU that was voted on.
Funny that many of the same people complaining about Francis spending his own money to run for mayor had no problem with the Padres spending more in 1998 dollars to push through their billion dollar development than Francis spent running for mayor.
By paul 10:10 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Yes Don, I was pretty sure you had retired, “observer” is just trash talking for whatever reason.
I know I read the UT for two reasons, 1) was Ann Landers-had been reading her since 1980, they added in Dear Abbey later which was an added bonus!
And number 2) your column.
First, I always thought you knew the financial workings of corporate America inside out, and could always communicate your knowledge to the readers.
Second, your business philosophy was on many levels identical to mine. For instance, in one of your columns you stated corporations have a duty to MORE than the shareholders, they had a duty to the share holders-but they also had a duty to the employees and to the country. I think that pretty much sums up your philosophy (and mine) to business and life. There is more to it than a one sided, one dimensional business or corporate paradigm.
Now, the last thing that always had me wondering was this;
I read many good business writers (LA Times had a good guy back then…cannot recall his name, but not as good as you), and I always thought the UT was “minor league” for you. I thought you should have been at a bigger paper/media-like the LA Times or the WSJ, or a magazine like BusinessWeek or something similar. Did you ever have opportunities to go to a bigger media??
Or were you just happy staying at the UT???
By JohnnyVegas 11:56 a.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #34: Yes, Prop. C was very ugly indeed for those who believe in democracy. John Moores promised to build all kinds of buildings in the ballpark district, particularly hotels, but reneged with the permission of the city council, and mainly sold land to builders of condos, which are largely empty today. Clearly, it violated the MOU, which had declared that there would be another vote if the mix of structures would be changed. But then a disgraceful kangaroo court threw out the suit asking that the city adhere to the MOU. Moores showered gifts on Councilmember Valerie Stallings. He got nothing and she got a hand slap. Lawyer Charles La Bella got him out of that. Then Moores dumped hundreds of millions of dollars of Peregrine stock during the fraud period, even though the lawyer of the company had warned him that he could not sell because he had inside information about a pending merger that would depress the stock. La Bella led a laughable study that whitewashed Moores on that. Two superior court judges and one federal court judge are trying to get Moores off the hook on Peregrine civil suits. The U.S. attorney's office used the whitewash as a model for criminal cases against other Peregrine executives who had sold comparatively little stock.The judge in those cases wouldn't let defense lawyers mention how much stock Moores had dumped. Can anyone blame San Diegans for being cynical? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 1:10 p.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #35: Actually, I was at Business Week for nine years before going to the Union-Tribune. After getting my Master's, I spent four years in advertising and PR and then jumped at the chance to join Business Week as a reporter in Chicago in 1964. Two years later I was named bureau chief in Cleveland. I was there for seven years. While there, I did a big investigative piece, and was told I could cover organized crime in business. I then did a piece about an organized crime-controlled brokerage house. However, the regional vice president of McGraw-Hill (owner of Business Week), along with the president of the McGraw-Hill publications company, were friends of the head of the mob-controlled brokerage. The advertising side of the business managed to get the story completely gutted, particularly the role of a tiny Swiss bank, also mob-connected, which managed to dump 90 percent of a stock at profits of close to a million percent before the stock collapsed. All that was left out of the story, even though it was a matter of public record. The brokerage then pulled another scam while I was there, and BW printed it, but I had long since decided I had had enough. In 1978, Forbes printed the whole story. It was one of the most satisfying things of my career, even though my name wasn't connected to it. I had simply told Forbes the things -- a matter of public record -- that Business Week wouldn't print. Thank goodness, I still have the letters that Business Week sent to the crooks, apologizing for their reporter. (I must say that Business Week is now a very good publication. Back then, it was written and edited for the advertisers, not the readers.) Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 1:30 p.m., Jun 13, 2008 > Report it
Paul, you got it exactly right. I was there.
You missed one thing though. The media picked the opposition spokesperson.
The only opponent to Prop. C they would ever allow on air was a nice woman who was always very polite and soft spoken. They ignored anyone with rhetorical big guns.
So they put this nice woman on the air, who was easily flustered, and pretended she was the only voice against the ballpork rip-off.
Yet another favor to their business partners at the Padres.
Both before and after the vote, all the television, radio, and other news outlets had marketing deals with the Padres including ticket giveaways, special access to the star players, and exclusives for their deliberately ignoring what happened during the re-writing of the MOU.
This is why I continue to advocate suing the Padres for our money back. It was a deliberate fraud, including criminal extortion and conversion, as well as bribery of public officials.
Remember, we are all paying for the ballpork, right out of the general fund, in direct contradiction to what the voters approved.
Until 2037!!!
Disgusting.
By Fred_Williams 8:30 a.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
fred williams you and your humongous lesions are killing the world with stink and foul materials. why dont you roll up your tent and move to another more suitable locale...like a third world nightmare of your chosing.
By fumber 12:42 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
"I have a mental picture of David Copley stepping onto Happy Days, causing it to list 20 degrees."
Grate minds think alike, Fred. Here is my feeble PhotoShop rendition of our dream photo: http://tinyurl.com/5e3g3b
Haven't enjoyed reading a comments section as much as this in ages. Thanks for the spark, Don!
By Scott_Marks 1:13 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
"Forget about Edy Williams topless in a fountain; this year’s celebratory vat of escapist merchandising culminated in one of my Uncle’s penultimate achievements."
==========================================
Hahahhahahaaa........ That was funny;
http://tinyurl.com/5e3g3b
Don't be sweating Edy Williams, I watch her Academy Award winning performance in "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" at least once a week, and her old spots on the Beverly Hill Billies whenever they do he re-runs.
Pretty funny gimmick page!
By JohnnyVegas 2:52 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #38: The text book, "Sports Economics," devotes space to one of the major problems of sports welfare elections: the media are almost uniformly in favor of the giveaway of taxpayer money, because they stand so much to gain, particularly advertising. With the money and the media on your side, how can you lose? Ask Jerry Sanders. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:26 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #39: Fumber, you sound exactly like the kind of San Diego jockstrap worshipper that pushed the ballpark scam through. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:28 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #40: The Shelter Island Lutheran Picayune should be must reading. Hilarious. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:33 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #41: Here's how out of it I am: I didn't recognize the name of the movie stars attending the soiree, other than Madonna. Seems like I read about her in the title of a Renaissance painting. Or was that a different Madonna? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:36 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Don, how could you NOT know who Edy Williams is???? Shame on you!
Here Edy Williams is in her prime (60's/70's);
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3798702080/n...
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/images/...
And her she is today;
http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3002166.j...
By JohnnyVegas 9:54 p.m., Jun 14, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #46: Wow. Mea maxima culpa. The photos of her in the 60s/70s looked wonderful, but I drew a blank on the photo of her today. Maybe it's my computer. In any case, if you see her regularly, Johnny, tell her I profusely apologize for not having recognized her name. Next time I will know it. On the other hand, I'll bet she doesn't know my name. And has never seen a picture of me in the raw. That's what I get for not running with that Cannes crowd. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 6:01 a.m., Jun 15, 2008 > Report it
The Shelter Island Lutheran Picayune is the finest newspaper in this part of the world.
Scott Marks is one of their most perceptive writers.
Some recent news stories he's broke:
"No news of journalists strike"
"Earthquake hits -- La Jollan's lunch interrupted"
"San Diego renamed Mooresville"
I've been following the Shelter Island Lutheran Picayune (SILP) for decades now. I used to know the financial editor there, Braun Daughter, but I hear he's retired and now writes for some weekly.
The only issue I have with SILP is the owner, Cop Davely, a skinny runt who does nothing but read books in his modest studio apartment. He's always opposing things like stadiums and public money for political conventions. I just wish he'd occassional be a booster for the region and its benefactors.
By Fred_Williams 7:35 a.m., Jun 15, 2008 > Report it
Re: 39 and 43...
"Jock strap"? Don, you have a potty mouth!
Fumber is actually an "athletic supporter". Isn't that much nicer?
It's important to make such distinctions and use nice language.
For example, just the other day I was hauling my humongous lesions (much nicer than pus sores) around in a sanitation vehicle (much nicer than "garbage truck"), when I ran over inhabitants of a third world nation (much nicer than "gutter snipes").
Painted on the side of my sanitation vehicle was the legitimate and honorable sports business (much nicer than "Padres and Chargers") logos displaying my pride and loyalty (much nicer than "sniveling mindless servitude") to our local teams (much nicer than "mercenary players for hire").
See, Don, how with just a few changes to your language you may some day reach the heights of expository brilliance that fumber provides this humble publication.
Fumber, again, thank you for your kind words and loving support. As always, you are welcome to savor the fresh taste of some sweet, sweet santorum any time you desire, and I'll be happy to provide you a steadly lifetime supply of the same.
Best,
Your loyal admirer, Fred
By Fred_Williams 9:14 a.m., Jun 15, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #48: How does one get a subscription to the Shelter Island Lutheran Picayune? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:50 p.m., Jun 15, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #49: Fumber is probably permitted to sit on the Padres' and Chargers' benches during games. That's more than we can say. I have only been to one Chargers game in my life. But I have been to many Padres games. One time Larry Lucchino wrote a letter to the U-T, saying that I hated sports. Fortunately, I had some kind of a stub that showed I had been to 23 Padres games that year. This was in the Padres data base. Obviously, Lucchino had not checked. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 8:55 p.m., Jun 15, 2008 > Report it
Thank goodness Lucchino high tailed it out of San Diego and is back on the east coast!
That carpet bagger caused plenty of $$$$ damage to the taxpayers!
By JohnnyVegas 8:10 a.m., Jun 16, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #53: Lucchino honchoed the Baltimore Orioles' stadium giveaway and now I understand that project is in trouble. Lucchino is now in Boston and I don't think the Red Sox plan to build a new stadium. That's been controversial, though. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 2:08 p.m., Jun 16, 2008 > Report it
Just wondering (although I think I can guess the answer): Does the newspaper pay Burl's expenses to jaunt all over the world following the good ship Copleypop? Or is he free to flaunt the "no freebies" policy because he is a contractor?
And no, don't want the job -- you couldn't pay me enough to cover that crowd. Although it would make a damn good tell-all someday.
By Shadow 1:33 p.m., Jun 17, 2008 > Report it
You don't have to hate sports to disapprove of taxpayer subsidies on sport arenas. I think there are plenty of Chargers fans that also don't support a stadium that is a giveaway to billionaires.
By Ponzi 2:48 p.m., Jun 17, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #54: I'm sure Stiff gets paid for the jaunts he takes, and submits a bill for expenses. For the Cannes column, he was probably on the Copley yacht. I would think he is immune from the no freebies policy. When we were in San Diego, my wife and I always said we would pay money not to go to the BP parties -- except opera parties, and then we didn't go to opening night festivities. Our season tickets were on Fridays so we didn't have to go. Also, I didn't have to buy a tuxedo. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 9:29 p.m., Jun 17, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #55: I'm sure the rabid Chargers fans want the taxpayers to pick up the tab for a stadium. Even moderately enthusiastic fans probably want the team to get a fat subsidy. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 9:31 p.m., Jun 17, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #50: I drive by Fox Hole every morning and swipe theirs from the lawn.
By Scott_Marks 9:53 p.m., Jun 17, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #58: You mean David has a subscription to the Shelter Island Lutheran Picayune? Does Burl Stiff know about that? Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 2:18 p.m., Jun 18, 2008 > Report it
Don't you read His column? Burl knows everything!
By Scott_Marks 5:21 p.m., Jun 18, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #60: He certainly knows everybody who is anybody. But that's not the same as knowing everything. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 5:32 p.m., Jun 18, 2008 > Report it
Comparing Helen Copley to a similarly situated publisher is illustrative: With Katharine Graham in charge and with Ben Bradlee as managing editor, the Post set a new standard for investigative journalism.
With the aggressive reporting of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward and the support of Graham, the paper traced the story of the Watergate break-in, which ultimately led to the resignation of Richard M. Nixon as president and earned the paper a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Helen Copley's legacy? She hired Nixon's former mouthpiece, Herb Klein, to head up her papers and devoted a lot of money to fighting labor unions in her company.
By HellcatCopley 9:56 a.m., Jun 19, 2008 > Report it
Jim Copley's biography was published in 1964. "It's one of those vanity books," observed his brother Bill. Written by a sycophantic Copley executive, its 347 minutiae-filled pages chronicle everything from Copley's childhood illnesses to the recipe of his favorite cocktail (a personal concoction called "Happy Daze").
Is it a coincidence that apdopted son David named his yacht "Happy Days"?
By HellcatCopley 10:22 a.m., Jun 19, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #62: Before hiring Klein, she hired Gerald Warren, also a Nixon flack. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 10:40 a.m., Jun 19, 2008 > Report it
Isn't Gerald Warren the editor who called a meeting of the entire newsroom to proclaim David Copley's heterosexuality?
By HellcatCopley 10:47 a.m., Jun 19, 2008 > Report it
Response to post #64: Was that book "The Thin Gold Watch?" Yes, it was pretty bad. Best, Don Bauder
By dbauder 11:10 a.m., Jun 19, 2008 > Report it
Don,
I am now just reading this post. You mention high up ... "But whom else do you blame? The sloppy, juvenile hit pieces have to have been tolerated, if not encouraged, at the top of the organization."
To which hit pieces are you referring? News stories? Watchdog reports? Editorials?
Please enlighten us. Thanks.
By AvidReader 7:18 p.m., Jan 8, 2009 > Report it