Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

This is rich.

The St. Pete Times theater performing arts critic rips the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center for putting on popular shows instead of being edgy and taking some “artistic risks.”

[Forever Plaid] is being produced for the sixth time in 15 years at the Jaeb Theater. Why is it being brought back when there is so much great theater that hasn’t been done here?

He’s itching for some Stephen Sondheim, which is perfectly fine.  But then he suggests you are a bunch of brainless dweebs:

… Sondheim can be challenging, and it is not a sure-fire hit at the box office, … but instead, the Jaeb has played to the lowest common denominator… 

It’s as if TBPAC is trying to appeal to those who never go to the theater.

Yeah, that’s you - the “lowest common denominator.”

David Jenkins does a great job in responding to Fleming, and suggests that the local newspaper not only doesn’t help with encouraging edgy, artistic performances

And don’t even get me started on the irony that the newspapers generally bend over backwards to write story after story on Spamalot! or The Lion King, but we fight tooth and nail to get any mention at all for a show like the Beijing Modern Dance Company or the Turtle Island String Quartet or a South American adult-oriented puppet troupe coming in to do Romeo and Juliet in Spanish with marionettes.

, but that they should maybe take a look at their own journalism industry for a great example of pandering to build an audience:

… hard news old school shows just didn’t pull the numbers, but hide a camera in a house where a guy is going to go try to pick up an underage girl and they’re through the roof. People are voting with their remote, and the market follows…

David’s a classy guy.  I would have put an image of a TBT* cover in the piece, perhaps with an observation that “It’s as if The St. Pete Times is trying to appeal to those who never read a newspaper.”

Freakin’ hilarious.

Great Job, David!  Best of luck with your upcoming production of Tim Robbins’ Embedded, coming soon to the Tampa Bay Performing Art Center.

Disclosure:  Sticks of Fire is a proud sponsor of Jobsite Theater.

It’s time once again for Creative Loafing’s annual Best of the Bay voting for 2008!

In previous years, we have been honored to be recognized by Creative Loafing’s readers and editors as being one of the top local websites:

• 2007 - First place Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2007 - Best Local Blog, Readers’ Choice.
• 2006 - First place Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2006, Reader’s choice for Best Local Blog.
• 2005 - First place Weekly Planet’s Best of the Bay 2005, Editor’s choice for Best Local Website.
• 2005 - Third place Weekly Planet’s Best of the Bay 2005, Reader’s choice for Best Local Blog.

We certainly are proud of these honors from all of you, and are happy that you are keeping Sticks of Fire on your reading list.

Alas, the time has come once again to see if we can still hang.  There have been a bunch of new blogs and bloggers started up in the past year, and some of them are simply fantastic.  We enjoy reading several of them, and any number of them could knock Sticks of Fire out of the top spot.

Of course, there is so much more to Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay than just websites. You can vote for the best neighborhood, your favorite art gallery, the worst road, the best thrift store, and so much more.  In fact, you must vote in 25 of the categories (there are 100 categories this year, and we list them all after the jump below).

Make sure you vote for YOUR FAVORITES by Aug. 13, 2008, and CL promises to publish the results on Sept. 17.

So vote for the Best of the Bay right now, or cut & paste the list of categories below in order to give ‘em all some thought.

(more…)

Bird watchers, plant lovers and tree huggers of all stripes will gather this Wednesday evening for the Annual Joint Meeting of Tampa Audubon, Tampa Bay Sierra Club and the Suncoast Native Plant Society. It’s really more of a party than a meeting, and it’s your chance to mingle with a bunch of nature-minded folks AND hear a terrific speaker: Jeff Klinkenberg.

From the meeting announcement:

Jeff is truly a voice of natural Florida and is one of Florida’s best known and most talented nature writers. … Jeff writes about all things Florida and integrates Florida’s history, environment, culture, and people into compelling and memorable stories about the real and vanishing Florida. Jeff is also well known as the “Real Florida” columnist for the St. Petersburg Times …

Please join us for an evening of great stories, fascinating essays, and memories and recollections of all things Florida as Jeff Klinkenberg shares with us his amazing array of tales and experiences gathered over years of exploring the backwoods, back roads, and backwaters of the Sunshine State.

The event will be held this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.,

at the Hillsborough Extension Office, 5339 CR 579, Seffner (Exit 10 off I-4, then south 1 mile on the left). The presentation will be preceded by a potluck dinner, so bring a dish to share.

This annual get-together is always fun. The Native Plant Society will conduct their regular (very economical) plant auction, and they usually round up special offerings for this occasion. All the groups bring plenty of information to share, and they welcome everyone — you don’t have to be a member of any of the host groups to attend.

If you’re at all curious about the environmentalists around here, this is a good opportunity to see what they’re all about. I’ll be there, so if you do come be sure to say “hi.”

As some Sticks readers may know, I was one of the first volunteer Community Columnists for the Tampa Tribune (2005-2006), writing opinion editorials for a year, and in December 2007, I wrote another op-ed which was so kindly accepted.

My experience with the Editorial Staff, and responses received from readers, was nothing less than an extreme pleasure.

So, although I was not a paid employee, I am sorry to see the Tribune layoffs happen. First and foremost, sorry for the Tribune employees’ sake; but also for the fact that having the experience of touching fingers to paper, be it in newspapers, magazines or books, I fear will soon be a long-lost sensory delight and loss of choice.

When I first came to Tampa over 20 years ago, things were still as they were when I was a little girl. I went to the Tampa Public Library to search for something on paper cards in tall card files. I loved going through the cards, making the discovery of what I searched for and then being able to find the books on the aisles.

Now, we sit down at a computer, that can have all sorts of uninvited stuff on it, and we stare at a screen to find what we want. Is it my imagination that the smell of the library is even different?

As people read more and more online, instead of spending the very small price for a newspaper, we see that jobs will be cut. Eventually, will all newspaper publications close down?

With the advent of e-books and “e-zines”, what about printed books, magazines, bookstores and libraries? Will children soon not even know what they were? The feel of the pages, the smell of the print, the satisfaction of turning the last page - will it all soon be gone? Will it be replaced by even more tired, bleary eyes from endless hours staring at a screen?

I know we all got used to 8-tracks, videos, cassettes, and then CD’s instead of records, and then DVD’s, and now i-Pods and MP-3’s. And it’s great that you can listen to a whole book in your car. But I don’t want to think about the day when all printed material will be a thing of the past.

Plus, what about older people who just don’t want to buy a computer at their age? My mom and mother-in-law don’t want to start that now, at 76 and 80!

I think we are coming to depend on computers way too much, and I also think that the powers-that-be know that. I keep thinking of George Orwell’s book “1984″ and then the movie. The less we have in our hands or at least in our possession, the less we have access to without assistance from some huge monopolizing organization, the more controllable we are.

The main character in 1984, Winston Smith, had to retain a lot of information in his head. Stuff he wanted to know that was ripped from his grip. The possibility of the Tampa Tribune one day only being online, where we don’t have the choice of buying the newspaper on the street, reminds me of all the times people have tried to burn books, especially the Bible. There may come a time when this verse needs to be very true for those of us who believe:

“Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV).

We’d better start memorizing what we want to remember of books, because eventually, our search on the computer might be limited by the economy too, especially if we ever start being charged for the Internet by the click, as has nearly come to pass several times.

Today’s the day that meetings were held at the Tribune to explain the details of the planned reorganization announced in April.  Reading employees twitters gives an interesting look inside the newsroom.

Update 7:45pm: By the very nature of Twitter’s 140 character limit, these are all taken out of context, and should not be considered as a single conversation.

• tboemily But if they lay off the young people, who will stay late every night doing two jobs? 07:42 PM June 27, 2008 from web
• tboemily Lots of speculation in the office today. Newsroom meetings tomorrow on the upcoming layoffs and reorganization. 11:56 AM June 30, 2008 from web
• jdasilva windy march: you look serious / me: i’m reading news about layoffs about 7 hours ago from TwitterFox
• bergus Today’s gonna be interesting. about 6 hours ago
• Jokediggy Newsroom reorg announcements and layoff numbers are being delivered in several meetings today. Local bars should beef up staff and supplies. about 6 hours ago from web
• bergus Talking with @shoye before the hammer falls. about 6 hours ago from web
• jdasilva off to a meeting about layoffs… this will be fun not. (borat!) about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
• tboemily Enough, Chicken Littles. The newsroom has a very solid plan, and we’re being smart about the reorg. Should be a TBO story today. I’ll link. about 3 hours ago from web
• TwitStew Something about crisis meetings bring out the vaguest, most nebulous language when the opposite is needed. Aaaugh! It’s raining metaphors! about 3 hours ago from web
• bergus Well, that was a learning experience. How long before it shows up on Romenesko? about 3 hours ago from web
• tboemily Tribune/WFLA layoff story from TBO: http://tinyurl.com/6dwev2 14 minutes ago from web

Tribune, WFLA To Trim News Staffing:

The Tampa Tribune said Tuesday that it will lay off 11 newsroom staffers this week with another 10 news jobs to be eliminated by early fall.

The newsroom will lose a total of 50 employees under the cost-cutting effort, with 29 either accepting a voluntary buyout offer or resigning for other reasons. The Tribune newsroom will have about 200 employees after the staff reductions.

The moves are part of a previously-announced streamlining by the Florida Communications Group, which operates the newspaper, WFLA, Channel 8 and TBO.com, among other media properties. FCG is part of Media General of Richmond, Va., which has been hard hit like other media companies by a soft advertising climate and a weak economy.

WFLA said it will have eliminated 10 news positions by the end of the year.

Tribune publisher and president Denise Palmer said newspapers’ traditional advertising base is being upended by the economic malaise and the impact of the Internet.

“You never want to have good people go away,” Palmer said. “But I also know you have to work within the revenue you bring in.”

I don’t know all of those TBO staff twitterers, and I have no idea if all the comments above even refer to the Florida Communications Group meeting.  Just thought it was an interesting perspective.

Update 8pm: Journalism Professor Mindy McAdams got a description of the meeting from someone claiming to be there, while Eric Deggans gives his take on the news.

The Tampa Tribune, especially Dan Ruth, loves to refer to the St. Pete Times as an “out-of-town newspaper.”  When reading the subtle jabs, those of us in the shadows of the St. Pete Times Forum giggle and snicker, and look down our noses somewhere west, beyond the bridges.

Ah… fun times…

But you don’t really want to think about it too much, since the owners of the Tampa Tribune are not in Tampa.  They are not even located in Florida.  That’s right.  Media General has been taking money from the wonderful local businesses in Tampa Bay, and sending some of that dough to the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

But wait!  There’s MORE!

Ya see, it’s not enough to suck money out of Tampa Bay to enrich another part of the United States.  Now they are gonna be sending money even further.

Did you know that the Tampa Tribune has plans to send ad production work to Gurgaon?  In case you are wondering, Gurgaon is a suburb of New Delhi, India.  Check that map link, and you may notice that India is not quite in the Tampa Bay area, either.

The Trib’s new ad production team, Express KCS promises “World class offshore advertising production for newspapers.”  Without all the trouble of supporting your local community and stuff.

So that “out of town newspaper” joke starts to be a bit less funny, doesn’t it?

But wait!  There’s (even) MORE!

This April, Media General’s president and chief executive officer Marshall Morton told stockholders that they had successfully “outsourced circulation customer service and telemarketing.”

So I called Trib’s circulation department - (813)TRIBUNE.  When asked, phone answerer “Colleen New” does indeed admit that they are located “out of state.”  That bummed me out, since Tampa Bay is known as being Call Center central.  Turns out that residents of other cities can also have highly specialized skills such as an ability to answer phones.  But what city?  What state?  Must be Google Time.

According to one attendee at a 2007 SNA Circulation Managers’ Conference held in Tampa, Tribune President & Publisher Denise Palmer “gleefully” reported that circulation customer service would be outsourced to the Philippines!  The Philippines!  And, no - the Philippines can not be found in Tampa Bay, either.

Which makes that “out of town newspaper” reference absolutely morbid.

Steve Otto is a great guy.

He’s been around these parts for a mighty long time, and has covered all the ups and downs of Tampa Bay.  He gives of his time and well-recognized name to a bunch of charitable organizations, and is always somewhere doing something for someone.

But it sure is tiring hearing about how the old newspaper days were so much better.  It seems that once a month he is going on about the old Tampa Bay Times afternoon daily, and how the community is suffering since less paper ends up in a garbage dump.

His latest is another complaint about how the blogosphere is helping to kill newspapers.

The American Amateur Press Association showcased a panel discussion on the future of newspapers and the printed word, and newspaper types were typically irritated:

There was plenty more to be gloomy about, not just declining circulations but also the growing realization that it is not just that younger readers are getting their news elsewhere as it is that they aren’t getting news at all.

[Context] is what newspapers have provided: a thoughtful, organized context to the news instead of the scattered who-knows-where-it-came-from stories off the Net.

Then he provides the zinger:

I remember in 1961 when then FCC Chairman Newton Minow said TV had become a vast wasteland. We would be hard-pressed to argue it has improved in almost half a century.

I wonder what he would think of the blogosphere.

Hey Steve, check it out:

There are hundreds of TV networks.  A great majority of them are certainly a waste of time.  However, there are a significant number of them that are quite marvelous, and can keep you up to speed on those things that are important to you.  I think we can make a great argument that TV has improved since 1961.

Like TV, the blogosphere landscape includes much wasteland as well as oases of wonderful.  The beauty is that you can choose to visit those websites that you find relevant to you, and ignore the others.

As to the demise of newspapers, that is a natural progression.  A newspaper is simply a way of delivering content.  Just because over the past 40 years, the best journalism has come from newspapers, does not mean that paper is still the best way to deliver that important news.

I don’t think Steve really laments the loss of “newspapers,” but rather “journalism.”  And instead of blaming the internet, I believe his complaints should be directed toward Media companies in General.  Of course, someone at the AAPA meeting had already pointed that out to him:

“I’m saddened what’s happened to papers. They seem to have adopted a can’t-beat-them-let’s-join-them attitude with the ‘them’ being cable TV that features sensationalism and celebrities’ misery. I see it on a daily basis. I have had to take at least 10 calls this week about the son of Hulk Hogan.”

Hmmm.  Seems like an impartial observer might say that newspapers are a vast wasteland.

Diverting journalists to stories like this, media conglomerates chose to go after bigger and bigger audiences, instead of focusing on delivering important news to those who care.  And those who do care about that important news are moving on to other providers, including radio, television, and, yep, the blogosphere.

The truth is, in order to find that “context,” citizens can no longer count on the “newspaper” to provide it.  Like Steve Otto, we are now forced to spend valuable time and take several avenues to learn it on our own, from any media available.

That we are able to make an “honest attempt to tell the story of a community and the world around it” by publishing online is a good thing, not a waste. 

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea went to sleep in a room all alone.

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea woke up and had nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea used the restroom facilities.

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea washed his hands.

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea sat down and had nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

Breaking News:  Nick Bollea tells parents that jail is not much fun.

Yeah, ok… I suppose there is room online for civic blight such as this.  But in the printed newspaper?  But does the same non-story - Jail A Shock for Bollea - belong on the front page of Metro? 

Well, it might.

Take a look at TBO’s “most viewed” stories for Friday, May 23:

Articles most frequently viewed by TBO.com readers.

1. In Jail Phone Exchange, Hogan Tells Weepy Son To ‘Man Up’
2. Meteorologist Michaels Leaving WFLA, News Channel 8
3. ‘Gas Phantom’ Reveals Identity
4. Jail A Shock For Bollea
5. Marijuana Grow House Busted In Temple Terrace, Deputies Say
6. Bradenton Man Who Won $16 Million ‘Had To Quit’ Job
7. ‘I’ll Never Get Over It,’ Man Says Of Finding Dead Baby In Trash Bin
8. Deputy: Fleeing Man Pushes Baby Carriage Into Street
9. Orlando Man Charged With Defrauding Tampa Airport Hotel
10. 104 Potential Weapons Confiscated At Obama Rally

Yep - the #1 AND the #4 story are about Nick calling home from jail.