Off-Ramp
Entries from September 8, 2010
Dan Walters, SacBee's 50-year newspaper vet, explains paper, pencil, copy boys, early computers
I had a great chat with Dan Walters about the old days, the long version of which I just posted on the Off-Ramp page. You've heard Dan on KPCC a lot. He's the Sacramento Bee political columnist who has been in newspapers for fifty years, starting -- like many of us media professionals with years of experience that belie our true ages -- when he was only 16.
Dan started as a copy boy, which I had him describe in detail, and as he did so, we both started to realize that most of the items, jobs, and pieces of equipment he mentioned are now obsolete. Paper, red editing pencils, copyboys, typesetters, dumbwaiters ... not to mention editors and reporters, which, if not extinct, are on the endangered list.
Our talk reminded me again of the old wirephoto machine my dad lugged around for UPI, with a spinning drum and huge circuit boards he'd spray with Lectramotive cleaner. Reporters may have to work harder now, posting more frequently in more media, but they certainly aren't lugging as much junk around with them as they used to.
2006 Jerry Brown Parody Ads Still Work!
This week on Off-Ramp, we resurrect the parody ads we aired when Jerry Brown ran for state attorney general in 2006. Enjoy!
| Page 1 of 1 |
