Monday, September 24, 2007

Fire destroys SmartNews building

SmartNews, the startup free daily paper in Fayetteville, N.C., is in temporary quarters after the building that houses its offices burned down early Monday.

Investigators haven't pinpointed a cause, but this from Managing Editor Jim McBee:

No word yet on the cause of the fire -- as I type, State Bureau of Investigation and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are poking through the wreckage. The building's owner called SmartNews owner and publisher Randy Foster at home in the wee hours to tell him the building was on fire. And then he called me. Not much sleep, but we're getting out Tuesday's paper per usual. Thankfully, critical laptops were not in the office when it went up, and we contract out our printing.

Hopefully, no one was hurt. Jim, you and your staff are in our thoughts! Please keep us posted.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Sunday's Special Reports

Remember series?
Several region 3 papers launched series or special reports today, and I noticed they all had some pretty hefty multimedia elements, too. I'm still trying to figure out how to post like a blogger pro, but you can take a closer look at these pages either at Newseum or their Web sites. Here's a glance:


ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
LIFE OR DEATH, four-day series

The murders illustrate what a two-year investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has revealed: Getting the death penalty in Georgia is as predictable as a lightning strike. Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the death penalty nationwide after finding it was arbitrary and capricious in Georgia.

It still is. Reforms that persuaded the high court to reinstate the death penalty have fallen far short of the state's promises, the Journal-Constitution has found.

At AJC.com, they have video of a victim's father, analysis of the crimes and racial factors, and databases and multimedia presentations. (FYI, you have to register ... but it's free!)

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
THE WAR, seven-part series
One of PBS's most ambitious programs ever launches Sept. 23, a documentary on World War II that for seven nights promises to transfix the nation with epic sweep.

It chronicles the defining struggle of the 20th century while serving as an extraordinary salute to the ordinary people whose fading legions hold the last living memory of history's deadliest epoch.

The Observer is running seven profiles of local World War II veterans whose experiences are similar to those portrayed in the program. At Charlotte.com, you can find video to go with the local veteran profile and a look at the PBS filmmaker.


THE STATE
SAVAGE METH, three-day series

James Matthew Quattlebaum was sure he was finished. The Indiana transplant sat in his car at the side of a Lexington County road, stopped for a traffic violation. On the seat, wrapped in tinfoil, was methamphetamine. On the floorboard were boxes of Sudafed. In the trunk, cans of ether.

The deputy charged Quattlebaum with driving with a suspended license and impounded his car. But when Quattlebaum got the car back, the meth, the Sudafed, the ether — all of it — was untouched.

“The car was full of ingredients to cook dope — and they didn’t know,” Quattlebaum said. “They had no clue.”

TheState.com has an interactive map that shows how widespread the meth problem is in Lexington County, S.C. It highlights where meth labs have been found -- including in a house or vehicle, around children, or at a hotel or motel. You also can read a profile of a family torn apart by the drug and several other stories.


If you're in region 3 and your paper has a special report or series coming up, let me know. And if anyone from the AJC, Observer or The State has some inside PDFs they'd like to share ... please do!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Komives named SND Quick Course Director

More great news from region 3: The new Quick Course Director is Stephen Komives of the Orlando Sentinel.

Stephen has a long history with SND. His work has won multiple SND awards, including a silver medal in 2006 for a four-page papal timeline "From St. Peter to the New Day." In 2002, he helped judge the 14,000+ entries in SND's international competition in Syracuse, N.Y. Later that year, he rescued SND's annual workshop by reorganizing it from Buenos Aires to Savannah, Ga., in a matter of months when the Argentine economy collapsed. In 2006, he served as President of the Jury for the prestigious Malofiej Infographics Competition in Pamplona, Spain. And he was very instrumental in bringing SND's annual workshop to Orlando last year, securing $15,000 in grants for student journalists. He's also been a speaker at several SND and industry events.

You can read all about it at The Blog.

Congrats, Stephen!

Nick Masuda to the Orlando Sentinel

This is a little old to be considered "news" ... but better late than never!

The memo from Bonita Burton, AME/visuals at the Orlando Sentinel:

I'm pleased to announce that Nick Masuda will join the Sentinel as a senior designer on Sept. 28.

Nick is a highly decorated visual editor who has spent the last year and a half overseeing the design, graphics, photo and Web operations in Lewiston, Maine, in addition to their sports coverage. Before that, he was a sports and news designer at the San Jose Mercury News and deputy sports editor at the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Some of Nick's work:


In related news, Alan Jacobson posts over at BestFrontDesign.com:
Recently, I have been unable to complete my daily posts because of other overwhelming business demands. As a result, it has become impossible to critique pages with the frequency I began and that you had grown accustomed to. But there is a silver lining. During the course of BFD there has been one voice that seemed to show the reason and logic necessary to not only produce fine design, but to explain through his comments, the "why" that will let others learn how to make their pages better. His name is Nick Masuda. Nick will be taking the lead on BFD sometime in October after he completes his move from Maine to Florida.

Congrats, Nick, on the move to Florida and the new BFD gig!

Welcome to region 3!

Promotions at The State

Now it's time for some delayed region 3 news:

Tom Peyton, Visual Director at The State in Columbia, S.C., recently announced a couple of design promotions.

Bill Campling is now the News Presentation Editor. Some examples of his work:


AND, Merry Eccles has been promoted to Sports Presentation Editor. Merry, I couldn't find a portfolio at NPD ... send me some clips!

Congratulations to Bill, Merry and The State!

Welcome back!

I’m Melissa Angle, the new SND director for region 3 covering the Southeastern United States.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m a senior designer at the Orlando Sentinel in Orlando, Fl. However, I recently accepted a job as a senior designer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, Ga., and will begin work there Oct. 22.

I want to get this blog up and running again, and many thanks to the former region 3 director Nicole Bogdas for helping me with the transition. It’s been a long, long time since I've had a blog … so please bear with me while I learn the ropes.

So let’s get started! Please e-mail me any ideas, suggestions or news from your paper at sndregion3@gmail.com. That can include anything you think is noteworthy … redesigns, reorganizations, upgrades, changes, member moves, job openings, recent hires, promotions, special projects.

I'm looking forward to this new adventure. And if you're going to be in Boston next month, be sure to track me down to say hello!