TOP TEN THINGS I MISS ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS.... 10. DEADLINES: You hated them. You loved them. How intimidating when the clocked ticked and could not be stopped! But what a rush when breaking news, photos, features and comics all came together just as the clock ticked the last second! And oh, what a relief and what a feeling of accomplishment when the presses ran, and I was a part of it. And I didnt have to wait for the months numbers to come in or until the fiscal year ended. It would all happen again tomorrow! 9. THE SIGHTS. THE SMELL. THE SOUND. THE FEEL. THE SIGHTS: Of trucks at the loading docks off-loading rolls of newsprint and loading todays papers. Of printers in paper hats, made of folded sheets of newspapers. Of card games and conversations, killing time after the deadline had passed and before the presses started. THE SMELL, not the aroma: Of newsprint and printers ink, mingled with last nights carryout from the Social Grill or Fifes, or in the early years Topazis greasy burgers downstairs or Frank Merrills Charcoal Steak House across the street. THE SOUNDS: Of angry editors growling as deadlines neared. Of typewriters clicking at every desk, teletype machines clattering in AP, and linotype machines clanging in the composing room, where many of those employed were deaf. The noise didnt bother them. THE FEEL: Of heat in the composing room where lead was melted, set in type for todays paper, then melted down again and re-set for the next days paper. Of the gentle vibration and rumble from deep in the sub-basement that announced the presses were running with the first edition, and the still warm first bundle of papers handed out to editors and reporters to quickly check for errors. Then sometimes the silence when the error found was so great the presses were stopped and all those first papers tossed into the dumpster. 8. PHOTO CREDIT LINES: A great picture! Who took it? Below would be the name of Tom Self at an Alabama game or Ed Jones at Auburn. Of Haywood Paravicini or Bernard Troncale or Charles Nesbitt. Now many are “Submitted by...” or just a photo with no credit, good or bad. 7. SCOTT STANTIS: The wonderful editorial cartoonist, now with The Chicago Tribune. He was a talented artist, but so much more. Not just a casual observer of a world that he presented on the editorial page, but a participant in that world. Through his talent he laughed with us and at us when we did something crazy, he cheered with us in victory, cried with us in defeated, and mourned with us in tragedy. He felt what we felt, and showed it with compassion and cleverness in a simply, transparent way that never left us looking at his cartoon with confusion saying, “I dont get it,” or, “What is he trying to say.” 6. THE ANTICIPATION. THE FULFILLMENT. The anticipation on Saturday nights after a game at Auburn or Tuscaloosa or Legion Field when cars would line up around the block to Fifth Avenue, awaiting the first edition. And the fulfillment of reading what Benny and Alf and Jimmy and Clyde had written about what Bear and Shug had said. Now there is no anticipation, for sideline reporters have told todays fans more before the game is over than was printed those years ago. And the fulfillment today is an instant gratification provided by instant replays and in-game interviews. Personally, I miss the anticipation of waiting to see in print that story I had written that I knew was a good one, and the fulfillment that came with reading it myself, and having others read it and enjoy it, and tell me so. 5. ELECTION NIGHT. Christmas wasnt the most exciting time of the year. Election night was. We stood in the crowds as polling places closed and votes were counted. With tally sheets in hand we rushed back to the office, joined our tallies with those already in, then gobbled carry-out pizza and soft drinks as winners were declared and losers stole away into the night. There was a time when The News was the only place to get the results, and local TV stations would set up live shots in the newsroom to report the results our reporters were bringing in. 4. BOX SCORES. How many innings did the starter go, and who got the save? Sacrifices and errors, home runs and balks, hit-by-pitch and sacrifice fly. A baseball game could be reconstructed from the box score alone, and studying them was a part of the fun of baseball. Basketball boxes and football statistics are interesting and informative, but they dont hold the charm of a baseball box score. Look up a Braves box score on the internet. Like basketball and football, its interesting and informative. But its no longer fun, not like it was in the next days Birmingham News. 4-A. ALABAMIANS IN THE MINORS: What a great feature! The June draft came and you could follow the kids from Florence or Dothan or Gadsden getting their first taste of pro baseball at Kingsport, Tenn., or Great Falls, Montana. Or maybe see Britt Burns numbers at Class A Waterloo, Iowa one day, and his line in a major league box score with the Chicago White Sox the next. 3. THE STORIES TOLD: The Birmingham News gave you the facts. It gave you history as it occurred. It informed. It entertained. It educated. Its editorial pages guarded our freedoms. And it did it by telling stories that were usually so good I enjoyed the story, even if I had no interest in the event or the person the story was about. I miss the stories told, and those who told the stories. Clettus Atkinson in the old Post-Herald. Jimmy Bryans lede that captured your interest and pulled you into the heart of the story. And you didnt need a photograph to see what Clyde Bolton wrote about. His words painted the picture perfectly, of whatever he was writing about. Then there was the great Benny Marshall. Enough said. 2. CLIPPINGS: Many people used to read The Birmingham News with scissors in hand. If you liked a story you clipped it and kept it until it was yellowed with age. High school victories, wedding parties and obits became personal histories that we could hold in our hands and pass on to the next generation. How can you clip an email or save an internet link in a scrapbook. What used to turn yellow in scrapbooks and shoeboxes in the closet are now gone forever with CTRL/ALT/DELETE! 1. THE PEOPLE; “Hew Wayne, do you miss working?” “No, but I miss the people I worked with.” Some were saints, some were scoundrels, with a Bible in the desk drawer, or a bottle of bourbon. Most had a story to tell, but some a secret to keep. Some worked for just a week or a month and moved on. Some came as kids and left as senior citizens. Some followed their parents into the business, and brought their children along when they reached the age to be able to fetch coffee and tear copy. All were characters with that special something that made them people you could sit with an enjoy sharing just a moment, or a lifetime.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 22:52:26 +0000
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