Harlan & Daly: Better odds in Deadwood?

We've thoroughly enjoyed the business columns of Rapid City Journal writer Dan Daly.

Alas, Dan is the latest in a long list of Journal news people over the past few years who’ve announced they’re leaving the paper. He’s off to join TDG Communications, Inc., an ad agency in Deadwood, where he'll be their Director of Public Relations, according to a piece last week in the Black Hills Pioneer.

As one would expect of a professional, Dan has no unkind words for the Journal. That speaks volumes about Dan, whose work has graced the pages of the Journal since 1990. In Deadwood, he'll likely cross paths with another Rapid City Journal escapee, Bill Harlan, who left the paper earlier this year to go to work at the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory.

Since Karen and I retired and returned to South Dakota three years ago, we’ve enjoyed Dan’s “Talking Business” column, and I’ve also picked up a lot of background information and perspectives from the Daily Business Blog. We'll miss seeing his work in print and on-line.

Good luck, Dan Daly; best wishes in your new career with TDG Communications.

Cue the sunshine, please!

I should have written more this month regarding "Sunshine Week," which strives to encourage open government at all levels. It's not a particularly sexy topic -- but one to which we need to pay more attention as we find more and more government officials believing that openness is an albatross hampering their work.

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I was reminded of this today as I read through a piece written by Gene Policinski, vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center. He is a veteran journalist whose career has included work in newspapers, radio, television and online operations. His article observes that "Closed Door Government Lacks Key Ingredient: Us!" Link here to Policinski's column.

Seventh Inning Stretch

As we slide down the gauntlet toward the general election in November, we may find the sweltering campaign rhetoric unbearable. Even those of us afflicted with a continuing interest in politics are likely to have need of a respite. We may find it this summer in……..baseball.

While David Broder is my favorite columnist keeping tabs on the political scene, George Will is a favorite, too. And he thinks that baseball might just give us something to think about other than campaign antics. Warning: this is not a complete disconnect from the world of politics.

The Six to premiere Monday

We see KEVN is moving its 5:30 p.m. weekday newscast to 6:00 p.m. starting next Monday, March 31st. I’m glad to see that, since it’ll give me – and presumably many other folks – an opportunity to see what the Fox affiliate can do in that time slot.

It gives them a clean shot at “news junkies” and others who must choose among competing broadcasts between 5 – 6 p.m. Of course, a few folks are home earlier and able to watch KCLO’s “KELO-land News,” at 4:30 MDT, but I’m not among them. I also have a little disdain for them, since they claim a local service presence statewide, but they have a decidedly “east river” flavor to their Sioux Falls broadcasts, which emanate in the Central Daylight Time zone. There is no or little concern over the time difference.

As one who relies upon ABC’s Charlie Gibson and PBS’s Jim Lehrer to provide a television window on the world, I seldom watch Fox, CBS, or NBC at suppertime. Consequently, I know little about the kind of work these stations do during the supper hour.

The Rapid City Journal this morning reported some “big changes” at KEVN starting Monday. General Manager Cindy McNeill is quoted as saying that “more people are watching at 6 p.m.” KEVN is re-labeling the broadcast “The Six.” They’re touting a new set and a new pace. Whether that’ll translate into a new and bigger audience remains to be seen.

Hal Riney dies at 75

Hal Riney died of cancer this week. He was 75 years old. If you’re not familiar with Riney's name, take a look at this commercial on You Tube that he produced a good many years ago.

Millions of Americans never knew who Riney was, but they recognized his voice. While his advertising firm was immensely successful, it was perhaps his subtle, low-key voice-over announcements that were most recognizable.

Riney employed “understatement” rather than “overstatement” in his advertising, and his strategy was usually to let the listener or viewer make a determination about the product or service, but only after having led them down a road where there seemed to be only one clearly logical choice.

Read Hal Riney’s obituary in the New York Times.

The San Francisco Chronicle web site posted Riney’s obituary and it attracted hundreds of comments. Disappointingly, many of them were postings that ripped advertising in general and Riney in particular. Too many folks with too little to do – and not doing it well.

I chose public broadcasting rather than commercial broadcasting as a career. That decision was based – in part – on my belief that there is greater creative freedom in non-commercial broadcasting than is available in commercial broadcasting. I still believe that.

Nonetheless, I recognize the value of good advertising, and few people did it better than Hal Riney.

Roy Jorgensen (1918-2008)

We were saddened this morning (3/26/08) to learn that good friend Roy Jorgensen of Vermillion, South Dakota died on Easter Sunday in Sioux Falls. He was 89.

Among the first to welcome Karen and me to Vermillion when we moved there in 1985 were Roy and Helen Jorgensen. Roy was an engineer for South Dakota Public Broadcasting in Vermillion, where he was pretty much in charge of technical operations for KUSD Radio. He had been with SDPB since the 1960s.

Already in his late 60s when I first came to know him, Roy was an avid ham radio operator (WØMMQ), and he introduced me to “packet radio.” I was amazed at his insatiable curiosity about things and his willingness to try something new. The conversion into digital electronics was a joy for Roy.

Roy and I also worked together on Lion’s projects, so it was a special delight to see him and Helen when Karen and I made an unexpected side trip to Vermillion two years ago. Good friends Vern and Joan Holter had invited us to join them at the Lion’s Pancake Supper, and among the folks we were able to see and visit with again were Roy and Helen. It was sheer delight!

We were also pleasantly surprised to learn, when we moved to the Black Hills, that Roy and Helen’s daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Ken Froelich, also lived in Spearfish.

Roy was born and raised in Yankton. And as I read through his obituary, I thought of how very much Roy Jorgensen typified the ex-GI’s that fellow broadcaster Tom Brokaw -- also also from Yankton -- wrote about in his book The Greatest Generation.

A World War II veteran who saw Signal Corps service in New Guinea, Roy repaired aircraft radios and other equipment as planes returned from combat missions. After the war, he came home, got on with his life, raised a family, and became an active member of his community – helping so many others along the way.

In amateur radio parlance, Roy is now a “Silent Key.” Throughout his life, he conveyed kindness and helpfulness to all – not just in his messages, but in his actions.

73 old friend.

Who Needs Competition?

I am conflicted ---

The U.S. Department of Justice today approved a $5 billion buyout of XM Radio by its competitor, Sirius Radio. Approval by the Federal Communications Commission seems imminent.

As a long-time subscriber to XM satellite radio, I have come to rely upon ready access to music of the 1940s and ‘50s, the in-depth governmental coverage of C-SPAN Radio, wall-to-wall classical music, occasional forays into Bluegrass, periodic visits from talk-show host Dave Ramsey, and a fresh perspective on international news from the BBC World Service.

I couldn’t care less about most of the 100+ other channel offerings. So when Sirius and XM said that, if they’re allowed to join forces, they’ll start offering program channels a la carte, I was excited. This “unbundling” concept is one that many subscribers would love to see implemented by cable television companies, and one promoted strongly by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Imagine paying only for the channels you really want! If we believe Sirius and XM, that may soon happen with their surviving radio services. -

I fear the cost may be more than I hoped – much more.

For the past year, I’ve had a gnawing discomfort about this “merger,” but my fears subsided when I considered the possibility of paying less for fewer channels. Today, when I read about DOJ approval in the New York Times, I Googled the topic and found an archived story on the Sirius-XM deal by Marc Fisher of the Washington Post. Now I feel worse.

My hopes of keeping only the satellite channels I want – and paying less than my current $13 a month – now seem uncertain. Fisher, in his piece written last year, asked more than rhetorically, “Can you name one example of a new consumer technology that was guaranteed to a single provider and still served customers well? (Don’t everyone say 'cable TV' at once.)"

Having now read his full article, my discomfort grows, and my shot at frugality seems to have been dashed.

I am conflicted and won’t know the final outcome until I get that note in the mail many months from now, from the satellite radio entity left standing, telling me about all of the wonderful new benefits of yet another media consolidation.

Sigh.

Taking on the media big guys...again!

It’s lost in the fray of presidential politicking, but there’s another less visible struggle taking place in Washington, D.C. – but it has far-reaching consequences.

Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 28, “disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to broadcast media ownership.”

You may recall the de-regulatory chicanery foisted upon the commission in December by the media giants, who want dearly to super-size themselves even more with new rules promulgated by the FCC. Chairman Kevin Martin unwittingly led the charge on behalf of the media big boys, approving rules that relax media ownership restrictions and allow cross-ownership of newspapers and television stations. Thanks to Dorgan, there is a bi-partisan push in the 110th Congress to once again reel in the burgeoning power of big media.

It's time for folks of all political persuasions to notify their congressional delegation to support S.J. Res. 28. Read more about the hazards of media consolidation as compiled by the good people at Common Cause!

Seth Bullock - Myths Debunked

The late pioneer lawman Seth Bullock came alive for an hour or so the other night (3/4/08) – resuscitated in the graphic narratives of historian David Wolff. It was the latest in an outstanding series of speakers lined up by the Spearfish Historical Society.

Wolff, an Associate Professor of History at Black Hills State University, spoke to a full house of society members gathered at the Spearfish Senior Citizen’s Center.

Using a wide range of little-known facts about Bullock, Wolff focused on just the first year or two after Seth arrived in Deadwood from Montana in 1876. Bullock had a diversified and colorful career as a miner, politician, merchant, rancher, lawman, and forest supervisor. He was an interesting character, but his story has often been needlessly embellished and exaggerated over the years. Wolff debunked several myths, including Bullock’s role as a lawman (he never killed anyone) and his role in creating Belle Fourche (he never lived there). Read more about Seth Bullock as assembled by the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood, a marvelous resource for old west history.

Wolff was asked about the Seth Bullock ghost that supposedly haunts the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood.

“The real story of the hotel,” said Wolff, “is that Bullock had very little to do with it…he started building a hotel and got his name on the building, and he was done. So if there’s a ghost in there, he’s haunting from his hardware days or his sheriff days. Bullock never ran a hotel.”

Wolff is writing a book about Bullock, whom he described as “a man nobody really liked.” He pointed out that Bullock was appointed to his 9 ½ months as Sheriff and was never elected to anything. In fact, he was defeated twice in back-to-back elections for Sheriff of Deadwood.

After his talk, Wolff visited with many of the folks who had attended the meeting and discussed other aspects of Bullock’s life. You'll find a few photographs from this meeting included among other pictures taken at Spearfish Area Historical Society gatherings. Wolff expressed a willingness to return next year to talk about other facets of the legendary lawman's life.

Next month, writer Paul Higbee will share some of his research into the creation of Black Hills State University and one of its early presidents, Lafayette Cook. That presentation will be in the Senior Citizen’s Center at 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 1st – no fooling!

Please Mr. Sun

Opponents of open government in South Dakota are a crafty lot.

First, they killed open records legislation introduced last session because it was a threat to “personal privacy.” Never mind that the measure kept intact all existing record exclusions protected by state law.

Now, another effort to put more sunshine on the business of state government has been quashed. Governor Michael Rounds vetoed HB 1233, which would have established a state web site allowing South Dakotans to track just how the state spends their money. Although the measure had passed the legislature earlier, there weren’t enough votes in the Senate this week to override the veto. This time, opponents claim the cost of more open government may be too high.

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At least, that’s the line promoted by the governor, according to Kevin Woster in the Rapid City Journal this week, “Rounds vetoed the measures, saying it had technical problems and that it was unclear what information would be designated for release. The governor also said it could cost more than $600,000 to establish and $100,000 a year to operate.”

The operative word here is “could.” Alaska has reportedly implemented such a web site at far less than cited by the Rounds people. As usual, there’s little specificity as to what the “technical problems” might be. Like he did with open records, the governor is likely to sit on this issue until it’s forced to a vote. Then he’ll introduce a spewing of general objections without specifics, designed to scare the daylights out of voters who otherwise would opt for sunshine.

Our state representatives and state senators represent you and me, the citizens of South Dakota. Despite the fact that over 80% of these legislators supported this bill, Governor Rounds vetoed it. Hiding behind “costs” and vague “technical problems” is disingenuous. It is becoming increasingly evident that the governor is uncomfortable with truly open government. He could take a lesson from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (at left), whose Open Checkbook program is the latest in a growing nationwide movement to make information about state spending more readily available.

Alaska, in the “land of the Midnight Sun,” is truly making an effort to put sunshine on state expenditures. We South Dakotans can’t find even a ray of such transparency at high noon in Pierre.

His penchant for doing business in private – beyond the scrutiny of the public – detracts from the good work of Governor Rounds and his administration.

Ed Murrow would be proud

Living virtually “over the hill” from historic Deadwood, South Dakota, Karen and I have visited that colorful community many times. Its scenic setting in the northern Black Hills makes the town a popular tourist destination, as does its raucous gold rush history. Of course, Deadwood also heavily promotes its present-day casino entertainment, too.

Nonetheless, I’ve never watched a full episode of HBO’s much-heralded TV series, Deadwood.

I must confess, I couldn’t get beyond the filthy language used gratuitously throughout the single episode to which I was exposed. How unfortunate that many folks like myself missed the series; on the other hand, knowing that liberal license was taken with authentic language of the period, I fear the whole series strayed quite far from reality. A friend suggested that perhaps I should be less prudish. After more than 24 years of exposure to "salty language" in the Navy, I've never thought of myself as a prude. Perhaps HBO could produce a good historical drama without incessant gutter language? Except for PBS, there aren’t a lot of folks doing that kind of quality programming anymore.

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Well, now they’ve gone and done it! HBO this month unveiled what appears to be a great series, John Adams, chronicling the lives of our second U.S. president, John Adams, and his remarkable wife, Abigail. The seven-part story is based upon the Pulitzer-prize winning book authored by David McCullough. The series premiered March 16th and subsequent episodes will air Sunday evenings during the rest of March and into April. I’ve watched the first two episodes, and I’m hooked.

The story is well told, finely acted, and leaves you wanting more. I’ve just visited the HBO John Adams web site, and before the day is over, I’ll visit our local library and hope that they have a copy of McCullough’s book.

Some reviewers have been critical of actor Paul Giamatti, who portrays Adams, but I found his character very credible. Laura Linney as Abigail Adams was superb. I was quite inspired by the first two episodes of John Adams. I want to revisit colonial history and the founding of our country. I want to know more about the Adams family. My curiosity has been aroused!

Programs like HBO’s John Adams series demonstrate the power of television. And it it comes like a breath of fresh air.

Legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow once said about television, “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.”

Congratulations to HBO for bringing us this outstanding series. I think Murrow would be proud of what they’ve done. I know I am.

Pennies from Heaven -- Dollars to Hell

Sad as it may be, only money seems to trump super delegates when it comes to winning a presidential nomination this year. Of course, last election we didn’t have a clue who these “super” folks were, but we’re learning fast just how deeply entrenched “good old boy” politics are in our political system. We’ll reserve comment about “super delegates” for another posting – this time we’d like to focus upon the insatiable greed used to fuel the presidential campaign machines.

At the end of January, according to the New York Times, Senator Barack Obama had raised a total of $140.6 million during this campaign, just ahead of Senator Hillary Clinton’s $138 million. Jointly, that amounts to about $276.6 million.

Also in January, Fox News was reporting an appeal for a mere $5.1 million to aid the half million displaced people -- mostly women and children -- needing humanitarian assistance in Kenya. Seems to me Hillary and Barack could have agreed to chip in a bit from their coffers to do something truly worthwhile.

Of course, there are equally-compelling human needs in this country, but it all seems to be off the radar scopes of those who see something much bigger than feeding the hungry and housing the homeless: personal political power.

The rationale goes something like this – if you’ll give me the money, I can then buy the advertising and other things I need in order to win the election and thus obtain the power necessary to help our country do better. So goes the perpetual game of intellectual charades that politicians play. Some start the game focusing on a desire to make things better, but few can withstand the realities of “buying the office.”

So many promises are made – so many implied – so many perceived -- that the candidates are soon transformed from attractive soaring butteflies to unsightly caterpillars, struggling to extricate themselves from back-room obligations incurred during the campaign. They yearn to be who they once thought they were – but to no avail. They’ve paid the price. In fact, we’ve all paid the price. But having paid to come to the dance, it's a rude awakening as victors realize "you gotta dance with them what brung you."

It need not be this way. We can change things, but first we have to know what's going on. The New York Times has done a pretty good job keeping track of presidential campaign funds. Take a look.

Alas, even as we might contemplate ways to change the system, presidential campaign avarice has reached a new high – or should we say low – when it was learned this week that Senator Barack Obama raised a record $55 million in February – just one month – outdistancing Senator Hillary Clinton’s $34 million.

We need to find a better way to choose our governmental leaders.

Willis Conover and the VOA

Sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s, my dad bought a Philco console radio. Used though it was, it became the center of our household entertainment, where we’d gather after supper. Dad would read the paper, we kids would grab the “funnies,” and we’d all enjoy programs ranging from “Fibber McGhee and Molly” to “Our Miss Brooks” and “Gunsmoke.”

Within a short time, I became enamored with the shortwave bands. I can recall with amazement learning that the English monotone newscast I often heard was coming from Radio Moscow. In the middle of the “Cold War,” this was heady stuff. I think few of my friends were as intrigued by this stuff as I was.

By the late ‘50s, I was becoming a frequent listener of the Voice of America. I liked to listen to both standard newscasts and “Special English” programs. Some 40 years later, when I was director of the Mississippi public broadcasting network, I even stole VOA’s “Opinion Roundup” title for a new program we initiated. It was a collection of editorial opinions from regional newspapers.

If I were to associate a single “voice” or “personality” with the Voice of America, it was Willis Conover. He was the independent contractor hired by VOA to host a jazz program, and it became wildly popular around the world. Importantly, it became a link with Russia and eastern European listeners and helped keep open a path of friendship between the peoples of those countries and the United States.

Willis’ rich voice, although used in a rather dour and monotone delivery, became familiar to citizens in most corners of the world – except, ironically, the United States. He seemed to have a limitless knowledge of jazz and its musicians, although that perception may have been because I was so immersed with “popular music” and the emerging sounds of rock and roll. I knew little about jazz.

The work of Willis Conover and his VOA broadcasts were a memorable part of my youth -- perhaps yours, too. I hope you’ll enjoy some of these photographs of Willis at work and with some of the folks he interviewed over the years. That's songstress Sara Vaughan above with Willis. It’s a most enjoyable stroll down memory lane.

Pew suggests SD planning stinks

“South Dakota has never shown much interest in long-term planning or performance measurement. Quite a few other states are in a similar boat, but many of them make up for it, at least in part, by using specialized agencies or departments to do performance audits and evaluations. This effort is non-existent in South Dakota and has little chance of developing. Leaders here don’t think this is much of a problem” --

Pew Center Report Card for South Dakota

The folks conducting this nationwide evaluation of state government performance didn’t have a lot of good things to say about South Dakota. The state does have a hefty “rainy day fund” of about $1 billion and many of South Dakota’s governmental functions run smoothly – but that’s about it. The report was released yesterday (3/3/08) in Washington, D.C. by the Pew Center on the States, a project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Our state garnered a B- when a similar study was done three years ago. In the latest Pew report, Grading the States 2008, we’ve slipped to C+ and some folks in Pierre don’t see much of a problem. Of course, we’re also at the bottom of the barrel with teacher pay, and that hasn’t given government insiders much heartburn either.

Not surprisingly, South Dakota fails miserably in the “Information” category. We're at the bottom of the barrel with a D+. The report notes that "around the world and across the nation, growing demands for public sector transparency and for public access to services 24/7 are spurring a new level of creativity in meeting citizens’ legitimate needs, as well as improving internal business processes...Grades in the Information category in 2008 ranged between As in five states (Michigan, Missouri, Utah, Virginia, and Washington) and D+s in New Hampshire and South Dakota." The Information category has little chance of any substantial improvement any time soon. Governor Rounds, abetted by the legislature, trashed a good open records bill this session (SB 189). It might have enriched the public records that could have become available online.

Kudos, however, are appropriate for a strong reserve fund, which officials say is for major emergencies only, such as natural disasters. Pew acknowledges that our state has one of the best-funded pension systems in the country, that we maintain low debt loads and that we have “a budget comfortably in structural balance.”

That said, the tenor of the report is not very encouraging. And long-range planning is the major culprit. Pew says transportation is one area “that cries out for long-term planning.” The report cites an $11 million hit that the state took in 2007 when the federal government required South Dakota to boost Medicaid payments. A new fly in the fiscal ointment is the lawsuit brought by some 59 school districts, charging that the education system in South Dakota is underfunded.

Pew reports that if there's a major judgment against the state in that case, well……that might be enough to cause some of the smugmugs in Pierre to begin thinking about some serious long-range planning. But don't count on it. The states with the highest scores in this report have made accountability and innovation a priority. In most categories, South Dakota hasn't been accused of either.

Bill Harlan is Already Trained for This!

Given all the other many changes at the Rapid City Journal of late, I'm especially sorry to see the departure of Bill Harlan from the paper. I've always enjoyed his solid reporting and his ability to enliven complex or otherwise mundane stories. He did a great job for the Journal.

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I'd just become accustomed to saying "Doo-sul" for Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL)." That's where Bill Harlan will now hang his hat as the public information guy. But now, thanks to the infusion of mega-bucks from T. Denny Sanford, it's apparently called the Sanford Underground Science and Enginering Laboratory. I'm going to have to work at calling it "Soo-sul." Or maybe Bill can help them come up with something that sounds less like like a suppertime dish, although I must admit it's a rather catchy acronym.

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Bill was feted with a Governor's proclamation last week -- Friday was his last day on the job for the Journal. Even thought the proclamation was the handiwork of Harlan's RCJ colleague Kevin Woster, I felt there was a bit of irony in its being signed and read by Governor Mike Rounds.

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Bill Harlan represents the best of reporting the news -- even that news lurking in the shadows of government. Sometimes it's information that many in the circles of power would just as soon remain tucked away -- making their jobs "easier." Governor Rounds has represented the keeper of the key -- the key that keeps much public information locked up away from the public that owns the information. Of course, all that's secret is kept concealed to protect our privacy. Right. And there's certainly no hanky-panky or embarrassing information that anyone's trying to keep under wraps (wink-wink).

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Nonetheless, it was good to see the keeper of the information (Rounds) and the reporter of the information (Harlan) dropping their guards for a bit. It was appropriate to acknowledge Bill Harlan's good work in the newspaper business.

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We only hope Bill's successor, and other news folk, will continue the work necessary to help lead South Dakota's arcane public records law out of the darkness and into the sunshine.

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As for Bill, his new work down in the mine should come easy. After all, he trained for it by trying to dig into the dark recesses of South Dakota public records. The mine should be a snap!

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Good luck, Bill!