Harrisburg Patriot-News – Christopher Wink

First to report Rendell named Obama’s vice presidential running mate: how an entire newsroom tricked me

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. AP Photo by Carolyn Kaster. Edited by Christopher Wink

This is the story of how more than 20 statehouse reporters fooled me into believing I had a hot-breaking story – for the second time in a month. Last week I posted that a personal essay of mine was accepted by the Columbia Journalism Review and appeared on the CJR Web site. My essay touched on a story that I think is worth telling more deeply.

Enjoy.

This past summer I was honored to serve a prestigious post-graduate internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association, the country’s oldest state government reporting society. For three months I covered Pennsylvania state government in the Harrisburg Capitol, home of the largest full-time state legislature in the country, representing the nation’s sixth most populous state. On a rotating basis, I worked for six media outlets, including Pennsylvania’s three largest dailies. I worked with serious, accomplished journalists, a handful of them ranked among the state’s most influential.

Yeah, and they screwed with me a lot.

Continue reading First to report Rendell named Obama’s vice presidential running mate: how an entire newsroom tricked me

Patriot-News: Pennsylvania Cable Network breakout box

I had a story on the Pennsylvnia Cable Network (PCN) in the Patriot-News two weeks ago. Here is some extra information that didn’t make it into the Sunday story.

More than 10 million Pennsylvanians in 3.3. million homes on 150 cable systems can watch PCN.
PCN has a $4.5 million operating budget and a 34-person staff.
PCN is funded entirely by the participating Pennsylvania cable TV companies, private underwriting and a small sales operation. PCN receives no state or federal funds.
In February 2004, PCN opened its renovated and drastically enlarged Camp Hill headquarters – a 21,000-square-foot office, studio and technical facility that works in partnership with single-person bureaus in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to cover the entire Commonwealth.
Continue reading Patriot-News: Pennsylvania Cable Network breakout box

Someone who doesn't know me actually used my reporting

Ostensibly, journalists write for others.

So I get really excited when readers respond to what I write. That can go further when someone uses my reporting for broader purposes. A common rag on newspapers and most media is that their reporting isn’t in-depth enough. Of course, the response is that one can’t track trends without daily coverage.

It feels great to be reminded that that isn’t a lie.

Continue reading Someone who doesn't know me actually used my reporting

Patriot-News: The state legislature on TV

This ran for the Patriot-News of Harrisburg on Sept. 7

Next year, retiring state Rep. Jerry Nailor won’t have to listen live to the drum of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s debate, which is lengthened by camera hogs, he said.

“There are a handful of legislators who say, ‘I am for motherhood and apple pie, and let me tell you why, and I will tell you why for the next 20 minutes,'” said Nailor, R-Mechanicsburg. “Because the camera is on.”

The Legislature’s floor debate has been broadcast on the Pennsylvania Cable Network for more than a decade. Its proponents say the channel makes government more transparent. But with viewership growing, some lawmakers said others in the Legislature abuse the free TV time. More.

See it on PennLive.com.

There's a baby with beer on my news story

A photo of an infant clutching a beer is currently paired with a story of mine on Google News, as seen above.

Google’s news aggregation tool couples top ranked news stories with photos from related stories that are similarly rated. So, while my story on college presidents calling for a dialogue on underage drinking ran with the Patriot-News, at a particular moment, the top rated photo came from the story covered by eCanadaNow, which chose its image to be one of a sleeping baby holding onto a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft, at right.

That can’t be great for my professional product, eh?

Still, these pairings change continuously, so we can hope it won’t last long.

Hey, you looked bored, check out an array of photos with children comically – read: irresponsibly – placed with alcohol.

Patriot-News: Brief on drinking age discussion

This brief ran online Thursday for the Patriot-News, prepping for yesterday’s front page story:

Some college presidents who recently asked for a national dialogue on the 21-year-old drinking age say the focus of their effort has been lost.

Some 123 university and college chief executives, including 15 in Pennsylvania, signed on to the Amethyst Initiative, a public statement urging a discussion since they say the 21-year-old drinking age is not working. But instead, much of the debate has turned to their suggestion that possibly the drinking age should be lowered… More.

See it on PennLive here.

Photo courtesy of 101.

CNN.com nothing without me, follows my story

I had a cover story on Tuesday’s edition of the Patriot-News about a Muslim airline pilot who says he was unfairly placed on a federal watch list, costing him his job.

Yesterday, CNN.com picked up on the story – even featured it on the front of its Web site, as seen above – without any love for your boy Chris Wink, or even the Patriot-News. What gives?

Patriot-News: Dialogue on drinking

Front-page story for the Patriot-News:

This isn’t about lowering the drinking age. That’s what Dickinson College President William Durden will tell you.

This is about watching parents follow their freshman sons and daughters into dormitories with beer in tow.

“We have a societal problem towards the attitude of alcohol that we have to fix,” Durden said. “It’s not just have a drink. It’s drink until you’re unconscious.”

More than 100 other college presidents agree. They’ve formed a group, numbering 123 at last count and growing, that has come together to encourage a public dialogue about altering the country’s drinking laws.

The Amethyst Initiative is a petition of sorts. These college chief executives say the current drinking age isn’t working and is creating a dangerous culture of intoxication on college campuses… More.

See the rest on PennLive.com. See the front-page placement at Newseum.

Patriot-News: No-fly list keeps pilot grounded, he claims

Erich Scherfen, right, and his wife, Rabina Tareen, listen as Witold Walczak of the ACLU of Pennsylvania describes the effect of a federal flight restriction on his career as a pilot. (Photo by Chris Knight of the Patriot-News)

This on Page One of today’s Patriot-News:

Erich Scherfen developed a love for flying early. Growing up in New Jersey, he would play outside and watch airplanes fly toward John F. Kennedy Airport.

After military service, he became a commercial airline pilot. Today, the Gulf War veteran is fighting to keep his professional life in the clouds.

He was suspended without pay in April after being placed on a federal watch list.

“My livelihood depends on getting off this list,” Sherfen said.

On behalf of Scherfen and his wife, Rubina Tareen, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and attorney Saul Ewing filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday claiming the federal government unfairly placed the Schuylkill County couple on a government list that limits their commercial flight access.

The suit hopes to answer two questions, lawyers said: Why would a couple with no criminal background or ties to terrorism be put on such a list, and how do they get removed? More…

See the rest on PennLive.com. See today’s front page on Newseum.com. See the breaking Web brief I wrote right after a press conference yesterday.

Patriot-News: Muslim airline pilot, wife file suit

This Web brief for the Patriot-News, officially filed one minute after Associated Press Harrisburg correspondent, PLCA president, and Pennsylvania Capitol legend Peter Jackson filed his own to the wire:

A Gulf War veteran and his wife say they’ve been unfairly placed on a federal list that limits their commercial flight access. To fight back, the Muslim couple filed a lawsuit against a host of U.S. government agencies on Tuesday.

“We don’t know why they’re on the list. They don’t know why they’re on the list. The government won’t tell us why they’re on the list,” said Amy Foerster, an attorney with Saul Ewing who is providing pro bono counsel and working with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Schuylkill County couple on the case, which was filed in U.S. district court. More…

See the rest on PennLive.com. Full story tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Boydston.