The News Urinal

By Richard R. Sitler

"The News Urinal" is a novel that is part the novel "The Shipping News" and part Ron Howard directed movie, "The Paper", with a little " TV's "Lou Grant" as well. Those works as well as his own experience as a journalist and staffer at many newspapers has inspired author Richard R. Sitler in the writing of this riveting tale of a newspaper staff trying to keep it together in the face of the growing challenges in the newspaper world of the 1990's.

During that decade rising cost of newsprint and other operation expenses threatened the future of many newspapers. Many formerly privately-owned papers were snapped up by big corporations who could handle the expenses and reap the rewards of an industry that still had a corner on the news market. However these corporations did not plan for the future when the internet would challenge this dominance in the market. Corporations pushed newspapers to focus more on entertainment and marketing and less on journalism.

Many markets that formerly had two papers saw the closure or merger of papers leaving them with just one print news source. Journalists saw a threat to their livelihood as they tried to balance their integrity with the challenges of the new media landscape.

The staff of the News Journal in a small Ohio city faces these challenges while trying to keep their paper relevant. The story follows the diverse staff including those just starting out their careers and veterans who are hanging on for retirement. There is photojournalist Walker Miller who has several internships under his belt, but has dropped out of journalism school. He is hired for his first full time job as Chief Photographer by the interim editor Nick Forrest, an idealistic, ambitious, young journalist. They replace outgoing editor Andy Dunreith and Dean Sanders who are moving on after being promoted as a result of their award-winning work. Veterans Kent Bowen and Violet Thomas are veteran journalists who provide the younger staff members perspective.

Nick, Walker, Kent, Violet and Jack, and the rest of the Journal News staff work longer hours and not only get a daily paper out six days a week, but they also contend with personal and professional trials and tribulations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781617926327

Book preview

Chapter 1

At 24, Walker Miller lay in his childhood bed, again unemployed, due to poor planning, dropping out of journalism school, and a recession that he blamed on Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and their trickle-down economics that never seemed to trickle down far enough.

Walker had worked as an intern at different newspapers during summer breaks through his failed attempt at college. He'd found that he liked life in the real world of newspapers better than the hypothetical world of journalism school. Especially appealing to Walker was interning with an old-school photo editor who happened to frequent the same bar every night after work. The editor introduced Walker to several addictions, including news photography.

Walker Miller always wanted to be a photojournalist. He'd grown up with a father who documented family vacations on Kodachrome 64 with a German range-finder bought during a stint in the army in Europe.

The young inspiring photographer harbored the memory of the first time his father allowed him to take a picture with his camera, a Voightlander, a range-finder with no light meter. The two were on a lake in a row boat. Focusing on his father rowing a boat was difficult because the image and the split range-finder had to line up evenly. Walker's father was adept at intuitively setting the exposure. Amazingly, Walker discovered that his first attempt at photography turned out in focus and with good exposure.

Walker's father, who worked long hours in retail management, only brought out the camera during holidays and summer vacations that usually involved camping. Walker's first crack at using the Voightlander was during once such camping trip in Kentucky. The family was packed into a wood paneled station wagon that towed a pop-up camper laden with a row boat and bicycles.

Most fathers and sons would go out on a row boat to fish, but Walker's father liked to have Walker row the boat around a lake while he photographed wildlife. Walker never forgot his father's offering to take the oars as he handed him the range-finder camera to take a picture of him rowing. His father had already set the distance, just about a foot, and the exposure, 1/125th a second at f-stop 8. All Walker had to do was hold the camera steady and compose the photo. He captured a frame of his father wearing a tattered blue polo shirt, plaid shorts, an old army cap, and black frame glasses.

Walker's father always took such vacation photos with slide film, and a couple after arriving home from the trip the film would be back from the lab, and the family would have a slide show to relive the vacation. After this trip Walker was excited about seeing the image he took as part of the family vacation slide show. His anticipation grew as the slides clicked through the Kodak Carousel slide projector. He was pleased when the image of his father rowing the boat on the picturesque Kentucky lake was illuminated on the projection screen set up in the family room as his mom, dad, brother and sister looked on. It was agreed that Walker took a good picture. From then on Walker was hooked on the pleasure of freezing a moment in time for posterity.

It might be said that Walker had journalism in his blood. Walker's grandfather , his father's father, wrote for two newspapers. One was a hometown weekly where Walker had his first photographs of high school basketball games published. He developed the photos in a makeshift darkroom that his father helped him assemble in a corner of the garage.

Walker had not known that his grandfather, who died before he was born, was a newspaperman. Little was said about him.

Walker became obsessed with newspapers when he got his first paper route delivering the city's afternoon paper. But Walker never had a very big route because he was slow, reading the paper before he delivered it. Walker liked taking his time, talking to various customers and others he met along the route.

One summer, Walker took over a county daily paper route as a favor to a friend, in addition to his own route, which paid more and had more customers. That was when he found out about his grandfather.

Walker showed an old-timer from the circulation department his route, the two of them scouting for more customers from an a big, vintage Buick that smelled of stale newsprint and cigarettes.

The old-timer asked, What is your name again, son?

Walker Miller, the paper boy answered.

Are you related to Robert Miller?

Yes, sir. He is my cousin, Walker replied.

This Robert would be too old to be a cousin of yours," the circulation man replied.

Walker thought a little more, and realized the old-timer must have been talking about his dad's father.

You must mean my grandfather. I never knew him.

He was a good man but he had a palsy. He shook all the time.

"How did you know my grandfather? Walker asked.

Your grandfather was a writer at the paper when I started working there. I remember he punched the keys of the typewriter with the end of a pencil because his hands shook so much, the old-timer said.

Later, Walker learned from his father that his grandfather had a form of Parkinson's disease. At the time, little was known about the illness and there wasn't much that the medical field could do about it. Officially on disability, his grandfather wrote for newspapers under the table, never receiving a byline, to safeguard his disability check.

In addition to his grandfather's surreptitious writing career, Walker inherited writing genes from the maternal side of his family. His mother wrote a personals column for the local paper. Although Walker and his siblings made fun of her for writing what they considered to be gossip, he secretly admired her.

Forced out of college by low grades and boredom, Walker knew that he wanted to work as a photographer in the newspaper business. A competitive business to break into.

The latest three-month internship he'd recently completed had brought him back to his parents home, which had been within driving distance of the newspaper. The thirty-two hour job paid minimum wage. Prior to that he'd completed a similar internship at a small Ohio newspaper and was paid just as little. Deep in debt from college and investing in photography equipment, Walker moved back in with his parents to save money. He feared that it would be difficult to find a newspaper that would hire a college dropout with only six months of experience at two small newspapers.

How did one assemble a portfolio? Start a job hunt? Walker worried about the expense, as he needed to duplicate slides of his best photos and send multiple submissions concurrently to different newspapers.

Just a couple of weeks earlier, Walker had returned to the Ohio paper to pick up his best negatives. Everyone at the newspaper seemed glad to see him. Walker learned that Dean, the chief photographer who had hired Walker as an intern, was about to be promoted to a newspaper in the chain that had a bigger circulation than the paltry 12,000 subscribers that this paper boasted. Dean was the only photographer on the staff. The chief photographer's promotion would leave a gaping hole in the smaller paper's staff.

You should apply, Big John, the sports editor mentioned to Walker, who thought he was just being nice. Walker didn't think the top dog, Editor Andy Dunreith, who always criticized Walker's work and scrutinized his mileage reports, cared for him much.

Walker recalled the only friendly conversation he'd had with Andy Dunreith was when Dean had accompanied Walker around the newsroom to introduce him to one of the newspaper employees quirks ... that many of the staff had succumbed to the current tattoo craze that had hit central Ohio. They all had to show Walker their tattoos by request of Dean.

Dean, the chief photographer, had a roadrunner on his shoulder. Walker thought a Nikon or Kodak emblem would have been a better choice. Two women in the production department had roses decorating their ankles, and an advertising sales representative told Walker that she could not show him her tattoo in public.

Maybe I will show it to you later in private, she told Walker.

And Andy Dunreith had a ship tattooed across his chest, proudly displaying the ink to Walker after loosening his tie and unbuttoning his dress shirt.

Long-haired, bohemian peacenik that he was, Walker didn't totally appreciate Dunreith's militarily-inspired boat, but commented approvingly despite his leanings.

Walker lay in his boyhood bed pondering journalism, his old rock band posters and his high school memorabilia still decorating his walls. His mother came in with the cordless phone and the same displeased look she had been giving him every morning since he moved back home, always sleeping late.

Still stubbornly in bed though he'd awakened hours earlier, Walker sat up to shake off the sleep and took the cordless phone from his mother.

Hello? he managed to mutter in a scratchy voice.

"Good morning. Are you busy? came the reply.

No, I guess not, Walker said, still trying to place the voice on the other end.

"This is Nick. I have something to ask. Do you have time to talk?

Sure, Walker answered, wondering foggily why Nick was calling.

Nick Forrest, a writer just a bit younger than Walker, had come to the News Journal as a recent graduate of a prominent journalism school. Nick followed his wife to Ohio after she was accepted to medical school. The recession narrowed job prospects for Nick, and he was hungry to have the opportunity to work as a sports stringer covering Friday night high school football games. Coincidentally, it was at the same Ohio newspaper where Walker had interned.

Drawing the explanation out, Nick said, Andy Dunreith is leaving, as well as Dean, as you may have hard.

Yea. I hard from Big John that Dean was being promoted by Gannson to a larger paper. So Mr. Dunreith is going, too?

He is taking a news editor position at another Gannson paper near Cleveland, Nick said.

I guess they're moving up, Walker responded, still drowsy and not fully understanding why Nick was calling him on a Monday mid-morning. Walker would much rather be drowsily wallowing in self-pity than talking to his former coworker.

Nick continued, Ms. Victor named me acting editor after Andy Dunreith leaves.

Ms. Victor? The mention of the woman's name brought Walker suddenly awake. Ms. Victor, the News Journal's tall and slender publisher, was described as legs up to her neck and hair down to her ass and all attitude. Statuesque and striking, this beautiful, middle-aged woman terrified everyone in the newsroom.

During Wallker's internship, had had managed to avoid Ms. Victor, thanks to Dean's advice to steer clear of her, no matter what. As a result, Walker was never a recipient of her wrath. When Ms. Victor, or Vic, as she was affectionately known, appeared in the newsroom, Walker noticed that Dean conveniently disappeared into the darkroom. Vic's appearances nearly always were an omen of bad things to come.

Hello? Are you still there? Nick asked.

Trying to sound more attentive, Walker answered in the positive.

Yes. Congratulations, Walker offered to Nick's news, surprised that NIck would be acting editor after only eight months at the paper, and would be calling to tell him about it.

Nick would by pass several writers with much more experience and seniority, namely Kent Bowen, a twenty-year veteran reporter who had slaved away and made a reliable name for himself covering courts. Also, Violet Thomas, the special sections editor, who had been working for the newspaper or twenty-five years.

Thank you, Nick responded. I'm going to be acting editor, and if Vic is satisfied with my work after six months I'll be named editor, unless she changes her mind and goes with someone else. Since Andy is leaving in about a month, he decided it would be better if I did the hiring for Dean's replacement."

You are hiring the new chief photographer? Walker asked as though he had heard Nick for the first time. Walker wanted to hear it again to make sure Nick had said what Walker thought he had said.

Despite its being a small newspaper, the News Journal internship for Walker had been a good one. He would never have come to the small, central Ohio town of Pontiac, had it not been for the internship at the News Journal. Though once the object of ridicule, the small newspaper had been bordering on newfound respectability, thanks to the soon to be departed Andy Dunreith and Dean Sanders.

Rumor had it that Dunreith and Sanders were being promoted by Gannson Corporation because of the individual awards they received for their recent work. Still nagged by a declining circulation, the News Journal advertising revenue had suffered, as well. Some worried about Gannson's long-term plans for the paper. Bottom line was the most important aspect at Gannson Corporation, which had acquired the small-town News Journal only five years previously.

Walker's fuzz began to clear, and he finally sensed why Nick was calling him. Nick needed a replacement for Dean, and Walker needed a job.

Actually, Walker needed a career, other than delivering pizzas or running a cash register at K-mart, that would allow him to move out from under his parents' roof, where they seem to have forgotten that he was no longer a child. Walker certainly would return to the News Journal, in spite of the declining revenue and circulation.

So, Nick said, Are you interested in the job?

Do you mean as Dean's replacement? Walker sputtered as he thought about his former boss who had single-handedly introduced quality photojournalism to the News Journal.

Before Dean was hired, there had been no photo department. Reporters took the photos to accompany stories. A lab tech developed the photos in a dingy darkroom. Once hired, Dean had taken the cameras away from all the reporters except Kent, the only reporter with any photographic ability. Dean also started the internship program which brought Walker and other talented photojournalism students to the News Journal.

"Yes. You would be chief photographer," Nick responded.

John Douglas had said something about my applying for the job, but I did not take him seriously. So, when do I need to send a portfolio, and when do you want to interview me? I have lots of new work from this last internship," Walker said, trying not to sound too excited about this job prospect from out of the blue.

We have seen your work. We know what you can do. As for the interview, consider this your interview. So are you seriously interested in the job?

How soon do you need to know? Walker asked, despite the fact that he was ready to say yes at that moment. He knew that it was better to hold out and see what the terms were.

Pretty soon. Dean will be leaving in  two weeks, and then Andy will be gone in a month. I'd like to get someone in place so that Andy and dean can help train them.

So what are the salary and benefits? Walker asked, knowing full well that he would accept just about any reasonable offer.

I think it's $7.25 an hour and basic medical insurance, but you would have to talk to Ms. Victor about that.

That sounds fair, Walker said. Let me think about it for a day or two.

Okay. I really want you to take the position. I was impressed with your work and I believe we would be a good team.

"Thank you. Walker was thrilled to hear this compliment. Walker respected Nick for his knowledge and ability, despite youth.

Let me know as soon as possible, Nick said.

I will, came the reply.

Walker hung up the phone and thought how strange that he had just been offered a job as he lay in bed in his boxer shorts.

And that was the beginning of Walker's small town newspaper career.

Chapter 2

Walker walked through the door of the News Journal on a June afternoon for his first day of work as chief photographer. He had to enter through the front door used by customers instead of the side employee entrance he had become accustomed to entering as an intern. That door remained locked and he no longer had a key. he would be getting the key back and much more.

Eva Williams, the motherly receptionist whom everyone adored with the possible exception of salesmen and irate readers from whom she shielded the News Journal employees, greeted Walker.

Good to see you again, Walker, she cheerily said as she saw him enter lugging his tan Domke camera bag. You got a hair cut!

Walker had his hair cut short in anticipation for a job hunt. He didn't want anything to discount the possibility of being hired when so few jobs were available.

I hear you have returned to us, Eva continued. Glad to have you back.

Thank you, Waker replied. Are Nick and Andy waiting for me?

I think they are still in the budget meeting.

The paper was to be on the newsstands by noon, so that businessmen could read it during their lunch breaks. After working all morning to get the paper out on the street, the editors and writers gathered to plan the next day's paper. The meeting usually went from 11:00 am until noon, so everyone could go to lunch at noon. Once in a while, if things went badly in the morning, the budget meeting would be later.

Walker saw this as a bad sign that they were still in a budget meeting at 1:00 p.m.. As he walked through the newsroom he only saw a few other employees here and there. The newsroom, circulation, and advertising departments were in one big, open space spread out directly in front of the entry area. Eva Williams and her young assistants were the only barrier between the desks of these departments and the customer service area.

In this wide, open space, the departments were laid out with circulation on the left, the newsroom in the middle, and the advertising department on the right. Looking past the writers desks, one could see the door and window of the editor's office, which would be occupied by Andy Dunreith for awhile longer.

Directly to the right of Dunreith's office was the door to the darkroom. To the left of his office was the identical office of the circulation director. Around the corner of the circulation office was the entryway from the employee parking lot. On the far corner was the conference room, where members of the news department were holed up in the budget meeting. The accountant's and assistant to the publisher's office were next to the conference room. Ms. Victor's