Media Nation

Peter Kadzis put my career back on track twice.

In 1991 he hired me as a copy editor at the Boston Phoenix, a job I had never done before at any level, never mind at a paper as large and prestigious as the Phoenix. Without that break, I’m sure I would have left the business: I was 34, with our first child on the way, and working as production manager at the Pilot, of all places, after a failed attempt at launching a magazine in Boston’s northern and northwestern suburbs. (Not that there’s anything wrong with working for the Pilot, but it was an odd place for a non-Christian to be.)

Then, in 1994, the Phoenix’s media critic, Mark Jurkowitz, left. Although I had worked as the paper’s managing editor and news editor, Peter knew I wanted to switch to a writing position. He took a chance, and I embarked on what would prove to be an 11-year run.

Now Kadzis is changing positions, as you may have heard, moving up from editor of the Phoenix to executive editor of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, a post that will enable him to plan strategy for the three Phoenix papers, the magazine Stuff@Night, ThePhoenix.com and the FNX radio stations. The new editor of the Boston Phoenix will be associate editor Bill Jensen, whom I do not know well (he joined the staff just as I was leaving), but who gets good reviews from my former colleagues.

Kadzis will continue to be a strong presence at the Phoenix, so this isn’t a farewell tribute. But people should understand that the Phoenix is as strong today as it is editorially because of his vision. More than anything, what stands out in my mind is his refusal to give up on a story. There was always another rewrite to be done, always another source to be called. He could drive us crazy sometimes, but it made all of us better journalists. I consider him a mentor and a friend.

Below is the complete text of a press release put out by the Phoenix earlier this week announcing not just Kadzis’ and Jensen’s promotions, but a number of other moves as well:

Brad Mindich, Executive Vice-President of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, today announced an internal reorganization of top management within the group’s newspaper, radio, and online operations that will affect sales, editorial, and in-house operations.

In addition, Mindich also reorganized the overall management structure of some of the group’s technology-focused properties. “The idea,” said Mindich, “is to bring together all of the talented resources we have in the organization across the board so we can maximize our flexibility and creativity as we continue to grow.”

On January 1, 2007, Mindich will become President of the PM/CG, replacing long-time President and Chief Operating Officer H. Barry Morris, whose year-end retirement was announced in late March. Morris, 62, has been with the PM/CG since 1970. He began as an advertising sales representative at the Phoenix’s predecessor, Boston After Dark and rose through the ranks to become the newspaper’s Sales Director before being named president of the PM/CG in 1985.

Mindich, 38, is the son of Boston Phoenix founder and publisher Stephen Mindich, chairman of the PM/CG.

The Boston Phoenix, the oldest and perhaps best known of the PM/CG family of companies, is — like all of the PM/CG — family-owned and privately held.

“The Boston Phoenix is preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary later this year. As we all know, the media world is moving very quickly, and the companies that can adapt early — and, in some cases, first — to the way users consume content are the ones who will continue to thrive. This reorganization is designed so we, at the PM/CG, can continue to do just that,” said Brad Mindich. “I’m inheriting an extraordinary legacy and am excited — and more than a bit daunted — at the idea of steering our newspapers, radio stations, Web sites, and our mobile and other operations into the future. But fortunately, we have many extraordinarily talented people across all areas of the PM/CG, so expect great things from us during the next 40 years.”

All told, Mindich announced 13 changes at six of the media group’s companies. Among the significant appointments:

— Andy Kingston, who goes from General Manager of the WFNX Radio Network to become Senior Vice-President of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Kingston will be responsible for the operations of all PM/CG radio (WFNX, WPHX, WFEX) and online outlets (thephoenix.com, stuffatnight.com, fnxradio.com). and business operations of all newspapers (the Boston Phoenix, Providence Phoenix, Portland Phoenix) and magazines (Stuff@Night, the Bruins yearbook, the Celtics Yearbook, Boston Marathon Official Guide, Tweeter Center Guide, Bank of American Pavilion Guide).

Speaking of his new role Kingston said, “I am a very big fan of all our media companies. We are unique in that decades ago we found ways to reach out to a community of young, intelligent adults defined by their active lifestyles and desire to be ahead of the mainstream. Through the years, we have found ways to grow the PM/CG and interact with this large and vital community by using many different platforms while maintaining the integrity of our editorial content and programming. I see first hand that we have major opportunities in the years ahead and am thrilled that Brad Mindich has chosen me to help him position our media companies to take advantage of them.”

— Peter Kadzis, who goes from being Editor of the Boston Phoenix to become Executive Editor of the PM/CG. Kadzis will be responsible for the editorial content of the three newspapers, Stuff@Night magazine, and thephoenix.com, as well as for coordinating feature and news operations with the FNX Radio Network.

Said Kadzis, “In my 18 years at the Phoenix, I’ve helped extend our style of journalism from Boston into Providence and Portland and onto the Web. Now my job is to synthesize the many into a new whole, to forge a stronger regional and national presence. The Web will allow the PM/CG to combine the immediacy and intimacy of broadcast with the depth and impact of print. It’s a new and challenging future.”

— Bill Jensen, who goes from being Associate Editor of the Boston Phoenix to become Editor of the Boston Phoenix. Jensen will be responsible for the day-to-day and week-to-week operations of the Boston Phoenix, the PM/CG flagship and one of the nation’s oldest and best-known alternative weeklies.

Jensen said: “As a newspaper, the Phoenix is incredibly strong. My charge is to maintain that level of excellence and introduce new features that will continue to keep the paper relevant, while at the same time creating a must-read Web presence. The Phoenix will continue to tell compelling stories — the story will always be king — but with the Web, we’re enhancing those stories in ways that new and younger readers now expect. These are exciting days in media. But we can’t just roll with changes, we have to lead with change.”

Of his son being poised to take over control of the companies he founded, Stephen Mindich, said:

“When I founded the Phoenix, rock and roll and the movements for civil rights and against the Vietnam War were revolutionizing society. Today it is the media business that is in the middle of its own revolution. It’s reassuring to know that we have the right mix of talent — of seasoned experience and more youthful ambition — under our roof to carry all the Phoenix companies into the 21st century. To say that I’m proud that my son, Brad, is leading the charge is an understatement. And anyone who knows me, knows I’m not prone to understatement.”

Of continuity in terms of editorial mission and advertising strategy, Brad Mindich said:

“Phoenix core values are a constant: we believe in crusading journalism, progressive politics, and the intensive coverage of traditional and pop culture. Our aim is to deliver to print, radio, and online advertisers an audience of young, well-educated, and activist readers and listeners who — because they are single — have disposable income.”

The full text of Brad Mindich’s e-mail to the PM/CG detailing all of the changes follows.

“A couple of months ago, I announced Barry’s retirement from the PM/CG at the end of this year. As part of this ongoing transition process, I am pleased to announce several exciting — and well-deserved — promotions and changes within the PM/CG structure.

“Although all of these changes will happen now, the full impact of them will occur at the end of the year when reporting structures change.

“Andy Kingston: from GM, FNX Radio Network to Senior Vice-President, PM/CG

“Peter Kadzis: from Editor of the Boston Phoenix to Executive Editor, PM/CG

“Bill Jensen: from Associate Editor, Boston Phoenix to Editor, Boston Phoenix

“Bill Risteen: from Sales Director, Print Media to Vice-President of Print Media Sales, PM/CG

“Michael Bornhorst: from Associate Director of Sales, Print Division to Vice-President, Marketing and Business Development, PM/CG

“Everett Finkelstein: from National Sales Director, Print to Vice-President of National Print Sales, PM/CG

“Dick Gooding: from GM, Mass Web Printing to Vice-President, Mass Web Printing

“David Dinnage: from President, People2People Group to Vice-President of Operations, PM/CG

“Kathleen Parrish: from HR Manager, PM/CG to HR Director, PM/CG

“Travis Ritch: from Production Manager, Boston Phoenix to Corporate Production Manager, PM/CG

“Tory Williams: appointment as President, People2People Group

“Adam Segel: from GM, People2People Group to Vice-President, People2People Group

“In addition to the promotions within the company, we will also be recruiting some additions to the PM/CG family to allow us to pursue new opportunities and continue our growth as a converged media organization. I will let you know as we begin to finalize these details.

“Please join me in congratulating everyone and thanks to all of you for your continued commitment and dedication.”

Media Nation Jr. and I are heading up to Imp Campsite this afternoon and the summit of Mount Moriah tomorrow. (We hope to work in a trip here, too.) I’ll try to post comments Thursday morning before heading back to New Hampshire to pick up Miss Media Nation from Girl Scout camp.

So now White House spokesman Tony Snow has apologized for referring to embryonic-stem-cell research as “murder,” explaining it was a rhetorical flourish that went quite a bit farther than President Bush was willling to go. Which only makes it more inexplicable that chief of staff Josh Bolten wasn’t prepared to clarify this in his hapless appearance on “Meet the Press.”

Snow says he “feel[s] bad” about what happened to Bolten. But any political operatives who aren’t rank amateurs should have seen this coming. And the Bushies have never struck anyone as rank amateurs when it comes to politics. Until now, perhaps.

BostonHerald.com has been tweaked. It’s not a full redesign, and navigating it can still be a bit bewildering. But it’s — well, better.

The emphasis is on the Herald’s Web-only and Web-enhanced features. There’s a “Today’s Most Popular” box on the right and prominent space given to the paper’s bloggers.

The section-front guides that you encounter as you scroll down are an improvement, although they appear not to have been fully implemented yet — right now, “News & Opinion” consists of obits.

Not bad, but I’d still like to see a full redesign. Here is one of the best. (Well, they’re both tabloids, aren’t they?)

Sunday marked White House chief of staff Josh Bolten’s first appearance on “Meet the Press.” I suspect he won’t be back soon — and that when he does return, he’ll have a strategy other than stonewalling Tim Russert by repeating the same non-answer over and over again.

Russert is no Ted Koppel, but he is dogged, and he can get pretty riled up when someone simply refuses to answer his questions. He seemed especially put out by Bolten, who dodged him on Lebanon, Iraq and — most notably — whether President Bush believes that embryonic-stem-cell research involves “murder,” as White House spokesman Tony Snow claimed last week before Bush vetoed a federal funding measure.

Do read the whole interview, but here is an illuminating excerpt. (Note: All ellipses except the final one come straight from the MSNBC transcript.)

MR. RUSSERT: Then if the president believes it is human life, how can he allow private stem cell research to go forward, go forward, if, in fact, that is murder?

MR. BOLTEN: It’s a very, it’s a very difficult balance. I mean, the president recognizes that there are millions of Americans who don’t recognize that as a human life, and that the promise of that research for the saving of life is so important that they, that they want that to go forward. What the president has said is that as far as the federal policy is concerned, no federal funds, your tax dollars and my tax dollars, will go towards promoting the destruction of that human embryo.

MR. RUSSERT: But you’re using federal funds for existing lines, which were of embryos. So were those embryos that the federal government is experimenting on obtained by homicidal means?

MR. BOLTEN: Those, those embryos, those stem cell lines, were already — those embryos were already destroyed, and, and that’s where the president — the president’s policies draw the line. That is that our tax dollars, from the point that the president made his policy statement forward, our tax dollars are not going to go to further incent the destruction of those fertilized embryos. Let me, let me…

MR. RUSSERT: The logic, Mr. Bolten, as people are listening to this, the president is saying no, we can’t use embryos that are going to be discarded by in vitro clinics because, according to a spokesman, that’s murder. But we can use embryos that were existing before I became president, that’s OK. And if you have a private company and you want to use those embryos, that’s OK. Back to the central question: does the president agree with his spokesman, Tony Snow, that the research on the embryo in, in fact, to use that embryo is murder?

MR. BOLTEN: The president thinks that that embryo, that fertilized embryo, is a human life that deserves protection…

MR. RUSSERT: But does he accept or reject the use of the word “murder”?

MR. BOLTEN: I haven’t spoken to him about the use, the use of particular terminology…

Granted, no one answers a question if he doesn’t want to. But Bolten’s inability to dodge and shift gracefully, along with his obvious lack of preparation, are unusual for someone who has attained such power and influence.

His post-“MTP” conversation with Karl Rove couldn’t have been pleasant.

Hatlo wants to know what I think about the contretemps at the Santa Barbara News-Press, where the owner is nuking the line between church (the newsroom) and state (the business office).

I’m not sure what deeper meaning this has, but there are some observers who are using it to argue that maybe local ownership isn’t such a good thing after all. I couldn’t disagree more — local owners are invested in their communities, and though moving away from corporate chain ownership is hardly a cure-all for what ails the newspaper business, it could prove to be a valuable part of the mix.

Jay Rosen has an excellent post on a mindless critique of local ownership that appeared in Fortune magazine.

The Friends of Media Nation are all over the place, as I struggle to get back up to speed after a week in electronic oblivion:

• There are few journalists whose work I respect more than that of Seth Gitell, a former Phoenix colleague who recently wrapped up a stint as Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s spokesman. Writing in the New York Sun, Gitell reports on what one can only hope will be the beginning of a backlash against Episcopal Bishop Thomas Shaw’s knee-jerk Israel-bashing.
• My editor at CommonWealth Magazine, Bob Keough, offers an analysis in today’s Boston Globe on several decades’ worth of political wrangling over the Big Dig. Keough: “[A] series of governors found themselves with little direct authority over the mammoth project as costs escalated and problems surfaced. Instead, they tried to mold it, from afar, by board and chair appointments that repeatedly came back to haunt their successors.”
• As the Globe acknowledged in its Friday report, news of Julie and Hillary Goodridge’s separation was broken by Bay Windows two days earlier. Written by the paper’s editor, Susan Ryan-Vollmar, a former Phoenix news editor, the article shows that, in the end, this pioneering lesbian couple’s two-decade-long relationship turned out to be just like most people’s: fragile.
• With veteran media critic Mark Jurkowitz having departed for Washington, Phoenix political columnist Adam Reilly steps up with a sharp analysis of how the Globe and the Herald covered the opening days of the Big Dig disaster.
• In the scratching-my-own-back category, Boston Magazine’s John Gonzalez quotes me in his profile of the Herald’s gossip columnists, Laura Raposa and Gayle Fee. Gonzalez also manages to place Media Nation in a love triangle with Chet Curtis and Ted Kennedy. Go figure.

And, oh yeah: Comments are back. So fire away.

Media Nation goes on hiatus this week, as I prepare to help supervise 21 Boy Scouts at summer camp. I am suspending comments until I get back. If you try to post, it won’t go through.

Boston Herald columnist Joe Fitzgerald today begins: “Insanity, according to one insightful definition, is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.“

And then, for the second time this week, he finds a way to relate the Big Dig tragedy to those marriage-mocking, gay-coddling pols on Beacon Hill:

Legislators jumping into the fray to make sure their constituents are well-represented are insulting our intelligence, too, if they’re the same ones who just conspired to muzzle those constituents on the volatile issue of homosexual matrimony.

It’s enough to make you despair, if this is where you make your home. But truth be told, we’re only reaping what we’ve sown in Massachusetts, and it’s a bitter, fatal harvest.

You could probably hire a couple of reporters to supplement the Herald’s understaffed newsroom with what Fitzgerald is making. Can’t publisher Pat Purcell talk him into retiring?

Jon Keller: “Keep politics out of the Big Dig? What a farce. Politics long ago turned it into highway robbery. And now politics, Massachusetts-style, has killed a woman.” Watch it here.

Epoxy — holding up three-ton concrete panels — that’s “brittle and cracked.” Metal supports that “were not fully weather-protected or fabricated to contract standards.” A city that could be gridlocked for weeks — and that’s being optimistic, given the likely number of people who will refuse to use the Big Dig even after it’s reopened.

The Boston Herald runs an interview with Melina Del Valle’s daughter Raquel Ibarra Mora, conducted by the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación: “Nobody from Boston has spoken to me. The only person who has contacted us is the Costa Rican Consul in New York, Alejandra Solano.”

Former Big Dig spokesman Dan McNichol tells the Los Angeles Times: “It is just disgusting, because those tunnels are an extension of our government. You think of the subway tunnels in London — people took refuge there from the bombing during World War II.”