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The New York Times...Look(s) Back At Old News Stories


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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/05/new-york-times-retro-report_n_3220329.html

NEW YORK –- On CBS, Dan Rather called the Mobro barge “the most-watched load of garbage in the memory of man." Over on NBC, Tom Brokaw described how the “homeless garbage barge” from Islip, N.Y., was refused entry in North Carolina, while a network colleague said it had been "chased away by the warplanes of two nations." Late-night host Johnny Carson turned the media frenzy into a punch line, suggesting the barge be re-routed to Iran.

News consumers of a certain age may remember the unwanted barge’s five-month journey in 1987, but they are less likely to know what happened next.

That’s where Retro Report comes in. The new nonprofit documentary news organization re-reports news stories like the floating garbage barge, which –- despite being overblown in the media -- ended up having a positive effect in raising the public's awareness about recycling. In its reporting, Retro Report found that New York City still produces the equivalent of seven Mobro barges a day, or over 2,500 barges per year.

Retro Report will formally launch on Monday, with its first video published on The New York Times' "Booming" blog. The Times is partnering with Retro Report to publish a 10- to 15-minute documentary from the nonprofit each Monday on the blog, which is aimed at baby boomers. Retro Report will report and produce all its own documentaries, but may partner with outlets like The Times to air them.

The "The Voyage of the Mobro 4000" is the first video in the series, with future episodes tackling the media-hyped “crack baby epidemic,” the Tailhook sexual assault scandal in the Marines, the Tawana Brawley case, Y2K, and school busing in the 1970s.

Rick Berke, The Times director of video content, told The Huffington Post that "the thing that I find riveting about these videos, maybe because I’m a baby boomer, is that it brings you back to these earlier moments in time."

“I’m fascinated by watching Peter Jennings and Dan Rather and a young Tom Brokaw talking about these events that were stirring the nation, that seemed so urgent then, but have now been forgotten and that young people might not even know about,” Berke said.

Nostalgia, which has played a role in the success of online outlets like BuzzFeed, is part of the appeal of the new video series. The work also bears a resemblance to ESPN’s popular series zeroing in on specific sports and pop cultural moments of decades past, "30 for 30."

However, the journalists behind Retro Report aren’t just trying to jog boomers’ memories. Rather, they say they are motivated to find out something new about these past news events and eventually create a Wikipedia-like library of documentaries. By next year, the Retro Report team hopes to have 70 films online.

Kyra Darnton, a “60 Minutes” veteran and managing editor of Retro Report, said the basic idea behind the start-up is to “re-examine, revisit old news stories” and look critically at the effect of past news coverage on media and culture today.

Christopher Buck, a former TV anchor and philanthropist, came up with the idea for Retro Report more than a decade ago. Buck is now providing funding to get the project off the ground, according to its website. Retro Report has a nonprofit model similar to investigative outfit ProPublica, and it is launching with over a dozen staffers and a number of contributors with experience at network news magazines, Darton said.

But even with TV veterans on board, Taegan Goddard, the founder of Political Wire and publisher of Retro Report, described the new company as “Internet first.” Goddard said that Retro Report is an experiment to see if longform video journalism “can go viral on the web.”

“We try to be, in some ways, the second draft of history,” Goddard said. “We re-report stories and bring everybody up to date.”

Hmmmmm.

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A couple of excerpts in case you didn't have the patience (or interest!) to read the entire article:

****************************

Rick Berke, The Times director of video content, told The Huffington Post that "the thing that I find riveting about these videos, maybe because I’m a baby boomer, is that it brings you back to these earlier moments in time."

“I’m fascinated by watching Peter Jennings and Dan Rather and a young Tom Brokaw talking about these events that were stirring the nation, that seemed so urgent then, but have now been forgotten and that young people might not even know about,” Berke said.

Kyra Darnton, a “60 Minutes” veteran and managing editor of Retro Report, said the basic idea behind the start-up is to “re-examine, revisit old news stories” and look critically at the effect of past news coverage on media and culture today.

“We try to be, in some ways, the second draft of history,” Goddard said. “We re-report stories and bring everybody up to date.”

************************

Double hmmmmm.

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Guest Tom Scully

A couple of excerpts in case you didn't have the patience (or interest!) to read the entire article:

****************************

Rick Berke, The Times director of video content, told The Huffington Post that "the thing that I find riveting about these videos, maybe because I’m a baby boomer, is that it brings you back to these earlier moments in time."

“I’m fascinated by watching Peter Jennings and Dan Rather and a young Tom Brokaw talking about these events that were stirring the nation, that seemed so urgent then, but have now been forgotten and that young people might not even know about,” Berke said.

Kyra Darnton, a “60 Minutes” veteran and managing editor of Retro Report, said the basic idea behind the start-up is to “re-examine, revisit old news stories” and look critically at the effect of past news coverage on media and culture today.

“We try to be, in some ways, the second draft of history,” Goddard said. “We re-report stories and bring everybody up to date.”

************************

Double hmmmmm.

http://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/60-minutes-more-fast-forward-1117436669/
60 Minutes More; Fast Forward
60 Minutes More;Mon. (31), 6-7 p.m. and repeating 9-10 p.m. PT, CBS Eye On People;Fast Forward;Mon. (31), 5-6 p.m. PT, CBS Eye On People
Production
60 Minutes More- Taped in New York City by CBS News Prods. Executive producer, Alan Weisman; senior producer, Gail Eisen; associate producers, Emily M. Bernstein, Gretchen Crary; associate producer/editor, Tom Hamilton; coordinating producer, Susan Israel; studio director, Arthur Bloom; archival coordinator, Nancy Crumley. (For "60 Minutes") Executive producer, Don Hewitt; executive editor, Phil Scheffler; senior producers, Josh Howard, Merri Lieberthal.; Fast Forward-Taped in New York City by CBS News Prods. Executive producer, Susan Lester; senior producer, Kathy Sulkes; producers, Ann Dean, Gail Levin, Laura Palmer, Vicki Sufian; associate producers/editors, Paul C. Rosen, Chris Warford, Gary Winter; associate producers, H. Rene' Brinkley, Kyra Darnton, J.P. Olsen; coordinating producer, Reuben Chodosh; studio director, Peter B. Snyder; archival coordinator, Holly Cara Price; executive director of CBS News Prods., Margery Baker Riker.
Cast
60 Minutes More; Correspondents: Mike Wallace, Steve Kroft, Ed Bradley, Andy Rooney. Anchor: Mile Wallace.; Fast Forward-Correspondent/Anchor: Paula Zahn.

Interesting side note.... yesterday I confirmed with near certainty that Mike Wallace's secretary at the time 60 Minutes begain to air, a woman who went on to work for Don Hewitt as a 60 Minutes produces until at least 2004, has been married for a long number of years to the nephew of the wife of Col. Jose Albert Rivera.

I imagine what might have been accomplished, or triggered as detectable cover up moves, if Adele had been able to light a fire of intense exposure (like a lawsuit with P.R. releases...) under Col. Rivera's butt while Mike and Don were alive. This producer I am posting about might have become aware of accusations against Rivera and marshalled 60 Minutes investigative resources to satisfy her own curiousity. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.......

http://www.legacy.co...y&pid=131032044

Aldunate, Hilda CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. Hilda Aldunate, 103, died Sunday, August 2, 2009. Wife of the late Carlos; devoted mother of Robert (Joanne) and Carlos (Merri); also survived by two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Interment will be in Miami, Fla. Arrangements, Emerick Funeral Home, 1550 Route 9, Clifton Park, NY 12065,

.................................

...On Edit: I am now able to confirm the relationships described above with 100 percent certainty, and also that the 60 Minutes producer married into the family just a few months after the death of Col. Jose A. Rivera. I think Adele Edisen is a very persuausive advocate for her own amazing account of her interaction with Rivera, and I will pass along the contact information of this former 60 Minutes producer to Adele.

4080297122_23931a9ab9.jpg

205402_474214592588721_1270428841_n.jpg

ARRB Public Hearing Witnesses, Washington DC, 11 Oct 1994 pg 8

Found in: ARRB Public Hearings, Press Releases, Reports

files on Adele Edisen Jose A Rivera and Maitland Baldwin Ms Edisen says she made a full report to the Secret Service and FBI in New Orleans on this matter shortly after the assassination She lives

(UNDATED)

ARRB Public Hearing Witnesses, Washington DC, 11 Oct 1994 pg 7

Found in: ARRB Public Hearings, Press Releases, Reports

have recruited soldiers for covert drug-testing and perhaps hypnosis It is alleged by Adele Edisen who in 1963 was a post doctoral fellow through the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and

I am betting (No Bob, not my.......) Kyra Darnton cannot wait to dive into this old story and use her unique access

to interview her colleague, Merri, and Merri's facebook bud who is a first cousin of her husband Carlos Aldunate, Col. Jose Rivers'a daughter Linda Rivera King. Maybe Kyra's mother-in-law will be persuaded to approve a book deal for Adele Edisen !

WEDDINGS; Kyra Darnton, David Grann - New York Times
www.nytimes.com › COLLECTIONSMANHATTAN

Jul 2, 2000 – Kyra Rachel Darnton, a daughter of Nina and John Darnton of ... His mother is the president and chief executive of Penguin Putnam, the

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/47398-grann-to-retire.html

Grann to Retire

May 23, 2011

Phyllis Grann will end more than 40 years in the publishing business June 9 when she retires from her role as senior editor at the Doubleday division of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Grann joined Doubleday in 2002 after stepping down as the CEO of Penguin Putnam in 2001.

She rose to the top at Penguin following its acquisition of Putnam Berkley where she had been president, chairman and CEO. Before leaving Penguin, Grann was responsible for publishing, and in some cases editing, such international bestselling authors as Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, A. Scott Berg, Kurt Vonnegut, Daniel Silva, John McEnroe and Judy Blume. At Doubleday, Grann acquired and edited such writers as Jeffrey Toobin, Tina Brown, Bob Herbert, Jim Newton, Ayelet Waldman and Tim Weiner, winner of the National Book Award. She also edited Stephen Carter and John Darnton for Knopf. According to Knopf chairman Sonny Mehta, Grann will be available to the house as a consultant and freelance editor, continuing to work with her authors under contract.

These people will not be revisiting anything that might rock the boat.

Edited by Tom Scully
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So how exactly would putting news reports of the assassination on the NYT site advance the cause of getting to the bottom of what happened? Note also that the oldest story was from the early 70s and all are issues that have been largely forgotten.

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