2009 July | FrontBurner

Articles for July, 2009

Luke Dillier Alive And Well And Likes DART

This is the latest bulletin, sent to me a few minutes ago by a concerned FrontBurnervian:

Luke Dillier was found this afternoon, Monday July 26th. He is safe and back at home with his family. Luke was identified by a DART Police officer who had just 5 minutes before seen one of the fliers our community has been posting. The family wishes to thank the entire community and the police officers for their support, love and prayers that brought Luke home safely to them. God Bless,

Glance Entertainment Magazine Coming to Dallas

It looks like a new magazine is set to take on Big D. Here’s how Glance magazine describes itself, with my questions in brackets:

“Glance Entertainment Magazine is the next evolution in the entertainment news industry. [The next evolution? Do evolutions happen sequentially? Has someone informed Darwin?] Glance, a culture and entertainment almanac [The entertainment and news industry spent all that time evolving -- just to become an almanac?], brings you the latest in fashion, music, news and gossip, nightlife, movies, sports, and lifestyle. [Is that all?] Glance provides the most exclusive information about the nation’s most exciting cities — Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco — and national news and culture in a way that’s as energetic and exciting as the industry itself. [Hang on. Are we covering an industry, or are we covering a city? If the former, which one? If the latter, why not Houston?] Unlike any other magazine, Glance provides a national and local look at the latest trends in culture, fashion, music, nightlife, and so much more. [Parenting?] View your world in a glance and be ready for what’s next. [I see what you did there. "In a glance" works two ways. Proud of yourself?]”

At the site, Glance is taking “pre-subscriptions.” So, apparently, before you can subscribe, you can actually subscribe. Genius. I don’t see how this could possibly fail.

Tidbits From A.H. Belo Conference Call

I just finished listening to Robert Decherd on his quarterly conference call with investors. You gotta say one thing about Robert: he doesn’t mince words. He opened the call by saying that the climate for newspapers is awful. Interested parties can go here to hear the full discussion, but there are a couple of Dallas-centric items that got my attention:

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Writers Bill Minutaglio, Michael Hall Unplugged At Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference

The writers who talked at this weekend’s Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine weren’t stingy with the zingers or the inside dope. Bill Minutaglio, who wrote a book about George W. called First Son, told the assembled that W’s nickname for him was “Mononucleosis.” Not because Bush thought Minutaglio was diseased, but because he couldn’t pronounce the writer’s last name. (Could have been worse; Minutaglio said W called Karl Rove “Turd Blossom” because, when Rove shows up, “s*** happens.”) A little later, Texas Monthly scribe Michael Hall told the great Skip Hollandsworth why he began writing about criminal-justice issues after so many years covering music: “Musicans are basically criminals and scumbags, so there was a connection there.”

Dan Jenkins: The Best Twitterer In North Texas?, Ctd.

It’s interesting that literary lion Roy Blount Jr. isn’t nearly as hot for Twitter as Dan Jenkins. “I don’t Twitter or receive Tweets,” Blount, an Atlantic contributing editor, told a crowd at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine this weekend. “Somebody already asked me to write some ‘twaiku,’ and there will probably be some ‘twagic epics’ written.” So, what’s his beef with the new form? “With tweeting, it becomes easier to lose track of the fact that language is oral–connected to the body, not just the twiddling fingers,” Blount said. “I want to hold on to the oral pleasure of language myself, and hope somebody appreciates it.”

Which A.H. Belo Headline Is Right?

Here is how the Dallas Business Journal reported today’s news:

A.H. Belo Q2 loss deepens

And here’s how AP ran it:

A.H. Belo posts wider 2Q loss
A.H. Belo posts wider 2nd-quarter loss as ad revenue drops 30 percent

But EBITDA went from -$2.3 million in the first quarter to +$7.8 milion, so I think my headline below is the more accurate. And if you absolutely insist on using standard GAAP numbers, the first Q was -$110 million and the second Q was -$7.1 millon. So, dear FrontBurnervians, who is right and who is wrong?

A.H. Belo Pulls Out Of Its Nosedive

Ad revenue for the 2nd quarter fell 30 percent; circ revenue was up 9 percent on higher subscription prices. Total rev was down 21.9 percent. Fortunately, the operating cuts that have been announced over the past 6 months hit the books, dropping expenses 21.5 percent. That and corporate cuts produced an EBITDA of $7.8 million while reporting a GAAP loss of $7.1 million (the $14 million swing is mostly non-cash depreciation).

The company used its cash flow to pay down debt by $7.2 million, probably because the lender required it. I won’t pretend to understand where it found the $2 million to invest in an online real estate sales company during the quarter. Perhaps executives will explain that on its investors conference call scheduled for 1 p.m Central today.

The Guy Gary Cogill Hates With a Passion

Meet Robert McCollum. He’s the new co-anchor of Good Morning Texas. Uncle Barky has more details. But here’s what you need to know: McCollum replaces Gary Cogill, who is now going to cover performing arts for Channel 8. So Cogill was the movie guy. Then he got promoted to morning anchor guy. And now — he covers Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse. Meanwhile, the new guy? Yeah, he used to do voice-over work for Dragon Ball Z. Sure is cute!

Dan Jenkins: The Best Twitterer in North Texas?

This is a little late, but last night an alert FrontBurnervian pointed me to Dan Jenkins’ Twitter feed. The Fort Worth scribe was a twittering fool from the British Open. He gets docked points for not having twittered since then and for only following one thing (Golf Digest), but it’s pretty amazing how literate and funny Jenkins can be in 140 characters or fewer. Five examples from Turnberry:

“Seen & heard at the Open: Woman picks herself up after tripping on the street. Concerned golf writer: “Can you tell us where Roxy’s is?”"

“Ian Poulter might want to start dressing like a grownup.”

“I was Watson’s age 20 years ago — still drinking a lot, practically buying Elaine’s. I thought I was immortal. What’s the big deal about 59?”

“Here’s Stewart Cink creeping up, within a stroke of the lead, wearing the tasteful green cap of a softball team.”

“In the press room, we had a suspicion we weren’t good enough people to deserve Watson winning.”

Leading Off (07/27/09)

1. Another week, another story about the depressing state of Dallas’ budget. If you had any hopes of getting that pothole fixed, you can pretty much forget it. City Hall has all but given up on street repair. Unfortunately, this is a budget item that has been slashed before–back in the 1980s. It didn’t turn out so well. By the mid 1990s, nearly 40 percent of the streets were in horrible condition, resulting in a very expensive rehab that continues today. Coming up next week: We have no money for anything. Don’t leave your house.

2. Police are looking for a suspect they have nicknamed “The Drive-thru Bandit.” Not to make light here, but this is one lazy robber. He doesn’t take the time to come up with a proper disguise, and he won’t get out of his car. And he hasn’t made a dime. After he brandishes his gun, restaurant workers simply close the drive-thru window and walk away.

3. Jeremy Piven was in town yesterday for the release of his new movie The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. Yesterday was also his birthday. One assumes he didn’t celebrate at one of our fine local sushi restaurants after the mercury thing and all.

North Dallas Teenager Luke Dillier Missing

Here’s the bulletin from the family’s Facebook page:

Luke went along with his brother and mother, to his brother’s violin lesson on Friday July 24, 2009 around 9 AM in the area of Coit and 635. He mentioned to his mother that he had forgotten something in the family’s van and left the instructor’s house to go out and retrieve it. He never returned.

Luke is 15-yrs-old, 6′2″, and 200 lbs. It is normal to suspect that a healthy teenager is capable of getting into his own trouble without any help from strangers. But that doesn’t help his parents at the moment. Anyone with information of any sort is asked to call 972-213-8720 or 214-695-6502. And let’s be careful out there, folks.

John Cornyn: F-22’s Are Needed To Protect U.S. Against… India!

When did India join the litany of countries neo-cons want to go to war against? Not only join the litany, but head the list? Here’s the actual quote:

“It’s important to our national security because we’re not just fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we’re fighting — we have graver threats and greater threats than that: From a rising India, with increased exercise of their military power; Russia; Iran, that’s threatening to build a nuclear weapon; with North Korea, shooting intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of hitting American soil.”

UPDATE: The Senator has apologized. He meant “China.” Let him who has never flubbed cast the first stone.

ANOTHER UPDATE AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT FOR 24 HOURS: Saying that China represents “a greater threat” and “a graver threat” than real wars going on right this minute in Iraq and Afghanistan is itself a little nutty, maybe just as nutty as India. Especially when one stops to consider (as a United States Senator ought to) that China owns a very large chunk of our debt, so that essentially the “threat” would be to its own finanial stability.

Rick Perry: Health Reform A “State Issue”

Yes, he’s at it again. Not that he means it. But, you gotta give him credit, the man never passes up a chance to posture. Here’s the full quote from yesterday’s Star-Telegram story by Dave Montgomery:

“It really is a state issue, and if there was ever an argument for the 10th Amendment and for letting the states find a solution to their problems, this may be at the top of the class,” Perry said. “A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution.”

So, Governor, let’s see how that would work. Texas, for example, has the highest percentage of uninsured among all 50 states. While other states in the face of the recession have expanded coverage for poor children, Texas hasn’t, and the Governor wouldn’t:

Even if it had passed, Gov. Rick Perry had indicated he would veto the measure, though federal matching funds would have provided roughly two-thirds of the cost of the additional coverage. “No, I would probably not be in favor of that expansion even if it came to my desk,” the governor told reporters. “That is not what I consider to be a piece of legislation that has the vast support of the people and state of Texas.” [italics mine]

So if states like Texas were left to “find a solution to their problems,” the Governor’s solution would then be to deny there are any problems. Simple!

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