Quotabull

I figured: if you want to go look in my mouth, go right ahead.

— Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, speaking to 250 people inside an Iowa municipal hall that resembled a horse barn.

It’s enough that freshman Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) has on display all his favorite animals that he has hunted down, killed and eaten — everything he kills he must eat, according to his hunting philosophy. But now, the office has taken to decorating the animals with fluffy red and white fur Santa Claus caps. ’Tis the season … to dress up your dead quarry.

— a news brief in The Hill, the newspaper of Capitol Hill, Dec. 20.

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The price of anonymous sources: Error hits LATimes’ Clemens claim

The Los Angeles Times blew a story more than a year ago that reported a federal affidavit claimed seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens used steroids. How and why did that happen?

Fourteen months ago, Lance Pugmire and Tim Brown of The Times reported “Roger Clemens, 44, one of professional baseball’s most durable and successful pitchers, is among six players allegedly linked to performance-enhancing drugs by a former teammate. … The names had been blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court.”

The next day, Kevin Ryan, then the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, said it contained “significant inaccuracies.” Now we know what the inaccuracies were.

Quotabull

And if you stand up for me, I promise you, I will stand up and fight for you every single day that I’m president.

— Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during an Iowa campaign stop.

We are very pleased to have the lowest repair cost within the group of tested minivans.

— statement from Honda Motor Co. after its Odyssey fared best in a 6-mph bumper crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety but still needed $5,258 in repairs. The others tested: Dodge Grand Caravan, $5,495; Toyota Sienna, $5,726; Chevrolet Uplander, $5,799; and Kia Sedona, $6,525. (Yes, that’s 6 miles per hour.)

The value of incompetence: Tank the firm, grab the gold

What do you get if the share price of the company you run topples from $50 to $30 on your watch?

What do you get if your principal stockholder bails out, claiming you failed to act to maintain the share price?

What do you get if you lay off hundreds of employees over the years to reduce expenses but fail to improve the product sufficiently to invigorate revenues?

What you do get? You get rich. Now that Chicago businessman Sam Zell has wheeled himself into ownership of the Tribune Co., current Chairman and Chief Executive Dennis J. FitzSimons is expected to leave at the end of year — with an estimated $40 million, according to corporate disclosure documents.

No ethics? Can’t count? You can work for the U.S. government

News flash! Unethical behavior reported at the highest levels! Financial ineptitude runs amok! Stop the presses! Welcome to today’s diet of bad and more bad government.

Let’s begin with the main course: details of egregious ethical lapses, courtesy of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:

• No new enforcement mechanisms for congressional ethics.
• Ted Stevens still sitting on Senate Appropriations.
• Senate Ethics Committee looking into Sen. Craig, but not Sen. Vitter.
• Millions of missing White House emails still unaccounted for.
• Rep. John Murtha’s abuse of the earmarking process remains unchecked.
• Lurita Doan remains chief of GSA despite illegal conduct.

Quotabull

I feel like I’m going to get to the Oval Office and pick up the rug and say, ‘Oooh my goodness, look at the mess they’ve left!’

— Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Oct. 9, criticizing President Bush in a stump speech in Maquoketa, Iowa.

It’ll never happen. They all want to take care of themselves and the people who are backing them with all that money. I think they’ve forgotten about us. They should throw a tent over Washington. The whole town is a circus.

— Jim Konrad, a retired Firestone worker and lifelong Democrat, listening at a barbershop in Indianola, Iowa, to each Democratic presidential candidate at their Dec. 13 debate rattle off a list of what they would accomplish in their first year as president.

Journalism then; journalism now: comprehending the difference

I became a journalist for my hometown newspaper in the spring of 1970, bearing only a degree in geology, the writing skills gained in only one worthwhile college English course, and a pronounced inability to type speedily or accurately. This was years before Watergate, before the downfall of a flawed Richard Nixon inspired a generation of innocents reared in their presumed rebellion of the ’60s to head off to the suddenly booming industry called journalism school. They all wanted to make a difference.

For the first six months, my reporting led many readers to believe my middle name was “correction.” I was a terrible reporter at first. I had more than a dozen corrections of my stories printed in that first half year. I had only three in the next 19 1/2 years (and I’m still arguing about two of them).

Neil L. Perry made himself my newsroom godfather and over time, forged me into a competent, credible journalist. He, with the help of my first sports editor, John Haywood; my news editor, David James; and my managing editor, Bob Dolan, taught me the practice, purpose and values of journalism. What they taught me then I teach to undergraduates today. Their lessons have retained value. But the corporations that own newsrooms today understand too little those lessons.

Ban books? Ban ideas, ban imagination, ban a future

To ban a book is to ban an idea. Some ideas are good; some are bad. But good and bad are judgments each of us must be free to make — and learn to make.

At S&R — as do so many people in diverse media everywhere — we discuss ideas and express our opinions about them. We try to not suppress the ideas with which we disagree. Rather, we point out what we see as flaws and attempt to persuade others by providing better ideas.

The current flap diverting our attention from more pressing matters involves “The Golden Compass,” a movie derived from the first book in a trilogy called “His Dark Materials” written by Philip Pullman. His novels and the movie (review) have irritated the Catholic Church, which alleges a secularist agenda and fears the film would drive children toward Pullman’s books.

Quotabull

Vision: Consumers will choose Gannett media for their news and information needs, anytime, anywhere, in any form.
Mission: To successfully transform Gannett to the new environment. We will provide must-have news and information on demand across all media, ever mindful of our journalistic responsibilities. [emphasis added]

— from the Gannett Co. Web site.

Our Mission is to be the leading provider of local news, sports and information in the markets we serve, both in print and online. We aim to produce high-quality newspapers and Web sites that provide news and information that is relevant and compelling to our readers, and generate better reach for our advertisers, greater opportunities for our employees, and record results and increased values for our shareholders. Key to our success is our clustering strategy and capitalizing on synergies created through clustering: cross-selling advertising, combining editorial coverage, marketing regional advertising and Web site networks, and consolidating office functions among our newspapers. [emphasis added]

— from the Journal Register Co. Web site.

Pssst! Want a cushy news corporation CEO job?

The Journal Register Co., a media corporation hitting the skids because of flagging ad revenues, just hired a new CEO. James W. Hall, 60, inked a one-year deal for a base pay of $650,000 (I know, mere peanuts) with a lovely set of perks.

He replaces Robert Jelenic, acting CEO since June, who is battling cancer.

Mr. Hall’s compensation agreement (oh my gawd, wait’ll you see it) leaves me speechless considering the company’s financial condition. But first, we must eat our spinach and look at the finances of Journal Register. Then you get dessert. (Teaser: He gets a company-owned 2007 Chevy Envoy, which the company will sell him for $1 in November 2010, and up to $5,500 for lodging near the company’s headquarters.)