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Fire Watch

• Auburn fire almost out

  Dave Moller

  7/17/2009

  Air quality might be a little better today as firefighters are expected to have the Mammoth Fire near Auburn extinguished. The 650-acre blaze in the American River Canyon at the Mammoth Bar Recreation Area produced a large amount of smoke Thursday but is now 95 percent contained, according to Calfire. Another large fire north of Reno on Highway 395 near Hallelujah Junction could produce smoke in the area, depending on the winds. Temperatures are predicted for the mid-90s in western Nevada County through the weekend, bringing the potential for high ozone levels. The Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District predicted ozone levels in the dangerous for sensitive individuals earlier in the week, but they did not develop. However, conditions still exist for high ozone levels and those working or playing outdoors this weekend may consider shorter periods of activity.
• Hallelujah Junction fires raging near Reno

  Dave Moller

  7/17/2009

  RENO, Nev. (AP) — Firefighters at the edge of the Sierra Nevada were trying to contain a pair of brush fires that have burned nearly 12 square miles as officials asked residents to leave homes under threat. The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center said about 600 firefighters on Thursday battled the Trailer 1 and Red Rock fires north of Reno along U.S. 395 near the California line. The agency said the Washoe County’s Sheriff department was coordinating a voluntary evacuation for residents in parts of Rancho Haven. Officials believe the fires were sparked Wednesday by a trailer with a flat tire that was being towed. The center said the Trailer 1 fire has burned about 1,500 acres of grass, brush and juniper near Hallelujah Junction, where U.S. 395 meets California Highway 70. It was 30 percent contained. It says the larger Red Rock fire is estimated at 6,200 acres, with 10 percent containment. No homes were immediately threatened.
• Plumas fire almost out

  Dave Moller

  7/17/2009

  Fire crews continued to secure containment lines around the perimeter of the 200 acre Howland Fire near LaPorte in Plumas County Thursday. A few new spot fires were discovered but were quickly contained. A helicopter was available to make several bucket drops in order to aid firefighters on the ground. Crews will continue holding firelines today and securing the perimeter of the fire. Containment is expected Saturday. All recreation sites, major roads, and community services in and around La Porte and Little Grass Valley Reservoir remain open. Vistors and residents in the local area are advised to use caution while driving due to fire emergency vehicles and heavy equipment. There are no homes or communities threatened at this time. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Updated information and a map may be found at the website, www.inciweb.org.
• Fires burn in Auburn, Lincoln

  Liz Kellar

  7/16/2009

  The smoke clearly visible to the south from Grass Valley is coming from fires in Auburn and Lincoln, said a dispatcher from the Emergency Command Center. A 30-acre vegetation fire is burning at Mammoth Bar Park in Auburn Thursday afternoon. Initial reports indicate fireworks started the fire. Multiple crews are responding to the incident at about 3 p.m. Thursday. A structure fire also was reported in Catta Verdera, a gated community off Sierra College Drive in Lincoln.
• Progress made on Plumas wildfire

  Dave Moller

  7/16/2009

  Good progress was made on the 200 acre Howland Fire last night, with 65 percent containment, according to the Plumas National Forest. The availability of air resources, local knowledge of the remote area, and a well-coordinated effort made by cooperating agencies aided in the success to local firefighters. Today, firefighters will patrol for undetected spot fires, utilize helicopters as air support, and secure the fire perimeter line. Full containment of the fire is expected by Saturday, July 18. The weather forecast is for mild south to southwest winds with temperatures in the 90’s. Residents in eastern Plumas County may see smoke this afternoon. All recreation sites, major roads, and community services near La Porte remain open. The fire is burning in a remote, rugged area approximately 3 miles northeast of La Porte, near the Sierra and Plumas counties line.   There are no homes or communities within the boundaries of the Plumas National Forest threatened at this time. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Updated information may be found at the website, www.inciweb.org.

The startup national newspaper — based on the premise of printing prominent blogs from cities in San Francisco, Chicago and other metropolitans — has folded due to a lack of outside investment, according to a blog post by the company’s owner and publisher Joshua Karp.

Karp wrote:

Despite a significant personal investment on my part, and the additional support of six or seven credit cards, we were unable to raise the minimum amount of money required to reach the next stage of our development. This was a difficult decision for us, but the financial reality of the situation demanded that we suspend further publication immediately, and indefinitely.

Last year, I had an idea. I wondered what would happen if some of the business model principles that work online were applied to the troubled newspaper industry. The more I thought about it, the more the curiosity got to me. So I registered a domain name, developed an action plan, and started the process of building a new kind of newsprint publication.

Everyone said I was nuts, but I did it anyway.

16 issues, 80,000 print copies distributed, another 100,000 or so copies downloaded, and countless new friends, fans, and collaborators all around the world later, I may still be nuts, but I have zero regrets.

Editor & Publisher wrote about the closing here.

I find this particular failure interesting because of the possibilities of the endeavor, which were touted by the New York Times and E&P, as well as what it means for local Jeff Pelline, the former editor of The Union who had been working on the project. Surely we’ll be expecting an announcement from his blog about why things didn’t work out.

Meanwhile, the journalism industry will continue to search for new revenue streams that are sustainable on their own merit.

See Jane Do, which hosts a local radio program on KVMR, beat me to the punch by getting down to the Sactweetup a few weeks ago. They recorded a program about the event and social media in general which you can hear here.

This will be a fun, local twist on a sensation going on across the country. Think mixer and networking event. It’ll give folks who come an opportunity to put some faces to some names and ask questions of folks on the local media’s traditional scene as well as new media scene.

I had planned to host an event of this type for awhile after a conversation with Brenda Horton (@brendahorton). She recently had a social media session on Twitter with local business leaders and is a rising star in the social media landscape. But Jesse Locks got the ball rolling on this one, hooking Marsha Lanier (@MarshaLanier) in as the main speaker and securing the Broad Street Bistro (thanks a million).

I’ll be doing my part for promotion and publicity. I hope folks who follow me in the area will be gracious enough to attend. Now mark the date:

I caught “State of Play” on its opening night and had to really stew on it before I passed judgment. There’s a lot to discuss. But I’ll make it easy on you with my thought in in unordered bulleted points. But first, a couple of synopsis from IMDB.com:

A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman’s assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it’s worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story.

Now, here’s my quick synopsis:

Playing on puns and the coattails of “All the President’s Men,” Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a hard-nosed reporter who through a mix of luck and hard-nosed reporting uncovers a conspiracy that’s leaving a trail of dead bodies. Along with new-age reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), the duo provide a contrast of young and old journalists at work to uncover the evil at play.

“The evil at play.” I know. That’s so cheesy.

Anyways, here’s my notes and memories from the movie:

• Crowe had way too much time to run around and report in the movie for me to think it was realistic. In the real world (at least nowadays), an editor would’ve kicked him in the balls before he got away with missing deadline for “hours.”
• Ben Affleck was actually believable. In fact, I think this was his best role in a long time. At least in something respectable. You know, like Goodwill Hunting. He wasn’t the least bit of distracting because he was in the film. How is that for a back-handed compliment.
• McAdams was solid in her support role. She had just the right amount of spite in her to balance Crowe’s attitude.
• There was a lot of old versus new dialogue, including the inevitable newspapers are dying conversation and “we should be all about the money” argument. It literally turned my stomach. Not only was it a crappy way to take shots at the industry in the background of the movie, it really was inaccurate for the fictional size of the newspaper, given their resources dedicated to the conspiracy. (Yes, I totally read way too far into this portion.)
• Military contractors have deep pockets in this movie. This is where the mix of current events (like the dying journalism industry argument) comes to play again. Blackwater comes to mind. The crazy part, it felt just like this season of 24.
• Why is this movie so reminiscent of “All the President’s Men”? I guess it’s a reflection of all movies and protagonists who do work for a greater good. You know, police officers, lawyers, congressmen, etc. Working for the greater good is pretty sexy. At least that’s what Hollywood wants you and I to think. And make no doubt about it, Crowe was working toward a greater good by digging through this story. He sunk his teeth in this bad boy and held on. Very Bernstein-ish.

Grade: B -
The conspiracy was good and there wasn’t any bitter movie face from me at the end. But I happened to take exception to the culture of the “newsroom.” It was definitely a dream world. Even for metro newspaper reporters. But it did speak accurately to the generational divide. The “young and cheap” versus the “old and expensive.” I wrote about that kind of divide here. I don’t think journalists can learn simply from the elder practitioners. But I digress, see the movie. It’s not bad and journalists may get kicks out of it. Or get mad. Either way, this movies spurs a reaction.

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