The scrapblog editor has been enjoying lots of free time lately as she settles into her nice quiet new little job as night breaking news editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune --
oh wait -- that's not right.
What actually happened was, a very large bridge over the Mississippi River fell down Wednesday night, a catastrophe just blocks from the Strib office the likes of which this town has rarely seen. That's meant lots of overtime and 12 days of work in a row coming up for the scrapblog editor and many of her fellow journalists, but we don't mind -- it's real and serious and sorrowful news, and no blog can match what a newspaper can do, no matter what the nasty, nattering, negative nabobs of the 'net say.
And such strange, sad news it is. Interesting, and bittersweet, to see how the catastrophe has brought the community together. Most people we've run into in the Twin Cities this week seem sadder and kinder. Hope the sadder passes, and the kinder stays.
Tonight (Saturday evening) at work, a big, mysterious box arrived in the newsroom. It fell to the scrapblog editor to open it, and inside she found tons of treats, including moon pies and pork rinds. What the heck?? This note with it explained all:
To Star Tribune journalists:
A few days after the Virginia Tech shootings, a large box arrived in our newsroom. Inside was a note and lots of stress-relieving junk food like you'll find in this box. The note was from Joe Hight, managing editor of The Oklahoman of Oklahoma City. Joe wrote that similar boxes arrived in his newsroom after the Timothy McVeigh bombings. He recalled what that gesture meant to his staff, which had been worn down to a nub covering the catastrophic community event.
We were so moved that we vowed to pass it on when we next sensed a newsroom could use a little pick-me-up. So please consider this a journalistic chain letter of sorts, one that you'll pass on when the next bulletin breaks in a newsroom somewhere in America.
Enjoy the snacks. Sorry we couldn't send beer (company policy, ya know). And most of all, take care of yourselves.
The Roanoke (Va.) Times newsroom
We thought that was real nice, and will keep up the tradition.
By the way, Cousin Chris, and probably other of you cousins, drove across the Interstate Hwy. 35 bridge every day. Glad none of you was on it Wednesday night.
The scrapblog editor has been enjoying lots of free time lately as she settles into her nice quiet new little job as night breaking news editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune -- oh wait -- that's not right.
What actually happened was, a very large bridge over the Mississippi River fell down Wednesday night, a catastrophe just blocks from the Strib office the likes of which this town has rarely seen. That's meant lots of overtime and 12 days of work in a row coming up for the scrapblog editor and many of her fellow journalists, but we don't mind -- it's real and serious and sorrowful news, and no blog can match what a newspaper can do, no matter what the nasty, nattering, negative nabobs of the 'net say.
And such strange, sad news it is. Interesting, and bittersweet, to see how the catastrophe has brought the community together. Most people we've run into in the Twin Cities this week seem sadder and kinder. Hope the sadder passes, and the kinder stays.
Tonight (Saturday evening) at work, a big, mysterious box arrived in the newsroom. It fell to the scrapblog editor to open it, and inside she found tons of treats, including moon pies and pork rinds. What the heck?? This note with it explained all:
To Star Tribune journalists:
A few days after the Virginia Tech shootings, a large box arrived in our newsroom. Inside was a note and lots of stress-relieving junk food like you'll find in this box. The note was from Joe Hight, managing editor of The Oklahoman of Oklahoma City. Joe wrote that similar boxes arrived in his newsroom after the Timothy McVeigh bombings. He recalled what that gesture meant to his staff, which had been worn down to a nub covering the catastrophic community event.
We were so moved that we vowed to pass it on when we next sensed a newsroom could use a little pick-me-up. So please consider this a journalistic chain letter of sorts, one that you'll pass on when the next bulletin breaks in a newsroom somewhere in America.
Enjoy the snacks. Sorry we couldn't send beer (company policy, ya know). And most of all, take care of yourselves.
The Roanoke (Va.) Times newsroom
We thought that was real nice, and will keep up the tradition.
By the way, Cousin Chris, and probably other of you cousins, drove across the Interstate Hwy. 35 bridge every day. Glad none of you was on it Wednesday night.
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