Rick found himself in a mad scramble to gather his department budget for the night’s edition – his foursome that day followed a glacially-paced group of ladies at the municipal course and so he did not make it to the office until after 2 p.m. The staff meeting of department heads and slot editors was to start at 3 p.m. and he had only just begun to scour the national wires and pore over the local budget of stories.
“Glad you could make it, Rick,” said Malcom, the tall managing editor who had been pacing the newsroom the past 45 minutes. He was a little annoyed with Rick’s tardiness, but he rarely raised his voice. “Not sure if you heard, but the verdict on ‘Doc’ just came in. Not guilty – can you believe it?”
Doc Sanders had been on trial in Ocala, charged with four counts of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact in connection with a plot to kill his ex-wife. Three co-conspirators had already been found guilty and everyone thought, naturally, the streak would continue with Doc’s conviction.
Rick didn’t even sit in his chair, standing while he banged on the keys of his ATEX computer to pull up the Associated Press state and national budget. He would print that up just below the local budget that had already been assembled then head into the conference room.
Waiting there was most of the Ocala Star-Banner team, among them Fred, the bearded and burly Assistant News Editor ready to give or receive a laugh; Assistant Managing Editor Jacqueline, ready to take over in a moment’s notice; City Editor Francine, making certain every word she says carries a bit of gravitas; Jim, a mustachioed desk editor whose cynicism was practically cliché; Patrick, the Minnesota transplant in the hockey jersey working the sports slot; and Perry, with his neatly-parted dark hair and the customary tie, working the Business section.
Malcom would throw out the first pitch. "We definitely have our lead in Sanders. Acquitted on all counts.”
“Pretty unbelievable,” Jacqueline chimed in. “Kimber is writing the story. It will be one that wraps it up – quotes from Sanders and his attorney, Shellnut. Brad King had no comment.”
King was the prosecuting state attorney; Mark Shellnut the defense attorney. The verdict came after 14 hours of jury deliberation and Kimber’s piece would be ready well before deadline.
“50-point bold stripped across the top,” Jacqueline claimed as her suggestion on how to play the headline of the story out front. “We’ll have centerpiece art to go with it – Kyle was at the courthouse taking shots.”
“What about Kimber’s angle on this?” Francine asked. “Is she writing this from the tone of shock?”
“Gotta be straight, I would think,” Rick said. “Just the facts, and people being surprised – that’s a fact.”
Malcom turned to Fred: “Okay, what else do we have?”
“One of those five employees that Mac Olson fired at the tax collector office is returning to work,” Fred answered. “And that guy who used to be with the Ocala Housing Authority then went to work for the Jacksonville office of HUD, well, he’s been fired, and we know after only a week he’s already getting unemployment checks.”
“What was his name – Tanner, I think?” asked Jacqueline.
“Yes. Hank has the story. Looking at that for the front of Big Sun; will probably lead, though, on the right rail with the guy returning to the tax collector office.”
“What else you got?” Malcom asked.
“Another freaking festival,” Jim offered his minor protest of small-town news and the glut of tent and food truck outings. All chuckled in half-hearted agreement.
Fred continued to list off in rapid fire succession: “Let’s see, Silver Garland Award nominations were announced… looks like the city and county are arguing over who owes what for the extension of 25th Avenue from Fort King south to Maricamp… commissioner Don Greene is calling their Silver River retreats ‘taxpayer-funded social hours’ and others on the commission aren’t too happy about that. Greene’s always good for a quote, that’s for sure.”
“Is that really a story?” Rick asked. “Greene barks and there’s the Banner ready to run with it, as usual!”
“I think we just go with that in Briefs,” Jacqueline said. “Also, the update on (City Manager) Scotty Andrews recovering from surgery – I saw that; why don’t we stick that in Briefs as well?”
“Perry, what you got in Business?” Malcom asked.
“Nothing really local,” Perry answered. “A report came out today about rising unemployment claims and the economy slowing – looks like our lead. And, that Amtrak service is now running in the panhandle. They made a big deal of it, calling it the “missing link” in the line from Los Angeles to Jacksonville. First transcontinental passenger train in 163 years.”
“And sports?” Malcom turned to Patrick.
“The Final Four is coming up this weekend, but not much local,” Patrick said. “Clayton has a column about two local high school baseball tournaments going on at the same time, which seems odd and bad timing for both. Got the usual prep roundup – a stringer heading out to Pine Oaks to cover the county golf championship. Then there’s the outdoor stuff – a saltwater fishing report.”
“Aren’t the women playing their Final Four also?” Jacqueline asked, knowing Patrick probably couldn’t care less.
“Yes, and there’s a story about a Texas Tech player named Sheryl Swoopes we’re going to run. We’ve got five pages for tomorrow, but it’d be nice to trade two of them for Sunday when we really need it.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” remarked Rick.
All the while, Don, the Executive Editor, listened without offering his two cents. Finally, he asked a question that was taken more as a suggestion: “Do we have anything on the Editorial page regarding this verdict?”
“Absolutely not – that’s been wrapped up for a while,” Jacqueline replied.
“I think we just go straight with this, anyway,” Fred said. “Our reaction here is most likely going to be the public’s reaction as well – we’re not in the business of massaging that aspect of it. Our role in this is just the facts and the surprise. No insinuation, no outrage.”
Don looked at his team: “So, what do we have for editorial?”
Jacqueline looked around as though incredulous at the question. Hadn’t there been a big discussion about this earlier in the week? Did he not remember?
“Well, it has to do with the amendment passed by voters last November requiring records of state and local governments to be public,” Jacqueline stated. “The Florida Senate earlier this week exempted its members from that mandate, voting to stamp a seal of privacy on correspondence written or received by legislators. Obviously, we’re ripping the Senate over this one.”
Don concluded the meeting: “All right, the Doc verdict is tomorrow’s paper… unless something breaks.”
That was a bit of a joke at the end, but in this business, nothing is ever that easy.
The calm before the storm
Into the early evening, the newsroom was relatively quiet – only the tapping of keyboards and muffled conversation could be heard under the constant drone of CNN on an overhead television, interrupted only when flipped over to WCJB to hear its report on Doc’s verdict.
Most of the noise was coming in the corner from the Sports department, where the television was tuned to SportsCenter to watch Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann battle for the greatest number of one-liners wedged between scores.
Dean was the veteran writer of the sports team, but April was a slow time for him. No Florida State football, the NASCAR circuit wouldn’t return to Florida until July and the CFCC women’s basketball team that had finished national runner-up the year before was now concluded. His column for the weekend complete, he would help on the rim, but found time to prank his fellow editors.
The story slugs as they would appear on the ATEX screens could be converted undetected, allowing Dean to alter story contents and he did this with uncanny proficiency and unparalleled wit. On this night, he sent out a fake advisory that Bill Clinton was being treated for “the clap” and is now going to spearhead a commission to study a new “Just Say No to Sex” campaign.
“Holy crap! Did you guys see this!?” Rick blurted out in the newsroom, him being the first to see Dean’s handiwork. “What do we do with this?!”
Dean calmly walked over to Rick and said softly, “No, it’s a joke – it’s meant for Jean; she worships the guy. I’ll delete it after I get her reaction.”
“You know, one of these days a story like this is going to get in the paper and we’ll both be fired!”
Jean never noticed the prank story – she had just answered the phone on the city desk. The time was 7:52 and no one thought much of the call, until Jean shouted out to Fred: “It’s Paul. He’s spoken to the sheriff’s office.”
“What about it?” Fred asked.
“They’re confirming those two cops Ergle fired in that killing,” Jean spoke even louder now. “Well, an appeal board just reinstated them.”
“Come again?!” Fred retorted.
“Reinstated. Effective immediately. Back pay pending. Already confirmed.”
Rick joined the fray: “TV 20 had nothing about it – looks like we are it.”
The shooting of black motorist Tony Thomas by a white deputy sparked controversy in the community and beyond, and three weeks ago Sheriff Ken Ergle fired both deputies on the scene for violating department policy
regarding use of force in life-threatening situations. An appeal board heard one of the cases that day and deliberated over four hours into the early evening before ruling in the deputies’ favor.
The initial incident sparked follow-up stories, letters to the editor, and divided a community. A decision on the officers’ appeals was not expected for another day and certainly not a reinstatement by Ergle at this stage of the process.
Malcom had recently left the office, leaving it in good hands on a night when it looked like the paper would go to bed early. When he arrived home, the message was waiting for him: “Call Fred. Deputies reinstated.”
Malcom returned the call, “Hold A1. I’m on my way back.”
Page One had been completed, but was still resting in the composing room. It now seemed destined to be ripped to shreds, and those exacta knives wielded by the pros at the light boards would go back to work.
“What’s the play?” Fred asked. He now had two stories which, on their own, would be leads out front. The jump page from the Doc verdict had already been sent to press, so there was no turning back on the copy already out front.
“Not sure,” Malcom replied.
“I think we lead with the reinstated cops,” Jacqueline said.
Fred concurred: “I agree.”
“Really? The Doc verdict is a bigger story,” Malcom countered. “The verdict in a murder trial involving a prominent citizen? And one that shocked everyone, to boot? That’s the weightier one.”
Rick agreed with Malcom. “The cops story is just a reversal, an administrative decision. Important, yes. But, we’ve been on it for a month.”
“Which is precisely why it matters!” Jacqueline reacted. “People have been following it – they have opinions.”
“They have opinions about Doc, too,” Rick said.
Malcom decided to mediate at this point: “Let’s get the facts first. We don’t decide anything until we see copy.”
By 9:15, the newsroom evolved into controlled chaos, each person from the assistant in composing to the managing editor offering an opinion as to what story should be given most weight.
Paul was a professional. He had quotes from Ergle and board members, but no comments from the deputies, who were communicating only through their attorneys. Top priority was getting a reaction from the Thomas family, but one member refused to comment and referred him to the sister, who could not be reached.
Jacqueline stood over Rick as he commenced re-drawing the front page. “They’re both big – just because they happen on the same night does not mean you play one down,” Jacqueline said.
“So, you want two banner headlines? That seems a bit ridiculous,” Rick said.
Fred leaned in: “Let’s try something like this.” He sketched a draft front page quickly on some graph paper sitting on
Rick’s desk then showed the coterie of editors huddled around the desk.
The Doc verdict was moved down, but still with the dominant 50-point bold headline. Stripped across the top in 40-point bold would be the reinstatement story, including mug shots of both officers.
“Looks like two leads,” Malcom said.
“It is two leads,” Jacqueline replied.
“That’s not a thing,” Rick interjected.
“It is tonight,” Jacqueline continued the back and forth.
“It’s just crowded, and awkward. We can dial down the point size on the deputies and create at least some semblance of hierarchy. The point is impact, and the Doc story will be talked about for years – the cops will burn hot for about a week.”
“Well, you’re just guessing,” Jacqueline said.
“So are you!” Rick snapped back.
“Enough of this,” Malcom once again stepped in to diffuse a situation getting heated. “We’ll go with what Fred drew up. It looks a little crowded, but it gives both stories the import they each deserve.”
“Looks more like we can’t decide,” Rick said, conceding he wouldn’t get his way, but not that he was wrong.
Malcom was satisfied and went back home. Rick went back to the drawing board, then informed the composing staff what was to be done: Reinstated cops stripped five columns up top, a Clinton budget story down the left rail, with the Doc verdict just below the cops and stretching four columns with a bigger headline. Rick held his nose, but did as he was told.
Paul hit his deadline and all that was left was the cut-and-paste. Mission accomplished, A1 went to camera at 11:10.
Rick and Jim waited on the first edition. Fred, Jacqueline and Paul headed straight to the watering hole – on this night, it would be Michael’s Mesquite, which tended to allow the late comers from the Banner to come in and drink after hours.
A wine, a beer, and a whiskey drink complemented what was for a time idle conversation. Then Fred set his glass down. “Rick was right. It looks like two leads. It’s confusing. Readers won’t know where to look.”
“They’ll look at both,” Jacqueline said.
“That’s not the point.”
“But, they’ll understand,” she said. “They’re not fools.”
“It’s not about them being fools,” Fred said. “It’s about us making a choice and showing it.”
Paul leaned back, drew a breath and sipped his Jack and Coke. “We did make a choice,” he said. “We just didn’t like it.”
“In the end, we told them what happened,” Jacqueline explained. “If we run the reinstatement big and the Doc verdict small, we’ll get angry calls. If we run Doc big and the cops small, we’ll get angry calls. We’re arguing about cosmetics here, but what we do is about much more than cosmetics. We got the stories right, and that’s what matters.”
“I suppose” Fred said. “But we can get the stories right and with a great layout, and do it on deadline. Maybe, next time.
“All right, let’s go before the sports guys show up and start arguing about Dean Smith and Rick Pitino.”
Another paper put to bed. Do it all again tomorrow.
