Norblog

U. of Iowa Gift Alters Image of Frank “Action News” Magid

When I read the news, I was shocked: Frank Magid’s name linked to a writing program at the University of Iowa.

Magid earned degrees in sociology from Iowa (1956 B.A., 1957 M.A.) and immediately hung out a shingle in nearby Marion, Iowa, announcing the creation of Frank N. Magid Associates.

For half a century, for better or worse, no one had more influence in shaping local TV news. He advised station managers looking for a quick cure to low ratings from “the news doctor” on the format, content and presentation of their newscasts.

He often prescribed “Action News,” a fast-paced format big on what I came to call Blood, Bang and Burn – crashes, shootings and fires. The anchors should be friendly, engage in happy talk and cut and color their hair just so.

From my experience – I frequently worked in the newsroom of Magid-advised stations -- no emphasis was placed on writing. Good reporting and writing were, at best, afterthoughts. Magid’s service wasn’t about the message, it was about the delivery of it.

After his death in February 2010, his wife, Marilyn, also and Iowa graduate (1957 B.A.) donated $1 million to the University through the Frank N. Magid Undergraduate Writing Center Fund, which helped the school launch last fall a program offering an Undergraduate Certificate in Writing.

Open to undergraduates regardless of major or college, it requires a commitment of at least 21 semester hours of writing courses. It’s the kind of program that will allow students to develop the critical thinking and writing skills so important to success – and which so many undergraduates lack.

In announcing the program, the University’s newsletter quotes Marilyn:

“’…in all the years in the business, he realized that writing was an inadequacy among many job applicants and clients. Frank always believed that a key component of an excellent liberal arts education – and any successful career – is learning to communicate effectively.’”

To this day, I detest “Action News” as hostile to the good journalism needed to encourage civic engagement and an informed electorate. That is part of the Magid legacy.

But I have a more nuanced appreciation of the man behind the concept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring RV Trip: Retracing the Trace

The highlight of our annual spring RV trip was a journey along the Natchez Trace. It’s thousands of years old and played an important role in the development of the United States. You can be forgiving if you have never heard.

I figure this fascinating story is an appropriate way to restart my blog.

Much of the Trace was originally animal migration trails which Indians used for thousands of years before any white Europeans set foot on them.

Not long after the Revolutionary War, adventurous colonists began crossing the Appalachian Mountains and settling along the Ohio River. But they could not carry their corn and products back over the mountains. Too rugged. The only way to get corn from, say, Louisville to Philadelphia was via New Orleans.

These early settlers built barges and flat-bottom boats and used the currents of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to float their goods to Natchez or New Orleans. After selling their cargo, they disassembled their boats and sold them for lumber.

Strong currents on the two rivers made it impossible to navigate upstream.

So from about 1795 to 1820, these pioneers walked the 444 miles from Natchez to Nashville along the Trace, a 30-day journey. For those fortunate enough to have a horse, the trek took 20 days. Once in Nashville they still had a considerable journey to their farms along the Ohio River.

Today the Natchez Trace Parkway, administered by the National Park Service, runs from Natchez, Miss., 444 miles north to Nashville, Tenn. Think of it as a linear park, a minimum of 800 feet wide, with a two lane road running down the middle. A 50 mph speed limit and a ban on commercial vehicles combine to offer a peacefully, picturesque journey through three states (including the northwestern tip of Alabama). We drove the southern two-thirds, from Natchez to just north of Tupelo, Miss.

Cruising along in our RV, we were never far from reminders of the Trace’s past:

• Several mounds built perhaps 1000 years ago by the Mississippian Indians, who became extinct about 1700.
• Sections of the original Trace, maybe six feet wide and depressed as much as 30 feet, the soil compacted by all those feet and hooves two centuries ago.
• Inns along the route. Since many who walked the Trace were of questionable character, they were served a corn-based mush to eat outside, where they also slept.
• In 1806 Thomas Lincoln walked the Trace. Upon his return to Hardin County, Ky., he proposed to Nancy Hicks. They would name the middle of their three children Abraham.
• About 1815 the first steamboats powered upstream all the way to Pittsburgh. The Trace would soon be obsolete.

But never forgotten. Thanks to the determined effort of preservationists, today we can drive the trace and get an appreciation what life was like in the Old Southwest (Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee) two centuries ago.

 

 

 

 

DePaul Basketball: The Half-Told Story of Two Very Different Games

DePaul blew a 17-point first half lead and, despite a gritty effort that forced overtime, lost to No. 19 Louisville 90-82. The Blue Demons fell to 11-15 and 2-12 in the Big East.

That’s the game that garnered news coverage Saturday.

Ignored by the media, however, was the amazing comeback of that other DePaul basketball team.

The women, down 14 points to Big East opponent West Virginia at the half, opened the second half with a 14-0 run to tie the game, and didn’t let up. They outscored the Mountaineers 53-25 in the second half en route to a 77-63 victory.

West Virginia is not ranked, but it entered the game with a five-game winning streak, including three defeats of ranked teams. Last weekend it upset Notre Dame, to end the Irish’s 21-game winning streak.

The Blue Demons (20/24 in the polls, with a PRI ranking of 18) have won 20 games this season (for the fifth year in a row) against 7 losses. They’re 8-5 in the Big East with three conference games to play.

Amazingly, DePaul, devastated by key injuries and forced regroup in January, is winning with just seven players. In a reference to the movie of the same name, coach Doug Bruno calls them the Magnificent Seven.

That’s the story dedicated fans, like Elaine and me, find only because we know where to look in the niches of the Web where women’s college basketball is actually reported.

The larger sports media is missing a great story.

Too bad.