Monday Night Football To Include Football

Published October 4, 2010

You might have heard the New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins in Monday Night Football. Commentator Jeremy Bernfeld laments that MNF is not really about F anymore:

Hank Williams Jr. and Gloria Estefan tape the opening for the new Monday Night Football opening in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, June 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Hank Williams Jr., Gloria Estefan, face off in Monday Night Football (AP)

As viewers, we’re “treated” to a full 90-minute pregame show and a game that’s supposed to last two-and-a-half hours, though it always seems to last longer. The broadcast itself is as bloated as the game time, with three men in the announcer’s booth and two sideline reporters.

According to its theme song, the game is a “Monday Night party.” Monday nights don’t bring to mind parties, at least not fun ones. As in, “come on over, me and my tax returns made nachos!”

I’m excited for the game, especially when the Pats play, but it can be hard to see the game through the forest of “extras” that I rarely want. Each February, we’re all treated to the spectacle that is the Super Bowl. I don’t need a mini-Super Bowl every Monday, just a plain old football game.

How are you taking in the game tonight?

What His Facebook Page Says About Kimani Washington

Published October 2, 2010

Kimani Washington's Facebook profile photo

Kimani Washington (Facebook)

Kimani Washington describes himself as “The realest n—- livin’ In and outta prison” on his Facebook page. Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin was tipped off to the page.

Washington was arrested early Saturday morning in Manchester, N.H., in connection with the Mattapan murders. He is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and receiving a stolen motor vehicle in connection with the shooting.

Washington is not charged with murder.

On Facebook, Washington’s name is displayed as Kimani Iklhas. I Googled the word and asked on Twitter for the meaning of Ikhlas — it’s Arabic for “purity,” “fidelity” or “sincerity” and is the name of the 112th chapter of the Holy Quran.

Here are some of Washington’s pearls of wisdom, as posted on his Facebook Wall. The latest entry is dated Sept. 20:

If u don’t spot the vic(tim) in the first 30 seconds that means ur IT. If u don’t hear the shots when the shells yell Sun that means ur HIT!

And from Aug. 22:

I’m still washin’ my s— out in the SINK. ‘Cause even when I’m free I’m in the CLINK. Being free is what you THINK… I’m a G I need a DRINK!

A woman named Latifah Ruff follows up with the comment: “U r crazy in the am that jail talk is not good 4 da soul”

Almost all of Washington’s posts read like rap verse. On another post, Ruff comments: “Rap on Mr.Boston.”

Information May Be Free, But It’s Expensive

Published October 1, 2010

Normally it’s WBUR asking people for money. But as our fall pledge drive got underway this week, another news organization reminded us that news has to be paid for one way or another.

A pile of American bank notes (Daniel Borman/Flickr)

The money has to come from somewhere. (Daniel Borman/Flickr)

The Boston Globe’s paywall announcement prompted some interesting reactions from our own listeners. My friend Christian Holland (@crholland) tweeted:

Globe creating subscription website BostonGlobe.com; launching 2nd half of ’11 http://t.co/hva6ucQ Guess I’ll be spending more time on @WBUR

We have received a lot of comments like this, actually, and it’s nice to hear. But I responded to Christian thus:

@crholland It’s a common misconception that @WBUR content is free. :)

Because 90.9 FM and wbur.org are free to use, people seem to forget that high-quality news and information are not free to produce. Only an estimated 10 percent of people who use WBUR give us money.

And yet our business model is arguably the most successful in the industry right now. That’s why Craigslist founder Craig Newmark this week said NPR will be the dominant news force in 10 years. Trust is “the new black,” he said. People support us because they trust us.

Continue reading →

Photo Of The Day: Planes At Castle Island

Published October 1, 2010

Isaac watching the planes taking off at Castle Island (Chris Devers/Flickr)

Isaac watching the planes taking off at Castle Island (Chris Devers/Flickr)

Crack photographer Chris Devers — whose work we feature frequently in the pages of this website — provides today’s inaugural Photo of the Day on Hubbub. We’re reinvigorating the long-dormant Listener Photo Project on Flickr. More about that in a moment.

Chris describes his 9-foot-by-4-foot(!) photomontage:

All of these pictures were taken over the span of half an hour or so while having a picnic dinner with the family.

I wasn’t really keeping track while I was doing this, but there are probably half a dozen or so individual planes (most shown multiple times, of course), and I dunno, maybe fifty or so images in total.

Due to Flickr constraints, the largest version available here is 2048 x 1027pixels, and a bit fuzzy in some of the details. The original is 11,454 x 5,745, or around 111″ by 52″ (9+ feet by 4+ feet) if printed at 300dpi resolution. And quite a bit sharper, too :-)

I know there are a lot of sharp shooters out there. Want to share you work with ‘BUR Nation? Join our Flickr group and submit your work now.

Every day, I’ll hand-pick a truly great image from the group and feature it here. If you submit a masterpiece and I don’t pick it, be patient — it’s probably in the queue.

The more detail you provide — names, places, camera details — the more fun we’ll have. And please do license your work with some flavor of Creative Commons.

Happy shooting!

Friday Morning: Rain, Mattapan Murders, James Levine

Published October 1, 2010

What’s news on a super-windy Friday morning in Boston:

5 Dead As Drenching Rains Take Aim At New England

Torrential downpours from a faded tropical storm marched into the Northeast on Friday, a day after claiming five lives, washing out roads, knocking out power and dousing some East Coast cities with more rain in hours than they normally get in months. (AP)

Mattapan Homicide Teams Find Guns, Evidence

“They keep telling you not to take the job personally. But you always do. You can’t help it. Especially with something like this, when a baby is involved,” said one Boston police detective. (Herald)

BPD: Tot Found Unattended Days Before Killings

Just nine days before 2-year-old Amanihoteph Smith and his young mother were cold-bloodedly gunned down in the street, EMTs found the baby boy toddling unattended at 9:30 a.m. in Mattapan swathed only in a diaper, according to Boston police and the state Department of Children and Families. (Herald)

BSO Maestro Levine Is Back At The Podium

Maestro James Levine takes the stage at Symphony Hall tomorrow night after months of recuperating from major back surgery. The conductor was forced to cancel more than half of his performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra last season. (WBUR)

T Begins Posting Real-Time Data On Trains Today

The MBTA is to release real-time data today telling riders where subway trains are located and how long it will take for the next train to arrive. That means that in a matter of days riders will be able to use their phones or go online to find arrival times and navigate the Orange, Blue, and Red lines with less frustration. (Globe)

More Republicans Favor Romney In 2012

The former Massachusetts governor and candidate for president in 2008 garnered the support of 21 percent of Republicans who consider themselves moderate or liberal, topping former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who attracted 15 percent of the vote. Even among Palin’s presumed base — conservative voters — Romney came out on top, winning 19 percent of the vote to Palin’s 16 percent. (Globe)

What else is going on?

Blowing Up The ‘Myths’ Of The Texting Ban

Published September 30, 2010

In my previous post on the new texting-while-driving ban, I quoted the head of the Chiefs of Police Association saying 1) the new ban will be difficult to enforce and 2) that it may result in more, not fewer, crashes.

On The Angle, Boston.com’s new opinion blog, Rob Anderson dismisses those claims as myths:

Let’s start with myth one: Many news reports have claimed — and some well-read bloggers have repeated — that driving-text bans don’t decrease the number of texting related crashes on our roads, and, that in some states, such bans have even increased them. Here’s the problem. That argument is lifted — uncritically — from a pretty unconvincing study released by the Highway Loss and Data Institute, a group of insurers that has long opposed driving-text bans. If you ignore the media and actually take a look at the report, it’s easy to see where the group’s bias has clouded its judgment.

Ahem, count me as one of those uncritical bloggers. Anderson says there are three reasons this logic is flawed:

  1. The insurance companies oppose texting bans, and the study is funded by insurance companies.
  2. The study does not provide evidence for a causal link between texting bans and increased crashes.
  3. The study compares a period in which fewer people texted overall to a period in which far more people texted.

As for Myth No. 2 — that texting laws are unenforceable — Anderson points to pilot projects in Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., that proved effective.

After six months of enforcement, the department observed texting while driving plummet 68 percent in Hartford and 42 percent in Syracuse. These findings suggest — quite convincingly, I might add — that when carried out properly, bans can work.

It’s a thorough write-up, worth reading. We’ll have to wait to see just what effect the ban has here in Massachusetts. Regardless, you’re going to stop texting, right?

No More Texting Or Tweeting While Driving

Published September 30, 2010

A sign over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston alerts drivers to a new state law banning texting while driving. (Bill Sikes/AP)

A sign over the Pike in Boston (Bill Sikes/AP)

It is law in Massachusetts today: You can get fined and lose your license for getting caught texting while driving — even while stopped in traffic.

Our producer Keosha Johnson posted a really useful FAQ on the new Safe Driving Law, answering such questions as Can an officer cite someone if he or she did not actually see the person texting? and Do police officers have the right to read the text messages on someone’s phone?

The law has many skeptics, including retired Police Chief Wayne Sampson, director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, who spoke with WBUR’s Morning Edition.

“The problem with this type of a violation is that we have to observe the actual violation,” Sampson said. “And if an operator is holding the device down below the window level, it would be difficult to observe.”

And that’s exactly why texting bans elsewhere have led to the opposite of their intended effect, Sampson said.

“There has not been a reduction in motor-vehicle crashes because of this. And in some states, the number of motor vehicle crashes actually went up because they found that people were trying to be more deceptive by hiding the cellphone, and that was keeping their eyes off the roadway.”

Sampson was referring to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Back in June, I broke down exactly what “texting” means under this law — and boldly declared that you and I and everyone with a smartphone has done it. (A great many of you said no, you have never texted while driving, thank you very much.)

If you missed it, the New York Times has a great game that tests your distractedness.

Globe Will Offer 2 Websites: Free And Paid

Published September 30, 2010

We have all been waiting to see how the Boston Globe would charge for content on the Web. This just in:

The Boston Globe next year will split its digital news brands into two distinct websites, keeping Boston.com free while establishing a subscription-only pay site, BostonGlobe.com, which will feature all the content produced by the newspaper’s journalists, publisher Christopher M. Mayer said today.

The bifurcated paywall will launch in the second half of 2011.

Boston.com logo

Boston.com is one of the most valuable brands in the country.

This announcement comes the day after the departure of the website’s chief editor. Whether he saw this coming or not, David Beard was instrumental in making the Boston.com brand stand out from that of the Boston Globe.

With two strong brands in its arsenal, the NYT-owned Globe will continue building the enormous traffic and advertising revenue of Boston.com — and charge users for a premium, newspaper-like reading experience for the journalism:

BostonGlobe.com, designed to closely approximate the experience of reading the paper’s print version, will contain all the stories and other content from the day’s paper as well as exclusive reports, in-depth news, analysis, commentary, photos and graphics, plus video and interactive features.

The (paid) Globe Reader app is a start but falls short. As Dan Kennedy noted, the Reader does a poor job showcasing multimedia.

By focusing on the journalism at BostonGlobe.com — and leaving the slideshows, weather, travel news, events calendars and clutter to Boston.com — I imagine a website something like new Twitter. Focused, high design, multimedia-rich.

There are no pricing details yet.

As @agwieckowski notes on Twitter: “The NYT is next.” Another NYT property, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, erected a partial paywall in August.

Thursday Morning: Texting Ban; FBI Involved In Mattapan

Published September 30, 2010

Here’s what’s news on a pre-storm Thursday morning in Boston:

Texting While Driving Is Now Illegal

State officials say they know enforcement of the new law may not be easy, but they hope just having it on the books increases awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. (WBUR)

Police: SUV Seen Near Boston Shooting Scene Found

Boston’s police commissioner says an SUV being sought in connection with the slayings of four people earlier this week has been recovered. (AP)

Menino, City Officials Visit Mattapan After Murders

With the help of the FBI, Boston police are continuing to search for suspects in the shooting rampage that left four people dead, including a 2-year-old child, in Mattapan early Tuesday morning. A fifth person remains in critical condition. (WBUR)

2 Accused In Jaewon Martin’s Death Plead Not Guilty

As the men accused of gunning down a 14-year-old honors student in May stood behind a 4-foot wooden partition in Suffolk Superior Court during their arraignments yesterday, relatives of the victim occupied an entire row in the courtroom, sobbing and consoling one another. (Globe)

MBTA Motorcycle Unit Under Scrutiny

The I-Team first reported last week that one veteran officer is suspected of paying herself for dozens and dozens of details she never worked. Now the I-Team has learned all ten members of the MBTA police motorcycle unit are banned from working funeral processions effective immediately. (WBZ)

What are you reading today?