Some final words from Kevin Wendt:

Well dude, this will be the last post from the Biloxi North-Northeast bureau from me, as I head back to San Jose tomorrow (Wednesday).

I've posted the Tuesday paper at newspagedesigner. Tomorrow I drive from Columbus to Atlanta for the wonderful-sounding Atlanta-to-Dallas-to-L.A.-to-San Jose flight.

There's a part of me that's bummed and a bit guilty to be heading off (but another that's ready to get home, and there's an exciting vacation coming up). A couple of us have talked about what we here in Columbus have done, and what theoverall Sun Herald has done, and pretty much agree it will be a long time before it really sinks in.

We've heard reports of people in Southern Mississippi working out street-wide reading patterns so they only need one paper for several residents, just so we can get the paper out to more people. We've seen the front page used on various newscasts, especially the "HELP US NOW" front.

But most of all, I think we all know we're helping people, and we know going forward there is a lot more to do (that's where the guilt sets in). Whether it's the information we can provide or the distraction of a crossword puzzle, this is the event where we truly feel the impact the newspaper can have on people's lives.

There are a lot of tough decisions coming up for folks, especially those with kids who need to get enrolled in school and are unsure how safe it is to stay in Biloxi. For those of us who came to help, I know I'm grateful to be heading back to some sort of normalcy. For those from Biloxi, some whom now own whatever is left in the trunk of their car, I, and I think everyone reading this, wish you the best of luck and as soft a landing as possible.

Some random blurbs/kudos:

* From the Tuesday, August 29 paper to today's Tuesday, September 6 paper, the Sun Herald published 204 pages - about 20 of which were full page ads. The paper began taking advertising in the Thursday edition, if memory serves.

* The original group who published the Tuesday paper was six people: From Biloxi, asst. city editor Blake Kaplan (who has managed this process with unbelievable calm, the man at the center of communcation between the Columbus paper, his paper and Knight Ridder corporate -- no easy task); 1A designer Jared Head (who not only rocked out some great pages, but does a hi-freakin-larious Stan Tiner impersonation), graphics artist/designer Rudy Nowak, wire editor Paul Hampton. The Macon Telegraph sent us presentation editor Randy Waters (who has since be renamed Ricky, Rusty and Raphael). From San Jose: some yahoo named Kevin.

* We've now grown to over 20, with contributions from Biloxi, Macon, San Jose, Miami, Wichita, Aberdeen, Contra Costa, Akron, Charlotte, Ft. Worth and Lexington. Say what you want about Knight Ridder, but when it's time to mobilize, the mobilization happens.

* For the past two days, the Sun Herald has been put together in Columbus and ftp'ed down to Biloxi, where their presses are up and running. The goal is to transtion down there over the weekend, and begin full production of pages in Biloxi Sunday for Monday. Many of those from other KR papers here will transition down to Biloxi with the rest of the team.

* Ever had a group visit your newsroom and you think "jeez, what are these people doing here?" Columbus had another paper show up, and their hospitality has been way beyond the call of duty. Furthermore, they've been unbelievably patient, answering questions about DTI, helping with pages when we're in a jam, and generally just making everyone feel welcome. Many thanks.

*�And of course, to THE newsdesigner, many thanks for posting updates and spreading the word.

kevin

Thank you, Kevin. The work that you, the Biloxi folks, the Times-Pic staff and all the other Gulf Coast journalists have done has simply been the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in this business. Words fail. And let the rest of us remember, as the front-page presence fades and our eyes turn from the South to Supreme Court hearings and state legislatures and other things, that these courageous folks' battles will go on. They now face the gargantuan tasks of rebuilding their communities, their homes and their lives. Godspeed, all of you.

Once again, ladies and gentleman, direct from Columbus, Ga., Kevin Wendt!

The Monday pages are up at newspagedesigner. Just another solid, solid newspaper.

It defies belief how calm and collected everyone here from Biloxi seems. Last night we received pictures of a couple folks' houses. One seemed pretty OK (there'll be some trips to the Home Depot), while another guy's apartment complex is pretty messed up. His apartment is relatively OK, but the building lost its roof. And his car is totaled ("And I was THIS CLOSE to paying it off!").

I'm sure work is a good distraction and any down time is spent wondering about all sorts of issues. I just can't say enough about how professional and down-right friendly everyone has been. By this point, someone should have blown up at someone about something. I mean, it's still a freakin' newspaper!

But that just hasn't happened. Along with working our asses off, there is plenty of laughter to brighten the mood. When everything gets serious and we hit the late-night rush -- and there's always a late-night rush -- all it takes is a good Stan Tiner impersonation (exec. editor in Biloxi) to lighten the mood.

Biloxi's presses are up and running, and we're transmitting pages down to them. Operations will slowly move down there until the end of the week, when hopefully the transition will be complete.

kevin

And speaking of Mr. Tiner, there's this tale from Knight Ridder Biloxi update memo at Romenesko:

On the humor-in-every-tragedy front, Executive Editor Stan Tiner had a once-in-a-lifetime experience last night; he was in a port-a-potty when a forklift picked it up to reposition. He suffered no lasting ill effects.

The lastest from Kevin Wendt:

Pages from Biloxi's 32-page Sunday edition are up at newspagedesigner. A slightly more edited posting to stop from hogging all the new stuff!

Last night was quite a little scramble with the Rehnquist guy. We had a 10:30 close for the Biloxi paper (that's 7:30 p.m. in San Jose, bringing to two the things I can't ever complain about again: deadline and CCI -- we're using DTI out here, and the learning curve is, well, getting better). So, we got the news at about 11:15. Good ol' chasers...

The big development today is that Biloxi is going to attempt to run its presses down there. We're publishing 20,000-25,000 copies here and attempting to run 20,000-25,000 more down there. Discussions are beginning about how to move the operation back to Biloxi. Opinions vary on how soon a move would be made, but as power and water pressure start to get more consistent, that talk will heat up fast.

Right now, I overheard someone say we've got 17 people in Columbus working with the Sun Herald. They include folks from Biloxi, San Jose, St. Paul, Contra Costa, Aberdeen, Macon, Wichita, Miami -- geez, is that all? What a phenomenal effort by all, both here and especially down in Biloxi.

kevin

Also on Sunday, the Sun Herald ran this doubletruck graphic by San Jose Mercury-News folks Pai, Robert Hernandez, Jonathon Berlin and Leigh Poitinge. A PDF of the graphic is here, and an HTML version here.

Today's update from Kevin Wendt, on the scene in Columbus, Ga., helping put together the Biloxi Sun Herald:

Day 5: Hurricane Katrina is up at newspagedesigner. Great 1A photo by Tim Isbell, and another solid effort by Jared Head on 1A.

Those of us in Columbus, Ga., got a visit from the man himself last night: Bryan Monroe. He's heading back after leading the charge upon arrival Monday in Biloxi. And after days of no sleep or attempting to sleep on the floor, he was still gracious enough to take the group here out for a beer. Awesome.

Three quick notes from his many stories of his time down in Biloxi:

1) For the first two days, the deployment of reporters and figuring out what to cover depended on one thing: gas.

2) While there was some electricity at the paper, those thinking it was an oasis of air conditioning are mistaken. Without water pressure, the air conditioner may run, but there's nothing there to cool it.

3) The menu during the beginning days: Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, with Saltine crackers for desert.

4) Bryan saw the devastation after Hurricane Andrew. "That one isn't even close to this."

5) The paper is starting to get running water. I'll leave that one alone.

kevin

That's some fine work, everyone, and it would be even if you weren't working under some horrendous conditions. I am humbled.

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Here's today's Biloxi update from Kevin Wendt:

I've posted the Sun Herald's Friday pages at newspagedesigner.

It was a mad rush at the end of the night last night, but that's to be expected. Communication continues to get better as the Biloxi newsroom gets steady Internet access. I know it's been said before: How did newspapers ever publish before the Internet?!

We're now up to about 12-14 folks -- 7 from Biloxi, the rest from San Jose, Miami, Wichita, Aberdeen, Akron and Macon, and are making plans to bring in more. The plan is to keep publishing from Columbus, Georgia, for about another week and a half. So, the push is to attempt to get enough folks here to not rely on last-minute help from Columbus staffers (who have been incredibly, unbelievably gracious in hosting us and letting us work in their newsroom). We're also moving up from 24-page sections to 28-page sections starting today, with a desire to grow from there.

That's the update. Talk to you later, man.

kevin

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Here's today's update from the estimable Kevin Wendt in Columbus, Ga., helping put out the Biloxi Sun-Herald.

We just finished the Friday paper, and I've just posted all our Thursday pages, including a killer 1A by Biloxi 1A designer Jared Head. I'm told someone at NBC or ABC reporting from Gulfport held it up to start the newscast.

While there are certainly kinks in the process -- ever try giving someone directions with a bad cell phone connection? try talking about putting out an entire newspaper! -- but by the end of the night Biloxi was getting a bit more phone reception and Internet access. Still a bit sketchy though.

Overall the work continues to be amazing. It's difficult to even picture what everyone down in Biloxi is up against, but the reporting and photography has been magnificent -- and as we get organized it's only going to get better.

kevin

Yes, a nice page. Reminds me a bit of one of those great Miami Herald covers from Hurricane Andrew.

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Kevin Wendt, news design director at the San Jose Mercury News, is down in Columbus, Ga., helping the good folks there publish the Biloxi Sun Herald. He was nice enough to send along this remarkable report of what the last few days have been like.

First off, there truly are no words for what this experience is like. The fact of the matter is, I'm going back to San Jose at some point. My apartment awaits. My phone works. I'm on the Internet. I've talked to family members, and we're way, way, way far away from coast. But the four Biloxi Sun Herald folks here are just finding out how their families have fared and all still have no idea if they have a house to go home to. The Biloxi Sun Herald is still looking for unaccounted-for staffers to check in down in Biloxi. The entire situation is a definition of "disaster" I've never been this close to, and to be honest, hope no one ever has to go through.

On Sunday, I got a call that Knight Ridder wanted to get a group of folks to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer -- about 5 hours from Biloxi on a normal day, 7-10 hours on Sunday -- to publish the Biloxi Sun Herald in case it wasn't able to publish from Biloxi. I was in Chicago for the weekend, and decided it was the right thing to do. Quite frankly, there were a lot of reasons I thought about not coming. But the argument that won out was, basically, if I'm ever at a paper in a natural disaster, I'd like to know someone would come help, too. At this point, that reason feels weak, and it doesn't begin to touch on the emotion experienced by what we're attempting to do. It's indescribable.

Continue reading "Getting the Sun Herald on the Street"

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