One of the truisms I learned in journalism was that alcohol caused more misery than any other substance. It wasn't even close. Police reports had a code for it: HBD. Had Been Drinking.
Gee, now I remember checking out the police reports at the Jackson County Courthouse in Southern Oregon. It was 1973 and I talked my way into a freelance gig checking things in Medford, where I lived, for the Ashland Daily Tidings. There was a gas shortage in those days and that way they didn't have to send a reporter 20 miles up the highway.
The d.a.'s office was very loose about leaving documents lying about. I could just pick up and read pre-sentencing reports and other things that should have been private.
I later got hired at the Tidings full time. $350 a month. Gas prices eased and I commuted. Then my ex got a job shooting news film for KOIN in Portland and we moved there in 1974. He had been making $2 an hour as a gofer at KMED, where he taught himself to shoot film.
The hardest part about being an "objective" presenter of the news back then was sticking to the who-what-when-where-why of the inverted pyramid when there was a broader, more dramatic story to tell. Glad you finally got a chance to tell it!
Three years on the cops beat will change a guy. I mean for the good, more experiences make a more rounded human. Thanks Eric.
Gee, now I remember checking out the police reports at the Jackson County Courthouse in Southern Oregon. It was 1973 and I talked my way into a freelance gig checking things in Medford, where I lived, for the Ashland Daily Tidings. There was a gas shortage in those days and that way they didn't have to send a reporter 20 miles up the highway.
The d.a.'s office was very loose about leaving documents lying about. I could just pick up and read pre-sentencing reports and other things that should have been private.
I later got hired at the Tidings full time. $350 a month. Gas prices eased and I commuted. Then my ex got a job shooting news film for KOIN in Portland and we moved there in 1974. He had been making $2 an hour as a gofer at KMED, where he taught himself to shoot film.
Great narrative piece, Eric! I enjoyed it.
Thank you, Fran. I do enjoy telling these old journalism stories. When did you get to The O?
Nicely done the first time and in the retelling.
Thank you, Kevin.
All the news relevent. Thanks Eric.
The hardest part about being an "objective" presenter of the news back then was sticking to the who-what-when-where-why of the inverted pyramid when there was a broader, more dramatic story to tell. Glad you finally got a chance to tell it!
Thanks, Rob.
Conveys deep feelings of respect and admiration.
Trying to remember their code for reporters.
“Code Neville! Code Neville!”