Chron to Staff: Knock off the `Wussy' smack

Newspaper employees reminded not to harass each other

Angleton Newspaper War?

Editor Boddy says plans going full bore; What will Toth do?

Merkel's efficiency

Wagner's signs still everywhere, but the election's OVER!

HOUSTON -- It could just be a coincidence that the Houston Chronicle decided to haul in its employees for a refresher course on sexual harassment right after the newsroom was all atwitter & buzzing over an allegation of female on male sexual misbehavin'.

But it's not being viewed as a coincidence by those in the know.

The sexual harassment allegations concern a female scribe who apparently is having a problem or obsession with one of the swashbuckling young men on the staff who evidently complained to management that her overtures were getting to be a pain in the ass.

Hence, the sexual harassment seminars.

The Chron is notorious for staff in-breeding.

This could be viewed as a problem at some Big City newspapers, but the sexual tension that hums constantly in the newsroom is said to be a wellspring of creative, award-winning ideas such as launching the paper's witty fast-food restaurant review, posting a Blog on Chron.com and publishing the largest comics section in the Western Hemisphere.

Among the words Chron staffers have been forbidden to utter are "wuss," according to one seminar participant.

The lecture, conducted by an attorney, also covered ethic slurs. On the no-no ethnic slur list are: coonass (except in certain parishes of Louisiana), camel jockey (or even its acronym "C.J."), wop and raghead, said our Chron source.

Observer v. Bulletin

Meanwhile, here in Brazoria County, renegade Texas journalist Micheal Boddy reports that efforts to launch a brand new newspaper in the county seat of Angleton are being heartily welcomed by the citizenry of that burgh.

"Almost everyone from Angleton we approach to sell a subscription buys one, and advertisers are beginning to come to us," Boddy reported in an email bursting with enthusiasm.

"We've already sold enough retail ads to get a small edition off the ground, and it looks like we'll be able to get enough during the next two weeks to put out two 12 page broadsheet sections with process color front and back on each of the sections.

"It seems the good citizens of Angleton can't get enough of the dream. They're determined to have their own newspaper to help them avoid drifting into the anonymity of being just one of many disconnected bedroom communities outside the city limits of Houston. Towns where no one knows who's doing what because there's no common thread to bind them together."

It is not yet know whether Boddy has signed up to join the Angleton Chamber of Commerce. We think he'd be a good addition to the Newcomer Welcoming Committee.

If Boddy's dream comes to fruition, it raises the obvious question: what will The Bulletin do to meet the challenge?

When Southern Newspapers announced it was closing The Angleton Times, Bulletin co-publisher John Toth was quick to pen a front-page warning to any would-be newspaper tycoon tempted to fill the Times' void.

Toth's message essentially is the same warning he issues every year or so from the ad-filled front page of his tabloid.

The boilelrplate Toth warning ruefully warns that publishing a newspaper is really hard work, you have to know what you're doing to be successful, meeting all those deadlines is very very hard work, you'll lose your shirt and any savings you might have if you choose to ignore this neighborly advice and you quite likely could become homeless.

This, obviously, has not dissuaded the gung-ho Boddy, a former correspondent for the Chron's This Week in Brazoria Co. section, and the principal owner of the yet-to-be published Angleton Observer, Eric Riley.

So, assuming The Angleton Observer does get off the ground, will this mean that Toth will feel compelled to cover the nuts and bolts of Angleton public affairs, which of course will mean attending some City Council and school board meetings, and perhaps the occassional Brazoria County Commissioners meeting (which are always a laugh fest, we're here to tell ya!). Will be bring back the weekly rant about the county's spiraling cell phone bills (when county employees squandered hundreds of dollars by not using pay phones?)

There's no telling at this point, so Stay Tuned!

We have been meaning to congratulate Toth, a former Chron staffer, for pulling the cigarette ads from his free weekly paper, after we chastized him from breaking with his long tradition of accepting no tobacco or liquor advertising.

We're not saying our editorializing had a direct result in Toth pulling the Bucee's ciggie ads, but we noticed that shortly after we scolded him for the tobaccy ads, he pulled The Brazosport News' link from his Web page. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, John. We just wanted you to stay true to your journalistically ethical ideals.

Now, let the Great Angleton Newspaper War begin!

Merkel -- Wagner

You've got to hand it to Mike Merkel.
The guy's efficient, even when it hurts.

No more than a few days had passed after he narrowly lost the Brazoria County Sheriff's race to Charlie Wagner before all his signs had been removed from yard and fences in the B'port area (at the parts that we traverse.)

This we like to see.

We can't tell you how annoying it is for political candidates to keep all their signage up for weeks and weeks after a political race has concluded. It just ain't right. Plus, it's rude. And unsightly.

So far, we're still seeing quite a few of Wagner's green and white signs urging us to vote in a race that's now been over for a week, while Merkel's blue and white signage is long gone.

In the big picture, though, Wagner already is scoring points with us.

The cowboy be-hatted lawman told Clute-based reporter Michael Wright that he is planning on a change that we think could spare all of us from the unproductive finger-pointing that goes on about the county jail's problems.

Wagner plans to hire a jail administrator. This should have been done, oh, about a decade ago.

If nothing else, maybe a jail administrator will stand up and say, "OK, it's all my fault," the next time the jail is found to be in noncompliance with state or federal jail standards. That sure would be better than all the buck-passing the public hears when things go haywire at the county lockup. Way to go, Charlie. Now tell us you'll appoint a public information officer.