Pete Nickeas

This whole Hastings / Rolling Stone / McChrystal flap is bringing about a lot of good journalism discussions.

But on Sunday, bored for about 15 minutes, I turned on CNN and heard a CBS correspondent acknowledge her “unspoken agreement” with the people she covers: she won’t “embarrass them by reporting insults and banter.”

Background… Michael Hastings’ much discussed profile of (former?) Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Here’s the excerpted transcript … … …

KURTZ: When you are out with the troops and you’re living together and sleeping together, is there an unspoken agreement –
LOGAN: Absolutely.
KURTZ: — that you’re not going to embarrass them by reporting insults and banter?
LOGAN: Yes.
KURTZ: Tell me about that.
LOGAN: Yes, absolutely. There is an element of trust.

… … …

Element of trust? I’m sorry. Maybe this is a TV thing? I don’t know. I don’t know of this “element of trust” she speaks of that gives reporters a “don’t embarrass my sources” card.

I mean, if someone tells you off the record and you say “yea, off the record,” then that stays between you. There is certainly an element of trust between sources and reporters in that regard.

Unless you establish ground rules (as suggested here by Tom Ricks), and you say / do something stupid in plain sight of a reporter,  why would that not be reported? Why SHOULD that not be reported?

To be fair, Logan continued with another point after saying “there is an element of trust.”

CONTINUING… … …

LOGAN: And what I find is the most telling thing about what Michael Hastings said in your interview is that he talked about his manner as pretending to build an illusion of trust and, you know, he’s laid out there what his game is. That is exactly the kind of damaging type of attitude that makes it difficult for reporters who are genuine about what they do, who don’t — I don’t go around in my personal life pretending to be one thing and then being something else. I mean, I find it egregious that anyone would do that in their professional life.

And, I mean, I take that to the point of, even when I plan to interview someone about something difficult, and they want to know the areas of the interview, I might not say, well, we’re going to spend the whole interview on this, but I will list that. I will list that controversial issue.
KURTZ: Because you don’t want to blindside them.
LOGAN: Because I don’t believe in that.

HERE is what she’s referencing from the earlier Hastings interview:

KURTZ: Did the rest of the media, in your view, protect General McChrystal? I mean, there are a lot of glowing profiles about this guy. “Newsweek” called him a “Jedi Warrior.” You come in. You’re not a beat reporter. You’re there to do one piece, and you gave us a very different side of the way the war is being run.
HASTINGS: Oh, I’m positive that that’s the case with General McChrystal. He was a subject of a series of glowing profiles. And there’s — this is actually an interesting journalistic point.

There’s a reason why when General McChrystal took the job, everyone writes a glowing profile of him, because then that assures access later on. And that assures better — if you ever write a favorable story, they’ll get better access later.

And that was a game General McChrystal’s team played very well, that if you get — that if you write us a good story, we’ll give you good access.

They gave unprecedented access to everybody. You know, they let — you know, debriefings. They let you hang out with them. And they try to make you feel like you’re part of the team.

But that’s an illusion. You’re really part of the team. You know?

… … …

To me, it doesn’t sound like Hastings is “pretending to build an illusion of trust.” It sounds like (from Hastings’ answer) that McChrystal was building the illusion throughout the course of these glowing profiles.

But, it is good to know that a CBS reporter dedicated to covering two wars and the ongoing deployment of hundreds of thousands of young people in support of major combat operations, has an “unspoken agreement” to not embarrass the people she covers.  Every time I see a CBS report on the war I’m going to ask myself, “I wonder what information has been left out because of this unspoken agreement not to embarrass people.”

CHICAGO –People in Chicago drive like it’s a competition where MY destination, no matter where, is far more important than YOUR destination.

It’s the most democratic sport in the city because cars are so ubiquitous that seemingly everyone can participate.

Within the confines of a four lane highway, generally speaking, it matters not if you’re driving a hooptie on a quarter tank or a new sports car. You can be a seasoned veteran, an all-star even, but the 16 year old girl texting on her two-way may prove to be your fiercest competitor.

Everybody can play.

And everybody has a strategy. My younger brother Mike says he strives to be a defensive driver by staying ahead of the flow of traffic and using the “weaving” technique. He will see how close he can get the front passenger wheel well to the neighboring car while passing on the left and in a seamless motion jump right in front of the vehicle he was passing while continually accellerating.

I’m a fan of driving at a steady pace that exceeds the average speed but not by much. I also believe the safest technique is to be extremely deliberate and decisive while driving, ensuring that each lane change is planned out and excecuted with confidence and authority.

Others like to irritate and antagonize for the sport of it. It’s my opinion that in those situations, cooler heads prevail.

This realization came to me while driving between Erin’s house and my father’s house, which are about 50 miles apart. Forty-seven of those miles are on the highway and with Erin sleeping I had ample time to observe the driving habits.

Surprisingly, it is very similar in Wisconsin.

Home is where you want to be when it first snows each fall/winter.

And right now, Casper isn’t feeling like home. It was to be expected. Springfield barely felt like home. But I don’t know that our current place of residence will ever feel like home.

I look back now and wish I appreciated what I had. With a decent income, we could’ve stayed there for a very, very, very long time.

In retrospect, of course, I miss Springfield. Now, it feels like I could call that place home. I have (almost) nothing but good memories about that place.

Walking distance from everyone who I hung out with AND walking distance from the bars. That in itself is pretty effing cool. Location of numerous pot lucks, breakfast and otherwise. A block from work. What more could you ask for?

Plus, we had a room with a view. A balcony with a gorgeous view of the Illinois capitol building. As dirty as you could feel working there, it was still something spectacular to see during the winter when the streets were dead and there was a light snow.

It actually didn’t snow when we were there. A lot of muck but no actual snow accumulation that lasted more than a morning. Frozen ice and shit too, but mostly just grime.

Anyway, we’ve only been here three months. It’s early yet. There’s no telling how I’ll feel after 7 months, which is where we were on Dec. 15 of 2008.

But, I look out my window, and I’m not five floors above a city. I don’t see the state capitol. My friends are not walking distance. When it snows (it has already), I don’t feel a sense of belonging.

Moving forward, though, whether I feel comfortable or not, Casper is my new home. It’s where we are. Though I miss what I’m familiar with, we’re slowly becoming accustomed to a different way of life out here. We haven’t changed our habits — just learning to tolerate those of an entire had been difficult enough.

The onset of winter, which should happen tonight (I’m not joking, it’s going to snow tonight and then it’s going to be in the 30’s until next week. Then a couple days of nice, then winter again), will undoubtedly endear us to Casper.

Until then, though, I feel like we’re in an odd state of limbo. It doesn’t feel like home but I don’t feel like I’m visiting either. Kind of like moving into a spot in Milwaukee 10 years ago. Just kinda was there.

With time I suppose. We shall see.

Until then, I’m going to start jacking fools on their way from the ATM.

Just joking.

If nothing else, not having enough money has taught us a lot. I feel like I’m ahead of the game anyway because I’ve never really had a ton of money and have been paying for some of the “necessities” since like 5th or 6th grade. I feel more responsible, more self sufficient, and more in a position to build a future based on my experiences and I’m grateful for all of that.

BUT DAMN I’D BE GRATEFUL FOR SOME MORE MONEY TOO!

Here’s the thing. I was half stupid and half broke in college, so a chunk of my credit card debt is 40’s and handles of whiskey. The other chunk is rent, tires, books, moving costs, etc.

One of the things I’m most proud of personally is not having incurred any debt since living in Wyoming. Erin and I have been out like 4 times since being here (more than three months now), and our recreation consists of at-home-drinking. Which, I’m good with. In my personal life I’m very fiscally conservative.

I just gotta get rid of some of this interest bearing debt. It’s a joke. It’s amazing what percentage of my monthly expenditures are from credit cards.

Work is going well, though. This last week was a grinder but I loved it. I didn’t feel like, at the end of the week, that I worked as much as I did. It flew. I was out of the office a lot, met a ton of people, etc. Plus, what I’m working on is material of consequence. I’m not pissing in the wind.

Here’s a random string of sentences:
Erin just started working full time. I’m debating the idea of getting another job. If work stays this busy I won’t have to, so I’m hoping that it does. My two brothers aren’t gonna make it out for Thanksgiving, I don’t think. That saddens me. I’m going back to Chicago for Christmas and my brothers will be there. Big ass party on the 26th. Everybody’s invited, as always. I’m glad winter is around the corner. I’m sick of people warning me about the Wyoming winter. GET ON WITH IT MOTHAFUCKA! I’m ready.

I don’t know where to start … this is like three blog posts condensed into one.

It’s hard to empathize with people, people don’t care about poor people, and media coverage lacks when it comes to poor people.

(EDIT: I’m going to do more posts on the various topics.)

First … I confess, I have a hard time empathizing with people. Or feeling bad for people when bad shit happens.

I’ll cry like a baby when some bad shit happens to innocent people. This is probably one of the most profane videos I’ve ever seen. And I had a disgusting feeling in my gut watching a kid in his final moments. How could you not feel bad about that?

The two or three dozen people involved in that kids death will get theirs one day, and I can’t feel bad for them. They’ll go to prison and get spit out, or avoid jail time and go to a group home, or never get caught. They’ll get theirs, at some point in life, and I can’t feel bad about it.

Feeling bad for kids and other innocent people, though, is about the extent of my feelings for “man kind” in general.

When you do bad shit to people, bad things happen to you. That’s life.

How many people died of gun violence in Chicago last year? More than 500. To say it was a long hot summer would be an understatement.

There’s another video floating around of a guy who stuck a gun in someone’s face, then got the shit beat out of him by someone who fought back. It was gruesome. The guy who had the gun was on his back, on the ground, with a guy over him throwing punches quicker than most. Left, right, left, right. Just laying into him with a disregard for his well being.

But when you stick a gun in someone’s face, that’s what happens. Someone’s gonna fight back.

What’s bothers me, I think as much as the problem itself, is the media coverage. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board isn’t in the streets pounding its chests about the lack of parenting, policing, whatever it is … that’s leading to 500 violent deaths in the city. You don’t see any special projects, either.

(Disclaimer: of all the papers in the country, I have more admiration for the Trib than any other paper. Their political coverage is what, in my humble opinion, what political coverage should be.)

Under its “Watchdog” tab, you don’t see “violence in the city.” Or anything similar. It’s not to detract from their state coverage (out front on almost every story involving Blago and observing the Trib’s bureau in Springfield was a learning experience in itself) or their city hall coverage (I still point to the “Neighborhoods for Sale” series as an example of what I one day hope to do) but they aren’t dedicating resources to this like they are other things.

The closest thing I’ve seen to a comprehensive look at what it’s like to be in the hood in Chicago is Alex Kotlotwitz’s “There Are No Children Here.” And that story details life two decades ago.

Maybe I’m wrong, and the Trib has three people in Englewood right now working on a project. But I doubt it. I just don’t see it, and it’s something we should be seeing.

Is it too soon for another tribute to this?

Fuck, it is. Anyway.

It wasn’t too long ago when it hit me that Erin and I are now in Wyoming.

Not like, look, we’re here.

But I mean, we’re here. For a long time.

Erin has a decent job with the job description she’s always wanted, and I do too. I mean, throw me some OT every once in awhile and I’d be sitting pretty. But that’s to be expected.

Anyway, with that realization, I also started getting this bummy ass feeling - the crash associated with the end of a project.

When landscaping would end each year, around the end of November (the weekend after Thanksgiving typically), I’d just veg for like two weeks. Windows shut, sleep 8-10 hours each night and usually nap in the afternoon.

And I’ve been feeling burnt like that lately with the realization that life is going to be a lot more long term now that Erin and I are gainfully employed. It’s not semester-to-semester living anymore. Just life.

It’s exciting, for real. But it’s a turning point and I feel like I’m at the bottom of the valley right now, that bottom down feeling that comes when you’re at the end of something.

I know I’m a few weeks from coming out of it. Work is going well, though this week dragged a bit. And we’ve gotten most of the “settling-in” stuff taken care of. That’s what brought about that transitional feeling.

So I’m geeked about the future. But man, getting used to Wyoming is going to take some … well, getting used to I suppose.

Then find said perspective here.

They’re memoirs of a soldier who is recently deceased at the age of 106. There’s five other memoirs in the gallery, I haven’t read through them all yet but I plan on it.

Fascinating, and saddening. I can appreciate someone speaking candidly about those types of situations though … people can’t really speak honestly about stuff that doesn’t matter. And all this, does.

All I need now is a glass of single-malt, a notepad, and a nice pen.

Life would be so serene.

I totally forgot about this song, too, which is a shame in itself. I don’t know that I’ve … wait, I’ve listened to it at work. In fact, having the headphones on with Last.FM or Youtube in the background, listening to music while I wrote my articles up or for a few hours in the morning (or on the weekend as it were) while I just worked on stuff … turns out we’ve got a 5 gig a month transfer limit at work (who knew they still had these, anywhere?) so all that Youtubing and Last.FMing racked up our internet bill.

So, no more streaming audio at work - whether I’m here during business hours (9-6) or after/before work.

This edict came down from on high actually some time in February. A video here or song there doesn’t hurt anyone - we regularly watch stuff from a local political blog or from the Trib’s political blog - but streaming audio for three hours in the morning before everybody else gets here? Not happening, son.

Which brings me to my next point - working on the weekend.

The past month has been so wild - hell, even two months … ever since the lawmakers got back from their two-week break - it’s been RUN RUN RUN. No time to work on projects because we’ve been putting in 10-12 hour days with some regularity anyway, so anytime spent on projects is your own time.

Lucky for me, I spent a lot of free time and day-time working this project I’m trying to wrap up, just after the impeachment. I fed the machine with a bill-introduction story here and there, plus anything that broke throughout the day, but for a couple weeks, I spent nights and down-time at work doing project stuff.

So after months of this - and now that I have a free weekend … I find myself at work, bored out of my mind at home* and not having a real hobby other than reading. But since I packed all my books up, there’s nothing new for me to read (since I finished Generation Kill, an amazing book).

So I’m just going to deal with the fact that I’m far more used to reporting than relaxing, for now, and knock out this project in the next week and a half.

When I get to Wyoming, I’m hoping I can settle into a 40-45 hour work week. No more worrying about moving (or having to move after work), no more class, nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Just work, and life.

And I’m geeked about that, for real.

* - Home right now is Apt. 1107 of Lincoln Towers, where my friend Eric has so humbly offered me floorspace where I’ve created a “home.” It’s a mirror image of the other half of the living room - so we have two futons, two tv’s, two coffee tables, all right next to each other.

Before 1107, though, over the past 5 years, “home” was at 1360 W. Byron in Addison, and 313 Ryan Hall at Lewis, then Pope Hall at Lewis, 660 Natalie in Byron, 307 Ryan Hall at Lewis, DeLaSalle Hall at Lewis, an attached-apartment to a flower shop I worked at in River Grove, a Ramada Inn in Addison, Founders Hall at Lewis, and 641 Willow Glen in Addison.

A brief respite from politics.

There are times when it’s best to shut your mouth. Bite your tongue and observe.

And I’ve long known the importance of that principle because you can’t always push people. I learned it when I was young … you can talk a tall order but it’s not a good way to be. You can’t just confront everyone you disagree with.

Likewise, if you’re going to twist somebody’s arm, you have to realize that there comes a time when it breaks. And sometimes that “break” means you get in a shouting match, or it means you’re cut out of the circle, or it means you win.

But either way, you get into murky waters when you start poking people and pushing people.

So that I’ve done is, I’ve come to believe that there’s some people you just can’t talk to. And you push, and you test your boundaries, but when you approach that breaking point … you either gotta go or stop. Right?

Part of this is observing how people interact with others too. Just evaluate people, you know?

And at that point, why bother? When you know what’s up with somebody, when you know how that person carries responsibility and how that person treat’s people, it’s not even worth a fight or a push or a poke. When that happens I work to accept things for what they are and then work within that framework.

And that last step is the bitch of it, seriously. Getting to the point where … you know. You just know. There’s a moment of clarity where it hits you and you have to step away, stop pushing, stop moving on someone. Because you know where their breaking point is.

But once you know! Perfect. You’ve got a read on somebody. And working with them, or against them, becomes so much easier.

Damn am I tired.

I’ve been moving shit out, with the help of friends. Got three truck loads hauled to storage plus some stuff moved up to another buddy’s apartment, where I’ll be crashing for the next couple weeks.

But! We’ve also been working 12 hour plus days. So the only time I can move out is after dark.

Just updating everyone … I feel really bad about not writing here. I’ve been neglecting my journal too. Speaking of which, I’ve kicked around the idea of transcribing random journal updates … just a date, and the corresponding entry. And I’m not sure yet I want to give people that much access. That, and I do use profanity. So we’ll see. Often the journal is used as a means of letting off some steam, or sorting through emotions and figuring out a good course of action.

We’ll see. Off to work!