Monday, January 3, 2011

All: This is My Last Day - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3
During my early years at UPI I was a switchboard operator and dictationist. Dictionists sat at a typewriter and waited for a reporter to phone in a story. This was before cell phones and computers and laptops. I was not a trained typist. I had once considered taking a typing class while in high school, but my father, who began as a journalist, argued against the class, saying I would learn to type as time went on. So, my early days at UPI were fraught with tension, especially when an editor stood over me waiting to grab the copy out of the typewriter.
White House reporter Helen Thomas usually dictated on the run and she would dictate three or more stories at a time, usually with, "Sign that off, I have another one." Helen, like many of the reporters, would also dictate punctuation, telling the dictationists, "Comma, close quotes, he said, period. New sentence." One day, she dictated a story about David Eisenhower and she wanted to be sure I got the punctuation correctly. She said, "David's grandmother," But she dictated, "David's, possessive, grandmother." I dutifully typed, "David's possessive grandmother."
It was while I was on the switchboard that I first heard what was to become a very famous name, a name that would become synonymous with government corruption. I was still pretty new to Washington, D.C., and UPI when day editor Stan Hall shouted from the desk in his high Texan voice, "Get me the Watergate." It was 1971 and it was still just the Watergate complex. I said, "What's the Watergate?" Hall said, "Everybody knows what the Watergate is." A year later, while doing a stint on the Metro desk, I was told to call the District of Columbia police and match a story in The Washington Post that five men had been arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate. After that, everybody really did know what the Watergate was.
1988
In 1988, the Soviets left Afghanistan, Bobby McFerrin tried to get everybody to be happy and don't worry and the Iraq-Iran War ended. The anti-depressant Prozac was introduced.
But we at UPI were not lulled.
On Jan. 14, 1988, the Wire Service Guild posted a memo titled "The Body Count," which took the company to task.
"'Christopher Smith, a UPI spokesman, said no significant layoffs were
planned.' -- The New York Times, Nov. 20 1987. 'We're not going to be trying to compete with The AP in reporting every little fact and figure anymore.' - Christopher Smith, UPI public relations agent, Washington Post, Jan. 9, 1988.
"UPI, which for months flatly denied that a single employee would be fired, has terminated at least 104 employees since Nov. 1, when management instituted concessionary 'work rules.'
"At least 14 bureaus have been closed -- 13 by layoffs and the 14th by a transfer.
Most of the fired employees had passed probation; some of them were 15-year and 20-year UPI veterans. About 30 were temporary employees and a few were part-timers. Two were office aides and several were technicians or chief telephoto engineers.
"Listed below are the terminations the Guild is aware of to date.
"To help the union challenge all improper layoffs, please call the Guild office with any additional layoffs you are aware of."
The memo then listed three layoffs in Albany, one in Albuquerque, three in Atlanta, two in Baltimore, one in Birmingham, one in Bismark, one in Boise, six in Boston, one in Charleston, five in Chicago, one in Columbia, two in Concord, five in Dallas, three in Denver, two in Detroit, one in Frankfort, one in Harlingen, two in Hartford, one in Helena, one in Honolulu, one in Huntsville, one in Jackson, one in Kansas City, two in Lincoln, two in Little Rock, one in Los Angeles, two in Miami, two in Milwaukee, one in Minneapolis, two in Montgomery, two in Montpelier, one in Morgantown, one in Nashville, one in New Orleans, five in New York, three in Oklahoma City, one in Omaha, one in Philadelphia, two in Phoenix, one in Pierre, one in Pittsburgh, one in Portland, Maine, one in Providence, two in Raleigh, one in Reno, one in Rockford, Ill., four in Salt Lake City, one in St. Louis, one in Sioux Falls, one in Topeka, eight in Washington, D.C., one in West Palm Beach, one in Wichita.

Closed bureaus included Albuquerque, Bismark, Frankfort, Helena, Huntsville, Morgantown, Reno, Sioux Falls, West Palm Beach, Wichita, Portland, Maine, and Rockford, Ill.

On Jan., 22, 1988, I wrote a letter to a friend that set the stage for what was to come.
I was planning a vacation to the Amazon River while at the same time
wondering if I was going to have a job when I returned -- or even the next
day. Here is part of that letter:

"Life has been a roller coaster for the past few months with downs as deep
as the ups are high and both extremes sometimes coming in the same day. But
this isn't only my problem. I share it with many of my UPI colleagues --
those who are left.

"UPI has us all living under a gigantic question mark. We now have our fifth
or sixth set of bosses. They say they 'have a plan' to save UPI. But they
don't tell us what that plan is. Instead, we read about it in The Washington
Post, the New York Times, The Washington Times, Editor and Publisher and the
AP! We heard rumors of massive layoffs, denied. Yet three days before
Christmas our message wires contained such gems as: 'Hi, out there. Anybody
know where I can find a job three days before Christmas?' UPI veterans are
dropping like flies. Our internal message wires have been loaded with: 'All.
Today I file my last story after 15 years ...'; 'I am sad to say that after
18 years ...'; 'At the end of today's shift, I say good-bye to the finest
bunch of people I have ever worked with.'

"It's depressing. I told one colleague that I had requested vacation in
September for my grand adventure and she told me I was a fool. 'You better
move it up a few months. Nobody's going to be here in September.'

"Today we heard that Gary Hart admitted to questionable campaign funds and
said he would return them. We didn't have that. The bureau closest to Hart
at the time had been reduced to a one-man bureau. Others in the area have
been closed. The man who follows the candidates in that area was not
shadowing Hart at the time. It was impossible. We got the story. But we were
hours late.

"Today, one of our White House reporters messaged that at the end of his
work Saturday he will leave after 18 years. Last week one of our radio
reporters left after 19 years.

"Dave Anderson, our religion writer, used to be a dictationist like me. We
worked together during the anti-war demonstrations in the '70s. He wrote all
the abortion stories for me today and when I left I thanked him for his help
and he thanked me for my editing. Then he said, 'We've been doing this
together for a lot of years, haven't we?' Yeah. And that's what keeps me
here. And Dave and the others, few others, who have been around. There
aren't too many of us left.

"Despite the unknowns, despite the uncertainties, we continue to do our best
and we continue to care.
"And I work day to day and plan for September as though September and I and
UPI and all the other pieces will fit together and this dream vacation I'm
planning will come true."

all unipressers
this is my farewell and good luck message. i am voluntarily leaving at the
end of the day for hopefully greener pastures. i began my upi career as an
idealistic rookie back on jan. 6, 1967, in austin, then spent 3 years in
(New Orleans), before becoming a south texas fixture in san antonio and the
rio grande valley for the past 17 yrs.
though momentarily naked, as i was when i started, i am rich for having known
the finest bunch of real journalists left on earth. the only shame of my
career has been leaving for two and a half years to work for ... shudder ...
the bureaucratic, bloated and indolent rox (Associated Press).
adios and buena suerte. i'll be rooting for ya'll from the sidelines.
sisk-rg (Harlingen, Texas)
01-08-88

Science editor Al Rossiter had been promoted to executive editor and joined
a team of top editorial management that included former UPI broadcast chief
Billy Ferguson as managing editor and veteran foreign correspondent Leon
Daniel as foreign editor. Rossiter immediately attempted to calm tensions in
the newsroom with the following message to all staff:

re: restructuring
As you know, we are in the midst of a reorganization effort aimed at
reducing costs and designed to produce and develop services that will meet
the needs of clients and prospective clients. The goal is to get UPI out of
the red for the first time in two decades and assure the company's future as
a comprehensive news and information service.

The company's senior managers have endorsed plans we believe will put the
company on a successful track, and chairman Mario Vazquez Rana has them
under review. Once a reorganization plan has been approved, you will be
advised and asked to help in its implementation.

It is obvious, and our planning acknowledges this, that we should not
produce comprehensive state reports in a number of states where there is
little revenue or growth potential. The states in which our presence is
being reduced include: Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Idaho, Mississippi, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, South
Carolina, Hawaii, Kentucky, Kansas and Arkansas. In those states, UPI will
continue to cover the most important news and news of interest to other
states. Bureaus will be maintained in all states.

As we already have announced, there have been a number of layoffs.
Additional staff cutbacks are necessary to help us stabilize the company.
These largely are being made along the framework of the service reductions
planned for the low-revenue states.

I know these reductions and the resulting uncertainties are of concern to
you. We will make every effort to keep you informed.
01-08-88

unipressers
frank eidge, who joined united press in november 1945, leaves today after a
42-year career with the company, all in the miami bureau. frank won't see
his farewell messages today; he's been hospitalized for gall bladder
surgery. we've been in touch, and will onpass any messages from him. chrs.
geimann-mh (Miami)
04-29-88

all
a fable (for which u must supply ur own moral):
about 3 1/2 years ago, when upi offered me a job in november, i asked college pal
bill harwood, then harwood-ca (Columbia, S.C.), if it would be stupid to
take it in light of all i'd heard about the company's financial condition.
sez he: "what the heck. it's a great experience and even if the company goes
bankrupt and u lose ur job in six months, it'll make a great resume entry."
as u no doubt recall, the company went bankrupt in five months. i have lost
my job (altho it took 3 years for tt to happen). people are impressed to see
"upi" on my resume, because they know the caliber of folks tt work here.
most importantly, it has been a fantastic experience. will miss uall, even
harwood, who denies now tt he ever sed tt. Gud luck and keep ur chins up.
u're far and away the best journalists, coworkers and friends i've ever
known. margaret lillard-ki (Knoxville, Tenn.)
04-29-88

all
when i became a unipresser 26 years ago, a car dealer named evan mecham was
fighting the establishment by running for a seat held by a man who had been
in congress 50 years. on the day i submitted my resignation, that same car
dealer -- now governor -- was convicted in his impeachment trial. which all
goes to show, i suppose, that the news never changes.
all this is my way of saying this is my last day at upi. i don't have
another job lined up yet, but i felt i had to make a move at this time
despite my intense loyalty to upi. when i leave here, i won't miss the lousy
hours, broadcast rewrites and weather transfers, but i will miss the
hard-working upi staff and the high that comes with a good log. thanks
especially to clafin-hc (Los Angeles) and to harriett hindman, a long-time
co-worker and my successor as ix (Phoenix, Ariz.) bureau manager.
good luck to all and my upi prosper.
hurlbert-ix
04-29-88

all-sports writers-deskers-state-eds
to the staff at upi:
so that this message does not ramble on through 25 takes and nightfall, i'm
leaving out all the blandishments about how wonderful you are and how hard
it is to say goodbye to 800 people one admires so deeply.
but, as your friend in the craft, i simply cannot leave without expressing
my warmest thanks for the hundreds of excellent stories you wrote, edited,
hunched, chased, badgered, cajoled, shook by the throat, harangued,
re-wrote, and brought back from the dead to keep the sports wire hammering
away for the past four years.
your millions of words made my job a delight. and, if you are ever in
trouble -- and you are, all of you, always in trouble -- remember that i am
part of the family and give me a call. what a privilege it has been to work
with you.
david tucker
04-29-88

from jeff shaine: this doesn't get any easier even when you've done it twice
before. again (april 28) is my last shift with the company, having received
the triple crown of upi layoffs in just 4 1/2 years.
as much as i won't miss the late nights and the track agate, what i will
miss are the outstanding professionals i've had a chance to work with, most
notably in the sports department, where i was somewhat adopted by david
tucker, fred mcmane, bill murray and the rest of the staff. a word of thanks
especially to dave hurlbert, who gave me the freedom to roam the ix sports
scene without too much resistance. also a moment of remembrance for dick
charnock, who first hired me here, and the late milt richman, who was among
the first to put his confidence in me.
i've had the chance to speak with several of you over the past few weeks,
and I appreciate your kind words. thanks for the encouragement.
should anybody be in the ix area in the future, pls give me a call and we'll
get together.
finally, if you're religious, you know how important faith is. the same
holds true for the future of upi. while it's true that a lot of editors have
been losing faith in the company over the past few years, upi will pull
through as long as management and the employees have faith that the company
will survive.
keep the faith. chrs.
shain-ix (Phoenix)
04-29-88

sw (southwest) buros
the time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things -- mainly
leaving -- or at least changing regions.
the problem is, words fail me ... no small concern for someone who's been
accused of doing 20 minutes every time the refrigerator light goes on.
i'd like to say the past six years have been fun, frantic and fulfilling.
i'd like to say tht, but i can't. well, one out of three ain't bad.
in all the good-bye messages i've seen, it occurs to me that proper homage
has not been paid to those who have gone before -- not to mention the few who
remain.
so, with no regard to billing, here's a list of people i wish (1) were still
here or, (2) were going to be where i wind up:
jay lewis -- "jaybubba" to his friends, who never failed to brighten the
early morning hours with outrageous messages and fine news judgment -- not to
mention terminal irreverence.
cheri chapman -- a delightful elf who, as far as i could tell, never said an
unkind word to anyone.
kandace powers -- a class act in "the big easy" and a helluva reporter.
elizabeth drake poteet braden -- a gentle soul who took on tulsa, the oil and
gas journal, kansas city and three last names.
vickie bowles -- the all-time queen of the message wire, a bawdy bodacious
broad whose "stop it or i'll cut your bells off" remains the best
argument-stopper i've ever known.
harry culver -- a man who knows more about state finances than the state
finance director, who had the remarkable good sense to hire culver so he
could have state finances explained to him.
paul english -- a muckraker in the best sense of the word and the only person
I know who has a tape recording of every interview he ever conducted -- much
to the chagrin of a large number of political types.
lori linenberger -- her departure takes the sun out of the land of
sunflowers, sunshine and s.o.b.'s.
mede nix -- i just met her, but every time i look at my 2-year-old, I think
of jessica in a well and mede crying in her hotel room.
mary schlangenstein -- the heart of houston and the only person i know who
could hold her own with bowles on the message wire.
john demers -- the justin wilson of haute cuisine, but i always wanted to ask
him one question: how do you edit food?
janet plume -- a rox (AP) refugee who speaks at least 17 languages, looks like
gloria steinam's twin and whose decision to battle a vindictive boss made
life a little bit easier for those who followed here at ko's (Oklahoma City)
rox buro.
bruce fisher -- a name you don't know, but one of the driving forces in my
journalistic career. how can you not like a guy who buys a jeep on the way
to work and forgets to tell his wife? he also kept a loaded .45-caliber
pistol under the driver's seat of said vehicle because "there are some
strange people out there." no kidding, fish.
barbara canetti -- a jewish-american princess with an improbable last name I
first met at the houston post. after coming to work for us, she batted her
big brown eyes and shelled rox covering the price daniels jr. murder trial.
bill inman -- another houston post refugee who got canned for writing what he
thought. rox opined they didn't need him and i suggested upi. we've enjoyed
the benefits of some of the best writing in the business ever since.
patti bond -- a co-worker and cohort who came to us at the tender age of 20,
took over the night desk and made it her personal domain. she was going
great guns right up until the time she fell in love. i keep telling her she
can get shots for that, but she won't listen.
david zizzo -- born with a hang glider on his back and the telephone manners
of a water buffalo with a gum boil, he's at least as apolitical as i am --
grrr -- writes a whole lot better.
jim wieck -- somebody goofed. how else do you explain a management type who
looks like a commune member and loves old motorcycles? the first time we saw
him in the ko buro, we thought he was the janitor -- and, in a sense, he's
cleaned up our messes.
john thompson -- the only man i know who's had both lungs removed and still
insists on smoking four packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day.
jerry witcher -- this is a tough one. i've known him for more than 12 years
and worked for him for six. if there's a better boss, i have no idea where
he/she might be found. among other things, he bent a few rules to allow me
to enjoy the first three months in the lives of my son and daughter. i'll
explain that to them one of these days and they will be indebted to him as i
am.
as it stands today, i appear to be headed to tallahassee, fla., to take over
the upi capitol buro. i'm trying fervently not to feel like a rat crawling
back on a sinking ship. i know there are names missing here - mason, pope,
lloyd-davies, yates, merriweather, duffy, sisk, kingham, flynn, lumen,
kelly, ryan, haines, stutzman and wormser, just to name a few.
all i can say is thanks -- to all of you. and 73s.
rgds.
rocky-ko (Oklahoma City)
04-29-88

all
the last 31 years have been very special to me -- they brought me upi and
ted majeski --- what a pair! and larry desantis to yell in my other ear.
thanks to all of you for making them wonderful. the only checks that will
bear my signature after today will be personal. love, marie majeski/wap
(Washington photos)

all (sw buros)
my last day is tomorrow, but i wanted to say goodbye to as many people as
possible tdy. to those of u remaining with upi, i hope the journey gets
easier cuz u deserve it. to those of u leaving as i am, i wish u the best in
the future. in particular, i will miss all of my good division friends. like
rocky-ko (Oklahoma City), when I see ur names i think of good times meeting
et working with u.
i also wanted to let u know i've had fun confusing all of u by changing my
name from drake. one of the best decisions i ever made was stealing
braden-ac(Topeka, Kan.) (tt's john, not me) from upi. if ur ever in the kp
(Kansas City, Mo.) area, my door is open et the light is on.
chrs.
braden-kp
04-29-88

to all of the departing in my 30 years with upi i have had a few bad days. today is the worst. i am
still here but will miss the class professionals that are leaving. my best to all of you. god speed. we surely miss you.
fisher/dap (Dallas photos)
04-29-88

all
this farewell business is turning out to be tougher than i thought. 21
years, 4 months and 9 days ago i reported for my first upi shift in
portland, ore., to face an ominous piece of machinery they called a teletype
machine. we had a tech in jo (Portland, Ore.) at the time who used to beat
teletypes with a metal ruler, insisting that such action "scattered the
ions.' it sounded good to me, so attacked the thing hourly. finally subdued
it, too, i'm proud to say.
since then i've seen upi duty in helena, san francisco and medford.
teletypes were replaced by vdt's, people came and went, upi was a-l-w-a-y-s
in a state of downhold, or worse, but through it all unipressers have
maintained a sense of feistiness and class that will never cease to amaze
me.
this outfit has been family to me and i learned more about the news business
here than i suspect i will ever learn anywhere again. you folks are a rare
and wonderful breed. it's been an honor to have been your colleague.
no, i don't know what i'll be doing in the future, but i plan to spend the
summer being a bum.
i have faith that this company will survive, and survive with style. upi is
the best. don't ever let anyone tell you anything else. hang in there, and
it times get rough, just beat on your vdt with a metal ruler.
always a unipresser,
susan tebbe-mo (Medford, Ore.)
04-29-88

In 1987, Paul Steinle, news director for FNN (Financial News Network),
became UPI's seventh president in seven years. On April 29, 1988, noting the
mood among Unipressers in the wake of numerous layoffs, Steinle sent the
following memo:

I want to take the opportunity to add my best wishes to those Unipressers
who are leaving the company today. We are losing excellent colleagues and their
loss will be felt.
I have received a number of serious and heartfelt messages from managers and
associates of the people who are departing, pleading their cases and
acknowledging the impact of their loss. I believe that virtually the same arguments could
be made for everyone who is departing this company: that he or she made an important
contribution and that their loss will hurt.
Having acknowledged that, I also think it's important to remember that none
of these decisions was taken lightly.
Given the company's losses, which matched its drop in revenue -- over $18
million in the last two years, and losses at the rate of $2 million a month for
1988 -- a staff reduction was inevitable. And given the fact that UPI was facing
liquidation just over two months ago, the alternative -- closing this business -- is the
only prospect worse than what is happening today.
The knowledge is of little solace to those who are departing, but I hope
the fact that we who remain have another chance to turn around this company will be a
source of inspiration to us. With a worldwide staff exceeding 800 editorial
Unipressers, UPI remains a formidable journalistic force and a news
organization we can be proud of.
In my travels in recent weeks, I have been the beneficiary of unceasing good
wishes for our turnaround goal. I have also been reminded time and again
everywhere I got of the service we provide and the importance of maintaining
a second competitive wire service report.
A number of people want to write us off because they don't want to confront
the agony this company has endured, or they represent others for whom
competition is anathema. They would rather stress the negatives than the strong possibility
for survival and growth that our new initiative presents.
But in the face of all that, I am convinced that UPI can succeed, fueled
with the energy and commitment you have demonstrated in the past. Like a swift
halfback darting for the goal line, we will have to swivel our hips to reach our
goal, but the goal line exists; it's now in sight and there are strong supporters
willing to cheer us on as we charge down the field.
You have demonstrated over and over that you have the staying power to
achieve the goals we have set forward in our business plan, so don't let anybody
convince you we can't.
Today, it's appropriate to mourn the loss of good colleagues and wish them
well, but, tomorrow the battle continues for the rest of us. It is worth the
effort. A turnaround is possible. Those are excellent reasons to push ahead with vigor
and confidence. Our mission simply stated is to re-establish UPI in a position
in journalism that it deserves -- as a profitable business in which the kind of
losses we are experiencing today will never be necessary again.
Paul Steinle

Steinle's swift halfback with the swiveling hips may have seen the goal
line, but his message was lost in a crush of messages from soon-to-be former
Unipressers who could only suffer the agony of defeat.

friends what's in and out for april 29:
in: new mayor of milwaukee
out: mayor of 28 years
in: new mayoral press secretary
out: opening milwaukee buo at 5:30 a.m.
in: wishing my unipresser colleagues the best always on and off the job
with special regards for their every-day humor and helpfulness to chris
mead-du (Detroit) .. ginny kosola, marcy kreiter, bob kieckhefer, tom and
kay, bob murphy, sal esposito-hx (Chicago)... bill brewer-nw (Des Moines) ... chuck
devevec-ms (Minneapolis) ... jim sielick-tl (Toledo) ... carol van dam-war
(Washington Radio)... and my uc (Milwaukee) brothers.
chrs, rosalind rouse-uc
04-29-88

old unipressers don't die, they just come to their senses. so in the
interest of achieving consciousness, today i'm stepping (being pushed, actually) off
the upi wagon for perhaps the last time. it's been quite a ride.
through my years here i feel i've moved from the child-restraint seat in the
back to having a hand on the wheel at times, although the windshield has
remained mostly fogged.
i hope you can keep the old thing chugging along, even if the road is rough
and full of rox. i want to say thanks to everyone along the way who smoothed the
bumps, gave directions and told me where to get off.
rgds, cheers and all that jazz.
zizzo-koc (Oklahoma City)
04-29-88

braden-kp
what can i say? i'll never forget the nite in mission when the tornadoes
struck. the building appeared to be on fire (was it actually on fire? i can't
remember) and i had to haul u off the fone. as i recall u were talking with some upi
honcho in nx (New York) to run down eight flights of stairs to the questionable safety of a
glass-walled lobby.
then we trudged back up the eight flights only to find the datanuz machine
smoking.
there we were, two novice unipressers armed with a fire extinguisher we
didn't know how to work. what a night. what a career. what a sad day. or maybe not.
sometimes i wonder if u mite be the lucky one getting out.
all the best and pls keep in touch. i know u'll land on ur feet.
chrs. digirolamo-nc (Atlantic City)
04-29-88

to those who go:
what can i say? my thoughts and love are with you -- witcher-ko
04-29-88

buos (last-day-unipressers)
on this last day for so many of you, a little note from rv (Richmond, Va.),
where we've been keeping what we call the bye bye board, a collection of farewell notes from
people who have left in the last five months.
we had to take the board down today becuz there was no more room.
it's a little symbol of a great big sadness and to all (to quote former po
(Cincinnati) tv newsman all schottelkotte) we say "good news to you."
gl-rv
04-29-88

dickinson-braden-keenan-kp
this ain't gonna be one of the great days in the annals of journalism. i
just want to wish you all the best and say "much tnx" for all the work you've done
these past few years. it's been a pleasure. lemme know if there's anything eye can do
to help down the road. 73.--wieck-da
04-29-88

unipressers:
many of you leave us today and the lengthening list of msgs from the
dearly departing is not fun to see. those of us staying will miss you, not
only professionally but personally as well.
since nearly everyone goes to disney world at one time or another, please
consider tallahassee a stopping point and place to always find friends. the
beer will always be cold so please stop when u come through.
i want my kids to know what dedicated and talented people look like.
walker-tar (Tallahassee radio)
04-29-88

to all:
since this is the waning moments of my stay here, i wud like to express to
everyone the warmest thanks for all the gud times -- especially to walt
frerck and gary edwards and co. ... who showed me the ropes when
i was the greenest of stringers in hsp (Houston photo)
good luck to everyone and in particular to david ake as he will be the only
oriential photog left in the division.
it's been a pleasure.
hom-kpp (Kansas City photos)
04-29-88

all
my last day isn't actually until tomorrow, but i didn't want to miss saying
goodbye to all of you who aren't blessed with a weekend shift.
when i arrived here fresh out of college almost three years ago, i had no
way of knowing how much the job and my co-workers would come to mean
to me. i leave here a little disillusioned, but, i hope, a whole lot wiser.
thanks to all of you for your friendship and guidance, especially those of
you in the old central division -- rod boshart-qa (Quad Cities-Rock Island,
Ill.), who taught me well during my first few months; bob murphy-hx (Chicago), who taught me to write a two-line skedline; the whole hx gendesk crew -- alan, marci et al; the guys in du
(Detroit) -- chris, bob (and joe-dup, for all the milkshakes and donuts during the
caucuses); lori-sr (Lincoln, Neb.) et kevin-wh (Omaha); chuck-ms
(Minneapolis); and everyone else i mite hv forgotten. i'll miss you all
terribly.
as for future plans, i'm going to spend the next three months fixing up a
nursery for my big event in august. then eye'm going to play mommy for a
few months until my husband's money runs out and i figure out where in the
world to go next.
finally, goodbye and best wishes to the nw crew -- bill brewer, who led us
well in the face of a lot of adversity; john peterson, who got us our
microwave; cornell fowler, who -- what does one say about cornell?
photographer extraordinaire dennis garrels -- and scott sonner, who got out
before the ax fell. you've been like family to me and i have no idea who's
going to keep the office clean now.
nominations for baby names being taken on czm (Columbus message wire) all
nite.
keep the faith and best wishes always, lisa-nw (Des Moines)
04-29-88

unipressers
i still hv almost four hours before the end of my eight years here (i was
hired by h.l. stevenson -- remember him?). if i wait till quitting time to
say goodbye, i'll miss all of you who are completing ur tenure right now.
plus, i'd hate it if i gave a dzm farewell party and nobody came.
i remember lots of things ... mafia trials, plane crashes, executions, rig
explosions, not to mention one super bowl and two championship fights.
upi has been a great meal ticket, and a great admission ticket as well. i
also remember announcing the births of my two children on the dzm, and
i plan to phone in the birth of my third sometime in may. i hope no one
ever bans those from the msg wire. i especially remember the past three
years as food editor, the best excuse i've ever heard of for putting on
weight. line of duty, you know.
well, i hope i will hear from many of you wonderful ple (the ones leaving
or the ones staying) in my new city, orlando. i will be joining the travel-
food public relations firm of robinson yesawich and pepperdine. so i trust
i'll find excuses to speak with many of you in the years ahead (and bill our
beers to the client).
for the last few years, i've read the wire's periodic odes to the best and
the brightest, the wise, gentle, committed, sometimes martyrlike staffers
of upi. all i can add is a quote from my favorite ancient philosopher. it
was the cowardly lion who uttered the single, oh-so-memorable phrase ... "ain't
it duh trut."
chrs
demers-ne (New Orleans)
04-29-88

buros
just thought you should know that we all missed "david zisso day" in
oklahoma thursday, honoring this eminent jobseeker. the modest boy
wonder of the ko (Oklahoma City) capitol buro kept it a secret. (david is
the one with the telephone manners of a water buffalo with a gum boil. The guv read all the
whereas' at his news conference yesterday. let's hear it for his 15 minutes
of fame ... clap, clap, etc.
chrs.
bond-ko
04-29-88

buros
my last day is satty, but the combination of my farewell msg and the
finality of forwarding the fones to da (Dallas) tmw would be too much. tis
better to split the devastating events of life into manageable pieces.
eye'll think of this instead as a thank-you note to all of you in the
division who have made my years as a united press international reporter
(gawd eye luv saying that) so incredible. hired on at the "tender age of
20," as rocky phrases it, eye was terribly intimidated by the wit and
wisdom ticking across the wires nitely. today eye'm still awed by the
talent of this crew. as well as thankful for your warm welcome and advice
on breathing exercises during prison riots, etc. a special thanks to cheri
and debbie,whose calm demeanor and sage advice halted more than one attempt
on the life of ntl desker.
finally,eye would like to refute my colleague's accusation that
eye stopped "going great guns" when eye fell in love. the only reason eye
ever went "great guns" was an embarrassing freshman crush that made me follow
him everywhere and learn a great deal ... and fall in love with this work.
there's nothing like it. thank you all for one hellava education.
73s
bond-ko
04-29-88

buros:
pardon me if I'm sentimental, but today eye take my leave of upi and a host
of friends and colleagues. it has been truly a labor of love for these past
three years with enough memories for a lifetime. As Lyndon Johnson said, eye leave with
a heavy heart. but eye can't go without a word of thanks to the folks in aj
(Atlanta), ra (Raleigh), ca (Columbia, S.C.), rv (Richmond, Va.), nv
(Nashville) and all the other buos who helped me over the months in the
shank of the evening when reads were hard to come by. eye will never forget
your dedication and your professionalism.
if you will indulge me, there are a couple of lines from an old song "The
minstrel show" that have haunted me for the past couple of weeks since eye got the big
overniter.
They go, "the money and the crowd ran out before we reached the next town,
"this old show has played its last run, and rung the curtain down,"
"Don't know where we'll go from here, come tonight I just don't care,
"maybe we'll go to a better place, and the minstrel show'll be there,
"Lay me down, Carolina, lay me down, don't wanna wake up in the morning no
more,
"sing me one slow, sad song for this one last old time before they close,
the minstrel show."
Now, as Sammy Davis Jr. would say, "We're going to take one more look at
the body, then we're going to close the lid."
Adios.
mauldin-ct (Charlotte, N.C.)
mauldin-ct
One never says goodbye to an old friend. say good bye only when it's
permanent. So, eye'll just say see you later. My best wishes for Mister
South Carolina. I wish only the best to you and your bride ... even tho she
is a clemson fan. doug, upi's been a good old fiddle, but i believe she's
playing her last tune ... as we know it. so mebbe it's best we're moving on
cause the lid's a closin. I appreciate all the help you've given me. real
unipressers land on their feet. eye know you will. See you satty. come
thirsty. jeffreys-ra

Unipressers:
I have been with United Press International for more than 5 years and
during those 2,059 days (give or take) it has been my great privilege to work with
some of the most gifted journalists in the business. UPI survived the past
couple of years on the grit, unwavering dedication and sheer talent of its
staffers - despite several idiotic managerial moves that made the job
increasingly difficult. I'll cherish my vivid memories of the good times and
wish only the best for those who remain.
Goodbye and God bless. rgds, chrs et 73s.
Steve Arters-da (Dallas)-cw (Charleston, W.Va.)

unipressers
i feel like young willie keefe, the last captain of the caine, as i take
upi's battered nk (Newark) buro into mothballs after 80-odd (very odd) years
in nj's largest city - now reduced to a "one-person outpost in a less populous
region." after today, the buro that covered the lindbergh kidnapping trial,
mayor frank "i am the law" hague and baby m will be gone, and so will i. my
5 years on the upi merry-go-round have been sometimes stomach-churning, but i
always knew i was working with a group of people who wud do anything that
wasn't immoral, unethical or fattening to get the job done. those of us in
the trenches know that we did our best. and, like tiny tim said, god help us
every one. chrs, burns-nk.

unipressers
as i prepare to walk out of upi-dx (Denver) for the last time today, one
day short of my 51st birthday, it's startling to realize tt nearly half of tt time has
been spent here. most of the past quarter century has been fulfilling and
rewarding, and i've had the extreme good fortune to work with the finest
wordsmiths in the world. to all those (too numerous to mention) who have
helped me thru the years, my heartfelt thanks. to those who remain, my most
sincere best wishes. pls keep the company afloat so the severance checks
continue. godspeed and slainte mhath (good health) to u all.
cannon-dx

to everyone leaving today
it has been MY pleasure to work with you lo these many years. i'm going to
miss the crazy messages, the dedication of you all out there trying to run
things down for ohio. but we all are survivors in one way or another. i wish
you all the best of luck, and most of all, keep in touch with someone still
here.
latimer (a.k.a sandlot) cz (Columbus, Ohio)

unipressers
25 years is a generation. I'm lucky. I leave still young, looking straight
ahead. I only regret there will be no more datelines signed By GERALD
KOPPLIN on the newspaper wires and no more GPK on broadcast. The best to all of you.
May this great outfit survive! 73'ers. kopplin-ms (Minneapolis)

unipressers
8 years, 3 months and 23 days of treading the boards for upi ends today and
i finally get the hook. There are too many people, present and past, to thank
by name so i'll thank u all en masse for allowing another madman into ur midst.
u don't have to be crazy to work for upi, but it helps, and i'm just crazy
enough that i'll miss u. if ur ever in ar, feel free to look me up -
************ or in the yellow pages under "Downholders." If ur in Amsterdam, go to
the Bulldog and ask for the loony amerikaner. ** user logged out of server
**.
let the living begin, marc mcfarland-ar (Seattle)

unipressers
I've rewritten this msg 20 times in my head the last two weeks. I've tried
variations on blasting the powers that be, schmaltzy recollections of the
tear-jerker moments, and allusions to the fragrance of sea air as the deck
chairs are rearranged and the band players Nearer My God to Thee. It's
difficult to choose which would be most appropriate.
The good things about UPI and its people strongly outweigh the bad,
however, and I will always remember it fondly and proudly claim the right to call
myself a Unipresser.
UPI lifted me from the trenches of obscure small dailies in obscure small
towns. It doubled the money I was making. It gave me the chance to cover
George Bush, Michael Dukakis, Jesse Jackson, Richard Nixon, Mike Tyson,
Donald Trump and more governors and legislators than eye can recall - all in three
years. UPI helped me make many friends, both among Unipressers and those I
covered.
There were moments I'll never forget: the time Paul Kern-NAP (Philadelphia
photos) (laid off last year) et eye tried to sell UPI to Donald Trump at a
Casino Control Commission meeting. "I'm a rich man. Do you seriously believe I got rich buying
companies like UPI?" Then there was the time Kern et eye were covering a riot in Perth
Amboy et kid pulled a gun on us. Kern slammed the guy against the wall,
screamed "You're busted!" and found the gun was plastic.
I could go on and on, but then UPI told me to wright tight, bright,
tonight.
But there's one parting thought to be shared by all of us who have left
before, who are leaving today, and will leave in the next few weeks and
months (if it lasts that long):
Yea though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no
evil. We have worked for UPI and lived to write about it.
Logging off. chrs et rgds. shearman-trc (Trenton)

unipressers
It's been a few days shy of a year between my first and last days at UPI.
But in recent Fridays the message wire has carried a glimpse of what United
Press International meant to so many people -- and what has been done to the
company. I carefully filled out my census form this year ... so I guess I'd
better contribute to an accurate farewell count here. Good luck to all and
thanks to anyone who corrected (thank God) and shortened (mostly) my copy.
I'll remember this year. cheers, and goodbye.
McGettigan-tr.

all new downholders
too many names, too little time. been a pleasure working with all of u et a
shame yer names will no longer grace the wires. best of luk to all of u.
73s.
debevec-ms-ws-cw-wb-fy-sv (Here is someone who moved -- Minneapolis, St.
Paul, Charleston, Morgantown, W.Va., Frankfort, Ky., Louisville, Ky.)

unipressers
Dear hearts: So many Unipressers are getting off this rollercoaster in the
next few days, and I am joining you.
Naturally, our last days here are occasioned by strong emotions. Some of us
are angry, some sad, some nostalgic.
As for me, I can find nothing but respect for UPI, for all of you who are
leaving and for those we leave behind.
Since 1907 Unipressers around the world have been fighting a righteous
battle. We've kept the rest of the media honest, pushed the opposition to
its limits. We were not just as good as Grandma (AP) -- we were a hell of a lot
better.
UPI has treated me exceedingly well. I got to cover wonderful stories and
interview great American heroes as well as absolute scalawags. Most of all I
am exceedingly proud to have worked with the best reporters, editors and
photographers in the world.
The pleasure was all mine.
preston-ct

preston-ct
momma. thnks for giving me a chance to ride the roller coaster. i wouldn't
trade it for anything in this world. i wouldn't even trade it for a job. the
job will come later. you gave me a chance to do something most news people
never a chance to do ... chase after the big ones. you gave me confidence
that i didn't kno i had and for tt i am forever gratreful, june. eye wish you the
best. may god bless you. jeffreys-ra
preston-ct
june: 'don't go ... we all love ya,' so said the lion with his new found
courage. keeping on the yellowbrick road motif, if you ever go looking for
your heart's desire and upi is still kicking come back and tape all those
sweet farewells to your tube. stay in touch et tnx fer everything. chr
cash/ra (Raleigh)

preston-ct
the upi training manual, if such a thing existed, could have been condensed
to one sentence: watch june preston and do what she does. eye have always
considered it a "priority assignment" to work with you, and upi will not be
the same without you. eye can only hope that our paths will cross again.
best wishes for the future.
newman-ca (Columbia, S.C.)

preston-ct
it was a pleasure working with you at the wheeling, w.va., news register, a
decade ago and a pleasure here at upi. good luck, june. rgds, mcnickle-ps
(Pittsburgh)

preston-ct
june, our paths dint cross much in my 10 yrs with u-p-i, but eye certainly
enjoyed reading ur jim-et-tammy stuff as well as ur other efforts. ur
farewell msg only underlines the classy reputation u maintained. knowing tt true pros
like urself exist makes this endeavor truly worthwhile. eye kin only wish u
the very best, ever.
saudades
dias-nxf (New York Financial)

preston-ct
farewell and good luck, june. you were and are a class act. don't let jesse
out of your sights. rosso-wa

preston-ct, thnx for all ur help, all ur hard work, all ur wry jokes.
wishing u the very best and that u'll stop in some time for a cold beer. stutzman-or
(Orlando, Fla.)

preston-ct
gud luk & best wishes, june. ur departure is one reason we detest upi's
black fridays. chrs, sielicki-tl (aka slick) (Toledo)

preston-ct
june, you are very much wrong on one point -- the last. a great deal of the
pleasure was ours, those of us who had a chance to work with you. you've
epitomized what's best about upi and you'll be sorely missed. chrs --
burnett/sm (Cleveland)

preston-ct
june, ur still my secret love, no matter how many lies eye may hv told in
the meantime, & regret only tt u never got to interview me in either category.
best wishes, et eye still hope to meet u some day. - witcher-ko (Oklahoma
City)

preston-ct
a fighting gentlewoman to the end. you never cease to amaze me.
lou carr-ntl (National)

preston-ct
a class farewell from a classy lady. u will be sorely missed. good luck in
whatever ur next endeavor may be, and god bless. one question, who gets
custody of jim and tammy?
ramsey-ft (Savannah, Ga.)

preston-ct
vaya con dios, chica.
trott-ntl

preston-ct
june, it saddens me to see your goodbye message. i know these have been
tough times in the carolinas, as elsewhere, and my heart is still with those of
you i worked with down there. as a veteran of the 'ptl campaign' and other
memorable carolina news events, i want to say it was rewarding working for
you. thanks for all you taught me in atlanta and columbia. i wish you good
luck and all the best in the future. cheers. craig-wa (by way of ca)
(Washington, D.C., by way of Columbia, S.C.)

Preston-CT
June, you are a class act. You always went the extra mile in news coverage,
client services and even in sales. Thanks for the contributions; too many to
recount and too many to repay. Good luck with the new work. cheers.<
Geimann-NX (New York)

preston-ct
you're going out with class, kid. you done real good and we're going to
miss you very much. love and kisses.
mullen-nx

preston-ct
although i never met you, ur name has bn one of the stalwarts of the wire.
best of luck in the future. abbott-wa

preston-ct
it's hard to say goodbye to so many good ppl. wish u all the best in the
future. 73s, milewski-hf (Hartford, Conn.)
preston-ct
won't be the same around her without you, june. i'll miss seeing ur byline
on stories and i'm sure the bakkers, those imps, will miss you too! much good
luck to you. silvassy-wasp (Washington features)

preston-ct
Eye'm sorry, but the pleasure was notnot all yours. There was a good deal
of it among those of us who worked with you. And eye'm sure as hell gonna miss
ya, even if you do misspell the same word tt eye do. Good luck et 73s.--wieck-da

all mutants
oh gawd, yet another one of these long good-bye msgs to clutter the wire et
bring tears to yer eyes.
well, forget it. no tears here bubbas et bubbettes, just miles of smiles.
upi et royal brightbill got me outta tt stinkhole known as radio et gave
me a real job 4 years ago. because of royal, eye got to act like a 12-yr-old
here in baton rouge for the past 2 years et 9 months, playing morning man to the
button-down state capitol crowd who were terrified of anybody who would
quote todd rundgren in a column et drive around in a car with .22-caliber
holes in the windshield.
folks, we've all got into this horrible disease. my first day with upi,
angie miller-dar went into labor while doing bcast briefs. she finished her trick.
people, tt is not normal. we're mutants. it's something the drones at rox wl
(will) never hv (have): life on the edge, on tt impossible deadline, at the world's
largest insolvent independent newsgathering organization. hunter thompson was right:
"when the going gets weird, the weird turns pro."
eye'm proud to say eye was a unipresser, even prouder to say eye was one
in louisiana, the weirdest third-world country in the united states of bush.
yeah people, the crew of brightbill, duffy, fuller, bermudez, reaves, demers,
power, gloster, plume, sisk, guerrera, mack, benic, lodriguss, finney, schwed,
schlangenstein, anderson, mearns, manguno, forman, et al were a little
different down here, but then we had to be. god played a cruel joke on louisiana, but
then the people don't notice. go figure, et we're glad we cud be of service
creating this aura of invincible irreverence.
pink slip in hand, eye'm getting on the elevator here in the house that
huey built et punching "23" -- going to work for the attorney general of the
state of louisiana, the man who owns antoine's down in the french quarter et
unknows wot an intrauterine device is. these mutually exclusive pieces of
information do matter a whole hellava lot to someone who did so much in his totally
misspent youth tt when synapses do connect, it's an f-dot on the put line et 10 bells
in yer ears.
two final thoughts:
it was david byrne of the talking heads who sang:
"if this is paradise, i wish i had a lawnmower."
and it was the late, lamented lowell george, he of little feat, who sang:
"gets it to me gently, well feets don't fail me now."
yo lowell, save me a seat on the train. we need to talk
c l i p a n d s a v e
good for one night of drunken revelry (at yer convenience). contact: steven
watsky,
73s,
steven (otto) watsky-bg-ne (Baton Rouge, New Orleans
watsky-bg
eye thot u had another week, mayes-x (St. Louis) has until next friday. this
place woan be the same without u. eye rmbr taking ur stringer calls back in 1985 (din u
call with the stri abt the president or some riverboat colliding with barge at bg,
all the rich folx in their fancy clothes hving to abandon ship?). how abt
the vicious msg exchanges with keenan-kp (Kansas City, Mo.) in the 86-87 era?
read martin, laid off in x last month, on his way to ne tdy for friend's
wedding. eye told him to stop in canal st. buo if he had time, doan know if he will. wish eye cld
attend ur farewell bash, promise if eye ever make it back to la.-land eye'll
look u up et buy u a dixie et some mudbugs. meanwhile, drink a few for me
tonite.
rgds--whitworth-x

watsky-bg
tnx for enlivening what promises to be a really depressing day. and many,
many tnx for the sometimes astonishing level of energy u put into ur efforts
on this company's behalf. all our best. chrs. - o'shea-ntl

watsky-bg-ne
u nailed it man. so long from this end of the mighty miss. chrs.
debevec-ms-cw-fy-sv-wb (Minneapolis, Charleston, Frankfort, Ky., Louisville,
Morgantown, W.Va.)

watsky-bg
can't even begin to match ur eccentric eloquence, but suffice it to say u
and all departing souls will be sorely missed. eye fear the rest of us may
have no audience when it comes time for the big g-bye. chrs.
kolberg-wasci (Washington Science)

watsky-be
hey, we cudda used you up in new eng, where zz top once reigned, where the
baz once roamed, where fighting the odds and stiffing rox brought smiles to
all, except rox. Good luck.
haskell bh (Boston)

watsky-bg-ne
steve, ur one of the best 12-year-old reporters I've ever worked with. glad
to see ur leaving with a smile - or more like some wild guffaws - and a job.
eyem sure ur old buddies at marine shale are thrilled to learn u gonna be
with attorney general. good luck.
lobsenz-wa

watsky-bg
congratulations! your farewell msg stands a good chance of surviving in upi
lore as the most bizarre, festive and unique of all time. good luck, my
friend. 73. - carmichael-wa

watsky-bg
best of everything and always remember what jack kerouac said the first
time he tried psilocybin: "Walking on water wasn't built in a day." -
mccormally-wa

watsky-bg
yep, that msg should go into the upi pantheon of famous goodbyes, right up
there with "hours too long, pay too little, life to short," (or something
like that) memorialized in "deadline every minute." all the best. reske-scotus
(Washington, Supreme Court).

watsky-bg-ne
for anyone who can make us laugh and wipe away the tears, you've got to be
the greatest. good luck to you and make sure you have addresses of all your
good upi friends. we should start planning reunions.
latimer (still alive in) cz (Columbus, Ohio)

watsky-bg-ne
eye haven't been at upi too many years et was not here for the last
mega-round of layoffs, but eye can't imagine a better goodbye msg. may the
force be with u. rgds.
nichols-ar (Seattle)

watsky-bg
And you were the one I was always told I had to meet (unless that was you
at the Chateau Motor Hotel bar seven drunks and a wrong turn on IH-10 ago).
Best of luck. That was one four-star farewell.
haines-al (San Antonio)

watsky-bg
u know this happening because all the infotech junque bonds are coming
due. jeffreys-ra (Raleigh)

watsky-ne
(goodbye) steve, donno whether i shud laugh or cry, so i'll do a bit of
both when i tip a cold one in southerly fashion. btw, ur cast notes forgot to
mention flowers by irene. chrs et gud luck, sielicki-tl aka slick-tl

watsky-bg
I agree with your wierd list of former La. unipressers, but could add a few
more including Trosclair, Harvey, Cocke and James -- the crew that handled
Jim Garrison's Kennedy killin. It was a boozed up Harvey who got fired after
telling Nx desk to stop bugging NE the nite Pixy broke Garrison story. LBA
just happened to be having their convention that satty nite. I was busy with
hs (high school) scores. Hate to see u go, but it ain't bad working for the
cat who owns the best little eatin place in the Crescent City. cheers.
james-jk (Jackson, Miss.)

UNIPRESSERS:
(Ever notice how the ledes on these msgs are always the same?)
This is my last day at UPI.
No tears, pls. One week to the day after learning of my termination, I got
another job with a big pay raise. I guess UPI should have fired me sooner.
But I guess this is the time for tears for UPI. The war is over. We lost.
I first walked into the Boston UPI bureau in 1965, on Boston's old
Newspaper Row. I was 18, a copy boy at a client paper. I was overwhelmed by the
racket from the teletypes and by the streams of blue-black carbon paper spilling
from the big metal wastebaskets. The place smelled like Chinese food and
photo chemicals. It was meyhem. I loved it. I still do.
I've worked twice for UPI. The first time was from 1969 until 1977, and
this second tour began in 1985. The spirit of the place has never changed, even
now when UPI is a frail shadow of what it once was.
UPI is the Elvis of the news business -- a wild, huge talent "repackaged"
and "repositioned" by a succession of Colonel Parkers.
Elvis died because they wouldn't let him rock 'n roll anymore. We're dying
for the same reason.
73s.
Frederick-me (Augusta, Maine)

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