Within months of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ historic signing of Jackie Robinson, then-Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck, left, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball’s American League by signing Larry Doby in July 1947.

BASEBALL MAVERICK/INNOVATOR VEECK
INTEGRATED MLB’S AMERICAN LEAGUE
BY SIGNING LARRY DOBY IN 1947

A visionary who spotted corporate threat
to American culture a half-century ago
 
By David Maril
 
The technology changes but one thing stays the same:  too many people submit meekly to the forces of corporate marketing.

As we experience another season of politicians masquerading as graduation speakers, I think of what a nice change of pace it would be to have college and high school seniors hear an individual who speaks from the heart and offers an honest point of view to think about.

Someone, for example, like the late Bill Veeck (1914-1986).

I was fortunate to have heard this colorful, radical and imaginative former baseball owner of the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox speak about bucking the trend and remaining a vibrant individual.

Believe me, he made a strong impression many decades ago when I was in college. The Baseball Hall of Famer, who was always battling the establishment, was responsible for starting the integration of the American League by signing Larry Doby in 1947, when he owned the Indians.

Veeck also enraged the stodgy baseball executives of that day by giving the great pitcher Satchel Paige, 42 years old at the time, and black, a chance to play in the big leagues.

Usually struggling financially, Veeck’s teams survived because he was smart, clever and catered to the fans, always introducing a series of bargain giveaways that are still used promotionally by many teams today.

Some, like sending a midget, Eddie Gaedel, up to bat when he owned the Browns, were controversial. Disco Demolition Night, when he owned the White Sox, was a disaster. Most of his promotions, however, were successful and popular.

Veeck, also a successful book author and network radio commentator, spoke to a small group of us at Clark University.

“Stand up, be an individual and don’t let the corporate world take advantage of you,” he told us with a mischievous smile.

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Ravens’ running back Ray Rice, with wife Janay Palmer, meets the press at team’s Owings Mills training complex.

RAVENS’ RB ADDRESSES NEWS MEDIA,
REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
DURING BRIEF TV APPEARANCE

Refers at Friday press conference
to alleged assault of then-fiancée
in Atlantic City, as ‘The Incident’
 
Just days after cutting a plea deal that allows him to avoid prosecution — and possible jail time — for knocking out his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator, Ravens’ running back Ray Rice met the media with his now-wife… and refused to answer questions about the alleged assault.

In an orchestrated appearance filled with self-pity Friday at the Ravens’ training complex in Owings Mills before reporters and television cameras that lasted just over six minutes, Rice apologized to team leaders, fans and his family for what he and his wife termed “The Incident.”

Janay Palmer Rice sat quietly beside the Ravens’ star and offered a brief statement. However she did not smile or hold her new husband’s hand during the media event. Nor were any top Ravens officials present.

Rice did not apologize to Palmer during their joint appearance.

Using an analogy to indicate his determination to bounce back — that inadvertently references what occurred in the casino elevator — Rice said: “I wouldn’t call myself a failure [because] failure is not getting knocked down; it’s not getting back up.”

His speech was not written out; however he often referred to notes on his cellphone.

“The Incident” was first reported by TMZ in February when the celebrity news service ran an exclusive video — that immediately went viral — showing Rice dragging an apparently unconscious Palmer from an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City.

A day after being formally charged with felony aggravated assault, Rice’s then-fiancée Palmer married him.

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Kaliope Parthemos, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s new chief of staff, is being paid $6,000 a year less than her male predecessor.

KALIOPE PARTHEMOS PAID $172K,
REPLACING MAN WHO GOT MORE
DESPITE DOING IDENTICAL WORK

4th chief of staff for mayor in as many years

CITY OFFICIALS ARE ‘GROSSLY OVERPAID’
 
By Alan Z. Forman
 
These days whenever a woman gets paid less than a man for doing the same job, questions of sexual discrimination inevitably rear their ugly head.

It happened a week ago when New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson was abruptly fired by Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

Now it’s apparently happening in Baltimore — with a high-ranking female staffer in city government getting paid 3.4 percent less per year than her male predecessor.

The Times’ Abramson was allegedly paid less than former Executive Editor Bill Keller, who preceded her, according to figures based on salary plus pension benefits.

However, according to Sulzberger, it turned out that Abramson’s total financial package was lower than Keller’s only because she had worked at the Times less than 17 years, whereas he had been there for more than 30.

And she had been executive editor less than three years, whereas he had held the top job for eight.

In addition, Sulzberger said, Abramson’s final full-year’s salary in the top slot was considerably higher than Keller’s, leading some to question the adjustment for three years’ worth of inflation, and whether discrimination on the basis of sex had in fact actually occurred.

Keller retired as executive editor in 2011 and continued as an op-ed columnist for the Times until this year.

A week ago Friday, when Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appointed longtime friend and confidante Kaliope Parthemos to succeed Alexander Sanchez as her chief of staff — the Mayor’s fourth in as many years — the issue was again raised in some quarters in Baltimore.

Why was Parthemos getting paid $6,000 less per year than her outgoing male counterpart?

Voice of Baltimore put the question to Parthemos early Tuesday in an email which has yet to be answered. She also failed to return a morning telephone call seeking a response to the question.

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As co-host of NBC’s “Today Show” between 1962 and 1976, Barbara Wal- ters built a reputation as a tough interviewer — most of which turned to fluff when she moved to ABC and switched to pitching softball questions.

BARBARA WALTERS RETIRES;
HER CHATTY INTERVIEWS
DOMINATED TELEVISION

The Baltimore Sun’s takeover
of Maryland’s print media
is bad news for journalism

NEW BROOKS ROBINSON BIOGRAPHY
FAILS TO COME THROUGH IN CLUTCH

Umpires overruled by technology
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering if there’s still room on over-the-air network television for lengthy, sit-down interviews, it’s interesting to note the following on a variety of topics:

  Whether or not you are a fan of Barbara Walters’ overbearing, chatty personal style, give her credit for perseverance and a long, high-profile media career.

Say what you want about Walters, who retired Friday from her daily television show “The View,” she remains a significant TV interviewer who landed hundreds of headline-grabbing newsmakers and personalities for lengthy one-on-one sessions.

Her retirement from full-time duty is a good time to raise the question of when it became acceptable for network television to edit so tightly the responses of guests appearing on “sit down, exclusive one-on-one” news-program interviews.

When you watch some of the guests on “Face The Nation,” “Meet The Press” and “This Week” being questioned, it’s easy to see that many of the responses are shortened and drastically edited.

While the practice eliminates extraneous rhetoric, there’s a loss of any feeling of live spontaneity and can give the impression the network is censoring to push its own talking points. The result can be a choppy, somewhat disjointed interview and makes you wonder what was left out.

If guests have so little of significance to say, why are they even on these programs in the first place?

  It was not good news for Baltimore and the State of Maryland when it became evident recently that the conglomerate that owns The Sun is buying up practically all the print competition in the state.

The latest acquisitions are the Baltimore City Paper, The Capital in Annapolis, the Carroll County Times and some affiliated publications.

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NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday May 23

[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]
 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
 
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond.   Your weekday morning look  (with links)  at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is attending a three-day real estate convention in Las Vegas, Nev., where she says “deals got done.”

•  MAYOR SAYS ‘DEALS GOT DONE’
AT LAS VEGAS CONVENTION

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- Blake declined however to give any details about the alleged deals.

But in a telephone interview with City Hall Reporter Luke Broadwater of The Sun, she said there would be announce- ments “within the next 60 to 90 days.”

Read More at:  Baltimore Sun

•  LAWYERS BILL $15M IN STENT SETTLEMENT

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits over unnecessary stents received at St. Joseph Medical Center are asking for almost $15 million in fees as part of the $37 million settlement.

Read More at:  Maryland Daily Record

•  MIKULSKI INTRODUCES BILL TO CREATE NAVAL ACADEMY CYBER CENTER

The $120 million funding for the Annapolis project would go toward building a multi-story academic building with classrooms and research labs as well as offices and lecture halls, where midshipmen would train using real-world experiences to handle future cyber threats.

Read More at:  Baltimore Business Journal

•  O’MALLEY URGES GRADS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

The governor and prospective presidential candidate told some 3,600 University of Maryland graduates at College Park on Thursday to be ready for a world in the midst of rapid transformation spurred by climate change, technological advancement and global connectedness.

Read More at:  WBAL-Radio (1090AM)

•  COURTHOUSE WORKERS PROTEST RODENTS, POORLY VENTILATED OFFICES

Clerk of the Court Frank Conaway, a former mayoral candidate, led the call Thursday for better working conditions in Baltimore City Circuit Court buildings.

Read More at:  WJZ-TV (Channel 13)
 
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