The D.O. Alumni Newsletter Winter 2014

a lumni newslet ter winter 2014

INSIDE From Kristallnacht to Watergate Former Washington Post editor and D.O. alumnus Harry Rosenfeld talks about his new memoir in a Q&A. PAGES 2-3 A ‘Lucky Guy’ Friends reminisce about late Daily News columnist Mike McAlary.

PAGE 5 Alumni updates Find out what your peers are up to on PAGE 4 and where the Class of 2013 ended up on PAGE 8

the independent st udent n e w s pa p e r of s y r ac u s e , n.y.

From the editor’s desk: Staffers update print look, adapt to changes in new era W

CASE Y FABRIS

hen you work at The Daily Orange, it’s hard not to get

online. We’ve pushed to add video to our online stories, such as a series

caught up in the past. The history is on

on student entrepreneurs. In the

the walls, from the filing cabinet that

meantime, The Daily Orange received

management teams sign to the ducks

Editor and Publisher’s award for best

that wallpaper the office. You can’t

college/university newspaper web-

escape it.

hail to the chief

But despite our fascination with the

site. And our social media presence continues to grow. The @dailyorange

past, times are changing for newspa-

her experience for the Society of News

Twitter handle recently surpassed

pers, so we have to look to the future.

Design.

10,000 followers.

It’s something we’ve been doing a lot

Often when people hear the word

of at The Daily Orange recently, par-

“redesign,” they think only of type-

a busy one. Syracuse University

ticularly in the redesign of the print

faces and color palettes. A redesign,

announced the hire of its new chancel-

edition, which debuted at the start of

at its heart, is a way to improve your

lor and Nancy Cantor departed. The

the spring semester.

Although discussed often in recent years, the redesign project picked

ONLINE

up steam last year when the board of

Check out the redesigned dailyorange.com Click to see the updated and refreshed Daily Orange website, and let us know what you think and what you want to see.

groups, which helped guide much of

directors invested in a series of focus

READ MORE Read about The Daily Orange’s redesign on SND. org by clicking the link.

the process.

We then formed a redesign commit-

The last semester at The D.O. was

product. For us,

football team appeared in its third

that also extends

bowl game in four years. There was

to the paper’s

also the 25th anniversary of the Pan

editorial content.

Am Flight 103 bombing, which we

For example, the

marked with a special edition.

redesign creates space for news

When I am not producing papers, I am a junior magazine journalism

summaries, including a “newsbar”

major. Before entering management,

tee, bringing together management

that could illustrate current events

I worked in the newsroom, most

and presentation directors past and

with a graphic, and student-focused

recently as news editor. I knew I

present. Our presentation director,

features that spotlight campus fashion

wanted to work at The D.O. when I

Lizzie Hart, met with staff members

and profile peers.

started researching SU in high school,

to discuss what they wanted out of the redesign. Lizzie also blogged about

As we adapt to the changing world

even if working at a newspaper does

of journalism in print, we also adapt

JOIN US FOR DOPALOOZA 2014

SEE FABRIS PAGE 4

FEBRUARY 14-16 SYRACUSE, N.Y.

This year marks The Daily Orange’s 110th birthday — a great reason to make the trip to Syracuse for DO Palooza! We’d love for you to join us for our annual alumni weekend. DO Palooza is a great opportunity for staffers to interact with professional journalists and for alumni to reconnect and network.

The year’s theme is enterprise. How can we be better enterprise reporters? What makes an enterprise story? How do we delve deeper into stories? How do we present these stories visually, making use of the web and supplementary graphics? These are some of the topics we’ll be exploring in panels and presentations.

The weekend will feature a meet-and-greet at 744 Ostrom, an alumni brunch and the opportunity to watch the men’s basketball team take on N.C. State in the Carrier Dome. For details and schedule, see PAGE 5!

A newspaperman reflects on a storied life Woodward and Bernstein’s former editor discusses recent memoir with The D.O.

By Annie Palmer | News Editor

H

arry Rosenfeld, 84, is the editor at large of the Albany Times Union and the author of the recently released memoir “From Kristallnacht to Watergate.” The ‘52 alumnus spoke with The Daily Orange about his experience fleeing Nazi Germany, his career as a journalist and his perspective as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s metro editor. An edited transcript appears below.

The Daily Orange: You released a memoir

country; you decided your own future.

in September. What was it like reflecting on

That was my story and that has been

your life?

the overwhelming reaction by those

Harry Rosenfeld: I really wrote this some years ago when I started collecting notes about

who have read the book. Because it is a memoir, and because it encompasses so

my own family. I knew so

many things, so many people take out of

little about my own fam-

it what they want to take out of it.

ROSENFELD ON THE D.O.

ily’s background. I failed to assume these questions

The DO: Can you talk a little bit about what

while they were still living

it was like fleeing from Nazi Germany and

because I was focused on

coming to New York?

my career. Ten to 12 years

HR: It was really a tale of two different

after I became editor at the Albany newspa-

worlds. I had grown up in Nazi Germany and

per, I came under pressure from friends to

that’s all I knew — that sort of pervading Jew

write my story — by which they meant my

hatred that I grew up in as a part of my normal

Watergate story. I didn’t want to write another

life, the kind of isolation and segregation

Watergate story because so many had already

that it produced and registered in a relatively

been written. I thought I could contribute my

innocent 9-year-old. But the minute I came to

own recollections of these historic events. It

America, I put everything Germany behind

took in my beginnings in Nazi Germany, but it

me. I forgot the language on purpose, I had

also took in my work as an American editor.

nothing to do with it and wanted nothing to do

When I arrived in America in 1939, I was

with it. I threw myself into becoming Ameri-

immediately in love with the country, but I

can. I was entirely absorbed in becoming an

never would have thought I would have ended

American and I have been from that day on.

up shaking hands with five presidents of the United States. That is a tiny example of what

The DO: You came to SU in the late 1940s.

it means to come to America and live here

What was SU like and what was The D.O.

and develop your life — even if there had been

like?

My most fond memories are of those days, setting the type, holding the forms in my hand and seeing the newspaper be put together. That became a very important part of my education as a newspaperman. We just had the best of times. It was a marvelous bunch of people connected with the Orange, and some of them became lifelong friends. journalism classes, I was only impressed with

no Hitler, no vicious persecution of the Jews,

HR: It was a great bit of fun. I selected

even if we’d lived in a tolerant Germany and

Syracuse because of its journalism program,

unimpressed. I shifted my intention from jour-

tolerant Europe, my life would have been

but when I got there, I was not in love with the

nalism to American studies, which combined

very different. It was part of the myth of the

journalism program. When I took the early

American literature with political science. I

2 winter 2014

two people up there. The rest of them left me

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

knew I wanted to be a journalist —

per does in its universe. The same

that didn’t change, just the way to

standards should apply.

get to it changed.

Work on The D.O. was a major component on that commitment.

I covered sports and eventually became a junior editor. My most

HR: That was an issue that came up, while we were covering Watergate. Mrs. Graham would

The DO: What was your first impression of the newspaper business?

HR: I always loved the newspa-

ask, “How come if this story is so good we’re so alone?” She was concerned that maybe we were barking up the wrong tree, but I

fond memories are of those days,

per business. I began to read the

on the other hand was delighted. I

setting the type, holding the forms

Herald Tribune in high school. I

had full confidence in what we had

in my hand and seeing the newspa-

went to Stuyvesant High School

because we had the quality report-

per be put together. That became a

in New York City and we were

ing. I knew how rigorous we were

very important part of my educa-

required to read a newspaper.

in making sure we were right.

tion as a newspaperman. We just

Almost everybody subscribed to

had the best of times. It was a mar-

the New York Times — that was

velous bunch of people connected

sort of the attitude of the faculty,

with the Orange, and some of them

and I didn’t want to be shoehorned

became lifelong friends.

into what everyone else was feeling. I took the Herald Tribune and

The DO: It seems like each generation of journalists has its own focus. Was The D.O. as committed to investigative journalism at that time?

on what else the Orange was doing at that time, but my impression is — and it may be an incorrect one — that it didn’t do a lot of

HR: It was our story. We were

I loved it. I loved reading it, I loved

often covering whether one panda

looking at it. So I was in love with

was making love to another panda

newspapering by the time I gradu-

at the local zoo, so it put us into

ated high school. I knew what I

a whole new world, a whole new

wanted to do for a living.

atmosphere. Here was a chance for

HR: I was focused on my sports obligations, so I was not focused

The DO: I also read that you kept all Watergate coverage assigned to local staff. Why did you decide to do that?

us to soar, and we were not going

The DO: After the Tribune, you went to The Washington Post.

How did the Tribune differ from the Post?

to give that up without a fight.

There was pressure on Ben Bradlee, after we established recognition, that national news wanted

HR: The Tribune was a far

to take over the coverage because

investigating work in revealing

more sophisticated operation,

they thought that we would bring

what needed to be revealed in its

even in its dying days, than the

The Washington Post down to

own universe. Which I think is its

Post. It had a work atmosphere

ruin. But we didn’t — we brought

own obligation — to cover what’s

that was both collegial and

it to a Pulitzer gold medal.

in its own universe. Certainly I

competitive. People got along very

was not involved in doing that, but

well, or even if they didn’t get

again it’s a matter of what I don’t

along very well, they shared the

remember. But my suspicion is

spree of working at a newspaper

that we were at that time not very

trying to keep its nose above

audacious — we sort of went along

water. A couple years after Mrs.

HR: We’re still in the middle

with the flow of things.

Graham had taken over as pub-

of this process of evolving, seeing

lisher, the Post was in a building

that digitization which really

phase. They wanted to be better

exceeds, in my mind. The reason

than they were. I was one of those

that newspapers are declining are

early hires. The Post was known

that there are fewer readers and

for the high quality of its editorial

fewer advertisers. Readers are dis-

pages, but Ben Bradlee was chang-

tracted by the internet. The new

be a logical assumption, but that

ing part of that. In a very short

technologies could also enhance

was also an attitudinal one. There

time, The Washington Post came

the kinds of investigative, explan-

are certain newspapers now that

to distinguish itself in national

atory journalism that is the core

are very rambunctious but aren’t

recognition.

of the mission of a newspaper that

The DO: Do you think that had anything to do with the fact that we weren’t an independent newspaper at the time?

HR: I would say that that could

independent. But it seems to me — now, I’m speaking under the perspective of something learned over 50 years as a newspaperman — that the obligations of a college newspaper are to do the same things that a professional newspaa lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

The DO: After spending all these years in the newspaper industry, how do you reflect upon where it is today?

envelops itself in the First Amend-

The DO: Many newspapers didn’t fully grasp the true implications of the Watergate scandal while it was going on.

How did you weigh the situation when you were first covering it?

ment. How will these technologies foster this kind of reporting and how does it detract from it? We don’t have the final answer. We’re still in the process of finding it out.

COMING

UP NEXT Check your mailbox this spring for our next newsletter — in print for the first time since 2010!

In the meantime: • Consider a $110 newsletter sponsorship to celebrate The Daily Orange’s 110th year. A sponsorship helps cover the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter and ensuring that it’s the best issue it can be. Email pwaack@dailyorange.com.

• Advertise in the next issue. Have a photography, design, editing or consulting company?

Reach 2,000 people who already know D.O. alumni do great work. Email pwaack@dailyorange.com.

• Send us any life updates you’d like to be included in the next issue (marriage/ birth announcements, job changes, recent honors/awards, new book releases, etc.). Email alumni@dailyorange.com.

• Update your home mailing address if you’ve moved recently. Email alumni@dailyorange.com.

CHECK OUT THE D.O. ARCHIVES PROJECT! For the past three years, The Daily Orange has undertaken a significant push to digitize 110 years of print archives. The project is significant in its scope, both digitally and financially. The archives committee, comprised of current and former staffers, is indebted to those who have donated. Be sure to look in the next newsletter, due out mid-spring, for more details. See what alumni donations have produced and learn how you can donate by visiting dailyorange.com/archives.

apalme05@syr.edu

winter 2014

3

ALUMNI

UPDATES SUBMIT YOUR UPDATES FOR OUR SPRING NEWSLETTER AT ALUMNI@DAILY ORANGE.COM.

’82

Jay Blotcher is the librettist of “Holding On,” a musical in development about Harlem in the 1960s. He is working with fellow Syracuse alumnus Neil Klein (‘82) (www.holdingonthemusical. com). A former D.O. reporter, Blotcher has been an arts writer since 2001 for Chronogram, a monthly magazine in the Hudson Valley of N.Y. state (www.

Chronogram.com).

’99

Aileen Gallagher married Adam Crowley on June 15 in Syracuse. D.O. alumni Meredith Goldstein (‘99), Roy Gutterman (‘93) and Pete Thamel (‘99) were in attendance. Meredith gave us a popsicle maker. It’s amazing.

’02

Jessica Vedder, a former asst. photo editor, joined the project management team at Fingerpaint, a dynamic marketing and branding company in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

’10

Sahar Vahidi, a former presentation director, is now a design editor at Variety magazine, after working for New York Press.

’12

Yiwei Wu is a proud D.O. ad rep alum and a Pete Waack fan. Recently, Yiwei started working in product development at Xaxis (part of GroupM). Prior to Xaxis, she worked in global client development at Wunderman. She now lives in Manhattan.

4 winter 2014

FABRIS FROM PAGE 1

get me the occasional dirty look from fellow magazine students.

Last semester, I was joined in

This semester’s managing editor

This year, we celebrate The

is Chase Gaewski, a junior pho-

Daily Orange’s 110th birthday.

tojournalism major who served

That anniversary makes us simul-

as photo editor for the past three

taneously look back and look for-

semesters.

ward: back on all the things that

Times are changing at news-

have been accomplished in the

papers, including college ones. At

past 110 years and forward at what

the management office by Maddy

The Daily Orange, we see that in

we want to see in the next 110.

Berner, a senior newspaper major

the redesign, we see it in the way

and former copy chief. This

we cover breaking news, and we

semester, Maddy will be enjoying

see it in our ever-expanding web

the remainder of her senior year

presence.

and working as development

Though we all have our eyes

editor, organizing workshops and

on the future, we still take time to

resources to help our staff grow.

look to the past.

Casey Fabris (’15) is the editor in chief and former news editor of The Daily Orange. She also serves as president of the paper’s board of directors. Please feel free to contact her with ideas, comments or stories from your piece in history at The D.O. at editor@ dailyorange.com and on Twitter @caseyfabris.

DOPALOOZA 2014 The value of DO Palooza to current students cannot be overstated, and we’re always grateful for any and all help. If you are interested in attending, doing a presentation and/ or reserving basketball tickets, please contact management at editor@dailyorange.com.

Note: this is a preliminary schedule. Be sure to RSVP to keep up to date with possible changes.

FRIDAY, FEB. 14 Meet-and-greet 7 p.m., 744 Ostrom Ave. Kick off the weekend with a meet-and-greet Friday night.

Catch up with former colleagues and meet the current staff.

SATURDAY, FEB. 15 Alumni workshops and panels 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (with break for a catered lunch), Newhouse Topics will include: IT’S NOT JUST NUMBERS Business reporting is a huge growth area in journalism right now. What does it take to be a business reporter? Learn the ropes and the basics of business.

LAW Journalists need to know their rights, the importance of free speech and their way around legal documents. Get your answers on all things law from this panel with law experts.

HOW TO KEEP THEM READING Increasingly, we see longer stories getting elaborate treatment when it comes to online presentation. This panel will explore the best ways to present stories

online in terms of supplementary elements, web design and reader engagement.

ON THE BEAT What’s the best way to get a source to open up to you? How do you find interesting personal stories and delve beneath the surface? What’s the best way to maintain relationships? These are important questions beat reporters must ask themselves, especially in sports. Move beyond game coverage and find the story that no one else can write.

REDESIGN REFLECTION The Daily Orange recently underwent a redesign. How is it working? What do we still need to change? How can we get editorial to meet design halfway?

TELLING THE STORY VISUALLY This panel will discuss how photographers can find and create their own stories. What makes a good photo essay? Why are they important? What’s the best way to present a photo essay?

We will also discuss how best to collaborate with editors on visual storytelling.

THE JOB HUNT What’s the next step after The Daily Orange? Recent graduates will discuss how they got to where they are today, how to start the job hunt and what life is like after 744.

CAN’T ATTEND? WE’LL MISS YOU. JOIN OUR ALUMNI LISTSERV AND FIND OUT ABOUT OUR NEXT EVENT BY EMAILING ALUMNI@DAILYORANGE.COM LOOKING BIG PICTURE From breaking news to enterprise, learn to develop a bigpicture story that goes beyond the five W’s. Get tips on delving deeper and taking a broader look at complicated issues.

BREAKING DOWN PULP How do we define the feature section? How do we differentiate between news and feature?

Syracuse-N.C. State basketball game 3 p.m., Carrier Dome Watch the men’s basketball team take on its new ACC opponent with 30,000 other fans.

Please let us know if you would like one of our reserved tickets for alumni. Numbers are limited so let us know if you want one!

SUNDAY, FEB. 16

Brunch, 11 a.m.

Rachel’s Restaurant (at the Sheraton on campus) We will hold a brunch to say our goodbyes, reflect on what we learned and celebrate 110 years of The Daily Orange. a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

Friends say Tom Hanks ‘got it’ as Mike McAlary in Nora Ephron’s ‘Lucky Guy’

Former Syracuse classmates and D.O. colleagues of Mike McAlary, from left, Walecia Konrad (’81), Maura McEnaney (’79), Tom Coffey (’80), Tim Wendel (’78), Jacqui Salmon (’79), Dave Bauder (’81), Jim Naughton (’79) and Kevin Haynes (’79) stand in front of the Broadhurst Theatre, where “Lucky Guy” made its run on Broadway. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE SULLIVAN

‘MAC’ MAKES

BROADWAY

By Alfred Ng

ASST. FEATURE EDITOR

Not only was Hanks able to capture McAlary’s physical attributes — mustache included — but his personality and talent as well, said Tom Coffey (’80), a former D.O. editor in chief.

“We really felt the same way, that he got it — the brashness and the lovable charm and the risktaking that would sometimes get Mac into trouble,” he said.

accent, the voice, and I’m not sure

July. The play, Ephron’s final

In the play, McAlary was often

how he did it.”

work, received six Tony Award

declaring his goals and then

nominations.

accomplishing them, which Coffey

When Jacqui Salmon watched

McAlary (’79), who was often

“Lucky Guy” on Broadway, it was

referred to as “Mac,” was sports

During the play’s brief but cel-

as if the ghost of former classmate

editor at The Daily Orange and

ebrated run, Salmon saw “Lucky

The play showed the confident

Mike McAlary was onstage.

later went on to the New York

Guy” with 12 other D.O. alumni

and determined personality that

said McAlary did a lot in real life.

“Mike was a very distinctive

Daily News, where he became a

who still keep in touch after gradu-

McAlary was known for, as well

personality, he had a very distinc-

star columnist and won a Pulitzer

ating in the early ’80s and late ’70s,

as his knack for reporting. In the

tive walk, he was very loud, he

Prize shortly before he died from

she said.

first act, McAlary was able to get a

gestured very broadly, and Tom

colon cancer in 1998. His life was

By the end of the show, they sat

crooked cop to speak on the record

Hanks got Mike, he just nailed

portrayed by Tom Hanks in Nora

in the first-row balcony in tears,

by showing empathy and journal-

him,” said Salmon (’79). “He got

Ephron’s play “Lucky Guy,” which

astonished to see a late friend

istic instincts, Coffey said.

the look, he got the posture, the

ran on Broadway from April to

brought back to life on the stage.

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

SEE MCALARY PAGE 8 winter 2014

5

IN MEMOR I A M

FOR MORE OBITUARIES, CLICK HERE TO VISIT DOAA.ORG/PASSINGS

Stan Brooks (’49), radio pioneer and a voice for NYC

By Chase Gaewski MANAGING EDITOR

competitive, said Ben Mevorach,

York City Mayor Michael Bloom-

But it was Brooks’ commitment

the director of news and program-

berg said in a statement. “And

to his family, not journalism, that

Stan Brooks had seen it all

ming at 1010 WINS. He was an

maybe the most telling measure

led him to switch from newsprint

because he covered it all. From

architect of format — he knew how

about him: He was even liked and

to radio, Mevorach said.

the 68th Democratic National

to get to the core of a story before

respected by his most cranky lis-

After graduating from Syra-

Convention in Chicago to the

anyone else, Mevorach said.

teners — the many mayors he

cuse in 1949, Brooks began his

covered.”

career in newspaper journalism.

Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Brooks

“He was the guy to go to. You

reported on nearly every major

have a question, you go to Stan.

After Brooks’ death, Bloom-

But his late nights at Newsday

story on New York City radio

Not sure how to frame a story, you

berg announced City Hall’s radio

took too much time away from his

since 1962.

go to Stan. A story about the city,

media room would be renamed in

family, Mevorach said.

you go to Stan,” Mevorach said.

his honor.

But before his voice echoed

And as soon as he started doing

throughout the streets of the city,

Covering every New York City

Brooks’ son, George Brooks,

radio, Mevorach said, he devel-

he was a student at Syracuse Uni-

mayor since Robert F. Wagner Jr.

remembers the excitement from

oped a passion for it, working

versity and a junior editor for The

in 1965, Brooks could boil down

the days when he’d listen to his

until the month before he died.

Daily Orange.

a mayor’s speech to 40 seconds,

father at work.

Brooks, known for helping establish New York City’s first allnews radio station, 1010 WINS, died Dec. 23 from lung cancer. He was 86.

Brooks was honest, direct and

Mevorach said And those mayors respected him.

“If you were to map out in a

“We’d follow his adventures

new world the ideal person to be a

by listening to the radio,” George

reporter, it would be Stan,” Mevo-

Brooks said.

rach said. “There was no one like

“Stan was loved by his col-

Brooks loved being a journal-

leagues and friends inside and

ist. “He lived and breathed it,” his

outside the business,” former New

son said.

him.” dcgaewsk@ syr.edu, @ chasegaewski

Robert Shogan (’51), reporter ‘among the best of the best’

By Maddy Berner DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

go on to write 15 books in his lifetime.

The pair met in 1947 on the

Cooper said, referring to the NFL

steps of SU’s old journalism

football player, head coach and

When plagued with homesick-

Shogan’s other daughter, Amy,

school, Elfin said. It was the start

commentator. In return, Shogan’s

ness, Robert Shogan found com-

described him as unrelenting

of a 66-year friendship filled with

sources felt comfortable with him,

fort within the walls of The Daily

and detail-oriented. His daugh-

nights at “the old hell box,” din-

he said.

Orange.

ters often experienced that per-

ners in Washington and plenty of

It was there that Shogan found

sistence when they tagged along

journalism.

a best friend, a second family and

to the occasional news confer-

a knack for choosing article dead-

ence.

lines over homework, recalled family members.

Following his graduation from Syracuse in 1951, Shogan worked

Cooper recalled a moment when Shogan accompanied Ted

“Bob was as close to a brother

Kennedy to a campaign speech

that I never had but always wished

in West Virginia. When Kennedy

I had,” said Elfin. “We never had a

stepped down to shake hands with

lifelong fight or anything.”

voters, he invited Shogan to join

“He was quite lonely, but I

for The Detroit Free Press, News-

Elfin said he was overjoyed

think he found his home work-

week and The Wall Street Jour-

when Shogan returned to D.C.

ing with The Daily Orange,” said

nal — and even the Peace Corps

and the two were able to “work

daughter Cindy Shogan.

— before joining The Los Ange-

together

together,”

stubborn politicians, Cooper said.

and

play

him, Cooper said, exhibiting a sense of personal trust.

Shogan had little patience for

Shogan, who went on to become

les Times. There, he became a

despite Shogan’s Yankee fandom

He never wavered and continued

a valued political journalist for

national political correspondent,

and Elfin’s love for the Dodgers.

to ask questions. He was dismis-

The Los Angeles Times and other

covering Washington, D.C., for

publications, died of pneumonia

more than 30 years.

Oct. 30 at age 83.

While at The Los Angeles Times’

Washington

Bureau,

sive of naïve ideas, he said, and had an extensive understanding

While at Syracuse, Shogan

Shogan knew a vast array of poli-

Throughout his career, he was

was The Daily Orange’s man-

ticians on and off the campaign

“Those are rare qualities in

always writing, Cindy said. She

aging editor. He became close

trail, then-editor Richard Cooper

reporters,” Cooper said, “and

remembers trying to sleep as a

with Mel Elfin — his college

recalled.

that’s why he was considered

child and hearing the “tap, tap” of

roommate, fellow editor and dear

her father’s typewriter. He would

friend.

6 winter 2014

“He was a John Madden of political reporters in that period,”

of the political system.

among the best of the best.” mjberner@syr.edu, @mjberner a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

e Hill d their lives beyond th

staffers an Former Daily Orange

S R E K A M S W ALUMNI NE MEG PARADISE ’06

Then: Design editor and art director Now: Co-founder of the branding company Guts & Glory, behind Helvetica the Perfume and TheyDontWorkForYou.org

Post-it notes cover the walls of

New York Magazine’s The Cut

Meg Paradise’s apartment.

blog wrote about the fragrance

One holds a song lyric by The

upon its release. “If you’re wonder-

National: “All we’ve gotta do is

ing if this is just a fancy bottle full

be brave and be kind.” It’s almost

of water, then you’d be right!” it

an anthem for the former Daily

said.

Orange art director, now co-

But Paradise counters that

founder of the fledgling branding

the product is not intended as “a

company Guts & Glory.

trick,” but rather, it has a greater

“I try to keep it in mind as we

message.

go about our days,” Paradise (‘06)

“It’s an homage to the ubiquity

said of herself and her business

of Helvetica while touching on the

partner and fiancée, Faun Chapin.

complete absurdity of the perfume

“What we really want to do is do

industry and all of the language

good work with good people. It’s

we use to describe perfume,” Para-

easy to get caught up in the day-

dise said.

to-day stresses, but design isn’t

She said while the perfume has

rocket science.”

garnered criticism, there are also

She learned this basic truth at

fans.

The Daily Orange, where she start-

“We love that dichotomy,” Para-

ed working in 2003 and became art

dise said. “We love getting in the

director in May 2005.

middle and creating stuff that you

“It was the first time I worked with a group of people who were so incredibly talented and driven to

make

something

happen,”

On their website, Meg Paradise, left, and Faun Chapin describe Oakland, Calif.-based company Guts & Glory as a design collective with “oomph.” MARSHALL TROY/COURTESY OF GUTS & GLORY

Paradise, 30, said of her time at

background,” Paradise said. “We

said, as well as attention from

the paper.

brought those two elements togeth-

media outlets such as MSNBC.

Paradise remembers a power

er to create Guts & Glory.”

have a strong opinion about.”

Guts & Glory, in business for nearly a year and a half, is headquartered in the couple’s apartment in Oakland, Calif.

Paradise said she looks forward

“We’re just two people who had

to the company’s expansion, which

outage at 744 Ostrom that forced

On its website, Guts & Glory

an opinion and felt like we needed

will include 12 to 15 employees and

the staff to relocate to a computer

is described as a design collec-

to make something to share that

more client-based work.

lab to get the paper out on time.

tive with “oomph.” Paradise said

opinion,” Paradise said. “Projects

For now, the Post-it notes lining

She said experiences like that

this is embodied in projects like

like that are the ‘oomph.’ So many

the walls of her apartment preview

helped her establish the work ethic

TheyDontWorkForYou.org,

a

people have great ideas, but unless

ideas the company could build on

she’d need in the real world.

website created after the U.S. Sen-

you do something about it, it is

for the future.

Paradise met Chapin at Fahr-

ate refused to pass the Manchin-

nothing more than an idea.”

enheit 212, an innovation consul-

Toomey gun-control compromise

Guts & Glory’s latest project,

provocative work that is interest-

tancy in New York City.

“I hope to continue to create

in April. The site pairs the faces of

“Helvetica the Perfume,” launched

ing to me and interesting to other

“Faun has a background in

senators who voted against the bill

in November, also received media

people,” Paradise said. “Design is

branding and advertising and is

with images of children killed in

attention.

a job, but it is also a way we see the

an incredibly strategically minded

acts of gun violence.

designer, and I have more of a

Within a week, the site had

traditional graphic design craft

nearly 80,000 online hits, Paradise

The product’s website describes the perfume as “the scent of nothing.”

world.”

— Anna Hodge, staff writer, ahodge@syr.edu

Tell us what you’ve done post-DO. Email alumni@dailyorange.com to suggest someone for Newsmakers! a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com

winter 2014

7

CONGRATS TO THE CLASS OF

2013

Staff members gather on 744 Ostrom’s front steps for the traditional senior photo before graduation in May. The Class of 2013 is represented at, among other places: The (Bergen) Record, The Orange County (Calif.) Register, The Victoria (Texas) Advocate, Community Newspaper Group, The Reading (Pa.) Eagle, The (Binghamton) Press & Sun Bulletin, the Cecil (Md.) Whig, Grey Healthcare Group, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, Syracuse Media Group, Flavorwire, ESPN and NFL Network.

MCALARY

role as the eyes and ears of the

ing readers into his stories as

his abrasive and crazy behavior,

public.”

well. During the summer, McA-

recalled Sullivan. Sullivan saw

Maisel added that McAlary had

lary knew students still on campus

this in “Lucky Guy” and was

an ability to get anyone to open

didn’t care for hard, serious news

reminded of it when he ran into

While many remember McA-

up — from murderers to murder

and offered them a lighter touch

McAlary later in life.

lary for his confidence and his

victims’ families, people wanted to

with his perspective, Sullivan

brash mannerisms, he also had a

talk to Mac.

said.

FROM PAGE 4

More than 10 years after he produced The Summer Orange

compassionate side. Scenes with

McAlary had that ability even

“He was always funny, he was

with McAlary, Sullivan attended

McAlary’s wife, Alice McAlary,

when he was writing for The D.O.,

always upbeat, and the life of the

a Mets game on his birthday in the

showed that he had been devoted

said Mark Sullivan (’79), who

party,” he said. “I think that was

city, where his girlfriend gave him

to his wife and children, even with

worked with McAlary on The

counter-balanced by the fact that

a copy of McAlary’s book, “The

his career as a columnist, Coffey

Summer Orange in 1978.

even in college, he was very ambi-

Buddy Boys.”

said.

“For all that Mike had going

tious.”

Later on, McAlary showed up

Todd Maisel, a veteran pho-

on, there was a certain element of

It would only take five minutes

tographer at the Daily News who

him that was down to earth and

after somebody met McAlary to

worked with McAlary on several

empathetic,” Sullivan said. “Mike

know all of his goals and dreams,

After the two caught up, Sul-

assignments, said that when McA-

was comfortable with himself and

Sullivan said. In The D.O.’s offices,

livan asked McAlary to sign his

lary would show up on a story, he

I think the fact that he was so com-

he had a reputation for being char-

book.

knew he would be in good hands.

fortable with himself made other

ismatic, and being able to draw

people comfortable with talking

people to him, Sullivan said.

“There are reporters that go into this job and feel unsure,” Maisel said. “He understood his

to him.”

McAlary had a knack for draw-

There had always been a heartfelt side that complemented

two rows behind him, with other Daily News reporters.

McAlary wrote: “Mark, we learned how to do this stuff together.” alng@syr.edu, @ alfredwkng

This newsletter was edited by Mark Cooper, Brittney Davies, Casey Fabris and Dara McBride.

It was designed by Katie McInerney. Send feedback to ALUMNI@DAILYORANGE.COM.

8 winter 2014

a lumni@ da ilyor a nge.com