Chicago has a ‘Project Batman’ -- and it’s hiring

Also: Gun records’ secret, NPR challenge, ‘Star Trek’ revival and ... unrelated developments

YEAH, CHICAGO HAS A ‘PROJECT BATMAN.’ Chicago’s analytics director, Tom Schenk Jr. — who kinda looks like Bruce Wayne, doesn’t he? — tells a gathering of journalists, programmers and government leaders the city’s working with the University of Illinois at Chicago to visualize crime data in a 3-D virtual reality “cave.”
* P.S. They’re hiring. (The “Project Manager - DoIT” job.)

‘THE NRA WANTS TO KEEP GUN RECORDS SECRET FROM EVERYONE EXCEPT THE NRA.’ You know those public gun ownership records that have brought shame and death threats to journalists who’ve dared even just to express interest in them? The records the National Rifle Association contends shouldn’t be public because they put gun owners “at risk to criminals who may target their home to steal firearms”? Funny thing: Gun-rights groups, including the NRA, have for years been diving into those records for fundraising and recruiting efforts, according to Gawker.
* For NYC’s Bloomberg, election that nominated Robin Kelly for Congress was mainly about testing political strategy to defang the NRA.
* ... And for Republicans in that race? Guy who did almost 20 years for burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery.
* Chicago Magazine‘s Carol Felsenthal: “Bloomberg could be a key funder of a Rahm run for the presidency.”
* “Gun rights” Democrats may pay a price for coziness with NRA.
* Downstate Republican Illinois representative compares gun control to emasculation: “You folks in Chicago want me to get castrated because your families are having too many kids.”

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Friday: The next WBEZ Meyerson News Quiz. Take last week’s now.

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SHOULD NPR SWEAR OFF GOVERNMENT CASH? National Public Radio’s former CEO says walking away from federal cash would lay to rest questions about the organization’s credibility. He says public radio “would do better” without public financing.
* Countdown to sequestration just latest of many.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. What some fans consider the best two “Star Trek” episodes ever — “The Best of Both Worlds” (a.ka. Capt. Picard goes Borg) — will be shown, newly remastered for Blu-ray, as a single movie on the big screen, one night only, April 25.
* 22 Illinois theaters on list of those screening the episodes.

UNRELATED DEVELOPMENTS.
* The departing Pope Benedict’s future living arrangements are raising eyebrows around the world.
* Nonprofit foundation seeking couple for 501-day roundtrip mission to Mars.

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Building something great? Build your audience, too

A few thoughts after last night’s inspiring “Open Government Chicago(-land)” Meetup, bringing together journalists, programmers and government leaders:

City of Chicago Director of Analytics Tom Schenk Jr.

In my decades working at the intersection of journalism and technology, I’ve never been more excited about the future than I am now. (Who wouldn’t be thrilled to learn the City of Chicago is working on a “Project Batman“ to visualize things like crime data in a 3-D virtual reality “cave”?)

But as I sat among the great minds assembled at the Chicago Community Trust, one concern nagged at me.

I’ve seen a lot of impressive civic and journalistic projects — driven by data or driven by narrative — founder for lack of attention. The audience they were designed to help didn’t know they were there, didn’t perceive their usefulness, didn’t know how to use them, didn’t get excited at their availability.

That’s because of a shortcoming common among those in government, journalism and programming: The inability or reluctance to go that last mile and promote a project in a sharable way to the people formerly known as the audience.

A lot of journalists, civil servants and programmers have been trained to think promoting their work is the job of a (now vanishing) promotions or marketing department; as a consequence, the business of engagement often just gets bolted on after the work’s done instead of while it’s being created.

So, as all these wonderful ideas blossom into promising new reality, I hope the great talents involved keep essential content strategy in mind — while things are being built, not after.

* Don’t take your audience’s attention for granted. People need to be reminded continually that you have something they can use. Keep an eye on the news and look for opportunities to ride your project back into the headlines when it’s relevant — through Facebook, Twitter or, most essentially, email.

* Pay attention to your constituents’ interests. They’re revealing those every time you send an email. (You are gathering your fans’ email addresses, right?) Watch the open rates. Every time they open your email, they’re telling you, “Yes, that subject line worked for me. Those words are relevant to me.”) So ...

* Experiment with subject lines. Those words that drive high open rates deserve a place of honor in your user interface.

* Once people open your email, see what they click and what they don’t. Look for things that break a pattern — either items that get heavily clicked amid things that are largely ignored, or things ignored amid more popular items. Your followers are telling you what works for them and what doesn’t.

* Monitor traffic to your website (with Google Analytics or other tools). Watch what people use and what they don’t. Are they ignoring something you consider important? Spotlight it with those words your fans have identified as resonant.

These are all strategies I’ve used to help a growing number of organizations connect more deeply and more frequently with their constituency.

It’s my passion to connect great content with growing audiences — online, on air, in print. If I can help you, say the word.

Contact me here. 

Contact Charlie Meyerson

Yes, by all means, send an email. Right now.

Your name:
Your email:
Comment:
	[Opens your email service.]

Congratulations, Mayor... um... Bloomberg

Also: Papers for sale / Space menaces / Twitter analyzed / Robin dying -- again

WELCOME TO CHICAGO, NEW YORK'S 6TH BOROUGH. The woman most likely to replace Jesse Jackson Jr., representing Chicago's South Side in Congress, is State Rep. Robin Kelly -- the winner of yesterday's Democratic primary and the choice of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose political fund spent millions to help her win.
* The Nation: Defeated candidate Halvorsen "undone by her association with the NRA."
* Jackson Jr. reportedly writing memoir to "clear up his legacy."
* Democratic congressman goes medieval on Fox News' Sean Hannity.

'BANNING CONCEALED-CARRY ON PUBLIC BUSES AND TRAINS ... BASICALLY MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR A PERSON WITHOUT A CAR TO EXERCISE THE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE WITH A FIREARM.' The Tribune's Eric Zorn: "I get why so many folks don't want more guns on trains (I say more because there surely are already quite a few guns on trains), but ..."
* Illinois House OKs limits on right to carry concealed weapons.

 

PAPER! HEY, GET YER PAPER! Tribune Co. is exploring the possibility of selling its newspapers -- including the one from which it gets its name.
* North Carolina newspaper editor who received threats after requesting gun-permit information on county residents is quitting.
* Universities of Missouri and Nebraska are teaching journalism students how to operate drones.
* How many recent college grads are really living back with their parents?

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INCOMING. A newly spotted comet may slam into Mars next year.
* "Nation buster" asteroid could clobber this planet in 2036.
* Stephen Colbert: "Can we lubricate the earth in any way?"

 

WANT MORE TWITTER FOLLOWERS? Georgia Institute of Technology researchers who analyzed the reactions to half a million tweets say one key is to follow the "Rule of Thumper." They conclude: "Expressing negative sentiments in tweets is the second most harmful factor to growing a Twitter audience."
* Is Twitter worth $10 billion?

RED, RED ROBIN. History repeats itself this week: Robin, the Boy Wonder, will die in the pages of Batman comics.
* TV's Robin, Burt Ward: "It’s a terrible choice."
* 8 ways comics characters have come back from the dead.
* "Fantastic Four" set for movie reboot with script polished by author of Pride and Predjudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
* University of Connecticut Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences (an expatriate Chicagoan) on "Downton Abbey": "The plot makes it unwatchable."

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All-apology issue: The Onion, 'Daily Show' suck it up

... and other regrettable developments

A 'sorry' blog post:

'CRUDE AND OFFENSIVE ... SENSELESS, HUMORLESS ...' That's the way The Onion CEO Steve Hannah describes a tweet about young Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis during Sunday's ceremonies -- a tweet taken down within an hour, followed Monday morning by Hannah's apology promising "immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible."
* American Journalism Review editor: Apology "was spot on."
* Might that apology now cast a chilling effect on The Onion's humor?
* New York Times media critic: "Onion to writers: Tweet incredibly edgy, funny stuff. If you go over the line, we'll just slide you under the bus."
* Onion apology satirized by Thing X, founded by ex-Onion staffers and Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim": "Rest assured that from this day forward, nothing will matter to us more than your comfort."
* Salon: "Is social media too tough on political incorrectness? Ask Seth MacFarlane."
* How producers got Michelle Obama to present an Oscar.

'THE DAILY SHOW' APOLOGIZES, TOO. Jon Stewart last night regretted having "randomly slammed a dude because ... he had a funny name like Dick Molpus," using him as "an avatar for casual bigotry," when in fact Molpus has endured death threats during "a long and distinguished record of speaking out for civil rights."
* Mississippi investigative reporter: Invite Molpus on the show.

'MOST INCREDIBLE NEWSPAPER APOLOGY EVER.' That's how media watcher Jim Romenesko describes a "Note to Readers" from a North Carolina paper groveling before "everyone we unintentionally upset with our public records request ..."
* Philadelphia Inquirer columnist calls apology "embarrassing, snivling [sic]." 
* Boing Boing calls it "awe-inspiring work, even by established standards of smalltown media obsequiousness."

'INAPPROPRIATE AND TO SOME DEGREE OFFENSIVE.' That description by a suburban mayor of a police brochure displaying black stereotypes falls short of the apology demanded by some veteran black cops.
* New York state lawmaker apologizes for blackface costume.
* Pennsylvania mayor apologizes for his ejection from high-school wrestling tournament.

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Misery is ... Chicago (according to Forbes)

Also: Time for another news quiz!

'CHICAGO: WE'RE NOT AS MISERABLE AS _______' The city's new travel slogan is ready. Based on Forbes magazine's 2013 rating of "America's Most Miserable Cities," you could fill that blank with the names of three other cities – Detroit, Flint and Rockford – because Chicago shows up at No. 4.

* Retired general who led military response to Hurricane Katrina: National Guard could help Chicago.
* Search crime data in your community (Tribune interactive database).
* New tourist attractions for Chicago could be up and running within months.
* Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z reportedly headed to Soldier Field this summer.
* Chicago to be home of new American Writers Museum.
* Congress Theater owner plans ambitious renovation.

'THE AMBULANCE INDUSTRY TAKES IN MORE MONEY EVERY YEAR THAN HOLLYWOOD.' That's Steven Brill, author of Time magazine's "longest single piece ever published by a single writer" – 36 pages on "Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us" – in an extended, online-only Daily Show interview with Jon Stewart.
* Brill's article wasn't originally supposed to run in Time.
* FBI declares war on The Scooter Store.

... AND THIS WEEK'S NEWS QUIZ:

 

 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
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* Thanks to WBEZ's Alex Keefe for inspiration.
* This blog is taking a day off Monday. See you early Tuesday.

News quiz time!

Welcome back, our friends, to the quiz that comes in tens.

Have you been paying attention? Honestly, it makes no difference. Because this quiz is rich with links directing you to places where you'll find the answers.

If, on the other hand, you're the sort of person who likes to complete these things unaided, we'll believe you if you tell us you answered without peeking.

Really, we will.

Honest.

 

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Jesse Jackson Jr.'s worst crime may have been overpaying for elk heads

Also: Guns on mass transit / Wayne LaPierre fact-checked / Google Glass / Giant goldfish / New punctuation marks

Elk heads. (DNAinfo/Mark Konkol)

ELK HEADS AS SMOKING GUN. "Purchasing elk heads" is the remarkable heading atop a key passage in prosecutors' "Statement of the Offense" against Jesse Jackson Jr., who faces jail after pleading guilty to conspiring with his wife to fund a lavish lifestyle with campaign money.
* Although Jackson allegedly spent more than $7,000 for two elk heads, a taxidermist tells the Tribune: "$1,800 is about the most you should be spending for an elk head" -- something to remember if you decide to bid on the ill-gotten gains at auction.

'A GUN FIRED WITHIN ... A CROWDED BUS ... WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC.' Dozens of transit agencies across Illinois are asking the General Assembly, which is considering rules for carrying concealed weapons, to forbid them on buses and trains.
* Illinois State Rifle Association executive director: "If people were allowed to carry guns in the CTA, there will be fewer robberies."
* Commentary in The Stranger: "How about you should not have people carrying guns on public transportation because public transportation is crowded and rage-inducing?"
* Yet, trains are where one study finds Craigslist looking-for-love "missed connections" happen most in Illinois.
* CTA rapid-transit plan could shave 9 minutes off downtown bus trips.
* Metra: Sorry about all those delayed trains.

MOSTLY FALSE. That's PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter reading on NRA frontman Wayne LaPierre's assertion that President Obama "flagrantly defies the 2006 federal law ordering the construction of a secure border fence along the entire Mexican border."
* False rating for LaPierre's statement that Phoenix is "one of the kidnapping capitals of the world."
* Mother Jones: Obama's immigration plan harsher than Reagan's.
* Guess how many days since the U.S. Senate last passed a major new law?

WANT GOOGLE GLASSES? Google's accepting applications from people who want to test its interactive eyewear. All it takes is a 50-word tweet or Google+ post -- and a commitment to pay $1,500.
* Google reported in talks with trendy eyeglass maker Warby Parker.

ESCAPED FROM PEPPERIDGE FARM? Giant goldfish -- almost 1.5 feet long -- have been found in the waters of Lake Tahoe.
* Chicago area getting "Biggest Loser" resort.
* L.A. hotel's water contaminated by decomposing body for more than two weeks.

ON BEYOND THE INTERROBANG. CollegeHumor.com proposes the "andorpersand," "mockwotation marks," "sarcastises," and other new punctuation marks that could make the world a better place.

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* New news quiz tomorrow. Haven't taken last week's yet? Here you go.

Should concealed guns be allowed on the CTA?

Also: 'Disgusting' billboard removed / Anti-hacking advice / Burger King hacking suspect / Cubs' stretch plans

'YES, THAT WOULD SOLVE SO MANY PROBLEMS,' SAID NO ONE WHO ACTUALLY RIDES THE CTA. The National Rifle Association wants public transit riders allowed to carry concealed guns on buses and trains. A lobbyist tells the Sun-Times it's only fair for those who can't afford their own cars: "They don’t get the right to self-defense? They’re supposed to roam around defenseless?"
* From WBEZ's Tony Arnold: NRA lobbyist says "There will be no ... local rules about where you can or cannot carry."
* And yet, time's running out for the state to draft a concealed weapons law.
* Emanuel's solution to Chicago's violence includes new $50 million fundraising drive for city's poorest kids.
* The Tribune's John Kass: Why is New York's pro-gun-control Mayor Bloomberg "butting his way into Chicago politics"?
* Vice President Biden: Want to protect yourself? "Get a double-barrel shotgun."
* 10 social media moments that shaped the gun-control debate.

 

DE-SIGNING DAY. A billboard a residents group found offensive has been removed from a River North neighborhood whose restaurants are popular as family destinations, DNAinfo.com Chicago reports.

* Taste of Chicago lost $1.3 million last year.

 

THE GUY WHO HACKED BURGER KING? Gizmodo says it's figured out who took over the @BurgerKing account on Twitter.
* @Jeep jacked, too.
* MTV and BET fake their own twitjackings.
* Twitter's blog: "Best practices" for passwords.

 

'DO NOT VISIT THIS SITE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.' That's ZDNet's advice about the Web address linked to compromise of computers at Facebook and Apple. Here's what it says you should do.
* All Things D: "... And there’s probably more to come."
* Andy Ihnatko: "If any of you is driving a vintage Ford Pinto ... get a Java bumper sticker for it."
* What is a "zero-day attack"?

 

SEN. McCONNELL, IS YOUR REFRIGERATOR RUNNING? The military's answer to The Onion, The Duffel Blog, fooled the U.S. Senate Republican leader into taking seriously a report that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have been getting post-Sept. 11 GI Bill of Rights benefits.
* Columbia University prof under review after stripping, showing 9/11 video during quantum mechanics class, where student catches it on video.

 

CUBS STRETCH INTO THE 21st CENTURY. Among the changes coming to Wrigley Field and on-air broadcasts this year, the Tribune reports: During the seventh-inning stretch, more focus on ex-Cubs and Chicago natives; and more songs recorded after the 1980s. And the Cubs want your music suggestions, emailed to in-game programming director Jim Oboikowitch or senior marketing director Alison Miller.
* Website glitches suspend Chicago Marathon online registration until at least Thursday.
* Chicago passes on 2024 Olympics candidacy.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
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Burger King twit-hacked; Wendy's: 'We have an alibi'

Also: Rubio's bottled lightning / Obama's golf crisis / Joss Whedon's 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'

WENDY'S: 'WE HAVE AN ALIBI.' That was just one rival's response to the hacking of Burger King's Twitter account, beginning with a fake tweet that read "We just got sold to McDonalds!"
* Bogus tweets deleted by day's end, followed by "Interesting day here at BURGER KING ..."
* No prank: OfficeMax, Office Depot could merge.

'I'VE HEARD ALL KINDS OF CRITICS SAYING THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS IS WHINING ABOUT A GOLF GAME AND VIOLATING THE PRESIDENT'S PRIVACY.' But the president of the White House Correspondents Association says "nothing could be further from the truth" in the complaints over reporters' lack of access to the president during his golf outing with Tiger Woods.
* Indication the president just doesn't care so much about his image in this second term?
* Big tobacco and anti-cancer activists agree: One part of Obama's Affordable Health Care Act is not a good idea.

BOTTLED LIGHTNING. Sen. Marco Rubio's capitalizing bigtime on that awkward water break during his State of the Union response last week. Slate reports his political action committee has raised $100,000 by selling Rubio-branded water bottles.
* Hillary Clinton now available to speak at your next birthday party or bar mitzvah -- for "fees well into the six figures."
* Chicago magazine's Carol Felsenthal: Late jockeying could tilt race to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. toward Ald. Anthony Beale.
* Halvorsen accuses NYC Mayor Bloomberg of trying to buy race.

SURE, NOW. NASA and other organizations are scrambling for better ways to detect incoming space-borne objects like the meteorite that hit Russia last week -- reportedly the biggest to enter Earth's atmosphere in more than 100 years.
* Wall Street Journal: Fireball unleashed more than 30 times Hiroshima atomic bomb's energy.

IF YOU LOVED 'BUFFY,' 'AVENGERS,' 'FIREFLY' ...  Then be excited. Be very excited. Joss Whedon is bringing Marvel Comics' super-spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. to television.
* Whedon previously explored high-tech government agency milieu with "Cabin in the Woods."

 

ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY. The Blackhawks could make the NHL record books tonight.
* NFL player arrested on charges of carrying a handgun in luggage at NYC airport.

 

HOW ARE YOU WIRED?
* To hate exercise?
* To engage in sex with psychopaths?

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
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* And if you missed the on-air quiz experience during yesterday's "Morning Shift" on WBEZ, here it is. (Quiz fun begins around 2:55 in.)

Campaign surprise in race to replace Jesse Jackson Jr.

Also: Second Amendment revisited / Meteorite hunt / Obama + Tiger Woods / Public radio app

'NINE DAYS LEFT? WHY WOULD YOU GET OUT?' One of the candidates in the race to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress questions why a rival has suddenly dropped out and tossed her support to yet another candidate.
* Gov. Quinn on NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's financial interest in the election: "We should not allow anyone with huge amounts of money to dictate the terms of the political debate."

'THERE’S PLENTY OF ROOM UNDER THE SECOND AMENDMENT FOR GUN CONTROL.' A UCLA law prof says the Constitution provides a roadmap to gun regulation.

* "The argument that armed civilians are just as capable as law enforcement at stopping crime is essentially the same as saying 'police don't need training.'" -- Huffington Post's Walker Bragman.

* At least two Chicago high school students gunned down Saturday and Sunday.

 

METEORITE HUNT. The search is under way for more fragments of the meteorite blamed for 1,200 injuries and millions of dollars in damage in Russia.
* Why one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters probably isn't going.
* Astronaut on Reddit: "To think of that hypersonic dumb lump of rock randomly hurtling into us ... sent a shiver up my back."
* Borowitz Report satire: "House Science Committee Questions Existence of Meteors."

COOL VIDEO OF THE DAY. "Mathemusician" Vi Hart uses a music box and a Möbius strip to explain space-time theory.
* How would discovery of life on another planet affect traditional religion?

OBAMA + TIGER WOODS. They golfed this weekend, but out of the public eye.
* White House reporters complain about lack of access.
* Historic audio of President Johnson ordering pants -- newly animated.

CUBS + CH. 9: SPLITSVILLE? A relationship that dates back to 1948 may end.
* Cubs boss: "On a mission to be the best organization in baseball."
* Cubs players pull practical joke on manager.
* Boxers Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield reunite -- at a Jewel-Osco supermarket in Chicago.
* The Onion: "Michael Jordan Celebrates 50th Birthday With Last People He Hasn't Completely Alienated Yet."

PUBLIC RADIO APP. The new version lets you listen to WBEZ and hundreds of other local stations around the country -- and download show episodes to hear later. Ars Technica puts it first four iPhone apps to try this week.
* Journalism prof lays into BBC for "irresponsible" coverage of Facebook hack.

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A cheer for email

Why is email still the most valuable communications medium for reaching your most loyal followers? How can you make sure you reach as many of them as possible? How can you best reach those who (think they) aren't interested in what you have to share?

Here's an abridged version of my Feb. 13 presentation to the Chicago Content Strategists Meetup group at Columbia College.

A cheer for email from Charlie Meyerson

But ... but ... Mr. Mayor, you shook my hand and promised ...

Also: NRA talks turkey / Free movies / The new news quiz is here! The new news quiz is here!

WILL RAHM RUN? Two "well-connected sources" tell The Daily Beast Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been discussing a White House run if Hillary Clinton takes a pass.
* But he shook my hand on-camera last May and said, "I'm not doin' it."
* And before that, he issued this kinda weird denial in September 2011.
* On the other hand: "Hillary Clinton Is Running for President, OK?" (The Atlantic)

TURKEY TALK. The Hill recounts NRA chief Wayne LaPierre's insistence in Nashville, before the National Wild Turkey Federation (hey, they have rights, too), that President Obama's gun legislation has been revealed as a "charade."
* The speech Obama should have planned for Chicago, according to the Chicago Reader's Steve Bogira.
* The Onion: "66-Year-Old Washington Post Reporter Hopes He Liveblogged State Of The Union Right."

SAY IT AIN'T SO, NATE. Nate Silver, the statistically savvy anti-pundit, considers ending his predictions: "If it gets really weird in 2014, in 2016, then maybe I’ll stop doing it."
* Sen. Marco Rubio's mind is "zombie-infested," according to Nobel winner Paul Krugman.

FREE MOVIES. Fill in the gaps in your classic movie education with free access to the Criterion collection of films, available all weekend on Hulu.com. Where to start? "Lord of the Flies," "The Seventh Seal" or "The Blob"? So ... many ... choices ...

DOES 'GO MAKE BABIES' DISCRIMINATE? WBEZ blogger Nico Lang gives the station a chance to defend its new marketing campaign against suggestions it discriminates against gays, lesbians and others unlikely to make children.
* Five reasons NPR should launch a dating site.

AND YOU THOUGHT THE MAPS APP SUCKED. If your iPhone's running the latest version of Apple's operating system, iOS 6.1, clever hackers can slip past your passcode to access your contacts, voicemail and photos.
* Apple promises fix soon.

QUIZ TIME AGAIN. Go for it.

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Are you a news quiz whiz?

WBEZ Meyerson News Quiz No. 6

Sharpen your pencils, wax your touchpads, groom your mice, lube your trackballs. Brief yourself by reviewing the last week's worth of this blog, where you'll find all the answers to this latest in a series of news quizzes for WBEZ.

Then ...

GO.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
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Drone fight over Illinois

Also: School closings plan / CTA's brighter future

HOME-DRONE FIGHT. An Illinois lawmaker wants some privacy guidelines to cover potential use of drone aircraft by state and local crimefighters.
* Pentagon introduces new type of medal for troops who remotely pilot unmanned vehicles.

'ONE OF THE GREAT BATTLES OF ALL TIME.' That's the way one airline industry consultant describes what's ahead for Chicago now that American Airlines and US Airways have announced their merger.

'WE WILL NOT SURRENDER. WE WILL NOT APPEASE. WE WILL BUY MORE GUNS THAN EVER.' -- Commentary for The Daily Caller from NRA chief Wayne LaPierre.
* Sen. Kirk says he has parents' OK to name anti-gun trafficking bill after Hadiya Pendleton.
* Family says Pendleton murder suspect is a "good kid."

'THE MOMENT MATTERED, BY THIS POINT, BECAUSE EVEN RUBIO SAID THAT IT DID.' The New Yorker's Ian Crouch takes an intimately detailed look at Marco Rubio's hydration break. (Rubio comes from a Gulp State, no?)
* NRA, other lobbyists, corporations paid big for Twitter placement during State of the Union address.

SCHOOLS OUT. The good news? The Chicago Public Schools system has shrunk the number of schools it'll consider closing. The bad news? The list is still 129 schools long.
* West Side mom: "They want to send our kids into unfamiliar streets they don’t even know."
* Map and sortable list of schools eligible for closure.

CTA'S BRIGHT FUTURE. Armed with a $30 million credit from the company that makes those new rail cars with center-facing seats, the CTA's buying eight more cars -- and replacing the lighting in all the new cars with LED fixtures that won't yellow the way traditional fluorescents do.

PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE? Time-Warner's seeking buyers for most of its magazines, including People, InStyle and Real Simple. But it may keep Time for a time. And it may also not sell Fortune, because the selling price would be a ... big sum of Money. Which it's also reportedly not selling.
* Channel 5 boss leaving for Tribune Co., including WGN-TV and WGN Radio (which, full disclosure, formerly employed this here news blogger).

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
* Yesterday's post incorrectly characterized the state of the Blackhawks' streak of games without a regulation loss. That text has been corrected, with thanks to Friend of the Blog Stephen Anzaldi.
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Marco Rubio's sip of water sets Twitter afire

Also: How cops cracked Hadiya Pendleton murder / Zombie hoax / Old Jews' jokes

AN UNBOTTLED REBUTTAL. If you went to bed right after President Obama's State of the Union address last night, you missed one of the night's most tweetable moments: Sen. Marco Rubio's furtive sip of water during his rebuttal on behalf of the Republican Party. The Atlantic deconstructs it, frame by frame.
* Rubio followed up on Twitter with this.
* ... But Poland Spring blew its moment in the Twitter spotlight.

OBAMA'S 'MOST IMPORTANT PROPOSAL'? New Republic's Jonathan Cohn says it's the call for universal pre-kindergarten.
* Worth noting: Tea Party Nation blogger predicted beforehand Obama speech would be "a Hitlerian screed."

HOW COPS CRACKED THE HADIYA CASE. A source tells the Tribune the break in the murder of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton came Saturday, from a Cook County Jail inmate.
* Obama's emotional finish: Gun violence victims "deserve a vote" on legislation.

CHARTER SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL. A little more than a week after the Sun-Times revealed charter school operator United Neighborhood Organization paid state money to companies owned by two of his brothers, UNO senior vice president Miguel d'Escoto is quitting.
* School-closings panel faces conflict-of-interest charge.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN COMMIT PLAGIARISM TO GET IT. The Knight Foundation paid disgraced reporter Jonah Lehrer $20,000, presumably in non-counterfeit money, to discuss his journalistic sins.
* And he did it as critical tweets appeared on a screen behind him.
* Parody website fools Washington Post into reporting Sarah Palin joining Al Jazeera.

DEAD AIR. Someone hacked into TV stations' Emergency Alert System to issue a bogus warning of a zombie apocalypse.
* Comcast gobbling up rest of NBCUniversal.

'MEET ME HALFWAY. BUY A TICKET.' An Off-Broadway hit, "Old Jews Telling Jokes," is headed to Chicago. Guess what it's about.
* Steppenwolf Theatre expanding.

'PRIDE AND CONNECTIONS AND WE'RE NEVER CHANGING THE NAME SO GO F--- YOURSELF.' That's Deadspin's translation of the Washington Redskins' defense of the team nickname "in the dumbest way possible."
* [CORRECTED] Blackhawks suffer "heartbreaking" end to loss as streak without regulation losses reaches 13 games.
* Bears cut Johnny Knox.

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Arrests in Hadiya Pendleton case earn dad's praise

Also: Obama's newspaper aversion / Next pope / Superman's gay-rights problem

'THANKING GOD THAT THESE TWO GUYS ARE OFF THE STREETS.' That's the father of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, reacting to news two reputed gang members have been arrested for shooting and killing her last month -- a crime that brought a national spotlight to Chicago's gun violence.
* Victim's parents in D.C., alongside Michelle Obama for tonight's State of the Union address.

UM, MR. PRESIDENT ...? Why isn't President Obama giving interviews to newspapers?
* "Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across." -- The bit of ancient Sun-Tzu philosophy someone close to the president says he'll apply to Republicans in his State of the Union address tonight.
* The Atlantic: The state of the union is always 'strong.'
* Ted Nugent will be there tonight, too.
* Microsoft promises "largest interactive State of the Union experience in history" on Bing.com.

CHICAGO'S SAY ON  NEXT POPE. Cardinal Francis George could play "a powerful role" in choosing the replacement for Pope Benedict XVI, according to the Tribune's Manya Brachear.
* Three members of Congress older than the pope.
* The Onion: "Resigning Pope No Longer Has Strength To Lead Church Backward."

ANOTHER iPHONE UPDATE. Just a few days after updating the iPhone operating system, Apple's released an update update, apparently to fix a power problem.
* Report: Google may be paying Apple $1 billion a year for iPhone search default slot.
* Apple CEO also to be Michelle Obama guest at State of the Union tonight.

SUPERMAN'S GAY-RIGHTS PROBLEM. Some fans are outraged at DC Comics' selection of science fiction writer Orson Scott Card, who's opposed legal recognition for gay marriage, as next writer for the Adventures of Superman series.

'ROBOT ARM' ON MARS? NASA SAYS NOPE. A shiny metal thing spotted by the Curiosity rover probably isn't something mechanical or manmade, scientists say.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
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Capt. Kirk vs. Reddit

Also: Red Line red alert / Ex-Cub behind bars / New life for old gum factory? / A wrist iPhone?

[Note: Looking for last week's news quiz? It's here.]

 

CAPT. KIRK vs. REDDIT. William Shatner -- new to Reddit -- is in his words, "apalled [sic] by some of the immature, horrifically racist, sexist, homophobic … posts that are just ignored."
* Ron Paul vs. RonPaul.com.
* New Republic: How Republicans came to be the party of white people.

GUNNING FOR CHICAGO. President Obama's coming home later this week to "talk about the gun violence."
* Obama's trip will spotlight Emanuel's failures, Lynn Sweet explains for the Sun-Times.
* Illinois, Indiana teaming up for guns summit this week.
* NBC News devoting week to coverage of gun violence in America.

RED LINE RED ALERT. Police have issued a warning about a rash of armed robberies along the CTA's most popular train line. The victims? Commuters openly using cell phones and other electronic devices.
* CTA moving toward HD security cameras on all trains.
* High-speed rail would benefit hundreds of Midwest companies, report says.

EX-CUB BEHIND BARS. Mark Grace has reported to an Arizona jail to begin serving time for driving under the influence.
* Pearl Jam becomes fastest Wrigley Field concert sellout ever.

CHEW ON THIS. A hundred-year-old South Side building once home to a Wrigley gum factory could become a major retail space.
* Families that rent have been priced out of Hyde Park, study says.

A WRIST iPHONE? The company's working on wristwatch-like devices made with flexible glass, according to sources quoted by The New York Times.

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If it's Friday, it must be time for you to answer some news quiz questions

Plus: Red-light scandal / Bush-hacker / Kid, dog, puddle

Welcome back, our friends, to the quiz that comes in tens. It's ... that ... time.

(And stick around for more news below the quiz. That stuff could come up in next week's quiz.)

And now, we return to our regular programming.

RED-LIGHT DISTRICT. The chairman of the company behind Chicago's red-light camera program is quitting following a Chicago Tribune investigation that forced a company investigation and the discovery of improper ties to a former city transportation official -- including thousands of dollars in free trips to the Super Bowl and other sports events.
* Soldier Field's seating capacity won't be the NFL's smallest next year.

BUSH-HACKER. Someone who identifies himself as "Guccifier" gained access to the personal email of President George W. Bush's sister and the accounts of others close to the president. The Houston Chronicle has more.
* The last days of hacker Aaron Swartz.
* Facebook broke the Internet for some people last night.

A KID, A DOG AND A PUDDLE. Roger Ebert turns his Pulitzer-winning critic's eye on a one-minute YouTube video that's gone viral.
* Meet a guy making good money on Twitter.
* Is this truly a new "golden age" for TV? Especially if you're the head of the household?

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