`Chapter Two' journey begins this week
Lee Enterprises loses $23.5 million in fiscal year 2024, plans on pursuing AI
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When the legendary playwright Neil Simon wrote the play "Chapter Two," critics considered it a breakthrough for the writer as he used the reality of his own life as inspiration.
I never understood why that was a big deal.
Columnists like myself have been doing this for years.
Over my 40 years writing this column, readers have often commented they enjoy the "personal" columns the best; the ones about family, vacations and every-day life experiences.
Some of my best work - when my son graduated high school, when my wife finished her first round of chemotherapy - were relating my feelings as a father and husband where I tapped into something deeply personal. Even now, all these years later, the tears flow when I read them. It means I tapped into something totally human that others have usually experienced as well.
I've had a few of those moments this past year.
After one of those columns about the loss of my wife, a reader suggested I write more about the grief I was experiencing.
I've been wary of doing that, so far.
I didn't think readers wanted a daily dose of someone else's sadness and I'm pretty sure Gillian wouldn't want that to be her lasting legacy, but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit the need to tell that part of the story, too, because it is there, lurking beneath the surface and wanting attention.
I want to explain that dying isn't like in the movies. There was no final goodbye for us, no dramatic farewell because that meant accepting the end, and I don't think either of us could do that.
I still can't.
You need to understand that even with 13 years notice, you are never ready, never prepared.
So I understand why Neil Simon had to write "Chapter Two."
Why he had to explain how his grief after the death of his first wife threw up a blockade and continued to intrude, even after taking a second wife.
So beginning with this entry, I will keep you apprised - from time to time - of how I am doing, and I hope relating my experiences might someday help the half of you who might someday be in the same position as me.
Over the past couple months, I've laid the groundwork for changes in my life, somewhat unknowingly, with one project leading to the next, never imagining the direction it would lead me.
Those changes begin in earnest this week with a cross country trip for me and Sophie (our dog).
My brother will join us as we drive to New Orleans to celebrate Christmas with my son, although I use the word "celebrate" with some trepidation.
Gillian loved everything about the Christmas season, and the winter wonderland she created means I can't imagine being here without her.
That would pain her and I suppose it makes me a coward.
When my son was moving into a new place this fall, I helped oversee the move. It was just right across the street so it wasn't difficult.
I arranged to have his old place cleaned, then suggested he renovate the bathroom to increase the resale value and before long I was in the tile store designing a bathroom he would never use.
I hired a contractor, let the plumber into the building and watched the tile guy work his magic, all in a language I did not understand. When the real estate agent suggested a coat of paint, I did not object.
If you see where this is going, then you have more insight than I did.
With the holidays approaching, I suggested to my son I might want to spend some time in New Orleans. I was enjoying my stay, not as a tourist, but as just another resident.
He approved.
He wouldn't have to worry about selling the old place or finding a tenant.
So I packed up a pod with furniture, dishes and the amenities I might need for a short stay in New Orleans.
After all, I never experienced Mardi Gras before.
Over Thanksgiving, we moved the furniture from the pod into his old condo and marveled at the new bathroom.
Across the street, my son put up his artificial Christmas tree and while he was at work, I found myself decorating it and realizing I had never decorated a tree alone before.
It's all part of the new reality.
Last week, the three of us boarded a Hawaiian outrigger canoe on the Big Island in Hawaii and paddled out into the ocean where we granted Gillian her final request and released her into paradise. A few days later, we ordered cajun food for Christmas.
So Chapter Two begins with a Christmas unlike any we have previously celebrated.
I'm starting over and that won't be easy.
I've been reading a little about Christmas in New Orleans.
Apparently, they have a tradition of lighting these enormous bon fires along the levies and on the banks of the Mississippi River as a way to light the way for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
I want to see that.
There are still a lot of things I want to see.
They drop a Fleur de Lis from a building next to Jackson Square in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve and then have fireworks over the Mississippi.
Gillian loved fireworks.
And while I'm coming back for a couple weeks in January, I plan on retreating to New Orleans to see embrace Mardi Gras.
And the Super Bowl is at the Superdome this year.
I'm 67-years-old and I've never lived in a city in my entire life, but I'd like to see what that is like.
I'm sure I will be back and I'm sure I will have a lot to tell you about in the coming weeks. But for now, I have to get through Christmas.
I'm going to be with my boy and hope that Sophie can be a city dog.
This year, I imagine the three of us heading out to see the bonfires on Christmas Eve, not so much to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus, but to see if those bonfires can light our own way into a new year and give us a glimpse of what Chapter Two looks like.
Bottle bill
Will Doolittle's column on the inability of Albany to fix the bottle bill - and keep all those cans and bottles out of the trash - reminded me of what I have seen in other places.
My son has lived in both San Antonio and New Orleans in recent years. Neither place recycles its bottles and cans.
What I noticed during visits were the number of bottles and cans left on the sides of streets, parks and really anywhere people go.
My conclusion was that a bottle bill helped to make the litter and trash disappear because of their value.
If Albany does not fix the bottle bill, we will see a return of litter all around our region.
Superstitious airport
While changing planes at the Detroit airport on Saturday morning, I noticed there was no C13 gate on my way to the Albany flight at C23.
When I checked the airport map, there was no A13 or B13 gates either.
Apparently, someone had some was superstitious when designing the Detroit airport.
Lee losses
Lee Enterprises, the parent company of The Post-Star and Buffalo News here in New York, reported a loss of $23.6 million for fiscal year 2024 after suffering a $9.5 million loss in the final quarter of the year.
Last year, Lee Enterprises reported a loss of just $2.7 million.
The financial news comes on the heels of Lee replacing its editor in Glens Falls with an editor with a marketing background.
Poynter Institute media business reporter, Angela Fu, reported that Lee bragged of increasing digital revenue - it is about half its total revenue now - as a bright spot.
Fu also reported that Lee was pinning its future on artificial intelligence search engines. Lee planned on announcing partnerships with Perplexity and ProRata.ai this week.
The Poynter Institute reported that Lee also has a chief transformation and commercial officer.
Fu wrote that "News organizations have been split on how they address the growth of generative AI. While some are filing lawsuits against AI companies for copyright infringement, others are signing deals with them."
The chief transformation and commercial officer said Lee sees itself as “the interface between the consumer and the world of AI content."
“The time to act is now. Legal battles, fair use lawsuits — while sometimes necessary — are often time-consuming, very costly and likely to get tied up in the courts for years to come,” CEO and president Kevin Mowbray said during the earnings report. “We’re focused on strategies that position us as leaders and collaborators in this transformation.”
There was no report whether these AI partnerships would eliminate newsrooms jobs or make the company any more money.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
I didn't think I could ever stay in my house after Lynne, my wife of 35 years died. But I am still here and now I am so glad I stayed and got past all you need to process in those first few years after the loss. It's almost nine years now and something Uncle Joe said helped, and that was that the time will come when the thought of your dearly departed will put a smile on your face before it puts a tear in your eye. We never get over it, but we do get used to it. I am now re-married and it is a complicated situation and I sometimes feel the pang of guilt for being in a good and happy relationship. So I try to imagine the shoe on the other foot....It all takes time, and I discovered I hurt in places I didn't know I had, but it served me well. Keep the faith brother, sometimes you just stand there and hurt.
As long as you are with Joseph and Sophie, Gillian will be happy. And as long as Sofie is with you, she will be happy!