No Relevance
When I do something wrong, or when I'm quoted in the media, I want proper identification next to my name. I want it to say: Jim Pomeranz, former writer for The News & Observer. Or how about: Jim Pomeranz, former member of The News & Observer Community Panel.
Other notations could be:
former:
manager of the Sanford Central High 1968 Eastern 3A football championship team;
Most Valuable Player of the 1970 Sanford Central High golf team;
Sports Editor of The Technician, NC State's student newspaper;
three-time candidate for NC State University Student Body President;
student at NC State University;
assistant press secretary for the Ed O'Herron For Governor of North Carolina campaign;
employee of the Wolfpack Club (aka NCSU Student Aid Association);
writer for United Press International; and,
member of MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary NC; or
current:
member of St. Francis United Methodist Church, Cary NC;
member North Carolina Golf Panel;
Charter Partner, Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State University;
member, Wolfpack Club; and,
director, Wolfpack Intercollegiate golf tournament.
The former and the current list could go on and on, but I like the connection to The N&O. It embraces more people, especially many who have no idea who I am. The connection to The N&O would put my life into proper perspective with the general public.
Sort of like the notation listed with Harold " Hal" Blondeau in a continuing story about his legal problems. Five stories in the past two years (four stories appeared in either the print edition or the on-line edition of The N&O June 11 and 12 of this year). The first appearance of this case was in 2007. The notation given to Blondeau is "former NC State basketball player."
ITEM FROM THE NEWS & OBSERVER, Sat., Oct, 13, 2007:
Elderly heir claims fraud by advisers
A lawsuit charges the men used the Raleigh woman's money to enrich their reputations and wallets
by SARAH OVASKA and THOMAS GOLDSMITH - STAFF WRITERS
RALEIGH -- Attorneys for an 81-year-old Raleigh woman with dementia claim in a lawsuit that her Raleigh financial adviser and a Florida lawyer diverted at least $2 million from her accounts for their benefit. The financial adviser and the lawyer deny the charges. Martha B. Capps got bad advice from her longtime adviser, Harold "Hal" Blondeau, a former N.C. State basketball player, and lost a large portion of a $4 million inheritance, her attorneys argue in a lawsuit filed Friday at the Wake County Courthouse. The suit says she knew little or nothing about the diversion of money from her accounts to various causes, several with ties to Blondeau.
Last week, June 11, the case came up, with Blondeau admitting guilt. Here's the initial post on The N&O website:
Financial advisor admits to stealing from client
BY SARAH OVASKA - STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: THU, JUN. 11, 2009 02:54PM
MODIFIED THU, JUN. 11, 2009 03:10 PM
A former Raleigh financial advisor is facing prison time after he pleaded guilty to stealing from an elderly female client, who had nearly $3 million taken from her accounts. Harold "Hal" Blondeau, 65, a former advisor with Morgan Keegan, pleaded guilty to charges of investment advisor fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return, according to federal court records.
For the print edition on June 12, the story was altered to include Blondeau's connection to NC State:
Ex-financial adviser admits bilking elderly client
Victim, 83, suffers from Alzheimer's
BY SARAH OVASKA - STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: FRI, JUN. 12, 2009 05:40AM
MODIFIED THU, JUN. 11, 2009 11:10 PM
RALEIGH -- A Raleigh financial adviser is facing federal prison time after he admitted to stealing from an elderly client as part of an elaborate scheme that ultimately took nearly $3 million from the woman. Harold "Hal" Blondeau, 65, a former adviser with Morgan Keegan, pleaded guilty to charges of investment adviser fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return, according to federal court records. Blondeau, at one time a basketball player at N.C. State University, used some of the stolen money to pay for luxuries such as $24,000 worth of wine and a beach house.
From that, the Associated Press picked up the story and made it sound as if The N&O discovered the connection to the Wolfpack.
NC financial adviser admits taking money for self
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Fri, Jun. 12, 2009 12:41 PM
Modified Fri, Jun. 12, 2009 12:41 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A former financial adviser in North Carolina has admitted taking nearly $3 million from an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease to buy a beach house and a wine collection. Federal authorities said 65-year-old Harold Earl Blondeau pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenville to one count of investment adviser fraud and one count of tax fraud. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the former Morgan Keegan adviser is a former N.C. State basketball player. Prosecutors said Blondeau spent $24,000 on wine, paid down his own credit line and bought a beach house.
Then two days later, an article written by one of The N&O's sister newspapers included Blondeau's plight:
Complaints rise with our losses
Slumping markets and high-profile frauds make consumers and regulators more vigilant
BY KIRSTEN VALLE - THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
PUBLISHED: SUN, JUN. 14, 2009 02:00 AM
MODIFIED FRI, JUN. 12, 2009 08:46 PM
As the stock market plummeted in September, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority suspended a Charlotte financial adviser, alleging he falsified customers' signatures on retirement account documents.
A month later, the agency said another Charlotte adviser copied customers' signatures onto forms explaining financial transactions, and in April, a Raleigh man was fined $5,000 and suspended after allegedly liquidating a customer's mutual fund positions without the customer's authorization. Last week, Harold "Hal" Blondeau, a former adviser with Morgan Keegan in Raleigh, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud after stealing nearly $3 million from an elderly client. Blondeau, who played basketball at N.C. State University, faces prison time when he is sentenced in September.
This was simply overkill, as far as I'm concerned, so I sent an email to N&O executive editor John Drescher:
John,
If you were Bob Jordan, you might say I'm nitpicking but...
Without telling us the dates he played and when he was in college, what is the significance of saying over and over (see stories below my signature) that Hal Blondeau is a former N.C. State basketball player?
--Oct. 13, 2007 (N&O story);
--June 11, 2009 (N&O story; no mention; Must have been an editing error);
--June 12, 2009 (N&O story, this story updated the previous so the write went back two years to get the reference);
--June 12, 2009 (AP story that says the N&O reported he's a former NC State basketball player;
--June 14, 2009 (Charlotte Observer story that appears in the N&O).
Is this notation significant to the story? Does this mean all former NC State basketball players who are financial advisers will do the same? Or maybe everyone should just be on the lookout for any former NC State basketball player. Maybe they are all criminals? Maybe that extends to all NC State graduates? My guess is that someone in 2007 mentioned he was a former NC State basketball player and the writers tossed it in the story. Ever since then it's always been a part of the story, which in reality it is not.
The notoriety that comes with being an athlete at an area University, especially NC State, can be good and it can be bad. But let's be fair about it. Let's note the college of graduation of every person who gets in trouble. Mary Easley (???); Mike Easley (???).
By the way, for those who don't know, especially the writers, Hal Blondeau:
--Graduated from NC State in 1966;
--Was a member of the 1965 ACC Championship team that defeated 8th ranked Duke, 91-85, in the ACC Tournament Championship game to earn the title and the ACC's only bid to the NCAA Tournament. (Team lost to Princeton, 66-48, in the semi-finals of the East Regional and then beat St. Joseph's, 103-81, in the consolation game.);
--Wore jersey number 30.
--Was on the 1963-64, 1964-65, and 1965-66 teams, lettering all three seasons.
--Was ACC All-Academic in 1965-66 season.
--Made ACC Honor roll his last two seasons for having at least a 3.0 for the entire academic year (both years).
--Was the first recipient (1964) of the Jon Speaks Award, awarded annual to the NC State player who best typifies the attributes of the late Wolfpack captain (1963) who was killed in an automobile accident in May of 1963.
--Played for Everett Case and Press Maravich.
--Doesn't appear in the records section of the NC State basketball media guide. (I do not have access to his stats though if you want them I surely could get them for you).
---Helped compile in his three years on the varsity an NC State record of 47-25 overall and 23-19 in the ACC. (Breaking it down: 1963-64: 8-11 overall, 4-10 ACC; 1964-65: 21-5 overall; 10-4 ACC (2nd regular season); 1965-66: 18-9 overall, 9-5 ACC (2nd regular season). During those three seasons, NC State was 3-3 against North Carolina; 1-8 against Duke, the lone win that ACC title game in March 1965; and 4-2 against Wake Forest.)
If you're going to say he's a former NC State basketball player, at the very least give him credit for what he did while he was there. While we State grads are not pleased with his recent actions, we are proud of him for his academic and athletic accomplishments.
John was on vacation and as of this post, I have not heard from him, but I did hear from Thomas Goldsmith who was one of the writers on the original story in 2007. He, of course, defended the use of "former NC State basketball player:
Dear Mr. Pomeranz,
I was late to this discussion because I have been on furlough.
I was one of the reporters on the original story, so I'd like to weigh in briefly on the identifier we have used.
Generally, we run information such as people's ages and hometowns to put them in context for the reader.
If I appeared in a news story, it would be "Thomas Goldsmith, 57, an N&O reporter."
That way, old Raleigh people would say, "Oh, I know his byline," or "If he's 57, that's got to be the guy I went to Broughton with," or whatever helps identify me.
If the story were more in depth, it might say, "Goldsmith, a deacon at West Raleigh Presbyterian," or something else to make my name click.
I honestly don't remember how it came to our attention that Mr. Blondeau was a former State athlete.
I may have found it in our back stories or learned it from some other source.
At that point, the "don't you guys know that?" principle came into play.
Had we run the story without that identifier, it's quite likely a reader would have said, "Don't you guys know that he played basketball at State?"
Given the importance of ACC athletics, particularly basketball, the readers would have lost an important means of knowing who Mr. Blondeau is.
You can argue that the identifier should not have been given continued prominence in stories.
But I'd say that it's a useful description in placing him in context for the community.
thanks for being in touch,
Thomas Goldsmith
Generations reporter
The News & Observer
215 S. McDowell Street
Raleigh, N.C., 27603
919-829-8929
And here's my response to Mr. Goldsmith:
Thanks for your reply and explanation, but I feel you should have also said he played in the 1960s. It would put him into better context. To just say "former NC State basketball player," especially in the Oct 2007 article in which I did not see his age until the 14th paragraph, is sort of misleading, especially since NC State basketball is on the sports pages nearly everyday. It would lead those unfamiliar with the subject to start asking when he played, last year, six years ago, etc. In subsequent articles, his age was earlier in the story, but I still feel if his association is part of the story then when he played is also part of it.
The sad part of this is when the AP picked it up last week and said: The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the former Morgan Keegan adviser is a former N.C. State basketball player. In other words, the AP made it sound as if his being a former NC State basketball player is a big deal. Maybe Sidney Lowe should be fired for being associated with such a criminal.
I fully understand identifiers in reporting. I was a reporter once myself, working part-time at the N&O and for UPI in the 1970s. I really have no problem with using it, but I feel saying when is just as important. At some point in a person's life, especially being a bit player, it's not the most important identifier. And, usually once is enough.
On the other hand, why not do another story and use all that basketball information I gave you? Hey, call the NC State sports media people and get his stats and include those. Such a prominent NC State basketball player falling to criminal activities!!!!!!!
He said I made good points and thanked me for my response.
It's a tough call, but when do notations cease?
That he was an NC State basketball player is okay to point out. It would have been better to say in the mid-1960s to put his participation into better context. Also, that seems to be the only "non-employment" label given. Is he active in his church or a civic club? In other words, NC State is singled out in this case. I do not object to using his background, but he was not really a star player, just a smart player on those teams. That he was an NC State basketball player is not really noteworthy or part of the story. No relevance.
Am I making too much of this? Maybe, but consider who I am:
Jim Pomeranz, former writer for The News & Observer.
Other notations could be:
former:
manager of the Sanford Central High 1968 Eastern 3A football championship team;
Most Valuable Player of the 1970 Sanford Central High golf team;
Sports Editor of The Technician, NC State's student newspaper;
three-time candidate for NC State University Student Body President;
student at NC State University;
assistant press secretary for the Ed O'Herron For Governor of North Carolina campaign;
employee of the Wolfpack Club (aka NCSU Student Aid Association);
writer for United Press International; and,
member of MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary NC; or
current:
member of St. Francis United Methodist Church, Cary NC;
member North Carolina Golf Panel;
Charter Partner, Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State University;
member, Wolfpack Club; and,
director, Wolfpack Intercollegiate golf tournament.
The former and the current list could go on and on, but I like the connection to The N&O. It embraces more people, especially many who have no idea who I am. The connection to The N&O would put my life into proper perspective with the general public.
Sort of like the notation listed with Harold " Hal" Blondeau in a continuing story about his legal problems. Five stories in the past two years (four stories appeared in either the print edition or the on-line edition of The N&O June 11 and 12 of this year). The first appearance of this case was in 2007. The notation given to Blondeau is "former NC State basketball player."
ITEM FROM THE NEWS & OBSERVER, Sat., Oct, 13, 2007:
Elderly heir claims fraud by advisers
A lawsuit charges the men used the Raleigh woman's money to enrich their reputations and wallets
by SARAH OVASKA and THOMAS GOLDSMITH - STAFF WRITERS
RALEIGH -- Attorneys for an 81-year-old Raleigh woman with dementia claim in a lawsuit that her Raleigh financial adviser and a Florida lawyer diverted at least $2 million from her accounts for their benefit. The financial adviser and the lawyer deny the charges. Martha B. Capps got bad advice from her longtime adviser, Harold "Hal" Blondeau, a former N.C. State basketball player, and lost a large portion of a $4 million inheritance, her attorneys argue in a lawsuit filed Friday at the Wake County Courthouse. The suit says she knew little or nothing about the diversion of money from her accounts to various causes, several with ties to Blondeau.
Last week, June 11, the case came up, with Blondeau admitting guilt. Here's the initial post on The N&O website:
Financial advisor admits to stealing from client
BY SARAH OVASKA - STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: THU, JUN. 11, 2009 02:54PM
MODIFIED THU, JUN. 11, 2009 03:10 PM
A former Raleigh financial advisor is facing prison time after he pleaded guilty to stealing from an elderly female client, who had nearly $3 million taken from her accounts. Harold "Hal" Blondeau, 65, a former advisor with Morgan Keegan, pleaded guilty to charges of investment advisor fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return, according to federal court records.
For the print edition on June 12, the story was altered to include Blondeau's connection to NC State:
Ex-financial adviser admits bilking elderly client
Victim, 83, suffers from Alzheimer's
BY SARAH OVASKA - STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: FRI, JUN. 12, 2009 05:40AM
MODIFIED THU, JUN. 11, 2009 11:10 PM
RALEIGH -- A Raleigh financial adviser is facing federal prison time after he admitted to stealing from an elderly client as part of an elaborate scheme that ultimately took nearly $3 million from the woman. Harold "Hal" Blondeau, 65, a former adviser with Morgan Keegan, pleaded guilty to charges of investment adviser fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return, according to federal court records. Blondeau, at one time a basketball player at N.C. State University, used some of the stolen money to pay for luxuries such as $24,000 worth of wine and a beach house.
From that, the Associated Press picked up the story and made it sound as if The N&O discovered the connection to the Wolfpack.
NC financial adviser admits taking money for self
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Fri, Jun. 12, 2009 12:41 PM
Modified Fri, Jun. 12, 2009 12:41 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A former financial adviser in North Carolina has admitted taking nearly $3 million from an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease to buy a beach house and a wine collection. Federal authorities said 65-year-old Harold Earl Blondeau pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenville to one count of investment adviser fraud and one count of tax fraud. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the former Morgan Keegan adviser is a former N.C. State basketball player. Prosecutors said Blondeau spent $24,000 on wine, paid down his own credit line and bought a beach house.
Then two days later, an article written by one of The N&O's sister newspapers included Blondeau's plight:
Complaints rise with our losses
Slumping markets and high-profile frauds make consumers and regulators more vigilant
BY KIRSTEN VALLE - THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
PUBLISHED: SUN, JUN. 14, 2009 02:00 AM
MODIFIED FRI, JUN. 12, 2009 08:46 PM
As the stock market plummeted in September, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority suspended a Charlotte financial adviser, alleging he falsified customers' signatures on retirement account documents.
A month later, the agency said another Charlotte adviser copied customers' signatures onto forms explaining financial transactions, and in April, a Raleigh man was fined $5,000 and suspended after allegedly liquidating a customer's mutual fund positions without the customer's authorization. Last week, Harold "Hal" Blondeau, a former adviser with Morgan Keegan in Raleigh, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud after stealing nearly $3 million from an elderly client. Blondeau, who played basketball at N.C. State University, faces prison time when he is sentenced in September.
This was simply overkill, as far as I'm concerned, so I sent an email to N&O executive editor John Drescher:
John,
If you were Bob Jordan, you might say I'm nitpicking but...
Without telling us the dates he played and when he was in college, what is the significance of saying over and over (see stories below my signature) that Hal Blondeau is a former N.C. State basketball player?
--Oct. 13, 2007 (N&O story);
--June 11, 2009 (N&O story; no mention; Must have been an editing error);
--June 12, 2009 (N&O story, this story updated the previous so the write went back two years to get the reference);
--June 12, 2009 (AP story that says the N&O reported he's a former NC State basketball player;
--June 14, 2009 (Charlotte Observer story that appears in the N&O).
Is this notation significant to the story? Does this mean all former NC State basketball players who are financial advisers will do the same? Or maybe everyone should just be on the lookout for any former NC State basketball player. Maybe they are all criminals? Maybe that extends to all NC State graduates? My guess is that someone in 2007 mentioned he was a former NC State basketball player and the writers tossed it in the story. Ever since then it's always been a part of the story, which in reality it is not.
The notoriety that comes with being an athlete at an area University, especially NC State, can be good and it can be bad. But let's be fair about it. Let's note the college of graduation of every person who gets in trouble. Mary Easley (???); Mike Easley (???).
By the way, for those who don't know, especially the writers, Hal Blondeau:
--Graduated from NC State in 1966;
--Was a member of the 1965 ACC Championship team that defeated 8th ranked Duke, 91-85, in the ACC Tournament Championship game to earn the title and the ACC's only bid to the NCAA Tournament. (Team lost to Princeton, 66-48, in the semi-finals of the East Regional and then beat St. Joseph's, 103-81, in the consolation game.);
--Wore jersey number 30.
--Was on the 1963-64, 1964-65, and 1965-66 teams, lettering all three seasons.
--Was ACC All-Academic in 1965-66 season.
--Made ACC Honor roll his last two seasons for having at least a 3.0 for the entire academic year (both years).
--Was the first recipient (1964) of the Jon Speaks Award, awarded annual to the NC State player who best typifies the attributes of the late Wolfpack captain (1963) who was killed in an automobile accident in May of 1963.
--Played for Everett Case and Press Maravich.
--Doesn't appear in the records section of the NC State basketball media guide. (I do not have access to his stats though if you want them I surely could get them for you).
---Helped compile in his three years on the varsity an NC State record of 47-25 overall and 23-19 in the ACC. (Breaking it down: 1963-64: 8-11 overall, 4-10 ACC; 1964-65: 21-5 overall; 10-4 ACC (2nd regular season); 1965-66: 18-9 overall, 9-5 ACC (2nd regular season). During those three seasons, NC State was 3-3 against North Carolina; 1-8 against Duke, the lone win that ACC title game in March 1965; and 4-2 against Wake Forest.)
If you're going to say he's a former NC State basketball player, at the very least give him credit for what he did while he was there. While we State grads are not pleased with his recent actions, we are proud of him for his academic and athletic accomplishments.
John was on vacation and as of this post, I have not heard from him, but I did hear from Thomas Goldsmith who was one of the writers on the original story in 2007. He, of course, defended the use of "former NC State basketball player:
Dear Mr. Pomeranz,
I was late to this discussion because I have been on furlough.
I was one of the reporters on the original story, so I'd like to weigh in briefly on the identifier we have used.
Generally, we run information such as people's ages and hometowns to put them in context for the reader.
If I appeared in a news story, it would be "Thomas Goldsmith, 57, an N&O reporter."
That way, old Raleigh people would say, "Oh, I know his byline," or "If he's 57, that's got to be the guy I went to Broughton with," or whatever helps identify me.
If the story were more in depth, it might say, "Goldsmith, a deacon at West Raleigh Presbyterian," or something else to make my name click.
I honestly don't remember how it came to our attention that Mr. Blondeau was a former State athlete.
I may have found it in our back stories or learned it from some other source.
At that point, the "don't you guys know that?" principle came into play.
Had we run the story without that identifier, it's quite likely a reader would have said, "Don't you guys know that he played basketball at State?"
Given the importance of ACC athletics, particularly basketball, the readers would have lost an important means of knowing who Mr. Blondeau is.
You can argue that the identifier should not have been given continued prominence in stories.
But I'd say that it's a useful description in placing him in context for the community.
thanks for being in touch,
Thomas Goldsmith
Generations reporter
The News & Observer
215 S. McDowell Street
Raleigh, N.C., 27603
919-829-8929
And here's my response to Mr. Goldsmith:
Thanks for your reply and explanation, but I feel you should have also said he played in the 1960s. It would put him into better context. To just say "former NC State basketball player," especially in the Oct 2007 article in which I did not see his age until the 14th paragraph, is sort of misleading, especially since NC State basketball is on the sports pages nearly everyday. It would lead those unfamiliar with the subject to start asking when he played, last year, six years ago, etc. In subsequent articles, his age was earlier in the story, but I still feel if his association is part of the story then when he played is also part of it.
The sad part of this is when the AP picked it up last week and said: The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the former Morgan Keegan adviser is a former N.C. State basketball player. In other words, the AP made it sound as if his being a former NC State basketball player is a big deal. Maybe Sidney Lowe should be fired for being associated with such a criminal.
I fully understand identifiers in reporting. I was a reporter once myself, working part-time at the N&O and for UPI in the 1970s. I really have no problem with using it, but I feel saying when is just as important. At some point in a person's life, especially being a bit player, it's not the most important identifier. And, usually once is enough.
On the other hand, why not do another story and use all that basketball information I gave you? Hey, call the NC State sports media people and get his stats and include those. Such a prominent NC State basketball player falling to criminal activities!!!!!!!
He said I made good points and thanked me for my response.
It's a tough call, but when do notations cease?
That he was an NC State basketball player is okay to point out. It would have been better to say in the mid-1960s to put his participation into better context. Also, that seems to be the only "non-employment" label given. Is he active in his church or a civic club? In other words, NC State is singled out in this case. I do not object to using his background, but he was not really a star player, just a smart player on those teams. That he was an NC State basketball player is not really noteworthy or part of the story. No relevance.
Am I making too much of this? Maybe, but consider who I am:
Jim Pomeranz, former writer for The News & Observer.
