Newsrooms of Yesteryear

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Retrospective

“The clatter of typewriters and the rattle of whiskey bottles in desk drawers; the haze of cigarette smoke in the air; the fedoras and notepads, the sleeve garters and eyeshades; the cries of ‘Copy!’ and ‘Get me rewrite!’ Remember newspapers? Neither do I, to tell you the truth, even though I’ve been working at this one for more than 10 years. But you have to go back a lot further — nearly half a century — to sample the sights, sounds and smells that still evoke the quintessence of print journalism in all its inky, hectic glory.
“Or you could go to Film Forum, where a 43-movie monthlong series called The Newspaper Picture opens on Friday with Billy Wilder’s ‘Ace in the Hole’ (1951). The program is a crackerjack history lesson and also, perhaps, a valediction. Not a day goes by that we don’t read something -- a tweet, a blog, maybe even a column — proclaiming the death of newspapers, either to mourn or to dance on the grave. And even if those old newsprint creatures survive, say by migrating to the magic land of the iPad, they sure ain’t what they used to be.
“Where are the crusty editors and fast-talking girl reporters of yesteryear? I’m peeking over the cubicle wall, and all I see are Web producers and videographers.”

—A.O. Scott, New York Times columnist, with a nice tour of smoky newsrooms
of yesteryear on celluloid, April 2010 URL
(Thanks to alert WORDster Alexandra Halsey)

Photo: Kirk Douglas in Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” (1951).

Editor’s Note: Where’s my green eyeshade?

Another Editor’s Note: Yesterday’s WORDs about the late, great Bea Zeeck prompted appreciative WORDster response. See the blog and scroll down to comments. Add your own.

Today’s PeezPix: Pink Sunrise
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