Digital Extra: The Journal's 175th Anniversary

07.21.2004

The passing news

Tomorrow, look for a new section in the Journal and Evening Bulletin. Called Lifebeat, it will be packed with lifestyle and entertainment news designed to advise you, amuse you and keep you up to date with life in the sometimes-weighty, always-crazy '80s.

Monday through Friday, Lifebeat will dish up the latest on relationships, consumer interests, fashion, food, movies, music, TV and much more.

-- March 3, 1988

At 5:04, it was no longer very important to me that Pat Sheridan was going to be playing right field for the Giants or that Bob Welch would be pitching for the A's. The only thing that mattered was that the upper deck of Candlestick was moving violently and I was on it. It began as a noise and built into a rumble, and it just didn't stop. It didn't stop until the huge, concrete stadium was swaying back and forth.

-- Journal sports columnist Bill Parrillo went to California in October 1989 to cover the World Series, and ended up covering an earthquake

The Providence Journal Company's phototypesetters malfunctioned yesterday, forcing the company to shuttle tape by helicopter between Providence and Worcester, Mass., in order to publish yesterday's Evening Bulletin and today's Providence Journal.

Early yesterday morning, the typesetting equipment failed. Stories stored in the computer were transferred to punched tape and flown to Worcester and fed through comparable typesetters at the Worcester Telegram-Gazette. The printed text was then shuttled back to the Journal Building for normal processing.

Aug. 22, 1980

From the outset, the Journal-Bulletin has considered the court order preventing publication of certain information about Raymond J. "Junior" Patriarca, reputed head of organized crime in New England, an unconstitutional violation of our First Amendment rights. These rights have been upheld repeatedly in similar situations over the years by the U.S. Supreme Court. We know of no instance where a newspaper has been denied the right to publish under the circumstances of this case.

-- From the published statement of Publisher Michael P. Metcalf, April 3, 1986, after a federal judge imposed criminal sanctions against the paper and its editor for violating a court order against running a story about Patriarca

After 173 games, they're nine innings or so away from burying the goblins of 68 years of misfires, near-misses and late swoons. And even though the standings show the Bosox with a skinny, three-games-to-two lead -- one that could disintegrate into just another New England frustration by tomorrow night -- there's no such talk amongst the Bosox.

-- Game preview story, Oct. 25, 1986, before the Red Sox and the New York Mets played Game 6 of the World Series, a game for which Boston first baseman Bill Buckner will forever be known

His colleagues at the Journal-Bulletin had expected that, in the nature of things, Mr. Metcalf would be on the scene to extend his energies and leadership for another 15 years or more. Now, by the caprice of fate, this is not to be. His death at age 54 marks a sad conclusion to one of the most dynamic eras in the communications company he led.

-- Editorial, Sept. 22, 1987, after the death of Publisher Michael P. Metcalf.