1970

This month's presentation will center around the media—not to exclude those forced to live in a love-hate relationship therewith. Ah, the media. Informative, entertaining, and sometimes just scraping the bottom of the barrel. But, most importantly, the media always gets in the last word. So if you've just caught your name in bold print below, run for cover. After all, I have the highly skilled Alumni Magazine editorial staff standing between me and whopping legal fees. Just like in the real world.

Edward "Terry" Shumaker enjoyed every minute of,er, keeping the media properly informed as co-chair of Bill Clinton's New Hampshire campaign earlier this year. It must be a daunting job indeed to manage the media in a one-newspaper state, especially when that newspaper is The Manchester Union Leader and your candidate is a Democrat. But Terry apparently succeeded where others dared not tread, because he went on to serve as a delegate at this summer's Democratic National Convention. If polls are to be relied upon in the least, as you read this Terry should be basking in the spoils of a victory well fought and won.

While not toiling endlessly to assure the integrity of New Hampshire's press, Terry is otherwise a partner with the Concord firm of Gallagher, Callahan & Cartrell, specializing in labor and employment law. He lives conveniently in Bow, N.H., with his wife, Polly, and their three teenage sons. Spare time, if any, is devoted to fruitless efforts at lowering his golf handicap.

While Terry lets down his guard on the links, Robert "Whit" Whitcomb is busy giving them hell in The Providence Journal- Bulletin. Whit was named editor of the editorial pages in July. Talk about job security! What other state can match Rhode Island when it comes to fodder for editorializing?

Whit got ready for the privilege of expounding to the rest of us with a master's degree in economics and journalism from Columbia University. He then worked his way through the profession as a reporter for The Boston Herald-Traveler and Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal, as editor and writer for The Wall Street Journal, and as news editor and then financial editor of the International Herald Tribune. He worked originally in Providence as an editor for the Journal in 1976 and returned there permanently in 1987, rejoining the editorial page in 1989. We presume that Whit is now comfortably decompressing from the thrills of analyzing not only the presidential elections but also the long-awaited outcome of the RISDIC investigation.

We dare not overlook here the wonderful media world of television, and in particular that subset known and beloved as the soaps. Yes, you can now catch a class of '7O offspring regularly on slow afternoons by simply tuning in "One Life to Live." Tyler Noyes, six years old, is featured running across the screen periodically, while his daddy, Dave Noyes, checks out his publicity spreads in the various soap opera magazines (which he always reads while carefully concealing them between the pages of a WSJ). Considering the charity benefits and invitations to the Emmys, Dave might be inclined to agree that young Tyler's contributions to culture at the very least equal those described above.

We want to cheer little Tyler along, but not at the expense of the rest of his family. Hence, since space is short, the entire Noyes family will be featured right here next month, thereby becoming our first bi-column personalities. Indeed this is the risk one takes by daring to write a long letter to one's class secretary.

P.O. Box 3934, Modesto, CA 95352-3934