media

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A man carries barstools away from Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon while workers remove the awnings

Average Paycheck Decreases — The average weekly paycheck in Arlington was $1,734 in the first quarter of 2016, down 0.2 percent compared to one year prior. Nationally, however, the average paycheck was down 0.5 percent. Arlington ranked in the top 10 of U.S. counties with the highest pay. [InsideNova]

New Media Venture Based in Clarendon — Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei’s next media venture is headquartered in Arlington. VandeHei, along with Politico’s Mike Allen and the publication’s former Chief Revenue Officer, are among those helping to found the venture, which has reportedly secured $10 million in financing and is said to be “a media outlet targeting corporate executives and other professionals with a mix of business and political news.” While Politico remains in Rosslyn, VandeHei’s new venture is based in MakeOffices in Clarendon. [Wall Street Journal]

Porn Discussion at DJO — Last night Bishop O’Connell High School hosted a public discussion, aimed at parents and teens, about “the effects of pornography on teenagers.” Today the founder of the website The Porn Effect will address DJO students and “present the reality behind pornography to the entire student body.” [Catholic Diocese of Arlington]

First Responders Cup This Weekend — The annual First Responders Cup fastpitch softball tournament will take place in Arlington this weekend. Among the participants, one team from Salem, Va. is paying tribute by wearing the name of fallen firefighters on the back of their jerseys. The players, who also wrote letters to the families of the firefighters, will be visiting Arlington’s Fire Station No. 5 near Pentagon City today. [WDBJ]

New Website for Chamber — The Arlington Chamber of Commerce has launched a redesigned website. [Arlington Chamber]

AHC Seeking Volunteer Mentors — Updated at 2:15 p.m. — Affordable housing organization AHC Inc. is seeking volunteers to serve as mentors and tutors for middle- and high school students. Before the start of the school year, AHC provided backpacks filled with school supplies to more than 900 low-income, school-aged children living in its apartment communities. “Along with scores of generous individuals, several local organizations donated funds or supplies, including Arlington County Community Outreach, BM Smith, Boeing, The Reading Connection, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington,” AHC noted in a press release. [AHC Inc.]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn and the frozen Potomac River (Flickr pool photo by J.D. Moore)

ARLnow Celebrates Sixth Anniversary — Six years ago today, ARLnow.com launched with a brief post about an upcoming snow storm and an early mission statement.

In Rosslyn: WJLA Stays, Politico Implodes — In Rosslyn yesterday, there were two big pieces of local media news in the same building, on the same day. First, it was announced that Sinclair Broadcast Group signed a five-year, 100,000 square foot lease that will keep WJLA and NewsChannel 8 in the 1000/1100 Wilson Blvd twin towers. Later, it was revealed that Politico — which renewed its lease in the same complex in 2014 — would soon be losing CEO Jim VandeHei, chief political reporter Mike Allen and three senior executives. [Washington Business Journal, Huffington Post]

Arlington OKs Gondola Study Contribution — Arlington County will kick in $35,000 to study the feasibility of a gondola running from Rosslyn to Georgetown. Some County Board members expressed skepticism of the plan, though the county’s economic development director said it would at minimum give local hotels and tourism a boost. [Washington Post]

Apartment Complex Deemed Historic District — The Arlington County Board yesterday voted to designate Cambridge Courts — “a garden apartment complex built from rationed materials to house defense workers during World War II” — a local historic district. The apartment complex along Route 50 will now be protected from redevelopment. [Arlington County]

New Rules for Bus-Only Lanes — New rules have been approved for the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway. After it opens this spring, the transitway’s lanes in Crystal City will be designated bus-only during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Police will issue warning to drivers who violate the rules during the first 30 days, then will issue $200 fines to lane violators after that. [WTOP, Arlington County]

EatBar Returns… On Capitol Hill — EatBar, which closed in 2014 in Lyon Park, will be coming back as a new bar/restaurant on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row in D.C. [Barred in DC]

County Board Approves ‘Complete Streets’ Guidelines — The Arlington County Board has approved a set of guidelines intended to “help transform busy neighborhood streets into ‘Complete Streets’ – ones that will be safe for users of all ages and abilities whether they are walking, driving, cycling or using transit.” [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by J.D. Moore

Arlington Production Company Finds New Home in Courthouse

By Heather Mongilio
1/8

Henninger Media Services, a production company with ties to Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Oscar-winning documentaries, has found a new home in Courthouse.

The production company is responsible for “finishing” videos, whether it be a show on National Geographic or a documentary that wins an Academy Award. In finishing, or post production, specialists at the company edit the film, color and audio in order to make a show look cleaner. It’s very much a behind the scenes job — if it’s done correctly, a viewer wouldn’t realize that anything had been done.

In addition to editing, the company also does design work, such as creating the main menu on a DVD, and archive work, including helping the National Archives.

The company’s new space is tucked away at 1320 N. Courthouse Road, near the Arlington County Police Department and county government offices. It was previously located on Wilson Blvd, next to Earl’s Sandwiches. Although slightly hidden, the company’s new office on the first floor of the building is anything but small.

The company has 13 editing suites, six audio studios, three color correction suites, two quality control rooms, a voice recording studio, various administrative and design spaces and the “core,” where it hosts all the servers and technology needed to run a production company. Henninger bills itself as “the largest production/post-production company in the Mid-Atlantic.”

“It is relatively rare that one company houses all the expertise,” said Mike Weiss, vice president of Business Development.

The new move allowed Henninger Media Services to have a fresh start when it came to the technology in the office, said CEO Robert Henninger. The space now uses fiber glass cables with the capability to run videos in ultra high definition, one of the newest trends in video.

“It gave us a lot of flexibility in terms of technical capability,” Weiss said. “It modernized us.”

Innovation and embracing new technology is one of the five core values of the company, Henninger said, with the other four being quality, service, teamwork and creativity.

These five values have helped Henninger Media Services, which was founded in 1983, become the company it is today, he said.

Today, the company works with big names like Discovery Channel, National Geographic and PBS, where they put finishing touches on shows and documentaries run on the networks. It also works with corporations, such as Capital One, small businesses, colleges, such as American University, and political campaigns.

The company declined to list some of the well-known television programs it works on, citing confidentiality agreements, but one such program — verified independently by ARLnow.com — is “Gold Rush: Alaska,” one of the Discovery Channel’s top-rated series.

Henninger Media Services worked with President Barack Obama’s first campaign to help edit a 30-minute paid ad. They also worked with Sen. John McCain when he ran against George W. Bush in a presidential primary.

Political campaigns are a specialty because they have an intense workload and very quick deadline.

“You have to really be prepared to do what it takes,” Henninger said.

The company has also worked with Oscar-winner documentary “Innocente.” The company has done multiple projects with directors Sean and Andrea Fine, as well as Sean’s father, who was also a director.

“We were part of the team that won an Oscar,” Henninger said.

In addition to the many non-fiction films that company works with, Henninger said he would like to get involved with feature films.

“Doing some fiction work would be fun,” he said.

Conservative News Outlet Moving to Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Washington Free Beacon logoThe Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news website, is moving its headquarters from D.C. to Rosslyn.

The company, founded in February 2012, has signed a lease at 1000 Wilson Blvd, one of Rosslyn’s silver “twin towers.” About 25 employees are expected to move into the new office this spring, according to Free Beacon president Aaron Harison.

“I thought we were getting a lot more bang for our buck in Rosslyn,” Harison told ARLnow.com. The publication, described by its soon-to-be Rosslyn neighbor Politico as a “pot-stirring, hyper-conservative news and opinion site,” previously had offices on K Street NW in the District.

“We’re getting this great panoramic view of the whole city,” Harison said. “That’s something you don’t get in D.C.”

The Free Beacon recently transitioned from being a nonprofit organization, founded as a project of another conservative nonprofit, to being a for-profit entity. Harison said the new office will allow the publication to continue to grow.

“We really want to increase our footprint,” he said.

Harison, a Ballston resident, said the expanding Rosslyn restaurant and bar scene should help to ease the transition from D.C.

“We’re certainly going to be looking for a couple of new bars and restaurants to make our local haunts,” he said.

Rosslyn has become something of a minor media hub. Among the media organizations calling Rosslyn home are WJLA-TV, Politico, Washington Business Journal, ARLnow.com and Graham Holdings (owner of Slate, theRoot and Foreign Policy).

In addition to the Free Beacon, twin towers owner Monday Properties on Wednesday announced two other new leases at 1000 Wilson Blvd: Cobro Ventures, an investment and management company, and Riveron Consulting, a financial firm.

Monday will go before the Arlington County Board this weekend to seek permission to build a new roof deck on 1000 Wilson Blvd. That roof deck will be used by Sands Capital, an existing tenant, according to a spokeswoman.

Disclosure: Monday Properties is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Metroway bus in Crystal City (Photo courtesy Donna Gouse)

Crumbs Could Reopen — The shuttered Crumbs Bakeshop in Clarendon could reopen, after the bankrupt cupcake company was purchased by a new owner. Fischer Enterprises has yet to reveal which of Crumbs’ 48 stores will reopen. [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington’s Naturalist Blogs on the Side — Frustrated with “days filled with meetings and paperwork” after he started working as the natural resources manager for Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Alonso Abugattas founded an educational blog and Facebook group called Capital Naturalist. The blog has a loyal following among readers and respect from fellow naturalists. [Washington Post]

Transportation Among Reasons Politico Stayed — The president of Monday Properties, the major Rosslyn property owner, says political publication Politico decided to renew its office lease in Rosslyn largely because of “superior transit options and greater concentration of housing and retail.” [Washington City Paper]

Changes Coming to ARLnow — ARLnow.com is expected to roll out a website redesign this afternoon. The site may experience brief downtime during the transition. Readers should also expect various menu and visual changes immediately after the transition.

Photo courtesy Donna Gouse

Jason Spencer Leaving Arlington, Clarendon Patch

By Ethan Rothstein

Former Arlington Patch editor Jason SpencerJason Spencer, the editor of the Arlington, McLean and Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn Patch websites, has been laid off, effective today.

Spencer, who started at Clarendon Patch in May 2011 before taking over Arlington and McLean as Patch began losing staff, is a casualty of Patch’s mass layoffs, which were announced today. The 900-site hyperlocal news network is restructuring under new owners Hale Global, which is in the process of acquiring majority control of the business from Aol.

The Patch sites Spencer had helmed will still be operational, but its unclear at this point who will be running the site and how the site will cover local news, if at all.

“Today will be my last day at Patch,” Spencer wrote on Arlington Patch’s Facebook page. “For those of you I’ve worked with over the past (almost) three years, it’s been a pleasure. Arlington has been a great place to get to know and to cover — it certainly was a social and political 180 from the community I had previously covered in South Carolina! And thanks to the readers who have kept us going.”

The editor of the Alexandria and Del Ray Patch sites, Drew Hansen, was also let go today. Media watchdog Jim Romenesko reports that somewhere between two-thirds and 90 percent of Patch editors across the country were let go today.

Photo via Twitter

Marymount to Hold Talk on ‘Role of Media in 2012 Campaign’

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Marymount University will be holding a talk on the role of media in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign.

The speaker will be former New York Times correspondent, political analyst and best-selling author Steven V. Roberts, husband of ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts.

His lecture, which is free and open to the public, is entitled “From The Times to Twitter: The Role of Media in the 2012 Campaign.” The event is being held on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reinsch Library Auditorium on Marymount’s main campus (2807 N. Glebe Road).

Interested attendees are asked to RSVP by calling 703-526-6872.

Local Media Stars Coming to Clarendon for ‘Junkies’ Sundress Party

By ARLnow.com

The Sports Junkies will be hosting their 5th annual Sundress Party at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd) tonight, and a number of local TV and radio personalities are expected to attend.

Doors at the Ballroom open at 5:00 p.m. and the event, which is free and open to the public, kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Ladies are encouraged to “get dressed in summer’s finest” and enter for chances to win prizes like gift cards to Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom’s, Coach, and MAC cosmetics.

In addition to the Junkies themselves — Cakes, E.B., Lurch and J.P. — a number of local media personalities are expected to attend, including Angie Goff and Eun Yang from NBC 4; Bri Carter, Britt McHenry (pictured, with E.B.) and Jummy Olabanji from ABC 7; and Tommy McFly and Kelli Collis from Fresh 94.7 FM.

There will be a cover to enter the Ballroom after 10:00 p.m. Last year the Sundress Party was held at the Georgetown Waterfront.

The Junkies are on the air weekdays from 5:00 to 10:00 a.m. on WJFK 106.7 FM “The Fan.”

Photo courtesy CBS Radio

Arlington Reporter Leaves TBD

By Scott Brodbeck

This is the last day on the job for Rebecca A. Cooper, the Arlington community reporter for Rosslyn-based TBD.com.

Cooper joined TBD last July, a month before the site launched. She was formerly a contributor to DCist.com and a reporter for a Long Island newspaper. No word yet on her future plans.

TBD is in the midst of layoffs and will likely not replace Cooper or her Arlington coverage.

The layoffs are part of a reorganization that will shift TBD’s mission from being a primarily news-oriented site to exclusively arts and entertainment-oriented site.

TBD’s corporate sister, television station WJLA (ABC 7), will eventually relaunch WJLA.com as a separate, news-oriented web site. (WJLA.com was replaced by TBD after its launch.)

On a personal note, it was a pleasure working alongside Rebecca, who was a total pro and brought an unrivaled depth to her Arlington reporting. Whatever she does next, we hope she stays here in Imperfect Arlington.

AIM Offers Spring Classes for Advanced Media Creators

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Independent Media has unveiled the schedule of spring classes for its Master of Independent Media program. The classes offer in-depth instruction for advanced media creators at a relatively low cost — between $150 and $300.

Here’s a list of the classes offered.

  • Introduction to Drupal-Based Web Sites (Feb. 16 – March 30)
  • Photoshop Digital Darkroom (Feb. 24 – March 10)
  • Marketing Media Projects (March 1 – April 5)
  • Digital Still Photography (April 28 – June 2)
  • Location Lighting for Film and Video (March 28 – May 2)
  • Producing and Directing Narrative Works (March 31 – May 5)
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