bomb damage assessment ( bda ) , also known as battle damage assessment , is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target from a stand-off weapon , most typically a bomb or air launched missile .

it is part of the larger discipline of combat assessment .

assessment is performed using many techniques including footage from in-weapon cameras , gun cameras , forces on the ground near the target , satellite imagery and follow-up visits to the target .

preventing information on battle damage reaching the enemy is a key objective of military censorship .

for nuclear weapons special techniques may be required due to the extensive damage caused and difficulty in approaching the site .

bomb damage assessment

the official insisted on anonymity as he discussed the pentagon ' s preliminary bomb damage assessment .
bomb damage , forensic assessment .
world of forensic science . . retrieved july 09 , 2018 from urltoken urltoken
recapitulation of bomb damage assessment for the period 31 jan - 24 feb 1966 | cia foia ( foia . cia . gov )
we also talk about radically reducing the logistics demands of our deployed forces through increases in reliability , and frankly , better use of our precision capability , and a good look at bomb damage assessment and / or battle damage assessment .
bomb damage , forensic assessment .
encyclopedia of espionage , intelligence , and security . . retrieved july 09 , 2018 from urltoken urltoken
bomb damage , forensic assessment .
world of forensic science . . encyclopedia . com . ( july 9 , 2018 ) . urltoken
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bomb damage assessment
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bomb damage , forensic assessment .
encyclopedia of espionage , intelligence , and security . . encyclopedia . com . ( july 9 , 2018 ) . urltoken
we have detectable damage on 38 to 40 % of the radars , and we still have some ( data ) coming in
, said on official , discussing the pentagon ' s preliminary bomb damage assessment .
fires and explosions are closely related phenomena in physical and chemical terms . appropriately , bomb - damage assessment is an aspect of forensic science closely related to arson investigation .
unwavering adherence to an established intelligence process , regardless of the demands of the situation , hampered bomb damage assessment and rendered intelligence support of the overall effort less than optimal .
this collection consists of three images of hiroshima and three images of nagasaki taken by william jones during the low altitude atomic bomb damage assessment photography of hiroshima and nagasaki in january 1946 .
see also accelerant ; architecture and structural analysis ; bomb detection devices ; bomb ( explosion ) investigations ; explosives .
laser remote sensing techniques are an established and mature scientific method used extensively in civilian research such as environmental monitoring and atmospheric research . this paper discusses specific problems inherent with established technologies applied to reconnaissance , surveillance and bomb damage assessment , and proposes specific applications for laser remote sensing methods , which resolve the ambiguities which may result from the use of established reconnaissance , surveillance and bomb damage assessment sensors .
bomb damage assessment ( bda ) has historically been a task of considerable difficulty because the wide range of munitions utilised , target types attacked and modes of attack used have precluded the application of any single reliable method .
suitably implemented , laser remote sensing methods could be profitably applied to reconnaissance and bomb damage assessment . the use of this technology in conjunction with conventional sensors provides a means of determining chemical traces in the area of interest , which for many target types can provide the necessary information to confirm target type or damage level . this can then be used to resolve uncertainties in the output from conventional sensors and available intelligence , thereby increasing the level of confidence in targeting and damage assessment .
in nagasaki , very heavy plaster damage was observed in many buildings up to 9 , 000 feet ; moderate damage was sustained as far as 12 , 000 feet , and light damage up to 15 , 000 feet .
this 461 - page study showcases pioneering french efforts in the technology and tactics of bombing enemy forces from the air including the development of aerial bombs , bomb - dropping mechanisms , bombsights , intelligence - based targeting packages , formation flying , night flying and navigation , long - range fighter escorts , and aerial photography for bomb damage assessment .
just as fires and explosions are closely related phenomena in physical and chemical terms , bomb - damage assessment is an aspect of forensic science closely related to arson investigation . in both cases , authorities analyze a crime scene for telltale signs of the nature of the materials that facilitated the conflagration . in the united states , the two agencies most concerned with bomb - damage assessment at the federal level are the bureau of alcohol , tobacco , and firearms ( atf ) , and the explosives unit of the federal bureau of investigation ( fbi ) .
in nagasaki , very heavy damage to window frames and doors was observed up to 8 , 000 feet , and light damage up to 12 , 000 feet .
the us took all steps to avoid civilian casualties and collateral damage .
the first limitation is in the need to carry specialised equipment in addition to existing reconnaissance sensors or bomb damage assessment cameras . this will add weight to the aircraft ' s sensor suite , as well as increasing the cost and maintenance requirements of the aircraft ' s systems .
severe damage to gas holders occured out to 6 , 500 feet in both cities .
in the light of our experience during the air campaign , the uk national battle damage assessment / targeting process has been fully reviewed and a series of recommendations for follow - up action highlighted . these include :
video provided by the pentagon showed a huge cloud of smoke after the bomb exploded .
in hiroshima , steel frame buildings suffered severe structural damage up to 5 , 700 feet from x , and in nagasaki the same damage was sustained as far as 6 , 000 feet .
explosions can be accidental , such as the rupture and ignition of a propane tank , yet they can also be the deliberate result of the detonation of a bomb . in assessing a crime scene , forensic scientists look for the telltale signs of the cause of the bomb damage .
roof damage extended as far as 16 , 000 feet from x in hiroshima and in nagasaki .
in addition to the atf , the fbi operates a laboratory to which other law - enforcement agencies submit materials for investigation . at the international level , bomb damage assessment may be performed by security services of various nations , or even by international teams , which may include civilians . such was the case in the investigation of the scene in bali , indonesia , where islamist terrorists detonated a bomb that killed several hundred people in october 2002 .
the bomb also destroyed the base used by the militants and blew up a large stash of weapons .
on 9 september , north korea confirmed it had carried out its fifth test of a nuclear bomb .
air forces have traditionally relied upon photographic evidence to assess the damage inflicted upon the target . the photography may be carried out by the delivery aircraft with an onboard bomb damage assessment camera , or by a post strike reconnaissance sortie flown by another aircraft . the latter has the advantage of potentially cleaner photography due to the absence of smoke and dust clouds produced by the delivered munitions , as well as better quality imagery due the use of specialised reconnaissance camera equipment .
aleppo bomb blast kills six - syrian state tv a bomb blast killed six people and injured 32 in the salah al - din district of aleppo , syrian state television reported on wednesday without giving further details .
the roads , and railroad and street railway trackage sustained practically no primary damage as a result of the explosion . most of the damage to railroads occurred from secondary causes , such as fires and damage to bridges or other structures . rolling stock , as well as automobiles , trolleys , and buses were destroyed and burned up to a considerable distance from x . streets were impassable for awhile because of the debris , but they were not damaged . the height of the bomb explosion probably explains the absence of direct damage to railroads and roads .
he massive ordnance air blast ( moab ) bomb used is widely known in the us military as the
mother of all bombs
. it is the first time the bomb has been used against an enemy .
“a great majority of scientists were opposed to the sudden employment of the atom bomb . ” in einstein’s judgment , the dropping of the bomb was a political – diplomatic decision rather than a military or scientific decision .
in 1967 a study of the effectiveness of bombing bridges in north vietnam was made by oer analysts . a sample of 46 joint chiefs of staffs ( jcs ) target bridges which had severe damage was used . the study covered the period from the start of bombing through january 1967 . photography provided most of the information for the assessment of the extent of damage to the bridges , and bomb damage assessment reports provided data on the volume and types of ordnance used . the study revealed that there were 249 hits out of 11 , 744 bombs dropped , for an average of one hit for every 47 bombs dropped in other words , slightly over 2 percent of all bombs dropped succeeded in damaging a bridge to such an extent that it needed extensive repairs .
although complete window damage was observed only up to 12 , 000 feet from x , some window damage occurred in nagasaki up to 40 , 000 feet , and actual breakage of glass occured up to 60 , 000 feet .
the only wholly reliable method of bomb damage assessment to date has been to overrun the target with friendly land forces , and examine the damage inflicted by the air attack . this is not a practical proposition in most wartime situations , as the target may not be readily accessible , or it may be heavily defended by hostile land forces . an alternative is to deploy special operations forces to observe the target from shorter distances , however this method is problematic as it uses a scarce wartime resource .
a large part of the electric supply was interrupted by the bomb blast chiefly through damage to electric substations and overhead transmission systems . both gas works in nagasaki were severely damaged by the bomb . these works would have required 6 - 7 months to get into operation . in addition to the damage sustained by the electrical and gas systems , severe damage to the water supply system was reported by the japanese government ; the chief damage was a number of breaks in the large water mains and in almost all of the distributing pipes in the areas which were affected by the blast . nagasaki was still suffering from a water shortage inside the city six weeks after the atomic attack .
the first peacetime detonation of a nuclear bomb happened on bikini atoll in the pacific ocean in 1946 . in total , more than 20 tests were carried out on the atoll . a huge hydrogen bomb , code - named castle bravo , was detonated in 1954 . it was 1 , 000 times more powerful than the hiroshima bomb .
the bomb explodes in the air and creates a massive shockwave . the resulting
overpressure
collapsed the tunnels .
sean spicer , spokesman for the white house , said the bomb was dropped at 7pm local time in afghanistan .
washington decided that japan had been given its chance and now it was time to use the a - bomb .
however , most of the manhattan project scientists who developed the atom bomb were opposed to using it on japan .
in the post cold war context , where economy of force is a critical factor , laser remote sensing offers the potential for significantly more accurate strategic and tactical reconnaissance as well as bomb damage assessment . this in turn will provide for substantially better utilisation of air assets , thereby creating a force multiplication effect within any air force deploying this capability . the potential payoff should not be underestimated . ž
post - strike imagery shows extensive damage to the left side of the building . due to precision weaponeering on the part of us targeteers , no apparent damage to neighboring buildings is visible . ( digitalglobe imagery as of 1 april 2003 )
the tsar bomb caused a 100 megaton explosion in 1961 . the last test at novaya zemlya took place in 1991 .
britain shares u . s . assessment that it is ' highly likely the regime was responsible for a sarin attack ' on april 4 - british u . n . envoy
the panels are a rare collection of well - preserved aerial shots showing damage in both cities , spokesman jim baird said .
he size of the bomb , measuring 30ft long , meant that a us air force mc - 130 cargo plane with a rear door had to be used and it was pushed out of the aircraft rather than dropped from a bomb bay .
128 the mod ' s short answer to the question ' how much damage was done ? ' was ' enough ' . [
such forensic investigations can take place at the municipal and state level , if the involved agencies have the capability to conduct the investigations . certainly , such capability exists at the national level . in the united states , the two agencies most concerned with bomb - damage assessment at the federal level are the bureau of alcohol , tobacco , and firearms ( atf ) , and the explosives unit of the federal bureau of investigation ( fbi ) .
126 in assessing the overall effectiveness of the air campaign , we are therefore hampered by two particular uncertainties . the first , on a practical level , is the revealed shortcomings of nato ' s battle damage assessment , and the inability to assess fully the damage done to strategic targets while milosevic remained in control of serbia . the second , on a more political level , is the difficulty of disentangling the coercive impact of the attacks on serbia .
showing page 1 . found 6 sentences matching phrase
bomb damage analysis
. found in 8 ms . translation memories are created by human , but computer aligned , which might cause mistakes . they come from many sources and are not checked . be warned .
within seconds , the largest non - nuclear bomb america has ever used in combat hurtles towards an isil complex of caves and tunnels .
] however , there was some collateral damage . on 7 may , the chinese embassy in belgrade was hit by us jdam missiles . [
some bombs are relatively unsophisticated . one example is a pipe bomb , which is typically little more than a metal pipe containing shotgun powder .
thermal imaging or infra - red photography , using either flir ( forward looking infra - red ) equipment , or purpose designed reconnaissance linescan cameras , has provided some notable gains over conventional photographic methods of bomb damage assessment . a thermal imager will register temperature differences in a target with contrast , or subject to postprocessing , false colour . infrared radiation will also penetrate many obscurant aerosols far better than visible wavelengths , as the wavelengths are larger in relation to the aerosol particles in the atmosphere .
as intended , the bomb was exploded at an almost ideal location over nagasaki to do the maximum damage to industry , including the mitsubishi steel and arms works , the mitsubishi - urakami ordnance works ( torpedo works ) , and numerous factories , factory training schools , and other industrial establishments , with a minimum destruction of dwellings and consequently , a minimum amount of casualties . had the bomb been dropped farther south , the mitsubishi - urakami ordnance works would not have been so severely damaged , but the main business and residential districts of nagasaki would have sustained much greater damage casualties .
heavy fire damage was sustained in a circular area in hiroshima with a mean radius of about 6 , 000 feet and a maximum radius of about 11 , 000 feet ; similar heavy damage occured in nagasaki south of x up to 10 , 000 feet , where it was stopped on a river course .
the u . s . air force has awarded a $ 480 , 000 contract to northrop grumman corp . to demonstrate its munition - deployed bomb damage assessment system . the system includes an airborne video sensor and an rf datalink designed to provide battlefield commanders with critical , real - time information about the effectiveness of air strikes . the sensor separates from the munition after release and trails 1 , 000 ft . behind it on a tether , generating high - speed , high - resolution images until after munition . . .
the bomb , also known as the gbu - 43b , was dropped in the achin district of nangarhar province , close to the border with pakistan .
in my opinion , the japanese war was really won before we ever used the atom bomb . thus , it wouldn’t have been necessary for us to disclose our nuclear position and stimulate the russians to develop the same thing much more rapidly than they would have if we had not dropped the bomb .
the limitation of both photographic and thermal imaging methods is that they can only provide contrast information in the visible and infrared bands . while this is suitable for bomb damage assessment and identification of many target types , it may not be adequate for assessing hardened targets or targets housed in hardened facilities . a very good example are bunkers used as command posts , and hardened aircraft shelters concealing aircraft . the desert storm air campaign is a good instance of this problem , in that many such targets were needlessly reattacked due to inadequate bda .
the war would have been over in two weeks . . . . the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at all .
in hiroshima , multi - story brick buildings suffered structural damage up to 6 , 600 feet , and in nagasaki up to 6 , 500 feet from x .
an area of partial damage by blast and fire lies just outside the one just described and comprises approximately 35 . 8 square miles . of this area , roughly 1 / 6th was built up and 1 / 4th was water . the extent of damage varied from serious ( severe damage to roofs and windows in the main business section of nagasaki , 2 . 5 miles from x ) , to minor ( broken or occasionally broken windows at a distance of 7 miles southeast of x ) .
israel ' s military said on wednesday it believes syrian president bashar al - assad ' s forces still possess several tonnes of chemical weapons , issuing the assessment two weeks after a chemical attack that killed nearly 90 people in syria .
some of the targets appear difficult to justify . no clear explanation of the decision to bomb the danube bridges at novi sad yet appears to have been given .
underground air raid shelters with earth cover roofs immediately below the explosion had their roofs caved in ; but beyond 1 / 2 mile from x they suffered no damage .
n a 2003 review of the legality of using the bomb , the pentagon concluded that it could not be called an indiscriminate killer under the law of armed conflict .
asked if he had authorised the use of the bomb , mr trump said :
everybody knows exactly what happened and what i do is i authorise my military .
with the explosive power of up to 30 thousand tonnes of tnt , the latest north korean warhead was more powerful than the bomb dropped by the united states on hiroshima .
war was really won before we used a - bomb , u . s . news and world report , 8 / 15 / 60 , pg . 73 - 75 .
liu also miscalculates that “a 20 - kiloton bomb detonated at optimum height would have a maximum emp damage distance of 20 kilometers” in part , because he assumes “15 , 000 volts / meter or higher” in the e1 emp component is necessary for damage . this figure is an extreme overestimation of system damage field thresholds . damage and upset to electronic systems will happen from e1 emp field strengths far below liu’s “15 , 000 volts / meter or higher . ” a one meter wire connected to a semiconductor device , such as a mouse cord or interconnection cable , would place hundreds to thousands of volts on microelectronic devices out to ranges of hundreds of miles for low - yield devices . based on our experience with many emp tests , semiconductor junctions operate at a few volts , and will experience breakdown at a few volts over their operating point , allowing their power supply to destroy exposed junctions .
william jones was an aerial photographer in the army air corps during world war ii . during the occupation of japan , jones photographed the atomic bomb damage of both hiroshima and nagasaki at low altitude . after his discharge he continued in his photography career , owning and operating a studio , jones photos , in columbia city , indiana , for over 43 years .
such severe nuclear contamination is created in fractions of a second . when a nuclear bomb explodes underground , the rock surrounding the device is vaporized . rock lying further from the bomb is melted as temperatures rise by several million degrees . in many cases , the ground above collapses into the molten cavity , allowing radiation to spread into the atmosphere and surrounding environment .
121 the choice of targets during this phase was controversial , and the risks of collateral damage were high . civilian casualties were another of the weak spots of the alliance targetted by milosevic ' s counter - coercive tactics , and the serbian propaganda machine exploited them to maximum effect . the considerable efforts made by the raf , together with other nato air forces , to keep collateral damage to a minimum were largely successful . the chief of joint operations told us that uk attacks , so far as we know , did not result in any collateral damage . [
in hiroshima over 60 , 000 of 90 , 000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged by the atomic bomb ; this figure represents over 67 % of the city ' s structures .
[ i ] concluded that even without the atomic bomb , japan was likely to surrender in a matter of months . my own view was that japan would capitulate by november 1945 .
in contrast to blackouts caused by single - point or small - scale failures , a nuclear emp attack would inflict massive widespread damage to the electric grid , causing millions of failure points . with few exceptions , the us national electric grid is unhardened and untested against nuclear emp attack . in the event of a nuclear emp attack on the united states , a widespread protracted blackout is inevitable . this common sense assessment is also supported by the nation’s best computer modeling . [ 14 ]
the advent of thermal imaging ( flir ) targeting systems such as pave tack and lantirn has added a new aspect to conventional bomb damage assessment . these systems use a thermal imaging camera boresighted with a near infrared pulsed laser ( typically 1 . 066 um nd : yag ) . the laser is used both for rangefinding and designation of targets with a coded pulse stream , for use by laser guided munitions . if the thermal imagery is fed into a video tape recording device , a real time record of the attack will exist for post flight analysis . this feature of the f - 111f pave tack and f - 117a dlir was used extensively for bda during the gulf campaign .
macarthur’s views about the decision to drop the atomic bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki were starkly different from what the general public supposed … . when i asked general macarthur about the decision to drop the bomb , i was surprised to learn he had not even been consulted . what , i asked , would his advice have been ? he replied that he saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb . the war might have ended weeks earlier , he said , if the united states had agreed , as it later did anyway , to the retention of the institution of the emperor .
u . s . nuclear regulatory commission historian j . samuel walker has studied the history of research on the decision to use nuclear weapons on japan . in his conclusion he writes , “ the consensus among scholars is that the bomb was not needed to avoid an invasion of japan and to end the war within a relatively short time . it is clear that alternatives to the bomb existed and that truman and his advisors knew it . ” ( j . samuel walker , the decision to use the bomb : a historiographical update , diplomatic history , winter 1990 , pg . 110 ) .
on september 9 , 1945 , admiral william f . halsey , commander of the third fleet , was publicly quoted extensively as stating that the atomic bomb was used because the scientists had a “toy and they wanted to try it out . . . . ” he further stated , “the first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment . . . . it was a mistake to ever drop it . ”
according to an account by walter brown , assistant to then - us secretary of state james byrnes , truman agreed at a meeting three days before the bomb was dropped on hiroshima that japan was “looking for peace” . truman was told by his army generals , douglas macarthur and dwight eisenhower , and his naval chief of staff , william leahy , that there was no military need to use the bomb .
nato attacked a total of 440 static targets during the air campaign , with more than three - quarters assessed to have suffered moderate to severe damage . nato figures suggest that the targets destroyed or significantly damaged included :
gives rather more detail on the different processes involved in assessing damage to fixed as opposed to mobile targets . damage to fixed targets is inherently more easily verifiable but additionally , after kfor ' s deployment into kosovo , an assessment team was able to visit a representative sample of fixed targets such as tunnels , bunkers , petroleum facilities and other facilities . generally the post - strike inspections confirmed the in - campaign assessments . although the destruction of around 100 aircraft on the ground is classified under attacks on fixed targets , it is presumably possible to conceal the evidence of such attacks in the same ways as for damaged mobile targets . this number is interesting , as it compares with only 6 serbian fighters destroyed by the allies in air combat . [
the fire damage in both cities was tremendous , but was more complete in hiroshima than in nagasaki . the effect of the fires was to change profoundly the appearance of the city and to leave the central part bare , except for some reinforced concrete and steel frames and objects such as safes , chimney stacks , and pieces of twisted sheet metal . the fire damage resulted more from the properties of the cities themselves than from those of the bombs .
photography as a method for assessing bomb damage has its limitations . static single frame images , using single aperture or stereoscopic photography , will suffer limitations in resolution due the film medium and camera ' s performance , as well as being unable to provide clear definition through haze , cloud , smoke or other obscurants . a clever opponent may successfully defeat conventional photographic reconnaissance by using smoke generators , camouflage or decoys with suitable accuracy in shape , size and contrast .
the story of estimating bomb damage and analyzing north vietnamese countermeasures abruptly ended on 31 october 1968 when the bombing program was stopped . however , the expertise and voluminous files that were built up over three years of work are still useful these assets now provide the basis for estimating the extent and speed of reconstruction rather than the cost and effect of destruction . also , they will provide a valuable data base for the historian or anyone doing a post - mortem on the rolling thunder program .
in [ july ] 1945… secretary of war stimson , visiting my headquarters in germany , informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on japan . i was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act . …the secretary , upon giving me the news of the successful bomb test in new mexico , and of the plan for using it , asked for my reaction , apparently expecting a vigorous assent .
if surrender could have been brought about in may , 1945 , or even in june or july , before the entrance of soviet russia into the [ pacific ] war and the use of the atomic bomb , the world would have been the gainer .
although the blast damaged many bridges to some extent , bridge damage was on the whole slight in comparison to that suffered by buildings . the damage varied from only damaged railings to complete destruction of the superstructure . some of the bridges were wrecked and the spans were shoved off their piers and into the river bed below by the force of the blast . others , particularly steel plate girder bridges , were badly buckled by the blast pressure . none of the failures observed could be attributed to inadequate design or structural weaknesses .
] in the us , further study is underway within the department of defense to integrate the findings of all available data and to develop insights ' on a variety of important topics ' . these topics include understanding attack effectiveness , what systems proved most accurate and timely in helping the assessment of attack effectiveness , and how should the inevitable uncertainty over this information be handled . [
the us secretary of war , henry stimson , told president truman he was “fearful” that the us air force would have japan so “bombed out” that the new weapon would not be able “to show its strength” . he later admitted that “no effort was made , and none was seriously considered , to achieve surrender merely in order not to have to use the bomb” . his foreign policy colleagues were eager “to browbeat the russians with the bomb held rather ostentatiously on our hip” . general leslie groves , director of the manhattan project that made the bomb , testified : “there was never any illusion on my part that russia was our enemy , and that the project was conducted on that basis . ” the day after hiroshima was obliterated , president truman voiced his satisfaction with the “overwhelming success” of “the experiment” .
the scientists questioned the ability of destroying japanese cities with atomic bombs to bring surrender when destroying japanese cities with conventional bombs had not done so , and – like some of the military officers quoted above – recommended a demonstration of the atomic bomb for japan in an unpopulated area .
practically every wooden building or building with timber frame within 2 . 0 miles of x was either completely destroyed or very seriously damaged , and significant damage in nagasaki resulted as far as 3 miles from x . nearly all such buildings collapsed and a very large number were consumed by fire .
nato needs to have an improved and standardised target approval methodology in future . the level of national scrutiny should be limited to only the most sensitive targets . nato must ensure that combat assessment teams are staffed by those who would not have restrictions on their access to information because of its classification . sufficient analysis needs to have been carried out before hostilities begin to enable targets to be matched with specific mission objectives .
when assessing the potential vulnerability of us military forces and civilian critical infrastructures to emp , it is necessary to be mindful of the complex interdependencies of these highly - networked systems , because emp upset and damage of a very small fraction of the total system can cause total system failure . [ 12 ]
in his article , lewis also suggested that vehicle transportation would continue after an emp event based on the fact that only 6 of 55 vehicles were shut down by a single simulated emp test on vehicles . [ 10 ] however , the emp test protocol limited testing vehicles only to upset , not to damage , because the emp commission could not afford to repair damaged cars . even with this limitation , one vehicle was still damaged , indicating that at least 2 percent of vehicles were severely affected by emp damage . over 50 years of emp testing indicates that full field damage to vehicles would probably be much higher than 2 percent . modern vehicles are even more susceptible to emp attack because of their much larger complement of electronics than present in the vehicles tested by the commission more than a decade ago . furthermore , vehicles cannot run without fuel and gas stations cannot operate without electricity . gas pumps could also be damaged in an emp attack .
between march 27 and april 1 , the facility was repeatedly hit with several highly visible above - ground strikes . the post - strike examination of the inside of the bunker by independent news media revealed no appreciable damage to the underground bunker , despite the repeated strikes . ( digitalglobe imagery as of 1 april 2003 )
i think that the japanese were ready for peace , and they already had approached the russians and , i think , the swiss . and that suggestion of [ giving ] a warning [ of the atomic bomb ] was a face - saving proposition for them , and one that they could have readily accepted .
the commander in chief of the u . s . fleet and chief of naval operations , ernest j . king , stated that the naval blockade and prior bombing of japan in march of 1945 , had rendered the japanese helpless and that the use of the atomic bomb was both unnecessary and immoral . also , the opinion of fleet admiral chester w . nimitz was reported to have said in a press conference on september 22 , 1945 , that “the admiral took the opportunity of adding his voice to those insisting that japan had been defeated before the atomic bombing and russia’s entry into the war . ” in a subsequent speech at the washington monument on october 5 , 1945 , admiral nimitz stated “the japanese had , in fact , already sued for peace before the atomic age was announced to the world with the destruction of hiroshima and before the russian entry into the war . ” it was learned also that on or about july 20 , 1945 , general eisenhower had urged truman , in a personal visit , not to use the atomic bomb . eisenhower’s assessment was “it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing . . . to use the atomic bomb , to kill and terrorize civilians , without even attempting [ negotiations ] , was a double crime . ” eisenhower also stated that it wasn’t necessary for truman to “succumb” to [ the tiny handful of people putting pressure on the president to drop atom bombs on japan . ]
[ 7 ] high - altitude emp ( hemp ) , the phenomenon under discussion , results from the detonation of a nuclear weapon at high - altitude , 30 kilometers or higher . all nuclear weapons , even a primitive hiroshima - type a - bomb , can produce levels of hemp damaging to modern electronics over large geographic regions .
in general , the atomic bomb explosion damaged all windows and ripped out , bent , or twisted most of the steel window or door sashes , ripped doors from hinges , damaged all suspended wood , metal , and plaster ceilings . the blast concussion also caused great damage to equipment by tumbling and battering . fires generally of secondary origin consumed practically all combustible material , caused plaster to crack off , burned all wooden trim , stair covering , wooden frames of wooden suspended ceilings , beds , mattresses , and mats , and fused glass , ruined all equipment not already destroyed by the blast , ruined all electrical wiring , plumbing , and caused spalling of concrete columns and beams in many of the rooms .
in nagasaki 14 , 000 or 27 % of 52 , 000 residences were completely destroyed and 5 , 40o , or 10 % were half destroyed . only 12 % remained undamaged . this destruction was limited by the layout of the city . the following is a summary of the damage to buildings in nagasaki as determined from a ground survey made by the japanese :
the human and environmental devastation caused by decades of nuclear testing is still being felt today . the people of bikini atoll were told they would have to leave the island for just three months before it would be safe for them to return home . more than 60 years after the detonation of the castle bravo bomb , the island is still too dangerous to live on .
for the mod to say that
enough
damage was done is not good enough . the mod , and the alliance more generally , cannot simply rely on the response that because milosevic conceded , the campaign was a success . they need to demonstrate that they have seriously addressed these questions before they are faced with another situation in which recourse to military force for coercive diplomacy is chosen .
in hiroshima , all utilities and transportation services were disrupted for varying lengths of time . in general however services were restored about as rapidly as they could be used by the depleted population . through railroad service was in order in hiroshima on 8 august , and electric power was available in most of the surviving parts on 7 august , the day after the bombing . the reservoir of the city was not damaged , being nearly 2 miles from x . however , 70 , 000 breaks in water pipes in buildings and dwellings were caused by the blast and fire effects . rolling transportation suffered extensive damage . the damage to railroad tracks , and roads was comparatively small , however . the electric power transmission and distribution systems were badly wrecked . the telephone system was approximately 80 % damaged , and no service was restored until 15 august .
the next most seriously damaged area in nagasaki lies outside the 2 . 9 square miles just described , and embraces approximately 4 . 2 square miles of which 29 % was built up . the damage from blast and fire was moderate here , but in some sections ( portions of main business districts ) many secondary fires started and spread rapidly , resulting in about as much over - all destruction as in areas much closer to x .
[ 8 ] according to electric infrastructure security council , report : ussr nuclear emp upper atmosphere kazakhstan test 184 , ( urltoken ) , citing research by oak ridge national laboratory , a comparable emp event over the u . s . today “would likely damage about 365 large transformers in the u . s . power grid , leaving about 40 percent of the u . s . population without electrical power for 4 to 10 years . ”
[ 14 ] modeling by the us ferc reportedly assesses that a terrorist attack that destroys just 9 of 2 , 000 ehv transformers–merely 0 . 0045 ( 0 . 45 % ) of all ehv transformers in the us national electric grid–would be catastrophic damage , causing a protracted nationwide blackout . modeling by the congressional emp commission assesses that a terrorist nuclear emp attack , using a primitive 10 - kiloton nuclear weapon , could destroy dozens of ehv transformers , thousands of scadas and electronic systems , causing catastrophic collapse and protracted blackout of the us eastern grid , putting at risk the lives of millions . for the best unclassified modeling assessment of likely damage to the us national electric grid from nuclear emp attack see : us federal energy regulatory commission ( ferc ) interagency report , coordinated with the department of defense and oak ridge national laboratory : electromagnetic pulse : effects on the u . s . power grid , executive summary ( 2010 ) ; ferc interagency report by edward savage , james gilbert and william radasky , the early - time ( e1 ) high - altitude electromagnetic pulse ( hemp ) and its impact on the u . s . power grid ( meta - r - 320 ) metatech corporation ( january 2010 ) ; ferc interagency report by james gilbert , john kappenman , william radasky , and edward savage , the late - time ( e3 ) high - altitude electromagnetic pulse ( hemp ) and its impact on the u . s . power grid ( meta - r - 321 ) metatech corporation ( january 2010 ) .
one difference between lower - level explosives and their more sophisticated cousins is the fact that the latter requires a detonator or blasting cap , a device to make it active . investigators will , therefore , seek not only the telltale physical and chemical residue that will lead to a determination of the type of bomb used , but also for evidence of detonators and other components such as tapes , wires , timers , switches , and batteries .
fire fighting and rescue units were stripped of men and equipment . almost 30 hours elapsed before any rescue parties were observable . in hiroshima only a handful of fire engines were available for fighting the ensuing fires , and none of these were of first class type . in any case , however , it is not likely that any fire fighting equipment or personnel or organization could have effected any significant reduction in the amount of damage caused by the tremendous conflagration .
thus , even if north korea only has primitive , low - yield nuclear weapons , and if other states or terrorists acquire one or a few such weapons as well as the capability to detonate them at an altitude of 30 kilometers or higher over the united states . as , the emp commission warned over a decade ago in its 2004 report , “the damage level could be sufficient to be catastrophic to the nation , and our current vulnerability invites attack . ”
real world failures of electric grids from various causes indicate that the congressional emp commission , us department of defense , us federal energy regulatory commission ( ferc ) , us department of homeland security , and us defense threat reduction agency are right that a nuclear emp attack would have catastrophic consequences . significant and highly - disruptive blackouts have been caused by single - point failures cascading into system - wide failures , originating from damage comprising far less than 1 percent of the total system . [ 13 ]
it definitely seemed to me that the japanese were becoming weaker and weaker . they were surrounded by the navy . they couldn’t get any imports and they couldn’t export anything . naturally , as time went on and the war developed in our favor it was quite logical to hope and expect that with the proper kind of a warning the japanese would then be in a position to make peace , which would have made it unnecessary for us to drop the bomb and have had to bring russia in .
in nagasaki , buildings with structural steel frames , principally the mitsubishi plant as far as 6 , 000 feet from x were severely damaged ; these buildings were typical of wartime mill construction in america and great britain , except that some of the frames were somewhat less substantial . the damage consisted of windows broken out ( 100 % ) , steel sashes ripped out or bent , corrugated metal or corrugated asbestos roofs and sidings ripped off , roofs bent or destroyed , roof trusses collapsed , columns bent and cracked and concrete foundations for columns rotated . damage to buildings with structural steel frames was more severe where the buildings received the effect of the blast on their sides than where the blast hit the ends of buildings , because the buildings had more stiffness ( resistance to negative moment at the top of columns ) in a longitudinal direction . many of the lightly constructed steel frame buildings collapsed completely while some of the heavily constructed ( to carry the weight of heavy cranes and loads ) were stripped of roof and siding , but the frames were only partially injured .
in estimating the cost of repairing damage to a bridge , the structure was broken down into its component parts ; abutments , piers , and superstructure . relative costs for each of these components were then derived for each damaged bridge , and only the destroyed components were considered in estimating the cost of both temporary and permanent repair or replacement . the estimated total cost figure for rebuilding all bridges to their original state rose from about $ 10 million after the first year of bombing to over $ 30 million by the end of the rolling thunder campaign .
the most illuminating perspective , however , comes from top world war ii american military leaders . the conventional wisdom that the atomic bomb saved a million lives is so widespread that … most americans haven’t paused to ponder something rather striking to anyone seriously concerned with the issue : not only did most top u . s . military leaders think the bombings were unnecessary and unjustified , many were morally offended by what they regarded as the unnecessary destruction of japanese cities and what were essentially noncombat populations . moreover , they spoke about it quite openly and publicly .
[ 2 ] peter v . pry , statement before the united states senate subcommittee on terrorism , technology , and homeland security hearing on terrorism and the emp threat to homeland security : “foreign views of electromagnetic pulse ( emp ) attack , ” march 8 , 2005 , urltoken . ; min - sek kim and jee - ho yoo , “military source warns of north’s emp bomb” joonang daily , september 2 , 2009 ; daguang li , “north korean electromagnetic attack threatens south korea’s information warfare capabilities” tzu chin , june 1 , 2012 , 44 - 45 .
as the bombing campaign progressed , policy - makers and high - level presidential advisors started asking the intelligence community to assess the effectiveness of the effort . among the questions posed were those on the status of damaged bridges and north vietnamese countermeasures to bypass the bridges . the secretary of defense specifically wanted to know the number of bridges damaged , the estimated cost of repairing the damage , whether or not the flow of traffic south was being effectively impeded , how quickly the bridges could be restored , and the net impact on logistics capabilities . answering these questions proved to be a knotty problem .
though most americans are unaware of the fact , increasing numbers of historians now recognize the united states did not need to use the atomic bomb to end the war against japan in 1945 . moreover , this essential judgment was expressed by the vast majority of top american military leaders in all three services in the years after the war ended : army , navy and army air force . nor was this the judgment of “liberals , ” as is sometimes thought today . in fact , leading conservatives were far more outspoken in challenging the decision as unjustified and immoral than american liberals in the years following world war ii .
as the document concerning marshall’s views suggests , the question of whether the use of the atomic bomb was justified turns … on whether the bombs had to be used against a largely civilian target rather than a strictly military target—which , in fact , was the explicit choice since although there were japanese troops in the cities , neither hiroshima nor nagasaki was deemed militarily vital by u . s . planners . ( this is one of the reasons neither had been heavily bombed up to this point in the war . ) moreover , targeting [ at hiroshima and nagasaki ] was aimed explicitly on non - military facilities surrounded by workers’ homes .
during his recitation of the relevant facts , i had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so i voiced to him my grave misgivings , first on the basis of my belief that japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary , and secondly because i thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was , i thought , no longer mandatory as a measure to save american lives . it was my belief that japan was , at that very moment , seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face’ . the secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude… .


creative loafing , also known as cl inc. , was an atlanta-based publisher of alternative weekly newspapers in the united states , including several creative loafing titles , which operated 1972 – 2012 .

the atlanta creative loafing launched the career of best-selling author and american humorist hollis gillespie by debuting her weekly column " moodswing , " which first appeared in 2001 and ran for eight years .

jill hannity , the wife of sean hannity , was the managing editor of the newspaper 1993 – 1996 until their move to new york city , which commenced sean hannity 's television career .

creative loafing began as a family-owned business in the 1970s , expanding to other cities in the southern united states in the late 1980s and 1990s .

in 2007 it doubled its circulation with the purchase of the chicago reader and washington city paper ; the $ 40 million debt it incurred , along with an economic recession , forced the company into bankruptcy one year later .

by 2012 it had sold all of its properties to other publishers .

creative loafing

retail ben eason creative loafing atlanta creative loafing inc . media industry mergers & acquisitions southcomm
tags : financial , management , creative loafing ( atlanta ) , creative loafing ( charlotte ) , creative loafing ( tampa ) , cl , inc . , ben eason
glassdoor has 18 creative loafing newspaper reviews submitted anonymously by creative loafing newspaper employees . read employee reviews and ratings on glassdoor to decide if creative loafing newspaper is right for you .
southcomm acquired the creative loafing media group in 2012 and will retain the tampa - based creative loafing and washington city paper .
this just in : we ' ve got a new owner . that would be
we ,
as in creative loafing tampa and creative loafing charlotte .
tags : creative loafing ( charlotte ) , southcomm , inc . , charles womack
a message from ben eason , chairman and ceo of creative loafing , inc . :
southcomm acquires two publications from creative loafing | southcomm , inc . | a diverse media portfolio
pssst . byblos cafe has kicked off its . . . - creative loafing tampa | facebook
about cl inc . : cl inc . owns six of americas leading city weeklies  creative loafing charlotte , the chicago reader , creative loafing atlanta , the washington city paper , creative loafing tampa , and creative loafing sarasota . its holdings also include websites associated with those newspaper properties , the straight dope ( straightdope . com ) and urltoken sites , and the digital advertising network .
creative loafing , inc . | 3 - 14 - 2012 05 : 28 pm | industry news
southcomm inc . announced today it has acquired creative loafing charlotte and creative loafing tampa from cl inc . , the parent of the chain of alternative newspapers . terms of the transaction were not disclosed .
cover story : south end has lost a lot of . . . - creative loafing charlotte | facebook
local publishing company and nashville post parent southcomm has sold creative loafing of atlanta to the former ceo of creative loafing inc . , who also is a member of the family that founded that company 45 years ago .
bogdan acknowledged that even his new employees , especially creative loafing ' s journalists , will be highly skeptical .
the reader was certainly showing major signs of stress when creative loafing bought it . the weekly , which launched in 1971 , was losing money and advertising . creative loafing stopped the bleeding through several rounds of job cuts , new printing and distribution arrangements , shared resources with other creative loafing papers and a transformation into a smaller tabloid .
walsey , deborah and elton eason are the principal shareholders of creative loafing , while the children own nonvoting shares .
southcomm will hang onto creative loafing ' s tampa , fla . edition , as well as the washington city paper .
southcomm inc . , the parent of nashvillepost . com , announced today it has acquired creative loafing charlotte and creative loafing tampa from cl inc . , the parent of the chain of alternative newspapers . terms of the transaction were not disclosed .
under terms of the offer , accepted june 30 , creative loafing co - publisher scott walsey will be publisher of five atlanta papers : creative loafing , gwinnett loaf , the topside loaf , the scene and motorsport america , a monthly publication .
creative loafing is making the purchase with an investment from bia digital partners , a private investment firm in chantilly , va .
tags : creative loafing ( tampa ) , miami new times , new times broward - palm beach , michael e . miller
creative loafing inc . of tampa retains control of its six papers , including the reader , a bankruptcy judge ruled tuesday in tampa . atalaya , a capital management firm owed about $ 32 million by creative loafing , had asked to be awarded the papers , arguing in court that ben eason , who is creative loafing ' s ceo , was running the company into the ground .
atlanta alternative weekly newspaper creative loafing in december will take on groupon , scout mob and other online deal services with loafdeals . com .
tags : financial , management , cl , inc . , chicago reader , creative loafing ( atlanta ) , washington city paper , besha rodell
the shareholders of atlanta - based creative loafing inc . have accepted a bid for the company from the children of its founder , it was announced today . the purchase agreement calls for creative loafing to merge with weekly planet inc . , which operates weekly newspapers in tampa and sarasota .
alternative newsweekly creative loafing is going back to its roots - literally . ben eason , son of the original owners , has purchased back the brand .
creative loafing inc . owns a group of america’s leading urban weeklies — the chicago reader , creative loafing atlanta , and the washington city paper . its holdings also include websites associated with those newspaper properties , the straight dope ( straightdope . com ) and urltoken sites , and the digital advertising network .
in a tangentially related but also noteworthy transaction , southcomm business media ' s parent company , southcomm inc . , sold the atlanta edition of alternative weekly creative loafing back to ben eason , former ceo and son of creative loafing ' s original founders , deborah and chick eason , according to reports .
here ' s a report from creative loafing tampa blogger wayne garcia . he writes that judge caryl delano explained from the bench she ' d heard no evidence
that creative loafing’s woes are anything beyond those being experienced by all newspaper and news media companies in this recession .
but as for creative loafing ' s counterargument that the company ' s value had doubled since it filed for bankruptcy last september , the judge said that
just defies belief . ”
creative loafing media was founded in 1972 by eason’s parents while he founded the creative loafing titles in charlotte and tampa in the late 1980s . the family lost control of their company in a 2009 chapter 11 bankruptcy filing . eason then founded an agency that markets digital programs for daily and specialty publishers across the country .
deborah and ben eason are discussing her role in the new company . in recent years , she has led creative loafing inc . ' s foray into online publishing . an online subsidiary , creative loafing ntwrk , publishes global websites on music , movies , dining and other subjects , and offers links to other alternative newspapers .
creative loafing ' s acquisition of the reader and city paper also solidifies the status of florida ' s tampa bay area as an unlikely media capital of sorts .
about cl inc . creative loafing inc . owns a group of america’s leading urban weeklies — the chicago reader , creative loafing atlanta , and the washington city paper . its holdings also include websites associated with those newspaper properties , the straight dope ( straightdope . com ) and urltoken sites , and the digital advertising network .
( charlotte , july 6 , 2010 )  wendy goldstein , a senior advertising executive with mcclatchy newspapers , has been named associate publisher of creative loafing charlotte .
atalaya took control of the reader and five other alternative weeklies after florida - based owner creative loafing inc . filed for bankruptcy . the remaining assets - - washington city paper and creative loafing in atlanta - - are both up for sale , according to brad bulkley , president of bulkley capital , which is managing the transactions .
the purchase agreement calls for creative loafing inc . to be merged with the weekly planet inc . , which operates a weekly in sarasota , fla . , as well as the tampa paper . in addition to its atlanta newspapers , creative loafing inc . operates weeklies in charlotte , greenville , s . c . , raleigh and savannah .
southwest atlanta is back in the news again thanks to the atlanta beltline . creative loafing’s staff has picked the atlanta beltline southwest trail as the “ best urban hike : atlanta beltline’s southwest trail ” for their 2013 “ best of atlanta ” selection . thank you creative loafing for putting westview and southwest atlanta in the spotlight with this award !
tags : tribune company , editor & publisher , david radler , conrad black , sun - times media group , creative loafing inc . , allison hantschel , fritz & jen
o ' shea said he is confident the new ownership will fund growth at creative loafing ' s six titles , despite the advertising downturn that has plagued the entire industry .
on wednesday , representatives of ben eason , whose family started creative loafing more than 30 years ago , appealed to a judge to block its largest creditor from winning the auction .
new york hedge fund atalaya capital management were the winners in a bankruptcy auction in tampa today to see who would control the creative loafing newspaper chain , owners of the washington city paper and other alternative weeklies , reports the st . petersburg times . atalaya was creative loafing ' s largest creditor by far , and they took control of the company by significantly outbidding a partnership made up of now former loafing ceo ben eason and another hedge . . .
creative loafing inc . , the owner of washington city paper , announced this morning that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy . in a conference call with top company officials , ben eason , the company ' s ceo , said that the step would allow the six papers in the creative loafing portfolio to establish a greater online presence while the company reorganizes its operations .
creative loafing atlanta has been purchased by southcomm inc . , a nashville - based media company . the sale also includes cl ' s sister publication washington city paper in d . c . ( here ' s wcp ' s write - up of the sale . ) once the transition to new ownership is complete , creative loafing inc . will no longer exist as a company .
creative loafing inc . completed an acquisition on monday that nearly doubles the size of our company . two of the nationâs most outstanding alternative newsweeklies â the pa - st . petersburg and sarasota .
eason expressed a desire to expand late last year when creative loafing entered the venture capital market , one of several chosen presenters for the annual florida venture forum conference in boca raton last january .
walsey , deborah eason and chick eason are the principal shareholders of creative loafing inc . , while four other individuals own smaller shares . the children already own non - voting shares in the company .
he ' s an incredible multi - media guy ,
said eason .
he got his start at creative loafing doing podcasts . he ' s very fluent in the digital world .
nashville , tenn . — southcomm inc . announced today it has acquired creative loafing charlotte and creative loafing tampa from cl inc . , the parent of the chain of alternative newspapers . terms of the transaction were not disclosed . the charlotte and tampa publications are the fourth and fifth alternative weeklies under the southcomm umbrella . the company also owns the nashville scene , leo in louisville and the kansas city pitch .
“we will miss having atlanta creative loafing as part of the southcomm family , ” said chris ferrell , ceo of southcomm . “but we are thrilled to have the brand reunited with its founding family . ”
court documents show that the reader ' s loss of classified revenue sent it into the red shortly before creative loafing bought it . the new company restored cash flow by cutting editorial staff , outsourcing some operations and reformatting the paper into a tabloid . but after rounds of cuts and layoffs at its various papers , creative loafing filed for chapter 11 protection in september 2008 , with atalaya as its biggest creditor .
“by combining elements of surreal , personal narratives and her quasi - brazilian - style strum , adron’s songs [ are ] at once baroque and hypnotic , ” writes music critic chad radford at creative loafing .
andisheh nouraee , a columnist for creative loafing from 2000 to 2010 who now works at the non - profit care , said people he has spoken to who are still working there are
cautiously optimistic .
on tuesday , a new york - based hedge fund took control of the reader ' s parent , creative loafing inc . , by winning a bankruptcy court auction against the weekly chain ' s founding family .
charlotte — chris ferrell , ceo of southcomm , inc . announced today that the company had reached an agreement with charles womack of womack newspapers , inc . to acquire the assets of creative loafing charlotte . womack is the founder and publisher of yes ! weekly , the alternative newsweekly based in greensboro , north carolina . southcomm will continue to own and operate its creative loafing papers in atlanta and tampa . “charles has had a long interest in the creative loafing paper in charlotte and has a successful track record of running a similar paper in the triad . i think the publication will have a bright future under his watch , ” said ferrell .
the paper ' s first african - american editor in chief carlton hargro s tarted last month . he oversaw cl ' s cultural coverage in the mid - 2000s and ran the charlotte creative loafing for several years .
without a mountain of debt , creative loafing is generating positive cash flow , he said , and that makes it feasible to
put the resources in place and do our best to make the papers grow .
creative loafing , an alternative weekly newspaper published in atlanta , tampa and charlotte , n . c . , is preparing to launch an orlando edition . ' ' we ' re just doing groundwork , ' ' said tom ferme , a former longwood stockbroker now heading the orlando effort . neither ferme nor deborah eason , publisher of creative loafing in atlanta , the company ' s headquarters , would give details about their plans for orlando . ferme , formerly publisher of the orlando funnies , a small humor and comic monthly , said he did not know when the first editions of creative loafing would appear in orlando but said it would be january at the earliest .
said eason :
i do think that the reader and washington city paper and creative loafing are all far better off today together , given the footprint and given what we ' ve been able to accomplished digitally .
several key people have left creative loafing in recent months including former editor - in - chief deborah michaud ( now at care ) , former news editor thomas wheatley ( now at atlanta magazine ) and music writer rodney carmichael .
caleb j . spivak ( cjs ) is the founder of what now atlanta ( wna ) . he was featured in the new york times , creative loafing ' s
20 people to watch ,
named
lifestyle blogger you need to know
by rolling out magazine and highlighted as atlanta ' s metropolitan male in fashion magazine , 944 . wna has been named
best of atlanta
by creative loafing , and atlanta and jezebel magazines .
the deal is a transfer of ownership from parents to children , said ben eason , the major stockholder of the weekly planet . he is the son of creative loafing founder deborah eason , who started the company in 1972 with the help of her husband , elton eason . deborah eason ' s role in the new company has not been determined , but she recently has led the charge into online publishing , creating a subsidiary called creative loafing ntwrk .
the sun - times media group filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy tuesday , joining the tribune company , which is already there , and also creative loafing inc . , which owns the reader . all the best newspapers . . .
funding for the acquisition includes an investment from bia digital partners , a virginia - based private investment firm . gregg johnson will represent bia digital on creative loafing ' s board . specific terms of the deal were not released .
the washington business journal has a rather curious update on the bankruptcy proceedings for creative loafing , the owner of the washington city paper , among other publications . judge caryl e . delano will decide whether the tampa chain will remain under control of publisher ben eason or atalaya capital management , which says it’s owed $ 31 million in loans used by the paper to purchase washington city times and chicago reader in 2007 , according to creative loafing . . .
creative loafing ' s margarita wars friday , july 28th | tpepin ' s hospitality centre vip : 6 p . m . to 10 p . m . | ga : 7 p . m . to 10 p . m .
creative loafing was launched in atlanta in 1972 before expanding to charlotte in 1987 , tampa in 1988 and sarasota in 1999 . the tampa and sarasota papers spent years known as weekly planet but reverted to their former name last year .
some of you remember the beginning of these newspapers . weâve been a part of atlanta since my folks , debbie and chick eason , founded the first creative loafing in atlanta in 1972 . we expanded to charlotte in 1987 , tampa in 1988 and we expanded into sarasota in 1999 . we are a minority investor in the birmingham weekly . my sisters , taylor and jennie , work with me at creative loafing , and this is still very much a family business .
creative loafing owns papers in atlanta , tampa , charlotte , sarasota , chicago , and washington . it acquired the last two in july 2007 . the company , however , disavows a causal link between those acquisitions and the bankruptcy filing .
it ' s not yet clear whether creative loafing , an atlanta alternative newspaper chain , will wind up as owner of the orlando edition of the weekly . but creative loafing has been spending money . in march , it bought an alternative paper in savannah , ga . - its third . scott walsey , loafing ' s associate publisher who was at the weekly ' s offices tuesday , said friday , ' ' there is no done deal . . . . i hope to know something this week . ' ' mario sgroi , the weekly ' s ceo , said there might be an announcement wednesday .
creative loafing encourages a healthy discussion on its website from all sides of the conversation , but we reserve the right to delete any comments that detract from that . violence , racism and personal attacks that go beyond the pale will not be tolerated .
in this case , bogdan and his hedge fund , atalaya capital management , lent $ 30 million in 2007 to a smallish tampa company called creative loafing inc . so it could take over the struggling chicago reader and its sister washington city paper .
now , after winning a bankruptcy court battle against creative loafing ' s founding family last week for control of the company , bogdan has joined the ranks of money men searching far and wide for a newspaper business model that can survive the digital age .
creative loafing , a chain of alternative newspapers based in atlanta , wednesday announced plans to launch a print and pay - per - call entertainment guide in orlando next month . the free pocket - sized guide , with information on area restaurants , clubs and events , will be published quarterly , said eva goss , an atlanta public relations specialist hired by creative loafing . the telephone guide , offering the same type of information , will be updated weekly , she said . callers would pay 99 cents a minute .
creative loafing chief executive ben eason said the acquisitions of the reader and city paper will give his company a presence in three of the top 10 media markets , which he argued will help pitch all of its publications to advertisers , particularly on the web .
delano said creative loafing has
an uphill battle
ahead of it , garcia reports , because atalaya can vote against any reorganization plan the company submits .
delano suggested mediation for the two sides ,
writes garcia ,
but after a 30 - minute recess in which the two sides ' lawyers talked by telephone , the idea of having a mediator appointed was tabled . . . at least until april 20 , when creative loafing reveals more details of its reorganization plan , including possible new investors .
tampa ' s eason family , which founded creative loafing and bought the chicago reader in 2007 with a $ 30 million loan from atalaya , argued to the court that the hedge fund would seek to liquidate the chain of six papers to recover its money .
the recent wave of consolidation in the u . s . alternative press took a somewhat surprising turn tuesday with the sale of two of the industry ' s most venerated titles , the chicago reader and washington city paper , to creative loafing of tampa , fla .
( from left ) glen nocik , maria nocik and jeffrey barninger are partnering to expand the creative hub that is c3 lab .
october 10 , 2011 to : all cl employees fm : cl , inc . board of directors re : sale and organizational announcements the board of director’s of cl , inc . would like to inform you of the sale of creative loafing tampa and creative loafing charlotte to southcomm inc . , parent company to nashville scene and kansas city pitch . the sale is effective today . southcomm’s expertise in operating mid - market alternative weekly publications in the southeast makes them a strong and strategic owner of the tampa and charlotte markets . in conjunction with the sale of tampa , marty petty has resigned as ceo effective today . we thank marty for her hard work , passion and commitment to creative loafing over the last two years . alison draper has been named vp / group publisher and will remain publisher of the chicago reader . tammy bailey remains as vp / cfo . alison , tammy , and the board will work in partnership to lead the company going forward . alison and tammy will report directly to the board . washington city paper publisher , amy austin , and creative loafing atlanta publisher , sharry smith , will report to alison regarding strategic planning , revenue performance and marketing initiatives and to tammy for operational and financial matters including expenses , cash management , contract negotiations , it , and human resources . the sale of the charlotte and tampa properties now positions cl , inc . to focus on brand value , audience and revenue growth for its flagship publications : chicago reader , creative loafing atlanta and washington city paper . further communication will come from alison and tammy . sincerely , the creative loafing board
in an unusual merger between a community paper and an alternative newsweekly , two savannah , ga . , weekly publications have become one . connect savannah , a community newspaper that is a part of morris multi - media inc , and creative loafing , formerly of the creative loafing inc . chain , folded into one weekly paper on october 1 .
both papers were growing and both were doing ok ,
says kyle sims , formerly co - owner of creative loafing .
but we looked at the market and we figured that we could expedite the growth process . that was the motivating factor .
connect will incorporate many of the former creative loafing ' s columns as well as its standard alternative take on city politics , arts and entertainment , sims says . in addition , the new paper will use half of creative loafing ' s freelancers and its one full - time editorial staffer . connect will remain a free paper with a circulation of 40 , 000 .
we tried to take what creative loafing was doing and expand on it while also utilizing what connect had to offer ,
says sims . no staffers at creative loafing lost their jobs as a result of the merger , but three at connect were laid off . sims , who remains publisher of connect savannah , says all three were given
fairly large severance packages .
for several months before the merger went into effect , sims and his partner debbie eason had been talking to the owner of connect savannah , charles morris , owner of morris multi - media inc . , which operates 94 different publications , four television stations , and a handful of radio stations . sims says that once he , eason and morris were at the table , they
realized that teaming up made a lot more sense than competing against each other .
eason was a co - founder of the creative loafing chain and was its ceo until last summer , when she sold the company to her children . she and sims also recently teamed up again to buy creative loafing greenville , s . c . , along with its publisher lori coon . nearly three weeks into the merger , sims reports that he had heard only a scattering of complaints .
what we want to do is provide readers with the best possible alternative to the daily paper that we can .
matt pulle is a staff writer for the nashville scene .
this is all about a fresh start ,
stated eason , who hastened to add that the filing entails no liquidation , no layoffs , and
no terrible , terrible things .
all creative loafing employees and vendors will be paid on schedule , he said .
via editor & publisher , the washington city paper , along with the chicago reader , which the city paper owns , has been sold to atlanta - based company creative loafing , publisher of four other alternative weeklies in atlanta , tampa , sarasota , fla . , and charlotte , n . c . the city paper name will remain in place , despite the other four papers all carrying the
creative loafing
name . in a post to the city paper ' s staff blog , city desk , senior editor mike debonis said . . .
loaf deals is two - pronged . first , there’s the “deal of the day” available for purchase for 24 to 96 hours . second , there is a discount gift certificate program that gives retailers a chance to leverage their products or services in a barter partnership with creative loafing .
the good news is that creative loafing is starting fresh . atalaya agreed to wipe out more than half its claim against the company , and what ' s left it now owes to itself . the $ 5 million atalaya paid to take control also will resolve claims by trade creditors .
about cl charlotte : creative loafing charlotte and its website , www . clclt . com , are charlottes leading sources of information about life in the carolinas largest city . the newspaper was founded in 1987 and reaches more than 90 , 000 readers weekly . it is owned by cl inc .
atlanta - - the children of the founders of the creative loafing publishing chain have a deal to buy a majority of the company from their parents , deborah and elton eason , and co - publisher scott walsey . it is unclear what role deborah eason , the co - publisher and editor of the atlanta - based chain of alternative publications , will have after the sale . she and her husband founded creative loafing in 1972 .
we are just in conversations about what her role is ,
said ben eason , the couple ' s 35 - year - old middle child .
creative loafing inc . now has a total circulation of over 500 , 000 papers and more than 10 million page views online every month . we think weâll be more attractive to national advertisers than we were separately , and it will be a real advantage to combine forces in expanding our web publishing .
it ' s likely a positive development ,
he said .
there ' s no doubt ben loves creative loafing and wants it to succeed . i think the paper needs that . the mission is more relevant than ever . it ' s the advertising business model that ' s troublesome .
creative loafing ' s former chief executive , ben eason , warned that as a financial buyer , atalaya would only seek to liquidate the company to recover what it could . but bogdan said that even if that ' s what he wanted to do , it simply wouldn ' t make any business sense .
founded in 2004 in a garden apartment by travis sawyer and cale hall , creative approach is the realization of a dream for a lo . . .
i am excited about joining henry and the rest of the cl charlotte team ,  goldstein said .  creative loafing plays an important role in the life of the city , a role that we intend to expand in coming months to cement our position as the source of information about life in charlotte .
the acquisitions will bring creative loafing ' s total circulation to just under 500 , 000 weekly and more than 10 million page views per month on the papers ' various web sites , company officials said . it also will expand the company ' s offerings into the third and eighth largest media markets in the country .
i am seeing some incredible trends particularly back to local publishers ,
eason said in an interview today from the home of his parents in morningside where the paper began in 1972 .
i thought it was time to get back into publishing again . and creative loafing is such a part of the fabric of atlanta .
in 1987 , the same year rick died , i moved back to atlanta to become editor of creative loafing for the second time . i was glad to be home but horrified to realize that aids here was catching up with houston . i dreaded watching another group of friends die while surviving friends wandered in the blackness of grief .
launched in 1971 by a group of carleton college graduates , the free paper ' s business model was built in large part on its wide - ranging classified ads . that model proved less viable in the digital age as classifieds migrated online , sending the weekly into the red shortly before creative loafing bought it , according to court documents .
compared to the tribune company ' s $ 13 billion debt , the $ 600 million or so the stmg owes the internal revenue service is chump change . the investment bankers that creative loafing owes $ 31 million to don ' t expect to ever see that money , and to make up for it , they ' ve been trying to take over the reader and the five other weeklies creative loafing controls ; it would be interesting - - if perhaps unlikely - - to see the irs go the same route . imagine the sun - times and the other papers in the media group federalized , supported by tax dollars . they could end up the only newspapers still publishing in america .
the deal raises the profile of creative loafing , which publishes weeklies of the same name in atlanta and in the far smaller markets of tampa , sarasota and charlotte , n . c . those four publications claim a combined average circulation of nearly 275 , 000 , compared to 135 , 000 for the reader and 80 , 000 for city paper .
i may have competed them for years but i really hope he can bring some passion to the brand ,
said patrick best , who owned rival the sunday paper from 2004 until 2011 but also worked at creative loafing 1999 to 2004 during its heyday .
i hope he can come in and reinvigorate the staff . more power to him !
creative loafing inc . has acquired chicago reader and washington city paper , adding to publications it already owns in tampa , sarasota , atlanta and charlotte , n . c . the deal also includes the rights to the
straight dope
syndicated news column , whose associated web site receives nearly 2 . 3 million page views a month , company officials said .
? ? rather than disengaging , he says , the creative community should be
asking the hard questions of commercial developers and holding elected officials ' feet to the fire .
“creative loafing is a very strong brand and these two papers are well read and well run , ” ferrell said . “we look forward to having them as part of the southcomm family of publications . we are excited to grow in charlotte and tampa , which are very good cities for us to build out our model of having multiple niche publications in each market . ”
word of the sale of creative loafing of atlanta comes shortly after southcomm sold its ems world division to a pennsylvania - based publisher and event producer specializing in health care . gulch - based southcomm is the nation’s second - largest publisher of alternative weeklies and one of the largest publishing companies serving chambers of commerce . it also runs a portfolio of more than 30 b2b publications .
with the help of her husband , former georgia state university math professor elton
chick
eason , deborah eason founded the newspaper in 1972 as an arts and culture publication . walsey , who joined the company in 1979 , has concentrated on advertising sales . with a distribution of 120 , 000 , creative loafing / atlanta is now the state ' s second most widely circulated newspaper .
actor’s express theatre advertising research foundation aicba accenture ace ( insurance ) aflac american express american lung association atlanta testing & engineering the americasmart the architect’s collaborative , inc . barclays bbdo boar’s head blue cross / blue shield callaway gardens carter’s cfa institute chase manhattan bank cheerwine choicepoint cibavision cigna cingular wireless citibank conagra comcast cox communications cramer - krasselt creative loafing ceasarstone del monte deloitte consulting ddb donnelly doremus dyson empire city
creative loafing bought the reader and its sister washington city paper in 2007 to fulfill ceo ben eason ' s dreams of building the second - largest publisher of alternative weeklies in the nation . he already had four titles : in tampa , atlanta , charlotte , n . c . , and sarasota , fla . adding chicago and washington doubled the company ' s circulation to almost 500 , 000 copies weekly .
like mainstream daily newspapers , alternative weeklies are wrestling with the shift of readers and marketers to the internet . but they haven ' t been subject to the same cost - cutting pressure as many dailies have , thanks to lower operating costs and the fact that even consolidators like village voice media and creative loafing remain privately held and are willing to put up with smaller profit margins than those demanded on wall street .
court documents show that eason ' s management team was estimating that a restructured creative loafing would finish 2009 with about $ 27 million in revenue and $ 1 . 2 million in operating cash flow . they predicted a drop in revenue in subsequent years to between $ 22 million and $ 23 million . declining print revenue would be partly offset by increased online revenue . cash flow would be maintained by cost cuts .
the announcement was shared with staff today . “to say i am excited about this deal would be an understatement , ” said womack . “i have been a reader and huge fan of creative loafing for many , many years . the paper has a strong , recognizable brand and serves one of the fastest growing cities in the country . i sincerely want to thank chris ferrell for working through this deal with me and i look forward to learning the in’s and out’s of the charlotte market from the loafing crew . ” the transaction is expected to close by the end of the month . terms of the transaction were not disclosed .
bogdan , 33 , joined the firm in 2006 after graduating from the university of pennsylvania and working for several other financial firms , mostly in private equity . when the creative loafing deal came along the next year , he said the numbers seemed to support combining the company ' s alternative weeklies in atlanta , tampa , charlotte , n . c . , and sarasota , fla . , with the reader and washington city paper .
here ' s a little secret : when this paper started , hardly any of us really knew what we were doing . creative loafing had been a presence in atlanta for 17 years when founder deborah eason decided to bring an alternative newsweekly to charlotte . it was the company ' s first expansion into another city , and the nuts and bolts of how to do it , more often than not , were up in the air .
our expansion into chicago and washington reflects our confidence in the future of alternative publishing - - in print , on the web and in other media as they emerge ,
said ben eason , creative loafing ' s chief executive , in a release .
while others may be looking at publishing companies through the lens of old print media , we are pioneering the opportunities offered by convergent print , web and new media applications .
david clapper , who used to work at 97 . 1 / the river and works part - time at rock 100 . 5 , came aboard last month as an ad executive .
it ' s pretty exciting ,
he said .
this gives us an opportunity to bring some fun stuff back to creative loafing that has been missing a bit . . . . i felt like having corporate ownership chained us down a little bit .
as has been the case with union shop , nocik has dedicated c3 lab to showing more experimental pieces and installations , like chrysalis , a recent exhibit by local artist and performer lara americo originally inspired by her photo essay trans & queer in the workplace , which ran in creative loafing . chrysalis included three - dimensional busts done by americo , a rare medium in local exhibits but one the c3 team would like to showcase more often in the new space .
i love the fact that it ' s just more of a collective creative work space ,
clousher said .
everybody ' s got a lot of creative energy . everyone ' s working and doing different stuff around you , so that ' s kind of cool . if i don ' t know how to do something i can always ask somebody else . i ' ve definitely learned some stuff since i ' ve come here .
the easons founded the weekly , which typically covers local culture , entertainment , and dining , in atlanta in 1972 , before expanding the operation over the next 40 years to encompass a network of weekly publications stretching from raleigh , n . c . to sarasota , fla . a troubled partnership with cox enterprises and one great recession later , mounting debt forced creative loafing into bankruptcy . the remaining properties were eventually acquired , in multiple parts , by southcomm in 2011 and 2012 .
yesterday creative loafing , the owner of the washington city paper , announced it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . in a post on city desk , city paper editor erik wemple quoted loaf ceo ben eason playing the filing off as not as bad as it sounds , since bankruptcy will give the company the breathing room it needs to finish a structural reorganization directed toward the internet . urltoken ' s the feed blog dug into the loaf ' s financials , . . .
the washington city paper will continue to be owned by creative loafing inc . , thanks to a ruling handed down today by u . s . bankruptcy judge caryl e . delano in tampa . ceo ben eason will retain control of the alternative newspaper chain despite an attempt by creditor atalaya to take over the company , reports wayne garcia from loaf hq in tampa , who was careful to get the name of the d . c . publication correct this time . eason . . .
here is what is great about creative loafing . not only is it a great weekly , but they do giveaways quite often and you have to go down to the office to pick up the passes . the staff is always super friendly and they have a little sitting area with plenty of magazines to peruse while you wait . i will say that the address is deceiving as it is an 18th street address , but the office doors are actually on market street ( hiding behind h & m ) .
last week creative loafing wrote an article about invest atlanta , the city of atlanta’s economic development arm , voting to purchase the westside trail land from the georgia department of transportation ( gdot ) for $ 1 . 64 million . the atlanta beltline westside trail comprises of former railroad land that goes from washington park to adair park ( including westview ! ) . the board’s vote to acquire the land puts the $ 43 million atlanta beltline trail project one step closer to starting construction in the fall of 2014 .
the toronto sun publishing corp . , which never made money on the orlando edition of the weekly , thursday announced the sale of the publication to metrotimes inc . , an alternative newspaper publisher in detroit . neither the sun nor alan turner , associate publisher of metrotimes , would give the sale price ; however , one source close to the negotiations said it was less than $ 250 , 000 . creative loafing publisher debbie eason , a losing bidder , estimated the sale price at slightly less than $ 200 , 000 .
the orlando edition of the weekly , a free tabloid owned by the toronto sun publishing corp . , could be sold within a few days , mario sgroi , the weekly ' s chief executive officer , said tuesday . sgroi said tuesday that four potential buyers had approached the publication , two with written offers . he would not identify the parties , but representatives of creative loafing , an atlanta alternative newspaper chain with editions in atlanta , tampa and charlotte , n . c . , were at the weekly ' s winter park offices tuesday .
after saying it would launch an orlando publication , creative loafing , an alternative weekly newspaper based in atlanta , has begun to backtrack . ' ' at this point , we ' re just doing research in this area , ' ' said sharon kraun , promotions director . for months , the newspaper had been rumored to be on the verge of starting an orlando edition . and in october , the newspaper hired a former longwood stockbroker , tom ferme , to research the orlando market . he began approaching businesses and nonprofit groups , asking for event information .
nothing else save for c3 lab , the creative hub that nocik opened with his wife maria in april 2015 . over the last two years , the lab has operated as a coworking space , gallery , art studio , music and event venue and home for the nociks ' sign business .
creative loafing , the alt weekly news firm , has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy , the first in the long line of smaller newspaper companies that may likely do so over the next year or so . about a year ago the company announced an undisclosed amount of mezzanine funding from bia digital partners , the media pe firm , when it also bought two of the industry ' s most venerated titles , the chicago reader and washington city paper . it has papers in tampa bay area , charlotte , n . c . , birmingham , ala . , atlanta , chicago and washington d . c .
in addition to hosting the corporate offices of creative loafing , the region is home to the main offices of famed newspaper designer mario garcia , who oversaw the recent redesign of dow jones ' wall street journal ; the st . petersburg times , one of the nation ' s largest independent daily newspapers , and its nonprofit owner the poynter institute ; the headquarters of the regional media group of the new york times co . ; and the corporate offices of software vendor saxotech , which provides web publishing platforms for regional newspapers and trade journals published by gannett , the new york times , crain ' s communications and other media companies .
this is a big step for us . iâm confident it will enhance our mission : to help urban explorers enrich their lives and strengthen their communities . we are thrilled that cl will be in a better position to lead our industry of alternative newspapers into the excitement of new local search , the next model for online classifieds and better ways to connect with people who share similar passions for culture and life . we hope youâll continue to push us to meet your needs for content and that youâll continue to share our hopes for the future of our civic life . this is the essence of what creative loafing is all about .
having done their deeds during this year ' s legislative session , state lawmakers are set for a hot and heavy campaign season . . . and we ' re baaack . in partnership with dad ' s garage and hands on atlanta , creative loafing will host its next political party , a live talk show , on wed . , april 12 . leading politicians will field questions about upcoming the elections from our host , cl senior editor john sugg , and from the audience . guests include rep . tyrone brooks , d - atlanta ; sen . curt thompson , d - norcross ; and sen . chip rogers , r - woodstock .
adron is rapidly being recognized as one of the most uniquely gifted songwriters and vocalists of this generation . named best songwriter of 2012 by the atlanta - based arts and culture magazine creative loafing , she has managed to unite audiences from wildly far - flung backgrounds , age groups and subcultural scenes with her universally communicative and infectious music . in a style nearly impossible to describe using the terms of conventional genres , she playfully blends brazilian samba , bossa nova and tropicália with classical harmony , the sincerity and thoughtfulness of singer - songwriters like joni mitchell and harry nilsson , and the full - bodied rhythms of 1970’s pop and r & b . ;
? ? while malone and creative director courtney hammond are hustling to keep dashboard afloat in a city where arts funding is notoriously tight , appleton tends to strategize on an entirely different fiscal scale , she says .
i can ' t even tell you how much i ' ve learned from his crazy ambition .
? ? page ? ? ? as appleton continues the tour of wonderroot ' s future home , he talks about how much the organization has changed over the past decade . it parallels his own personal maturation from the creative writing major who wore dreads for three years and had a penchant for following phish around on tour .
? ? in addition to lobbying for increased arts funding , a pac would also prioritize the collective concerns of artists . with the recent boom in mixed - use development , the creative community is feeling the pinch as the third wave of gentrification hits the city . rising rents have turned affordable housing into a democratizing concern .
? ? he sees the formation of a local arts pac , which would also vie for an increase in overall arts funding , as one tactic among many . he also questions the notion of creative placemaking , in which arts and culture is leveraged to reignite communities . increasingly across the country , commercial developers are co - opting that process and leaving artists hard up .
the release announcing garcia ' s resignation hinted at a future partnership between the two organizations that has now morphed into a consolidation effort : during the past year , she and the maacc staff partnered with the atlanta regional commission conducting major research on creative industry data and co - hosting public forums on the value of arts and culture in economic development , regionalism , education and quality of life . plans are underway to conduct the first regional cultural master plan , through the arc .
? ? ? ? former wonderroot creative director maggie ginestra , who started the organization ' s notable walthall fellowship before leaving the role in 2014 for philadelphia , values appleton ' s ability to be both altruistic and business - oriented .
he really lives in those two mindsets and can make them talk to each other in a way that a lot of people can ' t ,
she says , attributing his ability to craft a coherent narrative as one of his main leadership strengths .
his power for transformation lies in his ability to craft story , honor story , and uphold story . he ' s a storyteller .
as usual , the common refrain throughout the arc ' s press release was the notion that a vibrant arts and culture scene is
a true economic driver and quality of life measure for our residents .
a popular talking point these days , but also a true statement , and backed by plenty of studies . just last month , in fact , a study by americans for the arts ' creative industries research project revealed that atlanta is home to the most arts - related businesses per capita in the nation . but funding for the arts , i noted in an april column , is ridiculously meager compared to other top - ranking cities .