March 1, 2006
A get-well wish for Carl Schoettler
Long-time Baltimore Sun feature writer Carl Schoettler was cruelly beaten in downtown Baltimore after a fender-bender on Saturday night.
Carl Schoettler, image broadcast by WJZ-TV
You can read the details, Police seeking suspect in attack on reporter and "3 hunted in attack on reporter" (Baltimore Sun, March 1, 2006), or see a video clip from WJZ-TV of the coverage here, and see a forum discussion here.
Excerpt from the latest story:
Witnesses saw a man punch and knock Schoettler to the ground, kick him as he lay unconscious and then attempt to rob him by going through his pockets, according to a police report and police officials.The three people then jumped into the van and fled, police said. The van's driver - Gregory G. Kulla of Westminster - has said only that he gave a ride to a man believed to be Schoettler's attacker, Bealefeld said.
Police said that Kulla has not fully cooperated with them or confirmed that he also gave a ride to the other man and a child. Police have charged Kulla with making a false statement.
Schoettler, who has worked as a journalist for The Evening Sun and The Sun since 1959, remained in serious but stable condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, his son Daniel Schoettler said.
Condolences and wishes for a speedy recovery go to Carl and his family.
My own connection to Carl began in 1973, as a sophomore at the University of Maryland College of Journalism. Right after I enrolled as a journalism major, Watergate happened, and UM was invaded by hordes of Woodward-Bernstein wannabees.
J-majors had a mandatory News Writing class to take, and although I registered promptly for the semester, the class was filled. News Writing was a prerequisite for later classes, and I went to the administration in a state, worried that I couldn't graduate on time.
UM hired Carl to teach the overflow students, all three of us: myself, Bob Ford and Greg Couteau.
Our quartet met evenings in an otherwise empty classroom. As I recall, Bob, Greg and I were all thrilled to have, not a j-school professor, but a living, breathing Evening Sun reporter as a teacher!
Carl was incredibly patient with our very first rookie news stories, brought to him on typed and erased paper. We received mentoring one on one from a guy who knew what he was talking about.
Carl was one of a trio of teachers, the others being Bob Horowitz and Bill Alsberg of the Montgomery Journal, who taught me the basics of journalism. It's an incredible gift, because so often bigger papers are strictly a sink-or-swim proposition.
I recall Carl gently suggesting changes to a story, usually prefaced with a humble, "Do you think this would be better if ... ?" He was a coffee fiend, not surprising after a full day as a reporter, and the drive from Baltimore to College Park. We loved his informality, taking little breaks to go to the vending machine, teaching along the way.
All Carl's students turned out fine. I ended up later at the Baltimore Sun, in fact for one stint copy-editing Carl's feature writing. He never wanted a word changed, but I didn't take offense -- it was his work, and he turned in beautiful stories.
Greg now appears to be at Defense News, and Bob MAY be at the Philadelphia Inquirer -- I'll e-mail and check.
So Carl batted 1.000 in turning out ink-stained wretches who remain either in journalism or writing (books, in my case). Thanks again, Carl.
- posted by jbelliveau at 12:23 PM in The Neighborhood
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