D Magazine Editor Tim Rogers Should Have Taken The Schutze Short Course On How Not to Humiliate Yourself as a Journalist.

Tim is a frat boy who is actually not very smart. He would do best as being the overly loud host at a dueling piano bar in somewhere like Orlando. I actually feel sorry for his wife and kids. They have to live with the "funniest guy this side of the morning zoo program".You crack me up Tim - you are a howl.

You people who hide behind these crazy names should stop blogging,What you say behind secret names don't matter.Jim wrote truth,if Tim was not wrong he would have gone up the chain of command.The Media Director at DISD is not in charge of placement.Mr.Rogers felt entitlement to the slot because of who he is, saying he was going to bail on Hexter sounded like if he and his family left the school would no longer have credibility.Must be nice,DISD should design all schools in the modelof Hexter.

Of course the DMN did a hatchet job Jimmy (or Mr. Shitze as I like to refer to you as your writing reminds me of fecal matter as it just stinks). Really, you can't be either that naive or stupid? Can you? Who cares if Tim Roger's kid got special treatment from some DISD lackey instead of some welfare-dependant kids who likely either pay little in taxes or are from some *other* nation? What's wrong Jimmy - mad that you still work at a third rate liberal rag that you all give away for free rather than a popular magazine with subscribers that people respect? Reading your column, it seems that somebody is still angry they didn't get hired to work in the big media leagues and is still living the daily grind as a little league writer. Too funny.

I never would have tagged "Editor of D Magazine" as "journalist." D Mag is a feel-good rag for North Dallas, a mix of Prestonwood salon gossip and inky cheerleader for overhyped Northpark Mall fashion shows.

I havent picked up D Mag for serious journalism since the late 80's.

What Tim's bosses think? Ha ha ha ha ha!

Tim LEARNED to shake down media contact guys from his boss, Wick Allison:

http://frontburner.dmagazine.c...

Now, as Tim stumbles deeper and deeper into his personal Big Muddy of self-humiliation, it really looks like Wick is deliberately letting Tim serve as sacrificial cannon fodder in some kind of weird kamikaze sortie against Belo while it's vulnerable to criticism following its recent moves to isolate itself even further from the public.

Wick's online design troops continue to attack from the flanks while Tim & supporters continue to tie up the center front in an ugly quagmire of self-immolation. Schutze's article here just got press-ganged into the same service, compounding the narrative of the poor, wronged, innocent media war civilian casualty Tim Rogers. Why, if such a vicious media smear could happen to a good parent like Tim, it could happen to anybody!

Oh the humanity! If only there were only one major Dallas media outlet, one dedicated to civility, to affirmation, not vicious criticism, to celebrating only The Best of Dallas, maybe then, then we might have peace!

Well this was a front page article in the DMN, and not because of boring DISD politics. It was all about Tim Rogers and only Tim Rogers, the 600 lb gorilla. There's no question that his actions to threaten a public official to shake her down was unethical and immoral. The question is: Was it illegal? Several people will have to weigh in on this including the DA, Rogers' employers, the editors of D-Magazine, and other reporters. It looks like DMN, DO, and CBS-11 have already put their two cents in. Let's see what the DA and Tim's bosses think.

i bet 2 of you pricks couldn"t find hexter with a tom-tom

Could there be a worst front page headline? Yes. One that a knack for bolting me out of deep sleep sweating profusely. The headline always lurked whenever I sent one into the rafters at the Astrodome or I amazed myself at how well I turned a phrase. I saw it in the reflection of the glass windows of the Rice Hotel and in the contorted faces of immigrants struggling to understand my border Spanish. There it was in bold type: VILLAFRANCA REVEALED AS FRAUD!What always amazed me is that the fear never disrupted my appetite. How are you doing Jim?

The entire court of Rogers, the Sun King is so a-titter over this unfortunate scandal involving the potato eaters that they've taken to staging little Punch and Judy shows in the streets for the unwashed who might happen by, tongue in cheek morality plays about Tim getting a locker at the Y, Tim cutting off people in traffic. It is really quite charming. Does anyone have a clove-studded orange I might borrow? There is a certain, um, aroma about these parts here that one doesn't encounter there at court. I'm just saying.

Yep, and we know he knows--everyone knows--what that call meant.

...took a ninety page report from the district to decipher the metaphors and implications of this communication. wonder how many hours were spent to decide the district did nothing out of ordinary?

We'd like to find out about Mr. Rogers communications with Hexter's Principal Healey. That's where the credible threats were made to a DISD public official. You can only do that now through a criminal investigation. We want to do that because there is credible information and the specter of the same extortion and "shakedown" that Rogers does to businesses he reviews on D-Magazine. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

First, I really don't care either way. I don't have kids (gross) and I think any reasonably smart human being could find some sort of gaping corruption at DISD to shake anyone down there. But that is neither here nor there.

What bothers me about the whole thing is DISD was wayyy to quick to throw out the 'get out of jail free' card. Why were the numbers of wait listed children so skewed? Why all of a sudden, after the battle royale with DMN and D were HUNDREDS of children mysteriously DROPPED from the list? How does DISD get funding for their Pre-K programs? Is it thru enrollment numbers? Children waiting to get into the program? Something in the milk ain't clean about it.

Rogers has an older child who attends the same school. I have a hard time believing he would write some sort of expose on the school where he chose and still does choose to send his kids. Although crazier stuff has happened in a town where in order to get your kid at the very least an ADEQUATE education, you gotta know someone who knows someone who runs a magazine.

I'm not seeing where the Tim did anything wrong. He acted as and advocate for his child. The fact that there are HUNDREDS of slots at DISD schools that other parents (the ones of "deserving" children) don't take advantage of should be a huge red flag.

Another thing about this stor that bothers me? A program open to all (with caveats) SHOULD have a simple process with defined parameters. The pre-K at DISD doesn't. Tim emailed someone who was "in the know." This is a kerfuffle about nothing, a tempest in a teapot.

How many other parents who support the district and are "active" at any given school are bogged down in red tape? Is this a possible (contributing) reason for "white flight" from DISD other than the simple black/white (pun intended) lines Schutze (and the DMN) attempt(s) to draw?

And, Tim Rogers is a journalist? Since when?

Best line: The school district found that the school district was innocent.So true!Does no one address the corruption?

And you really nailed the essence of the issue: the phone call/email to Dahlander.

Everyone knows exactly what was going on there.

What we have here is a typical example of what is best known at The Dallas Way. i.e. rich folks and influential people can easily get around the rules of the game which apply to most of us. Guess Mr. Rogers and spouse thought 500 bucks a month for DSID professional baby sitting was a good deal.

It’s all about Tim Rogers

Friends’ opinions aside, we the good law-abiding citizens of Dallas have every right to criticize this guy who has done nothing but bring shame and disgrace to himself, his family, his employer, D-Magazine, and this city. If you read his self-serving, self-promoting, and self-glorifying articles about himself, trying to distort the truth about this situation in his own favor, you’d see the kind of journalist and person he really is—one with no credibility, dignity, shame, or integrity whatsoever. This guy couldn’t tell the truth if his livelihood depended on it.

truth if his livelihood depended on it.

Let’s face it. This incident has nothing to do with pre-Kindergarten admission rules or politics, but is front-page news-worthy material that is compelling enough to stay there because of the outrageous actions of Mr. Rogers alone.

Don’t shoot the messengers. They did nothing wrong. The DISD long ago saw the potentially serious improprieties committed in this incident, so they had to investigate on their own if only to exonerate their officials who were victimized by Mr. Rogers’ threats and intimidation. The DMN, CBS-11, and the DO only did the right thing in picking up the lead on this investigative tip. That’s what good journalists do. And they made sure not to blow it up any bigger than what it was. In fact, they all underplayed it. Now as for the readers, we’re smart enough to read between the lines, and can tell what the real issues were in this case, as Mr. Rogers was able to as well.

Anyone with any true character would have apologized for his actions in this moral and ethical morass, taken responsibility for their actions, withdrawn their child from Hexter, and resigned from his post as editor because that the proper thing to do, especially with the conflicts of interests involved, all the ethical questions this incident has brought up, and the seriousness of the improprieties doen; however, Mr. Rogers attempted a cover-up with manipulative articles in his own publication, D-Magazine’s FrontBurner, to try to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. He can’t seem to accept the consequences of his own actions.

That was the last straw for me. I, like many of my fellow citizens of Dallas, play by the rules, work hard for the good life I provide my family, and I am respectful of others who live and work by the same rules that I value. This guy has no values whatsoever and is not in the very least sorry for what he did. In fact, the articles he wrote only shows that he is defiant and completely unappreciative of the privileges he has been handed in life. That was quite enough for me. I also see his friends (no offense to you jackejett since you seem to be joking) are no better than he is.

Tim is one of the great journalist of Texas, even the USA. I am proud to call him not only my best friend but my mentor as well. People have no right whatsover to say anything negative about this man who has brought so much to our city. His distaste for most minorities is a result of a self assured brilliant mind. His arrogance is well deserved. I love that he wears his hypocrisy on his sleeves. Not many journalist will do that. He is funny and witty even when he is not. He is right even when he is wrong. He spends a lot of time making sure that HIS blog reflects that. Reading some of what he said to those involved in the school, I can only imagine what he said to the folks vying for D Best TACO.

I mean, really, who likes the poor? Or, even cares if they are educated as long as the Roger's children can "flourish" at a school of their choice. Let's get our priorities straight. Tim deserves everything coming to him and I can't wait until we have the chance to make love.

Do you have a point to make, Guest? Because personal attacks and "snarky" remarks are going to help you win this argument or win any friends over to your side.

That's not what the 92 page DISD internal report says. This is also why a criminal investigation is needed, so that we can find out for sure with subpoenas, depositions, documents, etc. If you want to find out the truth, that's the way to do it.

Doesn't matter. The DISD internal investigation showed that they were resisting placing Rogers' kid in until they were threatened. Rogers was not likely going to get his child in. This red herring of "plenty of open spots" wasn't even an issue in the Rogers situation; however, the "shake-down" was. That's why an internal investigation was generated to exonerate the DISD officials who were threatened and had to cave in to Rogers' threats.

Hmmm…snarky retorts, but no real arguments or comebacks. I guess it is Tim Rogers himself, the 600 lb. gorilla. Give my best regards to the staff at D—that’s the magazine, not the grade you get for the quality of your reporting! By the way, if the DISD is so bad, then why don’t you write a scathing exposé on it?

Why lie? Commentators have lied ("the fact that both DISD officials acknowledged that Mr. Rogers stated that he'd write a bogus and libelous exposé on Hexter and the pre-K program factored in as the only reason they let Rogers' kid in is very disturbing.") -- the principal to whom this alleged threat was made never actually said it was made. And the other so-called "witness" said she heard about it from the principal, who, as already noted, never said it happened.

And Jim, not a good reporting job by you. First, Rogers emailed JD, not telephoned. Second, the statement that "Even though the program was designed for poor kids and there were some 300 qualified poor kids on a waiting list, Rogers' kid got in ahead of them" is just wrong. There are plenty of open spots if someone on the waiting list wants one. Most importantly, Hexter still has open spots -- so how was any child denied a place? Similarly, even if Hexter was full and one of these wait-listed kids wanted in, Rogers' daughter would be kicked out to make room. Again, no child has been left behind. This is pretty simple stuff, man -- if you can get to the bottom of the Trinity sleights of hand (and you have), then surely you can understand this. So what's the deal?

Obviously, it is! Tim Rogers is in the very least guilty of being a douche-bag for that pathetic and self-serving explanation he wrote on his own behalf on D-Magazine's FrontBurner. He obviously decided to plagiarize Richard Nixon's "Checkers" speech. What's next? Is he going to give the "I'm not a crook" speech too?

That's what a criminal investigation is for. We can find out about all those things by subpoena, email, documents, depositions, etc. Healey, Hexter school principal, was the DISD official who was threatened directly by Rogers with the blackmail. Steerman was told about the blackmail through Healey directly, and they both took the threat seriously. Tim Rogers is a scumbag.

I think he should gone all the way and put a severed horse's head in the Principal's bed. That way no internal investigation would have even been generated.

Ah....the Dallas Way. Let's give Tim Rogers and his rag a hand for doing their part in keeping Dallas douche.

Who cares about that issue. That was not even a factor in the DISD decision. The internal investigation shows the DISD were resisting placing Rogers' kid into Hexter. They only changed their minds after the threat was made on the Principal out of fear and intimidation. That was the only factor that entered into their decision in allowing Rogers' child into the program. That's blackmail, plain and simple.

Here's the extortion: “Steerman explained to an investigator that she allowed the Rogerses the spot after Healey told her Rogers had threatened to write an exposé on Hexter and the pre-K program. ‘After I received the initial phone call from a distressed, upset Ms. Healey on Aug. 19, my intent was to try to eliminate the possibility of any 'bad press' for Hexter and the district,’ Steerman wrote in a statement in the report. ‘She seemed very concerned and upset about the possibility of an unflattering article forthcoming.’”

This statement and the fact that both DISD officials acknowledged that Mr. Rogers stated that he'd write a bogus and libelous exposé on Hexter and the pre-K program factored in as the only reason they let Rogers' kid in is very disturbing. A criminal investigation must ensue because this no different than doing that to a judge, policeman, or librarian. They are all public officials, and there are laws against blackmail, corruption, and unduly interfering with public officials from doing their official duties.

It’s all about Tim Rogers, the 600-lb gorilla in the room, not the 35-lb deserving child he took the spot away from at Hexter

I see Tim Rogers got himself and all his relatives to blog on his behalf to deflect the DMN article away from the hot-button issues of blackmailing public officials and selling out one’s journalistic integrity in order to talk about meaningless and trivial DISD issues of pre-K child eligibility and politics [Yawn!] [Sorry, I almost fell asleep there.] Apparently, if you bore the DMN readers to death with trivial details of the politics of the DISD and pretend to be engaging bloggers in a meaningless debate about DISD policies rather than acknowledging the 600-pound gorilla in the room, then the DMN readers are stupid enough to forget all the serious problems that this article was about and lose interest in pursuing this story about the 600-lb gorilla.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This article is all about our man of the hour and the 600-pound gorilla Tim Rogers, the editor of D-Magazine, and only his actions and character are in question. That’s why it was on the front page of the DMN and CBS-11, and that’s also why Mr. Rogers panicked and wrote a preemptive article on D-Magazine’s FrontBurner (his own “Checkers” speech if you will) to try to soften the impact of these news articles coming out over the weekend. Mr. Rogers takes the art of self-serving spin to a new low by elevating his self-promotion to unheard of levels.

All DISD pre-K toddler eligibility issues aside (which is really intriguing by the way—yawn!), this situation with Tim Rogers is not on the front pages of DMN because of disagreements about politics within the DISD and its policies of whom they admit as qualified toddlers for their “distinguished” pre-K “academic scholarships”. (Lord knows how hard all these worthy candidates have to show their interpretive and expressive skills in finger-painting to do that.) The story is on the front pages because of this scum bag, Tim Rogers, committing a serious criminal act of blackmail and extortion in shaking down public officials of the DISD to get his privileged and precious child, into a state and federally protected spot, meant for a more deserving and disadvantaged child.

He did that by abusing his power as the editor of a grocery-store rag called D-Magazine by threatening DISD officials of writing a scathing and libelous exposé on Hexter and the DISD if his daughter was not admitted as per his demands ahead of more deserving families whose children would have benefited from being admitted. There’s a word for this kind of behavior, and it’s blackmail.

The most damaging statement made in the DMN article was, “Steerman explained to an investigator that she allowed the Rogerses the spot after Healey told her Rogers had threatened to write an exposé on Hexter and the pre-K program. ‘After I received the initial phone call from a distressed, upset Ms. Healey on Aug. 19, my intent was to try to eliminate the possibility of any 'bad press' for Hexter and the district,’ Steerman wrote in a statement in the report. ‘She seemed very concerned and upset about the possibility of an unflattering article forthcoming.’”

Mind you, Rogers could have gotten his child in the old-fashioned way—through bribery. That would have been an improvement. No, instead he decided to do it by threatening, intimidating, and shaking down innocent public school officials with extortion and blackmail and selling out his credibility and integrity as a journalist by threatening to write a bogus and libelous exposé against the uncooperative parties involved. Rogers sold out his morals and ethics by engaging in conduct that is akin to racketeering that we usually only see from organized crime members.

His actions now also put his publication’s reputation and credibility on the line. How do we know that D-Magazine doesn’t routinely shakedown local businesses with threats of also writing scathing and libelous exposés if they don’t cooperate? Does Tim Rogers and D-Magazine engage in payola (pay for play) with their reviews and articles in D-Magazine?

To many of us decent, hard-working people who play by the rules in Dallas, this is just completely unacceptable. I earn my keep, I play by the rules, and I don’t cut ahead of the line because I respect the rights of others who stood in line longer than I have. They have paid their dues too. And that’s why I’m mad as h@ll. This selfish privileged jerk isn’t satisfied with what he was blessed with in life and has to have more for himself at other people’s expense—people who have stood in line and waited patiently for their turn. And now that he was caught, he has the nerve to beg to keep everything that he wasn’t entitled to in the first place.

Since the MLK holiday is now officially over and governmental offices of justice will again be open for business, I propose we start writing Dallas DA, Craig Watkins about our thoughts and concerns about the “Rogers situation” and its impact on interfering with public officials in their officials duties in a division of our government that involves our state and federal tax-dollars. It’s not just about ethics and morals, but it’s also about the law. Blackmail and extortion are still illegal in this country. Here is where you can share your concerns with the DA as a concerned citizen:

Craig Watkins, Dallas DADallas County District Attorney’s OfficeFrank Crowley Courts Building133 N. Riverfront Blvd., LB 19Dallas, Texas 75207214-653-3600 main214-653-5774 faxwww.dallasda.com

If you believe in justice and fair-play, I urge you to share your thoughts about this issue with the DA as I will. This definitely needs to be investigated on a criminal level if not to keep our public officials from being “shaken-down” and interfered with in doing their officials duties as they were appointed or elected to do.

I see no blackmail or extortion. It appears that Rodgers used a connection to cut through some red tape at the DISD. Should the red tape exist? No. Should Rodgers have access to the scissors because he runs a major local magazine? No.

A couple of facts this story seems to intentionally omit:

1) Apparently there are still hundreds of open spots for this program, so Rodgers's kid didn't displace anyone who should be in the program.

2) The law allows parents like Rodgers to pay to allow their kid to attend the pre-K program, but the DISD has no policy to implement the law.

The focus of this story should be: (1) why the DISD can't get qualifying kids off the wait list and into these open spots; and (2) why the DISD doesn't have a clear policy to allow other children to fill any spots after all the needy children are allowed in the program. But the pissing match between the DMN, D Magazine, and now Schultze obscures the only reason any of this is news. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, e.g. kids are on waiting lists at particular schools that are full and were unwilling to attend the program at schools that had open spots. Maybe there isn't a reasonable explanation and this is all because the DISD doesn't have its act together and only people with connections like Rodgers can get anything out of the district. This is the only story to come out of all of this. If you in the media can't figure this out, then the rest of us don't need you at all (which is good, but most of you will be out of work in 10 years either way).