I saw this story being passed around by newspaper journalists on Twitter...surprised to see it here. When I retweeted the link, someone on Twitter (also a newsman) said he thinks the story is made up:
It's too late on Christmas Eve to do more investigating before bedtime, but I did find this interesting snippet while Googling around for Al Reck; this is his obituary:
> Al Reck, a real life city editor whose career reads like a Hollywood scenario, died yesterday. He was 69. His exploits in 43 years of newspaper work included deep sea diving to identify a crashed airplane and riding a rum-runner's boat to expose prohibition. He covered news, he made it, and found faster ways to report it...Mr. Reck was among the first to use planes in reporting news. He toured Latin America with Charles Lindbergh, found a missing group of scientists, and was present at a meeting in Havana that led to the formation of Pan American World Airways
So I don't know if the OP is made up (I'll ask the objecting Twitterer tomorrow)...but it certainly doesn't sound like too outlandish of a story given the accomplishments credited to Mr. Reck in his obituary.
The young columnist, Al Martinez, was a fixture of the LA Times for many years. He's in declining health now, and has retired from regular reporting. He remains an icon of LA journalism.
His tone has become more serious, but also somewhat more playful, as the stakes have raised.
https://twitter.com/JohnRussell99/status/547814120679288832
It's too late on Christmas Eve to do more investigating before bedtime, but I did find this interesting snippet while Googling around for Al Reck; this is his obituary:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19670419&id=h...
> Al Reck, a real life city editor whose career reads like a Hollywood scenario, died yesterday. He was 69. His exploits in 43 years of newspaper work included deep sea diving to identify a crashed airplane and riding a rum-runner's boat to expose prohibition. He covered news, he made it, and found faster ways to report it...Mr. Reck was among the first to use planes in reporting news. He toured Latin America with Charles Lindbergh, found a missing group of scientists, and was present at a meeting in Havana that led to the formation of Pan American World Airways
So I don't know if the OP is made up (I'll ask the objecting Twitterer tomorrow)...but it certainly doesn't sound like too outlandish of a story given the accomplishments credited to Mr. Reck in his obituary.