Episcopalians send thousands of origami cranes to Olympia for detained immigrants; Episcopal News Service (ENS), April 30, 2026

 Shireen Korkzan , Episcopal News Service (ENS); Episcopalians send thousands of origami cranes to Olympia for detained immigrants

"Episcopalians from the United States and France folded and donated more than 5,000 origami cranes to the Diocese of Olympia ahead of the church’s Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat for Episcopal clergy and lay leaders of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander – AANHPI – heritage.

The cranes were strung together and brought to a shrine in front of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where the 70 retreat participants gathered to pray for peace and solidarity with detained migrants.

“Each crane sent to us was a prayer, and at the vigil we were all praying together with everyone who folded paper cranes,” the Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, The Episcopal Church’s missioner for Asiamerica Ministries and a Filipina American, told Episcopal News Service. “To me, it was quite healing.”

Lagman noted that some Quakers who are part of an ecumenical Bible study group with Episcopalians in Pensacola, Florida, also made and shipped origami cranes ahead of the April 15-17 pilgrimage and retreat.

The idea to make origami cranes came from Tsuru for Solidarity, a nonviolent, direct-action campaign project of Japanese American social justice advocates. They are working to end immigration detention sites and support immigrant communities by advocating for fair immigration policies and other means.

In Japanese culture, the crane, or “tsuru” in Japanese, symbolizes transformation, healing and nonviolence. Origami “tsurus” are called “orizurus,” and they are frequently used to honor Japanese American victims and survivors of concentration camps during World War II."

Libraries have spent years reinventing themselves. Will they have to do it again?; Marketplace, May 14, 2020

Kai Ryssdal and Alli Fam, Marketplace; Libraries have spent years reinventing themselves. Will they have to do it again?

"Over the past 15 years, public libraries across the country have been rethinking their role as a public space. They’ve evolved from just a place to check out books into community hubs, and the transformation has come with a lot of new initiatives and programs...

Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with Jennifer Pearson, director of the Marshall County Library in Tennessee and president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries about how her library, and libraries across the country, are continuing to adapt and serve the needs of their patrons."

New York Times Study Calls for Rapid Change in Newsroom; New York Times, 1/17/17

Sydney Ember, New York Times; 

New York Times Study Calls for Rapid Change in Newsroom

[Kip Currier: This week in my "Managing and Leading Information Services" graduate course we started exploring Strategic Planning, with a focus on Mission, Vision, and Environmental Scanning. So it was fortuitous to be able to pass on to the class some information and questions for them to ponder about the just-released New York Times' 2020 Report:

"The internal report discussed in the 1/17/17 New York Times article, "Internal New York Times Report Urges Faster Newsroom Change", is an example of strategic planning, as well as a call for action and *rapid* transformational change.

Read the article about the report and the 2020 Report. Then think about and be prepared to discuss in class:

(1) the SWOT analysis (i.e. identification of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) that may have been done to create a report of this nature,

(2) your thoughts about the goals that were identified by the New York Times' leadership, and

(3) what take-away insights from the 2020 Report may be applicable to other kinds of information services and industries."]

[Excerpt from 1/17/17 article about the 2020 Report:] "The New York Times has deftly adapted to the demands of digital journalism, but it needs to change even more quickly, according to an internal report that recommends the company expand training for reporters and editors, hire journalists with more varied skills and deepen engagement with readers as a way to build loyalty and attract the subscriptions necessary to survive.

The report, released to The Times newsroom on Tuesday, culminates a year of work by a group of seven journalists who were asked by Dean Baquet, the executive editor, to conduct a review of the newsroom and determine a blueprint for its path forward.

Titled “Journalism That Stands Apart,” and known internally as the 2020 report, the document provides a set of broad principles to accelerate the transformation while maintaining a commitment to high-quality journalism.

The report comes at a particularly sobering time for the legacy media industry."

While Its Streaming Service Booms, Netflix Streamlines Old Business; New York Times, 7/26/15

Emily Steel, New York Times; While Its Streaming Service Booms, Netflix Streamlines Old Business:

"“Embrace change — that’s what I’ve learned here at Netflix,” Mr. Breeggemann said. “If you don’t like change, this is the wrong place. Something is going to change every single day.”

If anything, the Netflix story is one of perpetual change. The software executives Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997 to offer online movie rentals by mail. Netflix introduced streaming in 2007 and plans to be fully global by 2017.

Netflix’s transformation has been rocky at times, but its evolution has become an example of how companies can adapt, tapping their legacy businesses to fuel growth in new areas as the ground underneath them shifts.

Executives said the process was challenging and required juggling two distinct cultures, one with fast-paced growth and the other in long-term decline, as well as managing intense pressure from investors and investing in new initiatives, many of which did not work."