Grumpy Editor

"Bleed leads' are taboo with Chinese TV news

Beijing has slapped restrictions on broadcast reporting of major crimes.  "We must not let improper crime reporting harm young minds," declares a Chinese radio, film and television official.  That reporting includes "cases of vicious crimes, such as kidnapping and arson" and "detailed reports of detective work and investigations by the police."

In the U.S., such restrictions would throw a curve to broadcast media.  Grumpy Editor wonders what evening TV newscasts would do with mandatory shelving of time-worn "if it bleeds, it leads" format or any type of a blaze that erupts close to air time.  That would also curb standing-in-the-street reporting of shootings, holdups and other bodily harm events.

To fill air time in such a situation, local TV coverage would have to focus on more news of interest to a wide audience --- taxes, politicians' activities and significant community developments coupled with more exclusives and less rehashes from the morning papers.

REITs beat 2006 glum outlook, surprise analysts

Not all stock analysts' predictions hit the nail on the head.  Grumpy Editor noted the February, 2006 issue of Kiplinger's magazine had an item in the Investing section labeled:  Dim Outlook.  It reported Banc of America Securities predicted shares of real estate investment trusts (REITs) "will sink in 2006 and that the group will deliver a total return of zero."

Turns out that REITs were one of 2006's bright spots, with an average return of 30 percent this year.  Diya Gullapalli, in a Tuesday story in The Wall Street Journal, points out real estate funds "are now the best performing U.S. stock category for several performance periods, including one year and five years."

REITs are tax-advantaged companies that own, and in most cases, operate income-producing real estate such as shopping centers, offices, hotels, medical facilities, apartments and warehouses.  They pass most profits to shareholders through dividends.

Talks underscore North Korea's no budge policy

It's no surprise to Grumpy Editor that the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea fizzled on Friday.  Five days of meetings involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and the U.S. brought no breakthroughs.

In a Nov. 2 posting on this site, "It's deja vu with North Korea giving nod to talks," Grumpy Editor reminded that the communist nation loves to talk...and talk.

Some in Washington may have forgotten that there still has been no formal conclusion to the Korean War that started in 1950 and ended with a truce in 1953. This was followed by years of Panmunjom talks...and talks...with North Korea.

Last week's session in Beijing was a continuation of talks that started more than three years ago.  Over that period, North Korea hasn't taken one step to disarm.  But they get to talk.

Look for a replay at the next (so far unscheduled) meeting.

Harry Reid leads group, with wives, to warm climate

Senate leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) along with five other senators --- and their wives --- will take off tomorrow on a week-long trip to talk about security, counter-narcotics, trade, economic and social development plus other issues that impact the U.S.

Does this mean stops in Maryland, Mississippi, Arizona and California?

No.  That's not far enough south.  The delegation is heading below the equator to balmy Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru where it is summertime.

Then after a few days of "intense note taking," the delegation will visit top Peruvian tourist attraction Machu Picchu, ancient city of the Incan empire, at the 8,000-foot level in the Andes Mountains.

While Washington debates the blossoming Defense Department budget, Grumpy Editor notes the happy fact-finding group will be guests on a U.S. military aircraft.  But not everything is complimentary.  Spouses will be required to reimburse for meals on the plane.

Media continue to target 25-to-54-year-old segment

Print and broadcast media, pushed by Madison Ave. ad experts, continue to treasure the 25-to-54-year-old segment.  Meanwhile, mature folks --- those 65 and up --- are neglected on all fronts, as ad folks think they don't buy anything from their rocking chairs and consider bingo as the sole form of entertainment.

Latest rumble from Gotham is that The New York Times is quietly considering development of a tabloid newspaper aimed at young people.  No indication of the content, including features or precise age bracket.  But one thing is for sure:  stories would be shorter.

Meanwhile, for the second consecutive week among evening TV newscasts, ABC World News remains in first place among 25-to-54-year-old viewers, points out Gail Shister, in her Wednesday column in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  "Advertisers pay a premium to reach 24-to-54-year-old adults," she adds.

Shister includes some input from Andrew Tyndall who puts out a newsletter that monitors TV news.  Tyndall tells her, "If you put your resources into the fight to grow an audience, you try to grow younger rather than older viewers.  There's less payoff in attracting people over 65.  Advertisers don't want them and they're not going to be around that long."

Whoops!

If New York-based Tyndall is picking up that tired, decades-old thinking over lunch with Madison Ave. people, someone forgot to mention that many in the gray-hair set have their homes, boats and student loans paid off.  Their household income includes pensions, investments, dividends and Social Security.  And they, too, buy cars, furniture and fine wine on a regular basis plus they have time to take long trips (cruises, for example).  But they aren't too excited about acquiring portable digital media players.

Grumpy Editor cites latest available figures from the Census Bureau that puts median household income of 26-to-44-year-olds at $34,601.  That compares with median household income of $36,006 for those 65 and up. With married couples 65 to 69, median household income is $45,305.

New Deseret Morning News editor raises eyebrows

Much of the press chatter in Salt Lake City this month focuses on Joe Cannon, incoming editor of the Deseret Morning News.  Critics cite two main issues:  his partisan background and lack of journalistic credentials.

Well, those may cause a stir with some.  But it's difficult in these spirited days to point to an editor who is truly non-partisan.  Cannon is a Washington, D.C. attorney (now closing up shop there) and former Utah Republican Party chairman.  However, newspaper editing has been in his family since 1867 when his great grandfather became editor of the Deseret Morning News.  His grandfather also was editor of that paper while his grandmother wrote a column.

With that pedigree and inspiration, Cannon tried to buy the Ogden Standard-Examiner 14 years ago.  And overlooked is that he has been on the Deseret Morning News board of directors for 11 years.  Certainly board members discuss operations, including newsroom activities, of the 70,000-circulation daily during meetings.  Thus, Cannon already has a handle on inner workings.

So, obviously, newspaper ink does flow through his veins.

As editor, Cannon will oversee the editorial staff of 170, sit on the editorial board and write opinion pieces.  While the latter already is causing critics to squirm, he will not be the first attorney to write opinion pieces.  Think of all those in the legal field --- including members of Congress, judges and district attorneys --- who pen ever-growing op-ed material (usually from one point of view) that appears in publications ranging from the much larger New York Times to the Los Angeles Times.

 

Yule season pitches play tricks on ears and eyes

It's the season to be jolly.  Yet, some advertisers, perhaps unconsciously, play tricks on our ears and eyes, leaving consumers --- including getting-tired-shopping Grumpy Editor --- even more befuddled.

Examples from current radio and print pitches:

CompUSA, in running radio commercials on a notebook computer, features a staccato female voice saying it costs "six ninety nine ninety nine."  That's probably the way it appears on the ad agency's script.  But without listeners visually seeing the cost, it sounds like the product carries a $69,999 price tag.

Better way is to work in a line that boasts:  Under $700.  Then, if necessary, go the "six ninety nine ninety nine" route.  Of course, the old-fashioned way is even better:  "Six hundred ninety nine dollars and ninety nine cents."  Confusion can be cut even more by knocking off the 99 cents and simply declaring:  "Six hundred ninety nine dollars."

Meanwhile, book seller Barnes & Noble, in full-page color (utilizing the seasonal green and red) ads, announces, "New Lower Prices for Members."  It lists percentage discounts on everything from hard covers to DVDs.  But one has to be in a "member program" to reap those deals.  Details are in its stores or Web site.

Going on-line, the searcher has to go through a B&N opening page maze to pinpoint the right button to click.  The slowly-growing-impatient-details-seeker then has to click through three more pages to see a buried line in small type that reads:  "You get all these member benefits for only $25 a year."

B&N can make potential patrons happier by simply indicating the annual fee in the ample space of the full-page ads.

 

Olbermann seeks pay boost amid steep budget cuts

Ever ask a grumpy boss for a raise when results were going south?  Not a good move.  But that situation doesn't bother Keith Olbermann, host of cable news channel MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

As NBC Universal, parent of MSNBC (and CNBC), is slashing its budget with $750 million in cuts across all divisions and shedding about 700 jobs by the end of next year, Olbermann is seeking a four-fold pay hike "north of $4 million" a year with his contract due for renewal in April, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

Olbermann, who covered sports until 10 years ago, including six years on Los Angeles TV and radio stations, has been bucking the higher ratings of Bill O'Reilly and The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel in the 8 p.m. EST hour.

Restructuring plans of NBC Universal, owned by General Electric Co., include shuttering MSNBC headquarters in Secaucus, N.J. and centralizing news operations in Los Angeles (perhaps elsewhere, too) to serve NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and three local stations.

Will editorial cartoonists eye Sen. Obama's ears?

On Chris Matthews' show viewed yesterday on MSNBC, David Brooks of The New York Times mentioned, "Obama's going to grow," referring to Senator Barack Obama (D., Ill.).  The question now, as far as editorial cartoonists are concerned:  will Obama's ears grow?

The focus on his ears started almost two months ago when Maureen Dowd wrote in an Oct. 21 column that the senator's "ears stick out."  It made the news again Dec. 10 when Obama, after a New Hampshire speech, spotted Dowd in the audience and told her, "I just want to put you on notice.  I was teased relentlessly when I was a kid about my big ears."  Responded Dowd:  "We're trying to toughen you up."

Rush Limbaugh aired audio of that exchange on his radio show last week and the quotes were still going strong on Friday when David Brody. Capitol Hill correspondent for Christian Broadcasting Network recapped the event.

Matthews describes Obama, who is considering a run in the 2008 presidential race, as "on the move" and "the 'it' guy; he's got all the excitment."

Since editorial cartoonists thrive on over-emphasizing physical features, will their pens magnify the Illinois senator's lobes in the days ahead, just as they have slowly extended President Bush's ears to nearly the size of Walt Disney's Dumbo, the flying elephant?

Malaysian hornet sting grabs AP's attention

Forget a hornet sting in your neighborhood.  It's not news.  Routine.  Too bad.

But when a hornet stings a truck driver near far-off Kamunting, Malaysia, it's considered worthy enough by Associated Press to transmit the breaking news worldwide, including to U.S. newspapers and broadcast outlets.

The big sting occurred on Wednesday when the large insect of the wasp family caused a Malaysian driver to lose control of his truck, spilling a load of hydrochloric acid, sparking a traffic jam.

That gobbled up eight paragraphs. 

In the U.S., many local traffic accidents, even if they are covered, don't get that much play --- unless Paris Hilton is involved.

Obviously, the thinking is something has to fill print and air space when Congress is not in session.