Grumpy Editor

ESPN places top spellers in today’s sports lineup

Cheers for more good spellers.

Those are what editors like to see.  But Grumpy Editor is rather unhappy to note that the quarterfinals session of the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee from Washington, D.C., is relegated to ESPN today between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT.

Apparently network brass considers a spelling bee to be a “sport” along with the channel’s usual fare of basketball, tennis, car racing, soccer, golf, baseball, football and such (with many “jocks” not exactly noted as ace spellers or even for proper use of the English language).

Today’s 107 spelling wizards advanced from yesterday’s quiz that started with 286 kids in the spotlight.

So, unfortunately, the youngsters’ spelling efforts today on ESPN will not receive fuller attention that comes with a wider TV audience.

However, finalists will get more exposure on the ABC network between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EDT today.  The winner will receive $35,000 in cash, a $5,000 scholarship, a $2,500 savings bond, a set of reference works --- and will add ESPN to his/her vocabulary. 

U.S. government debuts information Web site in Spanish

Rather than encouraging Spanish-speaking people within our borders to learn English, the U.S. government has unveiled a Web site loaded with information --- totally in Spanish, Grumpy Editor has discovered.

It contains immigration information along with a number of categories, including one sure to garner a number of clicks:  government benefits and financial assistance.

A search feature finds links to federal, state and local government resources --- also in Spanish.

If there are unanswered questions in the material, the site promises an e-mail response in two business days --- in Spanish.

If dialing a government representative is easier, a toll-free number is provided with an option to speak with an information specialist --- in Spanish.

After noting the popularity of the Spanish-language Web site, will decision makers in Washington --- to be fair and balanced --- initiate other U.S. government Web sites in Italian, Portuguese, French, Greek, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, among others?

Stay tuned.

10 minutes daily exercise carries more weight

A study that showed an odd number of minutes (72) per week for exercise boosts cardiovascular fitness in sedentary, postmenopausal, overweight women captured the eye of Grumpy Editor.

Why 72 minutes?  Or, would 75 or 65 make a big difference? What about a rounded-off 70?  Turns out the precise figure was 72.2 mean minutes in a group of 155 obese women out of 464 in a Dallas, Texas area trial.  The 155 spotlighted women, in one of four groups, worked out via exercise bikes and treadmills.

Results of the study, authored by Dr. Timothy Church, appeared in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.  The study was reported in a Newsday story that was picked up by other newspapers around the country over the past few days.

Rather than going the one hour, 12 minutes a week route, translating that to “about 10 minutes workout a day” would have grabbed solid attention --- and inspire more readers to exercise daily for fitness. 

Grumpy Editor observes Memorial Day

Grumpy Editor is taking the day off in observance of Memorial Day which commemorates U.S. military personnel who have died in service to their country.

Belt-tightening sees local writers pulled off beats

Latest cost-cutting trend with major daily newspapers is to drop popular local columnists and replace them with syndicated or wire service material on similar topics, observes Grumpy Editor.

In the past few days the San Diego Union-Tribune and South Florida Sun-Sentinel announced plans to go this route, triggering telephone calls and e-mails from upset readers.

Along with other recent budget-trimming measures such as scaled-down stock and mutual fund tables, publishers wonder why circulation is ebbing.

Financial belt-tightening at the Union-Tribune will see the personal finance column of Lynn O’Shaughnessy replaced with a syndicated column from the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the Sun-Sentinel will lose staff-written movie reviews with reassignment of Phoebe Flowers.  The newspaper, in the Tribune Co. family, plans coverage from sister publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and Chicago Tribune.  Film reviewers at those publications may be feeling uneasy.  If the trend continues, they may be off the entertainment pages, too.  Other Tribune newspapers are the Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant.

Interestingly, the Tribune Web site’s opening page proudly boasts:

Journalism At Its Best

Great journalism has always been Tribune Company's foundation. Our success depends on it. Whether the story is across town or around the world, Tribune has the talent and the resources to cover it well.

Nancy Pelosi to lead ‘warming tour’ to cold Greenland

Perhaps House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) should go west instead of east, thinks Grumpy Editor.

Eight days from June and the southwestern mountains in Colorado were expected to see up to eight inches of snow on the ground today.  But Speaker Pelosi next week will be leading a group of House members on a “Global Warming Tour” with a stop in Greenland.

Others packing their overcoats for the trip are representatives Ed Markey (D, Mass.), Hilda Solis (D., Calif.), Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D., S.D.), Emanuel Cleaver (D., Mo.), John Larsen (D., Conn.), Earl Blumenauer (D., Ore.), and David Hobson (R., Ohio).

High temperature yesterday at Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, was right at the freezing point, 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

N.J. tosses in full service with cheapest gas in U.S.

Old standard lines of “production problems” and “high demand” as key reasons behind ever-rising gasoline prices don’t get vehicle drivers excited in New Jersey.

Grumpy Editor finds New Jersey this week not only is the only state with the average price of  gasoline still under $3 a gallon, but the fuel is pumped into cars at full-service stations.

Can’t beat that dual appeal.

“It shows how little cost has to do with the price of gas,” according to an Energy Information Administration analyst.

New Jersey benefits from four in-state refineries.  But California has many more refineries, especially in the Los Angeles area.  Yet, California has the nation’s highest average price this week, with a gallon of regular unleaded costing $3.457.   (Maybe Tony Soprano has something to do with gas prices in Jersey.)

But the place where drivers are really angry is in oil-rich Iran where the price of gasoline yesterday jumped 25 percent --- to the equivalent of 38 cents a gallon from 30.

Interest on product safety coverage increases

With all the tainted food, counterfeit drugs and mysterious additives making their way to supermarket and drug store shelves, Grumpy Editor feels the time has come for major newspapers to appoint product safety editors.  Along with recalls of everything from automobiles to toys, prompt reporting should add appeal to editorial sections.

So serious is the situation that this week U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission officials are in Beijing for an international safety conference.  They also will meet with Chinese counterparts, seeking better safety practices by Chinese manufacturers that account for half of the recalls in the U.S.

Latest questionable ingredient from China to surface is diethylene glycol.  In the antifreeze family, the chemical was found in 6,000 toothpaste tubes in Panama.  That same chemical was found in cold medications earlier this month.

Warnings are increasing on U.S.-produced products, too.  A recent example:  General Electric’s Consumer & Industrial operation, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, last Wednesday announced it is recalling about 2.5 million dishwashers because liquid rinse-aid can leak from dispensers onto dishwashers’ internal wiring.  That can cause an electrical short and overheating, posing fire hazards to consumers, the company warned.

NOAA spending $4 million to tout 200th anniversary

Everyone affected by the weather agrees that more accuracy is needed in forecasting hurricanes and their projected paths. So Grumpy Editor finds it absolutely astonishing that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is spending $4 million in taxpayers’ funds to publicize its 200th anniversary celebration through Dec. 31 while cutting $700,000 from hurricane research.

The National Hurricane Center, with an annual budget of $6.3 million, is part of the National Weather Service, which is a NOAA agency.  NOAA operates under the Department of Commerce.

So where is NOAA’s $4 million going?

Can’t be for advertising.  That should be covered via public service announcements (PSAs).

Can’t be for public relations.  NOAA already has a PR staff.

While various NOAA activities, from poster exhibits around the country to a marine research institute dedication, are scheduled, a major (and certainly expensive) clue is found in an Oct. 9 event in Washington, D.C.:

NOAA 200th Gala.

Get that tuxedo pressed.

And hope a hurricane’s remnants are not in the weather forecast.

Media miss border news nugget from Duncan Hunter

Reporters overlooked a news nugget relating to U.S. border security from one of the 10 participants in Tuesday's 90-minute televised GOP presidential debate:

Only two miles of fence have been constructed since President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act seven months ago, exclaimed Rep. Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.).

He worked in that bit of information in one of his limited responses to questions from a Fox News Channel panel.

Grumpy Editor notes that revelation zoomed over the heads of all print, radio and TV folks writing or commenting on the debate from Columbia, S.C.  No news person in the "spin room" for one-on-one interviews following the debate sought amplification or follow up (even a simple "why?") from Hunter.

The Secure Fence Act authorized construction of a fence along one third of the 2,100- mile U.S. border with Mexico.

When the bill was signed last Oct. 26, the White House hailed it as "an important step forward in our nation's efforts to control our borders."

Before signing the measure, President Bush declared, "Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise."  Then he added, "We have a responsibility to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously."

The fence mention came up again yesterday, however, in connection with reshaping of immigration laws being debated in Congress.  On Lou Dobbs Tonight, Ed Henry, CNN's White House correspondent, interviewed Hunter who said the president was surprised when informed that only two miles of fence has been erected.