Grumpy Editor

‘Almanac’ checks ‘secret formula’ for 2008 weather

A story that grabs abundant print space and radio/TV air time every year around this time stems from the latest issue of Old Farmer’s Almanac.  For some reason, news folks eat up the very long-range weather predictions, as contained in the 2008 edition, now on newsstands, observes Grumpy Editor.

On the day that out-of-nowhere Hurricane Humberto targeted Texas and Louisiana, Associated Press writer David Tirrell-Wysocki latched on to a news release from the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s New Hampshire headquarters, while an AP photographer’s lens captured the 2008 Almanac’s cover --- which has barely changed over the years.  The periodical was established in 1792.

While meteorologists did not see Humberto developing on their computer screens until a few days ago, the latest Old Farmer’s Almanac comes up with far-out predictions, also noting that years that end with the numeral 8 have weird weather.

For next year, it sees the warmest year in a century.  However, it will be cool and dry in the upper Midwest, along with more rain than normal in the U.S. except in Florida and the West, it adds.

What’s the Almanac’s secret weather-forecasting apparatus?  It uses time-honored complex calculations in predictions, claims the publisher.  (Hmmm.  That sounds like a big family working on next year’s budget.)  It also relies on “a secret formula based on sunspots.”

No word, though, on little, green, bug-eyed figures releasing weather balloons from outer space. 

Tony Snow bids farewell to White House press corps

White House press secretary Tony Snow, in his last televised briefing to news people yesterday, came up with answers to about the same sharp questions as when he started with the title on May 8, 2006, notes Grumpy Editor.

Snow, who ends his tenure tomorrow, fielded a number of questions relating to Iraq and wrapped things up with comments on global economy and free trade.

And with that, the smiling Snow, 52, said, “Thank you all” and blew a kiss to those in attendance.

A battery of lensmen followed him off the podium and into the audience where he had a parting friendly exchange with veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, a Hearst columnist, noted for barbed questions that triggered lively exchanges.

Formerly a newspaper columnist and radio/TV broadcaster, Snow --- who is battling a second round of cancer --- said he was leaving his White House post because he had taken a major pay cut to become press secretary and that he could no longer raise his family on the salary he receives.

With his print and broadcast background, he understood the needs of the media and enjoyed a warmer relationship with the White House press corps than predecessors.

Closed Business 2.0 still pitches subscriptions

Business 2.0 magazine’s last issue (October) may be locked up and editorial offices shuttered, but subscription renewals continue to be mailed --- this time with a freebie tossed in.

Being received this week, notes Grumpy Editor, is a Business 2.0 offer with a reminder, “Final chance to get this guaranteed low annual renewal rate.”  And that rate for a now-closed-down publication?  It’s $9.95.

But wait.  The pitch adds, “free with your paid renewal” is an “executive pen” with brushed silver barrel and chrome accents.

The latest offer differs from the one mentioned last week (see Sept. 6  Grumpy Editor posting) when a two-year subscription to Business 2.0, heralded as a “one-time-only opportunity,” was dangled for only four cents above this week’s one-year subscription of $9.95.

Interestingly, along with the current renewal pitch for the now defunct Business 2.0, are very low rate subscription promotions for both Money and Fortune magazines, all in the Time Inc. family, where the marketing people have been extra active but obviously forgot about the Business 2.0 Web site.

That site provides no clue as to the magazine’s status and, in fact, continues to show advertising rates ($66,700 for four-color, full page), production specs, etc.

Word from customer service is that upcoming mailouts to the 600,000 subscribers of Business 2.0 will offer a choice of switching the remaining issues in current subscriptions to either Money or Fortune which are destined to get a sudden boost in paid readership.

Now it’s the letter W that puts liberals on top

Grumpy Editor couldn’t help but chuckle over the findings of a psychologist, reported in the Chicago Tribune yesterday and picked up by some papers around the nation, that brains of liberals and conservatives might (repeat: might) work differently.

One newspaper found the story so inspiring that it heralded it with a six-column headline across the top of “nation and world report” page.

The study by David Amodio, assistant professor of psychology, New York University, claims “a specific region of the brain is more sensitive in people who consider themselves liberals than in self-declared conservatives,” writes Tribune staffer Judy Peres.

The professor based his efforts on testing 43 college students ranging from “very liberal” to “very conservative.”

They were instructed to press a button each time a computer flashed the M letter but not when a W was displayed.  M appeared four times more frequently than W.

The findings:  Liberals had more brain activity and made fewer mistakes than conservatives when they viewed a W.

Nothing was mentioned on what might happen in the brain when a liberal switches to a conservative, or vice versa, as sometimes happens these days.

But that paves the way for another study. 

TV networks snub Petraeus report to Congress

With all the interest, and leaks, drummed up in recent days via print and broadcast media, Grumpy Editor finds it interesting --- make that close to shocking --- that when Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, testified today before the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, “live” TV and radio coverage was limited.

It comes at a time when some in the media, in advance of hearing his report to Congress, attacked the credibility of four-star general Petraeus.

Broadcast television networks NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS snubbed the session, deciding on regular programming.  PBS filled its schedule with the usual cartoons.  On the radio side, even NPR ignored coverage.

Only visual coverage came from cable networks CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and C-Span 3 (the lesser-viewed C-Span channel). 

Petraeus and Crocker were called on for an independent assessment of the situation in Iraq where 165,000 U.S. military personnel are serving.

The action continues tomorrow when the general and ambassador move over to the Senate where they will face similar questions.

Talk show hosts focus on Mexican trucks in U.S.

The weekend saw the first Mexican trucks hauling cargo anywhere in the U.S.  It follows a green light given by the U.S. Transportation Department last Thursday.

The action has provided radio talk show hosts with abundant fresh material.

On the other hand, observes Grumpy Editor, the influx of Mexican trucks has been played down in print media, most notably The Wall Street Journal which on Saturday ran a three paragraph piece --- from the Associated Press --- at the bottom of page A 5.

What has the “talkers” talking is that with Mexican truckers rolling across the border and into all parts of the U.S., potential problems loom with security, safety, drivers’ proficiency (including English language), drugs and highway problems.

The long-haul kickoff stems from the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S. and Mexico, allowing cross-border deliveries to open up to 100 companies within four months.

Before the program, Mexican trucks were limited to delivering goods in the border zone or passing them to U.S. trucks.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Aug. 31 refused a request from the Teamsters and other groups to block the Mexican vehicles.

Fundraiser’s caper paves way for TV movie script

Grumpy Editor feels TV movie script writers would relish this scenario:  A Hong Kong-born businessman, fundraiser for U.S. politicians, turns himself in after skipping out 15 years earlier on a sentencing hearing in connection with a  grand theft conviction, posts $2 million bail after surrendering to authorities, then --- surprise --- fails to show up for a court date.

Then his attorney says he doesn’t know his client’s whereabouts --- and his U.S. passport cannot be found.

Oops!  The missing client script has been done before.

However, this version, which TV writers can claim is based on a true incident, injects politicians, who could be cast as bit players.

Fugitive fundraiser Norman Hsu, nabbed by the FBI Thursday night at a Grand Junction, Colo., hospital, has been funneling funds to top U.S. Democrats.  Among them are presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson.  Others on the receiving end include senators Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and Tom Harkin.

Of course, some humor, perhaps animation, would have to be worked into the production to satisfy viewers, especially younger folks.

Meanwhile, the $2 million bail posted last Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court is forfeited since Hsu did not show up Wednesday for a court date in Redwood City.

This gives the script a happy ending.

Smiling lawmakers in San Mateo County are delighted.  The forfeited $2 million is headed for the county’s general-fund coffers.

Business 2.0 closes after 2-for-1 pitch last month

Deep into 2007, fallout continues from the dot.com era as the October issue of Business 2.0, a Time Inc. monthly magazine, will be its final one.  Its San Francisco offices will be closed next week and some of the key staffers will be assigned to Fortune magazine.

Ironically, Grumpy Editor notes a big two-for-one mailout a month ago sought to drum up renewals to Business 2.0, which described itself as “the playbook for a new generation of leaders.”  A “one-time-only opportunity” pitch dangled two years (22 issues) for a low $9.99.

Perhaps the pitch was designed as a “backdoor” circulation boost for Fortune magazine which is most likely to inherit the 600,000 Business 2.0 subscribers.  Fortune is in the same Time family.

Business 2.0 has been the subject of rumors for several months.  Purchased six years ago for about $68 million, the magazine’s downfall was attributed to a decline in advertising revenue.

Parent Time decided to shut it down rather than sell it, even when an offer was made from Mansueto Ventures, owner of rival magazine, Fast Company.

The final issue’s cover will spotlight an article on where to invest in a real estate downturn.

Front pages get less ‘newsy’ as readership slips

As circulation figures of daily newspapers’ continue to ebb, editors and publishers continue to make their publications’ front pages less appealing rather than injecting more interest with multiple stories.

Bulk of U.S. daily newspapers these days run only three or four stories on front pages.  That includes yesterday’s USA Today which got down to three front page pieces plus seven Newsline shorts and several other “refers.”

Grumpy Editor noticed the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday focused on only two stories:  “Bay Bridge Open for Business” with a large photo and, at the bottom of the page with a photo, “Renowned Record Store Fading Out,” dealing with a Mill Valley record store soon to close after more than 60 years in business.  Only other front page news material was a “refer” box at the bottom pointing to inside coverage of three stories:  Bush’s trip to Iraq, Hurricane Felix and bipolar disorder.

New Yorkers will say, "wow! two stories."  That’s because most of their local dailies are more like magazine covers with only screaming headlines and art.

Yesterday’s front pages of the New York Post and Newsday, Long Island, ran three headlines with accompanying art touting three inside stories while the New York Daily News ran two headlines, each linked to art, plugging inside pieces.

Now compare these efforts with 50 years ago when 15 to 18 stories started on the eight columns of front pages of major newspapers.

That made things newsy and interesting.

And it grabbed readers --- as circulation swelled.

‘Lower interest rates’ great for some, bad for savers

With Labor Day behind us, look for the phrase, “hopes of lower interest rates,” to build to a crescendo around Wall Street.  Those words refer to a cut, possibly one-quarter percent, in the current 5.25 percent Fed funds rate.  It could come out of a Sept. 18 Fed meeting.

A cut is widely regarded as a positive development.

But for others, especially budget-pinched families and retirees depending on supplemental monthly income, “lower interest rates” also means less yields on savings instruments, including certificates of deposits, reminds Grumpy Editor.  That aspect has not been widely reported in the business press.

Amid cries about a credit crunch, which has been mentioned as a cause of the recent zig-zag stock market, most financial institutions have quietly clipped CD rates.  That action started in early August.  CD holders, especially those about to renew maturing certificates, are grumbling at the sudden “lower interest rates.”

Yields on CDs will erode further with looming cuts in the Fed funds rate.   Less income via interest to savers means many consumers will have slimmer wallets, putting a squeeze on year-end holiday sales.

So “lower interest rates” brings smiles or frowns, depending on who is affected.