Grumpy Editor

Maturing ‘boomers’ point to change in editorial content

Print/broadcast editors should start thinking about beefing up mature topics for readers/viewers.

Yes, the time has come.  It means shifting some youthful material, including rap music reports and features, to the back pages and play up more health, financial and lifestyle material suitable for folks in their 60s, suggests Grumpy Editor.

Young people get most of their information from the Web anyway.

The upcoming content switch is triggered by news yesterday that the nation’s first baby boomer has applied for Social Security benefits.

As Associated Press stated:  It signals “the start of an expected avalanche of applications from the post-World War II generation.”

About 80 million people, born in the 1946 to 1964 period, are in the baby boomer generation.  That boils down to 10,000 people a day becoming eligible for Social Security benefits over the next two decades.

So it looks like more columns and features on soothing aches and pains, treating fuzzy eyes, eating right for longevity, stretching dollars and cruising on ships without kid passengers.

The heralded initial baby boomer eligible for benefits after she turns 62 next year is Kathleen Casey-Kirschling.  She taught seventh graders for 14 years at a school near Camden, N.J. and now lives in Maryland near Chesapeake Bay.

Winning $10 million PCH ‘superprize’ looks glum

Grumpy Editor thought a glimmering bonanza had been struck.  From out of the blue came an eye-popping e-mail message.  It read, “Exciting news! The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol could visit your home to award you a $1O,OOO,OOO.OO SuperPrize from Giveaway No. 1170...”

The magic word is “could.”

Then it, along with all the capitalization, continued, “Just follow any of these special links and you will immediately receive a $1O,OOO,OOO.OO Online Entry Registration Form. Submit your Entry Registration Form by the deadline and you'll be in the running for this SuperPrize that our Prize Patrol guarantees to deliver.”

Although it would brighten up the day, those nine zeroes fall short of a whopping $1 billion.  With the decimal point, they add up to just $10 million.  And, interestingly, clicking on “any of these special links,” mentioned high up in the pitch, sends each of the six links to the same page --- the order form.

Indicating where the appeal lies, the lengthy form is topped by cover illustrations of six magazines, all geared toward women readers.  Publications in that and other categories, including sports and travel, can be ordered via four payments.

But looking closely at the bottom of the form, just above the submit button, are the lines:  “No purchase necessary to enter” and “A purchase won’t improve an individual’s chance of winning.”  A “no purchase necessary” phrase also appears atop the order form at the end of a paragraph that starts, “An order is appreciated.”

The PCH folks hope readers don’t note those clarifying lines in small type.

Mention is made that if “the SuperPrize number assigned to you in this bulletin matches the winning number drawn,” the $10 million will be awarded.

Hopes were dashed, however, when the assigned number couldn't be found in the e-mail pitch.

Baseball’s late hours for TV make some fans doze

Baseball was meant to be played during warm, daylight hours.  But with high profit-concerned television in the picture, dictating a prime-time audience, when an American League Championship Series game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians starts at 8:24 p.m. (Eastern), one expects the match to go deep into the night.

It did, indeed, on Saturday --- clear into early Sunday.  The extra-innings game concluded at 1:38 a.m., local time, with Cleveland winning, 13 to 6 in the 11th.  Even without the extra innings, the bottom of the ninth was reached at 45 minutes past midnight.

Babe Ruth would have frowned at that.

Since TV thrives on ratings, imagine the falloff in audience numbers as the clock ticked past midnight and even loyal viewers decided to retire for the night, observes Grumpy Editor.  TV watchers, unless they had ample coffee handy, were fighting off dozing, stemming in part from the colorless pair of commentators --- who should take lessons from the Vin Scully school of baseball play-by-play.  Scully, who calls for the Los Angeles Dodgers, keeps viewers alert with interesting non-stop details, backgrounds, facts and stories --- and what’s going on down on the field and in the stands, captured by cameras.

In addition, the outcome was decided far past East Coast newspaper deadlines.  Thus, baseball fans in a good portion of the country on Sunday morning had to check elsewhere to find the score.  The late hours also meant news photographers covering the event went into overtime.

Boston’s Fenway Park fans included a number of youngsters who tried to stay awake far past bedtime.  Temperatures in the latter part of the game dropped to the mid-40s.  That triggered much blowing on hands by pitchers.  Meanwhile, the game, until the 11th inning, was so slow moving that Boston’s manager, Terry Francona, was caught in frequent TV camera close-ups spitting in the dugout at about 10-second intervals.

Certainly, an afternoon game --- on a day when the only scheduled baseball game spotlighted the Red Sox and Indians  --- would have yielded a larger Saturday audience from start to finish.

Another "deep into the night" game --- in cold drizzle --- was last evening's National League Championship Series.  It ended 15 minutes shy of midnight, Eastern.  That saw the Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4 to 1.

Today’s ALCS game starting time in Cleveland, at 7:10 p.m., Eastern, is an improvement from Saturday's play.  But the baseball battle still will end rather late, especially for youngsters on a school night.

And keep an eye on Francona’s frequency of saliva ejections.

China’s swelling billionaires snubbed by U.S. editors

Despite the growing number of China-made products piling up in American homes and businesses --- contributing to a mighty boost in the communist nation’s economy --- news that it jumped to No. 2 in the world (behind the United States) with the number of billionaires, surprisingly went unnoticed in most U.S. media while it garnered much play overseas, finds Grumpy Editor.

It’s something that should have been played on front pages, since Americans have contributed to elevating China’s rich list.

As covered in the Oct. 11 Grumpy Editor posting, the number of Chinese worth $1 billion or more jumped to 108 from only 15 last year.

Checking major newspapers around the nation yesterday did not turn up a single publication that put the story (or reference) on front pages.  Not in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Detroit News, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Denver Post, Oregonian, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News or Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.  And nowhere in The Wall Street Journal’s pages was even one line found on the surge in Chinese billionaires.

One newspaper recognizing the story was The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.  It covered the milestone in four paragraphs.  Meanwhile, USA Today and the New York Post covered it (somewhat) with Monday stories, based on Forbes magazine information, that focused on a 26-year-old Chinese woman worth $16.2 billion --- but did not mention the 107 other billionaires.

Look for story on No. 2 nation with billionaires

It’s quiz time.  Grumpy Editor today puts on his professor’s hat and asks:

Of the countries listed below, name the one with the most billionaires (remember, that’s with a “b”) that is second to the United States.

a. Saudi Arabia.
b. China.
c. Great Britain.

Answer:  b. 

Communist China has risen to be No. 2 on the rich list.  The number of Chinese worth $1 billion or more has jumped to 108 from only 15 last year, in a tally by Shanghai-based researcher Rupert Hoogewerf.

It illustrates the great strides being made in China’s economic growth.

The revelation yesterday was considered major news around the world.  Media played it up in India, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada and China itself.  Even Pravda used the story, running with the Associated Press version.

Along with AP, the report was carried by Reuters, Bloomberg and Agence France-Presse (AFP), among others.

Grumpy Editor is curious to find how that story is treated in today’s print and broadcast outlets.

Check your own newspaper and broadcast outlet and report back.

Will the China No. 2 in billionaires story be placed on front pages, buried near the obits --- or spiked?

Stay tuned.

Magazine renewal messages can be sweet or sour

Magazines, facing fears of slipping circulation, now are sending out multi-renewal pitches months ahead of subscription expiration dates, notes Grumpy Editor.  For many readers, a subscription renewal is now followed within weeks by a message to, yes, renew for the next time around.

Either circulation promotion folks think readers are absent minded or there is great worry from upper management to get those renewals rolling in early and into the bank.

A bit of PR should be injected into some renewal mailouts.

Example:  Money magazine, in the Time Inc. family, sends out renewal reminders to subscribers a half year prior to current expiration dates.  But wait.  That’s when the “third renewal notice” goes into the mail.  With it, a separate form message, identified as coming from the circulation manager, is rather gruff.  Its opening line reads:

“This is the 3RD NOTICE we have sent about your MONEY subscription.  We have yet to hear from you.  It’s important that you take action NOW…”

Those words sound like a warning communication from the Internal Revenue Service.

That compares with a sweeter Money reminder three months earlier --- and eight months before renewal time.  It listed subscriber benefits, proclaiming, “A whole array of personal finance and investment services along with your subscription.”  The detailed benefits form, over the publisher’s name and signature, was accompanied by a brochure also focusing on benefits.

This leaves subscribers wondering if upcoming renewal notices will be sweet or sour.

Mass media mistrust lingers, finds Gallup poll

Looks like the mass media still have a ways to go to present “fair and balanced” coverage, notes Grumpy Editor after reviewing a new Gallup poll.

The survey, released yesterday, finds only 9% of Americans say they have a great deal of trust and confidence in the mass media to report news "fully, accurately, and fairly," while another 38% say they have a "fair amount" of trust in the media to do this.

That combined 47 percent, while about unchanged from ratings in 2005 and 2004, compares with 72 percent 31 years ago, mentions Gallup.

The poll also uncovered more than twice as many Americans say news media are too liberal (45 percent), rather than too conservative (18 percent).  Gallup points out perceiving news media as too liberal has been observed in each survey since 2001.

However, local media fare better in “neutrality.”  Gallup finds more than half of those interviewed say their local news media are about right in terms of ideological balance.

Gallup’s research is based on interviews with 1,010 national adults.

White House media focus on ‘torture’ --- again

Torture was back in the news late last week, and probably will continue this week, as word surfaced on Thursday from House Democrats who demanded, according to the Associated Press, that the Justice Department turn over two secret memos that reportedly authorize painful interrogation tactics against terror suspects.

Keep in mind some of these suspects are linked to rag-tag terrorists --- not connected to any military and sans uniforms   --- who relish chopping off heads.

This carried over to the White House press briefing on Friday where several members had “torture” uppermost on their minds.  Those firing salvos on the subject (or technique) at White House press secretary Dana Perino included Ed Henry of CNN, Jim Axelrod of CBS News and Helen Thomas, Hearst columnist.

“This country does not torture,” Perino told the correspondents, echoing President Bush’s earlier statement to some of the same reporters:  “This government does not torture people.  We stick to the law and our international obligations.”

White House correspondents on Friday were trying to pry the definition of torture.  Grumpy Editor reminds those concerned that all they have to do is consult a dictionary such as Webster’s New World where torture is defined as: The inflicting of severe pain to force information or confession.  Other dictionaries use the term, inflicting excruciating pain.  But the definition of excruciating pain reverts back to causing intense physical or mental pain.  The New York Times labeled it harsh interrogation procedures.

So what exactly is intense, excruciating, intense or harsh?

Two methods often mentioned with terrorist suspects are head slapping and "waterboarding” in which water is poured over a detainee’s head to simulate drowning.  Many of the same people concerned about these procedures must watch football games in which there is a lot of head slapping (or hard bumping of heads), often followed by a player being assisted off the field.  And a winning coach gets a giant tub of liquid dumped on him.

Should these actions be classified as torture and banned from the game?

Maybe those concerned about torture should re-visit some of the truly shocking methods employed by the enemy on U.S. military personnel as seen in World War II movies or documentaries, including the just-concluded Ken Burns’ 15-hour series, “The War” that aired on PBS.

ABC moves ahead by opening foreign mini-bureaus

While print and other broadcast media have been shuttering overseas offices, Grumpy Editor notes ABC News is opening mini-bureaus in seven areas around the world.  That will give prompt access to breaking news by ABC staffers.

Single-person operations will be based in Seoul, South Korea; New Delhi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Nairobi, Kenya; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Dubai.

Utilizing hand-held digital technology, each reporter will double as producer in covering events in the region.

For ABC, costs will be a fraction of former full-service bureaus that contained everything from bulky equipment to receptionists.  Overhead is cut further with staffers working from their residential quarters.

The new breed of foreign reporters will be busy.

Each will capture action via a small digital video (DV) camera, write, report and edit their segments for various ABC operations, including “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.”

Most of the work will be uploaded by broadband to ABC’s New York newsroom.  A portable satellite dish will provide backup.

Major media snub Army vet taking down Mexican flag

In an act of patriotism, when an Army veteran cuts down a foreign flag flying illegally above the U.S. flag on the same flagpole, one would expect heavy coverage by print and broadcast media.  But widespread reporting of the Monday action in Reno was scant, despite prominent mention on Drudge Report, frequently consulted by news people, finds Grumpy Editor.

It started Monday afternoon when Reno TV station KRNV (Channel 4) received a call from a viewer who said a business near downtown Reno was flying a Mexican flag above an American flag, a federal offense.

The TV station dispatched a cameraman to Cantina El Jaripeo which was flying the Mexican flag atop Old Glory.  There, footage was shot of Jim Brossard taking down the Mexican flag and walking off with the U.S. flag.

WorldNet Daily reports Brossard turns toward the KRNV cameraman, saying, “I took this flag down in honor of my country with … a knife from the United States Army. I'm a veteran, I'm not going to see this done to my country. If they want to fight us, then they need to be men, and they need to come and fight us. But I want somebody to fight me for this flag. They're not going to get it back."

KRNV footage shows a man, later identified by the TV station as the bar owner, picking up the Mexican flag and taking it inside his cantina.

Along with WorldNet Daily coverage, two syndicated radio talk show hosts --- Mike Gallagher and Tammy Bruce --- reported the Reno action and interviewed Brossard.

The Army veteran told Gallagher that when he heard about the Mexican flag he “felt a duty to do something about it.”  He pointed out the bar was committing a federal offense and local authorities weren’t sure what to do about it.

Later, he told Bruce he was a bus driver and his action was spurred by “patriotism for the (U.S.) flag.”

Expect more --- and wider coverage today --- following statements regarding flag protocol from Reno police and the American Civil Liberties Union.