Grumpy Editor

Pigeons in Hollywood grab chunk of Sunday space

With all sorts of happenings in the world over the week end coupled with  editorial space growing tighter, some newspapers had no problem in filling up columns around ads with an "earth-shaking" Associated Press feature on pigeons flying around central Hollywood in the shadow of the Capitol Records building, notes Grumpy Editor.

The AP story by Noaki Schwartz, along with art of pigeons (for those not familiar with what the birds look like), ran up to 38 paragraphs in some Sunday newspapers.  Among those running the material:  Chicago Sun-Times, (Torrance, Calif.) Daily Breeze, Arizona Daily Star, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Denver Post and Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The pigeon story on Mother's Day grabbed more space than pieces on President Bush's daughter Jenna's wedding, 1.5 million cyclone survivors in Myanmar, heavy fighting between opposition forces in the mountains overlooking Beirut, Lebanon, and a new round of tornadoes smacking Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia.

The AP pigeon story mentioned the "war" on Hollywood pigeons between those who feed them and those who want to curb the birds, even slipping them a birth control drug via five rooftop feeders.

What was not mentioned in the AP feature was "collateral damage" that could affect other flyers such as doves, sparrows, blue jays and house wrens that also may peck on the doctored seeds, making them innocent victims following a pause in Hollywood.

The prime targets are Rock Pigeons, which have been in North America since the early 1960s (originally domesticated in Egypt about 3100 B.C.).  Among the 150 types of pigeons, some are developed for various purposes, such as for food (White King), or carrying messages or for racing.

Some of the specialized pigeons have spawned clubs and associations around the U.S. that focus on particular breeds.

So pigeons --- and periodic stories on them --- will be making the rounds for some time.

Company hopes hot dogs will spark investors’ interest

Grumpy Editor figures the PR meeting, after a stirring discussion, probably concluded with something like this:

“Hot dog!” exclaimed the boss, emphasizing those words with his fist pounding on the conference table.  “Let’s do it.”

So next Monday through Wednesday, Famous Uncle Al’s Hot Dogs & Grille, Inc. --- which will be exhibiting at the Las Vegas Money Show --- will be passing out 5,000 coupons good for free hot dogs to visitors passing by its booth.

The coupons will be redeemable at any of three Famous Uncle Al’s eateries in Sin City and one in Phoenix.

“Distributing 5,000 free hot dog coupons is a great way to introduce many of the attendees to our product,” says president Dean Valentino, president of the franchise operation based in Danbury, Conn.

Yes, there really was an Al who started things.  From Brooklyn, he opened the first Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dog restaurant in 1985. 

Up to 12,000 attendees are expected at the Money Show that will showcase various opportunities for investors.

Grumpy Editor’s end-of-week leftover notes:

Confusing time:  Wall Street Journal stories now use day of the week (i.e. Friday for the current issue) rather than the traditional today…More confusion:  Two separate stories on Monday gave contrary reports of western mountain snowpacks.  The Los Angeles Times elevates fears of water rationing in California communities with a piece about a bleak snowpack report raises “strong possibility of water shortages” while a wire story reports Colorado mountain snow is the deepest in 25 years…It was refreshing to see a master showman via vintage TV clips with “Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music” on the TCM channel last Sunday.  Footage was from 1965-1966 telecasts, complete with modernistic sets and a roomful of musicians.  Noteworthy for today’s singers to observe, Sinatra held the microphone 12 to 15 inches from his lips, rather than the current method of bumping it under the nose…What struggling economy?  NBC-TV is informing deep-pocket advertisers that running a 30-second commercial during next year’s Super Bowl will cost $3 million…A new (at least for mainland residents) word for Hawaii’s volcanic smog when it is mixed with dust and sunlight is vog.  It stems from sulfur dioxide from the Big Island’s Kilauea volcano which has been erupting since 1983… Future journalists hit:  A planned shuffling of schedules at Newton, Mass. middle schools would eliminate journalism classes at one middle school that produces award-winning The Daytime student newspaper.  However, all four Newton middle schools will offer Chinese language courses next year.

Sen. Harry Reid tells all on TV’s ‘The Daily Show’

To hypo their efforts, book authors these days have to set aside much time to make promotional rounds ranging from book signing tours to appearances on TV talk shows.

For Grumpy Editor, it was unusual to spot Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) guesting this week on the late night The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central.

The senator is no novice to TV.  After all, C-Span captures him in live action on the Senate floor with what might be called his own Daily Show.

In the long introduction, Stewart displayed a photo from the book, “The Good Fight,” that showed Reid’s humble beginnings with his parents’ very modest home in Searchlight, Nev., where he was born.

Stewart called Reid’s ascension “a remarkable journey.”

“I’m here,” responded the soft-spoken senator, looking uneasy across the desk from Stewart in front of a studio audience looking for laughs.

During the six-minute interview, Reid explained that “I felt it was important to tell a story about who I am in America.  If I can make it, anyone can.”

Overwhelmed Stewart, accustomed to bandying words with personalities such as Ben Affleck and Meryl Streep, said, “That’s a nice story.”

The appearance with Stewart was one of several TV, radio and print interviews scheduled this week for Reid.

Next week for the senator, it’s back to unlimited live TV time --- without commercials --- on C-Span from the Senate chambers.

Liberal, Kansas, becomes competitive newspaper town

Who would believe that little Liberal, Kan. (population 20,000), in the heart of the Great Plains, would be the latest battleground of newspapers, currently with four and another in the works, observes Grumpy Editor.

Latest entry started Sunday with the debut of the High Plains Daily Leader.  Its publisher, Earl Watt, came over from The Times, a former daily, that in January went to publishing three times a week in Liberal, at the far southwest corner of Kansas, three miles from the Oklahoma state line.

Watt, who resigned as publisher of The Times last week, was joined at the  Daily Leader by 16 former Times employees that included the entire news staff plus business manager and others from various departments.

(Thus, suddenly, there are newspapers jobs open at The Times, which lost about 70 percent of its 22 full-time workers.)

Other newspapers in town are The Liberal Light, a weekly, and Los Tiempos, a Spanish-language weekly owned by The Times.

Soon to debut will be a free Spanish-language weekly from the Daily Leader.

What spurred the action?

In an Associated Press story by Maria Sudekum Fisher, Watt explains, “The public was upset” when The Times cut back to three days a week as a cost-saving measure.  “They were dropping subscriptions.  Three days a week was kind of a slap in the face to the community.  They felt embarrassed by it.”

Watt says 7,000 copies of the 14-page broadsheet Daily Leader, at the same subscription rate as The Times, are being printed Sundays through Fridays.

And a Web site is expected to appear later this week.

Proposed post-disaster treatments nix many elders

Those receiving Social Security benefits should be very concerned about recommendations in an article in the May issue of Chest, a medical journal. 

It proposes that in a flu pandemic or other major health disaster, when resources and medical treatment are scarce, among those that should be refused attention are people older than 85 no matter what their condition, notes Grumpy Editor.

At first, it sounds like a sketchy outline for a shocking TV movie.

Highlights from the medical journal, official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians, was reported in an Associated Press story that made the rounds in Monday’s media.

Lead writer of the Chest report, Dr. Asha Devereaux, is a San Diego critical care specialist.  The monthly has about 21,000 readers worldwide.

Seniors --- the longest city, county, state and federal taxpayers --- get the brunt of the suggested nixed treatment.  Going back to World War II, many in that category participated in or aided in the development of U.S. medical advances to prolong life on the planet.

Along with those 85-plus, others that would be out of luck for treatment when disaster strikes include anyone older than 60 with severe burns plus others with severe chronic diseases, severe trauma and severe mental impairment, such as Alzheimer’s.

The recommended steps lead one to believe that even a healthy, spry 85 year old who sustains a broken leg in a widespread disaster would get “tossed off the cliff.”

Strangely, no mention is made of how imprisoned hardened criminals or illegal aliens rank in treatment.

The recommended actions bring to mind the 1973 motion picture, Soylent Green.  Loosely adapted from the 1966 science fiction novel, Make Room! Make Room!, the movie is set in the year 2022 and depicts a dystopian society when conditions of life are extremely bad, characterized by human misery, poverty, oppression, violence, disease and pollution.

New secret Chinese sub base stirs worldwide headlines

Check this lead on a development making print over the weekend:

“China has secretly built a major underground nuclear submarine base that could threaten Asian countries and challenge American power in the region, it can be disclosed.”

Front-page stuff in the U.S.?

No.

It’s from the Daily Telegraph, London, which revealed the development on Friday.

News that China constructed a major nuclear submarine base on the southern tip of Hainan Island, in the South China Sea, brought scant coverage in the U.S. while overseas media gave the development heavy play, complete with satellite photos, notes Grumpy Editor.

Unusual aspect of the project, in the report by Jane’s Intelligence Review, is that there are believed to be 11 tunnels built into hillsides around the base near Sanya, a tourist resort.  The tunnels reach a height of about 60 feet and are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites.

Over the weekend, the story, also carried by Agence France-Presse (AFP), grabbed worldwide attention from Gulf Times in Qatar to Mercury News in Tasmania.  And in an area of major concern, it also caught the attention of editors at Taipei Times in the Republic of China.

In the U.S., Fox News Radio aired a brief item on Saturday morning.

Hainan Island, off the southern coast of China, also was in the news seven years ago when a U.S. Navy propeller-driven surveillance plane, with 24 crew members aboard, made an emergency landing there following a collision with a Chinese fighter jet.  The Chinese detained and interrogated the Americans for 11 days.

The Daily Telegraph calls the new base a “vast, James Bond-style edifice capable of concealing up to 20 nuclear-powered submarines, which will enable China to project its power across the region.”

Thomas Harding, the Telegraph’s defense correspondent adds, “In what will be a significant challenge to U.S. Navy dominance and to countries ringing the South China Sea, one photograph shows China’s latest 094 nuclear submarine at the base just a few hundred miles from its neighbors.”

Jane’s notes the extent of construction indicates the base could become a key hub for the Chinese navy’s aircraft carriers and other power-projection ships.  The publication adds, “This development so close to the southeast Asia sea lanes so vital to the economies of Asia can only cause concern far beyond these straits.”

Beat specialization fades as editorial staffs shrink

In these days when editorial staffs are being trimmed, specialization in a particular area often is getting shelved, notes Grumpy Editor.

An education reporter, for example, can be dispatched to cover a major fire in town.  Going on scene for other events also is happening more to those who normally cover court, science, music and health beats.  (However, sports reporters seem to be immune to multi-tasking.)

Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, is attempting to put the focus back on education coverage.  The Institute has hosted more than 60 seminars for 1,900 journalists in the last decade, says director Richard Lee Colvin.

A Hechinger survey of 275 education reporters finds:

·   91 percent of respondents say they believe covering education requires specialized knowledge.
·   41 percent say they need more specialized training and knowledge to become better education reporters, but 39 percent say their news outlets provide no training.
·  50 percent say their outlets view education coverage as high priority.
·   71 percent say their paper places education stories on the front page at least once a week.
·   47 percent say that, in addition to covering education, they are also general assignment reporters.

Interestingly, coverage by education reporters tapers off with newspapers showing higher circulation.

·   53 percent of responding education reporters are on papers with circulations under 100,000.
·   45 percent for papers with circulations of 100,000-500,000.
·   3 percent for papers with circulations greater than 500,000.

Grumpy Editor’s end-of-week leftover notes

Stock market recoups:  The ‘R’ (for recession) word faded from business pages Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average spurted past the 13000 mark for the first time since Jan. 3, adding 189.87 points to reach 13010…Pamela bounces in:  Grabbing more attention than most guests and President George W. Bush in attendance at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night was buxom actress Pamela Anderson.  Her entrance was greeted by screeching fans behind ropes, Hollywood movie premiere style, while a brigade of Washington D.C. photographers, eager to shoot something besides politicians, were clicking shutters galore.  Then she set off another photo session when attending an after party hosted by Bloomberg…A repeated reminder:  Network radio news writers need to pinpoint action.  Making Golden State on-the-road listeners uneasy, on-the-hour ABC News on Sunday (and into Monday) included a single-liner, “In Southern California, a wildfire has consumed 350 acres, forcing 1,000 people from homes.”  It takes one second to indicate the location --- Sierra Madre.  With three more seconds, “about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles” could have been added.  Broadcast news folks should be aware that Southern California is not the name of a city.  The region spans about 370 miles wide and about 210 miles deep, to the Mexican border…Patriotic gesture remembered:  Radio talk show host Tammy Bruce noted one of the top 100 moments in baseball history 32 years ago with the posting on her Web site four minutes’ worth of footage showing former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Rick Monday snatching a U.S. flag from being set afire by two protesters who managed to get onto the field at Dodger Stadium…Another gesture wins an award:  A photo of former media mogul Conrad Black giving the finger to reporters last July as he arrived at the federal courthouse in Chicago was named best spot news photo by News Photographers Association of Canada in the second annual National Pictures of the Year competition.  Black is now serving time in Florida.

‘Green’ reader questions newspaper plastic wrapping

Grumpy Editor today spotlights plastic used with newspapers.

No, not the credit card type, but rather the plastic wrapping carriers use to assure deliveries get to subscribers in top shape.

Seems some folks in the “green” movement are concerned about surrounding delivered newspapers with plastic --- even on sunny days.

The Hartford (Conn.) Courant cites a reader who queries, “There are many things that your company could do that would make a positive difference to the Earth…Please stop wrapping your newspaper in plastic bags.”

At first glance, it sounds like the suggestion has merit.  But when a subscriber wants daily deliveries of newspapers to arrive in excellent condition, wrappings are warranted.  They not only provide protection from unexpected showers, but they also curb wetness from dew, lawn sprinklers and perhaps neighbors’ dogs.

Even under clear skies, plastic protection keeps newspapers intact, and wards off bugs (including ever-busy ants), dust and damage from wind and drive-overs from vehicles making turns in driveways.

Karen Hunter, The Courant’s reader representative, notes Brian McEnery, manager of operations and circulation, points out a carrier’s contract specifies papers need to be delivered in a dry and readable condition.  So the best way is putting them in wrappers.

Plastic does have dual use.  Hunter mentions bags, made from recycled materials, “can be reused for many purposes, ranging from ice bags to receptacles for pet waste.”

Courant readers who are not concerned by various elements that can affect unblemished deliveries can call the newspaper’s customer care department and request copies not be put in plastic bags, adds McEnery.

But as a result of this instruction, he cautions, papers may arrive wet on some days.

A soggy newspaper will bring another complaint --- plus a request for re-delivery, resulting in more gasoline burned in getting a dry, wrapped version to the driveway.