Grumpy Editor

Teeth-yanking Polish dentist story turns out to be hoax

The print/broadcast headline-grabbing story making the rounds earlier this month about a jilted Polish dentist yanking all the teeth from her 45-year-old ex-boyfriend turns out to be a hoax, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The fabricated report, complete with quotes attributed to names of those involved, apparently originated with London’s Daily Mail. 

Strangely, the Daily Mail writer behind the story is fuzzy on the origination of the details --- and the story has been yanked from the newspaper's Website. 

But, figuring it was a legitimate item, the unusual event was odd enough that print/broadcast editors thought it had enough bite to give it major treatment. 

So it made headlines with MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, ABC News, Fox News, Yahoo! News and many other news outlets in the U.S. and around the world. 

Polish police are not investigating the incident --- because they say there is no such case. 

A Polish medical association reports there is no such dentist’s name as reported in the story. 

Thus, Polish news outlets did not report the teeth-pulling story. 

Bottom line:  since the story has no teeth, it’s more of a case of someone pulling the leg of a news writer. 

 

Calif., N.Y. papers join ‘community newsroom’ trend

Two daily newspapers, on opposite ends of the country, announce they are going the community newsroom route as editors see it as a way to engage and involve locals, observes Grumpy Editor. 

The Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News is doing it “to be more transparent,” says Frank Girardot, editor.  In Kingston, N.Y., The Daily Freeman, led by Ivan Lajara, features editor, will soon launch a new community newsroom project designed to engage local readers.

Veteran editors, however, wonder how allowing the public into newsrooms is going to improve coverage --- and circulation --- in growing competitive times rather than adding some sharp journalists, including tough investigate reporters and strong political beat-savvy writers to staffs.

In a folksy message to readers, the Star-News editor points out his newspaper, first “to break this ground” in California, “is a part of your community --- just like your neighborhood grocery store, your favorite coffee shop or the place where you and your family worship.”

Girardot, adds, “We'll do it by creating a community space (by August) where readers and residents can drop in to pitch stories, ask questions or make use of public blogging stations with free wi-fi access.”

Meanwhile, The Freeman beams it will offer public classes to the community and open its conference room on selected days, providing wi-fi and computers for public use, along with tutorials on using the newsroom’s archives and microfilm readers.

This movement should make copy editors --- especially those with gray hair --- eyeing their months to go before retirement. 

 

L.A. Times defies military with GIs, dead bombers photos

Grumpy Editor notes after the Defense Department asked the Los Angeles Times NOT to run the images, the newspaper goes ahead and publishes two photos showing American troops, members of the 82^nd Airborne Division, posing with the remains of suicide bombers in Afghanistan in February, 2010.

Then in a follow-up story last Wednesday, the L.A. Times --- without blushing --- explains: “The Pentagon, the White House and top commanders and diplomats in Afghanistan have condemned the action by the soldiers and have launched investigations.”

Condemning action by the soldiers?

Some folks say publishing the pictures is another anti-military step by major media to trash U.S. troops --- even to incite violence against U.S. military personnel.

One can imagine how the L.A. Times, with some current staffers, would have handled advance hush-hush preparations, including activities of the same 82^nd Airborne Division --- with absolutely no leaks by media to warn the enemy --- for D-Day in World War II.

The L.A. Times says it “acquired 18 gruesome images” showing Army soldiers with dead suicide bombers and decided to run two shots.

L.A. Times reporter David Zucchino declares he “verified the authenticity of the photos through interviews with the soldier who provided the photos, with Pentagon officials and with commanders from the unit.”

That was followed by L.A. Times editor Davan Maharaj stating: “After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops.”

Some subscribers may raise eyebrows with the phrase “our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially.” 

 

Lengthy Medicare paragraph features a load of ( )s

If you think some newspaper paragraphs run too long, just try to follow what’s going on with this Medicare provision, as pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, urges Grumpy Editor. 

As unearthed by WSJ writer Joe Palazzolo in Friday’s WSJ:

"In the case of a plan for which there are average per capita monthly savings described in section 1395w–24 (b)(3)(C) or 1395w–24 (b)(4)(C) of this title, as the case may be, the amount specified in this subparagraph is the amount of the monthly rebate computed under section 1395w–24 (b)(1)(C)(i) of this title for that plan and year (as reduced by the amount of any credit provided under section 1395w–24 (b)(1)(C)(iv) [2] of this title)."

Clear enough?

Nothing simple with many government texts.

Makes one think the writers get paid by the word --- or symbol.

Palazzolo also points out the Dodd-Frank financial law runs 2,300 pages while President Barrack Obama’s health-care law fills more than 900 pages.

Perhaps, in efforts to keep word volume shorter, more former tabloid newspaper staffers --- brought up to “write tight” --- should be called on to assist with authoring legislation.

 

Check these PR words, phrases that make editors grunt

For some public relations folks who like to use fluffy words in news releases that are sure to make editors grunt, a former newspaper business editor reminds them of some terms to avoid, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The words and phrases to shun list comes from Tom Gable, founder and head of San Diego-based Gable PR and former business editor of the San Diego Tribune. (The Tribune merged with the San Diego Union to become the San Diego Union-Tribune until a name change last month to U-T San Diego.) 

Gable also is the author of The PR Client Service Manual that helps public relations agencies or in-house PR staffs plan, organize and manage for results. 

In a byliner on public relations tactics in the February issue of a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) publication, Gable cites these offenders sure to irritate editors: 

Best-of-breed, customer-centric, cutting edge, end-to-end, epic, excited, first mover, flexible, innovate, leader, leading edge, leading provider, leverage, market leading, mission critical, new and improved, new paradigm, next generation, outside the box, robust, scalable, seamless, solutions, state-of-the-art, synergy, thrilled, turnkey, unique, value-added, well-positioned and world class. 

As an example of output from what he calls a “lazy writer,” Gable gives this example: 

“XYZ Corp., the leading provider of best-of-breed, seamless solutions in the lug nut industry, announced the introduction of a new and improved version of its next generation hexagonal wrench today.

“We are excited to be the first mover in the introduction of this unique, cutting edge, customer-centric tool in this robust global market,” said Alonzo McSchwartz, CEO. “We are thrilled about our epic achievement and the out-of-the box thinking from our world class engineering team that led to this new paradigm in high-tech closure management solutions.”

Such material is sure to make the wastebasket, not the front page.

 

Sacramento Bee nixes altered art, but not Businessweek

Two cases of “manipulated photos” in the past week resulted in the firing of an award-winning photographer at the Sacramento Bee but not much static with the other on this week’s Bloomberg Businessweek cover, notes Grumpy Editor. 

What’s going on? 

In the Sacramento Bee case, photojournalist Bryan Patrick digitally merged two shots into one showing a snowy egret trying to steal a frog from a great egret. The art was published on Jan. 29. 

Seems in the original image the frog was not as visible. 

Because of that, the Sacramento Bee charged Patrick with “violating the paper's ethics policy forbidding manipulation of documentary photographs."  And out he went. 

Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Businessweek cover in the Feb. 6 to 12 issue showed a digitally-altered Continental Airlines passenger jet riding piggyback on a similar United Airlines craft as the sun sets behind clouds.  The cover headline: "Let's Get It On." 

The cover story focused on merging of Continental and United “means endless decisions, from uniforms to coffee.” 

Manipulating photos is nothing new. 

Long before digitally-altered art, print editorial artists would enhance crime scenes or eliminate movie stars' wrinkles via airbrushing photos. 

Nobody complained. 

Now there seems to be some sensitivity --- or super-strict honesty --- in situations that don’t really matter…like two birds and a frog in the wilds.

 

NBC frowns on Romney campaign using 1997 news clip

A tiff between NBC News and the Mitt Romney campaign focused on a Romney television commercial that used a clip from a 1997 NBC broadcast reporting on Newt Gingrich’s ethics charges reprimand from the House of Representatives, notes Grumpy Editor.

NBC has asked the GOP presidential candidate to yank the campaign spot that features Tom Brokaw footage. 

The clip was used without permission and the extensive use of the broadcast "inaccurately suggests that NBC News and Mr. Brokaw have consented to the use of this material and agree with the political position espoused by the videos," NBC wrote Matt Rhoades, Romney campaign manager.

"Aside from the obvious copyright issues, this use of the voice of Mr. Brokaw and the NBC News name exploits him and the journalistic credibility of NBC News," the letter said.

Brokaw, in a statement released by NBC, said:  "I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."   

Associated Press reported the network asked for the campaign to stop running the ad immediately and revise any other videos or commercials to remove NBC material but a Romney adviser said the campaign isn't likely to stop running the spot, arguing the video falls under fair use.

Meanwhile, into the mix, Kyle Drennen, on the NewsBusters website, reminded:  "It has now been 4,742 days without an NBC story on Gingrich subsequently being cleared of those (ethics) charges."

Bathroom vs. lavatory: Which word flies with editors?

Many busy newsroom copy editors increasingly are letting an essential section aboard an aircraft slip by without changing its description to lavatory from bathroom, grumbles Grumpy Editor. 

Two Sunday incidents in the air referred to a lavatory as a bathroom. 

A bathroom is defined as “a room containing a bath or a shower and usually a wash basin.” 

(Taking a shower or bath at 35,000 feet would be nice, especially on a cross-country flight.) 

Lavatory refers to “a room fitted with equipment for washing the hands and face and usually with flush toilet facilities.” 

Bathroom was widely used in two separate stories focusing on air incidents on security-conscious Sunday that marked the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

With both words highlighted below --- 

A Fox News story mentioned that on a Los Angeles-to-New York American Airlines flight, three passengers made repeated trips to the bathroom.  It added that on an earlier Denver-to-Detroit Frontier Airlines flight, the crew reported two people were spending much time in a bathroom.  

The second paragraph in an Associated Press story cited, “The bathroom use by some passengers aroused the suspicion Sunday.” 

A following paragraph pointed out that with the American Airlines flight from Los Angeles, three passengers who made repeated trips to the bathroom were cleared after the plane landed at New York's Kennedy Airport. 

Meanwhile a Denver Post story had it right, reporting “The pilot aboard Frontier Flight 623 from Denver International Airport radioed the tower in Detroit about suspicious behavior onboard after two people stayed "an extraordinarily long time in the lavatory.”  

A Christian Science Monitor report used both words.  Referring to the Frontier flight, it said the crew feared that a passenger's frequent and unusually long trips to the aircraft lavatory on Sept. 11 were a sign that a potential terrorist plot was under way.  But then, the second paragraph described it as “peculiar bathroom breaks.” 

The Wall Street Journal’s version with the Frontier flight mentioned bathroom twice. 

However, bypassing use of bathroom or lavatory, London’s Daily Telegraph dropped in a down-to-earth description of the location of suspicious action aboard the aircraft.

The British paper’s version reported the Frontier crew said "two people were spending 'an extraordinarily long time' in a toilet."

 

Stolen Rembrandt in L.A. gets fuzzy location treatment

Promptly pinpointing the “where” in a news story lead still comes up fuzzy for some writers as in the weekend case of a pen-and-ink Rembrandt, valued at $250,000, snatched from a lobby exhibit at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Marina del Rey section of Los Angeles, grumbles Grumpy Editor.

In its lead, Associated Press put the location “at a luxury California hotel.”  That really pinpointed the action in a state that spans 158,706 square miles.

CNN, in its opening paragraph on the Web, had “detectives in southern California” searching for clues --- not realizing that Southern (correctly spelled with a capital S) California is the size of Indiana and Ohio combined.

A Los Angeles Times lead identified the area --- Marina del Rey --- where the drawing disappeared but tucked the hotel name in the second paragraph.

The lead in a UPI story quickly identified Marina del Rey as where the Rembrandt drawing known as "The Judgment” was stolen, but mention of Ritz-Carlton was saved for the second paragraph.

To its credit, the City News Service/NBC Los Angeles version worked in both the hotel’s name and Marina del Rey in the lead…but incorrectly upper-cased D with del.

Detectives believed a man working with accomplices stole the 1655-era drawing that measures about 10 inches by 6 inches.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATE

After a tip to authorities, the Rembrandt art was recovered from the pastor’s office of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Encino, in the San Fernando Valley, 14 miles from Marina del Rey.  Police said the pastor is not a suspect.

 

Reader’s Digest posts ‘for sale’ sign, hopes for $1 billion

In putting itself up for sale this week, the Reader’s Digest Association Inc., founded in 1922, hopes to attract around $1 billion for its namesake and other operations in its large family, notes Grumpy Editor.

The New York-based company produces 92 magazines globally, including 50 editions of Reader’s Digest.

As with most other magazines, readership numbers have been fading.

Older readers will recall earlier years when Reader’s Digest lived up to its name with condensations of key articles from a variety of publications.

The routine called for about 30 articles in digest form in each issue. 

The idea was to read “an article a day” during a month.

On occasion, the Digest would run a magazine article before it appeared in its credited publication.

From 1934 it added a condensed “book of the month" to its pages.

That formula worked for years.

Lately, the Digest has targeted women readers with service oriented and celebrity material.

Adding to its woes in recent years --- and upsetting veteran contributors --- were steady departures of seasoned department editors.