Grumpy Editor

Britain's Guardian leads U.S. media in snooping coverage; Koch eyes newspapers, cites need to 'focus on real news'

London-based The Guardian newspaper left U.S. print/broadcast news media with red faces when it broke stories on Fort Meade, Maryland-based National Security Agency collecting information on millions of Americans through various sources, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Soon followed by the Washington Post on the NSA activity, it ranks as the top story of the week --- with additional information popping up daily. 

Edward Snowden reveals he is the whistleblower behind the leaks. 

The Guardian describes Snowden as a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and employee of defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, adding he has been working at NSA for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz. 

Now in Hong Kong, Snowden says:  “I do not expect to see home again.”

Behind The Guardian coverage is Glenn Greenwald, a columnist focusing on civil liberties and U.S. national security issues.  A former constitutional lawyer, Greenwald writes for The Guardian version designed for the U.S.  The Guardian maintains a U.S. editorial office (which it calls a branch) in New York City. 

Greenwald also was in Hong Kong yesterday. 

Breaking the NSA snooping story via London underscores what happens with a decline in U.S. investigative reporters as layoffs mount in print and broadcast media. 

For an aerial view of NSA’s data center --- showing a half dozen buildings at the vast facility in Bluffdale, Utah --- go here.  

 

Koch Industries mulls newspaper addition 

The Wall Street Journal reports billionaire Charles Koch confirms his company, Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries Inc., is looking into the possibility of acquiring newspapers, but insists he is seeking  a profitable business, rather than a venue to advance his politics.

"There is a need for focus on real news, not news with an agenda or not news that is really editorializing," he tells the WSJ.

Koch also points out the editorial page of any newspaper his company acquires “would be a marketplace of ideas where all sorts of approaches to public-policy issues are vetted and contrasted, and there could be ongoing debate.” 

Recent reports mention that Koch and his brother David have indicated an interest in Chicago-based Tribune Co. newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun. 

Getting into the newspaper field would be a new avenue for the Koch brothers.  Their Koch Industries operations include oil refining, energy pipelines and production of chemicals, fibers and fertilizer.

 

In case you missed these… 

Time Warner Inc. is investing about $50 million in China Media Capital, a Chinese investment fund, targeting TV and film content operations…In connection with the June 6 anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France in 1944, some stories reminded readers that World War II veterans are dying at a rate of more than 600 a day, meaning future tales of combat in Europe and the Pacific are more likely to come from a book or a Website than from the veterans themselves…Only a very slim one percent of likely voters give Congress an excellent rating, with 64 percent giving the body poor marks while five percent rate performance as good and 26 percent fair, tallies a Rasmussen Reports survey…Down with “breaking news.”   That’s what Louisville Fox TV affiliate WDRB trumpets.  “It’s an advertising trick, a gimmick that isn’t based on anything,” declares a voice in a spot the station has been running. “Breaking news’ is seldom actually breaking and, quite often, isn’t even news.”

 

Cheers to The Wall Street Journal with a humorous play on words with a front-page headline Saturday:  San Francisco Giants Fans Find Diamonds Are a Gull’s Best Friend.  The article points out how hungry seagulls “clean up” fans’ food remains after baseball games.

Optimism glows in pending acquisition of NV Energy by Buffett unit; Fresno daily thwarts visit by retired staffer

Grumpy Editor finds some business writers often jump the gun, saying a company has been sold, when it still --- often over a period of months --- has to clear shareholder and regulatory hurdles before the deal is finalized.

Such is the case with the announcement that MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., plans to acquire NV Energy, Inc., for $5.6 billion.

The pending acquisition needs the approval of NV Energy shareholders, Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The lengthy procedure for approval could extend to next year’s first quarter. 

Yet, some sources already report a done deal --- or close to a green light. 

The daily Nevada Appeal, Carson City, says NV Energy “has been sold” to MidAmerican Energy.

An Associated Press report mentions MidAmerican Energy “will buy Nevada electric and natural gas company NV Energy…”  (Incidentally, no natural gas is connected with the Nevada power company.) 

Meanwhile, Michael Yackira, NV Energy’s president and CEO informs customers that his company “will be acquired by MidAmerican.” 

 

Fresno Bee snubs retired veteran staffer’s visit 

Are former newsroom staffers welcomed back to visit where they once met deadlines?

After veteran newsman Bill Patterson, now retired, read an Editor & Publisher story that the Pasadena Star-News and San Bernardino Sun are inviting the public to sit back and relax in their newsrooms, he grumbled that wasn’t the way he was greeted when he attempted to show a friend where he toiled for 42 years at the Fresno Bee, a McClatchy Co. paper. 

E&P mentioned the Star-News and Sun unveiled “news lounges,” open to the public during business hours, that are equipped with computers, Internet access, tables and sitting areas. 

Digital First Media, parent of the Star-News and Sun, opened more than 20 similar "community media labs" around the country, part of a "community engagement initiative." 

Patterson, who drove more than 500 miles to Fresno two years ago, said he was greeted by a “grouchy receptionist who informed us our contacts were at lunch and not available,” thus blocking the visit. 

Rather than create a fuss, Patterson --- who worked in just about every part of the Bee editorial department, including the City Hall beat, business editor and 20 years covering courts --- simply departed. 

 

In case you missed these… 

The full photo operation, involving about 30 staffers, at the Chicago Sun-Times (and suburban subsidiaries) was sacked as the tabloid plans to rely on reporters performing double duty in shooting photos and video, along with taking notes.  The newspaper said, “The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network”…Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was busy last week.  In addition to the NV Energy planned acquisition, it said it will add The Roanoke (Va.) Times to its growing list of small and medium-sized newspapers.  With a daily circulation of 76,000 and Sunday circulation of 90,000, it will be Berkshire's 30th daily newspaper…Veteran television host Larry King has joined RT (also known as Russia Today), the Russian-based 24-hour cable news network.  “Politics with Larry King” debuts this month.  RT will also host “Larry King Now.”  Programs will be recorded in Los Angeles and Washington…Cumulus Media Networks, through Friday, raised almost $4 million for Oklahoma tornado relief…With a high outbreak of tornadoes and thunderstorms, the Obama administration has shelved plans to furlough Weather Service staffers under budget sequestration…Veteran Associated Press correspondent Hal McClure, whose overseas coverage --- ranging from Singapore to Turkey --- spanned 21 years, died in  California.  He was 92.

The Internal Revenue Service spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012, according to a House committee report.

Wall Street Journal takes poke at prompt loan-repaying Tesla Motors; Fast Company cites 'golden age for TV'

Rather than kudos to Tesla Motors, Inc. for paying off an almost half billion dollar government startup loan in a swift three years, a Wall Street Journal editorial took a swipe at the fast-growing electric car maker, notes Grumpy Editor.

Tesla wired a $451.8 million payment to the government on Wednesday. That sum, coupled with two prior payments, paid off a $465 million loan the company received from the Department of Energy in 2010 to foster development of advanced-technology vehicles.

The repayment came nine years early.

Despite the prompt payment (while other companies with recent government loans have defaulted or are about to) a WSJ editorial writer, in giving a bit of history on the California-based company, decided to “take apart Tesla by the numbers, if only to give our reader-taxpayers a better sense of what they’ve paid to make Tesla’s owners rich.” 

Taking up one fourth of the editorial page on Friday, the material cited subsidies, windfalls, a brokerage report and a Los Angeles Times analysis.  It even mentioned an environmentalist who noted “manufacturing and charging electric cars over their life cycle can produce more carbon than small, gas-powered vehicles.”

The negative editorial was contrary to the hefty applause WSJ’s auto writer Dan Neil recently gave Tesla after a comprehensive test drive. 

And on Saturday’s The Journal Editorial Report on Fox, Kimberley Strassel, WSJ editorial board member, praised Tesla in the week’s hits or misses segment, giving the high-tech auto firm a solid hit in paying off the loan. 

Meanwhile, those “rich owners” --- big and small investors of the publicly-held stock --- gave their answer to the WSJ editorial at the market close on Friday:  Tesla jumped $4.35 a share, reaching $97.08, almost four times above its 52-week low.

 

Magazine hails TV as top creative medium

 

Catching Grumpy Editor’s eyes was some material in the June issue of Fast Company that lead off with:  “Once a wasteland, TV is now the most thoughtful creative entertainment medium of them all.” 

Then it added, “It’s a golden age for TV, where on any given night, viewers can find multiple examples of American comedic and dramatic genius.” 

Huh? 

Sounds like something that was written in the 1950s, not the current fare that includes easy-on-the-budget reality shows, unfunny comedies peppered with laugh tracks and a parade of reruns in prime time. 

It’s hard to beat the TV menu of the 1950s.  Among top shows was Playhouse 90, a 90-minute weekly drama series on Thursdays that ran from 1956 to 1960 on CBS.  Playhouse 90 began as a live series, making a transition to tape in 1957. 

On the comedy side was Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” on NBC from 1950 to 1954.  The Saturday night “live” 90-minute variety program, which produced genuine laughs, also featured Carl Reiner and Imogene Coca.

 

In case you missed these… 

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, warning on the Justice Department investigation of Fox News reporter James Rosen, declared:  "U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion."  Meanwhile, in connection with the Rosen case and the Associated Press scandal, Jay Carney, White House press secretary, said:  The president was "a strong defender of the First Amendment and a firm believer in the needs of the press to obtain information."

 

While accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 incident that left 13 dead and 32 injured, soldiers wounded in the mass shooting are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat…ESPN is cutting about 10 percent of its work force…Bob Schieffer, the 44-year CBS News veteran and moderator of “Face the Nation,” received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism…A panel of news and news/talk experts named Hubbard Radio's WTOP, Washington, D.C., the U.S.’s top news station in Radio Ink Magazine's first listing of news and news/talk stations…ABC News’ Diane Sawyer and Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren made Forbes’ 2013 list of the world’s most powerful women.  Sawyer ranked No. 73 and Van Susteren No. 97.

 

Young spellers --- perhaps some will be future copy editors --- will be in the spotlight tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday for the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md.  The Bee, promoted by E.W. Scripps Co. since 1941, started in 1925 with nine contestants.

A look back: As Benghazi attack unfolds, Obama preps for Vegas; Newspaper publisher, 21, debuts in Nebraska

During a heavy news week, questions continue on the mystery focusing on the silence and whereabouts of President Barack Obama on the night of Sept. 11, 2012 while a deadly attack on Americans was under way in Benghazi, Libya, observes Grumpy Editor.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a super sleuth to uncover that, with a campaign fund-raising event the next day --- Sept. 12 --- in Las Vegas, obviously the president was gearing up for his speech and Sin City activities.

Noteworthy, however, is that the White House schedule for Sept. 11 shows a 5 p.m. (Eastern) meeting with then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the Oval Office.

The question:  What did they discuss, since the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stephens, started mid-afternoon Washington time on that day.

Quizzed yesterday by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday on the president’s whereabouts on the night of the Benghazi attack, Dan Pfeiffer, senior advisor to the president for strategy and communications, declared: “I don’t remember what room the president was in that night.  That’s a largely irrelevant fact.”

The president and others last week called the renewed debate on Benghazi “a sideshow.”

Updated information last week on the Benghazi attack was competing with other front-page reports on the Obama administration’s role with a secret probe of the Associated Press and its confidential sources plus revelations of political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service.

 

There’s hope for print journalism

Grumpy Editor finds it refreshing that 21-year-old Michael Happ, on the weekend prior to his graduation from Creighton University, produced the first issue of the Elm Creek (Neb.) Beacon-Observer since he became publisher.

The weekly’s Thursday edition kept him up until 3 a.m. putting on the finishing touches, according to Jessica Kokesh, regional editor of the daily Kearney (Neb.) Hub.

Kokesh relates that “Happ owns the Beacon-Observer building and built an apartment for himself in the back room where the printing press used to be."

The young publisher tells Kokesh he "hopes to introduce online coverage once things have slowed down, and plans to redesign the Beacon-Observer when he’s more familiar with the design software.”

“Happ was on spring break in March when his father called to tell him about the opportunity to buy the Beacon-Observer,” writes Kokesh.  “He was immediately interested and called the (owners) to take a look at the office in Elm Creek that day.” 

He seeks "an entire new look, kind of a grand opening for the paper” and plans to widen the newspaper’s coverage to include Loomis, Pleasanton and other area communities.

 

In case you missed these…

Super fast action:  Two days after journalists called the Justice Department’s seizure of records from phone lines assigned to Associated Press offices and its reporters over a two-month period “chilling” and a “dragnet to intimidate the media,” the White House --- in an effort to blunt the phone records seizure story --- on Wednesday said it will renew its push for legislation that would offer federal protections to journalists and their sources via reintroduction of the so-called media shield bill --- which faltered nearly four years ago in Congress…A Rasmussen Reports national survey finds 84 percent of American adults believe English should be the official language of the United States.

Not too many U.S. publications have an architecture critic on staff.  But the Dallas Morning News does with the hiring of Mark Lamster.  A focus on architecture in Dallas comes as the city is experiencing a building boom that is changing the skyline…The daily Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa., owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group, goes to publishing three days a week beginning Jan. 1…United Methodist Reporter, hit by financial losses, will cease operations May 31…After operating at a downtown Miami building on Biscayne Bay since 1963, the Miami Herald moved to suburban Doral. The 750,000-square foot building was purchased for $236 million in 2011 by Malaysia-based Genting Group from the newspaper's parent company, McClatchy Co.  Genting plans to demolish the building and erect a luxury hotel --- and, with state approval, a casino on the 13.9-acre site…“Jack Bauer” is returning to TV.  Kiefer Sutherland will star in 12-episodes of political thriller "24” on Fox starting next May.

While most broadcast and cable networks carried the press conference of President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, a local NBC affiliate beamed its own program with a world-shaking discussion on:  How many swimsuits do you own?

Some newspaper editors bury latest Benghazi details; Delivery problem? Call audience development division

With a House committee hearing producing fresh revelations on the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi that resulted in the murders of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, Grumpy Editor surveyed how key U.S. newspapers played the story. 

New York Times and Washington Post editors were among those who recognized the significance of fresh information eight months after the attack.  Both placed reports on column one of their front pages. 

Others going the front-page route included the Denver Post and Kansas City Star. 

But many dailies put the material on inside pages. 

Information from the House hearing didn’t make front page of the Los Angeles Times.  But its five opening-page stories included “Mexico’s cop test comes under fire” and costs of a freeway project. 

The Boston Globe managed to include the Benghazi update among 10 “refers” on its front page where the top story was: “Labs must test medical marijuana.”

The latest Benghazi revelations --- in which incompetence and misinformation were cited --- also bypassed front pages of the Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Detroit News.  With the latter, Benghazi was not among the eight “refers” on the front page where the main story was “Hazardous cargo may head to bridge.” 

Meanwhile, the Bakersfield California went all out with three-fourths of the front page showing a head shot of Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of the mission in Libya and one of the three State Department “whistle blowers” at the House hearing. 

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Are further probes likely on Benghazi events?  Unanswered questions --- still hanging after eight months --- point to that.

Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News' Emmy Award-winning investigative correspondent appearing on C-Span yesterday, revealed she has a list of 25 questions regarding Benghazi still awaiting answers from the White House communications office and others.  “It’s hard to say where this (investigation) goes,” she said.  

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New name for circulation department

Say goodbye to a newspaper’s circulation department --- at least in Fresno, Calif.

The Fresno Bee, one of McClatchy Co.'s 30 daily newspapers in 15 states, renames the long-known circulation department as the (mouthful) audience development division. 

Sounds like something that would be promoted at a broadcast operation in efforts to boost listeners/viewers. 

But the Bee says the updated title --- sure to create havoc when subscribers phone in to report a missing morning delivery --- “more accurately reflects (the department’s) responsibilities.” 

The change, says Bee publisher and president Tom Cullinan, reflects the department's role to increase print readership and to expand the online audience through a variety of products and platforms. 

 

In case you missed these… 

Disciplinary actions:  A U.S. soldier riding in a vehicle in Afghanistan could face disciplinary action for throwing stones at a portrait of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.  Meanwhile, two seven-year-old Suffolk, Va., second graders were suspended for two days for making shooting noises while pointing pencils at each another…Hocus-pocus.  Standing about 30 feet apart --- and appearing to chat via satellite on a split-screen --- were CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield and HLN anchor Nancy Grace.  Producers didn’t count on the same vehicles passing through the background.

 

New York print ranks get slimmer.  Two editors quit the Village Voice Thursday after being instructed to reduce staff by five.  On the same day, the New York Post sought to lower its headcount by 10 percent through buyout packages.  Later, the New York Daily News announced layoffs.  As Daily News editor-in-chief Colin Myler and president Bill Holiber explained it:

“The newspaper industry is going through an unprecedented revolution. Print advertising and circulation revenue streams continue to fall but our business transformation as a whole is strong and growing.”

3 L.A. councilmen frown on Koch brothers eyeing L.A. Times; newspaper circulation figures continue to ebb

With strong rumbles that billionaire brothers Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch are among those interested in buying the Los Angeles Times, part of the Tribune Co., three Los Angeles City Council members ask colleagues to consider withdrawing city pension money from investment firms that own the newspaper if they sell the publication to buyers who do not support “professional and objective journalism,” notes Grumpy Editor. 

As reported by Times staffer Catherine Saillant, councilman Bill Rosendahl declares, “Frankly what I hear about the Koch brothers, if it’s true, it’s the end of journalism.  I don’t want to see Los Angeles, the second-largest city and the biggest region in the nation, not to have a quality newspaper.”

Other council members siding with Rosendahl are Dennis Zine and Eric Garcetti.  Garcetti is running for mayor in a May 21 city election.

In recent national elections, the Koch brothers --- top executives of Koch Industries Inc., second largest privately-held company in the U.S. --- supplied financial support to libertarian candidates and causes.

The Tribune Co., which emerged from bankruptcy last year, owns eight newspapers, including The Times, and 23 television stations. 

Concern over the Koch brothers comes at a time when The Times print subscriptions in the six months ended March 31 tumbled to 432,873, a low not seen in years. 

 

Wall Street Journal remains tops in circulation 

Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations) reports average daily circulation for 593 U.S. newspapers reporting comparable averages for print and digital subscriptions slipped 0.7 percent for the six months ended March 31 vs. the like period a year ago.

AAM adds Sunday circulation for 519 newspapers reporting comparable data was down 1.4 percent.  

Scorecard on the top five newspapers:

 

Newspaper Name	Print	Total Digital	Total Average Circulation Excluding Branded	Total Branded Editions Print & Digital	Total Average Circulation		Percent Change
					As of 03/31/13	As of 03/31/12
WALL STREET JOURNAL	1,480,725	898,102	2,378,827		2,378,827	2,118,315	12.3%
NEW YORK TIMES	731,395	1,133,923	1,865,318		1,865,318	1,586,757	17.6%
USA TODAY	1,424,406	249,900	1,674,306		1,674,306	1,817,446	-7.9%
LOS ANGELES TIMES	432,873	177,720	610,593	43,275	653,868	616,575	6.0%
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS	360,459	155,706	516,165		516,165	579,636	-11.0%

 

In case you missed these… 

About 20 radio talk show hosts and programs from around the country are slated for live shows or recorded interviews on Talk Radio Day at the United Nations on June 7…The Daily Beast has "parted company" with Washington bureau chief Howard Kurtz…Arizona and Rhode Island newspapers are linked following the sale of the Yuma Sun, which started publishing in April 1896, to Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers Inc., part of Horizon Publications which publishes newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. 

NewsBusters points out, “With all the media panic about sequestration, one would think a study finding billions of dollars of fraud in a government program would be national news.  Apparently not, for with few exceptions, a report published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve last week finding $3.3 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims in 2011 got almost no attention." 

Snow shovels linger into May.  Media mentions of global warming (aka climate change) were absent as the National Climatic Data Center reports more than 1,100 snowfall records and 3,400 cold records were set across the nation in April…Wal-Mart Stores Inc. seeks to hypo its image with TV spots titled, “The Real Walmart”…Another newspaper building sold.  Riverside (Calif.) County agrees to buy the Riverside Press-Enterprise building for about $30 million…A somewhat delayed analysis:  The Pentagon tells Congress that North Korea "will move closer" to its announced goal of being able to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-armed missile if it keeps investing in tests of nuclear and missile technology...Talk Radio Network’s Rusty Humphries gets Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) devoting a chunk of time last Thursday in a “no-holds-barred interview” on issues facing Congress.  

Newspaper reporter sinks to bottom of least-favored jobs; a reminder: HHS adds PR firm to tout ObamaCare

For those thinking about a career as newspaper reporter, some glum news:  that occupation ranks as the worst these days, tallies a 2013 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report, observes Grumpy Editor.

Newspaper reporter drops to the bottom of the list (No. 200) in a tally by the Carlsbad, Calif., firm.  That’s one notch below lumberjack and compares with a 126 ranking in 1988.

“Newspaper reporters have fared poorly in the report for years due to the job's high stress and tight deadlines, low pay and requirement to work in all conditions to get the story,” points out CareerCast.com.  “Ever-shrinking newsrooms, dwindling budgets and Internet competition have created a very difficult environment, driving the position to dead last on this year's Jobs Rated Report.”

Tony Lee, publisher, CareerCast.com mentions, "People who love to write can consider working for online publications or transition to advertising or public relations.  Many jobs in communications offer better hours, greater stability, a work/life balance and a healthier hiring outlook than being a newspaper reporter."

So what are the top five 2013 jobs?

Topping the list is actuary, followed by biomedical engineer, software engineer, audiologist and financial planner.

 

Another reminder of outside PR use by HHS

Making the rounds again on the Web after a Newsmax mention last week is the Obama administration awarding PR firm Weber Shandwick a $3.1 million contract “to help sell ObamaCare to the uninsured and persuade them to enroll in a healthcare plan.”

The repeat of an announcement almost seven months earlier does remind, however, how Washington --- with wall-to-wall chatter these days on budget cuts via sequester --- spends taxpayer money on an outside PR campaign when Department of Health and Human Services already has a mighty taxpayer-paid press office.

See the HHS lengthy press office list here.

Perhaps the Obama administration and HHS are swayed by inspirational words on the Weber Shandwick Web site.  The global public relations firm with offices in 81 countries, boasts:

“We are a creative studio of writers, designers, builders, strategists, conversation-starters, storytellers. We are passionate about our clients and, through our specialty firms and dedicated practice groups, we are deeply knowledgeable about their businesses. And while we are a big, global organization, we believe that collaboration is the best way to succeed.”

The PR firm also cites:  “We inspire. We incite. We shape ideas to move companies and organizations forward. We get people thinking and acting in new ways so they connect with and advocate for your brand. And we do it with a level of commitment and expertise that is simply unmatched by anyone, anywhere.” 

Undoubtedly, HHS couldn’t resist those stimulating words.

 

In case you missed these…

Not so fast:  “Air traffic controllers back at full strength,” proclaims a Saturday newspaper across-the-page headline over an Associated Press story.  Not quite.  The sixth paragraph of the AP piece reads: “There  was no immediate word on when the controllers’ furloughs would end.”  Sunday papers have the FAA controllers going back to work "within 24 hours." Actually, President Barack Obama was prepared to sign the bill on Saturday morning, but now must wait until tomorrow because a spelling error in the measure needs to be corrected. 

In an unusual promotional partnership hailed as a Hollywood first, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. customers will be able to buy tickets to June 13 screenings of Man of Steel, the latest Warner Bros Superman movie…The Express-Times, Easton, Pa., is eliminating its production department and will move its printing operations to the Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance starting June 3.  The move erases 12 full-time and 26 part-time Easton jobs

Cheers for radio coverage.  While most newspapers snub radio coverage with its many offerings, the Orange County (Calif.) Register says long-time radio writer Don Barrett is the newspaper’s new radio columnist…Traffic-clogged drivers already are squirming in Los Angeles with word that President Obama will fly to the city again on June 7 for a series of Democrat fundraisers.  LA Observed, which follows these trips, reminds readers to “mark your Obamajam calendars.”

An amusing, attention-getting ad from iGATE in Forbes magazine declares in large type:  “If this ad does not deliver results, we’re not paying Forbes.”  iGATE, with principal executive offices in Fremont, Calif., provides consulting, technology and business process outsourcing, and product and engineering solutions.

Wall Street Journal likes proposed ‘chained CPI’; Newspaper revenue continues to decline in 2012

The Wall Street Journal jumped into the “chained CPI” fray with a Thursday editorial, neglecting the negative financial effect it would have on squeezed Social Security recipients and others, but backing President Barack Obama in replacing the traditional consumer price index with the “more accurate measure of inflation,” notes Grumpy Editor.

Switching the long-running traditional CPI with chained CPI --- short for the mouthful “chained consumer price index for all urban consumers” --- would reduce benefit increases to more than 60 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly payments. 

As the Journal happily explains the chained CPI: “This alternative measure of purchasing power takes into account how consumers change their buying habits over time as prices change.  When oranges cost more, for example, people buy fewer oranges and eat more apples instead.” 

Sounds good.  But will that routine happen? 

Getting back to the oranges/apples illustration --- Journal editorial writers may be interested to know that at a local Kroger supermarket, oranges are 89 cents a pound with apples a dime higher. 

Will consumers really shift to cheaper substitutes?

Following that thinking, an updated CPI formula points to seniors switching, as examples, to bus transportation when air fares rise above the cumulus, or moving from a two bedroom apartment to smaller lodging --- or (worst of all) dropping a newspaper subscription in favor of checking the Web.

Print national advertising drops 15 percent 

Newspaper revenue continues to ebb, falling to $38.6 billion or 2 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the Newspaper Association of America. 

NAA notes advertising in printed daily and Sunday newspapers dropped 9 percent in 2012, according to data from 15 companies that provided detailed breakouts by category.

In various segments, adds NAA, retail advertising was off 8 percent, national advertising dropped 15 percent while classified advertising declined 9 percent.

Within the classified category, automotive slumped 9 percent, real estate fell 12 percent, recruitment declined 8 percent and all other classified edged down 5 percent, tallies NAA.

However, there are signs that the dips are starting to be made up by other sources, including digital subscriptions and digital advertising.

 

In case you missed these…

Despite an uneasy situation in some parts of the world, more than a dozen Air Force fighter squadrons are grounded at U.S. bases around the world, as the cash-strapped service confronts the effects of steep defense budget cuts brought on by sequestration.  Says one veteran Air Force commander:  “The stuff that’s happening this year is going to have impacts on our force for many years to come.”  In addition, the Air Force wants to shed 2,640 airmen next year…The Postal Service is canceling plans to end Saturday mail delivery this summer. Editors on many newsweeklies and community papers are breathing easier since their products rely on Saturday mail delivery to reach subscribers…Los Angeles CBS radio station KNX today marks its 45^th year as an all-news outlet.  Over the years, notes Grumpy Editor, the 50,000 watter continues to do a top-notch professional job around the clock.

CNN plans to bring back Crossfire in June…The New York Observer laid off 11 people from the business side of its overall media group on Friday, part of a sales team reorganization…Why print copy editors sprout gray hair: The Associated Press is making another change in its Stylebook, this time contracting under way to one word, underway…The Taylor family, former owner of the Boston Globe for more than a century until 1993, is mulling an offer to buy back the daily, along with the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, from The New York Times Co…Annual ritual continues:  Look for local TV news crews tonight to stake out Post Offices for video of late tax filers dispatching their envelopes to the IRS.

Some mature information seekers dump wobbly news outlets; barbecue editor new position at Texas Monthly

The Pew Research Center finds nearly one-third (31 percent) of more than 2,000 adults surveyed say they have deserted a particular news outlet because it no longer provides the news and information they had grown accustomed to, observes Grumpy Editor.

The survey also uncovers those most likely to have walked away are better educated, wealthier and older than those who did not.

News organizations’ financial problems (including reduced ad revenues and circulation), triggering slashed news staffs and reduced coverage, are prime factors behind the audience recoil.

Yet 60 percent of news consumers say they have heard “a little” or “nothing at all” about financial conditions.

Meanwhile, in a poke at NBC's left-leaning cable operation, Brent Bozell, president of Media Research Center, barks, “don’t dare call MSNBC a news organization.”

Referring to a Pew Research Center poll, Bozell says only 15 percent of MSNBC air time is devoted to straight news reporting (vs. 45 percent at Fox News) with the remainder described as commentary.

Tasty job in Texas 

With growing newspaper staff cutbacks, titles such as science editor, aviation editor, boating editor, investigative reporter and such, are fast disappearing.

However, here’s a first: barbecue editor.

Daniel Vaughn joins Texas Monthly, which focuses on the Lone Star State’s politics, environment and education, along with Texas food.

He is being hailed as the only full-time barbecue staffer on a major U.S. newspaper or magazine. 

Texas Monthly editor in chief Jake Silverstein says Vaughn “is one of the state’s foremost experts on the subject of smoked meat,” adding, “his passion for the subject is unrivaled. He understands good barbecue, he understands what it takes to make great barbecue, and most important of all, he understands the way that with good barbecue --- as with all the world’s great traditional foods --- cuisine and culture are completely intertwined.”

That’s certainly a tastier position than the police beat.

 

In case you missed these…

Getting heavy play in print and broadcast media last week was salt, with coverage focusing on a study that claims too much sodium intake contributed to 2.3 million deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other heart-related diseases worldwide in 2010.  Could a focus on the effects of pepper be next, then soy sauce?...Most interesting headline of the week illustrates where U.S. taxpayers’ money is going: $384,949 Federal Study Looks at “Plasticity in Duck Penis Length.”  The CNSnews.com story notes the National Science Foundation issues that grant --- made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package --- to Yale University for a study on “Sexual Conflict, Social Behavior and the Evolution of Waterfowl Genitalia.”  The study aims to show age, environment and breeding changes can impact the penis length of certain ducks.

Endless winter:  Two words absent in weather coverage as unseasonal cold weather and snowstorms sweep across the Midwest and East at the start of spring --- global warming.  The U.S. is on track for the coldest March in 17 years...The late movie producer and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio executive Louis B. Mayer would have chased out of his office (and perhaps Culver City) creators of a “zombie romantic comedy” script that goes like this:  A walking corpse eats the brain of a young fighter, falls in love with the dead man’s girl friend and slowly becomes more human.  But it has been made into a movie, “Warm Bodies,” now showing

The Kiplinger Letter sums up current “not good” economic conditions in one compact paragraph:  “Growth is listless.  For every job that’s open there are three job seekers.  Nearly 8 million part timers can’t find full-time work.  Wages are stagnant.  Export growth is lackluster, and average home prices…still 15 percent below the peak.”

“Swift” progress:  Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday, declares the Obama administration has a plan to eliminate a 600,000-case backlog in veterans’ disability and compensation claims --- by 2015…Not getting much coverage:  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of likely voters believe everyone should be required to prove his or her U.S. citizenship before being allowed to register to vote…Four days into spring, Target Corp. --- in an ad in yesterday’s newspapers --- pitches a portable ice maker with “our lowest price of the season.”

Washington Post stats slump as executives scratch heads

As circulation and advertising figures slide at the Washington Post Co., management is probably wondering why --- and the Internet is not wholly to blame, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The Post reports print advertising skidded 12 percent in the 2012 fourth quarter, to $67.5 million.  The Post also cites average daily circulation in 2012 declined 8.6 percent to an average of 471,800, while average Sunday circulation fell 6.2 percent to 687,200. 

What’s behind advertising and circulation drifting lower at most newspapers?

When businesses, large and small, envision less money to spend, advertising is one of the first things slashed. 

Daily news reports are loaded with uncertainty, especially with predictions --- and scares from the nation’s capital --- of economic messes ahead. 

A heavy flow of new business/personal rules, regulations and taxes coming out of Washington plus the confusing financial wake looming from ObamaCare and the upcoming sequestration are among key contributors to the wide-scale uncertainty. 

For businesses, that’s not conducive to boosting advertising. 

Thus, the constant negativity running in news columns triggers less advertising space sold, putting a major dent in the bottom line of newspaper publishers. 

Eventually, and sadly, this also results in newspapers’ periodic staff trimming, among other measures. 

With circulation, when readers find their favorite newspaper is more of a lap dog rather than a watchdog --- echoing information, especially fuzzy math and misleading facts, fed from the White House and some lawmakers without newspaper fact checking or solid investigating --- they move on to other news sources. 

Getting back to the Washington Post:  Seeking to highlight a bright spot in the company’s glum 2012 financial figures, the Post cited:  “One benefit of the paper’s woes: lower newsprint costs,” down 10 percent.

 

 

AP okays ‘husband,’ ‘wife’ for same-sex couples

Updated in the Associated Press Stylebook, used by most newsrooms:  

Regardless of sexual orientation, use of husband or wife is acceptable in all references to individuals in any legally-recognized marriage. 

Spouse or partner may be used if requested, adds AP.

 

In case you missed these… 

Time magazine runs the longest article in its 90-years of publishing with a 24,000-word piece on “Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” by Steven Brill…The New York Times Co. is putting the “for sale” sign on its Boston Globe which also includes the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette…CBS News’  Bob Schieffer will receive the National Association of Broadcasters distinguished service award on April 8 in Las Vegas…David Axelrod, former White House senior adviser and senior strategist for President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, joins NBC News and MSNBC as a senior political analyst…Los Angeles Times scrubs its daily prime time television schedule from the newspaper’s Calendar section starting tomorrow…CNBC acquires the long-running Nightly Business Report from PBS and will move production from Miami to CNBC headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. on March 4…Generally overlooked in coverage of the wide-scale manhunt for rogue ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner, who later died in a Big Bear (Calif.) cabin fire, was the early-morning shooting in Torrance, Calif. of two L.A. Times delivery women by eight LAPD officers who mistook them for Dorner.  The injured women’s attorney says he counted 102 bullet holes in their blue Toyota Tacoma…Comedian Conan O'Brien, who hosts a nightly show on TBS, will emcee the annual White House Correspondents Dinner on April 27, airing on C-Span…Journal Register Co., which owns --- and plans to sell --- Michigan dailies The Oakland Press, The Macomb Daily, Morning Sun and Daily Tribune, says it plans to lay off more than 840 employees, with hopes that the new owner will rehire them.