Grumpy Editor

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.  

Another whodunit: Who gave okay for illegals release?

Imagine, more than 5,ooo jailed illegal aliens are being released --- after the Obama administration announced only “a few hundred” were being freed because of sequestration, notes Grumpy Editor.

What is interesting, and worthy of further investigation, is that both the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano deny any involvment with the illegals being turned loose.

Those released are required to appear at later court hearings (if they can be found).

Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press writer, did some digging and finds Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “released roughly 1,000 illegal immigrants from jails around the United States each week since at least Feb. 15” and 3,000 more are set for release this month.

 

Sequestration also grounds Thunderbirds

Not too much has been reported by national media about sequestration being blamed for clipping the wings of the Air Force's Thunderbirds, the aerial demostration team that flies six F-16s at air shows in the U.S. and around the world. 

 

The Thunderbirds' last performances before the team's grounding will be in Titusville, Fla., March 23 and 24.

Seems strange to cancel the Thunderbirds precision aerial exhibitions that thrill young and old folks plus all in between, boosts interest in flying and is simply patriotic.

 

Something for TV, film producers to consider 

With television and motion picture producers always seeking nifty stories, one they should consider (but without the now overused multi-car crashes or shootouts aimed at attracting 21-to-35 year olds), would include true World War II action and survival:

The story would follow a navigator on a B-25 aircraft, part of the Doolittle Raid to bomb Tokyo just a little over four months after the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Bombers in the daring raid took off from an aircraft carrier, a very unusual "runway" for large aircraft at the time. 

After the effective April 18, 1942 bombing run (and U.S. morale booster), the navigator's B-25, as with others, lacked fuel to reach safe territory.  Some made forced landings, others crashed.

The navigator had to bail out, parachuted into a tree but managed to elude Japanese capture.

He returned to action in bombing runs on the other side of the world in North Africa but was shot down in 1943 which led to spending two years in a German prison camp.

The navigator, Major Thomas C. Griffin, who later lived in the Cincinnati area, died Tuesday at 96, leaving only four surviving Doolittle Raid members out of the original 80.

Services will be held Saturday --- with a planned B-25 flyover, hopefully with coverage by national TV and print media.

 

In case you missed these:

Wrong number:  Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), with 22 years in the House and ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, faced print and TV media to declare (a highly inflated) “over 170 million jobs” could be lost because of federal spending cuts…Chicago-based Tribune Co. is exploring the sale of its eight newspapers that include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel…The New York Times Co. plans to drop the name of its 125-year-old International Herald Tribune, distributed in more than 160 countries and territories, and rechristening it this autumn as the International New York Times…This just in:  The Washington Post reported an asteroid hit near Decorah, Iowa --- about 470 million years ago…Warren Buffet acquires his 28^th daily newspaper, the Tulsa World, second largest newspaper in Oklahoma…Variety will discontinue its daily entertainment print publication March 18 but has launched Variety.com providing free access to breaking news and analysis…Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California governor and noted for action roles in films, returns to being executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines.  

Inquisitive minds muzzled at Obama press conference

In reporting on President Barack Obama’s first news conference in eight months, newspaper stories yesterday were missing some items of interest to ever-squeezed taxpayers, notes Grumpy Editor. 

With the economy, Benghazi and taxes of most concern to Americans, among questions fielded by the president at the White House news conference pertained to immigration and climate change --- overcovered topics that brought lengthy responses parallel to what was heard for months on the campaign trail leading to Obama's Nov. 6 re-election. 

During his 50-minute appearance (clocked at one hour by the Washington Post) in which he called on reporters from a pre-selected list of names, the president repeated some other campaign stump material. 

Among his comments: 

(Under a law awaiting passage in Congress), “98 percent of all Americans and 97 percent of all small businesses won’t see their taxes go up a single dime.” 

“Five and a half million jobs have been created.” 

“I know the math well.  There will be a modest tax increase on the wealthy.” 

“I’m open to new ideas on tax rates.” 

No member of the note-taking press was allowed to raise a hand in seeking amplification on any of the above statements. 

Also, no questions were asked about Obama’s Southeast Asia trip, departing tomorrow, to Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal story yesterday that focused on the president pressing for higher taxes mentioned: 

“About $400 billion in tax increases on virtually all working Americans will begin Jan. 2 unless an alternative plan is hatched.”

Axelrod plans Institute of Politics for young people

Young people, including those interested in journalism, thinking of getting into the political field should keep an eye on political consultant David Axelrod who has some educational ideas on the subject, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The senior advisor to President Barack Obama, on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” on CBS, told host Bob Schieffer that “I’m going to spend part of my time starting an Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.” 

He added, “My feeling is if I can help inspire some young people to get into this arena as candidates, as strategists, as journalists, then that would be a great contribution to make.”

Not only senior advisor to Obama, Axelrod earlier was top political advisor to President Bill Clinton. 

Axelrod, who majored in political science at the University of Chicago, started writing on politics for the Hyde Park Herald, Chicago’s oldest weekly community newspaper.

He later picked up an internship at the Chicago Tribune.  That led to a regular staff job at the Tribune after graduation in 1977. 

At 27, he became the Tribune’s City Hall bureau chief and a political columnist. 

Axelrod jumped into political campaigns in 1984, starting as communications director for Sen. Paul Simon. 

Now, about that much-cited $3,600 in Obama tax cuts

Two days after the presidential debate, most media continue to overlook a fuzzy monetary line repeated by President Barack Obama over the past few months, points out Grumpy Editor. 

In the debate with Mitt Romney, the president again mentions that he cut taxes for middle-class families by $3,600.  Period. 

That figure is trumpeted a lot lately on the campaign trail. 

Yet, that $3,600 may be news to many taxpayers struggling to pay bills.  That’s because there is an asterisk linked to that amount. 

The “I’ve cut taxes” line extends to an appearance on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last month as viewers heard Obama declare, “Taxes are lower on families than they’ve been probably in the last 50 years. So I haven’t raised taxes. I’ve cut taxes for middle-class families by an average of $3,600 for a typical family.” 

In a July 14 speech, similar to many on the campaign road, the “cut taxes” line comes out:  “That’s why I’ve cut middle-class taxes every year that I’ve been president --- by $3,600 for the typical middle-class family." 

Not mentioned, however, is that the $3,600 figure pertains to “a typical family making $50,000 a year” --- with special forms filed with the IRS along with tax returns. 

As a White House website explains: 

"A typical family making $50,000 a year has seen their taxes cut by $3,600 over the last four years, $800 in each of 2009 and 2010 due to the Making Work Pay tax credit and $1,000 in each of 2011 and 2012 due to the payroll tax cut." 

The IRS describes the “Making Work Pay tax credit” on its website: 

“In 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. Most wage earners benefited from larger paychecks in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the changes made to the federal income tax withholding tables to implement the Making Work Pay tax credit."

But claiming the credit required workers to file Schedule M with their tax returns.

Despite terrorist threat, U.S. aims $450 million to Egypt

Despite two allied, yet contrasting developments on Egypt, most U.S. media did not combine them to indicate how Washington acts these days during a period of  tense relations, observes Grumpy Editor. 

However, editors at The Times of Israel did. 

They merged a terrorist threat warning from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo with Washington’s plans of sending almost a half billion dollars in U.S. aid to Egypt. 

The Times of Israel story Friday noted the U.S. Embassy in Cairo urged U.S. citizens to “exercise vigilance, taking necessary precautions to maintain their personal security” and “Americans in Egypt were also advised to maintain valid travel documents and to regularly monitor the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which lists updated travel warnings and alerts.”

The Times of Israel worked in Rep. Kay Granger (R., Texas), “chairwoman of the House of Representatives committee that oversees foreign aid said she would block $450 million in U.S. assistance to Egypt in light of tense relations between the two countries.”

Rep. Granger, it added, said, “This proposal comes to Congress at a point when the U.S.-Egypt relationship has never been under more scrutiny, and rightly so.  I am not convinced of the urgent need for this assistance and I cannot support it at this time…I have placed a hold on these funds.”

The Times of Israel is a Jerusalem-based news Website founded eight months ago to document developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world.

Surcharge on phone bill boosts ‘ObamaPhones’ usage

Grabbing attention over the past few days, especially on talk radio: coverage of the so-called ObamaPhone, including audio from a video of a happy user, notes Grumpy Editor.

While the regular phone user-funded program --- intended as a landline phone service for low-income Americans --- was created under the George W. Bush administration, it zooms ahead with cell phones in recent months under the Obama administration.

Yet, little is seen in print media about the bargain cell phones being widely dispensed.

Bloomberg News reports the current 12.5 million nationwide accounts via the program compares with 7.1 million four years ago. 

In Ohio, for example, one of the biggest battleground states in this year’s election, the subsidized phone service nearly doubles this year to more than a million people. 

See the video here of a happy Cleveland area cell phone (aka ObamaPhone) user. 

“Keep Obama as president,” the woman proclaims on the video.  “He gave us a phone.” 

The video is drawing attention to the subsidized phone program as a national debate unfolds on entitlements and the growing percentage of Americans who pay no income taxes and get federal benefits. 

And who pays for the service? 

Take a look at your monthly phone bill.  Among the higher “fees, surcharges and taxes” --- the Universal Service Fund surcharge goes toward footing the bill on "ObamaPhones." 

The number of people eligible for the Lifeline service is estimated at between 20 million and 30 million, according to Universal Service Administrative Co., that administers the program.

 

 

 

 

Leno, Obama vie for most appearances in Las Vegas

With another campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, President Barack Obama seems to be competing with Tonight Show host Jay Leno in the number of visits a year to Sin City, notes Grumpy Editor.

Obama, recognizing Nevada as a key battleground state in the upcoming election, returns to the casino-studded neon capital over the weekend, on the heels of another visit just 18 days earlier.

It marks the president’s eighth visit to Las Vegas and ninth trip to Nevada this year.

Obama is esxpected to stay three nights in the Las Vegas area before heading to Denver for an Oct. 3 presidential debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Jay Leno, meanwhile, reappears for his stand-up routine in Las Vegas Oct. 12 and 13 --- with six more appearances scheduled on The Strip through next Sept. 20.

The difference between Leno and the president, however, is that Leno encourages folks to visit Sin City.

Obama is remembered for taking two negative blasts at Las Vegas.

In February, 2009, one was directed at business meetings when the president declared, “You can’t take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers dime.”

A year later, the president followed that with, “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.”

Las Vegas’ economy then turned south, triggering pink slips to thousands of casino industry workers, knocking out construction, and sending the area’s unemployment and home foreclosure rates soaring to the nation’s highest. 

Gingrich cites 2 weeks of ‘most intensely’ biased media

“We’ve had two weeks of the most intensely biased media you could imagine,” declared former House Speaker Newt Gingrich during his appearance Friday on “The Sean Hannity Show” on the Fox News Channel, observed Grumpy Editor. 

As an example, Gingrich mentioned “a poll came out in Virginia that shows Obama up by four points.  And you evaluate the poll and realize it’s probably off by 12 to 15 points in the number of Republicans and yet its page one.  It’s a big story.” 

Gingrich, who was a candidate in the Republican presidential race this year, added: 

“You go through item after item like this.  Mitt Romney says, correctly, that the United States should not be apologizing to those who stormed our embassy, an American ambassador gets killed in a situation where he had no security, when the intelligence system did not work, when the administration is lying for 10 days --- and you have three to four days of news media attacking Mitt Romney. 

“Bias has been as big as ever seen.” 

Meanwhile, also on Friday while appearing on CNN’s "Piers Morgan Tonight,” Gingrich urged Romney to go after President Barack Obama in next month's debates with gusto. 

"When he walks in to debate Obama,” suggested Gingrich, “he's got to be as tough with Obama as he was with me in Florida.”

London paper: U.S. warned 3 days prior to Libya attack

Shoving aside new information on the Libya deadly riots, media --- TV and especially MSNBC --- dwelled on a four-month old “hidden video” suddenly surfacing yesterday showing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney with off-the-cuff remarks on President Barack Obama’s base, notes Grumpy Editor.

That overshadowed the new revelation, via London’s The Independent, that Libyan security officials warned U.S. diplomats three days before the Sept. 11 murders of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three members of his team in a Benghazi attack. 

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., with appearances on four Sunday talk shows and beyond, has maintained the deaths of U.S. personnel were triggered by a 12-minute anti-Islam video rather than pre-planned. 

(No one questioned her on how most of the thousands of protesters, living way below the poverty line, could afford access to the Internet and computers to view the video.)  

The Independent pointed out the advance warning came as Libya’s interim president, Mohammed el-Megarif, said his government had information that the attack on the U.S. consulate was “planned by an Islamist group with links to al-Qa'ida and with foreigners taking part.”

Furthermore, the London daily reported diplomatic sources said threat of an attack against U.S. interests in the region was known to the Obama administration 48 hours before it took place. 

The alert, it added, was issued by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, but not made public. 

In contrast, The Independent also reported a State Department spokesman maintained, "We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent."