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.

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.

Sequester cuts trigger major air traffic delays, loom as hindering National Weather Service forecasts, too

Not widely grabbing space over the past few days to inform travelers:  Federal spending cuts that furlough air traffic controllers --- requiring one day off without pay for every 10 days work --- kicked in over the weekend, that could delay close to 7,000 flights a day at about a dozen of the biggest U.S. airports, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Thus, few passengers heading for airports are aware that sequester cuts are now triggering disruptions in air travel. 

At Los Angeles International Airport, for example, aircraft arrivals are expected to sink to 48 an hour from 80.  Departures also are affected. 

The Federal Aviation Administration’s plans are “illegal, irresponsible and damaging,” says Nicholas E. Calio, chief executive of Airlines of America, which represents major U.S. airlines. 

Michael Huerta, FAA administrator, says the air traffic controllers furloughs are unavoidable.

“We’re basically dismantling” the world’s safest and most efficient air traffic control system, warns Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

 

Budget cuts could affect weather forecasts 

Also not widely mentioned is that sequester action also could affect the National Weather Service. 

The Washington Post reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposes furloughing employees for four days across the agency that includes the National Weather Service. 

The newspaper notes NOAA would give labor unions the opportunity to offer alternatives to furloughs before finalizing its plan for reducing costs as part of the sequester. 

The union that represents National Weather Service employees criticized the furlough plan, saying it is “unnecessary and places the public at greater risk,” adds the Post.

 

In case you missed these… 

Boston radio stations plan 60 seconds of silence at 2:50 p.m. today to honor victims of last Monday’s Marathon bombing at that time…While much TV coverage of the Marathon bombing saw reporters standing in streets over the past few days, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer this morning was still reporting from a breezy, cool (temperature in the low 40s) Boston street corner --- competing with busy vehicular background traffic and sounds --- when his stand-up could easily (and more comfortably) be done from a quiet studio…A first in baseball:  the Red Sox-Kansas City Royals game in Boston was postponed Friday because of local manhunt…Still no explanation, one week after the bombing in Boston, on the role or observations of two law officers with rifles seen on the roof of the Lenox Hotel overlooking the marathon’s finish area in an Associated Press photo by Elise Amendola…Newly christened 21^st Century Fox will include the 20th Century Fox film studio, 20th Century Fox Television, Fox Broadcasting network, Fox News Channel, FX, Fox Sports, National Geographic channels and interests in foreign TV broadcasting companies, including British Sky Broadcasting...Las Vegas Sun editorial cartoonist Mike Smith captures the busy news week with a news junkie saying, "Me? Just trying to keep up with the news" while facing monitiors tuned to NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox, CBS plus You Tube, Facebook and Twitter.  See it here.

 

Media not stirred by Obama’s 70,000 bridges to repair

Absent from most print/broadcast coverage of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech last week:  those 70,000 “structurally deficient” bridges popping up again, this time with a repair price tag of $50 billion, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Initial mentions of the 70,000 bridges started five and a half years ago. 

Repairing bridges comes as Congress debates a jobs bill. 

Media’s focus last week was on Obama’s agenda of upping the minimum wage, climate change and gun control legislation. 

 

Broadcast newsrooms need larger maps 

One of the lead items on broadcast news last week was “a moderate earthquake has struck in rural Nevada near the California state line.” 

That doesn’t quite pinpoint the shaky area. 

For eastern news writers, the Nevada-California state line runs 650 miles.  That’s the distance between New York City and Chicago. 

Actual center of the 4.9 magnitude shaker was 45 miles west of Tonopah, Nev.  Closest California city: Bishop.

 

Rubio gulps water about 155 times on MSNBC

Television media put the focus on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s Republican response to the State of the Union address on his water sipping rather than content. 

In the forefront was MSNBC which replayed Rubio’s swig about 155 times --- with 101 of them played on loop at the bottom left of the screen Wednesday during the Rachel Maddow Show. 

CNN replayed the water action 34 times. 

In a fair-and-balanced mode, Fox News, meanwhile, showed a clip of President Barack Obama also sipping water from a plastic bottle during an earlier speech.

In case you missed these… 

Carnival Corp. faces a mammoth PR problem in the wake of power-food-sewage problems for five days on its cruise ship Carnival Triumph that was towed to Mobile, Ala…Comcast Corp. agreed to pay NBCUniversal $16.7 billion to acquire General Electric Corp.’s remaining 49 percent of the entertainment company…Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs joins MSNBC and NBC News as a contributor…Thomson Reuters plans to slash 2,500 jobs this year.  That’s 4 percent of its global work force…Time Warner Inc. is in talks to sell a chunk of its Time Inc. magazine division to Meredith Corp.  The plan calls for Time Warner to retain Time magazine, Fortune and Sports Illustrated.  But People and Entertainment Weekly, among 16 others, would mesh with Meredith’s 14 titles including Family Circle, Ladies Home Journal, and Better Homes and Gardens. 

Romney’s China-made Jeep mention looms accurate

Just before the November election, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was criticized for declaring Chrysler would be building Jeeps in China, recalls Grumpy Editor. 

Democrats grabbed space and air time citing Romney and his campaign ads on the Jeep action in China was misleading. 

Grumpy Editor last Nov. 6 pointed out the report stemmed from an Oct. 22 Bloomberg News story that mentioned Fiat (majority owner of Chrysler Group LLC) “plans to return Jeep output to China.” 

Auto writers last Wednesday reported Chrysler is in talks to build some of its Jeep vehicles in China where the auto company already sells several of the brand’s models.

 

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Nocturnal sideline raises editors' eyebrows

Not getting much national coverage: a newspaper reporter with an unusual sideline job (for a newsroom staffer). 

After being outed for her after-hours job as a stripper, reporter Sarah Tressler, who was fired by the Houston Chronicle where she was a society reporter, now works for the San Antonio Express-News. 

But her beat now is quite different. 

She covers crime. 

Her Express-News byliner on Friday dealt with the shooting of a convenience store owner. 

She was let go by the Chronicle for failing to inform supervisors of her nocturnal sideline as an exotic dancer. 

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In case you missed these… 

Wal-Mart Stores, starting Memorial Day, plans to hire 100,000 veterans during the next five years.  Some of the giant retailer’s critics called it a P.R. move.  Sure, it is.  And a fine P.R. gesture it is…On the firing side, the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, cut 34 employees, including 18 (or nearly 10 percent) of its newsroom staff.  Meanwhile, Reuters released some of the wire service’s veteran editors and reporters…On the hiring side, Fox News signed liberal former Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) as a paid contributor.  He joins daughter, Jackie Kucinich, in media.  She is a USA Today reporter covering politics…Nissan P.R. people should be happy with large color shots of the Nissan Resonance concept car appearing in separate sections of The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday…Public relations pioneer Daniel J. Edelman, who died Tuesday at 92, was noted for many slogans.  “Which twin has the Toni?” was long remembered.  Edelman also was behind spotlighting Morris the cat in television commercials for 9-Lives cat food.

 

Speaking of pets, Grumpy Editor likes the title of Seattle’s KIRO-FM’s weekend pet show that debuted yesterday:  “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs with Shawn Stewart.”  

Pulpy ‘Gangster Squad’ provides fictional action in L.A.; gun control chatter skips illegal weapon use by bad guys

While Washington continues to focus on gun control this week, Gangster Squad, the Warner Bros. crime film over the weekend attracted flocks of (mostly young) moviegoers glued to their seats as the screen showed explosions, machine guns, smashed cars and general violence --- as a screenwriter viewed things in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, notes Grumpy Editor.

Despite the screen notice that the film was “inspired by a true story,” that’s not the way it was in the City of the Angels at that time.

The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce must be grumbling over the extraordinary amount of mayhem depicted in the story, fictionalized by Will Beal’s screenplay from the book by Paul Lieberman.

The cast includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Sean Penn in a script that focuses on six Los Angeles Police Department officers recruited to be as ruthless as mobster Mickey Cohen (played by Penn). 

A veteran newsman, who worked in the LAPD press room in City Hall, recalls no such continuous violent action at that time. 

Police reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mirror, Herald-Express, Los Angeles Examiner and Los Angeles Daily News were busy feeding tips to city desks regarding traffic accidents, robberies, burglaries and such --- when they weren’t playing cards.  Certainly a machine gun-riddled LAPD patrol car and shootouts around the city, as seen in the film, would have made front pages. 

Those were the days when newspaper competition was keen, with up to six deadlines a day. 

Cohen, who mingled with Hollywood stars, died peacefully in his Los Angeles home on July 29, 1976. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

Gun control reports continue with front page coverage this week boosted by Vice President Joe Biden’s recommendations to President Barack Obama tomorrow. 

Focus will be on background checks of gun buyers, restrictions on high-capacity clips and other measures. 

A popular phrase with news anchors last week on NBC, ABC and CBS television networks was “gun violence.” 

What none covered, however, was what to do about criminals possessing illegal weapons and not obeying laws. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

In case you missed these… 

For dramatic effect?  CNN’s Wolf Blitzer broadcast an interview in segments last week with Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.  Blitzer asked questions in English.  Morsi sidestepped English, answering via a translator despite being a former student at the University of Southern California and later teaching, as an assistant professor, at Cal State Northridge from 1982 to 1985…Senate reporters coverup.  Few TV viewers or newspaper readers are aware that the U.S. Senate has been in a two-week recess, convening next Monday for inaugural ceremonies…Farewell to green?  The New York Times is closing its environmental desk. 

A missing element with coverage of the Journal News, Westchester, N.Y., that published an interactive map showing names and addresses of licensed pistol permit holders in its area: it’s one of 90 daily Gannett Co. newspapers…Time magazine goes to 48 issues this year, a reduction of three, as ad page count is off by almost 50 percent in five years…The Los Angeles Times, with another periodic piece to shake up readers, on Wednesday detailed a statewide California earthquake may be possible after all… Forbes magazine’s Jan. 21 issue runs an out-of-focus, blurry photo --- a trend with some publications these days --- that spans a full page and extends almost half way into an adjoining page to illustrate a “Bad Medicine” article dealing with patient satisfaction surveys…Fox News Channel for the 11^th consecutive year dominates cable news with the top 11 programs in total viewers, finds Nielsen Media Research.

Pulpy ‘Gangster Squad’ provides fictional action in L.A.; gun control chatter skips illegal weapon use by bad guys

While Washington continues to focus on gun control this week, Gangster Squad, the Warner Bros. crime film over the weekend attracted flocks of (mostly young) moviegoers glued to their seats as the screen showed explosions, machine guns, smashed cars and general violence --- as a screenwriter viewed things in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, notes Grumpy Editor.

Despite the screen notice that the film was “inspired by a true story,” that’s not the way it was in the City of the Angels at that time.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce must be grumbling over the extraordinary amount of mayhem depicted in the story, fictionalized by Will Beal’s screenplay from the book by Paul Lieberman.

The cast includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Sean Penn in a script that focuses on six Los Angeles Police Department officers recruited to be as ruthless as mobster Mickey Cohen (played by Penn). 

A veteran newsman, who worked in the LAPD press room in City Hall, recalls no such continuous violent action at that time. 

Police reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mirror, Herald-Express, Los Angeles Examiner and Los Angeles Daily News were busy feeding tips to city desks regarding traffic accidents, robberies, burglaries and such --- when they weren’t playing cards.

Certainly a machine gun-riddled LAPD patrol car and shootouts around the city, as seen in the film, would have made front pages. 

Those were the days when newspaper competition was keen, with up to six deadlines a day. 

Cohen, who mingled with Hollywood stars, died peacefully in his Los Angeles home on July 29, 1976. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

Gun control reports continue with front page coverage this week boosted by Vice President Joe Biden’s recommendations to President Barack Obama tomorrow. 

Focus will be on background checks of gun buyers, restrictions on high-capacity clips and other measures. 

A popular phrase with news anchors last week on NBC, ABC and CBS television networks was “gun violence.” 

What none covered, however, was what to do about criminals possessing illegal weapons and not obeying laws. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

In case you missed these… 

For dramatic effect?  CNN’s Wolf Blitzer broadcast an interview in segments last week with Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.  Blitzer asked questions in English.  Morsi sidestepped English, answering via a translator despite being a former student at the University of Southern California and later teaching, as an assistant professor, at Cal State Northridge from 1982 to 1985…Senate reporters coverup.  Few TV viewers or newspaper readers are aware that the U.S. Senate has been in a two-week recess, convening next Monday for inaugural ceremonies…Farewell to green?  The New York Times is closing its environmental desk. 

A missing element with coverage of the Journal News, Westchester, N.Y., that published an interactive map showing names and addresses of licensed pistol permit holders in its area: it’s one of 90 daily Gannett Co. newspapers…Time magazine goes to 48 issues this year, a reduction of three, as ad page count is off by almost 50 percent in five years…The Los Angeles Times, with another periodic piece to shake up readers, on Wednesday detailed a statewide California earthquake may be possible after all… Forbes magazine’s Jan. 21 issue runs an out-of-focus, blurry hospital photo --- a trend with some publications these days --- that spans a full page and extends almost half way into an adjoining page to illustrate a “Bad Medicine” article dealing with patient satisfaction surveys…Fox News Channel for the 11^th consecutive year dominates cable news with the top 11 programs in total viewers, finds Nielsen Media Research.

Striking L.A.-Long Beach port clerks nix $195,000 package

Getting surprisingly little national coverage is the eight-day-old Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor ports strike, triggered by about 800 union clerical workers who seek a hefty boost in their compensation package currently worth $165,000 a year, including wages, benefits and pension contributions, notes Grumpy Editor. 

With about 10,000 other union dock workers refusing to cross picket lines, seven of eight Port of Los Angeles shipping terminals are shut down while three of six adjacent Port of Long Beach terminals are closed. 

About 40 percent of the nation’s imported cargo containers pass through the dual ports.  

The shuttered terminals --- handling an estimated $1 billion of cargo daily --- are affecting the Southern California economy.  The stoppage also is delaying deliveries of goods destined to retailers for year-end holiday sales. 

Also affected are thousands of truck drivers, independent contractors who are paid per haul.

Employers mention the striking union members are the highest paid clerical workers in the U.S.   But that is not enough.  The union clerks are snubbing an offer of an 18 percent boost in a total compensation package worth $195,000 a year.

 

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UPDATE:  Just prior to the arrival of a federal mediator, the clerical workers agreed to a new contract with terminal operators last night.  Details were not disclosed.  Union members were returning to work today.

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Most media, climate change folks keep Antarctic 'on ice'

Representatives from 200 countries at a climate change conference in Doha, Qatar heard more about dwindling Arctic sea ice this week --- but nothing about growing ice at the other pole, notes Grumpy Editor.

Antarctic sea ice has been rising since satellites started measuring it 33 years ago.

But the focus at the meeting (which continues into next week) has been on what's happening in the Arctic.

 A U.N. report this week warned that the Arctic ice cap, following one of the warmest years ever, melted to its lowest level on record.

To illustrate the scope of the vanishing Arctic ice, the report said it is an area equal to nearly the size of India.

Few media outlets have compared the Arctic vs. Antarctic ice.

However, USA Today last month ran an Associated Press story that mentioned:

"While the North Pole has been losing sea ice over the years, the water nearest the South Pole has been gaining it.  Antarctic sea ice hit a record 7.51 million square miles in September."

 

 

Major Garrett returns to White House beat --- for CBS

Grumpy Editor learned that Major Garrett --- who did a great job while at Fox News before going back to print --- next week is returning to full-time television as CBS News’ chief White House correspondent. 

He left Fox News two years ago for National Journal where he will continue the print relationship as correspondent at large. 

At CBS’ Washington bureau he joins Bill Plante, Mark Knoller and Peter Maer on the White House beat starting Sunday. 

For campaign 2012 coverage, National Journal  forged a partnership with CBS News.  That led to Garrett becoming a substitute anchor on "Face the Nation." He also appeared on "CBS This Morning." 

Garrett was Fox News’ chief White House correspondent for eight years.  Prior to that, he was a White House correspondent for CNN. 

Earlier, in the print field, he was a staffer at U.S. News and World Report, Washington Times, Houston Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal and Amarillo Globe-News.