Grumpy Editor

Time editor finds breastfeeding cover art ‘whimsical’

Discussions on Time magazine’s current cover photo, showing a woman breastfeeding her almost four-year-old son, continued to bounce around television news channels over the weekend, observed Grumpy Editor. 

Time magazine selected the photo to illustrate a story on "attachment parenting.”  The cover art ran with the headline:  “Are You Mom Enough?” 

Focusing strictly on the cover art, not the story, many observers --- some pointing out the magazine is displayed on newsstands --- called use of the photo “sensational.” 

Even Playboy magazine hasn’t gone that far with its cover art. 

Rick Stengel, Time managing editor appearing on MSNBC, was asked by Mika Brzezisnki, co-host of the morning program "Morning Joe," if he winced when he looked at the picture. 

“I don't wince when I look at the picture," Stengel replied.  "I think its provocative.  It’s a little whimsical.” 

Whimsical? 

Going back to last December, some may recall Time magazine’s cover proclaimed “The Protester” as “Person of the Year” 

At that time, Stengel declared, “These are the folks who are changing history already and will change the future.” 

With these two examples, it looks like Time is changing magazine cover history.

 

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

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

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

Condemning action by the soldiers?

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Obama raises eyebrows in repeating U.S. oil ‘scarcity’

Grumpy Editor notes that President Barack Obama, in calling on Congress to give federal regulators more authority to crack down against price manipulators, said it again yesterday at the White House:

“I've said repeatedly, the problem is we use more than 20 percent of the world's oil and we only have 2 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.”

Media remain mum while running with that line for months.

“In classic fashion, (the president) is using a technicality to skirt the facts and keep the myth of energy scarcity alive,” points out the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets.

“The reality is that the U.S. has enough recoverable oil for the next 200 years, despite only having 2 percent of the world’s current proven oil reserves,” emphasizes IER.

“Proven oil reserves are not all of our oil resources --- not even close,” continues IER.  “Proved reserves represent a tiny portion of our total oil resources. Proven (or proved) oil reserves are reserves that have already been discovered, typically through actual exploration or drilling, and which can be recovered economically. That estimate does not include oil that we know about, yet are unable to access because of regulatory barriers.

“For example, the billions of barrels of oil in ANWR are not included in our proved oil reserves.”

The U.S. has 1,442 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil but only about 20 billion barrels are considered proven oil reserves, says IER.

It adds, “That is partly because the federal government is denying access to hundreds of millions of acres oil-rich federal lands: the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, the Naval Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, at least 45 percent of the Gulf of Mexico, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and oil shale on federal lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, to name a few.” 

 

N.Y. school officials revoke ‘sensitive’ words list

After getting much static, New York City school officials have shelved the idea (reported here on March 29) of banning “sensitive” words such as birthdays, dinosaurs, poverty, dancing, terrorism and Halloween, applauds Grumpy Editor. 

Also targeted to be scrubbed were references to “creatures from outer space,” divorces, diseases, celebrities, and homes with swimming pools and computers. 

The unmentionables, among 50 words and terms frowned on, were disclosed in a request for proposals to companies competing in providing various tests designed to measure student progress.

The N.Y. Education Department document pointed out the subjects were listed because they “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.” 

The nutty action was revealed late last month by Yoav Gonen, New York Post education reporter, who called it “a bizarre case of political correctness.” 

At that time, an Education Department spokeswoman, insisting the routine is not censorship, declared, “This is standard language that has been used by test publishers for many years and allows our students to complete practice exams without distraction.” 

This week, Shael Polakow-Suransky, the New York City’s chief academic officer, said: 

“After reconsidering our message to test publishers and the reaction from parents, we will revise our guidance and eliminate the list of words to avoid on tests.

“We will continue to advise companies to be sensitive to student backgrounds and avoid unnecessary distractions that could invalidate test scores and give an inaccurate assessment of how students are doing.”

 

Banned words in N.Y. City student tests include birthdays, dinosaurs, poverty, dancing, terrorism

Judging from words banned from New York tests by the city’s Department of Education, students should avoid reading newspapers or watching television news because those sources often contain “sensitive” words such as birthdays, dinosaurs, poverty, dancing, terrorism and (especially in October) Halloween, notes Grumpy Editor.

Also scrubbed are references to “creatures from outer space,” divorces, diseases, celebrities, and homes with swimming pools and computers. 

What’s next?  Weather, because it might rain? 

The nutty action was revealed this week by Yoav Gonen, New York Post education reporter, who called it “a bizarre case of political correctness.” 

Reason for a list of 50 forbidden mentions is because “educrats,” as Gonen labels them, fear such topics “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.” 

The unmentionables were disclosed in a request for proposals to companies competing in providing various tests designed to measure student progress. 

Education Department officials say such exclusions are normal procedure, pointed out Gonen, adding that a spokeswoman, insisting the routine is not censorship, declared, “This is standard language that has been used by test publishers for many years and allows our students to complete practice exams without distraction.”

 

Stock market slips: ‘China fears’ or simply profit taking?

Sensitivity of the stock market these days, since the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently moved above 13000, was illustrated when wire and broadcast reports throughout yesterday mentioned stocks slip "on China fears” or “worries over China’s economic outlook,” sending the market tumbling 68.94 points to 13170.19,” observed Grumpy Editor.

So what were those worries over China that sent the Dow lower for the second time in 10 sessions?  

The “China fears” stemmed from a comment Monday in far-off Perth, Australia, from Ian Ashby, president of iron ore operations of Melbourne, Australia-based BHP Billiton, Ltd., the world’s largest mining firm (and listed on the New York Stock Exchange).  He said his company was seeing signs of "flattening" iron ore demand from China.

But then, Ashby went on to say iron ore demand would ''grow strongly'' in the next decade and consumption would advance more than 3 percent globally over the next eight years. 

And what about the softening in China demand?

That would not happen until after 2025, said Ashby.

Yet, what investors heard triggered concern, said news reports, sending the Dow averages lower.

In the past, a drop in the Dow from a series of major gains would be attributed simply to profit taking.

 

Lengthy Medicare paragraph features a load of ( )s

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

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

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

Clear enough?

Nothing simple with many government texts.

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

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

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

 

February jobs figures coverage sidetracks full picture

Friday’s release of jobs figures, showing 227,000 added in February, underscores confusion in media when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the monthly compilation, noticed Grumpy Editor.

Print and especially broadcast media made in sound like there was a major turnaround in employment numbers, giving a hefty boost to the economy. 

But played down, or completely omitted, in news reports were other figures in the same BLS news release. 

Nonfarm payroll employment may have been up by 227,000, but quoting from the same news release: 

+  “The number of unemployed persons, at 12.8 million, was essentially unchanged in February.”  (The BLS news release’s first sentence mentioned “the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent.”) 

+  “The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed at 5.4 million in February.” 

Adding to the fuzzy mix was the insertion of an explanation by some writers.  The Washington Post, for example, offered: 

“Though the monthly unemployment rate remained unchanged in February at 8.3 percent, economists said that was the result of more people starting to look for work again as they became encouraged by the growing economy.” 

While Grumpy Editor found the jobs report made front pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Oregonian and Philadelphia Inquirer, it did not get such treatment in others. 

Putting the report on inside pages were the Denver Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Hartford Courant, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser, Des Moines Register, Baltimore Sun, Detroit News, (Cleveland) Plain Dealer down to Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star.

 

Check these PR words, phrases that make editors grunt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

It’s adieu to ‘mademoiselle’ on official French forms

Using “mademoiselle" on official documents in France is now banned and will be replaced by “madame,” learns Grumpy Editor.

Mademoiselle, since around 1635, was regarded as a title of respect, equivalent to “miss” and used in speaking to or of a girl or unmarried woman. 

This week, the French prime minister’s office --- after a campaign by feminist groups calling the word sexist --- announced mademoiselle will be gone from official documents and advised that all women should be referred to as madame, whether they are married or not. 

Now, while madame (or madam in the U.S.) is a polite term in addressing a woman, it also is defined as “the woman in charge of a house of prostitution.” 

French feminist groups, including Osez le féminisme and Les Chiennes de Garde in their campaign to ban mademoiselle, probably didn’t think of that. 

The alternative could have been the English word going back to the 1150-1200 era:  damsel. 

Damsel is defined as “a young woman or girl; a maiden, originally one of gentler or noble birth.” 

In the U.S., Mademoiselle was widely seen on newsstands since 1935.  But the popular Condé Nast magazine, socked by the economy, rolled out its final issue in November, 2001.