Grumpy Editor

Los Angeles Times probing rings the Bell (Calif.)

Credit for revealing that Bell, Calif., city officials were paid whopping salaries --- with the top municipal post earning almost $800,000, twice as much annually as the U.S. president --- goes to digging by Los Angeles Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives --- despite an era of newsroom downsizing, notices Grumpy Editor.

Bell is a blue-collar city of about 38,000 people, seven miles southeast of the L.A. Times building.

Whether in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York or District of Columbia, among other locales, chances are similar stories on taxpayer rip-offs are waiting to be uncovered.

James Rainey, writing in the L.A. Times, asks:

•  With newspapers shrinking and new media alternatives slow to step into the void, one has to wonder how many other city halls conceal Bell-sized sleaze.

•  How many other city officials have scrimped on services to fatten their paychecks?

•  How many have cut lucrative contracts to benefit friends and relatives?

•  Which developers got sweetheart deals for campaign cash?

The L.A. Times reported Bell's City Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo made $787,637 a year; Police Chief Randy Adams collected $457,000 or 50 percent more than the Los Angeles police chief, and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia made $376,288, more than the top administrator for Los Angeles County.

All three resigned last week.

Rainey points out the revelations were unearthed despite reporting ranks in Los Angeles County “thinned to half what they were 15 years ago.”

Three and four decades ago, newspaper beats included city halls. 

That’s when sharp-eyed reporters attended city council meetings, quizzed participants and scanned documents.

But in Los Angeles County, which harbors 88 cities, the L.A. Times doesn’t have enough reporters to cover them on a regular basis.

That’s when tips from taxpayers to city (or metro) editors --- everywhere around the nation --- can be helpful in directing talent to investigate.

Beware: No photo snapping around Chelsea’s nuptials site

Lost in coverage of the upcoming wedding of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is the uproar caused when two Norwegian journalists last week attempted to photograph the gate leading to the Rhinebeck, N.Y., Astor Estate where Saturday ceremonies are planned, notes Grumpy Editor.

Chelsea Clinton will marry investment banker Marc Mezvinsky at the estate, overlooking the Hudson River.

Between 400 to 500 guests have been invited.

New York State Police said Thomas Bjorn Nilsson, of New York, and Kjerste Sortland, of Snorova, Norway, were charged with trespassing July 21 at the Astor Estate.

That was 10 days before the wedding date at that site.

Helje Solberg, managing editor of the newspaper Verdens Gang, Oslo, Norway, told the Associated Press that police went overboard when Nilsson and Sortland --- who identified themselves as journalists --- tried to take pictures of the gate.  She said they were not on the property.

The tabloid Verdens Gang, simply known as VG, is Norway’s largest newspaper.

Solberg told AP, “We did not realize it was forbidden to take the picture of the gate of the house where the Clinton wedding is to be.”

The newspaper will pay the fine, she said, even though "we see this as an overreaction.”   She added, “The Clinton wedding has a public interest.”

In New York, trespassing is a violation punishable by up to 15 days in jail and/or a fine up to $250.

Now the question:  How will police, in a town of about 8,000, handle the influx of paparazzi and camera-toting sightseers near the estate’s gate, before, during and after the nuptials?

Media miss South Korea link to Michigan battery plant

Washington media following President Barack Obama around the country would do well to check out owners of businesses that the president visits, while talking up jobs, as with the recent trip to Holland, Mich., in connection with the groundbreaking of a battery plant, suggests Grumpy Editor.

Obama mentioned that the Holland activity at Compact Power, Inc. is “a symbol of where America is going.”

What print/broadcast reporters (including business writers), as well as the president, did not mention is that Compact Power (CPI) is one of 28 worldwide subsidiaries of LG Chem, Ltd. --- headquartered in South Korea.

CPI, with a U.S. corporate office in Troy, Mich., describes itself as bringing the power of lithium-ion polymer battery technology to North America for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and electric vehicle applications in the automotive, commercial and military markets.

Thus, through LG Chem, and its financial resources, about 300 workers will be involved in construction of the facility and another 300 slated to operate the plant when it is up and running.

In his July 15 speech, the president highlighted:  “What the government can do is lay the foundation for small businesses to expand and to hire.”

Then (without giving a nod to South Korea) he added, “Manufacturing jobs are coming back to America.”

‘Mad Men’ toys with facts in providing ad agency drama

True depiction of New York’s Madison Ave. ad agency days in the early 1960s --- as seen in Mad Men --- continues to bend somewhat following AMC’s airing of the new season’s first episode on Sunday, notes Grumpy Editor.

While some aspects capture elements of that period, other scenes are written purely for drama rather than an accurate portrayal.

Rance Crain’s piece in Ad Age yesterday puts some light on the true goings-on at that time.

Crain, editor in chief of Advertising Age and president of Crain Communications, is the son of Ad Age’s founder.

He cites a Mad Men scene in Sunday’s show in which advertising executive Don Draper (portrayed by actor Jon Hamm) is at lunch for an interview with an Ad Age reporter.

Crain, who was a member of the Ad Age editorial staff in Washington, Chicago and New York in the 1960s, says, “We never did interviews over lunch.”

And he recalls that there were about nine reporters and editors in Ad Age’s New York bureau.

(That slim staff didn’t allow much time for luncheon interviews.)

In the TV segment, the reporter is seen scribbling notes in shorthand.

“We didn’t take notes in shorthand,” declares Crain.

(Indeed, at that time, shorthand was found mainly in secretarial pools at large companies.)

The episode also has the reporter’s opening line as, “Who is Don Draper?”

Crain reminds that “we didn’t ask cute-ass questions.”

Then, in closing out the TV version of a luncheon interview, the reporter mentions the story is “only going to be a few hundred words…the picture may be bigger than the article.”

Crain says, “Our pictures were never bigger than our stories.”

Yet, despite its flaws in accuracy, viewers remain mad about Mad Men.

Fortune magazine shows fuzzy figures on subscriptions

Fortune magazine, which covers a wide range of business and economic news, throws out different subscription prices which add confusion to prospective readers and existing subscribers, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Time Inc. publication touts a one-year subscription at $29.95, $20, $19.99, $18 or $10.

That’s quite a range.

The top $29.95 figure is the one-year rate as printed in the latest issue of the magazine.

The $19.99 is the price when ordering on the Web.

But making the transaction via the Web also sets up the subscriber “for all the features of the automatic renewal program” at “the low subscriber rate then in effect.”

With automatic renewals, it adds, “Simplify your life.  Save time.  Go green.”

Meanwhile, mailed renewal pitches, as close as a week apart, to existing Fortune subscribers come up with different numbers.

One, with the automatic renewal gimmick (along with a message saying, “it saves us the cost of sending you extra reminders”) costs $18 if paid by credit or debit card.   But pay by check and its $20.  The other reminder offers the best deal --- a renewal at $10 by check, credit card or “bill me later.”
 
Fortune is fuzzy on its (much used in the industry for lofty comparisons) annual cover price, too.

Mailed subscription forms calculate it as $89.82.  But on Fortune’s Web site it’s $91.82.

Looks like someone in circulation promotion needs one of those old Burroughs adding machines to get the figures straight.

Pelosi: Unemployment benefits measure creates jobs

Following the House’s passage yesterday extending unemployment payments to 2.5 million people, Grumpy Editor heard in a broadcast news report that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said the action would create jobs.

Wait a minute.

Jobs created by sending money to those without jobs?

That’s right.

In fact, Pelosi said it twice in two sentences.

In a story that may appear in your favorite newspaper today, Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor, in the second paragraph from the end of his text, captured the quotes (with Grumpy Editor emphasizing the jobs references):

"Unemployment benefits protect those who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own but would lead to more jobs, higher wages and a stronger economy for all Americans," said Pelosi.

"The money will be spent immediately on necessity, injecting demand into the economy, creating jobs."

The bill --- leading to payments typically delivered directly to recipients’ bank accounts or credited to debit cards --- passed the House 272-152 and was sent to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.

WWII Stars and Stripes staffer gets long overdue honor

The Newseum’s Journalists Memorial, bearing the names of reporters, photographers, editors and broadcasters who died in the line of duty, soon will be adding a Stars and Stripes reporter’s name linked to a World War II action 65 years ago, finds Grumpy Editor.

It marks the culmination of 10 years of investigation, persistence and paper work by people connected with the military newspaper.

The seven-level Newseum, a 250,000-square-foot museum of news, displays five centuries of news history with modern technology and exhibits.

Paul V. Connors, who entered the Army in 1942 when he was a Boston Globe reporter, was based in the Stars and Stripes London editorial office when he accepted an assignment to fly aboard a B-24 in a 303 Bomb Group mission to Germany.

The bomber went down over the Alps on Jan. 28, 1945.

Confusion on whether Connors was a regular crew member, rather than a reporter, caused the long delay in adding his name to the honored list at the Newseum.

Gerald Brekke, who worked alongside Connors in the WWII Stars and Stripes London newsroom, initiated what was to become a lengthy effort to honor Connors.

In an August, 2000, visit to the Newseum, Brekke noticed  his friend’s name was missing from the Journalists Memorial.  However, during the long process seeking to correct the omission, Brekke died four years ago. 

Frank D. Praytor, of Albuquerque, a former Stars and Stripes staffer from the Korean War period, picked up and renewed the effort with information from letters, military reports and flight records, with research assistance from Sue Mayo, archivist and librarian at the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library, Bloomfield, Mo.; Max Lederer, publisher, Stars and Stripes, Washington, and Joe Schneider, San Diego, editor of the Stars and Stripes Association newsletter.

Praytor tells Grumpy Editor that a committee at the Newseum reviewed the evidence and would add Connors name to the memorial at the annual re-dedication next year.

Meanwhile, Connors was honored last year by Boston College.  His name, one of 209 Boston College alumni who died in wars, was unveiled at a Nov. 11 dedication of a veterans memorial on campus.

White House press briefing room seat decision due Aug. 2

For Washington, D.C., print and broadcast media, Aug. 2 will be a newsworthy day locally:  naming of the news organization that inherits the blue-padded, front-row seat in the White House briefing room formerly held by Hearst Corp. columnist Helen Thomas,  predicts Grumpy Editor.

As with other matters stemming from the White House these days, key decisions take time.

The seat announcement, from the White House Correspondents Association board, will come almost two months after Thomas’s June 7 sudden resignation following controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians that were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet.

After Thomas’s resignation, Fox News and Bloomberg News were immediately mentioned as the prime candidates in a showdown to take the seat closest to the podium.

But just this week another candidate made a pitch for the vacant, coveted seat --- NPR (formerly known as National Public Radio).

The front row, center seat is regarded by the White House press corps as the best in the briefing room which contains seven rows of seats, seven across.

The chosen organization will be flanked by seats for representatives of ABC on the right side and CBS on the left.

If Las Vegas accepted betting on the likely winner, odds probably would favor Fox News, now located in the second row.

The decision will come two days before Thomas’s 90th birthday.

Added taxes, lost jobs cited in Obama-backed actions

No doubt about it, wallets will be squeezed more starting next year, based on new rules in the mammoth 2,300-page financial reform legislation, spurred by Sen. Chris Dodd (D., Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), and other money-siphoning measures in the Washington hopper.

While the actions affect all Americans, few print or broadcast outlets have spelled out the various dollar-draining details, leaving it to a non-journalist, businessman Wayne Allyn Root, to explain the nitty-gritty in an easy-to-understand commentary that made print Sunday, observes Grumpy Editor.

Root, a former vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party, offers 14 highlights from what he calls, “Obama’s reign of destruction.”

First on his list, Root cites “the biggest income tax increase in the history of America will take effect on Jan. 1.”

Then he gets into increases in the capital gains tax and a hike in taxes on dividends, along with new taxes on income, investments and even tanning bed users.

“Worse,” he adds, “18,000 new IRS agents will be hired to enforce these taxes.”

New rules and regulations, especially for small businesses, are mentioned plus the threat of “a gigantic new national sales tax.”

Root points out a new IRS law (with passage of ObamaCare) “requires business owners to file thousands of new forms each year documenting virtually every expenditure made by their business.”

“And you wonder why there are no jobs?” poses Root.  “You wonder why there is no recovery?  This is the ‘Teleprompter Depression.’ Every time Obama steps in front of a Teleprompter another thousand businesses die.”

Read the full commentary here.

CNBC covers Apple iPhone 4 news session from outside

Imagine a much-hyped news conference with about 100 attendees where no live cameras or broadcasts were allowed.

Only Apple Inc. could get away with that.

And that was the situation on Friday when Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared, “we’re not perfect” and “phones aren’t perfect” along with remedies to the iPhone 4 antenna problem, notes Grumpy Editor.

Seeking to bring viewers latest details on the news conference, CNBC handled the situation neatly via 40-minutes of commercial-free coverage utilizing eight people on a split screen.

Those tuning in were among the more than 3 million people who recently purchased an iPhone 4.

Only other coverage spotted by Grumpy Editor during the news conference was a brief segment on Fox News.

CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, standing outside Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, relayed messages from a producer attending the news conference inside.

Co-anchor Sue Herera contributed from in-studio, fielding input from six investment/tech experts.

Video tapes of Jobs’ commentary at the news conference ran on a delayed basis, labeled “moments ago.” 

During the coverage, CNBC screened a graph showing Apple’s stock trades --- in a narrow range around $250 per share --- during that period.

A half hour into the session, Jobs revealed the free protective case offer to iPhone 4 buyers to alleviate the so-called “death grip” problem that affects transmissions.