Grumpy Editor

Private company challenges ‘recess’ appointments, wins

In connection with Friday’s federal appeals court 46-page ruling that President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate to appoint three members to the National Labor Relations Board, most media overlooked the source that triggered the action leading to the decision, notes Grumpy Editor.

Noel Canning, a Washington state family-owned contract canning and bottling facility (that includes Pepsi), sued the NLRB, challenging the board’s decision, citing Obama made so-called “recess” appointments without the Senate being in recess. 

It’s noteworthy because Republicans, legal scholars, Constitution experts and editorial page editors were silent in raising eyebrows on the “recess” appointments.

 

Movement with short sale ‘unending nightmare’

Although previously-owned home sales of 4.65 million in 2012 were up 9 percent from the prior year and the best in five years, sales could rise even more --- giving the economy a lift --- without the heavy red tape,  indecisions, complications and paperwork of major banks.

John Taylor in the Las Vegas Sun on Jan. 20 detailed the “unending nightmare.” 

The sale took eight months to wrap up, said Taylor, a senior editor of local news.

His assessment:  “Beware of the not-so-short short sale.”

Read the full article here.

 

Havana’s Sloppy Joe’s bar reopening grabs space

Reopening of a nearby bar may be welcome news in local newspaper sections, but an Associated Press story on the return of Sloppy Joe’s in far-off Havana grabbed up to a quarter page of space, with art, in some weekend editions. 

The bar, in its heyday, attracted Hollywood stars and other celebrities. 

Founded in 1918, it indicates the bar must have a pretty good PR person, Cuban style, to warrant that sort or coverage in the U.S. press.

 

In case you missed these...

One phrase missing from coverage of the deep freeze sweeping the midwest and northeast:  Global warming (or climate change)…Country music is reappearing in New York City via Cumulus Media radio station WNSH, formerly WRXP…The New York Times is trimming its newsroom staff through buyouts and terminations, aiming for a reduction of 30…The Times also made headlines following a report in New York Magazine that real estate mogul Donald Trump has been holding meetings about possibly buying the New York Times Co…On the hiring side, Al Jazeera, which will be replacing Current TV with the launch of Al Jazeera America, has posted 105 available jobs in the United States with 98 based in New York City and seven in Washington…Strange ad in Bloomberg Businessweek and other publications from Toyota.  Under the line, Let’s Go Places, it shows a vehicle with rainbow colors fore to aft in a farm setting --- with no details on what the multi-hues are all about.

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. 

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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. 

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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.

Cold/hot air spreads; 141 journalist fatalities; ‘fat’ banks

Two contrasting hot/cold atmospheric reports over the weekend grab the attention of Grumpy Editor as climate change stories continue to gobble space/airtime going into the new year. 

Both meteorological stories made news yesterday (Jan. 6) but few print editors placed them on the same page. 

A study published Jan. 6 in Nature Climate Change notes “a scientific poll of experts” feels melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland may lead to global sea levels rising more than three feet by year 2100. 

Jonathan Bamber, a professor in physical geography at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and a co-author of the study, predicts “horrible consequences.”

Meanwhile, China so far this winter is struggling with the lowest temperature in almost three decades, triggering problems ranging from closed highways to power outages.

The China Meteorological Administration says the national average since late November is 25 degrees Fahrenheit, coldest in 28 years.

English-language China Daily reports about 1,000 ships are stuck in Laizhou Bay ice in eastern China's Bohai Sea.

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Reporting overseas becomes dangerous 

Being a journalist is becoming a dangerous profession. 

Last year, 141 journalists were killed in 29 countries, with Syria being the most dangerous for reporters, reports Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign. 

The number is up 31 percent from 2011. 

In Syria alone, at least 37 journalists, 13 of them working for foreign media, were killed.

In addition, two freelance American reporters are missing in Syria:  James Foley, who has reported for Global Post and Agence France-Presse, among others, was abducted from his car on Nov. 22 in the northwestern part of Syria, and Austin Tice, from Houston, was abducted last August.

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Banks claim 2012 brought best profits since '06 

Not too much was said last week when U.S. banks ended the year trumpeting their best profits since 2006.

Those being nixed in seeking business or personal loans will find it interesting that the financial industry claims more people and businesses are taking out, and repaying, loans since 2009.

Meanwhile, interest paid on savings accounts and certificates of deposit is near zero. 

On one-year CDs, for example, Bank of America pays an ultra-slim 0.03 percent and Wells Fargo pays a scant 0.05 percent. 

Most major banks now focus on fees to boost bottom lines.

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In case you missed these... 

Top overused 2012 phrases, tallies Lake Superior (Mich.) State University, are fiscal cliff and kick the can down the road…Former vice president Al Gore pockets an estimated $100 million as cable channel Current TV, which he founded with business partners seven years ago, is sold to Al Jazeera for $500 million…Maybe more school money management classes are needed:  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55 percent of likely U.S. voters think capital gains should be taxed at about the same rate as other income…An Associated Press photo (with a credit line for the photographer) “showing” Hillary Clinton in a car being transported from New York Presbyterian Hospital clearly displays the driver and a male front-seat passenger, but the Secretary of State is not visible somewhere behind the car’s visor, rear-view mirror and dark interior…How to bust into TV:  Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, a Democrat who served prison time on a corruption conviction, stars in an A&E series starting Feb. 27.

Quiet Fed pay raise; overused fiscal cliff; ‘new’ Tribune

Despite a heavy flow of news stories on fiscal crisis and spending cuts at year-end 2012, somehow overlooked by major media was President Barack Obama’s executive order granting federal workers a pay raise, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper got wind of it and covered the development on Dec. 28. 

That was on a Friday afternoon, a time when most key media are snoozing. 

The raise becomes effective March 27. 

As an example of the pay increase:  Vice President Joe Biden will make $231,000 a year, up from $225,521. 

See how other federal workers fare here:  

Halper points out that a senior Republican congressional aide who reviewed the executive order and consulted with the Congressional Budget Office says the pay raise for federal workers will cost $11 billion over 10 years.

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“Fiscal cliff” much overused by media in 2012 

Fiscal cliff, meanwhile, was one of the most overused phrases by print and broadcast media in 2012. 

Yet, the phrase is now new. 

Some writers credit Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke with the words when he warned the House Committee on Financial Services last Feb. 29 of the coming “fiscal cliff” that would take effect with upcoming spending cuts and tax increases. 

Annalyn Kurtz, a reporter at CNNMoney, finds the earliest reference to the term was in a 1957 New York Times article on home ownership. 

Kurtz also notes Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) used fiscal cliff in 2008 in describing Obama’s spending program while Reuters used the phrase in several articles two weeks prior to Bernanke uttering the words in February.

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Future owner candidates eye Tribune Co. assets 

Now that Chicago-based Tribune Co. enters 2013 emerging from bankruptcy, talk centers on new owner candidates. 

Tribune Co. properties include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.), The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) plus 23 television stations. 

Coming out of bankruptcy, senior creditors Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. now control the Tribune Co.’s portfolio of publishing and broadcasting assets, which are expected to be sold. 

Among names mentioned as possible future owners: 

Aaron Kushner, owner of the Orange County Register.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (for the Los Angeles Times).

Doug Manchester, San Diego real estate developer who bought the Union Tribune (now U-T San Diego) newspaper in 2011.

Austin Beutner, former venture capitalist and former deputy mayor of Los Angeles (for the Los Angeles Times).

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In case you missed these... 

Ten minutes into the 2013 Tournament of Roses parade yesterday, it was cutaway time in coverage for ABC and NBC networks which decided to air commercials just as the 100-plus-member precision-marching Marine Corps band passed the reviewing stand.  But the HGTV network, without commercial interruptions throughout, showed all…The Pasadena parade included the first Defense Department float.  It depicted the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. while an added attraction was an Air Force B2 bomber timed to fly over the reviewing stand at 1,000 feet as the Korean War float passed…The Food and Drug Administration moved toward approving genetically-modified salmon for human consumption…Chicago’s Sun-Times Media Group said it will consolidate its suburban newspaper chain…Most discussed story on news/talk radio in 2012 was the presidential election, topping chatter on the fiscal cliff, according to Talkers magazine…A dopey move by District of Columbia police was starting an investigation of David Gregory, Meet the Press host, after he held up to NBC cameras a high-capacity magazine during a gun control discussion.  Police said possession of a high-capacity magazine was not permissible.  One wonders if police would get as excited if a Washington Post photographer, for example, used a similar magazine to illustrate a story on guns.

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Note:  Going into 2013, Grumpy Editor with daily postings since September 2006, will now appear in expanded format weekly.