Grumpy Editor

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.

 

Wall Street Journal likes proposed ‘chained CPI’; Newspaper revenue continues to decline in 2012

The Wall Street Journal jumped into the “chained CPI” fray with a Thursday editorial, neglecting the negative financial effect it would have on squeezed Social Security recipients and others, but backing President Barack Obama in replacing the traditional consumer price index with the “more accurate measure of inflation,” notes Grumpy Editor.

Switching the long-running traditional CPI with chained CPI --- short for the mouthful “chained consumer price index for all urban consumers” --- would reduce benefit increases to more than 60 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly payments. 

As the Journal happily explains the chained CPI: “This alternative measure of purchasing power takes into account how consumers change their buying habits over time as prices change.  When oranges cost more, for example, people buy fewer oranges and eat more apples instead.” 

Sounds good.  But will that routine happen? 

Getting back to the oranges/apples illustration --- Journal editorial writers may be interested to know that at a local Kroger supermarket, oranges are 89 cents a pound with apples a dime higher. 

Will consumers really shift to cheaper substitutes?

Following that thinking, an updated CPI formula points to seniors switching, as examples, to bus transportation when air fares rise above the cumulus, or moving from a two bedroom apartment to smaller lodging --- or (worst of all) dropping a newspaper subscription in favor of checking the Web.

Print national advertising drops 15 percent 

Newspaper revenue continues to ebb, falling to $38.6 billion or 2 percent last year compared with 2011, according to the Newspaper Association of America. 

NAA notes advertising in printed daily and Sunday newspapers dropped 9 percent in 2012, according to data from 15 companies that provided detailed breakouts by category.

In various segments, adds NAA, retail advertising was off 8 percent, national advertising dropped 15 percent while classified advertising declined 9 percent.

Within the classified category, automotive slumped 9 percent, real estate fell 12 percent, recruitment declined 8 percent and all other classified edged down 5 percent, tallies NAA.

However, there are signs that the dips are starting to be made up by other sources, including digital subscriptions and digital advertising.

 

In case you missed these…

Despite an uneasy situation in some parts of the world, more than a dozen Air Force fighter squadrons are grounded at U.S. bases around the world, as the cash-strapped service confronts the effects of steep defense budget cuts brought on by sequestration.  Says one veteran Air Force commander:  “The stuff that’s happening this year is going to have impacts on our force for many years to come.”  In addition, the Air Force wants to shed 2,640 airmen next year…The Postal Service is canceling plans to end Saturday mail delivery this summer. Editors on many newsweeklies and community papers are breathing easier since their products rely on Saturday mail delivery to reach subscribers…Los Angeles CBS radio station KNX today marks its 45^th year as an all-news outlet.  Over the years, notes Grumpy Editor, the 50,000 watter continues to do a top-notch professional job around the clock.

CNN plans to bring back Crossfire in June…The New York Observer laid off 11 people from the business side of its overall media group on Friday, part of a sales team reorganization…Why print copy editors sprout gray hair: The Associated Press is making another change in its Stylebook, this time contracting under way to one word, underway…The Taylor family, former owner of the Boston Globe for more than a century until 1993, is mulling an offer to buy back the daily, along with the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, from The New York Times Co…Annual ritual continues:  Look for local TV news crews tonight to stake out Post Offices for video of late tax filers dispatching their envelopes to the IRS.

‘Chained CPI’ likely to see squeezed seniors grumbling; Associated Press bans use of 'illegal immigrant' term

“Chained CPI” likely will get little comment from most print and broadcast media on Wednesday when President Barack Obama’s budget plan is formally announced, yet, if initiated, the new formula for the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) will negatively affect millions of older Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, notes Grumpy Editor.

The traditional consumer price index (CPI), long used in calculating the annual COLA, would be replaced by “chained CPI” that reduces yearly expected benefit increases. 

More than 60 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments would be further squeezed while facing higher costs for utility, gasoline, food, health-medical and most other bills. 

Recipients growled when this year’s COLA rose a modest 1.7 percent --- about half of last year’s 3.6 percent. 

In switching to a lower “chained CPI,” the Obama administration's thinking is growth of entitlement programs would be slowed. 

It assumes when prices of various items rise, consumers switch to cheaper substitutes, thus lower price tags.

 

AP scratches 'illegal' from Stylebook  

The Associated Press now bans the term, “illegal immigrant.”  In its updated Stylebook, followed by most news gatherers, AP mentions “use illegal only to refer to an action, not a person; illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant.” 

So what is an acceptable variation? 

AP cites “living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission.”  Except in direct quotations, AP adds, “do not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal, illegals or undocumented.” 

News folks who consult dictionaries may become confused.  Among definitions for illegal in one dictionary:  “A person who has entered or attempted to enter a country illegally.” 

What’s Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano think about AP’s identification adjustment?  She tells reporters she didn’t “really get caught up in the vocabulary wars.”

 

In case you missed these… 

As North Korea trumpets its “can-happen-at-any-time” ballistic missile firing, the U.S. Defense Department says the U.S. will deploy a missile-defense system to Guam as a “precautionary move.”  But, in looking closely at the announcement, it will occur “in coming weeks”…Inflation:  The Chicago Tribune raises its single-copy newsstand price by 50 cents to $1.50.  The Sunday edition remains $1.99 a copy…Confusing to subscribers:  The Cleveland Plain Dealer says it will deliver newspapers only three times a week starting this summer, but will continue publishing daily…Red Lobster is dangling an opportunity for its shrimp-eating patrons to appear in TV commercials.  Today is the last day to “tell us about your Endless Shrimp ritual --- who it's with and why you look forward to it all year,” says the restaurant chain. All it takes is 50 to 250 words, a photo and video (two minutes maximum).  No mention of pay --- or endless shrimp on the house for those selected.

Some duplication seen in latest EPA auto emissions plan; Melting Arctic ice gets blame for cold Easter in Europe

Media on Friday heralded the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed plan, known as Tier 3 standards, to reduce smog-forming emissions from vehicles, which Grumpy Editor finds duplicates some of the results from installation of “three way” catalytic converters used in vehicle emission control systems since 1981, an improvement from earlier devices that debuted in the 1975 model year.

The EPA says the proposed Tier 3 standards, due to take effect in 2017 and boosting the price of gasoline and vehicle price tags, would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent and cut nitrogen oxides by 80 percent.

With the latter, no mention is made --- or injected by auto or environmental writers --- that three-way catalytic converters and other technological advances have led to motor vehicle nitrous oxide emissions falling to 8.2 percent by 2008, from a high of 17.77 percent in 1998.

Regarding sulfur, a program phased in by the EPA from 2004 to 2007 --- and still in effect --- reduces the sulfur content in gasoline by up to 90 percent from “uncontrolled levels.”

The Obama administration’s latest anti-pollution proposal, notes The Associated Press, puts in place “the first standards to reduce the pollution from cars and trucks blamed for global warming.”

 

“Ocean heat” triggers cold Europe

Speaking of global warming, Easter was accompanied by unusual freezing weather for Europe with Great Britain recording the coldest March in 51 years and Berliners viewing another snowfall.

What’s behind the unusual meteorological conditions?

An AP story Friday points to melting Arctic sea ice as the culprit, explaining:

“The theory is the loss of sea ice means more heat is released from the open ocean, warming the layer of polar air over the water. That reduces the temperature and air pressure differentials with more southern latitudes, increasing the likelihood of a negative state in the atmospheric circulation.

“Experts stress that winter weather is affected by many other factors, but several studies have shown the Arctic melt loads the dice in favor of colder and snowier winters in Europe.”

Got that?

 

In case you missed these…

CBS Corp. pays about $100 million to acquire 50 percent of TVGN (formerly TV Guide Network), which includes TV Guide and TVGuide.com that had been owned by One Equity Partners, a unit of JPMorgan Chase…Fox Soccer Channel, the only U.S. TV network dedicated to soccer, makes way for a youth entertainment network in September…Talk show host Heidi Harris concluded one year with Salem Communications’ KRLA and KTIE in the Los Angeles area and announced “I have some news that is GREAT news for me,” but did not reveal it.  Earlier, she was popular with morning shows at KXNT and KDWN in her hometown of Las Vegas…Michael Happ, who graduates next month from Omaha’s Creighton University, purchased the Beacon Observer in Elm Creek, Neb. and already rolled up his sleeves to edit and write…In honor of their 15 years together, Tammy Duffy took out a full-page ad (tab: $900) in the Trentonian, Trenton, N.J. for an obituary on her “amazing dog,” Ginger.