Grumpy Editor

Major N.Y.-based newspapers give opposite views of L.A.

Which to believe?  The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times presented detailed, but contrasting, reports this month on the status of Los Angeles, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Journal headline proclaimed, "In L.A., Downtown Looks up.”  The Times, on the othert hand, cited a report that finds Los Angeles in decline. 

The Journal’s subhead read:  “A rising star is found downtown, a former wasteland now awash in luxury condos and upscale retail.” The story pointed out, “Demand for luxury housing downtown is approaching an all-time high as the area’s population soars, nearly tripling over the past 14 years to 52,400 people, according to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District.” 

Along with interior photos of expensive condos and exteriors of soaring high rises, The Journal, noted “developers are struggling to keep up with the influx of new residents.”  It quoted a real estate research firm consultant saying, “Now, there are young people walking their dogs, families with strollers, restaurants teeming with people.” 

On the other hand, The Times presented a different view, highlighted by a staff photo of makeshift tents, shopping carts and other belongings of the homeless lining a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk in the shadow of modern skyscrapers. 

It spotlighted a Los Angeles 2020 Commission report that “presented a catalog of failures that it said were a unique burden to the city:  widespread poverty and job stagnation, huge municipal pension obligations, a struggling port and tourism industry, and paralyzing traffic…” 

Continuing with information from the commission, The Times added, “Los Angeles is barely treading water, while the rest of the world is moving forward.  We risk falling further behind in adapting to the realities of the 21^st century and becoming a city in decline.”

 

In case you missed these… 

PRESSES TO STOP FOR ANOTHER MAGAZINE.  After a 131-year run, Ladies’ Home Journal’s July issue will be its last.  However, the website of the Des Moines-based Meredith Corp. publication will continue and LHJ will appear only on newsstands as a quarterly special interest magazine.

 

HILLARY CLINTON LECTURES ON JOURNALISM.  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, declared national "journalism has changed quite a bit in a way that is not good for the country and not good for journalism” and "current journalism is being driven more by entertainment than fact-based reporting."  Sounding more like a journalism professor, the former first lady also mentioned, "It’s important for journalists to realize that they have to do their homework too and they really should be well-prepared when they interview people, when they talk about issues.”

 

MORE BUSINESS AHEAD FOR ATTORNEYS?  Look for the Justice Department soon to release new clemency criteria guidelines aimed at releasing thousands of nonviolent drug offenders convicted of using crack cocaine.  “The White House has indicated it wants to consider additional clemency applications to restore a degree of justice, fairness and proportionality for deserving individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

 

IT’S SHOW BIZ TIME FOR FIRST LADY.  Michelle Obama will appear in a guest role as herself on the May 7 episode of ABC's "Nashville."  Country music star Kellie Pickler also guest stars, playing herself.  The episode, titled "All or Nothing," is set at Fort Campbell and centers around a charity concert.  The Army’s Fort Campbell is home of the 101^st Airborne Division.

 

BUSINESS MAGAZINES TAKE A HIT IN FIRST QUARTER.  The 14 business publications underperformed other categories in the magazine field in the first quarter, reported Publishers Information Bureau.  Business titles saw about a 3 percent dip in advertising revenue to $245.4 million and almost a 6 percent decline in advertising pages to 2,289. That compared to a 1.6 percent decrease in ad revenue and a 4 percent decrease in ad pages for the full industry.

 

THIS JUST IN --- AGAIN.  Not giving up on the March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, CNN over the weekend changed course somewhat to include “lawsuits on the horizon.”

 

FILM AT 11.  For those who think working in TV is the pinnacle of news gathering, consider the action faced by a reporter/photographer team for WGHP, known as Fox8 in North Carolina, on Friday afternoon ---

Following up on an early morning drug bust near where 14 people were arrested, the Fox8 pair was greeted by a bottle-tossing woman who shouted, “I will shoot your m*****f******.”   All was duly captured on video. 

Harry Reid turns up rhetoric in Nevada cattle feud

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, who was mysteriously quiet during a week-long standoff involving a Nevada cattle rancher and the Bureau of Land Management that ended (at least temporarily) April 12, suddenly became quite vocal over the past week --- following the abrupt BLM pullout --- with a series of  interviews from Reno to Las Vegas, going so far as to label those who sided with rancher Cliven Bundy in the cattle-grazing feud “nothing more than domestic terrorists,” observes Grumpy Editor.

About 300 cattle in the BLM roundup were returned to Bundy after the week-long “bullying” by the feds.  

Reid’s almost daily attacks last week grabbed front-pages and broadcast news leads in the state and elsewhere, especially after the Nevada Democrat appeared at a Las Vegas Review-Journal “Hashtags & Headlines” luncheon at a major Strip hotel on Thursday.

Attendees paid $40 a head to hear Reid answer questions directed at him by a Review-Journal liberal columnist. 

While Reid received wide coverage of his “domestic terrorists” phrase, there was no mention of the range dust being kicked up when the BLM rode in with 200 armed agents, including snipers positioned in the hills plus growling police dogs along with use of tasers and helicopters at Bundy’s ranch in Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  Since 1870, the Bundy family’s herd has been grazing on that Clark County land.  

The BLM and its hired “cowboys” went to the ranch to start rounding up Bundy’s 908 cattle grazing on 1,200 square miles of remote mountains and desert managed by BLM and the National Park Service.  Early reason for the roundup was triggered by supposed endangerment of the desert tortoise.  Then the emphasis switched to Bundy not paying grazing fees for 20 years.

Major media stories in the past week did not mention Reid’s close ties with the communist Chinese and the possibility of a major solar facility locating on the vast sun-bathed grazing land that also contains rare minerals along with the tortoises.  (See the April 14 Grumpy Editor on earlier developments at the Bundy ranch and mention of Harry Reid in the headline over a revealing Infowars.com story --- a day prior to the BLM pullout.)

Reid was linked to a proposed $5 billion solar plant in southern Clark County two years ago.  That operation, later shelved, involved a Chinese energy company.

Interestingly, in the same edition that reported Reid’s “domestic terrorists” description of Bundy backers, an illustrated Review-Journal feature focused on about 750 sheep dispatched to the hills on the western edge of Carson City, on the western side of Nevada, to munch on invasive grasses to reduce risk of wildfires as the fire season nears.

No comment from Reid on those grazing animals that belong to a four-year-old Gardnerville sheep farming company.

 

In case you missed these…

WESTERN POLITICAL LEADERS SEEK LOCAL CONTROL ON LANDS.  Allied with the Bundy feud with the feds in Nevada, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday that more than 50 political leaders from nine states convened in Utah’s capital to discuss their joint goal --- wresting control of oil, timber and mineral-rich lands away from the feds. "The urgency is now,” declared State Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan, Utah) who organized the summit with Montana State Sen. Jennifer Fielder (R-District 7).

 

LOS ANGELES GETS ANOTHER DAILY.  First editions marking the Wednesday debut of the Los Angeles Register were hawked on Los Angeles City Hall grounds --- across the street from the Los Angeles Times building. The paper will be sold at more than 5,500 retail outlets and vending machines. It’s the first new daily in the City of Angels since the Daily News turned into a daily in 1981.  The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, a long-time daily, folded in November, 1989.

  

MEDIA PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.  Fox News re-signed Chris Wallace to a multi-year deal to continue anchoring Fox News Sunday.  He has anchored the Sunday morning program and contributed to Fox News’ political and election coverage since joining the network in 2003…Radio host Laura Ingraham joined ABC News as a contributor and will continue as guest commentator for Fox News Channel, often filling in for Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor…Dee Dee Myers, one of former President Bill Clinton’s press secretaries, was named head of corporate communications and public affairs for Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., Hollywood’s largest studio.

 

U.S. NEWSPAPER REVENUE CONTINUES DOWNWARD.  Newspaper Association of America said the industry’s 2013 revenue slipped 2.6 percent to $37.6 billion.  Print advertising revenue last year sank 8.6 percent to $17.3 billion but circulation revenue gained 3.7 percent to $10.9 billion.

 

GET READY FOR THE LOCAL ANGLE.  A newspaper editor in the west ran a distant police beat story in yesterday's edition like it happened down the street.  A woman in Dover, N.J. --- that’s 2,300 miles from the breaking news, headline-conscious editor --- reported that on the first date with a man she met on the Internet, Joel (last name unknown), swiped her TV set and dog. 

Now the editor is hoping for a follow-up.

Did Harry Reid/solar story trigger end of cattle roundup?

Coincidence or otherwise, just one day after a story linked Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with the “range war” involving a Nevada cattle rancher’s battle with the Bureau of Land Management, its “troops” --- including snipers among 200 armed agents --- suddenly pulled out of Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, notes Grumpy Editor.

It could explain why the Senate majority leader was conspicuously quiet during the week-long standoff in the state he represents.

The focus was on rancher Cliven Bundy’s 908 cattle grazing on 1,200 square miles of remote mountains and desert managed by BLM and the National Park Service.  Since 1870, the Bundy family’s herd has been grazing on that Clark County land. 

The cattle roundup originally was triggered by supposed endangerment of the desert tortoise.  Then the emphasis was on Bundy not paying grazing fees for 20 years, putting the amount owed at more than $1 million. (NOTE:  A tally by Grumpy Editor finds that based on the current federal grazing fee of $1.35 a month per head and figuring 900 cattle, the annual fee would total $14,580.) 

Then on Friday, a story by Kit Daniels on Alex Jones’ Infowars.com site proclaimed:  Breaking: Sen. Harry Reid Behind BLM Land Grab of Bundy Ranch 

Daniels wrote, “Deleted from BLM.gov but reposted for posterity by the Free Republic, the BLM document entitled ‘Cattle Trespass Impacts’ directly states that Bundy’s cattle ‘impacts’ solar development, more specifically the construction of  ‘utility-scale solar power generation facilities’ on ‘public lands’.” 

Daniels pointed out, “Back in 2012, the New American reported that Harry Reid’s oldest son, Rory Reid, was the chief representative for a Chinese energy firm planning to build a $5-billion solar plant on public land in Laughlin, Nevada.”  (That proposed facility on Clark County land later was shelved.)  See Daniels’ full story here. 

Rory Reid is a former chairman of the Clark County Commission.   

Soon after the Infowars story hit the Internet, BLM director Neil Kornze said: "Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.” 

Just last week, with the protest and cattle roundup under way, the U.S. Senate confirmed the BLM post of native Nevadan Kornze --- who earlier worked on public lands issues in Sen. Reid’s office. 

The cattle were being returned to Bundy after the week-long “bullying” by the feds.  Cost to taxpayers:  between $1 million and $3 million. 

 

In case you missed these…

HARRY REID ORGANIZES ENERGY SUMMIT.  Continuing his focus on solar energy, the Senate majority leader said the annual National Clean Energy Summit Sept. 4 in Las Vegas will spotlight projects where governments and private industry are cooperating on renewable energy initiatives. Booked as keynote speaker:  Hillary Clinton.

 

MILLIONS OF AMERICANS LACK IDENTIFICATION?  In the 13^th paragraph of an Associated Press story on Barack Obama’s Friday speech in New York accusing Republicans of voting restrictions, the president is quoted:  “But I am against requiring an ID that millions of Americans don’t have.”  (Normally, a revelation that millions of Americans are without identification would be stop-the-presses news, something for mainstream media to pounce on.  But now it’s ho-hum, nothing new, end of story.)  

 

MENTION ‘PING’ AND NEWSROOM GETS EXCITED.  CNN yesterday was on day 36 of almost continuous coverage of the vanished Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with on-screen headlines:

          New developments

          Search area expands for missing plane

 

STICKER SHOCK LOOMS AT THE MEAT COUNTER.  Allied with the Nevada “range war” (detailed above) and underscoring importance of the U.S. raising more cattle, backyard barbecue chefs and restaurant owners are facing the highest beef prices in almost three decades.  A dwindling number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average retail cost of fresh beef to climb to $5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987.

 

ONLINE OPERATION TO ACQUIRE ALASKA’S LARGEST DAILY.  Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, the parent company of the online Alaska Dispatch, said it will purchase the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Co. for $34 million. The sale is expected to close in May.

 

HOUSE RENOVATION UNCOVERS VINTAGE NEWSPAPERS.  Old newspapers filled with history were found under layers of old siding at a Nashua, N.H. house.  Duplicating a time capsule, readable editions of the defunct Nashua Telegraph and Boston Post dated back to August, 1922.

‘Victory lap’ becomes very contagious term for media

Grumpy Editor notes newspaper readers/radio and TV listeners were bombarded last week with the much overused term “victory lap,” after the president trumpeted from the White House Rose Garden that 7.1 million people signed up by the deadline for the first round of ObamaCare.

Victory lap stems from motorsports to describe the extra lap around the racetrack after the end of a race.  It’s much like "hitting a home run,” as heard in baseball parks, to describe something such as a nifty presentation at the office. 

A sampling of headlines or leads from the many print/broadcast/Internet websites going for “victory lap” (emphasized in bold face, below) --- 

ABC News:  President Obama Takes Victory Lap After

Health Care Sign-Ups Top 7 Million

 

Washington Post:  7.1 million reasons for ObamaCare victory lap

 

NBC News:  Victory Lap: Obama Says Health

Care Law Is 'Here to Stay'

 

PBS News Hour: President Obama takes health care victory lap

 

Fox News:  White House runs 'victory lap' after 7M ObamaCare sign-ups, Republicans renew repeal fight

 

Roll call:  Obama, Democrats Have 7 Million Reasons for a Victory Lap

 

U.S. News & World Report:  Obama Runs Victory Lap on ObamaCare Sign-Up Success, Chastises Republicans

 

New York Post:  While ‘victory lap’ was not in the headline, it was in the lead of its story ---

WASHINGTON — President Obama took a victory lap at the close of the enrollment period for ObamaCare…

 

WebMD:  First paragraph under the headline, ObamaCare Hits Goal of 7 Million Enrolled --- 

The Obama administration took a victory lap Tuesday as enrollment through the health law’s exchanges topped 7 million... 

 

Meanwhile, in the Far East, English-language Japan Times picked up an Associated Press story, adding its own headline:

Obama takes victory lap after health care sign-ups top 7 million

 

Memo to media:  Did anyone check to see if there was an uptick in business at Victory Lap Auto Sales in Newnan, Ga.?

 

In case you missed these…

 

CBS ADDS COMBUSTION ENGINE SOUND TO QUIET TESLA MODEL S FOOTAGE.  Drivers of Tesla Motors, Inc.’s Model S electric car are still buzzing following CBS’s 60 Minutes report of March 30 that included several shots of the normally silent-running luxury car on the road --- but with dubbed-in sound of a traditional gasoline engine.  Seems strange that Scott Pelley, who reported the story (and whose wife, according to Fox News, drives a Tesla Model S), says he wasn't aware of the added audio ahead of time.  He didn’t comment on it after the segment with the false noisy engines aired. 

 

NEW JERSEY’S TOP DAILY, CUTS STAFF.  Advance Publications’ Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, is cutting jobs, including one-fourth of its newsroom staff (leaving 156 on the editorial payroll), as it moves to consolidate operations and cut costs.

 

SUNDAYS WITH NEWS VIA NEW YORK.  The New York Times, seeking to bolster subscribers, is pitching its Sunday edition far from Gotham.  Folks in the far West are getting mailed pitches for subscriptions at $2 a week, with smaller print refining that to “for four weeks, plus free all digital access.”  Then fine print explains that after the introductory period “delivery will continue at the regular rate, which is $8.60 per week for Sunday delivery, unless you notify us.”  That’s $447.20 for a year of Sunday deliveries.

  

PATRIOTIC MARINE FLIES FLAGS, IS THREATENED WITH EVICTION.  Salem Run Apartment Homes in Fredericksburg, Va. threatens to evict a Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq because he is displaying the U.S. flag and a Marine Corps flag on his balcony.  Ex-sergeant Manuel E. Vega, who spent eight years in the Marines, told Examiner.com he has been flying the flags since October and apartment managers recently decided to take action via a warning tacked to his front door.  The notice reminds Vega that “you cannot have anything attached to the railing or any part of the building.”  Vega --- who received the Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal, combat action ribbon, presidential unit citation, Navy unit citation and good conduct medal --- says he will not back down.

 

SEND THAT MAGIFYING GLASS PRONTO.  One Reverse Mortgage, a Quicken Loans company, in pitching seniors with TV commercials, offers an illuminated magnifying glass as an inducement to seek more information.

For many, the magnifying item can be put to good use to enlarge the many lines of fine print that appear briefly on the TV screen.