President Donald Trump isn’t the only top official complaining about treatment by the media, notes Grumpy Editor.
Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings Corp., declares the media for years have "unfairly singled out" Sears' struggles in the retail industry.
At the company’s annual shareholders meeting at its Hoffman Estates headquarters near Chicago, Lampert blasts the media at length, pointing out negative headlines from years ago forecasting the end of the retail giant (that includes Sears and Kmart stores) and mentioning how other retailers, like J.C. Penney, Target and Macy's, also are struggling.
"I felt we were unfairly singled out," Lampert tells shareholders and employees. “There's been a lot of headlines, including those on social media. And people want their stories to stand out, I understand that. Everyone wants people to read what they write. ... These have been extreme headlines written about us for the past 10 years. But we're still here."
The problem with the negative press, Lampert complains, is the effect it has had on the company’s workforce and executives as well as how vendors do business with the company.
"The biggest impact has been on our associates and how we recruit talent," says Lampert. "And vendors. They want our business, but they'll use those negative headlines to negotiate better terms for themselves."
He reveals to those at the meeting that shoppers should expect smaller stores in the future as the company looks at ways to improve business.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
While media are focused on talk that Donald Trump, in his pre-president days in his Trump Tower office, used telephone taping devices (as many news folks have done in the past), North Korea on Sunday launched its latest ballistic missile, this one soaring 435 miles --- with the goal of eventually reaching San Francisco…An economic study finds journalism jobs around the country drop 22 percent in the past decade, but jump 38 percent in the nation's capital, reports Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist. What's more, salaries for Washington journalists rose seven percent while diving nationally. As of 2015, there were 3,030 reporters in the D.C. metro area, compared with 2,190 a decade prior, he notes, adding some smaller metros are left with as few as 40 journalists…Will drought talk end? Only about five percent of the country is experiencing drought conditions now --- following record rain and snowfall over much of the country --- lowest level since government scientific agencies began updating the U.S. Drought Monitor on a weekly basis in 2000…In California, up to 300,000 baby salmon die in temporary holding ponds they’d been staying in since the Oroville Dam crisis in early February. Problem stems from a faulty wire for switching off a pump at the Thermalito hatchery…Anybody see coverage of this? Last week marked the 75th anniversary of World War II’s Battle of the Coral Sea, in which U.S. and Australian forces faced off against Japan from May 4-8, 1942. It marked the first time aircraft carriers engaged each other in a battle that resulted in 656 Allied and 966 Japanese deaths. Damage inflicted on two Japanese carriers forced them to avoid the pivotal Battle of Midway a month later…Also with scant coverage: Former President Barack Obama, for a speech on climate change, flew via private jet to Italy then went to his Milan destination in a 14-car convoy, plus a helicopter and use of 300 police officers...Time, Inc. is cutting its quarterly dividend to four cents a share from 19.
Seeking a few good --- women.
The Marine Corps releases a TV commercial aimed at recruiting women.
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