Grumpy Editor

Grumpy Editor marking the holidays

Grumpy Editor is taking time off to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

 

He will return, perhaps less grumpy, on Jan. 8.

2017 ENDING AS BIGGEST YEAR FOR 'FAKE NEWS'

This year turns out to be the biggest for "fake news" as many writers released incorrect or made-up stories, most aimed at the White House, finds Grumpy Editor.

Could it stem from some offending writers graduating with a political science rather than a journalism background?

A constant barrage of fake news or dopey news continues to make headlines.  An example of dopey news: The mighty New York Times, on a day when Congress was kicking around a capital gains tax hike that would affect thousands of Times readers, it came up with a startling revelation that President Donald Trump drinks a dozen cans of Diet Coke each day.

Other than a hearty free plug for the Coca-Cola Co. and similar drinkers, who cares?

A few days ago the president tweeted that over the weekend there were six attacks on what he called fake news, saying the "out of control" media issues purposely false and defamatory stories.

Media members such as CNN's Jim Acosta call the misinformation "honest mistakes."

At a White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Sanders responded, "There's a very big difference between honest mistakes and purposely misleading the American people."

Photos also have been misleading.

Latest example:  The Washington Post ran a deceptive picture on the number of attendees at a Trump rally in Florida.  It was snapped while people were waiting outside.  A Post reporter apologized --- after the president demanded an apology.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, told Associated Press writer David Bauder that news organizations corrected themselves but fell short in explanations.

“When a mistake is made, the public really needs to understand why it was made and what corrections have been put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she added.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE... 

TWO WORDS OF THE YEAR.  Oxford University Press, publisher of Oxford dictionaries, named "youthquake" its top word for 2017 while Merriam-Webster dictionary announced “feminism” as its top word of the year.  Youthquake is defined as "a significant cultural, political or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.”  Oxford added youthquake also has the potential "as a word of cultural significance."  Merriam-Webster in naming “feminism” as its word of 2017, said the term was driven by women’s marches, new TV shows and films on women's issues plus a string of news stories on sexual assault and harassment claims. The dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” 

DOW CONTINUES UPWARD MARCH.  Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday reached 24651.74, notching a new high on the upward path toward 25000, putting the year-to-date advance at 25 percent.  In today's close, the Dow set another record, up 140.46 points to 24792.20.

DON’T MENTION GLOBAL WARMING HERE.  Winter hasn’t officially arrived, but in Redfield, N.Y., the Oswego County town already has received 82.6 inches of snow.

COVERAGE CALLED MEDIA MALPRACTICE. Interviewed by Fox News’  Tucker Carlson, Stephen F. Cohen, a contributing editor at The Nation, criticized the Washington Post, the New York Times and others, stating he has "never seen media malpractice" like the establishment press's year-long effort to breathe life into what he insists has been a completely ginned-up claim that Russia tried to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

CAVUTO TO DEBUT SATURDAY PROGRAM.  Fox Business Network anchor Neil Cavuto will host a two-hour program --- "Cavuto Live” --- on Fox News Channel starting Jan. 20.  Cavuto and a panel of experts will focus on headlines impacting business and politics.

MARGARINE, SPREADS BUSINESS SOLD.  Unilever is selling its margarine and spreads business to KKR & Co. for $8.1 billion as it focuses on faster-growing food and personal-care niches. It’s the biggest leveraged buyout announced in Europe this year. 

EMPLOYEES BUY THEIR DAILY NEWSPAPER.  A group of employees at the Prince Albert Daily Herald in Canada reached a deal to purchase the publication from Alberta-based Star News Publishing and run it as an independent newspaper. The employees said they’re pleased to return the Herald to its roots as an independent, locally owned and operated news outlet.

A SOLID MENTAL CASE.   A homeless man told police in Olathe, Kan. that he dismembered his wife in a Missouri hotel room then slept in a Kansas storage unit with her remains and their two children is headed to a mental hospital.  He's also charged in the death of a California man whose body hasn't been found, said authorities.

NEW ADULT GETS BIG WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS.  Aidan Gilbert of Arizona celebrated his 21st birthday by winning $426,840 while playing Wheel of Fortune at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.  Along with his father and friends, Gilbert stopped at The Cosmo soon after dropping off luggage and headed for the machine.  It was his first visit to Sin City as an adult.

 

 

BARTENDERS ARE BUSY IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL

Grumpy Editor notes the District of Columbia ranks No. 1 in percentage of U.S. heavy drinkers and No. 2 in percentage of adults who consume alcohol, according to Detox.net, an online resource for alcohol abuse treatment programs.

Based on data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the study finds 65.9 percent of adults in D.C. have had at least one drink in the past month, second only to Wisconsin’s 67.3 percent. 

The study notes 11.1 percent of D.C. adults are heavy drinkers, consuming more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink daily for women.

 The District also topped the list for highest percentage (25.5) of binge drinkers --- men who have had five or more drinks, four or more for women, on at least one occasion in the past month.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

HO! HO! HO! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS.  There used to be a time when companies waited to announce layoffs until after the Yule season.  But General Electric Co., in a pre-Christmas  announcement, says in efforts to slash costs it plans to cut 12,000 jobs in its power business. The reductions account for about 18 percent of GE Power’s workforce.

CVS AND AETNA TO COMBINE.  Termed among the biggest healthcare mergers of the past decade, CVS Health Corp. will buy Aetna Inc. for more than $67 billion in a deal that will combine the largest U.S drugstore chain with the third-biggest health insurer.

U.S. MILITARY STAKE IN SYRIA.  About 2,000 American troops are operating in Syria, the Pentagon reveals, acknowledging four times the service members in the embattled nation than it had disclosed earlier, reports Stars and Stripes.

$100 CONTRIBUTION GETS SPOTLIGHT.  Major news organizations went overboard citing Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who's been adamantly opposed to Republican Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore, contributing to Moore’s Democrat rival, Doug Jones.  The report was accompanied by a photo of the check.  The amount:  $100.

“STORES” FADING FROM TITLE.  Wal-Mart Stores is dropping “Stores" from its official name, a symbolic move that reflects its evolution beyond brick and mortar retail, says CEO Doug McMillon who adds he felt the name change was needed to be "consistent with the idea that you can shop us however you like as a customer.” 

GREAT HEADLINE.  A headline over a front page story in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal on making snoozing jurors stay awake: Your Honor, The Jury Rests.

INACCURATE ABC NEWS REPORT BRIEFLY SOCKS STOCK MARKET

An inaccurate report about former national security adviser Michael Flynn by veteran ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross triggered a brief 350-point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average and Ross's suspension without pay for four weeks, observed Grumpy Editor.

“We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,” the network said Saturday. “The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process," added ABC News. “It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience.”

Ross revealed Flynn would testify that Donald Trump, while a candidate for president, ordered him to make contact with Russians about foreign policy.  The report raised the specter of Trump's impeachment and sent the stock market plummeting.

ABC News later that day issued a "clarification" to Ross's report, saying Trump's alleged directive came after he'd been elected president, a key distinction in the investigation of Russian actions during the campaign. 

Some market investors were smacked by the 350-point drop.

Trump later tweeted, "Congratulations to @ABC News" for punishing Ross for what the president called "his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt.” 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

ECONOMY EXPANDS WITHOUT FANFARE.  Overshadowed by other Washington news, the U.S. economy gross domestic product, for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2007, exceeded potential GDP.  It included the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 17 years.

MEDIA OVERLOOK NORTH KOREA’S ADDED MISSILE PUNCH.  Most media continued to skirt the significance of North Korea’s resumed weapons testing after the launching last week of what the Pentagon described as an intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly the longest-range test to date.  U.S. experts now believe Washington, D.C. and the East Coast are now within range of North Korea's missiles.

FAMOUS ARMY DOGS FACE DEATH.  In Britain, two Army dogs --- Belgian shepherds Kevin and Dazz --- that sniffed out deadly IEDs on dozens of missions that saved thousands of lives in Afghanistan before being retired, face lethal injections this week after chiefs ruled them unsafe for new homes. One angry handler slammed the decision to destroy the dogs, saying, “This is such a cruel way to treat these animals that have given us so much.”  Former soldiers and handlers who worked with the canine pair were trying to halt the “put down.”

SPORTS NETWORK CUTS JOBS.  ESPN, squeezed by rising fees to broadcast live events, said it is eliminating 150 positions as the sports giant shifts its focus to a more digital future.

“MEDDLING” WORD LIVES ON.  Expect to hear more talk about "Russian meddling" in the 2016 election this week as the House intelligence committee interviews Donald Trump Jr.

MATURITY BEHIND WHEEL GROWS.  Almost one in five U.S. licensed drivers (or 41.7 million) are at least 65 years old, reported the Transportation Department's Federal Highway Administration. A new record, “this age group is growing faster than any other, and is far outpacing their teenage counterparts,” added the FHA.  Largest single-year percentage increase in licensed drivers last year was among those between 75 and 79 years old.  Licensed drivers 85 or older increased 4.62 percent since 2015, making them the nation’s second-fastest growing demographic group.

N.Y. TIMES CUTS FREE ARTICLES ON WEB.  The New York Times sliced in half the number of free articles available each month. That means non-subscribers will only be able to read five articles before being asked to start paying. It marks the first change to the paywall in five years. A basic Times subscription, with unlimited access to the website and all news apps, is $15 every four weeks.

VETERAN PRODUCER LEAR PLANS ANOTHER COMEDY.  TV legend Norman Lear, now 95, along with TV veteran Peter Tolan, plan “Guess Who’s Dead,” a droll comedy from NBC and Sony, set in a Palm Springs nursing home with frisky post-Golden Girl types. Lear is best noted for producing landmark comedies like All in the Family, Maude and The Jeffersons in the 1970s.

THIS JUST IN.  In the "dah" department: Drones are a greater risk to aircraft than birds, according to new FAA research.  The agency found a high-speed collision between a drone and an airliner would be worse than a bird strike.