Grumpy Editor

Tesla regains $18 analyst-linked one-day drop in 8 days; Kansas City Star cites Obama boost in middle class lives

After a Goldman Sachs market analyst’s comments sent Tesla Motors Inc. stock down $18.21 to $109.05 a share on July 16, the buoyant electric car maker steadily regained upward movement, capped by a positive outlook Friday from a Deutsche Bank analyst as the Palo Alto-based auto firm's stock jumped $5.32 to $129.39 a share, notes Grumpy Editor. 

That put Tesla $2.13 above its July 15 close of $127.26, a day before Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault set a Tesla price target of $84 a share, sending the auto maker’s stock south.  (Interestingly, two months earlier Archambault set a price target of $61.)

On Friday, Deutsche Bank analyst Dan Galves upgraded Tesla, saying the electric car maker “has taken a very large step ahead of the competition” and raised his rating to “buy” from “hold.”  He boosted his price target to $160 --- about double that of Goldman Sachs analyst Archambault two weeks ago. 

Despite a down market today, Tesla jumped to a new high, up $5.23 to $134.62.

Zig-zag comments with opposing analysts’ views are what trigger gray hairs on business writers and investors.  

Deutsche’s Galves told an Associated Press reporter:  "Several unbiased third parties (are) concluding that Tesla's first mass-produced vehicle is the best car they've ever tested.  In the eyes of many consumers and critics, (Tesla has) designed a superior car by taking advantage of the architectural attributes of an E-vehicle (such as battery placement underneath the floor of the vehicle), and using this to (the company’s) advantage (i.e. better handling, quietness, storage, interior volume)."

 

KC Star sees ‘gusto’ in Obama speech 

While many in the media cited President Barack Obama’s on-the-road speeches at two college campuses last week as recycled material --- although it included new remarks on “phony scandals” (such as Benghazi, IRS, and NSA spying) --- the Kansas City Star saw some nuggets that inspired an editorial.

The Star noted glowing pluses in the president’s comments for middle class folks. 

“Obama left the naysayers behind and pledged to spend the rest of his time in office fighting to improve the lives of the middle class,” read the Star editorial.  “He did so with gusto.” 

The editorial in the McClatchy Co.-owned newspaper also beamed, “His template is consistent, reasonable and refreshingly positive:  access to quality education from preschool to college, infrastructure upgrades, good paying jobs, home ownership, secure retirements and affordable health care.” 

The Star’s daily circulation, as of a March 31 tally by Alliance for Audited Media, was 189,283.  That compares with weekday circulation of 206,441 in September, 2010.

 

In case you missed these… 

NBC plans a Hillary Rodham Clinton miniseries timed to precede the 2016 presidential election.  It’s linked to the network’s effort to create "event" programming.  Diane Lane is set to portray the former first lady and secretary of state...More Hispanic adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and Internet outlets, according to a Pew Research Center survey.  It found 82 percent said they get at least some of their news in English, up from 78 percent six years earlier.

Bank PR problem:  First National Bank of Wellston (Ohio) has a very irritated female in its community.  The two-office bank foreclosed on the wrong house --- which happened to be hers.  With the action, out went her belongings, with most hauled away, some sold, others trashed…In another problem --- the type that shakes up PR folks --- when San Diego Mayor Bob Filner held a press conference Friday to announce he was undergoing two weeks of counseling, his microphone went dead soon after he started talking.  It was out for about 10 minutes while about two dozen print and broadcast staffers anxiously waited (they expected him to resign).  MSNBC, Fox News and CNN anchors, some depending on a feed from KFMB in San Diego, had to ad lib during the blank period. Meanwhile, a next-day Associated Press story identified Filner as a Democrat --- in the eighth paragraph. 

    Political affiliations usually are indicated at first mention of name.

Wall Street Journal takes poke at prompt loan-repaying Tesla Motors; Fast Company cites 'golden age for TV'

Rather than kudos to Tesla Motors, Inc. for paying off an almost half billion dollar government startup loan in a swift three years, a Wall Street Journal editorial took a swipe at the fast-growing electric car maker, notes Grumpy Editor.

Tesla wired a $451.8 million payment to the government on Wednesday. That sum, coupled with two prior payments, paid off a $465 million loan the company received from the Department of Energy in 2010 to foster development of advanced-technology vehicles.

The repayment came nine years early.

Despite the prompt payment (while other companies with recent government loans have defaulted or are about to) a WSJ editorial writer, in giving a bit of history on the California-based company, decided to “take apart Tesla by the numbers, if only to give our reader-taxpayers a better sense of what they’ve paid to make Tesla’s owners rich.” 

Taking up one fourth of the editorial page on Friday, the material cited subsidies, windfalls, a brokerage report and a Los Angeles Times analysis.  It even mentioned an environmentalist who noted “manufacturing and charging electric cars over their life cycle can produce more carbon than small, gas-powered vehicles.”

The negative editorial was contrary to the hefty applause WSJ’s auto writer Dan Neil recently gave Tesla after a comprehensive test drive. 

And on Saturday’s The Journal Editorial Report on Fox, Kimberley Strassel, WSJ editorial board member, praised Tesla in the week’s hits or misses segment, giving the high-tech auto firm a solid hit in paying off the loan. 

Meanwhile, those “rich owners” --- big and small investors of the publicly-held stock --- gave their answer to the WSJ editorial at the market close on Friday:  Tesla jumped $4.35 a share, reaching $97.08, almost four times above its 52-week low.

 

Magazine hails TV as top creative medium

 

Catching Grumpy Editor’s eyes was some material in the June issue of Fast Company that lead off with:  “Once a wasteland, TV is now the most thoughtful creative entertainment medium of them all.” 

Then it added, “It’s a golden age for TV, where on any given night, viewers can find multiple examples of American comedic and dramatic genius.” 

Huh? 

Sounds like something that was written in the 1950s, not the current fare that includes easy-on-the-budget reality shows, unfunny comedies peppered with laugh tracks and a parade of reruns in prime time. 

It’s hard to beat the TV menu of the 1950s.  Among top shows was Playhouse 90, a 90-minute weekly drama series on Thursdays that ran from 1956 to 1960 on CBS.  Playhouse 90 began as a live series, making a transition to tape in 1957. 

On the comedy side was Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” on NBC from 1950 to 1954.  The Saturday night “live” 90-minute variety program, which produced genuine laughs, also featured Carl Reiner and Imogene Coca.

 

In case you missed these… 

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, warning on the Justice Department investigation of Fox News reporter James Rosen, declared:  "U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion."  Meanwhile, in connection with the Rosen case and the Associated Press scandal, Jay Carney, White House press secretary, said:  The president was "a strong defender of the First Amendment and a firm believer in the needs of the press to obtain information."

 

While accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 incident that left 13 dead and 32 injured, soldiers wounded in the mass shooting are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat…ESPN is cutting about 10 percent of its work force…Bob Schieffer, the 44-year CBS News veteran and moderator of “Face the Nation,” received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism…A panel of news and news/talk experts named Hubbard Radio's WTOP, Washington, D.C., the U.S.’s top news station in Radio Ink Magazine's first listing of news and news/talk stations…ABC News’ Diane Sawyer and Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren made Forbes’ 2013 list of the world’s most powerful women.  Sawyer ranked No. 73 and Van Susteren No. 97.

 

Young spellers --- perhaps some will be future copy editors --- will be in the spotlight tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday for the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md.  The Bee, promoted by E.W. Scripps Co. since 1941, started in 1925 with nine contestants.

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.

Jeeps to China stemmed from print report, not Romney

In recent days leading up to today’s national election, media (extending to MSNBC this afternoon) and Democrats have been emphasizing Mitt Romney campaign’s “misleading” ads mentioning production of Jeeps --- one of the world’s most famous U.S. vehicles dating back to their debut in World War II --- would move to China, notes Grumpy Editor. 

They cite the ads as the Romney campaign’s efforts to undercut President Barack Obama’s support for the auto industry. 

Jeeps --- produced by Chrysler Group LLC, now majority owned by Italian car manufacturer Fiat --- currently are produced at assembly plants in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. 

What media are overlooking is that the China rumble started with one of their own --- Bloomberg News.

This afternoon with Martin Bashir's segment on MSNBC, discussion centered on the on-screen headline:  Romney's "Jeep" ad may have backfired with Ohio voters.

An Oct. 22 Bloomberg story reports Fiat “plans to return Jeep output to China and may eventually make all of its models in that country, according to the head of both automakers’ operations in the region.”

It adds,”Fiat is in ‘very detailed conversations’ with its Chinese partner, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., about resuming Jeep production in China.

In pre-Fiat days, some Jeep models were manufactured for distribution in that country.

Three days after the Bloomberg story, Romney, at a Defiance, Ohio, rally on Oct. 25, tells supporters, “I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China.  I will fight for every good job in America, I’m going to fight to make sure trade is fair.” 

Soon after, a Chrysler spokesman declares, “The take has given birth to a number of stories making readers believe that Chrysler plans to shift all Jeep production to China from North America, and therefore idle assembly lines and U.S. workforce.” 

Five days later, Chrysler’s chief executive strongly refutes claims that production of Jeeps would shift to China.

Good Housekeeping needs some marketing housekeeping

With national magazines keenly eager to keep readers subscribing these days, confusion grows not only in prices, but in all sorts of wild “deals” and marketing tactics, finds Grumpy Editor. 

A good example this week is with Good Housekeeping. 

The Hearst magazine (a unit of Hearst Corp.) sends two subscription pitches, with variations, arriving at the same household on the same day. 

Pitch No. 1, labeled “rate adjustment” and “this is a non-transferable discount offer,” indicates the magazine with an annual cover price of $41.88 can be had for $7.97 --- and a Good Housekeeping tote bag will be tossed in with the offer that expires Feb. 15. 

Pitch No. 2, labeled “preferred subscriber claim form” for Good Housekeeping, also includes a one-year subscription to Redbook, another Hearst publication, at a combined price of $8. 

That form notes “combined annual cover price” of $77.76.  The $8 comes after a “credit adjustment” of $69.76.  The offer, good until Feb. 13, also cautions, “This credit is not transferable.” 

But wait. 

While the two-magazines-for-one-small-price in pitch No. 2 shows the other magazine as Redbook on the mail-in slip, the bottom part indicates the other Hearst publication in the deal is Woman’s Day, complete with reproduction of a cover photo and one paragraph description of that magazine’s highlights. 

A plus, however:  Unlike some other publishers’ pitches these days, a prepaid envelope accompanies each. 

Among Hearst’s other magazines are Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Popular Mechanics and Harper’s Bazaar.

 

$1 billion Ford complex to create 5,000 jobs --- overseas

The timing of a Ford Motor Co. announcement, while involving expansion and hiring of thousands of workers, may be raising some eyebrows rather than bringing cheers on a day when President Barack Obama focuses on jobs and the U.S. economy in an address before a joint session of Congress, notices Grumpy Editor. 

The Detroit-based auto maker announced it started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex that will create 5,000 jobs. 

Welcomed news? 

Not for the U.S. where the unemployment rate remains at 9.1 percent.

Location of the new facility is in India. 

The pre-Obama speech announcement may have some public relations folks blushing at Ford’s headquarters. 

The new plant in Sanand in the western state of Gujarat initially will produce 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines a year by 2014, said Ford. 

The complex highlights the auto maker’s plan “to aggressively grow the Ford brand in India,” said Michael Boneham, Ford India president. 

Ford has been expanding in India with a total investment there of $2 billion to date. 

The auto maker also operates a plant in Chennai, a south Indian city.

It has a capacity to produce 200,000 cars and 250,000 engines a year --- with plans to boost engine output to 330,000 by next year.

 

Editor: Changes in Chrysler review ‘humbling mistake’

In the aftermath of Detroit News auto reviewer Scott Burgess resigning last week after editors followed a request by an advertiser to water down his critique of the Chrysler 200, the newspaper’s publisher and editor on Saturday wrote in a memo to readers that he owes them “an explanation and an apology for the lapse that raised questions about our credibility,” notes Grumpy Editor.

“While our intent was to improve the piece by making these passages less grating, our decision to make these changes after fielding an advertiser's complaint was a humbling mistake,” says Jonathan Wolman.

“As publisher and editor, I want to apologize to our readers and of course to Scott. Once the review was published we should have maintained the wording in all our formats and avoided any sense that we were acting at the influence of any interest aside from our readers' interest.

“Why is that so important? The credibility of our journalism is our calling card to your doorstep and your digital screen. We simply cannot act at any behest but yours and we must avoid any appearance to the contrary.”

What triggered a vigorous discussion in the Detroit News newsroom where writers also review films, cultural performances, restaurants and computer gear?

Wolman points out, “Whether we are reviewing a movie or a new Thai restaurant or a $90,000 sportster, our readers must be certain they have the author's unvarnished opinion, free of any commercial or outside consideration. That's our ongoing commitment.”

And what are some of the sentences dropped in Burgess’s Chrysler 200 review?

Regrettably, the 200 is still a dog.

It’s vastly improved, but that’s only because it was so horrendous before.  Hopefully, this car is a placeholder until the real redesigned 200 arrives --- eventually.

The only thing this 200 proves is that good enough is never going to be good enough.

If this is the best vehicle Detroit exports, then Glenn Beck is right.

 

Chrysler doesn’t like 'Imported From Detroit’ on T-shirts

There’s a lot of sensitivity these days at Chrysler Group LLC regarding its Chrysler 200, one of its new vehicles being pitched heavily in television commercials, observes Grumpy Editor.

Chrysler thinks “Imported From Detroit” is a clever tag line in the commercial spotlighting the midsize sedan that first aired during last month’s Super Bowl.

But the auto maker is up in arms because a small Detroit retailer is selling clothing with the same slogan.

At the same time, a negative review of the Chrysler 200 by Scott Burgess, Detroit News auto writer and journalist for 12 years, resulted in him quitting the newspaper on Wednesday after editors followed a request by an advertiser to water down his piece.

Chrysler this week filed suit against Moda Group LLC, which operates retailer Pure Detroit.  The retailer’s three stores in the Motor City are selling T-shirts and other garb featuring the “Imported from Detroit” slogan.

Chrysler wants a federal judge to halt the “Imported From Detroit” clothing sales.

A Pure Detroit attorney tells Crain’s Detroit Business that he believes Chrysler’s tag line is unenforceable.  He adds he researched the matter and finds the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected trademark applications using geographic references and the “imported from” phrase.

Nevertheless, Chrysler attorneys claim the defendants, in continuing to sell the clothing, “have left Chrysler no choice but to bring this lawsuit to prevent (the retailer) from deceiving and confusing the public and harming Chrysler’s good will.”

Of course, there’s quite a difference in looks and price of the “Imported From Detroit” products.

A Pure Detroit T-shirt carries a $24 price tag.  The MSRP of the Chrysler 200 --- which weighs 3,742 pounds --- starts at $19,245.