Grumpy Editor

MEDIA ROUGHED UP DURING NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

 

Many news media members — print and broadcast — got roughed up during the past few days as protests blossomed around the country, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

One organization tallied 230 incidents targeting journalists since the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.  They were shot at, manhandled, gassed or arrested while covering demonstrations.

 

Despite identifying himself and crew as media, NBC host Ali Velshi was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet in Minneapolis.  Also in that city, Star Tribune reporter Chris Serres twice was ordered at gunpoint to hit the ground.  Serres wrote that he was warned “if I moved an inch I’d be shot” and "waving a press badge made no difference.”

 

In St. Petersburg, Florida, two Tampa Bay Times journalists were detained by police. 

 

With the protests, there were other journalist injuries reported in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Denver and Detroit, among other cities.

 

A freelance photographer was shot in the face by police using rubber bullets in New York.

 

Injuries were not limited to American journalists.  An Australian reporter and cameraman were assaulted by U.S. Park police at a Washington protest. 

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

PANDEMIC AFFECTS D-DAY ANNIVERSARY.  Saturday’s D-Day anniversary was one of the loneliest remembrances for the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy. The pandemic kept almost everyone away — from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their fallen comrades.

 

CHURCHILL'S STATUE VANDALIZED.  Protesters in Britain — on World War II’s D-Day anniversary Saturday — vandalized a statue of the country’s most renowned leader, Winston Churchill.  Police eventually surrounded the statue in an attempt to protect it from further defacement in Parliament Square, where thousands of protesters gathered. 

 

CASINOS SPRING BACK INTO ACTION.  About half of 989 U.S. casinos --- including those on the Las Vegas Strip that were hit by the pandemic shutdown, reopened last week. 

 

WIPES BLOCK SEWERS.  Blockages in sewers and storm drains are increasing as home-bound Americans are seeking alternatives to bathroom tissue because of occasional shortages, while stepping up efforts to sanitize their dwellings and themselves with disposable wipes and masks.

 

VA CLAIMS BACKLOG SWELLS.  Backlog of Department of Veterans Affairs claims has grown by tens of thousands of cases since the department halted work because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to top VA officials. There were 119,000 backlogged claims as of Wednesday, up from 64,000 in November.

 

ADWEEK SOLD.  Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital bought Adweek from Beringer Capital.  Adweek covers marketing and advertising. 

 

MOVIE CHAIN MAY NOT SURVIVE.  AMC, the world's largest movie theater chain closed during the pandemic, warns it may not survive because its ability to stay in business is in jeopardy if it is unable to raise funds.

 

ATMs HIT IN PHILADELPHIA.  While police coped with demonstrations in Philadelphia, thieves blew up or stole 10 ATMs, mainly at neighborhood convenience stores and gas stations in what authorities believe was a coordinated effort.

PROTESTERS HIT L.A. SYNAGOGUE.   Not widely reported was Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles vandalized and set on fire during protests last week.

WILL ARMY GIVE CURRENT FOOTWEAR THE BOOT?

With military editors mostly gone from major newspapers, there’s an absence of news on everyday developments focusing on men and women in uniform, observed Grumpy Editor.

An example:  The U.S. Army is testing new combat boots that are lighter and more comfortable.

Stars and Stripes writer John Vandiver revealed the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Soldier Center in Natick, Mass., has developed prototypes that soldiers will wear at three basic training and active duty sites during the next four months.

The general-purpose prototypes being tested are the first significant change to basic Army combat boots in 30 years.

Vandiver quoted an overseer of the new footwear saying, “Soldiers live in their boots and many will tell you that there is no piece of equipment more important to their lethality and readiness.  A bad pair of boots will ruin a soldier’s day and possibly result in injuries, so we really believe that each of these prototype boots have the potential to improve the lives of soldiers.”

The prototypes --- up to 1.5 pounds lighter per pair than those issued today --- utilize more flexible types of leather and lighter outsoles and will be field tested on 800 recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and Fort Jackson, S.C.

Another 900 pairs will go to soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas, said Vandiver, adding the Army’s soldier center team will custom-fit each pair and collect solider surveys on boot performance in the spring.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

BANKS CONTINUE TO SNUB HIGHER RATES FOR DEPOSITORS.  While growing higher interest rates have boosted income for banks, allowing them to make more money on their loans, not widely reported is that customers are starting to demand higher interest rates on deposits.

GANNETT TARGET OF TAKEOVER.  MNG Enterprises Inc. — better known as Digital First Media — made a takeover bid for Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, Arizona Republic and many others as the nation's largest newspaper publisher measured by total daily circulation.

VINYL SEES RESURGENCE.  Music industry consumption figures show that CDs, as expected, are declining in popularity but vinyl is experiencing a resurgence, particularly for classic albums, noted Fortune, which added cassettes also are experiencing sales growth. 

FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS.  The winter 2019 issue of Writers Tricks of the Trade, a free magazine is now online.  Produced by Las Vegas-based Morgan St. James, author of 16 books, the 37-page issue provides information and news of interest to freelance writers.  View it at  https://joom.ag/aNTa 

SEARS STILL HANGING IN.  Sears Holding Corp. received another reprieve, a bankruptcy auction win for the company’s chairman Eddie Lampert.  However, experts pointed out problems that got the retailer into trouble in the first place continue with little hope for change. 

SURVEY FINDS TRUMP APPROVAL RISES WITH LATINOS.  President Donald Trump’s approval rating among Latinos jumped almost 20 points from December to January in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll.

FIRST FEMALE EDITOR OF CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS.  Veteran Chicago journalist Ann Dwyer, 54, will become the first female editor of Crain’s Chicago Business in its 41-year history.  She joined Crain’s from the Chicago Tribune in 1995 as a copy editor, reported Chris Roush, of Talking Biz News.

RUNAWAY DOG SHAKES UP LAX.  A runaway German Shepherd, named Cashmere, created a headache on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport Thursday afternoon when she escaped while being loaded onto a plane for an international flight.  Nine officers responded and after a half hour Cashmere was secured and loaded back onto the aircraft.

 

POSSIBLE MATE FOUND FOR LONELY FROG.   A Sehuencas frog, named Romeo, thought to be the last of its kind, and alone in a tank at an aquarium in Bolivia for a decade while scientists tried to find him a mate, finally may have a friend.  Scientists from a museum in Cochabamba City have found five more, first to be seen in the wild for 10 years.