Grumpy Editor

Pulpy ‘Gangster Squad’ provides fictional action in L.A.; gun control chatter skips illegal weapon use by bad guys

While Washington continues to focus on gun control this week, Gangster Squad, the Warner Bros. crime film over the weekend attracted flocks of (mostly young) moviegoers glued to their seats as the screen showed explosions, machine guns, smashed cars and general violence --- as a screenwriter viewed things in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, notes Grumpy Editor.

Despite the screen notice that the film was “inspired by a true story,” that’s not the way it was in the City of the Angels at that time.

The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce must be grumbling over the extraordinary amount of mayhem depicted in the story, fictionalized by Will Beal’s screenplay from the book by Paul Lieberman.

The cast includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Sean Penn in a script that focuses on six Los Angeles Police Department officers recruited to be as ruthless as mobster Mickey Cohen (played by Penn). 

A veteran newsman, who worked in the LAPD press room in City Hall, recalls no such continuous violent action at that time. 

Police reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mirror, Herald-Express, Los Angeles Examiner and Los Angeles Daily News were busy feeding tips to city desks regarding traffic accidents, robberies, burglaries and such --- when they weren’t playing cards.  Certainly a machine gun-riddled LAPD patrol car and shootouts around the city, as seen in the film, would have made front pages. 

Those were the days when newspaper competition was keen, with up to six deadlines a day. 

Cohen, who mingled with Hollywood stars, died peacefully in his Los Angeles home on July 29, 1976. 

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Gun control reports continue with front page coverage this week boosted by Vice President Joe Biden’s recommendations to President Barack Obama tomorrow. 

Focus will be on background checks of gun buyers, restrictions on high-capacity clips and other measures. 

A popular phrase with news anchors last week on NBC, ABC and CBS television networks was “gun violence.” 

What none covered, however, was what to do about criminals possessing illegal weapons and not obeying laws. 

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In case you missed these… 

For dramatic effect?  CNN’s Wolf Blitzer broadcast an interview in segments last week with Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.  Blitzer asked questions in English.  Morsi sidestepped English, answering via a translator despite being a former student at the University of Southern California and later teaching, as an assistant professor, at Cal State Northridge from 1982 to 1985…Senate reporters coverup.  Few TV viewers or newspaper readers are aware that the U.S. Senate has been in a two-week recess, convening next Monday for inaugural ceremonies…Farewell to green?  The New York Times is closing its environmental desk. 

A missing element with coverage of the Journal News, Westchester, N.Y., that published an interactive map showing names and addresses of licensed pistol permit holders in its area: it’s one of 90 daily Gannett Co. newspapers…Time magazine goes to 48 issues this year, a reduction of three, as ad page count is off by almost 50 percent in five years…The Los Angeles Times, with another periodic piece to shake up readers, on Wednesday detailed a statewide California earthquake may be possible after all… Forbes magazine’s Jan. 21 issue runs an out-of-focus, blurry photo --- a trend with some publications these days --- that spans a full page and extends almost half way into an adjoining page to illustrate a “Bad Medicine” article dealing with patient satisfaction surveys…Fox News Channel for the 11^th consecutive year dominates cable news with the top 11 programs in total viewers, finds Nielsen Media Research.

Pulpy ‘Gangster Squad’ provides fictional action in L.A.; gun control chatter skips illegal weapon use by bad guys

While Washington continues to focus on gun control this week, Gangster Squad, the Warner Bros. crime film over the weekend attracted flocks of (mostly young) moviegoers glued to their seats as the screen showed explosions, machine guns, smashed cars and general violence --- as a screenwriter viewed things in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, notes Grumpy Editor.

Despite the screen notice that the film was “inspired by a true story,” that’s not the way it was in the City of the Angels at that time.

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce must be grumbling over the extraordinary amount of mayhem depicted in the story, fictionalized by Will Beal’s screenplay from the book by Paul Lieberman.

The cast includes Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Sean Penn in a script that focuses on six Los Angeles Police Department officers recruited to be as ruthless as mobster Mickey Cohen (played by Penn). 

A veteran newsman, who worked in the LAPD press room in City Hall, recalls no such continuous violent action at that time. 

Police reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mirror, Herald-Express, Los Angeles Examiner and Los Angeles Daily News were busy feeding tips to city desks regarding traffic accidents, robberies, burglaries and such --- when they weren’t playing cards.

Certainly a machine gun-riddled LAPD patrol car and shootouts around the city, as seen in the film, would have made front pages. 

Those were the days when newspaper competition was keen, with up to six deadlines a day. 

Cohen, who mingled with Hollywood stars, died peacefully in his Los Angeles home on July 29, 1976. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

Gun control reports continue with front page coverage this week boosted by Vice President Joe Biden’s recommendations to President Barack Obama tomorrow. 

Focus will be on background checks of gun buyers, restrictions on high-capacity clips and other measures. 

A popular phrase with news anchors last week on NBC, ABC and CBS television networks was “gun violence.” 

What none covered, however, was what to do about criminals possessing illegal weapons and not obeying laws. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        * 

In case you missed these… 

For dramatic effect?  CNN’s Wolf Blitzer broadcast an interview in segments last week with Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.  Blitzer asked questions in English.  Morsi sidestepped English, answering via a translator despite being a former student at the University of Southern California and later teaching, as an assistant professor, at Cal State Northridge from 1982 to 1985…Senate reporters coverup.  Few TV viewers or newspaper readers are aware that the U.S. Senate has been in a two-week recess, convening next Monday for inaugural ceremonies…Farewell to green?  The New York Times is closing its environmental desk. 

A missing element with coverage of the Journal News, Westchester, N.Y., that published an interactive map showing names and addresses of licensed pistol permit holders in its area: it’s one of 90 daily Gannett Co. newspapers…Time magazine goes to 48 issues this year, a reduction of three, as ad page count is off by almost 50 percent in five years…The Los Angeles Times, with another periodic piece to shake up readers, on Wednesday detailed a statewide California earthquake may be possible after all… Forbes magazine’s Jan. 21 issue runs an out-of-focus, blurry hospital photo --- a trend with some publications these days --- that spans a full page and extends almost half way into an adjoining page to illustrate a “Bad Medicine” article dealing with patient satisfaction surveys…Fox News Channel for the 11^th consecutive year dominates cable news with the top 11 programs in total viewers, finds Nielsen Media Research.

TV, the morning after, lingers on superstorm Sandy

The morning after superstorm Sandy smacked the East Coast, especially the New York City-New Jersey area, brought Grumpy Editor some interesting observations. 

A sweep of the television dial Tuesday morning started at CNN which framed live coverage with lightning flashes in efforts to stir viewers --- even though no lightning was associated with the historic hurricane as it hit the East Coast. 

CNN also picked up live shots of a WABC, New York, TV reporter sloshing through water in a flooded Little Ferry, N.J. street.  The live action was simultaneously fed to HLN. 

With the New York Stock Exchange closed for the second day, CNBC market experts discussed how post-Sandy trading would affect business. 

The Weather Channel continued to track Sandy as it headed northwest, with 10 staffers at various sites set to give updates. 

NBC still had reporters standing in the brisk wind at Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, with a backdrop of New York Harbor waves churning against a gray sky.

CBS also posted on-camera folks at Battery Park, a favorite location with TV coverage, and then replayed the previous day’s comments by President Barack Obama on how he is going to cut red tape for folks in the storm’s aftermath. 

ABC remained fascinated with the dangling crane atop a Manhattan building under construction and mentioned Sandy brought out the “biggest use of manpower since 9/11” to get things back on track. 

Fox News focused on overlooked Delaware with flooded streets at Rehoboth Beach as waves continued to splash against docked pleasure craft.

Meanwhile, an eyebrow-raising word was heard on CBS radio in the early morning when on-the-hour news led off with the “typhoon” hitting the northeast. 

Typhoon is the term used in the western Pacific area, including China and Japan, along with India, for what is called a hurricane in the U.S.

Schieffer set to be ‘clock watcher’ for Monday debate?

Hopefully, with eyes on the countdown clock, CBS’s Bob Schieffer will bring a little calm --- and “equal time” --- to the third and final presidential debate Monday with President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, figures Grumpy Editor. 

Uneven time allotments favoring the Democrats’ side from this year’s two prior presidential and one vice presidential debates have caused some grumbling. 

National Review’s Katrina Trinko noted Democrats received more time in all three 2012 debates. 

Citing the CNN debate clock (the timer “bug” at the lower right of the TV screen), Trinko pointed out, “President Obama spoke at greater length than Mitt Romney during both debates, as did Vice President Biden during his debate with Paul Ryan.” 

So Schieffer, who has been with CBS News since 1969, knows something about watching sweep hands on clocks --- or timers --- while broadcasting. 

Moderator of Sunday’s CBS public affairs show, “Face the Nation,” Schieffer is a veteran moderator of presidential debates. 

Schieffer since 2004 has been moderator for the third presidential debate. 

He was moderator of the third presidential debate on Oct. 13, 2004 between president George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry.  

Then on Oct. 15, 2008, he moderated the third presidential debate between then Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain.

Weather Channel restructuring affects up to 80 staffers

Storm clouds rolled in yesterday at the 30-year-old Weather Channel when a reported 75 to 80 staffers were laid off as part of the cable network’s restructuring, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Alex Weprin at TVNewser, in reporting the development, said Atlanta headquarters was hit hardest. 

He quoted a Weather Channel spokesperson who confirmed the operation was eliminating positions across the company with about 7 percent of the workforce affected. 

Launched on May 2, 1982, the Weather Channel broadcasts weather information and related programming, such as “Storm Stories,” around the clock. 

NBCUniversal acquired a controlling stake in 2008. 

“In late September we began an effort to reorganize our company into business units based around our customers and the products and services we create and deliver to them,” said a statement from the Weather Channel.

“This effort was recently concluded and has resulted in the elimination of positions in several divisions of the company,” it added.

“With these organizational changes and our new structure, we are better positioned for future growth. Employees who are directly affected by this position elimination or reorganization are being informed and we are working closely with them through this period of transition.”

The Weather Channel, received by more than 99 million U.S. households, makes it the second most distributed cable network, according to NBCUniversal.

Surcharge on phone bill boosts ‘ObamaPhones’ usage

Grabbing attention over the past few days, especially on talk radio: coverage of the so-called ObamaPhone, including audio from a video of a happy user, notes Grumpy Editor.

While the regular phone user-funded program --- intended as a landline phone service for low-income Americans --- was created under the George W. Bush administration, it zooms ahead with cell phones in recent months under the Obama administration.

Yet, little is seen in print media about the bargain cell phones being widely dispensed.

Bloomberg News reports the current 12.5 million nationwide accounts via the program compares with 7.1 million four years ago. 

In Ohio, for example, one of the biggest battleground states in this year’s election, the subsidized phone service nearly doubles this year to more than a million people. 

See the video here of a happy Cleveland area cell phone (aka ObamaPhone) user. 

“Keep Obama as president,” the woman proclaims on the video.  “He gave us a phone.” 

The video is drawing attention to the subsidized phone program as a national debate unfolds on entitlements and the growing percentage of Americans who pay no income taxes and get federal benefits. 

And who pays for the service? 

Take a look at your monthly phone bill.  Among the higher “fees, surcharges and taxes” --- the Universal Service Fund surcharge goes toward footing the bill on "ObamaPhones." 

The number of people eligible for the Lifeline service is estimated at between 20 million and 30 million, according to Universal Service Administrative Co., that administers the program.

 

 

 

 

Media miss UPI report on Russia hypoing missile defense

While print/broadcast media, focusing on a four-month old video, were wrangling yesterday over Mitt Romney’s correct mention that 47 (actually 46.4) percent of households paid no federal income tax in 2011, editors let interesting word out of Moscow --- relating to missile defense --- slip by, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Russia announced it was reactivating a ballistic missile defense system around Moscow as part of a modernization program, reported UPI.

(Yes, United Press International --- perhaps unfamiliar to some young editors --- is still around, feeding information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide.)

The former head of Russian Strategic Missile Forces told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that missile silos positioned to defend the Russian capital would be reactivated, UPI added.

The A-135 system is being thoroughly modernized with missiles and other elements, including upgrading of detection and tracking components, the news service amplified.

In addition, two other interceptor missile systems, deactivated in 2007, will be re-equipped, part of the modernization program.

Getting back to UPI, for those unfamiliar with the news service established in 1907, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Beirut, Hong Kong, London, Santiago, Seoul and Tokyo.

Among its famous alumni:  Long before becoming anchor of CBS Evening News on television, Walter Cronkite was a front-line war correspondent in Europe during World War II when the news service was known as UP or United Press.

DNC convention chairman ‘crashes’ GOP party in Tampa

Other than a few media folks and some CNN viewers, most people are unaware that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention next week in Charlotte, N.C. and prominent cheerleader for President Barack Obama, is on scene this week at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, notices Grumpy Editor. 

Perhaps he’s busy scribbling notes after “crashing” the GOP party in Florida. 

Main reason for Democrat Villaraigosa being on scene, mingling with Republicans and journalists:  every morning of the RNC gathering, he’s on CNN with Soledad O’Brien in a role described as being the “Democratic counterpoint to the Republican convention.” 

The CNN placement in Tampa gives Villaraigosa an opportunity to compare the Romney-Ryan GOP ticket to President Obama’s campaign and record, as he did on Monday. 

The unusual exposure of the 41^st mayor of Los Angeles --- in an arena loaded with Republicans --- is an early move leading to what some feel could be a presidential bid in 2016. 

Villaraigosa, in addition to his morning stint, in a separate CNN interview yesterday, declares: 

“I think when it's all said and done that President Obama is going to get somewhere close to 70 percent of the Latino vote. I think he is because the Republican party and Mitt Romney have gone so far to the right on issues that are important to them. And it's not just immigration where he's talked about the self-deportation of 11 million people and called the dream act a handout. It's also health care. Nine million Latinos will benefit from the Affordable Care Act. It's also the cuts to education that will come with the Romney-Ryan plan.” 

And this message was delivered ”live” from the Republican National Convention.

Isaac throws curve as Tampa 'hurricane’ muffled for GOP

Out of the 15,000 news folks sent to Tampa to cover the Republican National Convention, now starting tomorrow rather than today because of earlier concerns about inclement weather, it seems 14,999 have turned into weather reporters, observes Grumpy Editor.

They continued to be focused on Isaac --- whether labeled a tropical storm or a potential hurricane --- long predicted to bring wind and rain to the gathering at Tampa Bay Times Forum. 

Since early last week, media have been working Isaac into reports relating to the GOP gathering. 

However, latest forecasts now place Isaac on a course heading toward the New Orleans area, rather than western Florida. 

With all the hurricane talk popping up last week when Isaac was 1,600 miles southeast of Tampa, Bob Buckhorn, the city’s mayor, on Wednesday said he was ready to call off the Republican convention, if necessary, because of the predicted bad weather and much talk (mostly by media) on a direct hit on his fair city. 

That made front-page headlines and grabbed prime time broadcast coverage as Tampa geared up with storm preparations. 

TV cameras stepped up ever-popular shots of far-away wind-blown palm trees --- with fronds that flutter even with the slightest breeze on clear-sky days. 

Yesterday in a turnabout, the Tampa mayor, a Democrat, said he saw no problems with the weather during the GOP convention period. 

That cut the stress for the expected 50,000 visitors to Tampa in connection with the convention. 

But fidgety, Weather Channel-watching Republicans already had pushed today's speakers into Tuesday and beyond. 

Print and broadcast media have been heralding hurricane since the middle of last week. 

Media predicted Isaac "could" become a hurricane on Thursday.  Then hurricane status was delayed to Friday.  Saturday was next with no graduation.  Yesterday it still was a tropical storm on a more western path as it passed Key West, Florida, with few incidents. 

Meanwhile, umbrella sales continued to rise in Tampa.

Media jump on linking Isaac to GOP Tampa convention

Print and broadcast media seem gleeful that tropical storm Isaac, a vast 1,600 miles southeast of Tampa, Florida, yesterday could (note the word could) hit the 2012 Republican National Convention as a hurricane on Tuesday and the mayor (a Democrat, by the way) said he is ready to call the whole thing off, if necessary, because of stormy weather, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn won’t be doing that, of course, to his fair city that is about to welcome thousands of convention visitors but it gave media a fresh angle, along with a long-range weather outlook, in connection with the upcoming gathering at Tampa Bay Times Forum. 

With 15,000 international press members due, it’ll take more than political and meteorological wind to stop them from going to America’s 55^th largest city, Aug. 27 to 30. 

Also in attendance at the convention will be 2,286 GOP delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from 50 states, District of Columbia and five territories.

Late yesterday, Isaac was closing in on the Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico.

Weather forecasters saw tropical storm Isaac possibly developing into a hurricane today or tomorrow while media jumped in with their own outlook, focusing on the disturbance as posing a threat to the convention at 401 Channelside Drive in Tampa. 

That inspired a number of interesting headlines.  Among them, starting with one injected with a bit of humor: 

New York Daily News: Tropical storm Isaac may cause bigger problems for RNC than Obama 

USA Today:  Isaac could threaten GOP convention in Tampa 

Christian Science Monitor:  GOP’s Tampa convention likely to be wet, but how wet? 

Fox News website:  Tropical Storm Isaac poses potential threat for Republican National Convention 

CNN website:  Tropical Storm Isaac a concern as GOP convention nears 

Tampa Bay Times:  Tropical storm Isaac becomes a concern for RNC 

Washington Post:  Could Hurricane Isaac derail the GOP convention? 

With the Washington Post story, readers getting deeper into the text would note what Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in Miami, cautioned: 

“There is still way too much uncertainty right now, and it’s too early to know what effect it (Isaac) could have in the U.S. and in Florida. It depends on how much time it spends on land in Cuba. We don’t know what kind of shape it will be in by the time it clears those islands.” 

Still, most media --- in seeking to grab readers or viewers --- zoom right past that flashing yellow light.