Grumpy Editor

MEDIA JOB CUTS GROW THIS YEAR

Going into June, at least 17,436 media jobs have been cut, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

It marks the highest year-to-date level of cuts on record, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report.

 

Previous high was at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, when 16,750 job cuts were announced through May.

 

The cuts stem from the news industry facing huge constraints due to a slowdown in the ad market, debt from consolidation and subscription fatigue.

 

Elimination of jobs is triggering more union conflicts, which are putting pressure on media bosses.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

MOST SOUGHT WORKERS.  Who are the most sought-after workers this summer?  Topping the list are swim instructors, camp counselors and ice cream scoopers.

 

HOMICIDES BELOW LAST YEAR.  Homicides are down in major U.S. cities.  Killings are 12 percent below last year in nine of the 10 most populous cities compared with the same time in 2022.

 

NORTH KOREA CONTINUES FIRING MISSILES.  North Korea continues to be busy firing missiles.  Last week the Communist nation launched two ballistic missiles toward the sea in protest of U.S.-South Korea military drills.

 

BOOK RETURNED 65 YEARS LATE.  An 86-year-old returns George Orwell's "1984" to a Portland, Oregon library 65 years late. He says it needs to be read now "more than ever." 

EXPENSIVE PAINTING SOLD.  A masterpiece by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt could become the most expensive painting ever sold in Europe at a June 27 auction in London.  “Dame mit Fächer” — Lady with a Fan — will go up for sale with an estimated price of $80 million.

 

DEAD FISH ON TEXAS BEACHES.  Thousands of dead fish washed up on beaches along the Gulf Coast in Texas.  Experts in the region say it is due to a depletion of oxygen caused by high water temperatures.

 

BIG POISON IVY PLANT DRAWS ATTENTION.  An Ontario, Canada man says a 68-foot-tall poison ivy plant growing on his property left him itching for Guinness World Records recognition.  Robert Fedrock says he was walking in a wooded area on his property when he spotted the large vine growing up a tree.

 

DOGS JUMP INTO SWIMMING POOL. Drawing attention on the Web:  39 dogs happily jumping into a swimming pool to cool off on a hot summer day at Lucky Puppy doggy day care in Maybee, Michigan near Detroit.

MANY ACCOUNTANTS, AUDITORS EXIT THE FIELD

 

Many accountants and auditors around the country are calling it quits, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

In the past two years more than 300,000 — a 17 percent decline — left their jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

 

“The exodus is driven by deeper workplace shifts than baby-boomer retirements," it points out.  “Many college students don’t want to work in accounting.  Even those who majored in it.”

 

A recruiting firm director mentions  “the field still suffers from a stigma that it is uncool, with tedious work and daunting hours.”

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

HOUSE DRAMA LIFTS C-SPAN RATINGS.  Speaker drama in the House of Representatives last week boosted C-Span’s television ratings.  First day of the new Congress was watched by 379,000 households, a hefty 161 percent increase from opening day of the prior Congress, according to a viewership tracker.

 

U.S. ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES GROW.  Electric vehicle sales in 2022 rose to 807,180 from 490,456 in 2021.  That accounts for 5.8 percent of all vehicles sold, up from 3.2 percent a year prior.

 

WORLD POPULATION UP 0.9 PERCENT IN YEAR. Entering the new year, the Census Bureau puts the world population at 7.9 billion, marking a 0.9 percent increase from the previous year.

 

HOME RUN BALL SELLS FOR $1.5 MILLION.  Baseball player Aaron Judge’s American League record-breaking 62nd home run ball, caught by a fan on Oct. 4, sells to an anonymous buyer at auction for $1.5 million.

 

PUTIN’S ANNUAL NEWS CONFERENCE SHELVED.  Russian president Vladimir Putin, in a ritual designed to polish his image, scrubs his annual year-end news conference following a series of setbacks in Ukraine. 

 

NEVER TOO OLD TO WRITE.  Joan Donovan donned a cap and gown for a private graduation ceremony outside her Florida home to celebrate earning her master's degree in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University...at age 89.

 

D.C . MEMORIAL TO HONOR WORLD WAR II WOMEN.  A memorial, set to be built in Washington, will commemorate the millions of World War II women who took over jobs — ranging from pilots to letter carriers —  traditionally held by men.

MEDIA/COMMUNICATIONS JOBS GRAB MOST ATTENTION

Jobs in media/communications and information technology are grabbing the most attention these days, notes Grumpy Editor.

  

Postings in those areas are getting more clicks on the web now than in February, 2020, finds a survey by Indeed, an employment website. 

 

There is less interest in lower-wage, in-person sectors like loading/stocking and personal care than before the pandemic. Thus, that triggers labor shortages in those sectors.

 

Interest in loading/stocking jobs at warehouses drops 40 percent.  Interest in food service jobs is down 18 percent while the focus on personal care jobs, home health/child care is down 33 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

 

Meanwhile, only about 37 percent of jobs can be done from home, finds an analysis by University of Chicago economists.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

CHINESE MISSILE LAUNCH "VERY CONCERNING."  A Chinese missile launch “was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning," Gen Mark Milley tells Bloomberg.  "I don't know if it's quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it's very close to that.  It has all of our attention."

 

STREET DOG TRAVELS WIDELY.  Boji, an Istanbul street dog, is grabbing attention in Turkey by exploring the area by subway trains, buses, ferries and trams.  He has become an internet sensation by traveling solo. Most days he passes through at least 29 metro stations and takes at least two ferry rides, and gets off trains and ferries by himself.

 

MORE POLICE SPENDING VOICED.  The share of adults who say spending on policing in their area should be increased now stands at 47 percent, up from 31 percent in June last year.   Of those, 21 percent say funding for local police should be increased a lot, up from 11 percent last summer.

 

PETA SEEKS "ARM BARN" IN BASEBALL PARKS.  People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says Major League Baseball should rename “bullpen,” where pitchers warm up, to more friendly “arm barn.”

 

TWO PERCENT CALL THEMSELVES WEALTHY.  A Rasmussen Reports national survey finds 60 percent of adults consider themselves middle class, little changed from earlier surveys.  While 20 percent consider themselves upper middle class, only two percent think they are wealthy, while 20 percent say they’re poor, up from 13 percent three years ago.

 

FEWER STUDENTS GOING TO COLLEGE.  Recent college enrollment plummets during the pandemic. This fall, it’s worse. The pandemic sees far fewer students going to college, according to preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

 

WARM ATMOSPHERIC GASES GROW.  The build-up of warming gases in the atmosphere increases to record levels last year, according to the World Meteorological Organization.  It says amounts of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide jump by more than the annual average in the past 10 years. 

 

THREE STATES GRAB MOST DEFENSE DOLLARS.  California, Virginia and Texas grab the most defense dollars in the U.S.  In fiscal year 2020, Texas is awarded $83 billion in defense spending, Virginia grabs $64.3 billion while California receives $61 billion. 

WITH LESS ADVERTISING, PUBLISHERS SLASH JOBS

With less advertising, hypoed by the coronavirus, more publishers are being forced to slash jobs — or worse, finds Grumpy Editor.

Latest newspaper to call it quits is the Glendale (Calif.) News-Press.  Established in 1905, lack of advertising forced it to roll out its final edition on Saturday.  

 

The Washington Post’s Jonathan O’Connell points out “cuts to the industry have accelerated so greatly that groups representing journalists have taken a maybe unprecedented step and asked the government to help, by keeping the industry afloat financially during the pandemic and seeding its resurgence once the economy begins to recover."

 

O’Connell reports Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild labor union says, "We have to treat this as an emergency" and "there is a real interest in public health to keep people informed in this crisis.”

 

Since the pandemic began, newspaper chains have instituted furloughs of 10 percent to 25 percent of their staffs.

 

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which covers a metropolitan area of more than 2 million people, lost 28 of its 32 union journalists this month due to new cuts.

 

Newspapers in Seattle, Portland, Boston, Sacramento, Reno and elsewhere have suspended print operations and furloughed their staffs, according to the Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida.

 

Cutbacks in advertising are "dealing a sharp and immediate blow to local news publishing," says News Media Alliance president and chief executive David Chavern.  "If this continues, there won't be local journalism in many communities.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE... 

 

ANIMAL SHELTERS EMPTYING.  Animal shelters across the U.S. are emptying amid the coronavirus pandemic.  People forced to wait out the pandemic at home are adopting and fostering shelter dogs and cats to keep them company. The shelters are thrilled.  Example:  Workers and volunteers at the Friends of the Palm Beach County (Florida) Animal Care and Control celebrate when the usually-packed kennel goes empty for the first time, stemming from lonely humans stuck at home seeking companionship.

LIFE INSURERS SHELVE SENIOR APPLICATIONS.  Some U.S. life insurers are deciding not to gamble on older Americans during the coronavirus crisis by temporarily suspending applications from certain age groups or imposing tougher requirements.

FORTUNE MAGAZINE TRIMS STAFF.   Fortune magazine cuts 35 staffers and CEO Alan Murray is taking a 50 percent pay cut. 

NBC NEWSCAST AIMED AT YOUNGSTERS.  NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt is leading an experimental version of the network’s flagship newscast aimed specifically at children and teens.  “Nightly News Kids Edition” streams on YouTube and is likely to appear at least twice a week and perhaps with  greater frequency.

 

VETS GET HOTEL ROOMS. The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to distribute $200 million to ease the burden on homeless shelters during the coronavirus pandemic and buy hotel rooms for veterans in need of help.

ESPN CUTS PAY.  With sports events on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN asks its 100 commentators to take a 15 percent pay cut over the next three months.

 

U.S. ASTRONAUTS LAUNCH SET.  Look for a May 27 astronaut launch.  That’s when NASA and SpaceX resume astronaut launches from the U.S. — the first since 2011.  Two astronauts will be sent to the international space station.

 

BALD EAGLES RELOCATE IN ARIZONA SAGUARO CACTUS.  For the first time in decades, bald eagles are found nesting in Arizona saguaro cactus.  Last known sighting in saguaro cacti in that state was in 1937.

 

 

 

2019 TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR FOR U.S. MEDIA INDUSTRY: AXIOS

 

This year, as Axios points out, indeed was "a transformative year for the U.S. news media industry," notes Grumpy Editor.

The news and technology company reminds that "there were enormous business challenges, which resulted in an unprecedented number of layoffs, desperate product maneuvers and fire-sale deals," adding, "the economic outlook of the news industry is still grim heading into 2020." 

 

Axios says "voters are starting to tune out political coverage, which for the past few years has been the news industry's biggest money-maker. That reality, coupled with an anticipated recession, has newsrooms on edge."

 

This year, it mentions, "was a particularly brutal year for older news industries, like newspapers, magazines, television and radio. Revenue for television was down nearly 4 percent this year, and for print it was down nearly 20 percent."

 

These challenges took a human toll on journalists and news industry employees around the country, observes Axios, and "by some estimates, nearly 8,000 people were laid off or lost their jobs in media in 2019. That level of attrition is on pace to be the highest it's been since the 2009 recession."

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

'HOLLAND' USE SET TO FADE.  Going into the new year, the Netherlands is set to drop from tourist promotions its long-used alternative — Holland — as it seeks to re-brand itself.  The nickname has been used for several decades. 

 

GOLDEN STATE POPULATION GROWTH SLOWS.  California’s population growth slows to a trickle --- the most sluggish rate since 1900 as residents leave and immigration decelerates.  Behind it:  fewer births, coupled with higher number of deaths with an aging population.

 

LONG-TIME SHELTER DOG FINALLY ADOPTED.  Seamus, a nine-year-old pit bull mix, spending more than 2,000 days or more than half his life in a Fresno, Calif., shelter --- The Fresno Bully Rescue --- is adopted just in time for Christmas. The shelter aims to help bully breeds, like bulldogs, pit bulls and boxers, get adopted.

 

STUDY CITES STATES WITH MISERABLE CITIES.  A Business Insider study finds the state with the most miserable cities is California, with 10 in the top 50.  Taking second place is New Jersey, with nine, then Florida with six.

 

USS MISSOURI EYEWITNESSES SOUGHT.  Organizers for a 75th anniversary event marking the end of World War II are searching for veterans who were aboard the USS Missouri where Japan officially surrendered. 

 

WILDFIRES KILL KOALAS.  Thousands of koalas in the mid-northern coast of New South Wales are feared to have died in the raging wildfires in that area that was home to about 28,000 of the animals.

 

 

NEWSEUM SHUTTERS TOMORROW.  The glass-walled journalism showcase Newseum, after 11 years in operation in Washington, D.C., across the street from the National Gallery of Art, is closing its doors tomorrow. 

 

 

And HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

Marines succumb to PC, remove “man” from specialties

It didn’t get much play in print/broadcast media when the Marine Corps announced it is yielding to political correctness and is removing “man” from 19 of its job specialty titles in a move to be more gender-neutral, notes Grumpy Editor.

Antitank missileman, for example, will become antitank gunner; field artillery operations man will become field artillery operations chief. and reconnaissance man identifier and its subcategories will shift to reconnaissance Marine, according to documents obtained by Stars and Stripes.

Rifleman and mortarman classifiers will remain, as they are embedded in Marine Corps culture, writes S&S staffer Alex Horton, who adds, “Other changes are meant to align with updated terminology, said a Marine personnel official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”

The change comes after Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in January ordered Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant, to end gender-segregated training, Horton points out.

The S&S writer says Mabus wrote, “This is an opportunity to update the position title and descriptions themselves to demonstrate through this language that women are included,” adding “man” should be removed from titles.

The memos follow Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s decision in December to open all combat-related jobs to women.

Meanwhile, a poll by Economist/YouGov finds only 39 percent of women support registration of women for the draft in legislation working its way through Congress.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Look for higher cost to satisfy your latte habit.  Starbucks plans to hike prices of some drinks tomorrow, with some items rising as much as 30 cents…With all the action going on in the U.S., President Obama yesterday was visiting a naval base --- in Spain…Following dozens of layoffs at its main newsroom in New York, Newsweek is planning to launch an Indian edition...Donald Trump isn't the only one:  71 percent of those polled by Marketplace and Edison Research think the U.S. economic system is "rigged in favor of certain groups."  The pollsters note with those saying "rigged,” it didn't matter if the person was white, black or Hispanic or whether they identified as Republican, Democrat or Independent...Truth in Advertising accuses Wal-Mart Stores of misleading customers by branding products with high foreign content as "Made in the U.S.A."...Fox Business Network, which ended 2015 as the fastest-growing cable news channel, continues that growth in this year's first half, according to Nielsen Media Research...Restaurant sales are virtually flat and some analysts worry that’s a bad sign for the U.S. economy as a whole, reports Business Insider...Getting a green light to start non-stop airline service this fall to Cuba are United Continental, Delta, American, JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska, Spirit and Frontier.

 

                     Who was George Washington?

A report by the American Council of trustees and Alumni finds only 23 of the top 76 colleges deemed to be "best" by U.S. News & World Report's 2016 rankings require history majors to take at least one U.S. history course.

U.S. newspaper jobs plummet 60 percent in 26 years

"Stop the presses," is happening with greater frequency.

Newspaper shuttering, triggered by drops in circulation and advertising revenue, resulted in a steep decline in newspaper jobs, down 60 percent since 1990, noted Grumpy Editor.

Bureau of Labor statistics data show employment on newspapers dropped to about 183,000 in March from 458,000 in 1990.

Also hit, but to a lesser extent, was over-the-air radio broadcasting where employment declined 27 percent since 1990.

However, employment in internet publishing and online broadcasting over the same period increased to about 198,000 from about 30,000.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

A new policy involving tattoos in the Marine Corps produced 32 pages of regulations and glossaries, as guidance to make sure skin art is acceptable to the brass.... Behind the headlines?  The Washington Post suggested it may change its drug policy --- to stop testing staffers for marijuana use...Seems every time the Dow Jones Industrials pass the 18,000 mark --- as happened again last week --- the numbers tumble in later trading sessions...A U.S. district judge put on hold San Francisco's plan to put health warnings on ads for soft drinks with sugar.  The American Beverage Assn. cheered the ruling...Another U.S. submarine leaves the fleet.  The USS Houston, a 362-foot-long Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine commissioned in 1982, was on its way to Bremerton, Wash., where it is scheduled for decommission on Aug. 26...An advertising business probe found rebates and other non-transparent practices are “pervasive” in the U.S., reported The Wall Street Journal.

Live action ---

Telemundo reporter Iris Delgado was slapped in the face and bashed in the head by a woman (saying “excuse me, excuse me”) during a live TV broadcast outside City Hall in Philadelphia.

The reporter is taking time off to recover.

Bright economic news laced with negative developments

 

Grumpy Editor cites examples of why business editors these days get premature gray hair via contrasting information and figures over the past few days such as focusing on the rise of missing auto loan payments coupled with car sales expected to grow this year, job creations topping expectations, yet most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

All this with Washington spotlighting 252,000 jobs created last month --- higher than expected, while job gains in the prior two months were revised upward by a total 50,000 as the nation’s unemployment rate fell more than predicted, to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in November.

In addition, the government said employers added an average 246,000 jobs a month last year, making 2014 the best job growth year since 1999.

Meanwhile, auto and truck sales this year are seen growing as much as three percent, said General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra.

Sounds rosy.

But as Friday’s Wall Street Journal pointed out, “borrowers who took out auto loans over the past year are missing payments at the highest level since the recession” as new car sales reached 16.5 million, best in eight years.

MarketWatch on Saturday noted, “Americans are feeling better about their job security and the economy, but most are theoretically only one paycheck away from the street,” adding about 62 percent have no emergency savings, based on a Bankrate.com survey.

Indeed, U.S. personal savings remained low.  The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis tallied personal savings dipped to 4.4 percent in November from 4.6 percent a month prior.  This compared to an average 6.81 percent from 1959 until 2014, reaching an all-time high of 14.6 percent in May, 1975.

 

FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…

Among the top 10 most stressful jobs of 2015, according to CareerCast.com, Carlsbad, Calif., are broadcaster (No. 7), photojournalist (No. 9) and newspaper reporter (No. 10).  Rankings are based on physical danger, unpredictability and negative psychological effects…While the U.S. reduced its military force to about 11,000 in Afghanistan after 13 years there, the country set a record for growing opium poppies last year with total area under cultivation up an estimated 7 percent from 2013, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Heroin is derived from the poppy and UNODC said opium production (5,500 tons) in Afghanistan accounts for 80 percent of worldwide opium output…In a state that relies heavily on personal vehicle transportation,  Jerry Brown --- in starting an unprecedented fourth term as California governor with new environmental goals --- proposed reducing gasoline use…Wall Street Journal Sunday content that goes to 69 newspaper business sections ends Feb. 8 as the WSJ shutters that operation which started in 1999…A Rasmussen Reports survey found “more voters than ever think women are good for the U.S. military and believe even more strongly that they should be allowed to fight on the front lines."

 

Financial news network CNBC is opting out of Nielsen’s TV ratings that measure its daytime audience, saying the global information and measurement company underreports size and wealth of its audience.

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Sharp eyes read deeper into glowing U.S. jobs report

Uppermost in voters’ minds as midterm elections near are the economy and jobs, notes Grumpy Editor, who finds keen business-oriented observers --- looking beyond bright leads on stories relating to those subjects --- often raise eyebrows.

Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, indicated the jobless rate fell to 5.9 percent in September and companies added 248,000 positions to payrolls.  That was enough to send the Dow industrials up 208.64 points (again crossing the 17000 mark) to 17009.69.

"You couldn’t ask for a better-looking jobs report,” beamed a New York-based senior economist.

But sharp eyes that continued reading the BLS report noted the average hourly wage decreased a penny in September to $24.53.

As a Wall Street Journal editorial Friday pointed out: “Average earnings have risen only 2 percent in the last 12 months, which means most workers have barely received a raise after inflation.”

Also, and not trumpeted, was the dwindling size of the U.S. labor force which dropped by nearly 100,000, putting the participation rate --- 62.7 percent --- at the lowest level since 1978.

That low rate, a measure of what proportion of the population was employed or actively looking for jobs, compared with 66 percent or slightly higher most of the time between early 2004 and October, 2008.

Although the average work week in September edged up for the first time in six months to 34.6 hours from 34.5 in August, it was still below the long-time traditional U.S. 40-hours work week.

Thus, it’s a recovery that many Americans barely feel.

Look for the next BLS jobs report on Nov. 7 --- three days after Election Day.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

In-the-news Ebola emerged four decades ago.  The deadly virus that causes fever, severe gastrointestinal pain, unusual bleeding often resulting in death from fluid loss and organ shutdown, first appeared in small rural villages in central Africa in the mid-1970s…The White House continues to avoid any action to free Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi languishing behind bars in Mexico after making a wrong turn on a road into Mexico six months ago. He served in Afghanistan and later was diagnosed with PTSD. What’s the latest?  When asked at Wednesday’s press briefing, buck-passing White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “My colleagues at the State Department are very focused on this issue. I'd refer you to them for their efforts to work with the Mexican government." Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said, "Shame on President Obama for not making a 30-second telephone call to the president of Mexico and getting this thing settled a long time ago”…Still dodging pot holes on federal roads because of lack of funds?  Mentioned in a Wall Street Journal Oct. 3 story:  “Since the end of 2001, the U.S. has spent over $100 billion on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a Pentagon oversight body”…Acquisition leads to trimming contributors.  Forbes.com, after a majority stake in Forbes Media (which includes Forbes magazine) was acquired by Asian investors in July, axed a number of contributors...Following a police air and ground search for a 10-year-old boy, Cameron Polom, a TV reporter on assignment for ABC Action News in Tampa, found the youngster, missing for about 14 hours, peeking through a fence…Rare humor in a serious story: “If passengers on a delayed flight from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina, got a bit crabby, no one could really say they were being too shellfish,” read the lead in an Associated Press story with a New York dateline. Delaying the Thursday evening flight from LaGuardia Airport:  live crabs that somehow got loose in the cargo hold…The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs along with a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations.  The action follows 100 newsroom jobs cut in 2008, 100 more in 2009 and an additional 30 early last year…Will thirsty voters be drinking to this?  Taxes on sugar-laden drinks, including sodas, are on next month’s ballots in San Francisco and Berkeley.  Measures call for a two cents an ounce tax in San Francisco and one cent an ounce in Berkeley.

Correcting a reporter who used the “illegal aliens” term, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “Are you referring to undocumented people who are in the United States?”  The reporter replied, “Illegal aliens, yes ma’am.”  That brought Pelosi to repeat, “Undocumented people, okay.”

Christmas shopping season figures create confusion

A clue as to why Wall Street is confused over latest economic data --- figures and headlines are all over the place, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Among headlines from Friday’s newspapers: 

Retail buoys economic outlook

Retailers singing ‘Blue Christmas’ as sales fall

Spending jumps in November

The first headline, above, reflects information from the Commerce Department.  It reports retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in November from the prior month, marking the biggest gain in five months. 

The second headline is based on a report from the National Retail Federation.  It estimates the four-day Thanksgiving Day weekend (including Black Friday) dropped 2.9 percent from last year. 

The third headline also stems from the Commerce Department report with an Associated Press story adding, “Two straight months of healthy sales suggest steady hiring is encouraging Americans to spend more this holiday season, particularly on big-ticket items.”

The AP piece also quotes an economist who points out the Commerce Department report “suggests that the holiday shopping season began on a strong note.” 

The Wall Street Journal, in citing the Commerce Department report, also adds input from an economist who says, “the numbers certainly suggest a stronger trajectory of consumer spending than we had thought." 

 

In case you missed these… 

 

NEW JOURNALISM JOBS LOOM AS LOS ANGELES SOON GETS A NEW DAILY.  Aaron Kushner, co-owner and publisher of the Orange County Register says his operation will move into the City of Angels early next year with a new, seven-days-a-week newspaper, the Los Angeles Register, staffed by journalists working in Los Angeles covering local news.  Kushner points out more than 200 people were added to his news staff in the past year, more than the size of most newsrooms in the country. 

 

NOT A VERY NICE CHRISTMAS PRESENT.  Martha Stewart Living magazine is hit especially hard as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia lays off between 75 and 100 staffers --- about 25 percent of the company’s work force --- 13 days before Christmas. 

 

JOURNALISM MAJOR RETURNS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY.  The College Station school in the Lone Star State is bringing back its journalism major next fall.  But it will be "a small, rigorous program limited to 25 entering freshmen per year,” says the university. 

 

LOCAL VS. FOREIGN THINKING BY SAME-CITY EDITORS.  A few days after the Las Vegas Review-Journal runs a photo of Santa Claus cavorting with fish in a far-off South Korea tank, the Las Vegas Sun features a full page with five photos of a Sin City Santa swimming with sharks and other fish in the aquarium at nearby Silverton, a Las Vegas casino.

 

AT LEAST BALLPARK HOT DOGS REMAIN UNCHANGED --- FOR NOW.  Taking some of the sport out of the game, baseball’s rules committee votes to outlaw home-plate collisions by 2015.  Under the rules, runners would have to (politely?) slide home while catchers, giving runners a clear path, will not be allowed to block home plate.

 

“HURRY UP AND WAIT” ROUTINE CONTINUES FOR VETERANS.  Not widely heralded in national broadcast or print news from Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s home state, is that Nevada veterans shockingly wait an average 433 days to have disability benefits claims completed by the Veterans Administration, according to Dean Heller, the Silver State’s other U.S. senator, a Republican. 

 

NOW IT'S SANTA’S TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE THAT IS THREATENED.  While polar bears used to be the great concern of global warming folks, now it’s the Arctic’s alleged reduced number of reindeer that worries them --- and obviously making it tough for Santa. 

 

ONE AWARD THE WHITE HOUSE SNUBS.  PolitiFact gives President Obama its “lie of the year” prize for his claim that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. Period.”