Grumpy Editor

Will baseball All-Star Game see pickup in the pace?: While Harry Reid stresses growth/jobs, Nevada business ebbs

Will TV viewership of the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday continue downward or, with some brisk pace and spark, will video watchers be greeted with action that boosts the rating, wonders Grumpy Editor.

Last year’s game was the least-watched All-Star Game on record, drawing 10.9 million viewers, down from 11 million in 2011. 

A key factor triggering yawns and causing viewers to switch to other channels appears to be the ever-growing relaxed pace of the game that originated before the American Civil War (1861-1865) as rounders, played on sandlots. 

The front-page feature by Steve Moyer in the Wall Street Journal’s Friday Arena section notes:  “By WSJ calculations, a baseball fan will see 17 minutes and 58 seconds of action over the course of a three-hour game.” 

The almost 18 minutes of action, emphasizes Moyer, includes balls in play, attempts on stolen bases, wild pitches, trotting batters such as with home runs, pickoff throws and walks.

To those, Grumpy Editor adds other contributions to the game's slower pace and inaction just focusing on the batter --- stepping (after a pitch) far out of the batter’s box (including a circuitous route walking behind the umpire to get back to the plate), practice swings before and between pitches, spitting, tapping dirt from shoes, adjusting batting gloves after every pitch and calling time. 

Pitchers, too, slow the game.  Adjusting cap after every pitch, long staring in to catchers, walking around the mound and picking up the rosin bag, and tossing several times to a base, hoping to nail a runner. 

Will the pace tick up this year?  Stay tuned. 

 

More 'Buy America' sought; CNBC: Nevada slips 

After the June employment report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), in a news release from his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., declared, "We need to continue advancing policies that spur growth and create jobs. It's time for Republicans to let go of their failed austerity policies that weigh down our economy and prevent a speedier recovery. We simply can't cut our way to prosperity. “ 

A key way to hypo recovery and boost jobs is by pushing for more American-based jobs. 

While Reid’s staff was preparing his “spur growth and create jobs” comment, Rob Hotakainen at McClatchy’s Washington Bureau developed a lengthy story on how the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, set to open in two months, used 43,000 tons of steel --- from China, producing thousands of jobs away from U.S. shores. 

Hotakainen mentioned that with 70,000 U.S. bridges needing repairs, John Garamendi (D., Calif.) wants Congress to pass more “Buy America” requirements, using more U.S.-made materials and creating more manufacturing jobs. 

While imported steel (for the Bay Bridge) costs less, added Garamendi, “the (Chinese) steel had flaws, the welds had flaws and the end result was no money was saved.” 

It should be pointed out that while the Senate majority leader seeks to “spur growth and create jobs,” Nevada --- the state Reid represents --- slipped to 46^th place from 45^th last year among “states for business,” reported Scott Cohn, CNBC senior correspondent. 

“The Silver State,” said Cohn, “is still mired in the housing crisis, with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. With the highest unemployment as well, it is no wonder Nevada finishes at the bottom of our economy category. It also finishes at the bottom for education, and near the bottom for quality of life and access to capital.”

 

In case you missed these… 

Extraordinary non-stop coverage on cable news channels leading up to the "not guilty" verdict late Saturday in the George Zimmerman case in Florida --- and continuing over the weekend and today on MSNBC, CNN and HLN --- sidetracks follow-ups or updates on the Benghazi incident, turmoil in Egypt, fighting in Syria, IRS scandals, ObamaCare problems and conflicts/inactions in Congress as a long summer break looms…Not getting much play in key media is a piece in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reporting the Pentagon is eyeing plans to eliminate danger pay for service members in up to 18 countries and five waterways around the world”…”saving about $120 million each year while taking a bite out of troops' salaries.”

 

Bad PR for journalists: A Pew Research Center study finds 27 percent of Americans say journalists contribute little or nothing to society’s well being.  At the top of the list, 78 percent of those surveyed put the military contributing “a lot” to society’s well being…PC World’s August print edition will be its last after 30 years of publishing but it will continue as an online magazine…A Gallup poll shows television is the main source Americans turn to for news about current events (55 percent), leading the Internet (21 percent), newspapers/print publications (9 percent) and radio (6 percent)…Santa Ana, Calif.-based Orange County Register is expanding its reach to Los Angeles County where it plans an Aug. 19 start with the Long Beach Register, publishing six days week.

EPA power-curtailing plan means soupy ice cream; Surprise! Survey finds most fireworks made in China

Will soupy ice cream and soggy, unfrozen peas in your freezer be common in the future as your local utility cuts power on high demand days, wonders Grumpy Editor. 

CNSNews.com --- in material that didn’t get much coverage in major print/broadcast outlets --- reports, “The Environmental Protection Agency has revised its Energy Star energy-efficiency requirements for residential refrigerators, and it is encouraging the inclusion of 'connected' features that respond to utility signals to curb their energy consumption.” 

That means the “connection” allows a power company to regulate appliances' electricity usage, including curtailing operations during peak demand periods, such as on hot summer afternoons.

CNSNews.com, from an EPA release, points out updated requirements encourage manufacturers of Energy Star appliances to include optional "connected" features.

Revised Energy Star refrigerator-freezer specifications are slated to go into effect on Sept. 15, 2014.

 

China provides spark for fireworks in U.S.

Since few people, especially around Fourth of July celebrations, observe the “manufactured in” fine print on fireworks packages, it comes as no surprise that a new study, via the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA), finds 93 percent of all fireworks set off in the U.S. are produced in China.

In reporting this on Friday, the Washington Times notes the U.S. made only 6.7 million of the total 207.5 million pounds of fireworks purchased domestically last year.

Bethesda, Md.-based APA, as the nation’s oldest and most recognized fireworks trade group, promotes safety in design and use of legal fireworks.

 

In case you missed these…

Hoffman Media is sticking by celebrity chef Paula Deen.  While others have pulled out backing her, the Birmingham, Ala.-based publisher has no plans to stop printing Cooking with Paula Deen, one of eight Hoffman magazines targeted at the women’s market…Chicago-based Tribune Co. agreed to buy 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings in a $2.73 billion deal that boosts Tribune’s television stations to 42…For the first time in four years, local TV news salaries are down, reports the latest Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)/Hofstra University survey.  See the full statistics, including radio, here.  

The Star-Ledger, Newark, puts its 47-year-old headquarters building on the market a week after the paper, largest in New Jersey, threatened to close if union concessions are not met…Al Jazeera America signs former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien and will feature her as a special correspondent for its prime time news magazine, America Tonight...So you think ad agencies have it easy?  Ad Age’s Nancy Hill points out several global advertisers who spend billions of dollars in advertising are proposing extended payment terms --- 75, 90 and up to 120 days --- for work from ad agencies.  At the 120-days level, that means output finalized today is paid by Thanksgiving.  Standard payment terms are usually 30 to 45 days. 

Road to master’s degree cut:  University of Southern California’s Annenberg's School for Communication and Journalism will begin offering a master’s degree in journalism in nine months rather than two years.

Private company challenges ‘recess’ appointments, wins

In connection with Friday’s federal appeals court 46-page ruling that President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate to appoint three members to the National Labor Relations Board, most media overlooked the source that triggered the action leading to the decision, notes Grumpy Editor.

Noel Canning, a Washington state family-owned contract canning and bottling facility (that includes Pepsi), sued the NLRB, challenging the board’s decision, citing Obama made so-called “recess” appointments without the Senate being in recess. 

It’s noteworthy because Republicans, legal scholars, Constitution experts and editorial page editors were silent in raising eyebrows on the “recess” appointments.

 

Movement with short sale ‘unending nightmare’

Although previously-owned home sales of 4.65 million in 2012 were up 9 percent from the prior year and the best in five years, sales could rise even more --- giving the economy a lift --- without the heavy red tape,  indecisions, complications and paperwork of major banks.

John Taylor in the Las Vegas Sun on Jan. 20 detailed the “unending nightmare.” 

The sale took eight months to wrap up, said Taylor, a senior editor of local news.

His assessment:  “Beware of the not-so-short short sale.”

Read the full article here.

 

Havana’s Sloppy Joe’s bar reopening grabs space

Reopening of a nearby bar may be welcome news in local newspaper sections, but an Associated Press story on the return of Sloppy Joe’s in far-off Havana grabbed up to a quarter page of space, with art, in some weekend editions. 

The bar, in its heyday, attracted Hollywood stars and other celebrities. 

Founded in 1918, it indicates the bar must have a pretty good PR person, Cuban style, to warrant that sort or coverage in the U.S. press.

 

In case you missed these...

One phrase missing from coverage of the deep freeze sweeping the midwest and northeast:  Global warming (or climate change)…Country music is reappearing in New York City via Cumulus Media radio station WNSH, formerly WRXP…The New York Times is trimming its newsroom staff through buyouts and terminations, aiming for a reduction of 30…The Times also made headlines following a report in New York Magazine that real estate mogul Donald Trump has been holding meetings about possibly buying the New York Times Co…On the hiring side, Al Jazeera, which will be replacing Current TV with the launch of Al Jazeera America, has posted 105 available jobs in the United States with 98 based in New York City and seven in Washington…Strange ad in Bloomberg Businessweek and other publications from Toyota.  Under the line, Let’s Go Places, it shows a vehicle with rainbow colors fore to aft in a farm setting --- with no details on what the multi-hues are all about.

N.Y. Times, Plain Dealer set to cut newsroom staffers

The New York Times and the Cleveland Plain Dealer will cut a total of 88 newsroom staffers in coming weeks as the publications seek to reduce expenses while advertising revenues continue to ebb, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Times, the nation’s newspaper of record, is seeking volunteers for buyouts from 30 non-union newsroom managers.  If that mark isn’t reached, the newspaper will enact layoffs.

Latest round of Times staff trimming follows four other reductions in the past five years.

“There is no getting around the hard news that the size of the newsroom staff must be reduced,” Jill Abramson, Times executive editor, informs the editorial department.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s top-circulated newspaper, plans to cut 58 positions from its newsroom next year.  That represents about one third of its Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild’s members.

Layoffs could come as early as March. 

Some of the departing PD staffers could be transferred to the newspaper’s Website, Cleveland.com.

Striking L.A.-Long Beach port clerks nix $195,000 package

Getting surprisingly little national coverage is the eight-day-old Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor ports strike, triggered by about 800 union clerical workers who seek a hefty boost in their compensation package currently worth $165,000 a year, including wages, benefits and pension contributions, notes Grumpy Editor. 

With about 10,000 other union dock workers refusing to cross picket lines, seven of eight Port of Los Angeles shipping terminals are shut down while three of six adjacent Port of Long Beach terminals are closed. 

About 40 percent of the nation’s imported cargo containers pass through the dual ports.  

The shuttered terminals --- handling an estimated $1 billion of cargo daily --- are affecting the Southern California economy.  The stoppage also is delaying deliveries of goods destined to retailers for year-end holiday sales. 

Also affected are thousands of truck drivers, independent contractors who are paid per haul.

Employers mention the striking union members are the highest paid clerical workers in the U.S.   But that is not enough.  The union clerks are snubbing an offer of an 18 percent boost in a total compensation package worth $195,000 a year.

 

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UPDATE:  Just prior to the arrival of a federal mediator, the clerical workers agreed to a new contract with terminal operators last night.  Details were not disclosed.  Union members were returning to work today.

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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.

October jobs report ups pre-election media comment

Word today that the October jobless rate ticked up a bit to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September will trigger media to discuss whether it benefits President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney with Election Day just four days from now, notes Grumpy Editor. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate last month at 7.9 percent compares with 7.8 percent in September and 8.1 percent in August.

At the same time, BLS said employers added 171,000 jobs in October. 

That compared with 114,000 positions originally reported in September but the figure was later revised upward to 148,000. 

Bulk of October’s job creation stemmed from the services category which accounted for a  gain of 150,000, said BLS.

A month ago, with the sudden 0.3 percent drop in September’s unemployment rate from August, some eyebrows were raised. 

Most noteworthy reaction to September’s tally came from Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO who, in an initial tweet ("Unbelievable jobs numbers…these Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change number”) and later on television appearances, suggested manipulation. 

With today’s figures, Associated Press writer Christopher S. Rugaber noted, “Still, President Barack Obama will face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt.”

Newspaper publishers optimistic about future…but

While newspaper publishers are optimistic about the future and digital platforms, more than 40 percent see declining staffs as a serious threat, finds a survey from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, notes Grumpy Editor.

As the latest example of staff cuts, MU released survey results on the day U-T San Diego publisher Douglas F. Manchester finalized purchase of North County Times, Escondido, Calif., from Lee Enterprises and announced the layoff of 80 Times staffers --- one third of the payroll --- including two dozen from the newsroom. 

In what is described as the largest survey of its kind, with in-depth interviews of publishers, presidents, senior vice presidents or other senior managers from more than 450 U.S. daily newspapers, optimism remains about the future of the newspaper business, finds Michael Jenner, the Houston Harte Endowed Chair at MU’s School of Journalism and Reynolds Journalism Institute at MU. 

Nearly two-thirds of responding publishers express optimism for the future, while only four percent of respondents are negative about the industry, notes Jenner who joined the MU faculty two years ago from The Bakersfield Californian, which he joined in 1993 as managing editor and later became the daily’s top editor.  Earlier, he was M.E. of the Hartford Courant.

Jenner’s survey also finds that despite declining print circulation numbers in recent years, more than 60 percent of publishers do not envision a time in the future when their publications will no longer issue print versions.

The survey also shows 90 percent of publishers expect revenue increases for their digital news renditions in the next year.

“Publishers are definitely feeling a sense of urgency to embrace digital platforms,” says Jenner. “Even though most publishers see a future in printed newspapers, most know that digital platforms, such as websites and mobile applications, are where the potential for increased revenue exists.”

Many newspapers have been "forced to implement large cuts to their staffs in recent years" stemming from the poor economy, adds Jenner.  "This makes it very difficult for papers to innovate and develop new revenue models, particularly in the digital sphere.  If newspapers want to survive in their current form, they are going to have to find ways to maintain enough resources to find new forms of revenue."

Media overlook G.M. Janesville plant continued into 2009

Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s facts, especially with the shuttering of a General Motors plant in his home town of Janesville, Wis., are getting much scrutiny by media --- which should be doing a bit more fact-checking, finds Grumpy Editor. 

At last week’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, Ryan quoted then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at a campaign stop at the G.M. Janesville plant on Feb. 13, 2008, saying: “I believe that if our government is there to support you and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another 100 years." 

Ryan added, “Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year." 

Democrats immediately attacked Ryan for pointing a finger at President Obama for the plant’s shutdown. 

As it turned out, G.M. brass decided to halt SUV production at the Janesville facility (which employed as many as 7,000 workers in 1970) on Dec. 23, 2008 

Most media cite December, 2008, as when the plant closed. 

But G.M. did not lock the doors that day. 

One Washington Post columnist, for example, did not mention that date and backed up six months, writing, “G.M. announced the plant’s shutdown in June, 2008,” making it appear the closing action took place seven months before Obama took office. 

Actually, with some checking, media would have learned that production at the G.M. Janesville plant continued to April, 2009, with about 110 workers remaining to complete an order for small-to medium-duty trucks for Isuzu Motors Ltd. 

To its credit, today's Wall Street Journal, under "Corrections & Amplifications," noted G.M.'s Janesville plant did indeed halt vehicle assembly in April, 2009, not Dec. 23, 2008, as it reported in an Aug. 31 convention article. 

Obama again seeks funds from Las Vegas area he knocked

Grumpy Editor says imagine a U.S. president telling Americans to bypass a city and spend money elsewhere, yet visiting that city multiple times --- for fundraising toward his reelection.

That’s the case with Barack Obama who, again, routes Air Force One to Las Vegas this evening for tomorrow's fundraiser.

It’s part of a two-day stop in Nevada, a state hard hit by the souring economy.  Today he is visiting Reno.

In his fifth visit to the Silver State since January, the president’s trip this time comes as Nevada’s unemployment rate edged up to 12 percent last month --- the highest rate in the nation.

(Michelle Obama has made three trips to the Las Vegas area over a three-month period this year to rally campaign supporters.)

The president tomorrow will be passing his hat in an area, dependent on tourist travel and conventions, after he fired two blasts at Las Vegas after he took office.

In a February, 2009 message directed at business gatherings, the president declared:  “You can’t take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers dime.” 

Then a year later, he warned:  “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.” 

Las Vegas’ economy then turned south, with thousands of casino workers losing jobs, sending the area’s unemployment soaring.

Then Las Vegas soon rose to first place in U.S. home foreclosures.

Along with ranking tops in unemployment, Nevada also heads the list in bankruptcies and worst credit scores, finds a CardRatings.com survey. 

In connection with tomorrow’s visit to a high school in North Las Vegas, a statement from the Obama campaign mentions that among topics the president --- in office for almost four years --- will focus on:

How to grow the economy.