Grumpy Editor

BEING A JOURNALIST OUTSIDE THE U.S. IS RISKY

It’s dangerous being a journalist overseas, notes Grumpy Editor.

Driven largely by attacks in Ukraine, Haiti and Mexico, 67 news media workers were killed around the world last year, up 50 percent from the previous year, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists. That’s the highest number since 2018.

 

The CPJ pointed out that 35 of the 67 killings took place in Ukraine, Mexico and Haiti.

 

Ukraine is a high danger area.  Fifteen news workers were killed there last year.

 

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TIPPING GETTING ATTENTION.  An Associate Press story reveals “across the country, there’s a silent frustration brewing about an age-old practice that many say is getting out of hand: tipping.”  It pointed out that “some fed-up consumers…wonder are we going to be tipping our doctors and dentists, too?” 

 

BUTTERFLIES GET FEDERAL AID.  California’s declining monarch butterflies are getting millions of dollars in federal aid.  A grant through the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Program aims to conserve habitat for butterflies, insects and other pollinators.

 

DYING AT HOME ACCELERATES.  Something triggered by Covid?  The proportion of Californians dying at home, rather than in a hospital or nursing home, accelerated during the pandemic, a trend that has outlasted the rigid lockdowns linked to the initial shift.

 

MEXICO FROWNS ON SMOKING AT BEACH.  In Mexico, smoking on the beach and other public places now could cost puffers a $500 fine.

 

WASHINGTON POST LAYS OFF 20 STAFFERS. In a rare move, The Washington Post laid off 20 people and will not be filling 30 vacancies. The number of layoffs was smaller than many staffers had anticipated.

 

CAN JOURNALISTS BE TRUSTED?   The annual Edelman Trust Barometer report, by international PR firm Edelman, reveals journalists are among the least trusted groups — and news sources remain widely distrusted.

 

POPULAR DOG NAMES OF THE YEAR.  The American Kennel Club reveals the most popular dog names for 2022:

Female:

1. Luna
2. Bella
3. Daisy
4. Lucy
5. Willow
6. Penny
7. Sadie
8. Maggie
9. Rosie
10. Ruby

Male

1. Max
2. Milo
3. Cooper
4. Charlie
5. Teddy
6. Tucker
7. Buddy
8. Bear
9. Rocky
10. Leo

 

 

 

IT’S BEEN A DANGEROUS YEAR FOR JOURNALISTS

The International Federation of Journalists says 67 journalists and media staff have been killed around the world so far this year, up from 47 last year, notes Grumpy Editor.

An Associated Press report also mentions the Brussels-based group tallies 375 journalists are in prison for their work, with the most in China, Myanmar and Turkey. Last year’s report lists 365 journalists behind bars.

 

With the number of media workers killed on the rise, the group called on governments to take more action to protect them and free journalism.

 

“The failure to act will only embolden those who seek to suppress the free flow of information and undermine the ability of people to hold their leaders to account, including in ensuring that those with power and influence do not stand in the way of open and inclusive societies," declares IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.

 

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WORDLE POPULAR AROUND THE WORLD.  Google’s most searched term globally:  Wordle. The daily word game has found mass appeal. It stems from software engineer Josh Wardle in 2021.  

 

OPERATION CHRISTMAS DROP.  The U.S. Air Force leads the way on Operation Christmas Drop in delivering essentials to remote Pacific islanders — something it has been doing for seven decades. The U.S. Air Force this year is joined by air force crews and aircraft from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

 

NAVY ACCEPTING LOWER ENLISTMENT SCORES.  To bolster enlistment numbers, the  U.S. Navy is accepting recruits who score in a lower qualifying range on entrance exams as service leaders grapple with a complicated U.S. job market.

 

L.A. NOT AS BRIGHT AT NIGHT.  Los Angeles has become darker at night with  7,000 street light outages.  Most outages are due to copper wire theft— and the city lacks the budget to repair the outages.

 

UROLOGIST LABELED MOST STRESSFUL JOB.  There are many stressful jobs in the workforce but the most stressful in the U.S. is urologist, a medical position focused on the genitourinary systems.  But it pays around $208K a year.

 

HALF OF CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS HAVE COVID.  A cruise ship, The Celebrity Eclipse, is reported to have half of its 3,420 passengers Covid-positive. It docked at Sydney, Australia.

LOOKING FOR FUN?  Here's how U.S. cities rank.   

Top 20 Most Fun Cities in America 1. Las Vegas, NV 11. Cincinnati, OH 2. Orlando, FL 12. Tampa, FL 3. Miami, FL 13. Fort Lauderdale, FL 4. Atlanta, GA 14. Portland, OR 5. New Orleans, LA 15. Denver, CO 6. San Francisco, CA 16. San Diego, CA 7. Austin, TX 17. Washington, DC 8. Honolulu, HI 18. Houston, TX 9. New York, NY 19. St. Louis, MO 10. Chicago, IL 20. Los Angeles, CA

DOES MEDIA DO A GOOD JOB COVERING IMPORTANT STORIES?

There’s a big gap between how the public and journalists rate the work of news organizations, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

A Pew Research Center report finds 41 percent of the public believes media do a "good" job covering important stories, compared  to 67 percent of  journalists while 42 percent of journalists believe the public has "little" or "no" trust in information from news organizations, vs. 44 percent who believe the public has "some" trust. 

 

Also, 85 percent of surveyed journalists think the media organizations they work for are trusted by the public.

 

While 65 percent of 11,889 surveyed journalists feel news outlets do a "very" or "somewhat" good job at reporting news accurately, only 35 percent of 9,388 polled adults agreed.

 

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ARMY OFFERS $35,000 BONUS TO RECRUITS.  The Army is offering a $35,000 bonus to new recruits willing to sign a four-year contract and ship out to boot camp within 45 days.  As it struggles to fill open training slots, it is the first time the Army is offering an amount that large for a bonus to any career field.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ON EARTH?   How many people live on Earth?  With the population growing steadily, best estimate puts it at about 7.76 billion people.

TV NEWSROOM STAFFING FALLS.  The Radio Television Digital News Association’s annual survey of local TV full-time newsroom staffing finds a 6.3 percent drop last year to 26,250.  Better financial times did not produce newsroom expansion.

 

BLOODHOUND WINS IN DOG SHOW.  Trumpet, a 4 1/2-year-old bloodhound, wins Best in Show at the 146th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in a competition with more than 3,000 dogs from 200 breeds and varieties.  It marks the first time a bloodhound wins the contest.

 

RAINBOW TROUT HIT BY BACTERIA.  A bacteria outbreak in two Golden State hatcheries is forcing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to euthanize about 350,000 rainbow trout.  That could affect fishing stock in some state waterways in coming months.

 

ONE THIRD OF PEOPLE GET EIGHT HOURS SLEEP.  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 38 percent of people report getting about eight hours sleep on most weeknights, while 53 percent get less. Another six percent say they usually get more than eight hours sleep. 

 

OKINAWA MARKS WORLD WAR II BATTLE.  Okinawa on Thursday marked the 77th anniversary of the end of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.  The Battle of Okinawa killed about 200,000 people, nearly half of them residents of the island.

 

PAST MARIJUANA USERS CAN BE HIRED.  The Senate Intelligence Committee passes legislation that would allow U.S. intelligence agencies to hire people who used marijuana in the past.

N.Y. TIMES STAFFERS' OUTSIDE PROJECTS BEING CHECKED BY A COMMITTEE

 

New York Times staffers doing outside work now have to run those projects past a committee to make sure there is no conflict or take away from their Times jobs, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

A memo, cited by Tom Jones at The Poynter Report, says “The committee will primarily review outside projects that have the potential to be competitive with our journalism and business, could conflict with or distract from your work or The Times, involve payment or could be covered in any other way by the policies defined by the Ethical Journalism Handbook.”

 

The memo cites examples of outside work might include book deals and TV and film projects, including consulting work, adding the committee will review audio projects such as podcasts, paid or unpaid newsletters and “any activity requiring you take a leave of absence from The Times.”

 

Jones points out that "the latest mandate appears to be in reaction to a recent controversy involving longtime Times columnist David Brooks, who was receiving money from an Aspen Institute project that was partly funded by Facebook. Brooks mentioned the project he was working on and Facebook in his writing, but never revealed that he was being compensated for it.”

 

Jones cites "news outlets should be a lot more liberal in what they allow their journalists to do, such as books or podcasts. In most of those cases, the news outlet benefits from the exposure their journalists are providing. In other words, if a journalist writes a book that gets plenty of attention, it’s not only good for the journalist, but good for the outlet that the journalist works for.”

 

 

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EARTH SAFE FROM ASTEROID --- FOR NOW.  NASA, the space agency, confirms Earth is "safe" from the once-feared asteroid Apophis for at least the next 100 years.  It is regarded as one of the most dangerous asteroids to Earth after its discovery in 2004.

 

$5 GOLD PIECE SELLS FOR $8.4 MILLION.  The only known 1822 half eagle $5 gold piece in private hands sold at auction in Las Vegas for $8.4 million.  The coin is one of three of its kind in existence and the auction price was the highest for a U.S. gold coin struck by the U.S. Mint.

INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY ACQUIRED.  News Corp., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and other financial publications, is boosting its portfolio of business publications, with plans to pay $275 million to acquire Investor’s Business Daily from O’Neil Capital Management. 

 

BALD EAGLE POPULATION GROWS.  The number of American bald eagles quadruples since 2009 with more than 300,000 birds in the lower 48 states, say government scientists.

NEWSPAPER SHOWS BLANK FRONT PAGE.  In the Kansas City area, the front page of the Northeast News on Wednesday had no headline, no big story, nothing.  For 23 years Publisher Michael Bushnell says his publication has been covering stories that matter to northeast Kansas Citians.  “This is what it looks like when a community has no newspaper," he mentions, pointing out it is an example of how COVID-19 has hit every business.

J.C. PENNEY CLOSING MORE STORES.  J. C. Penney, one of the largest retailers to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the  COVID-19 pandemic, plans to close 18 more stores in May, bringing total closures to 174.

TROUBLEMAKER SQUIRREL STEALS PACKAGE.  A squirrel in Chicago is caught on camera stealing a package then scaling the side of a two-story building with an Amazon envelope, making it all the way up to the roof.  There's no word on what was inside the package, but neighbors tell the local ABC outlet that the squirrel is a known troublemaker.

BRITISH NEWSPAPER SEEKS TO LINK STAFFERS PAY TO STORIES' POPULARITY

 

A report from London reveals The Daily Telegraph wants to link some elements of journalists’ pay to the popularity of their articles, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The plan “alarmed and dismayed” the staff who fear it will “seriously warp our editorial priorities.”

 

An email sent by Editor Chris Evans informs the staff that “in due course” the paper wants to use the “Stars” system, which scores stories published online according to factors such as how many subscriptions they drive and how many clicks they get, “to link performance to reward” using subscription data.

“It seems only right that those who attract and retain the most subscribers should be the most handsomely paid,” says Evans, who admits that working out the details would be “complicated.”

But staffers are said to be up in arms about the proposals, with some registering their objections in meetings held to explain the plans.

Executives “tried to convince everybody that it’s just experimental, not a big deal,” mentions one journalist.   “They were squirming at the questions. Everyone is just hoping it’s one of those mad ideas that eventually they quietly chuck out. Everyone is outraged. People feel compromised.”

Another said: “I’d call the mood mutinous. 

 

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WHEN BIDEN STUMBLES, IT'S NEWS.  It’s not unusual for airline passengers to stumble while climbing steep stairs to an aircraft.  So when President Joe Biden stumbled while walking quickly up stairs leading to Air Force One, it made headlines coast to coast.  After regaining his footing, Biden stood, dusted off his knee before reaching the top of the stairs, then gave a quick salute before entering the plane.

JOURNALISTS TO WORK FROM HOME.  One of Britain’s leading news publishers is shuttering the traditional newspaper office, with the owner of the Daily Mirror telling most of its journalists that they will permanently work full time from home in future.  This means dozens of mid-sized towns will lose their remaining newspaper office, with staff having to commute to the nearest major city if they want to work at a company desk.

SCOTTISH ISLAND TO BE AUCTIONED.  Eleven-acre Deer Island on Scotland’s west coast will be auctioned online with a starting bid of $111,700. The island is described as a space that can be "enjoyed with zero chance of intrusion."

SPENDING ON U.S. TROOPS IN JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA UNVEILED.  The U.S. military spent about $34.3 billion between 2016 and 2019 to station more than 83,000 troops permanently in Japan and South Korea.

VOLCANO IN ICELAND ERUPTS.  A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland --- 20 miles from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik --- erupts, sending lava down two sides in that area’s first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years.

  

FREEWAY FIRE DOESN'T STOP BRIDAL PARTY.  A bridal party's trip to a Las Vegas church is delayed when their limousine catches fire on the freeway.  Smoke rises from beneath the driver's seat and the vehicle pulls over so the occupants could evacuate. Moments later the vehicle is engulfed in flames.  A replacement limo takes the bridal party the rest of the way to The Little Church of the West for the ceremony. 

 

“MASKED BANDIT” BREAKS INTO OHIO HOME.  North Ridgeville, Ohio, police respond to an unusual break-in call.  After entering a home through a bathroom light and ransacking the kitchen, a raccoon winds up sleeping in the dishwasher. 

DOG DRIVES JEEP INTO BUILDING.  While its owner is outside a Jeep in a Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, gas station, a five-year-old Australian shepherd in the front seat apparently knocked the vehicle’s shifter out of park sending it crashing into a nearby building.

MESSAGE IN BOTTLE FOUND.  A Nova Scotia boy on Cape Breton island, discovers a message in a bottle that was tossed into the water 25 years earlier.  Using pliers to remove the bottle's cap, he finds a message dated Aug. 12, 1995, signed by an Aylmer, Quebec, 14-year-old who was visiting the Magdalen Islands with her family.

JOURNALISTS STRUGGLE WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF VIRUS

Journalists around the world are struggling to cope with the psychological toll of reporting during the COVID-19 crisis, notes Grumpy Editor.

As reported by ijnet, the internnational journalists network, more than 80 percent of respondents note at least one negative psychological effect affecting them:  anxiety, burnout, difficulty sleeping and a sense of helplessness.

With the pandemic inflicting significant economic damage on newsrooms and shuttering of newspapers, three in four respondents say their first priority during the pandemic is survival of their publication, according to the report.

Underscoring the economic impact, almost four in five respondents with access to information about their newsroom's finances reported at least a 50 percent decline in revenue, it mentions, adding “to cope, outlets are cutting back on content, shrinking salaries and laying off employees.”

 

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BIDEN SELECTS LONG-TIME ASSOCIATE FOR CHIEF OF STAFF.  President-elect Joe Biden selects Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff, highlighting their long history of working together on the economy and public health crises.  Klain was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and worked in the White House as chief of staff to Biden and Vice President Al Gore.

CORONAVIRUS SIDELINES SECRET AGENTS.  From recent travels, more than 130 Secret Service officers who help protect the White House and the president are ordered to isolate or quarantine because they tested positive for the coronvirus or had close contact with infected co-workers.

FOREIGNERS SCOOPING UP PROPERTY.  After Joe Biden won the election, there is a huge pent-up demand among wealthy foreigners to buy property in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities.. 

WOMAN BREAKS SPORTS GLASS CEILING.  Kim Ng, 51, becomes general manager of the Miami Marlins baseball team, the first woman to hold that position in Major League Baseball.  Ng began her baseball career in 1990 as an intern with the Chicago White Sox. 

NEW LOGO FOR MUTUAL OF OMAHA.  Mutual of Omaha unveils a new corporate logo that replaces the Indian chief head symbol used for 70 years.  The new logo depicts an African lion.

NO INCREASE IN SUICIDES BY VETERANS.  Since the pandemic struck in March, there is no increase in suicides or suicide attempts among patients or visits to Department of Veterans Affairs emergency rooms related to suicide attempts, says the VA.   

SIDELINES QUIET AT 2020 MASTERS.  After a seven-month delay with the pandemic, action at the 2020 Masters at Augusta National is with no onlookers, no roars, no ropes, no grandstands. Some players miss the noise from the crowd, others enjoy the silence.

STRUGGLING NEWSPAPERS FIND FINANCIAL AID HARD TO FIND

Newspapers, struggling for survival, are finding it difficult to get financial aid to curb layoffs and payroll cuts, observes Grumpy Editor.

The Wall Street Journal, citing data from the Alliance for Audited Media, reports, “Papers representing more than 80 percent of U.S. circulation are disqualified from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program because of the way their companies are structured.”

 

The Journal adds, “The issue has prompted a bipartisan push in Congress to either amend PPP rules to make an exception for local news, or get news organizations other forms of aid in the next stimulus bill.”

 

The Paycheck Protection Program features loans designed to provide direct incentives for small businesses to keep workers on payrolls. The Small Business Administration will forgive loans if all employees are kept on payrolls for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities.

 

However, some news outlets are ineligible for PPP loans because parent companies own large businesses unrelated to news.

 

University of North Carolina research finds the U.S. has lost 2,100 newspapers in the past six years, leaving 1,800 communities wirthout a news source.

 

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MOST FEEL TRUMP SLOW IN CORONAVIRUS ACTION.   Pew Research Center finds nearly two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) say President Donald Trump was too slow to take major steps to address the threat to the U.S. when coronavirus cases were first reported in other countries.

 

FOX BUSINESS VIEWERS UP.  Fox Business Network total viewers jumped 80 percent in April, attracted by news about the economy and stock market in uncertain times.

 

CLOSED NEWSPAPER REVIVED.  The Los Angeles Times-owned Glendale (Calif.) News-Press which closed last month, will be revived by the publisher of the nearby La Canada Outlook.   Established in 1905, lack of advertising forced the News-Press to stop the presses.

 

PBS'S JIM LEHRER HONORED.  PBS NewsHour plans the Jim Lehrer Journalism Fellowship "in honor of award-winning, longtime PBS NewsHour anchor and co-founder Jim Lehrer.”   Lehrer passed away at age 85 in January. The award-winning newsman co-anchored "PBS NewsHour" alongside Robert MacNeil for two decades before anchoring the program solo for nearly 16 years.

NO CITIZENSHIP PROOF NEEDED.  A federal appeals court panel rules Kansas cannot require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering.

NON-THEATER FILMS OKAYED FOR OSCARS.  Eligibility for the next Oscars — set for Feb. 28, 2021 — is expanded to include films that were not release in theaters because of the nationwide shutdown. 

 

MORE LOCUSTS SWARM EAST AFRICA.  Another wave of locusts, 20 times larger than the first, are expected to swarm across East Africa, resulting in slashing agricultural production and mass food shortages.

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.”

 

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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.

 

 

 

AS CORONAVIRUS MOUNTS, NEWSPAPERS CUTTING STAFF, HOURS AND PAY

Newspaper readers, seeking latest information on the spreading coronavirus, especially in their area, are finding problems with coverage, notes Grumpy Editor.

Newspapers and other publications under pressure with dwindling advertising, are cutting staff, hours and pay.  Some are dropping print editions or shutting down entirely.

 

Those that are still operating find “the coronavirus pandemic has been likened to a war,” says the Washington Post.  "But journalists are largely absent from the harrowing, heartbreaking front line of this crisis: hospitals. In a disaster with an invisible enemy — no burning buildings or swamped towns to photograph — it is emergency rooms and intensive-care units where the day-to-day human toll of the deadly illness is most plainly visible.

 

"But a combination of health worries and privacy concerns has made it extremely difficult for the members of the media to go into these places and capture a vivid, firsthand portrait of this facet of the crisis.”

 

Researchers have long worried that the next recession — which economists say is already upon us — “could be an extinction-level event for newspapers,” says Penelope Abernathy, a University of North Carolina professor who studies the news industry. 

 

In the past week, Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper chain, announced 15-day furloughs and pay cuts for many employees. Lee Enterprises, another major chain, announced salary cuts and furloughs.  The Tampa Bay Times, cut five days of its print edition and announced furloughs for non-newsroom staffers.

 

 

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And away we go.

DOG IN DRIVER'S SEAT.  A Washington state motorist led police on a chase with speeds up to 100 m.p.h. and when stopped, the 51-year-old motorist claims he was teaching his dog how to drive.  Cops found the canine in the driver’s seat.  On a route from Marysville to Arlington, the car crashed into several cars.

CORONA BEER OUTPUT HALTED.  Corona beer production is being temporarily suspended in Mexico because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Grupo Modelo, the company that makes the beer, says it's halting production and marketing because the Mexican government has shuttered non-essential businesses.

DNC CONVENTION MOVES TO AUGUST.  The coronavirus pandemic is pushing back the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee to the week of Aug. 17.  It still is expected to run four days.

 

N.Y. GOV. CUOMO SAYS NO PRESIDENTIAL RUN.  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with an approval rating near 90 percent, during an interview with his brother, CNN’s Chris Cuomo, says he has no thoughts of running for president. 

 

THEATER CHAIN SHUTTERS.  AMC Entertainment Holdings closes more than 1,000 theaters around the world in response to the spread of the coronavirus.

AMENDING CALIFORNIA LAW AFFECTING FREELANCERS IN WORKS

After getting heavy static from writers groups, the author of a new California labor law that restricts to 35 the number of assignments freelance journalists and photographers can take a year is seeking to amend the statute, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-SanDiego) says she will seek to remove the submission limit freelance media workers can produce for a company.

 

If the measure passes the California Assembly and Senate, it wouldn’t take effect until January, 2021.

 

However, two freelancer groups — American Society of Journalists and Authors, and National Press Photographers Association — are asking for immediate relief from the law’s restrictions.

 

They are suing on free-speech grounds, continuing their legal case in Los Angeles federal court. 

 

 

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WORLD WAR II FLIGHT CREW HONORED.  Crew of a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress is remembered in a ceremony in Ramsholt, England, marking 75 years after their bomber crashed in the nearby Deben River in the closing months of the war.  Hundreds of people honor the crew of 10, eight of whom died when the plane came down shortly after takeoff on Feb. 20, 1945 after one of its engines caught fire. 

 

WARNING ON CENSUS BUREAU JOB SCAMMERS.  The Better Business Bureau says to beware of scams involving thousands of temporary jobs with the U.S. Census Bureau.  Scammers are asking to be paid fees for applications or training.

 

NEWSPAPER TEMPORARILY CUTS PAY.  Staffers at the Tampa Bay Times will see a 10 percent temporary reduction in pay starting March 13 stemming from falling revenues. Cuts will last 13 weeks.

 

IN-THE-NEWS VIRUS AFFECTS BUYING BEER.  Although the beverage has no relationship with current coronavirus fears, a report in Newsweek says some people are scared of buying Corona beer.

 

JCPENNY TO SHUTTER MORE OUTLETS.  Department store chain JCPenney plans to close six additional stores as sales and profit continue to decline.

 

POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS SHELVED.  The Arizona Republic, Phoenix,  says it will no longer endorse political candidates for the 2020 presidential race.

 

RANSOM PAID FOR RETURN OF DOG.  A Northern California man says he paid a $1,000 ransom for the safe return of his dog --- a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel that was stolen from his parked car in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District.

 

FOX NEWS DOMINATES CABLE.  Fox News Channel continues its cable news domination in February, reaching its highest viewership in the network's 23-year history.