Grumpy Editor

CORONAVIRUS CHANGES APPEARANCE OF NEWSROOMS

 

The appearance of newsrooms is changing due to the coronavirus, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Over the years you’ve seen movies depict active newsrooms:  from clacking of typewriters to phones ringing to busy city desks.

 

Many metropolitan newspapers now have staffers working from their residences.

 

“Newsrooms don’t look or sound like that at the moment.  And they might never again,” says Tom Jones, senior media writer at the Poynter Report.

 

“These days, because of the coronavirus, most newsrooms are dining room tables and living room couches and spare bedrooms turned into local, one-person news bureaus,” he mentions, adding “as time goes by, and journalists have become accustomed to working at home and still putting out an excellent product, a question has emerged:

 

“Are newsrooms — the actual physical offices — even needed anymore?  We will soon find out.”

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

NORTH KOREA MOVES AHEAD WITH NUCLEAR PROGRAM.  Over the weekend, North Korea says relations with the U.S. have “shifted into despair” and promises the regime would be moving ahead with its nuclear-weapons program.

 

MARINES SKIP STORMING BEACH.  While about 3,000 troops are taking part in one of the U.S. Navy’s largest maritime drills in the Baltic Sea, for the first time Marines won’t be conducting amphibious landings and storming the beach during the exercise because of coronavirus concerns.

 

GANNETT CLOSES TWO TEXAS NEWSPAPERS.  Gannett closes its Edinburg Review and Valley Town Crier newspapers at the southern tip of Texas, not far from the border with Mexico.

 

ACTION IN HOLLYWOOD GETS GREEN LIGHT.  Los Angeles health officials give Hollywood the green light to resume film and TV production...but action in front of cameras won't be starting soon.

 

HARPER'S BAZAAR GETS FIRST BLACK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.  Samira Nasr, a former Vanity Fair fashion director, is named editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, making her the first black editor-in-chief of a Hearst-owned publication.

OLDEST LIVING GREAT DANE HONORED.  Freddy, a Great Dane crowned the world’s tallest living dog by Guinness World Records in 2017, adds a new title as the oldest living Great Dane, reaching eight years.  He is over seven feet tall when standing on his hind legs at his home in the U.K.

HOLD IT.  Not making coast-to-coast headlines is that folks who "have to go” while visiting Times Square in New York find few restrooms open to the public. Restaurants, bars and coffee shops where visitors could find relief in the past have shuttered restrooms to the public during the coronavirus. 

BANKS CONSIDER CLOSING SOME BRANCHES.  Banks are mulling closing some branches because customers are visiting them less frequently during the pandemic.

 

TRUMP FROWNS ON RENAMING MILITARY BASES.  President Donald Trump resists the push to rename 10 U.S. military bases named after Confederate officers.

 

TV'S 'COPS' DROPPED.  Following protests against police, “Cops,” after 33 seasons on television, is dropped by the Paramount Network.

CONFUSION WITH FREELANCE WRITERS AT AARP MAGAZINE

 

One reason freelance writers get premature gray hair:  Confusion at magazines queried, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Latest example involves a professional writer who submitted a detailed email query on Sept. 6, 2018 to AARP The Magazine and received a response last week with the message “it was deleted unread.” 

 

Huh?

 

The proposed article deals with an upcoming law that would affect thousands of AARP members.

 

When asked about the strange response to the writer from AARP late last week, a “customer care” representative says:  ‘Please be advised that this communication was sent in error” and "any communication sent was read and its content addressed.”

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

SOME NEWSPAPER PRESSES ARE QUIET TODAY.  Some small newspapers on this Memorial Day holiday, will not publish.

 

HEADING FOR BRITAIN?  The U.K. government, starting in June, imposes a 14-day self quarantine requirement for nearly all travelers entering the country.

 

NOAA SEES ABOVE AVERAGE STORMS.  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects an above average up to 19 named storms, including as many as 10 hurricanes, between June 1 and Nov. 30.

 

CLINTON, PATTERSON TEAM UP FOR NOVEL.  Former President Bill Clinton and author James Patterson will co-write a second novel, "The President's Daughter," to be published jointly by Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown in June, 2021.

 

KIDS PRODUCE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER.  Rather than setting up a lemonade stand, a group of kids in the Foxcroft neighborhood section of Little Rock, Ark., are writing community news, printing and delivering their newspaper to neighbors.

 

MALKIN JOINS NEWSMAX.  Author and syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin joins Newsmax TV as contributor and weekend program host.

 

TRUMP SMACKS FOX NEWS.  President Donald J. Trump in a tweet declares "Fox News is doing nothing to help Republicans, and me, get re-elected on November 3rd."

 

ATLANTIC LAYS OFF ALMOST FIFTH OF STAFF.  The Atlantic magazine will lay off almost 20 percent of its staff as a result of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

CONSUMERS BUYING MORE EGGS.  Grocery chain Kroger says consumers are buying 3.6 million more cartons of eggs per week now vs. before the coronavirus pandemic.

 

AIRPLANE BONEYARD GROWS.  The commercial airplane boneyard in Arizona is growing, spurred by the coronavirus pandemic that has reduced air travel.  Major airlines, including Delta, United, Jet Blue and Air Canada send aircraft to Pinal Airpark, in the desert about 90 miles south of Phoenix.

 

HUNGRY PIGS NEAR LAS VEGAS.  Thousands of pigs on a farm outside of Las Vegas find a shortage of food scraps, usually delivered from casinos, currently closed during the pandemic.

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.

 

 

 

FORTUNE ILLUSTRATES HOW TO LOSE MAGAZINE SUBSCRIBERS

A long-time subscriber to Fortune magazine is baffled on receiving a renewal form enclosed with the latest issue, offering one year (14 issues) for a steep $59.95 --- four times higher than the previous renewal rate paid, observes Grumpy Editor.

And that is offered on a “professional rate extension form.”

A few days later another “professional rate extension form” arrives, this time by mail, showing the same $59.95 “deal.”

Grumpy Editor finds Fortune’s rates and number of issues vary.

Its own site (subscription.fortune.com) lists the one-year (20 issues) cost at $19.99 for print and digital.

Page 6 of the July issue puts the one-year rate at $22.

Confusing?

Fortune, founded by Henry Luce in 1929, is a member of Time Inc. which was acquired by Meredith Corp. six months ago in a $2.8 billion deal that included Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, Money and Fortune. Four months ago Meredith indicated it planned to sell those Time Inc. titles, heavy in news, because they clashed with the company’s portfolio of lifestyle publications such as Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Country Life, Food & Wine and Allrecipes.

From its launch in 1930 to 1978, Fortune was published monthly. In January 1978, it went biweekly.  Then in October 2009, with declining advertising revenue and circulation, the magazine began publishing every three weeks.

Circulation, via latest tally in 2015:  837,981.

As a business magazine, Fortune is noted for issues focusing on the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, 100 Best Companies to Work For, 50 World's Greatest Leaders, Most Powerful Women in Business, 100 Fastest-Growing Companies and World’s Most Admired Companies.

Meanwhile, the long-time subscriber last week received by mail a “third renewal notice” still pitching the one-year $59.95 rate.  Citing it is from Yvonne Gerald, vice president, Fortune, the notice reminds:  “We have yet to hear from you.” 

That triggered the long-time subscriber to renew immediately --- but via a discount magazine outfit --- for $14.99 a year.

What is interesting, though, is that Meredith, in a recent mailed pitch, is practically giving away two-for-one subscriptions to Better Homes & Gardens, coupled with Allrecipes, along with a free cookbook, a free gardening book and a free storage solutions book.  Total one-year cost for all this reading:  $8.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

WALLACE INTERVIEWS PUTIN TONIGHT.  Fox News anchor Chris Wallace lands an exclusive half-hour interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  It airs tonight after the summit with President Donald Trump in Helsinki.

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

U.S. NAVY ALLOWS HAIRSTYLES FOR WOMEN.  U.S. Navy says it will now allow women to sport ponytails and dreadlocks,  previously-frowned on hairstyles while in uniform. Further, women in dinner dress uniform will be authorized to let their hair down below the collar of shirts or jackets. But if hairstyles present a hazard or safety concern, female sailors will need to pull their hair back.

"DOWNTON ABBEY" TO RETURN AS MOVIE.  British-produced “Downton Abbey,” a global TV hit over six seasons, is returning, this time to the big screen.  Production that reunites the Crawley family starts this summer.  Primary cast members are set to return. 

BMW GETS MAJORITY CONTROL IN CHINA.  BMW is about to become the first foreign automaker to take advantage of changes to China's foreign ownership rules in taking majority control of its 50-50 joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings --- a demonstration of China's willingness to open up market access, reports Bloomberg.

TV NETWORK ADDS MEDIA SECTION.  NBC News launches a media section and blog called The Query, led by senior media editor Claire Atkinson.  It will include news, analysis and commentary on media, marketing and entertainment.  A weekly newsletter is in the works.

OPRAH GETS INTO RESTAURANT BUSINESS.  Oprah Winfrey, on Vogue’s U.K.’s August cover, might not be running for president, but she is getting into the restaurant business with an investment in Phoenix-based True Food Kitchen, which specializes in healthy food such as fish tacos.

PFIZER BACKTRACKS ON DRUG PRICE HIKES.  Pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer Inc., backtracking on plans to increase drug prices following criticism by President Donald Trump, says it will restore prices to levels before July 1 when it made the changes, and they will stay there until Trump puts into effect his plan to combat high drug prices, or until the end of the year if that plan hasn't appeared.

TESTS FIND MOST EIGHTH GRADERS RANK LOW IN READING, MATH

Looks like rough days ahead for newspapers and magazines in capturing future readers, notes Grumpy Editor.

Escaping most editors desks is a report that 65 percent of eighth graders in American public schools are not proficient in reading while 67 percent are not proficient in mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2017 test results released by the U.S. Department of Education, reports CNSNews.com.

Among 27 large urban districts NAEP test scores, Detroit public school eighth graders rank lowest with just 7 percent proficient or better in reading and 5 percent proficient or better in math.

Also scoring low in tests are public schools in Cleveland, Baltimore and Fresno (Calif.).

Among states, Louisiana public elementary schools rank lowest in teaching students math while New Mexico public elementary schools are at the bottom in teaching reading

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

KIDS CAN’T READ ANALOG CLOCKS.  Schools in the United Kingdom are beginning to remove analog clocks from classrooms because students are complaining they can’t read them, reports The Telegraph, London. Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders in England, points out the current generation isn't "as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” adding, "nearly everything they’ve got is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere.”

BOY SCOUTS TO DROP "BOY" FROM NAME.  With girls soon being allowed to join Boy Scouts, the organization will operate under a new name effective in February:  Scouts BSA.  Parent organization remains Boy Scouts of America, which already is starting to admit girls into the Cub Scouts.

CHICAGO'S JEWISH STAR ENDS RUN.  The bi-weekly Chicago Jewish Star, the Windy City’s oldest independent Jewish voice, published its final edition on Friday, blaming the industry-wide decline in advertising as reason for the closure.

BLASTS FROM HEAVY WEAPONS CAUSE PROBLEMS.  Service members exposed to high levels of “blast overpressure” from heavy weapons, such as recoilless rifles, experience problems with memory loss and decision making, according to the Center for New American Security think tank.

STILL HIGHER GASOLINE PRICES SEEN.  Blaming rising crude oil prices, gasoline prices are likely to continue climbing through summer.  "This will be the most expensive driving season since 2014," says Tom Kloza, head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service.

FRONT PAGE GUN AD TRIGGERS CRITICISM.  Sun Sentinel newspaper of Broward County, Fla. gets much coverage — and criticism — in placing a gun ad on its front page.  Individuals at the paper "deeply regret" location of the ad, says publisher Nancy Meyer. “We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again," she adds.

MOST FOREIGN AID NATIONS DON’T FOLLOW U.S. POSITIONS.  The 13 biggest beneficiaries of U.S. foreign assistance in the previous, current, and next fiscal years voted in line with U.S. positions at the United Nations an average of 26.5 percent of the time last year.  The lineup:  Israel (94 percent), Afghanistan (21 percent), Egypt (21 percent), Ethiopia (21 percent), Iraq (21 percent), Jordan (22 percent), Kenya (20 percent), Nigeria (22 percent), Pakistan (24 percent), South Africa (18 percent), Tanzania (21 percent), Uganda (21 percent) and Zambia (19 percent).

OLDER AMERICANS TARGETS OF SCAMMERS.  Five million older Americans are financially exploited each year by scammers, including family members, for as much as $37 billion.  And the rip-offs continue to move upward.

VENEZUELA’S INFLATION RATE SOARS.  Economists note Venezuela's inflation rate, already by far the world's highest, spiked from a whopping 4,966 percent to nearly 18,000 percent in March and April, a trend that, if it continues, could push the country's annual rate to more than 100,000 percent by year's end, reports the Miami Herald.

U.S.-CHINA TRADE TALKS AT STALEMATE.  Two days of trade talks between the U.S. and China ended inconclusively on Friday, as both sides presented tough demands neither would agree to, according to the Wall Street Journal.

 

 

KIPLINGER’S MAKES IT EASY FOR READERS TO CONTACT STAFF

Too many magazines, and some newspapers, make it very difficult to contact staffers --- which is just plain dumb, grumbles Grumpy Editor.

Readers may have hot tips, article suggestions, added information or just plain praise. 

So it’s interesting to note Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s editor Mark Solheim, in the February issue, devotes a whole page to “Thanks for the Feedback.”

Four pages further into the magazine all staffers, from editorial to sales are listed.

As Solheim points out on his page:  “At Kiplinger, the best feedback of all comes directly from you.  One of the guiding principles of the Kiplinger family of publications is reader service.  We aim to be as useful to you as possible and to respond when you reach out to us.  That’s why I include my e-mail address at the end of my column, and it's why articles now include writer’s e-mail addresses.”

Kiplinger’s also employs another method to get feedback --- a panel consisting of several hundred readers who volunteer to rate each issue.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

WHAT, NO COURT MARTIAL?  Maj. Gen. Ryan Gonsalves, who recently headed the 4^th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., is denied promotion to three stars because he referred to a female congressional staffer as "sweetheart" during a meeting in October, 2016. 

FAVORITE WORD ON CNN.  After President Donald Trump reportedly asked why the U.S. should welcome migrants from “sh-tholes” like Haiti, Central America or African nations, that word was mentioned at least 36 times Thursday on CNN, tallies Gateway Pundit.

 FORGET STEERING WHEEL, PEDALS.  General Motors thinks folks would drive a car without steering wheel or pedals, reports Fortune.  The automaker petitioned the federal government for permission to deploy self-driving Chevrolet Bolts that lack steering wheel, pedals and other manual controls ahead of the planned launch of a robo ride-sharing service next year.

SOMETHING TO BARK ABOUT.  The FBI has a new agent --- with four legs, a yellow coat and a wet nose:  Harley, a two-year-old Labrador retriever.  She works with the FBI’s New York outpost and the Westchester County Police Department sniffing for flash drives, hard drives, SIM cards and other storage devices in criminal cases where electronic evidence is sought.

BACK TO WORLD WAR II GARB?  The Army will decide later this year if it should switch back to its classic World War II-era “pink and green” dress uniform as part of an effort to link troops more closely to the service’s history.

COST OF OIL RISES AGAIN.  Oil reaches $70 a barrel for the first time in three years as production cuts by OPEC and rising demand drain the global surplus.

NEW FLAVORS LOOM FOR DIET COKE.  Look for new flavors such as “ginger lime” and “twisted mango” and a revamped can design for Diet Coke, first change with the Coca-Cola beverage since 1982.

MORE APPEAL FOR STOCK OWNERSHIP.  Bloomberg reports Warren Buffett says U.S. tax cut legislation makes stock ownership more attractive by making companies more valuable by giving owners a bigger share of profits.

NOAA CITES WEATHER-LINKED DAMAGE.   Massive damage from the unprecedented number of hurricanes along with fires, floods and other weather-related events, cost the U.S. a record $306.2 billion last year, estimates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

SUDDEN RICH KID.  For Shane Missler from Port Richey, Fla., it was time to retire at the ripe old age of 20 after winning the whopping $451 million Mega Millions prize in the Florida Lottery.

15 YEARS ON OVERNIGHT RADIO.  George Noory this month marks his 15^th year as host of “Coast to Coast AM,” an overnight radio show fed by Premiere Networks.  The program features interesting interviews on various topics with the focus on paranormal or conspiracy theories.  On Tuesday's show, for example, the key topic will be on the coming ice age.

UNDELIVERED MAIL.  In Louisiana, a federal prosecutor says a 50-year old former U.S. Postal Service worker took mail from his rural postal route to his home in Pitkin where he burned at least 20 tubs of mail. 

L.A. Times makes way on front page for giant Disney ad

At a time when most newspaper readers seek more front-page news, the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday turned over a chunk of its opening page to The Walt Disney Co. for a sprawling movie ad that included space where normally a top headline is placed, notes Grumpy Editor. 

In the process, only three news stories appeared on the front page.  Usually four to six reports run on its opening page.  (This compared with 15 to 18 opening-page stories when The Times, with greater competition from five other dailies in the city, produced “newsy” front --- and larger --- pages with eight columns.) 

The Disney ad, in white letters against a blue background, stretched across the top of the page, down the left side at almost a column width and full-width across the bottom in continuing the message. 

“In the past, The Times has sold movie tie-in wraps around the front page, done fake front pages that cause controversy or sold a chunk of the page for advertising,” Kevin Roderick wrote on his LA Observed website. “This is the first time I remember The Times (or any other top U.S. newspaper) dropping half of the content on its actual front page for an ad --- in this case for an advertiser the paper regularly covers and a movie it will also cover.” 

Roderick, who labeled it a “garishly unattractive Disney movie ad,” added that in The Times newsroom “there is a growing sense that the editors and publisher no longer care much about the printed paper, feeling that the future is digital.”

 

In case you missed these…

USA TODAY AND MCCLATCHY JOIN IN NIXING WHITE HOUSE PHOTO HANDOUTS.  Joining three dozen other news outlets that are nixing White House-provided photography, including images of President Barack Obama, are USA Today, the leading Gannett Co. newspaper, and McClatchy Co. which operates 30 daily newspapers.  USA Today said it will not use handouts originating from the White House Press Office, except in “very extraordinary circumstances.”  McClatchy editors simply said they will not publish photography issued by the White House.

 

Quiz time:  What was the most overused word (especially in advertisements and broadcast coverage) since last Wednesday?  See answer below.

 

IN THE “BAD PR” DEPARTMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR A CITY:  Huntington Beach, Calif., was threatening Johnny’s Saloon, a fixture in the Orange County beach city for three decades, with a $960 fine unless it removes a large rooftop POW-MIA sign that reads: THANK A VETERAN FOR YOUR FREEDOM!   Popular with veterans, the sign has been up for six years.  Said a city spokesperson:“We have been unable to locate a building and electrical permit for the roof sign so we need the owner to demonstrate that it has been permitted.” 

 

NEW MEANING FOR THE MILE-HIGH CITY.  The Denver Post appointed Ricardo Baca as the editor overseeing coverage of the recreational marijuana law that takes effect next month.  Baca, with the Post for nearly 12 years, was entertainment editor and music critic at the paper. 

 

ON TOP OF THE NEWS.  Some Bloomberg Businessweek subscribers still have not received the much-heralded 212-page Nov. 18 issue, its largest since 1999.  Missing that issue, callers to its subscription service were told to hold off until Nov. 25, then, if the issue was still missing, to request a copy.  Those who did call again were informed to expect the slow-to-receive issue in two to four more weeks --- in time for Christmas.

 

Quiz time answer:  Doorbusters. 

 

One of the funniest lines of the week from Jan Leno’s monologue on NBC’s The Tonight Show: 

Obama told Iran “if you like your uranium, you can keep your uranium.”

White House media growl over blocking photos of events

White House correspondents and news organizations are grumbling over the barring of photojournalists from many presidential events, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Among those calling for better access to President Barack Obama and the White House:  The White House Correspondents Association, the Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post plus broadcast and cable networks.  They'd rather not rely on events’ handouts provided by the White House.

"Journalists are routinely being denied the right to photograph or videotape the President while he is performing his official duties,” the journalists mention in a letter to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

“As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist’s camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the executive branch of government.” 

The journalists also point out, “The apparent reason for closing certain events to photographers is that these events have been deemed 'private.'  That rationale, however, is undermined when the White House contemporaneously releases its own photograph of a so-called private event through social media."

They add restrictions on access to such events interfere with legitimate newsgathering, raise constitutional freedom-of-the-press questions and set a dangerous precedent.

“Freezing out reporters from events is not healthy,” sums up Ron Fournier --- National Journal editorial director and national correspondent who earlier worked at AP for 20 years --- in a CNN interview on Friday.

 

In case you missed these…

TRIBUNE CO. PLANS ANOTHER ROUND OF STAFF CUTS.  Chicago-based Tribune Co., second largest U.S. newspaper publisher, plans to cut nearly 700 jobs or about 6 percent of its total workforce over the next year, mainly at its newspaper division that includes the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and six other newspapers.  The company, which exited bankruptcy in January, cut 360 jobs companywide in the first nine months of the fiscal year.  That followed eliminating 800 publishing positions last year.

 

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK FOCUSES ON GLOBAL WARMING.  Rather than devoting more editorial space to top business developments as year-end nears, the weekly spreads its Nov. 25 cover story over a vast 17 full adless pages of text and photos (out of 80 pages in the issue) relating to what it sees as future higher sea levels affecting Kiribati, north of Fiji.  The central Pacific nation spans 33 small islands with a population of 103,000.  Cover headline for the story:  This entire country is about to be wiped out by climate change.

PRESIDENT TARDY FOR LIVE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERVIEW ON THE WEB.  President Obama kept Web viewers around the country waiting 30 minutes beyond the 3 p.m. (Eastern) scheduled time Tuesday for the start of a live stream interview, via the WSJ’s website, led by Gerald Seib, the newspaper’s Washington Bureau chief.

FEDS BYPASS LAS VEGAS THIS TIME, GATHER IN CARIBBEAN.  Phillip Swarts reports in The Washington Times that “a group of federal officials skipped chilly Washington this month for a taxpayer-funded trip to the Virgin Islands in the name of protecting the world’s coral reef.”  The organizer, Swarts adds, is the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force which “isn’t saying much about the total cost or reasons for the trip or why officials chose the St. Croix beachfront resort Buccaneer Hotel (made famous by an episode of TV’s 'The Bachelor') as their destination.”

Media bits:  Look for Maria Bartiromo, who departed CNBC (after 20 years at the cable network) on Friday, to host a live Sunday show early next year on Fox News Channel in addition to activities on the Fox Business Network…CNN's Jake Tapper will fill in for three weeks on the network's primetime lineup next month as Erin Burnett takes maternity leave.  Along with that added duty, Tapper will continue to host his 4 p.m. (Eastern) “The Lead”…Recently launched Al Jazeera America cable news channel’s ratings averaged around 13,000 viewers in its first few months, reports the New York Post…The Minneapolis Star Tribune in February will take over printing of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The saga of confusing magazine subscriptions continues.

Fast Company, via an insert in its December issue, pitches readers a “3-for-1 holiday gift giveaway” for “only $12.99” as the one-year rate.

At the same time, subscribers, in a magazine wraparound, are offered a “2-for-1 holiday offer” for $10.

Meanwhile, a mailed pitch to subscribers also dangles a 2-for-1 holiday offer, citing “regular cost of 2 subscriptions: $99.80” and “you pay only $10 for “10 more issues (one year)" plus a gift card to send “to announce your valuable gift.”

Wall Street Journal takes poke at prompt loan-repaying Tesla Motors; Fast Company cites 'golden age for TV'

Rather than kudos to Tesla Motors, Inc. for paying off an almost half billion dollar government startup loan in a swift three years, a Wall Street Journal editorial took a swipe at the fast-growing electric car maker, notes Grumpy Editor.

Tesla wired a $451.8 million payment to the government on Wednesday. That sum, coupled with two prior payments, paid off a $465 million loan the company received from the Department of Energy in 2010 to foster development of advanced-technology vehicles.

The repayment came nine years early.

Despite the prompt payment (while other companies with recent government loans have defaulted or are about to) a WSJ editorial writer, in giving a bit of history on the California-based company, decided to “take apart Tesla by the numbers, if only to give our reader-taxpayers a better sense of what they’ve paid to make Tesla’s owners rich.” 

Taking up one fourth of the editorial page on Friday, the material cited subsidies, windfalls, a brokerage report and a Los Angeles Times analysis.  It even mentioned an environmentalist who noted “manufacturing and charging electric cars over their life cycle can produce more carbon than small, gas-powered vehicles.”

The negative editorial was contrary to the hefty applause WSJ’s auto writer Dan Neil recently gave Tesla after a comprehensive test drive. 

And on Saturday’s The Journal Editorial Report on Fox, Kimberley Strassel, WSJ editorial board member, praised Tesla in the week’s hits or misses segment, giving the high-tech auto firm a solid hit in paying off the loan. 

Meanwhile, those “rich owners” --- big and small investors of the publicly-held stock --- gave their answer to the WSJ editorial at the market close on Friday:  Tesla jumped $4.35 a share, reaching $97.08, almost four times above its 52-week low.

 

Magazine hails TV as top creative medium

 

Catching Grumpy Editor’s eyes was some material in the June issue of Fast Company that lead off with:  “Once a wasteland, TV is now the most thoughtful creative entertainment medium of them all.” 

Then it added, “It’s a golden age for TV, where on any given night, viewers can find multiple examples of American comedic and dramatic genius.” 

Huh? 

Sounds like something that was written in the 1950s, not the current fare that includes easy-on-the-budget reality shows, unfunny comedies peppered with laugh tracks and a parade of reruns in prime time. 

It’s hard to beat the TV menu of the 1950s.  Among top shows was Playhouse 90, a 90-minute weekly drama series on Thursdays that ran from 1956 to 1960 on CBS.  Playhouse 90 began as a live series, making a transition to tape in 1957. 

On the comedy side was Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” on NBC from 1950 to 1954.  The Saturday night “live” 90-minute variety program, which produced genuine laughs, also featured Carl Reiner and Imogene Coca.

 

In case you missed these… 

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, warning on the Justice Department investigation of Fox News reporter James Rosen, declared:  "U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion."  Meanwhile, in connection with the Rosen case and the Associated Press scandal, Jay Carney, White House press secretary, said:  The president was "a strong defender of the First Amendment and a firm believer in the needs of the press to obtain information."

 

While accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 incident that left 13 dead and 32 injured, soldiers wounded in the mass shooting are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat…ESPN is cutting about 10 percent of its work force…Bob Schieffer, the 44-year CBS News veteran and moderator of “Face the Nation,” received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism…A panel of news and news/talk experts named Hubbard Radio's WTOP, Washington, D.C., the U.S.’s top news station in Radio Ink Magazine's first listing of news and news/talk stations…ABC News’ Diane Sawyer and Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren made Forbes’ 2013 list of the world’s most powerful women.  Sawyer ranked No. 73 and Van Susteren No. 97.

 

Young spellers --- perhaps some will be future copy editors --- will be in the spotlight tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday for the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md.  The Bee, promoted by E.W. Scripps Co. since 1941, started in 1925 with nine contestants.

Some mature information seekers dump wobbly news outlets; barbecue editor new position at Texas Monthly

The Pew Research Center finds nearly one-third (31 percent) of more than 2,000 adults surveyed say they have deserted a particular news outlet because it no longer provides the news and information they had grown accustomed to, observes Grumpy Editor.

The survey also uncovers those most likely to have walked away are better educated, wealthier and older than those who did not.

News organizations’ financial problems (including reduced ad revenues and circulation), triggering slashed news staffs and reduced coverage, are prime factors behind the audience recoil.

Yet 60 percent of news consumers say they have heard “a little” or “nothing at all” about financial conditions.

Meanwhile, in a poke at NBC's left-leaning cable operation, Brent Bozell, president of Media Research Center, barks, “don’t dare call MSNBC a news organization.”

Referring to a Pew Research Center poll, Bozell says only 15 percent of MSNBC air time is devoted to straight news reporting (vs. 45 percent at Fox News) with the remainder described as commentary.

Tasty job in Texas 

With growing newspaper staff cutbacks, titles such as science editor, aviation editor, boating editor, investigative reporter and such, are fast disappearing.

However, here’s a first: barbecue editor.

Daniel Vaughn joins Texas Monthly, which focuses on the Lone Star State’s politics, environment and education, along with Texas food.

He is being hailed as the only full-time barbecue staffer on a major U.S. newspaper or magazine. 

Texas Monthly editor in chief Jake Silverstein says Vaughn “is one of the state’s foremost experts on the subject of smoked meat,” adding, “his passion for the subject is unrivaled. He understands good barbecue, he understands what it takes to make great barbecue, and most important of all, he understands the way that with good barbecue --- as with all the world’s great traditional foods --- cuisine and culture are completely intertwined.”

That’s certainly a tastier position than the police beat.

 

In case you missed these…

Getting heavy play in print and broadcast media last week was salt, with coverage focusing on a study that claims too much sodium intake contributed to 2.3 million deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other heart-related diseases worldwide in 2010.  Could a focus on the effects of pepper be next, then soy sauce?...Most interesting headline of the week illustrates where U.S. taxpayers’ money is going: $384,949 Federal Study Looks at “Plasticity in Duck Penis Length.”  The CNSnews.com story notes the National Science Foundation issues that grant --- made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package --- to Yale University for a study on “Sexual Conflict, Social Behavior and the Evolution of Waterfowl Genitalia.”  The study aims to show age, environment and breeding changes can impact the penis length of certain ducks.

Endless winter:  Two words absent in weather coverage as unseasonal cold weather and snowstorms sweep across the Midwest and East at the start of spring --- global warming.  The U.S. is on track for the coldest March in 17 years...The late movie producer and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio executive Louis B. Mayer would have chased out of his office (and perhaps Culver City) creators of a “zombie romantic comedy” script that goes like this:  A walking corpse eats the brain of a young fighter, falls in love with the dead man’s girl friend and slowly becomes more human.  But it has been made into a movie, “Warm Bodies,” now showing

The Kiplinger Letter sums up current “not good” economic conditions in one compact paragraph:  “Growth is listless.  For every job that’s open there are three job seekers.  Nearly 8 million part timers can’t find full-time work.  Wages are stagnant.  Export growth is lackluster, and average home prices…still 15 percent below the peak.”

“Swift” progress:  Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday, declares the Obama administration has a plan to eliminate a 600,000-case backlog in veterans’ disability and compensation claims --- by 2015…Not getting much coverage:  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of likely voters believe everyone should be required to prove his or her U.S. citizenship before being allowed to register to vote…Four days into spring, Target Corp. --- in an ad in yesterday’s newspapers --- pitches a portable ice maker with “our lowest price of the season.”