Grumpy Editor

VINYL RECORD ALBUM SALES OVERTAKE CDS

Vinyl record albums outsold CDs last year for the first time since 1987, notes Grumpy Editor.

Vinyl records revenue rose 17 percent to about $1.2 billion last year while CD revenue fell 18 percent to $483 million.

That’s the word from the Recording Industry Association of America.

About 41 million vinyl albums were purchased last year, compared with 33 million CDs.

Fans claim vinyl has superior sound quality.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

MARINES FACE SHORTAGES.  Marines Commandant General David Berger tells the Senate Appropriations Committee that Marines need more amphibious ships and that his forces are at the lowest level in recent history.

BARGE BECOMES “HOTEL” FOR MIGRANTS.  The U.K. plans to move migrants seeking asylum from current hotel accommodations to a barge, at least two military bases and ships in an effort to slash surging costs.

HOME RUN KING CONTINUES.  Baseball’s Aaron Judge, American League’s most valuable player last year, smacks a home run in his first at bat for the New York Yankees this year, in a Yankees 5-0 win over the Giants. Judge last season hit 62 home runs, the most in a single season in the history of the American League.

FORMER CALIF. GOVERNOR GETS ‘HONOR.’  California researchers name a new species of beetle after former Gov. Jerry Brown:  bembidion brownorum.  The beetle is discovered on Brown’s ranch in Colusa County.

TEXAS GROWS.  Texas is home to six of the top 10 largest-growing counties in 2022, finds the Census Bureau.  But the largest gainer is Maricopa County, Arizona, home of Phoenix.

BEST BASEBALL STADIUM ANNOUNCED.  San Diego’s Petco Park is named the nation’s best major league baseball stadium.  It’s the home of the San Diego Padres.

NEWSPAPER LEFT WITHOUT REPORTERS.  The Salinas Californian   employed only  one journalist until December. That’s when the paper’s last reporter quit to take a job in TV.  The departure smacks news coverage in the city of 163,000.

PANDEMIC CONTRIBUTES TO COMEBACK OF VINYL RECORDS

 

Vinyl records, popular years ago, are making a comeback, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Aiding in the revival is the pandemic with music lovers at home listening to favorite tunes.

 

Vinyl record sales last year jumped 29 percent to $626 million, surpassing compact disc sales revenue, according to the Record Industry Association of America.

 

Such activity is putting smiles on faces of owners of about 1,400 record stores around the nation.  And new record stores are opening.

 

The first commercially available long-playing record, designed for playback at 33 1/3 rpm, was introduced by RCA Victor in 1931.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

ALLIGATOR VISITS POST OFFICE.  The post office in Spring Hill, Florida, has an unusual early morning visitor — a seven-foot alligator roaming around the lobby, obviously looking for something better tasting than stamps.

 

U.S. TV ANCHORS IN GENEVA.  In Geneva to cover President Biden’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin are network anchors:  ABC’s David Muir, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell and NBC’s Lester Holt.  

 

BRIEFING ROOM BACK TO NORMAL.  The White House’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room is back to 100 pewrcent capacity with all 49 assigned seats filled— plus with people standing in the aisles.

 

NURSE WHO INSPIRED TV SHOW DIES.  Cathy Drake, a Korean War nurse who worked in the operating room and was the inspiratiion for the TV show M*A*S*H, dies at 96 in Evansville, Indiana.

 

AMERICAN AIRLINES DROPS IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE.  American Airlines is dropping its in-flight magazine, oldest continuously published magazine in the airline industry, dating to 1966.

 

IBM U.S. EMPLOYEES BACK IN OFFICES IN SEPTEMBER.  International Business Machines Corp. tells U.S. employees they will be going back to work at company offices the week of Sept. 7, citing, "improving U.S. clinical conditions and broad access to Covid-19 vaccines” for the company’s decision.

RUSSIAN SAILORS RESCUE DOG IN ARCTIC.  A dog is rescued by Russian sailors after wandering through the Arctic ice for more than a week. 

Student censured for recording teacher’s comments

A student secretly videorecording an Orange Coast College teacher making anti-Donald Trump remarks --- including mention that his election as president was “an act of terrorism” --- in class resulted in the student's suspension for the current semester and the summer term, noted Grumpy Editor.

That harsh action by the Costa Mesa, Calif. community college came because Coast Community College District said policy prohibits recording someone on the district's property without his or her consent.

The student, Caleb O'Neil, who recorded comments of Olga Perez Stable Cox, also was told to write an apology letter and a three-page essay describing why he recorded the teacher and his "thoughts and analysis" of the incident.

Cox, 66, also compared election results to the nation “divided clearly as it was in Civil War times."

Representing 19-year-old O’Neil, attorney William Becker said the punishments were excessive and O’Neil’s legal rights have been violated.

Becker added: "This is an attack by leftists in academia to protect the expressive rights of their radical instructors at the expense of the expressive rights of conservative students on campus."

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Media notes: Lots of chatter over the weekend on “preserving a free press.” What concerns the White House --- and seasoned news folks --- however, is a constant stream of erroneous/unconfirmed information worked into print and broadcast news stories…An example of a fabricated report: White House press secretary Sean Spicer denied that the Trump administration was considering a proposal to mobilize up to 100,000 National Guard troops to round up illegal immigrants…Meanwhile, jabs by media personalities do not help, as with NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” yesterday when, as an example, he injected an opinionated line: “You don’t have presidential leadership right now”…Also working in more opinions in his 3 p.m. (Eastern) newscasts last week was Fox News host Shepard Smith.  Contrary to the "fair and balanced" slogan of the news channel, Smith, in one example, glared at the TV camera and sternly criticized President Donald Trump for "repeating ridiculous throwaway lines"...Some of the mainstream media represented at Trump’s Thursday news conference were irked after he avoided calling on any of them. (This after some news organizations likened him to Adolf Hitler and floated false reports.)

After five and a half weeks with a new face in the White House, the New York Stock Exchange continued to roll to new highs, with the Dow Jones closing Friday at 20624.05…Thinking about becoming a print or broadcast journalist but find it difficult to meet deadlines? Better focus on another line of work. A CareerCast survey of 1,000 people found 71 percent have higher than moderate stress in the workplace. The Carlsbad, Calif. company said most common cause of stress was deadlines (30%)…A quiet fee boost points to shorter stays in Sin City.  Caesars Entertainment, which operates 10 Las Vegas hotel-casinos including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and Rio, upped its resort fee starting March 1 by $1 to $3, making it (with tax) $39.68 per day, tacked on to the room rate, surprising some visitors.  Look for other casino operators to follow with an increase…Delta Air Lines announced it will start serving meals to all passengers on 12 long-haul routes --- including busy New York-Los Angeles --- over the next several weeks…One of the strongest storms in years smacked Southern California late in the week. Heavy rain triggered mudslides, flooding, sink hole, jammed roads and closed freeway sections.  Yet, Gov. Jerry Brown still thinks there is a drought… Apple and Amazon topped the annual list of Fortune magazine’s most admired companies.

Today is Love Your Pet Day. Thus, it’s a good time to give your dog, cat and (perhaps) turtle an extra goodie! Pet stores hope sales of pet beds and toys get a boost today.