Grumpy Editor

RELIGION WRITERS MISSING FROM MOST NEWSPAPERS

While most major newspapers have a political writer or editor on staff, disappeared from nearly every newsroom is a religion writer or editor, observed Grumpy Editor.

As Julia Duin pointed out in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece:  “It’s always been a struggle to persuade news executives that Americans are more interested in religion than, say, sports.”

“Never-ending layoffs, firings and closings left religion among the most decimated of the specialty beats," Duin wrote, adding “whole regions of the western U.S. and Canada have no staff reporter covering religion.  Imagine if no one covered sports in Oregon, Wyoming and Arizona.”

She cited the Wall Street Journal employs a religion reporter based in Los Angeles along with a Vatican City correspondent in Rome.

“It’s a shame so few outlets seem to take religion seriously anymore,” she said.

Grumpy Editor also observed other formerly busy beats missing from newsrooms include:  science editor, youth editor, aviation editor and labor editor.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

SOLAR PANELS TO BOOST CALIFORNIA HOME PRICES.  Super-high price tags on homes in California will see $10,000 to $15,000 added when it becomes the first state to require solar panels on new homes, part of energy-efficiency standards adopted by the California Energy Commission.

RADIO SPECIAL RATES SUMMER MOVIES.  Fox News Radio is preparing a one-hour special focusing on the summer movie scene.  It will air during Memorial Day weekend, pointing out the good and the bad flicks ahead.

NEWSPAPER PLANS JOURNALISM CLASS FOR STUDENTS.  The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa., plans a three-week journalism class for Lehigh Valley students, ages 17 to 19.  What’s interesting is that participants will be paid an hourly wage for their work, five hours a day, Mondays through Thursdays, starting July 9 in the newspaper's offices.

PLANT FIRE TRIGGERS PAUSE ON F-150 OUTPUT.  A fire at a U.S. parts factory that produces magnesium support structure used in trucks, leads Ford to suspend production of its best-selling F-150 pickup.  It also affects Ford workers with temporary layoffs of almost 3,600 at its Kansas City plant and 4,000 others at its Dearborn facility.

WORLD CRUISE TO TOUCH 113 PORTS IN 245 DAYS.  Viking Cruises plans a 59-country, 245-day journey touching 113 ports in a world cruise that reaches every continent except Antarctica. The trip departs London on Aug. 31, 2019 and ends there on May 2, 2020. Cost $93,000.  

TAPE MACHINES MAKING A COMEBACK.  With sales of vinyl music highest in years, cassette tape is making a comeback as some millennials embrace analog music over digital downloads and streaming services. This has inspired a German company to produce a 2018 version of a reel-to-reel tape machine.

U.S. jumps into action after North Korea threatens; First Lady again on Vogue cover; Vegas shooter remains in L.A.

War talk spurs U.S. to bolster defenses, but...

After more North Korea missile testing over the weekend, a Feb. 12 nuclear test plus mounting saber-rattling and elevated tensions spurred by its young leader Kim Jong Eun, the Pentagon decided to strengthen U.S. defenses against a possible attack by the communist country by adding missile systems to protect the West Coast and Alaska, notes Grumpy Editor.

North Korea a few days earlier surprised the U.N., South Korea and U.S. by declaring the armistice that suspended Korean War hostilities 60 years ago was now invalid.

At the same time, it tossed in bolder rhetoric by threatening a nuclear strike on Washington.

With Washington’s sudden growing concern on North Korea’s long-range missile advances, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday said the U.S. will deploy 14 more ground-based missile interceptors.

These will be added to the current 30 long-range missile interceptors already in place in Alaska and California.

While news that the U.S. was moving ahead on additional defense measures grabbed headlines, overlooked by most broadcast and print media:  the new interceptors won’t be in position until 2017.

For example, in missile defense story coverage, The Washington Post didn't mention 2017 until the 10th paragraph. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal noted the year at the start of the second paragraph.

 

Meanwhile, focusing on the other side of the world and reflecting U.S. military and intelligence assessments, President Barack Obama said it would take Iran a year or more to produce a nuclear weapon.

Vogue cover again spotlights First Lady

Shortly after the election, buzz around New York and Washington was that First Lady Michelle Obama was behind a push to award top Obama campaign fundraiser and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour with a European ambassadorship, perhaps to Great Britain (Wintour was born in the U.K.) or France.

But the diplomatic post assignment idea faded.  

However, Vogue’s April issue features Michelle Obama on the cover, in a “cobalt blue dress, with the line:  How the First Lady and the President Are Inspiring America.

It marks the second Vogue cover appearance for the First Lady.  She last appeared wearing a pink dress on the magazine’s March 2009 cover.

Wintour got a boost last week, though.

Condé Nast announced the Vogue editor in chief is taking on the newly-created additional position of artistic director of Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications.

 

Las Vegas Strip shooter remains in L.A.

Remember that widely-covered shooting spree on the Las Vegas Strip back on Feb. 21 that resulted in three people killed and five injured?

Through sharp police work, suspect Ammar Harris, 26, was nabbed in Los Angeles one week later.

Today, he's still there.

The delay, in part, was because the defense attorney (despite fingerprints and widely-circulated photos) requested an "iddentification hearing" calling on prosecutors to prove the person arrested in the case "is who they say it is." That Los Angeles Superior Court action occurred March 14.

But wait.

Judge Shelly Torrealba formally identified the Las Vegas Strip shooting suspect on March 14.

Did that move things along for Las Vegas authorities to take over?

Not yet.

Harris refused to waive extradition and his public defender asked authorities to produce a governor's warrant.

With that, the judge scheduled an April 12 hearing.

Stay tuned.

 

In case you missed these…

New Pope Francis didn’t waste any time meeting the press. On Saturday, at the media center flanking Rome’s St. Peter's Basilica at what some called “The Pope Francis Show,” he met and chatted with some of the 5,000 reporters from 81 countries --- then gave them a blessing… One America News Network, a 24-hour conservative-leaning cable news operation that partners San Diego's WealthTV with the Washington Times, is slated to start on July 1…Also with a July launch, Al Jazeera America, following its purchase of Current TV, reports more than 18,000 candidates applied for an initial 170 job openings…Britain’s Daily Mail presence is growing.  It’s online audience in the United States swells to become larger than in the United Kingdom…Moving right along:  U.S. intelligence officials warn of the rising threat of cyberattacks to national  and economic security.  It follows President Barack Obama’s concern in January’s State of the Union address, noting the “rapidly growing threat from cyberattacks"...Wrong site for an exciting typo.  An ad on copyediting.com Friday: "Want an Exiting Career?" headlined a pitch for training as a trucker...Sale of Maxim, a male-oriented magazine, is being explored by Alpha Media. 

Shhh! More Mormons live in Arizona than in Nevada

In today’s Arizona primary, chances are broadcast and print media will not mention Mormons in connection with votes for Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, one of four Republican presidential candidates actively seeking the nomination, predicts Grumpy Editor. 

This contrasts with the Nevada caucuses Feb. 4 --- with Romney coming out the winner --- when media repeatedly overstated the Mormon influence in Nevada.  On-scene reporters implied that many Mormons in the Silver State led to an easy victory for Romney. 

However, Arizona ranks third in the number of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members.  Number one is Utah, followed by Idaho. 

Washington State and Nevada follow. 

Interestingly, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was running for reelection (and won) in 2010, not much was said about the Democrat from Nevada being a Mormon.

Meanwhile, Reid has offered no Mormon-to-Mormon counseling to fellow politician Romney.

Reid once confided to a newsman, “Well, I believe that Mitt Romney is a man I’ve never met.  Don’t particularly want to.”

 

Media again jump on Romney’s Mormon faith, skip others

Talk about recycling old news:  Four years ago, print and broadcast media filled columns and air time with discussions on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith.  Now (ho-hum) the same topic is back in newspapers and on airwaves, notes Grumpy Editor.

What triggered the latest round were comments Friday from Dallas pastor Richard Jeffress who told reporters that most evangelical Christians believe Mormonism is “a cult” and wouldn’t accept Mormons as “part of the Christian family.” 

Editors, trying to perk up political coverage, jumped on the remarks. 

Press stories had Romney declaring “poisonous language” does not advance the conservative cause. 

Print and broadcast reports were still going strong on Columbus Day. 

For example, around 3:30p.m. EDT yesterday both MSNBC and CNN were spotlighting the rift.  MSNBC called it “Mormon-Phobia” while CNN settled for “Mormonism and 2012 Politics.” 

Although the focus was on Romney, he is not the only GOP presidential candidate who is a Mormon.  The other is former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. 

Interestingly, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) was running for reelection last year, not much was said about him being a Mormon. 

Four years ago, when Romney had an earlier hat in the presidential ring, there was no Mormon-to-Mormon counseling from fellow politician Reid.

Not widely reported at that time was a newsman asking --- in efforts to ease concerns about Mormonism --- if the Senate majority leader had any suggestions for Romney’s speech in College Station, Texas.

Responded Reid:  “Well, I believe that Mitt Romney is a man I’ve never met.  Don’t particularly want to.”

 

Good Friday battles Earth Day for media coverage today

Grumpy Editor figures some newspaper editors faced tough decisions in deciding front-page play today:  focus on Good Friday or Earth Day.

Both fall on the same day this year.  Both are celebrated around the world.

In the end, since this is 2011, Earth Day is getting the nod from eco-minded editors.

As an example, this week's Bloomberg Businessweek in "events of note in the week ahead" lists two items for today:  Italy's retail sales and Earth Day.  

Earth Day started 41 years ago while Good Friday’s originations go back centuries, perhaps to the 4^th century, or earlier.

Good Friday is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  For many, it means going to church.

Falling on the last Friday before Easter, Good Friday dates vary each year, occurring between March 20th and April 23rd.

Earth Day, meanwhile, is designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment.

Some celebrities grab newspaper space and television time by their “green” actions.  Just yesterday, for example, a news release --- in connection with Earth Day --- cites actor and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. who “chooses to ride a bike when weather and fitness permit and takes public transportation if available to cut down on traffic and pollution and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.”

Noteworthy, however, is that Good Friday gets the edge when it comes to closing non-religious operations to mark the day.

It’s the basis for the U.S. stock market being shuttered today.

In many parts of the U.S., state, county and municipal offices are closed on Good Friday “for the Easter holiday,” giving workers three-days off.

 

Writers' inserted words contradict survey findings

While much chatter, especially on talk shows yesterday, focused on polls that found an increasing number of Americans think President Barack Obama is a Muslim, what was missed by many was the injection of one (similar) word by writers in their versions of poll results, designed to emphasize some survey participants were wrong, ill-informed, completely off base or dopey in what they believe, notes Grumpy Editor.

That’s tampering with results of what poll participants declared --- and editorializing in one swoop.

Examples from three major news outlets with inserted negating words indicated in bold face:

•  “The number of Americans who believe --- wrongly --- that President Obama is a Muslim has increased significantly since his inauguration and now accounts for nearly 20 percent of the nation's population.”

--- The lead in a Washington Post story by Jon Cohen and Michael D. Shear reporting on a Pew Research Center survey.

•  “Americans increasingly are convinced --- incorrectly --- that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, and a growing number are thoroughly confused about his religion.”

---The lead of an Associated Press story by Alan Fram also based on the same Pew Research survey.

•  “Nearly one-third of the country thinks adherents of Islam should be barred from running for president --- a slightly higher percentage than the 24 percent who mistakenly believe the current occupant of the Oval Office is himself a Muslim.”

--- Alex Altman in the second paragraph of a Time magazine story, based on a separate poll conducted for his publication.

Better route:   News writers should save the opinions, coupled with concrete evidence, for the editorial or op-ed pages.

Nude Joanna Krupa, crucifix draw PETA ad critics

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the December cover of Playboy magazine have something in common:  While miles apart in their targeted audiences, both are spotlighting bare or scantily-clad model Joanna Krupa in efforts to attract attention, finds Grumpy Editor.

Yet, it’s the photo in a PETA ad that shows Krupa completely bare. She holds a large crucifix that covers certain body parts. Large angel wings are behind her.  A halo hovers over her head.  About 20 dogs are gathered at the bottom of the illustration.

The ad’s pitch:  Be an Angel for Animals.  Always adopt.  Never buy.

It’s an attention getter. View the ad here.

Utilizing the principal symbol of the Christian religion as a prop has triggered an uproar.

"It's totally inappropriate," says Deal Hudson, publisher of InsideCatholic.com, an online magazine.

"It's another instance of disrespect toward Christianity and another example of the kind of abuse that would never occur with any other major religion because the outcry would be so immediate and so loud that the people behind it would immediately retreat,” he declares.

Krupa, born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised in Chicago, also is remembered for appearances on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

Meanwhile, Krupa’s Playboy cover art is relatively tame.

She is almost completely covered in a waist-up shot.