Grumpy Editor

TRUST IN MEDIA REPORTING NEWS DROPS: GALLUP

Gallup finds Americans' trust in media to report news fully, accurately and fairly has dropped from last year, notes Grumpy Editor.

The pollster says trust fell to 36 percent, four percentage points below 2020.

Gallup reports a slim seven percent of adults have "a great deal" and 29 percent "a fair amount" of trust and confidence in newspapers, television and radio news reporting.

Combined, that puts it four points above Gallup's 32 percent record low in 2016.

These findings,  from a Sept. 1-17 poll, are the latest in Gallup's tracking of the public's confidence in key U.S. institutions that began in 1972.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

WILL HOLLYWOOD BECOME GHOST TOWN?  A strike looms for Hollywood’s major industry as its key union --- representing more than 150,000 behind-the-scenes entertainment workers --- approves a strike if negotiations over working conditions and pay break down.

 TEXAS HOUSING COSTS APPEAL.  A key reason Texas is one of the fastest-growing states is housing costs, finds a University of Texas, Austin, study.  Most homes cost under $200,000.  In California. as comparison, about 58 percent of houses cost more than $500,000. 

N.Y. LIBRARY LATE FEES GONE.  Libraries in New York City no longer will charge late fees and will waive existing fees for overdue books and other materials.

 

RARE DISH SELLS AT AUCTION.  A rare 16th century dish depicting the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah sells at auction at more than $1.7 million.  Discovered in a drawer at a Scottish house, the plate measures 11 inches in diameter and is believed to have been made by Nicola da Urbino around 1520-23.

 

RETIRED AIRCRAFT CARRIERS SELL FOR ONE-CENT EACH.  The USS Kitty Hawk and the USS John F Kennedy, warships from the Vietnam and Gulf wars, are sold for one cent each to a scrap metal dealer in Texas.

SMALL HOUSE PRICE TAG DRAWS INTEREST.  In the Boston suburb of Newton, where the median home price is more than $1 million, interest is focused on a $449,900 property for sale.  But it’s only 251 square feet, yet features a loft bed, kitchenette, skylight, room for storage in the basement and a large driveway. 

SQUIRREL STORES WALNUTS IN VEHICLE.  Bill Fischer of Fargo, North Dakota, says he removed about 42 gallons of walnuts from his Chevy Avalanche pickup truck parked outside his home, after a red squirrel selected the vehicle as its winter storage area.

ANTARCTICA ENCOUNTERS VERY DEEP FREEZE.  While this year’s summer set records for heat in the U.S., Antarctica was in a very deep freeze.  Average temperature at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station between April and September was minus 78 degrees, coldest on record, dating back to 1957.

BASEBALL GAME LENGTH GROWS.  Baseball games are getting longer.  Average time of a nine-inning Major League Baseball game this season is a record 3 hours, 10 minutes, 7 seconds.  Perhaps it’s time to speed up pitchers action from the mound.

TV REPORTING FROM FIELD CAN BE RISKY

TV reporting in the field can be perilous sometimes, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

A reporter often faces hazards such as standing in the rain, wading through a flooded street, coping with a windy snowstorm and such.

 

Latest outside live standup event has WSAZ, Dunbar, West Virginia reporter Tori Yorgey getting knocked down after getting clipped by a car. While obviously shaken, she showed what a pro she is by getting up and continuing to report…on the weather.

 

Yorgey, working solo (as many others in TV), picked up her camera and said, “I am so glad I’m okay”  while comforting the woman driver who hit her.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

HIGH RATE OF BANK OFFICE CLOSURES.  U.S. banks closed 2,927 branches last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. It comes after 2020 set the previous high as the Covid pandemic accelerated digital adoption.

 

BABY PACIFIERS RECALLED.  Nearly 334,000 baby pacifiers are being recalled because they could pose a choking risk. A posting by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes “the base of the silicone nipple has a fine slit that can cause the nipple to detach from the plastic shield, posing a choking hazard."

 

WOMAN TO HEAD L.A. FIRE DEPARTMENT.  The Los Angeles Fire Department selects a 22-year veteran --- deputy chief Kristin Crowley --- to become the first woman to lead one of the nation’s largest fire departments.

 

PET SNAKES LIVE IN HOME.  At least 124 snakes and a 49-year-old dead man are found inside his home in Charles County, Maryland.  The snakes, some identified as venomous, were in cages.

OUTER SPACE GEM SET FOR AUCTION.  A rare gem from outer space is set for a Sotheby’s auction next month.  The auction house expects the large 555.55-carat black diamond to sell for at least $6.8 million in Dubai.

 

TWO TATTOOS POPULAR.  Rasmussen Reports, in a national survey, finds 67 percent of American adults do not have tattoos, while 21 percent have two or more tattoos. 

 

 RARE OCTOPUS SEEN IN AUSTRALIA. Known for cape-like webs enclosing its tentacles, a rare blanket octopus is spotted in a “once in a lifetime” encounter off the Australian coast. 

 

 

 

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.

NBC SITS ON 'RUSSIA' EXCLUSIVE GOING AIRBORNE

Imagine this:  A major broadcast network grabs an exclusive in reporting (on the web) that the Senate Intelligence Committee has found no material evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, notes Grumpy Editor.

But in the two following days, the news does not yet go airborne.

 

Under a Washington dateline, NBC’s Ken Dilanian wrote, “After two years and 200 interviews, the Senate Intelligence Committee is approaching the end of its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to both Democrats and Republicans on the committee.”

 

Bill D'Agostino, a research analyst for Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, points out “yet none of the three major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) have given it even a single second of coverage in their evening newscasts.  Considering these networks have given the Russia probe a massive 2,202 minutes of airtime, their silence on this major development is deafening."

 

He adds, “MRC analysts examining all coverage on ABC’s World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News and the NBC Nightly News found that those 2,202 minutes spent on the Russia investigation accounted for nearly 19 percent of all Trump-related reporting between January 21, 2017 and February 10, 2019.”

Through Sunday, meanwhile, media continue to report special counsel Robert Mueller is close to wrapping up his investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russian government.  Example:  CNN's Reliable Sources with Brian Seltzer Sunday kept the investigation alive with a segment on "Russia Mueller Probe Rolls on."

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

PIECE OF AMERICANA FADES.  Minor league baseball stadium for the Hartford Yard Goats, a Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, says fans will not be buying peanuts or Cracker Jack (made famous in the lyrics of the famous, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game") to make the venue safer for people with food allergies.

NO FEDERAL TAXES FOR AMAZON.  Amazon, which doubled its profits and made more than $11 billion in 2018, won't pay any federal income taxes for the second year in a row, reports the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. 

 

SNOW FALLS LOWER IN HAWAII.  While snow usually falls in Hawaii a few times a year in winter on the state's highest peak, Mauna Kea --- the dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii, rising 13,803 in feet --- the white stuff is rarely seen at elevations below 9,000 to 10,000 feet.  But that's what happened on Maui's 10,000-foot Haleakala that received a rare thick dusting of snow that accumulated at 6,200 feet in Polipoli State Recreation Area.   

CHICAGO RANKS AS MOST CORRUPT.  Information from the Justice Department ranks the Chicago metropolitan area  as the most corrupt U.S. city.  Meanwhile, Los Angeles tops the list of the most public corruption convictions in America, based on the number of federal corruption convictions between 1976 and 2017. 

 

STOP THE PRESSES.  Grabbing space in U.S. newspapers was the earth-shaking report from Toronto about a 19-year old woman who tossed two chairs from a 45th floor balcony onto a busy street in front of her condo building's entrance.  No one was injured. 

DIRTY MONEY.  The typical Manhattan ATM is more bacteria-ridden than a wide range of other heavily-used objects, including a subway pole and the handle of a public toilet at Penn Station, reports the New York Post.

IS HURRICANE STAND-UP ROUTINE NECESSARY IN TV NEWS REPORTING?

One of the weirdest routines in television news over the years is sending into hurricanes stand-up reporters with microphones in hands, braving heavy winds and downpours, and sometimes pounding surf.

Grumpy Editor asks:  Why?

The same, or better video, can be seen with a reporter in a dry, safe studio or in a nearby TV van utilizing a securely-mounted remote on-scene camera to capture the same, or better, footage.

Over the past few days with Hurricane Florence, TV viewers saw familiar faces --- including anchors --- bending with the wind and getting splashed with water as swaying trees and wild breakers are seen in the background.

Does this enhance coverage?

Sometimes the shots are exaggerated.

A prime example, Weather Channel 's Mike Seidel, reporting live from Wilmington, N.C., is seen struggling against a heavy wind in the rain. “This is about as nasty as it’s been,” voices Seidel, leaning with the wind ---- as the camera also captures two young men in shorts walking normally without wind problems behind him. 

The Weather Channel, in defending Seidel, says its reporter was "trying to maintain his footing on wet grass” while the two people in the background were walking on concrete.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

HOUSEHOLD INCOME UP.  Median household income grows to $61,372 last year, up 1.8 percent when adjusted for inflation, while people working full time year round increase by 2.4 million, according to latest census figures .

SIGNING BONUSES FOR SAILORS.  In efforts to retain sailors with desired leadership skills, the U.S. Navy is offering senior submarine officers. for example, as much as $180,000 in signing bonuses.

 

BEETLE TO GET SWATTED.  Volkswagen plans to halt production of its iconic Beetle next July.  The Beetle was developed in Nazi Germany in 1938 and became available in the U.S. 11 years later. 

 

BEWARE OF 2020.  The next financial crisis? J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. strategists, in creating a model, figure it will be in 2020 --- but less painful that former episodes.

iPHONE MORE COSTLY IF U.S. MADE.  If produced in the U.S., as President Donald Trump is urging, an iPhone would cost 20 percent more, tallies an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

CALIFORNIA TO GO CARBON-FREE ROUTE.  California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signs into law for the Golden State to use only carbon-free electricity sources by 2045.  Thus, it joins Hawaii, the first state to go that route.

BURGLARY SHAKES UP ISLAND.  Gigha, a small island off the west coast of Scotland, sees its peace and tranquility broken by a $2,600 hotel storeroom burglary --- the first serious crime in two decades.

HIGHER PRICES SEEN CURBING SPENDING.  A Kiplinger Letter forecast notes business and consumer spending “could slow because of higher prices and heftier borrowing costs.”

BIG BOOK-BUYING DAY.  Veteran newsman-author Bob Woodward’s latest book, “Fear,” sells 750,000 copies the day after the book arrived in stores, reports Simon & Schuster.  The book deals with a dysfunctional White House.

FICTION READING SAGS.  The percentage of adults reading fiction drops to 41.8 percent last year from 45.2 percent in 2012, while poetry reading jumps to 11.7 percent  from 6.7 percent, reports the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

 

 

Media focus on ‘Russia’ as other events overlooked

Russia. Russia. Russia.

That seems to be the monotonous key word heard in most broadcast stories relating to President Donald Trump, especially with almost wall-to-wall coverage on MSNBC and CNN, notes Grumpy Editor.

Now, seven months after the election, Russia continues to grab air time and print space with mainstream media.

That includes consistent mentions of meeting with a Russian banker and a Russian ambassador --- before Trump entered the White House.

Imagine, meeting with a banker and an ambassador.

Now think about that.

As Kimberley A. Strassel points out in her Friday column in the Wall Street Journal: “The country is no better informed about exactly how Russia interfered in the election than it was in October, when intelligence agencies issued a statement expressing their belief that Moscow had helped hack emails. Not a single useful fact has since been added, nor a single investigation completed, not a single official report produced. Until those inquiries are completed, we will have no new real facts. Yet every day a new Russia story.”

With the heavy focus on Russia, newsworthy stories from around the U.S. and elsewhere are being sidetracked.

While Russia is on the minds of most media, what is being overlooked by most editors is the potential threat of North Korea and its loony leader Kim Jong-un with efforts of sending a missile toward the U.S.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday warns that North Korea is a “clear and present danger.”

Through the weekend, Russia chatter abated somewhat with a new (yet old) subject grabbing attention: climate change.

Meanwhile, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell says a MRC campaign will focus on informing the public and corporate advertisers about leftist shows and on-air personalities who use their programs to spread vicious lies and hate.

“We are putting the radical left on notice that we are on to them. We know the inside-outside game that radical organizations are playing with their leftist allies in the ‘news’ media,” adds Bozell.

“Every network and cable news channel is today on notice that the MRC will be closely monitoring their leftist opinion programs and informing their advertisers and the American public when these programs and hosts go beyond political commentary and engage in smear, hate and political extremism,” continues Bozell.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Despite mainstream media attempts to inject negative news, the U.S. economy last month added 138,000 jobs and on Friday U.S. equities rose to record levels as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all soared to new highs.

Interesting to observe contrasting headlines from the Washington Post and New York Times.

From the Post: U.S. jobs market stumbles in May, adding just 138,000 jobs.

From the Times: Unemployment at 16-year low as U.S. adds 138,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, newspaper circulation and advertising revenue ebb. Estimated total daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) at 34.6 million for weekday and 38 million for Sunday, represents an 8 percent drop from 2015. Weekday print circulation sinks 10 percent while Sunday decreases 9 percent. Estimated newspaper industry advertising revenue for 2016 was $18 billion, 10 percent below the 2015 level.

 

The New York Times offers buyouts aimed at cutting the number of editors in the newsroom. Along with that, The Times is eliminating the position of public editor, an accountability role the paper created in 2003…In a Donald Trump tweet, “covfefe” is labeled “a mysterious term” by media and gets much air time and print space over the past several days.   Example from one news agency: “The White House is keeping the U.S. and the world guessing about the meaning --- if there is any.”…City officials in Gardendale --- a town near Birmingham, Ala. --- say teenagers wishing to mow lawns for extra summer cash will have to show a city-issued license (cost: $110) before cutting grass…Berkeley, Calif. continues its war on plastic as officials introduce an ordinance that would ban straws that aren’t biodegradable…Hot cash. Would-be ATM thieves in Everett, Wash. thwarted their own burglary attempt by using a blowtorch in an attempt to access the cash box. The only problem --- they accidentally set the money on fire.

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of 1944’s D-Day in World War II.  Usually, media emphasize important anniversaries.

So will that famous event (or Russia ) grab media attention?

Reporter, PR exec, broadcaster among top stressful jobs

Newspaper reporter, public relations executive and broadcaster are among the top 10 most stressful jobs today, notes Grumpy Editor.

In its 2017 “Jobs Rated” report, CareerCast.com, Carlsbad, Calif., places newspaper reporter at No. 6, public relations executive in eighth place, followed by broadcaster in 10^th spot.

Topping the most stressful list is enlisted military personnel.

CareerCast points out “in the cases of newspaper reporter and broadcaster, working under tight deadlines and the fear of lawsuits or layoffs may cause stress."

For the tally, CareerCast evaluated 11 stress factors: travel required, growth potential, deadlines, working in the public eye, competition in the field, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered on a regular basis, own life at risk, life of others at risk, and meeting or interacting with the public at large.

And the least stressful job?

Diagnostic medical sonographer.

Read the full report at www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/most-stressful-jobs-2017

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus says, “There’s an obsession by the media to delegitimize this president, and we are not going to sit around and let it happen. We’re going to fight back tooth and nail every day, and twice on Sunday”…"Perhaps the most stark contrast between the Obama administration and the Trump administration is on global warming,” cites Climate Depot.com. It points out that climate differences were visible on Friday, just as Donald Trump was sworn in as president. That’s when the “White House website was scrubbed of all references to ‘climate change’ at exactly noon”…CBS didn’t waste any time with injecting “fears” with the change in the oval office. CBS News says a new series on CBS This Morning, “We the People,” will spotlight “Americans share hopes, fears of Trump’s presidency.” One wonders if CBS would have done the same with Eisenhower or Kennedy stepping into the White House…Media gave heavy coverage to a Boeing 747 crashing near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport --- but failed to pinpoint the location of the little-known country, as if the location was as well known as Italy or Mexico. Grumpy Editor’s history lesson for media: Kyrgyzstan, formerly known as Kirghizia, is in central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest. Now, repeat those names…Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim plans to launch a TV channel “made by Mexicans, for Mexicans” in the U.S. later this year…Seven years after Bowe Bergdahl walked off his post as an Army private first class in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban until exchanged (as a sergeant) by the Obama administration for five Taliban prisoners in 2014, he finally goes to trial in April at Fort Bragg on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy…Nigel Paul Farage, a British politician, broadcaster and political analyst who was the leader of U.K.’s Independence Party from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2016, is joining Fox News to provide political analysis...Sneaky increase:  With little media coverage, cost of buying a Forever Stamp increased two cents yesterday to 49 cents.

 

Change a Pet’s Life Day is observed tomorrow.

Adopt a homeless pet or assist one that needs medical care.

For more info: www.petmeds.org

NASA/NOAA news release, media ‘raise’ temperature

 

One reason why global warming/climate change may be alarming many folks, including those in the White House, is that some in the media, including copy editors, do not know exactly how to report weather readings, notes Grumpy Editor.

This causes a great exaggeration.

As a most recent example, Grumpy Editor offers exhibit A:

The Washington Post --- a prime news source for those in the nation’s capital, where decisions are made --- on Thursday in a report on “record” temperatures last year, staffer Chris Mooney writes 2015 “was 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit (0.13 degrees Celsius) hotter than 2014.”

Now, wait a minute.

Use of the word, degrees (plural), is highly misleading and wrong, and tossing in “hotter” only throws more heat on the controversial topic.

But the Post’s Mooney isn’t fully to blame.

A Jan. 20 NASA/NOAA news release, bearing four names as originators, also added an "s" onto degree with the line: "Globally-averaged temperatures in 2015 shattered the previous mark set in 2014 by 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit (0.13 Celsius)." 

The data, announced by Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NASA), show a minute gain of less than one quarter of one degree Fahrenheit. That’s all.

Thus, the fractional gain should be reported as 23/100^ths of a degree increase.

That’s not exactly “hotter.”

And not a torrid boost in temperature.

But politicians --- and news media --- continue to get excited.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

So guess what password still ranks high on last year’s list? It’s 1234567890, top line on a keyboard, that gets the most action, according to SplashData, a company that makes password-management applications…Boeing Co. says weaker demand in the air cargo market is triggering a cut in the 747-8 aircraft program starting in September when production on the wide-body planes will drop from one aircraft a month to one every two months…Remember when a nuclear-armed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was damaged in its Colorado silo in May 2014? Probably not. But after 20 months, investigators say three airmen troubleshooting a problem triggered the accident…A double-page ad promoting Rimowa stores in North America takes on a 1920s flavor marking “the beginning of modern air travel and the golden age of Hollywood,” with a photo showing two passengers departing a small propeller aircraft close to the world-famous HOLLYWWOD sign. Trouble is, there never has been an airstrip at the base of that world-famous sign. However, there’s one on the other side of that noted Hollywood hill --- in Burbank...Forty media organizations, continuing to seek government openness and accountability, dispatch a letter to the House of Representatives leadership. The letter expresses support for a new bill with reforms to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 

 

No kidding!

Headline on the front page in Las Vegas on Friday in connection with a former president’s visit to Sin City:

Bill Clinton

backs wife’s

presidential

candidacy

Words major media omit with Trump: temporary, illegal

 

Major media, including most columnists and on-air reporting, in quoting Donald Trump in interviews or at rallies since he announced his run, tend to leave out vital words from speeches by the Republican presidential candidate, observes Grumpy Editor.

Two potent overlooked words that have led to much discussion in print and radio-TV over the past six months are illegals and, more recently, temporary.

In early references to those crossing into the U.S. from the southern border, Trump cited illegals. But media implies all immigrants, thus stirring up a storm.  Latest word skipped in reporting Trump’s output is temporary, in connection with banning Muslims from entering the U.S.

Among latest examples are two lengthy Washington Post stories that also made the rounds in other newspapers last week. One, which had a flavor that should have put it on the editorial pages, states, “Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States marked a sudden and sizable escalation…in the inflammatory and sometimes demagogic rhetoric of the candidate…” After posting on the Web, that story --- with “temporary” nowhere to be seen --- brought more than 7,500 mostly harsh comments from readers by the next day.

The other Post story's lead mentions “the GOP presidential front-runner’s call to bar Muslims from entering the United States…” and is repeated some paragraphs later --- with “temporary” not appearing in the text.

Smaller dailies also jump in. For example, the Las Vegas Sun, in a long editorial last week, cites “The compelling reasons why Donald Trump is unfit for the White House continue to mount, the latest being his threat to ban Muslims from entering the United States…” “Temporary” is left out.

Not all newspapers skip the “temporary” word. A front-page Wall Street Journal story at the same time leads off with “Donald Trump’s call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S…”

            +                          +                          +                        

Survey backs Trump on Muslims plan

Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslims coming to the U.S. has the support of a sizable majority of Republicans and a plurality of all voters, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted Dec. 8 and 9.

Rasmussen finds 66 percent of likely Republican voters favor a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists while 24 percent oppose the plan, with 10 percent undecided.

Among all voters, the survey shows 46 percent favor a temporary ban while 40 percent are opposed and 14 percent are undecided.

 

(See Gallup "confidence" survey taken on same days, below.)

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

CONFIDENCE IN U.S. PROTECTION DROPS. Americans’ confidence in government protection from militant attacks falls to its lowest level since 2003, according to data from a Gallup poll Dec. 8 and 9, the same days as the Rasmussen survey.

HAPPY DAYS? The Federal Reserve reports U.S. households saw a $1.23 trillion drop, or 1.4 percent decline, in net worth in the third quarter. Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center study reveals the U.S. middle class no longer is the majority, now only 50 percent of the adult population, down from 61 percent in 1971.

MOVIES BETTER THAN EVER? In connection with the upcoming Oscars, Stephanie Merry in the Washington Post says, “this time around the movies are more than serious. They’re nightmare-inducing. You’ve got a bear trying to eat a man and slow-motion throat-slitting; a teenager held captive in a shed and dead bodies hidden behind drywall."

KEEPING THE NEWS STAFF BUSY. A San Bernardino “massacre spurs interest in gun buying” story in the Los Angeles Times sports a mighty five bylines.

GETTING THE DATE RIGHT. A Reuters story on gun control activists is accompanied by a Reuters photo showing four handguns displayed side by side with a caption pinpointing the date the picture was taken --- Nov. 13, 2014 --- just in case the weapons changed somewhat with age.

JUMPING TO A CONCLUSION ---

A Fox News headline on the Web sums it up:  Burglary suspect hides in Florida lake where gator eats him.

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Major Garrett deserves a boost in "rank" to colonel

In pursuit of information, journalism students are urged to ask solid, often tough, questions in efforts to gain a full picture, reminds Grumpy Editor, who once taught a news writing course at a California university.

So when Major Garrett, CBS News’ chief White House correspondent asked President Barack Obama at a press conference last Wednesday why he was “content” with the Iran nuclear deal --- with nothing said about negotiations on releasing four Americans (including two journalists) being held in Iran --- an irritated president admonished Garrett by saying, “that’s nonsense, you should know better,” adding, “nobody’s content and our diplomats and our teams are working diligently to try to get them out.”

Garrett, a 1984 University of Missouri graduate with journalism and political science degrees, later said it was odd that the hostages were not part of the negotiations and he didn’t mean to imply that the president was “content” leaving Americans hostage, adding the administration has used the phrasing multiple times before with families of the hostages.

Surprisingly, some members of the White House press corps attacked Garrett as “disrespectful.”

“All I was trying to do was elicit from the commander-in-chief where these four Americans in Iran fell in his prioritization of obtaining a nuclear deal and whether he fought for their release,” said Garrett.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

President tackles two New York City fundraisers in four days.  After a Friday night fundraiser that raised nearly $1 million, President Barack Obama and his two daughters strolled through Central Park late Saturday morning.  But it wasn’t a quiet, hardly-observed walk.  With them were about four dozen Secret Service agents plus New York police officers on scooters and an overhead helicopter.  The president was due to fly in for another New York fundraiser on Tuesday…Not getting attention of news editors in the wake of shooting deaths of four Marines and a sailor at a military post in Chattanooga, Tenn., were quick decisions by governors of several states directing their state flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those victims --- yet President Obama has not directed the U.S. flag be lowered to half-staff at the White House and other public buildings…A bit off course.  Covered heavily on television, a major brush fire Friday that ignited about two dozen vehicles and halted traffic on California's busy I-15, a key highway to and from Las Vegas, was pinpointed by a MSNBC host as “east of San Diego” when the precise location was 115 miles to the north, near Victorville…A Friday Wall Street Journal opinion piece on “immigrant bashers” mentioned “immigrant” or “immigrants” 16 times without reference to “illegal.”  The material came close, however, with “immigrants in this country unlawfully, whether they overstayed a visa or crossed a border, should be required to face serious consequences to make amends”…Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's new book, “A Time for Truth,” finally made the New York Times best seller list (as No. 7 in the non-fiction category) a week after the newspaper rejected it as a best seller, claiming sales were inflated by "bulk purchases”…A tally by Rasmussen Reports found 55 percent of likely voters are opposed to the president’s immigration amnesty while 34 percent favor.  In addition, 63 percent feel “gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States” --- highest level of support for more border control since December, 2011…Democrat California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that eliminates reference to husband and wife, replacing each with the generic term “spouse”…After publishing for 46 years, The National Journal will end publication of its print magazine at year end and shift resources to digital journalism.

Tired of constant media references, with accompanying stock market gyrations, to upcoming rising interest rates?

No end is in sight.  First it was by June, then September, then October, now “later this year.”

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Swarm of earthquakes shakes up some news outlets

Grumpy Editor finds the Los Angeles Times newsroom gets excited over the word “earthquake” and via its website or print version almost daily reports shakers (no matter how small), mostly in California.  On Friday the newspaper came up with:  Swarm of earthquakes in Nevada desert is intensifying

The swarm’s location, to be precise, is about 525 miles from the L.A. Times building at 1^st and Spring Streets in Los Angeles.  The report pinpointed the location in Nevada’s extreme northwest corner, 50 miles southeast of Lakeview, Ore., a sparsely-populated area. 

The report, by a staff writer, pointed out “about 750 earthquakes, mostly magnitude 2.0 to 3.0, have struck the area” since July. 

Deep into the story, John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, said:  “It doesn't necessarily mean anything big is coming, but it does raise the risk there will be a bigger quake in the future.  Ninety-nine percent of the time nothing too dramatic happens, but every now and then there is a good pop and everyone asks why we didn't predict it."

Other media picked up the report.  But the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada’s largest newspaper, didn’t run the swarms information until two days later.  It covered the subject in nine sentences via Reuters.  

CNN on Saturday mentioned, ‘The vast majority of the current Nevada swarm's quakes have been undetectable to people walking around on top of them.”

In San Francisco, where talk of earthquakes easily shakes up residents, KCBS radio’s website on Friday spotlighted the event under the headline:  Ongoing Earthquake Swarm In Nevada Increasing Chances For A ‘Big One’ 

USA Today jumped into the shaker act on Saturday picking up, in part, information contained in the L.A. Times and CNN stories. 

Most interesting, however, was the earthquake swarms story on Nov. 6 (a day before the L.A. Times version) in the Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Ore.  It was written by the newspaper’s editor, Gerry O’Brien --- from a press release.

 

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This just in:  Continuing its focus on earthquakes, today’s L.A. Now section on the L.A. Times website reports a magnitude 4.1 shaker at a depth of 6.8 miles in the Pacific with the epicenter 69 miles from Newport Beach in Orange County.

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IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…  

A reminder as frigid Arctic air makes its way today to the central plains and then eastward with temperatures 20 to 40 degrees below normal: A recent Gallup poll found concern over climate change ranked last among 16 issues voters cared about in the midterm  elections…In the “huh?” department.  The lead to a story in the Nov. 6 Wall Street Journal:  "Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. reported a wider third quarter loss"…  Then the next day in the newspaper's “The Good News” portion of “Stocks in the News” feature:  Tesla stock was up $10.25 a share stemming from, as the WSJ put it: “The electric car maker beat earnings forecasts”…A top-of-the-hour ABC News item on radio Friday focused on Home Depot announcing about 53 million customer email addresses were stolen by hackers.  That was in addition to earlier reports that 56 million credit card accounts were compromised.  That news was followed by a Home Depot commercial…How many times with the same “warning” over the past few months?  Federal Reserve officials on Friday warned about market turbulence as the central bank prepares to raise short-term interest rates next year…Reuters decided to stop allowing readers to comment on its online stories…As Thanksgiving approaches, a reminder from the Associated Press Style Book on bread-related items:  With breadbox, breadcrumb, breadstick and cornbread, keep it a single word.  But not bread pudding…Operation United Assistance, the U.S. military mission to combat Ebola in West Africa, likely will last until 2016, according to Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 

After Tuesday’s voting results, Harry Reid (D-Nev.), outgoing Senate majority leader who has shelved hundreds of House-passed bills, declared:  “I look forward to working with (incoming Republican majority leader) Sen. McConnell to get things done for the middle class.”