As an example of swift-changing remarks in Washington, D.C., Grumpy Editor cites a news conference this week when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) signaled Congress may not meet a year-end deadline in passing health care legislation.
That was news because it was the first public mention that lawmakers’ work may not be completed before 2010 rolls in.
“We’re not going to be bound by any timelines,” declared Reid. “We need to do the best job we can for the American people.”
Reporters scribbled notes.
TV and radio captured the words.
But hold on.
A few hours later, a spokesman from Reid’s office altered the Senate majority leader’s “live” remarks.
In a revised “what he meant to say,” the new line was:
“There is no reason why we can’t have a transparent and thorough debate in the Senate and still send a bill to the president by Christmas.”
This later was echoed from the White House when a spokesman related: “As Senator Reid said today, he shares the White House’s commitment to passing meaningful reform by Christmas.”
After yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement that interest rates are expected to remain low “for an extended period,” investors and other followers of FOMC action will want to keep next month’s and 2010 scheduled meeting dates handy for latest readings on the economy, reminds Grumpy Editor.
A major concern in upcoming months will be the direction of interest rates --- which can only move up from current levels.
The question is: when?
Wording in statements following each meeting will be put under the microscope, as clues will be sought from FOMC’s 12 members headed by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.
Changes in the federal funds rate trigger a chain of events that affect other short-term interest rates, foreign exchange rates, long-term interest rates, the amount of money and credit, and, ultimately, a range of economic variables. That includes employment, output, prices of goods and services plus, of course, the stock market.
While business and financial stories in coming months will mention upcoming Fed action, many writers are fuzzy in pinpointing actual dates of FOMC meetings in advance. Sometimes they come close with “next week” or “next month.”
So with one more 2009 FOMC meeting set for Dec. 15 and for easy reference in the year ahead, Grumpy Editor lists the eight scheduled 2010 meetings, including four two-day sessions:
• Jan. 26 and 27
• March 16
• April 27 and 28
• June 22 and 23
• Aug. 10
• Sept. 21
• Nov. 2 and 3
• Dec. 14
Following the meetings (or at the end of two-day gatherings), statements are released to media around 2:15 p.m., Eastern time.
As an example of how fast the Federal Trade Commission acts: 22 months after Grumpy Editor cited grumbles from TV pitches for FreeCreditReport.com, the FTC is warning that AnnualCreditReport.com “is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law.”
Grumpy Editor reported on Jan. 11, 2008 that the FreeCreditReport.com site is “getting heavy play on radio and TV these days” with catchy, toe-tapping commercials touting free credit reports, adding, “What’s interesting about the pitches is that the ‘free’ credit report service requires membership in Triple Advantage credit monitoring that costs $14.95 a month." (There also was reference to a Better Business Bureau site for interesting, mostly negative, “reviews” by users of the service.)
Confusion on “free” credit reports stems from the similarity in Web site identification.
The FTC’s Web site reported it has “received complaints from consumers who thought they were ordering their free annual credit report, but instead paid hidden fees or agreed to unwanted services.”
The stirred-up FTC this week released its own TV spots that spoof the group singing about “free credit reports.”
In one of the FTC-produced videos, a singer reminds, “AnnualCreditReport.com is the only one you can depend upon…all the others charge a fee.” See two FTC videos here.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees access to a free credit report from each of the three nationwide reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — every 12 months.
In these days with a mushrooming number of animated feature films hitting theaters, along with a proliferation of cartoons in television programming, the “cartoon look” also is increasing in magazines and newspapers, as fewer photos are being used, notes Grumpy Editor.
As the trend grows, veteran press photographers --- both freelancers and staffers --- must feel frustrated with their expensive gear sidelined.
A good example of artwork penetration was seen in yesterday’s 10-page The Journal Report section of The Wall Street Journal where seven hand-drawn illustrations were used.
The only true photo in the section, focusing on investing in funds, was of Bill Gross, manager of the Pimco Total Return bond fund. The black-and-white image was credited to Bloomberg News.
A “thumbnail” illustration of Malcolm Makin, president of Professional Planning Group, a Westerly, R.I. financial advisory firm, was art produced from a photo, a long-time Journal procedure.
But illustrators reigned supreme in the section.
Grabbing the most assignments was Wesley Bedrosian. His work, in color, topped the section’s front page with a four-column illustration along with a smaller one below the fold. Another of his color illustrations, spanning three-columns, appeared on page 6.
Other artists with contributions in the section were Robert Neubecker, Jon Krause, Gary Hovland and Rob Shepperson. The latter produced the only art that was not in color. All drawings ran four columns wide.
The sole art that tied in with the subject matter (municipal bonds) was Hovland’s.
Others, best described as “cute,” included a single red flower growing out of a brown pot to illustrate a piece on index funds.
Most weekend editors failed to pair two developments focusing on the U.S. economy: Nine banks failed on Friday --- the most in a single day since the financial crisis began --- followed by President Barack Obama, a few hours later in his Saturday address, praising recent economic developments, notes Grumpy Editor.
Strangely, most newspapers and broadcast outlets from Friday night to Sunday did not carry even a one-line mention of the nine banks.
With Friday’s failures, the number of shuttered banks this year has risen to 115, highest annual level in 17 years.
Included was 2009’s fourth largest bank failure --- California National Bank, Los Angeles, with more than $7 billion in assets and 68 branches in Southern California.
Others folding were BankUSA, Phoenix; Citizens National Bank, Teague, Texas; Madisonville (Texas) State Bank; North Houston Bank, Texas; Pacific National Bank, San Francisco; Park National Bank, Chicago; San Diego (Calif.) National Bank, and the Community Bank of Lemont, Illinois.
U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, picked up all nine, acquiring $18.4 billion in assets and $15.4 billion in deposits in the process.
Meanwhile, a few hours after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) action closing the nine banks, Obama, in his Saturday address, pointed to GDP growth after four quarters of declines and cited economic stimulus saving or creating at least one million jobs “is certainly reason to believe that we are moving in the right direction.”
Some experts --- not media --- were raising eyebrows on the oft-repeated “jobs saved” reference.
Among them:
Carnegie Mellon University economist Allan Meltzer said, “One can search economic textbooks forever without finding a concept called ‘jobs saved.’
“It doesn’t exist for good reason: how can anyone know that his or her job has been saved.”
Associated Press set the White House grumbling yesterday when the wire service reported that President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan “overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved” tied to the $787 billion stimulus program, notes Grumpy Editor.
Writers Brett J. Blackledge and Matt Apuzzo should be applauded for their efforts in reviewing an early progress report of stimulus contracts that found the government’s accounting of jobs linked to the program claimed more than 30,000 positions paid for with recovery money --- but the figure was overstated by at least 5,000.
The AP pair discovered errors in one out of six jobs credited to the stimulus program.
That represented about a 17 percent job inflation.
The AP writers also uncovered some counts were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of jobs, some jobs credited to the stimulus program were counted two and sometimes more than four times, and other jobs were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.
But not to worry, responded the White House because “it is aware there are problems.” Obama adviser Ed DeSeve told AP, “If there’s an error that was made, let’s get it fixed.”
* * * * * *
Look for additional scrutiny of government figures with new data, slated for release today, showing the stimulus program helped create or save about 650,000 jobs.
Home Depot is reaping a ton of negative publicity this week following (the now much publicized) firing of a clean-cut young male staffer wearing a button with the words “One nation under God, indivisible” over a U.S. flag background, observes Grumpy Editor.
The story, a case for free speech, broke in the Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Monday and was noted by Fox News on the same day.
It gained momentum yesterday when other TV coverage focused on the action.
Trevor Keezer, a 20-year-old Okeechobee, Fla. resident, a cashier for 19 months at the Home Depot in his home town, was terminated for wearing the button but only after bringing a Bible to work for reading during break time, he mentioned on TV interviews.
He had been wearing the button for more than a year.
With an older brother, Army Spc. Steven Keezer, Jr., slated in December to deploy to Iraq for a second tour of duty, the younger Keezer said the button was his way of supporting U.S. troops.
Keezer said he was a model employee at Home Depot and liked his job to earn money for college in hopes of becoming a nurse.
“I was cashier of the month and I’ve won six ‘Homer’ awards --- that’s the highest award you can get at Home Depot,” he told the Sun Sentinel.
A Home Depot spokesman said the company has a “proud history” of supporting the military and that it sanctions several of its own buttons for employees to wear, including one that reads, “United We Stand,” the newspaper reported.
Yes, Keezer now has an attorney.
Get ready for a double take when Sarah Palin’s book, “Sarah Palin: Going Rogue, An American Life,” hits book stores on Nov.17, predicts Grumpy Editor.
Two senior editors at The Nation are busy putting together a book with a copycat cover containing similar words, type style, layout and title, “Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare.” It is slated to reach book stores also on Nov.17.
In other “coincidences,” covers of both the true and facsimile show color photos of the smiling former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate --- attired in red jackets --- looking off to her left, with clouds in the background.
However, two distinguishing characteristics of the imitation’s cover shot: A lightning bolt in the background strikes downward from dark clouds over her left shoulder, and Palin’s hair is up (while in the true version, the style is down).
Politico.com says the mocked book is the work of The Nation’s Richard Kim, a senior editor, and Betsy Reed, executive editor, along with contributions from 23 writers.
Work on the carbon-copy book started four weeks ago, notes Politico.
Getting the lookalike package together and to book store shelves in about 10 weeks, rather than months, is quite an achievement.
Too bad other books with timely issues aren’t produced in such record time.
The lookalike book’s description terms Palin “an American obsession that just won’t go away” and examines “the nightmarish prospect of her continuing to dominate the nation’s political scene.”
U.S. newspapers’ average daily circulation fell 10.6 percent in the six months ended in September from the same six-month period last year, reflecting a growing problem for publishers and editors, notes Grumpy Editor.
The latest drop in figures released yesterday from the Audit Bureau of Circulations exceeded the 7.1 percent decline in the October 2008 to March 2009 span and the 4.6 percent drop in last year’s April to September frame.
While a chief factor for the drop-off is the Internet, with its abundance of free news, publishers and editors have been hacking away at their products, making them less appealing.
This has resulted in skimpier newspapers with less business and travel pages, fewer comics, compressed weather page, dumping of special sections, cutbacks in regional/local news and even area bureaus.
Added to this were periodic newsroon staff reductions in efforts to contain bottom lines.
To compound things, some newspapers hiked subscription rates.
Rising above USA Today as the top selling newspaper in the U.S. was The Wall Street Journal. The Journal showed the least circulation dip at 2,024,269, off a slim 0.61 percent in the latest six-month period.
No. 2 USA Today came in with 1,900,116, down 17.15 percent.
These were followed by The New York Times with 927,851, off 7.28 percent; Los Angeles Times, 657,467, down 11.05 percent and The Washington Post, 582,844, a 6.40 percent decline.
Biggest decliner in the latest period among the top 25 was the San Francisco Chronicle, with its circulation down 25.82 percent to 251,782.
While two well-known, major events occur this week --- Halloween and start of baseball’s World Series --- another is relatively new and unfamiliar, even to those who delight in eating spaghetti and meat balls, notes Grumpy Editor.
Today marks World Pasta Day 2009, an observance started in 1995.
But look for coverage mainly in food sections.
That's because a conference in New York City will attract food editors and perhaps some medical writers rather than general assignment people.
The National Pasta Association and the International Pasta Organization are behind the conference that features the world’s leading pasta manufacturers spotlighting latest nutritional and scientific research on pasta.
Presentations will include a scientific update on nutritional aspects of pasta, research on the effect of the Mediterranean Diet on Alzheimer’s, and a summary of recent research on carbohydrates.
Then, world-class chefs roll up their sleeves for demonstrations on preparing appetizing and healthy pasta recipes.
In the current economic climate, pasta is being hailed as a budget-friendly meal coupled with health benefits.
The pasta folks point out the average price of a one-pound box of pasta --- enough to feed a family of four --- is $1.33. When taking into account additional ingredients, such as sauce that goes with it, the cost of a meal comes to about 83 cents a serving.
Grumpy Editor used to mark Halloween time with a hair-raising visit to the Haunted House in Disneyland, but that is no longer necessary with Halloween Experience, a scary app for Apple Corp.’s iPhone and iPod Touch users.
Since it came out last year, Halloween Experience has been enhanced and this year made it to Apple’s "U.S. Entertainment Top 100 Paid Apps" list.
With more than 34 million iPhones and more than 20 million iPod Touch active units --- Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones and 10.2 million iPods in this year’s third quarter alone --- users of the multi-game app will find plenty of eeriness, with haunting background music, flying/cackling witches, playing spooky hangman, solving a puzzle, tilting the device in one of eight directions to hear scary sounds and, of course, carving a pumpkin.
Halloween Experience allows:
• Creating a virtual Halloween pumpkin by moving 30 facial pieces via pinch and rotate gestures.
• Working on nine versions of pumpkin creations at different times.
• Playing a Halloween-themed hangman game with more than 150 spooky words randomly displayed, coupled with a percentage score.
• Going to a haunting Tower of Hanoi puzzle game with 10 levels including a display of number of moves and time elapsed.
• Sending an e-mail of a created pumpkin directly from within the program (with 3.0+ devices).
Developer Energize Software has more details plus a demonstration video, and Halloween Experience can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store.
Halloween Experience tops the Halloween list at AppReview.com which also hails the multi-game in its “Apps Worth a Buck” list.
Grumpy Editor finds it refreshing to discover that the 162-year-old The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga., recognizes some of its readers are out of work, and to maintain their readership --- while keeping advertisers happy and circulation up --- it is offering them a three-month subscription for $1.
The offer is for residents of Murray and Whitfield counties who are receiving state unemployment benefits.
The one buck subscription can be renewed if the subscriber remains unemployed past the initial three-month period.
It’s a splendid public relations gesture by The Daily Citizen, published seven-days-a week with a circulation of about 11,000. The morning newspaper is the flagship publication of the North Georgia Newspaper Group, part of Birmingham, Ala.-based Newspaper Holdings Inc.
“The reason we are doing this is two-fold,” says The Daily Citizen publisher William Bronson. “We want area residents who are experiencing difficult times to stay connected to the community so they can read about their schools, sports and all the other activities happening, while also helping them find a job.”
The unemployment rate for Metro Dalton (Murray and Whitfield counties), as of August, is 12.5 percent.
Bronson says it is important that people looking for work are aware of the job opportunities in The Daily Citizen.
Getting the $1 deal requires bringing verification to the newspaper office that the delivery home address matches the location where the unemployment check is received.
Dalton, known as the “carpet capital of the world,” is a 25-minute drive from Chattanooga, Tenn., and about an hour north of Atlanta.
With rather strange timing, a New York Times Co. announcement of further reduction of its newsroom staff came three days after it debuted its San Francisco Bay Area edition, notes Grumpy Editor.
Executive Editor Bill Keller said The Times plans to eliminate 100 editorial jobs by year’s end. That would leave about 1,150 newsroom positions, down from about 1,330 at the news department’s peak in spring, 2008, before a prior round of cuts.
Earlier, the “newspaper of record” made deep reductions in other, non-newsroom departments, where layoffs have occurred several times.
Staffers, who earlier took a 5 percent pay cut for most of this year, weren't the only ones being hit. The Times already lowered the budget for freelancers and trimmed other expenses.
Stockholders, too, have felt the ripples. To cope with revenue declines, The Times suspended its dividend in February for the first time in four decades as a publicly-traded company.
Yet, with all the slicing, The Times last Friday unveiled its San Francisco Bay Area edition with local content that included a dining and wine section that focused on the importance of wine lists. It also lured two Northern California writers as columnists and ran local stories that included a profile of the Oakland police chief.
The effort, from a 10-person San Francisco bureau, is aimed at the affluent population segment and newcomers to the area along with hopes of siphoning readers from local newspapers.
If it works, The Times has its eyes on a similar local edition for Chicago and, later, in other key areas around the country.
The rhetorical battle between the White House and Fox News continued over the week end with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel describing the network “not a news organization so much as it has a perspective,” observes Grumpy Editor.
His comment was on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Then on ABC’s “This Week,” also on Sunday, President Barack Obama’s adviser David Axelrod declared Fox News shouldn’t be treated as a news organization.
“And the bigger thing,” he continued, “is that other news organizations, like yours (ABC), ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way.”
Referring to an earlier comment by Anita Dunn, White House communications director, who slapped Fox News by terming its output as “opinion journalism masquerading as news,” Axelrod --- apparently not aware of the difference between a TV station and a TV network --- said, “The only argument Anita was making is that they’re not really a news station…It’s not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming. It’s really not news. It’s pushing a point of view.”
Perhaps he has overlooked station, er, the MSNBC network to hear a distinct point of view that is noted for being strongly aligned with White House positions.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch informed shareholders Friday that since White House officials started criticizing Fox News, ratings have jumped.
As part of the News Corp. family, Fox News --- with a motto of “fair and balanced” in its coverage --- is available to 102 million households in the U.S. The network also has international viewers.
Fox News also operates a radio division heard through a number of U.S. stations.
It also produces a Web site featuring latest coverage, including video clips from the network's television division and audio segments from radio.
While many editors look at an anniversary story as an easy, little-effort way to fill up editorial space around ads, combine that with the fascination of earthquakes (especially in California) and one has the makings of a “blockbuster” anniversary-more danger ahead piece, notes Grumpy Editor.
Such was the case over the weekend when Associated Press marked the 20th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake known as the Loma Prieta.
The lengthy story (a half-page with art in some papers) recapped the aftereffects of the 6.9-magnitude shaker that killed 63 people, injured almost 3,800 and caused $10 billion in damage.
Then, in usual efforts to shake up readers, Jason Dearen wrote: While bridges and landmarks have been fortified, “other earthquake safety problems are far from fully addressed in this region where experts say another major temblor is certain to strike.”
Fifteen paragraphs later, Dearen recycled the prediction angle with a forecast from last year that “another large earthquake is destined to occur --- scientists in 2008 said there is a 63 percent probability of a comparable quake in the Bay area over the next 30 years.”
Forecast of another large quake is nothing new. No doubt about it, major shakers are in California’s future. The Golden State, lined with faults, is in earthquake territory.
Such predictions make the rounds, and print, three or four times a year.
Yet, long-time Californians are immune to constant reminders of “big ones” to come.
Nevertheless, look for another story in October, 2014, marking the 25th anniversary of the Bay area’s Loma Prieta quake --- with a prediction of more rumblings in the future.
As Social Security recipients received official word yesterday that 2010 will be the first year without an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since it went into effect in 1975, the other word --- stimulus --- continues to appear on other pages of newspapers, notes Grumpy Editor.
Interestingly, another story in yesterday’s newspapers, close to news of the COLA “freeze” for seniors and retirees, reported President Barack Obama will sign a $7.5 billion aid bill for Pakistan by week’s end.
Coincidentally, on the same day of the COLA freeze announcement, Obama proposed $250 payments to more than 50 million people “to make up for no increase in Social Security next year.”
Perhaps he noted a line in a news release from Michael J. Astrue, Social Security commissioner, who came up with this quote after announcing the COLA freeze: “Social Security is doing its job helping Americans maintain their standard of living.”
Sound confusing?
Enter the word: inflation.
The Social Security Act provides that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year if there is an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year to the third quarter of the current year. This year there was no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009.
Thus, according to Washington, inflation is nil, nowhere to be found.
But how non-existent is the “I” word?
Grumpy Editor did his own sampling, using shaving blades as an inflation measure. The finding: a 10-cartridge package of Gillette Sensor blades that cost $11.38 a year ago at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. now carried a $15.66 price tag --- a 38 percent increase.
By the way, those blades for Gillette, a division of Procter & Gamble Co., are manufactured in Brazil.
Now eyes will focus on Congress, which in 1989 passed an amendment giving themselves automatic, hassle-free, annual pay raises each year. Congressional salaries this year jumped $4,700 without factoring in the economic climate or performance.
Thus, with “no inflation,” one wonders if inflation-conscious House and Senate members will continue to get their usual automatic pay raise in January.
Glenn Beck is still waiting today for a call from Anita Dunn, White House communications director, via a specially-installed, red hot-line phone to his Fox News studio, observes Grumpy Editor.
Beck has an assistant, Joe, standing by (and sometimes seen on camera), ready to pick up the phone.
All this week Beck has encouraged the White House --- even sending a registered letter reminding Dunn of the “secret” phone number --- in efforts to get the administration on air to comment on what it terms Fox “mistakes” and cite “what’s not true.”
With all this going on, Beck showed a video clip of President Barack Obama, after the Senate finance committee’s vote on Tuesday in connection with the health care measure, declaring it “won’t add a penny to the deficit.”
Latest figure on health care costs over the next 10 years: $829 billion.
“The White House can call and comment on anything on this program,” Beck explained. “I would like a serious conversation with the White House.”
Dunn, who arrived at the White House five months ago and is married to the president’s personal lawyer, has been complaining much about Fox News lately.
Last week, to Time magazine, she described Fox News as “opinion journalism masquerading as news.”
Then on Sunday she said Fox News “acts as the communications arm of the Republican Party.”
That charge was compounded when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs at Tuesday’s briefing declared he found many Fox stories “not to be true.”
So during the week, Beck --- with reminders at intervals during his hour-long daily program --- has been urging Dunn to dial his studio (via the secret number known only to Beck and her office) to point out what’s not true.
So far, the red hot-line phone has been silent.
The November issue of Consumer Reports cautions that a much-advertised “free” credit report will cost you --- a revelation Grumpy Editor covered early last year.
The focus is on FreeCreditReport.com that is heavily pitched.
(Grumpy Editor reported on Jan. 11, 2008 that the site is “getting heavy play on radio and TV these days” with catchy, toe-tapping commercials touting free credit reports, adding, “What’s interesting about the pitches is that the ‘free’ credit report service requires membership in Triple Advantage credit monitoring that costs $14.95 a month." There also was reference to a Better Business Bureau site for interesting, mostly negative, “reviews” by users of the service.)
Consumer Reports mentions that when going to the FreeCreditReport.com site, “you might miss the smaller print to the left that says when you order your free report, you are automatically enrolled in the site’s credit-monitoring service. The fee: $179 per year. In other words, your report isn’t free unless you cancel the monitoring service within seven days.”
The Better Business Bureau through early September “received 10,344 complaints about FreeCreditReport.com, a site run by ConsumerInfo.com, which is owned by Experian, one of the big three credit-reporting bureaus,” points out Consumer Reports.
Confusion on “free” credit reports stems from the similarity in Web site titles.
Truly free credit reports are available via AnnualCreditReport.com. It is a centralized service that provides consumers with a no-cost credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies --- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian --- in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.
With the Columbus Day (partially observed) holiday being a rather quiet news day, CNN ran a feature segment yesterday on Living Next to the President in Chicago, something other broadcast and print media covered almost a month earlier, notes Grumpy Editor.
The delayed CNN focus was on next-door neighbors of President Barack Obama’s Chicago home who have put up their Greenwood Ave. property for sale.
Chicago media were given a tour of the home Sept. 11. This resulted in same or next day coverage by Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV and CBS radio station WBBM, among others.
The 17-room, 6,000-square foot brick home last sold for $35,000 in 1973 and the current owners have hopes of selling for about $2 million, while admitting some areas of the residence need substantial renovation.
Interested buyers will be vetted to determine whether they’re financially capable of spending at least $1.5 million on a home and why they want to live there.
Those who pass the financial screening then will be passed along to the Secret Service for a background screening before a showing can be arranged.
The home’s new owners will also have to put up with hassles. The residential block is barricaded even when the Obamas aren't home and getting on the street means being on a Secret Service list.
Imagine if a Rip Van Winkle awakens today after a 20-year sleep, rubs his eyes, squints, looks around and finds Columbus Day has almost disappeared in the United States, wonders Grumpy Editor.
Check to see if there is a Columbus Day story in your local newspaper. If not, remind the editor of the occasion.
Columbus Day has been a federal holiday since 1934, marking the time Christopher Columbus, Italian-born navigator and explorer, sailed into the New World on this date in 1492.
But strange things are happening.
Some states now snub the occasion.
Others celebrate today under another banner such as Native American Day, Indigenous Peoples Day or Discoverer’s Day.
Since 1971, Columbus Day has been marked on the second Monday of October. So this year, while appearing on a Monday, the event is being observed on the proper date: Oct. 12.
Columbus Day also brings confusion now.
The stock market is open. Federal offices are closed. The Postal Service is taking the day off. Most banks are closed. Some states observe while others don’t --- with state, county and municipal government offices, schools and libraries open.
To its credit, New York City continues the tradition --- since 1929 --- of spotlighting a major Columbus Day parade along Fifth Ave.
Newspaper headlines with large, bold type are becoming the remaining remnants to remind readers of the occasion.
However, those headlines run atop ads for department and other retail stores proclaiming:
COLUMBUS DAY SALE
In the corporate world, a communications chief --- usually someone with a strong media background --- would never be heard publicly beefing about a major news outlet. But things are different in the political world. Sounding off on a TV news network gets covered by its competitors and into print, notes Grumpy Editor.
Such is the case this week when Anita Dunn, White House communications director, describes Fox News to Time magazine: “It’s opinion journalism masquerading as news.”
Maybe she is miffed because Fox News isn’t following White House talking points echoed by other print/broadcast outlets.
Fox News stresses “fair and balanced” in its coverage and invites Democrats to spar with Republicans on news and talk shows.
As for true opinion journalism with a point of view more in line with the Obama administration, Exhibit A is cable news channel MSNBC. CNN and others are not far behind.
Fox News digs into issues that others in print and broadcasting neglect to cover.
President Barack Obama bypassed Fox News in making the network rounds last month in one-on-one interviews to push his health care plan.
Dunn, who arrived at the White House five months ago, began her career in the Jimmy Carter White House. Over the years she worked as adviser or strategist for several U.S. senators: John Glenn (D., Ohio), Bill Bradley (D., N.J.), Evan Bayh (D., Ind.), Tom Daschle (D., S.D.) and Obama when he was in the Senate.
In outlook stories --- such as with real estate investment trusts --- business writers have to be careful not to lump all companies in the same category when individual operations specialize in different segments, reminds Grumpy Editor.
Thus was the case in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story, Is REIT Rally Rooted in Reality or Wrongly Rising?
After noting REITs have rebounded big from their recent lows and “the sector is trading at a premium to the value of the underlying assets,” writer Anton Troianovski mentioned in the second paragraph: “To some stock-pickers, that is one of several signs that REITs are overvalued and a correction is around the corner.”
But the almost half-page story focuses mainly on office REITs and devotes three long paragraphs on Atlanta-based, New York Stock Exchange-listed Cousins Properties Inc., which the writer reported “posted a 3 percent loss in the third quarter --- making it the worst performer in the Dow Jones index among REITs with a market capitalization greater than $500 million.”
Cousins' portfolio includes commercial and office properties, including a troubled 25-story office tower in Atlanta.
While the office (and industrial) segment is a major part of the REIT industry's mix, others in the field --- with about 200 REITs publicly traded --- distinguish themselves by specialization:
• Retail
• Residential
• Health care
• Self storage
• Mortgage backed
• Lodging/resort
• Diversified
• Specialty
So a true REIT roundup should touch on representative companies in all categories.
As with baseball teams in the same league, some do better than others. And smacking timely home runs remain key factors.
A White House photo-op, utilizing 150 doctors wearing white coats in the Rose Garden, grabbed some TV and still camera attention but left unanswered whether the group was a typical cross-section of medical professionals around the land as debate continued on health care, observes Grumpy Editor.
President Barack Obama was photographed on the podium with three doctors prior to another pitch for health care reform.
The Monday event attracted about 150 invited doctors. Those who came without the requested white coats were provided government-issued outer garments, with the tab paid by taxpayers.
That way, reminiscent of Hollywood studios’ PR people promoting a medical movie, TV viewers --- and attending media --- could see “a sea of white coats” representing the medical profession.
It also gave the president a line to work into his remarks: “You look spiffy in your coats.”
“Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do,” Obama told the white-garbed guests. “When you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health-care system best.”
Responding to the White House “costume party,” Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), an orthopedic surgeon before becoming a congressman, said, “Today, the president wants you to believe that the medical community supports his government takeover of health care. Don't be fooled.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio) said large numbers of doctors fear it would cripple their ability to care for patients, adding, “Members of the medical community who deal with red tape day in and day out rightly recognize that the Democrats' government takeover would weaken the doctor-patient relationship that is so critical to making the right health-care decisions.”
While much has been reported on newspapers getting hammered, resulting in staff reductions, slimmer and eliminated sections or closings, magazines also are getting smacked, latest being four titles at Condé Nast, observes Grumpy Editor.
Condé Nast yesterday shuttered Gourmet, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Cookie.
Award-winning Gourmet was nearly 70 years old with a circulation of 980,000.
Nearly 200 staffers were swept out by the closings of the four publications.
“In this economic climate it is important to narrow our focus to titles with the greatest prospects for long-term growth,” said Condé Nast CEO Charles Townsend.
The latest closings follow axing of Portfolio, Men’s Vogue, Domino and men’s fashion trade magazine DNR earlier this year.
Among remaining Condé Nast publications: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Bon Appetit, Golf Digest and Self.
Interestingly, while Condé Nast’s magazine family took a major hit yesterday, its Web site still was pushing career jobs, touting:
“We are especially passionate about attracting new talent to help grow our business. If you are looking to be a part of a culture of excellence that is renowned for journalistic integrity and superior design, we invite you to explore our career opportunities and how your talent and aspirations might fit within Condé Nast.”
Print and broadcast media last week were heavy in coverage leading up to the decision on the hosting site for the 2016 Olympics and with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey beating the drums on-scene in Copenhagen for their Chicago hometown, news reports accelerated, notes Grumpy Editor.
But when Chicago was nixed Friday in the first round of voting by the International Olympic Committee --- after an initial surge of “stunned” coverage, especially in Chicago --- comments and reports quickly subsided.
After Rio de Janeiro won the hosting right, headline writers displayed their versatility in Saturday newspapers’ front pages.
Best headline, feels Grumpy Editor, went to the Wall Street Journal, which came up with a play on words: Rio throws Chicago for a Loop.
The Washington Post bannered: Chicago’s Not Their Kind of Town.
The Chicago Tribune was short and to the point: FLAMEOUT.
The Chicago Sun-Times cried: Blame it on Rio.
The Miami Herald emphasized the winning country: BRAZIL’S TIME.
The New York Times settled for: Rio de Janeiro Picked to Hold 2016 Olympics.
The Los Angeles Times reflected celebrations in Brazil: Rio parties like it’s 2016.
The Boston Globe summed it up: FUN IN RIO, NO GAMES IN CHICAGO.
The Washington Times compressed it all in six words: Rio to host 2016 Summer Games.
Other major newspapers, such as the Detroit News, Hartford Courant and San Francisco Chronicle (with only a one-sentence reference to an inside page), kept the Olympics city decision story off front pages.
Still the subject of late night comedians’ chatter, Sarah Palin’s new book --- far ahead of its Nov. 17 release date --- already is No. 1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble sales charts, notes Grumpy Editor.
That gives a quick indication of the interest in the former Alaska governor and first female Republican vice presidential candidate.
With a planned (and huge) first printing of 1.5 million copies, interest in the book, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” also could put a damper on those late-night (daytime, too) jokes.
That’s because every mention stirs up more interest in Palin, who has become, as Barnes & Noble puts it: “The most polarizing figure to emerge in American politics in decades.”
Her memoir, completed only four months after the book deal was announced, debuts on Nov. 17, moving up from its original spring release date.
Harper today unveiled the book’s cover. It shows an outdoor shot of Palin wearing a red fleece jacket with an American flag pin, eyes turned slightly from the camera as she smiles confidently toward the horizon, with a partly cloudy Alaska sky background.
“Gov. Palin has been unbelievably conscientious and hands-on at every stage, investing herself deeply and passionately in this project," relates Jonathan Burnham, publisher at Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. "It's her words, her life and it's all there in full and fascinating detail."
A hint as to contents in the 432-page book comes from Barnes & Noble:
“Sarah Palin tells the story of her Alaskan upbringing, her marriage and family life, her political career, her religious beliefs and her meteoric rise to national prominence.
“With her customary blunt common sense, she sets the record straight about the many myths and lies that have been spun around her and lays out her vision for an America that is strong, independent and free.”
One wonders if there will be a page or two devoted to David Letterman who helms CBS’ “Late Show” and, despite earlier negative reaction to unkindly and questionable jabs at the former vice presidential candidate, continues to poke Palin.
With overdraft and bounced-check fees in the news during the past week as some major banks promoted “loosened policies” in nicking account holders, the federal government offers a recently-issued Protecting Yourself from Overdraft and Bounced-Check Fees --- but a hard copy will cost $1.50, notes Grumpy Editor.
A recent study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. finds consumers in automatic overdraft programs have been getting smacked with fees ranging from $10 to $38 per item. Bounced check fees of $39 to $60 are common.
Using automated teller machines (ATMs) and credit or debit cards --- without keeping precise records of transactions --- are key contributors toward getting slapped with unexpected fees.
So the Federal Citizen Information Center and the Federal Reserve Board are coming to the rescue with information on how to avoid the sly fees that bolster financial institutions’ bottom lines.
The publication also contains budgeting techniques “to keep your checking account in good shape.”
Basic rule: Best way to avoid overdraft and bounced-check fees is to manage your account so you don’t overdraw it.
Cost in requesting the hard copy is $1.50 when payment is by check. It also can be ordered, with credit card handy, by phone at 1-800-FED-INFO.
Better yet, to view the information at no cost, Grumpy Editor suggests going here.
Remember the global warming term? That transformed into climate change. Then cap and trade popped up.
Meanwhile, greenhouse gas was sandwiched in with all the phrases --- going back to clean air --- relating to salvaging the Earth.
Now, almost like a soap manufacturer which seeks to boost sales with a flowery new name for an old bar of soap that isn’t selling well, two U.S. senators have come up with a pollution reduction bill, finds Grumpy Editor.
Strangely, that pollution reduction bill has had slim coverage in major broadcast/print media.
But there might be some movement as early as today.
That’s when, after about nine months of closed-door deliberations, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) and Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) are expected to release legislation relating to the newly-christened term, pollution reduction.
The two Democrats hope the mighty 684-page draft will kick off broader Senate negotiations and an eventual conference with the House.
They see it as a starting point in an attempt to win over moderate and conservative Democrats --- and Republicans.
Contents of Pope Benedict XVI’s speech in Prague was not the highlight of media coverage but gaining the emphasis was a black spider maneuvering on the pope’s white robe, observes Grumpy Editor.
Saturday’s address to politicians and diplomats received extensive broadcast/print coverage over the weekend and into Monday with the focus (especially via TV cameras) on the spider as it climbed the pope’s left arm, disappeared, then emerged on his right side, crawling up his neck.
The pope gave it a swat, but the sturdy spider turned up on the left shoulder and scampered down his robe, as TV cameras followed the play-by-play action.
TV news treated it like a major development.
The now world-famous spider remained unidentified.
(Some seasoned public relations folks, seeing how a spider can aid in coverage of a speech, are probably thinking now of planting a harmless arachnid on celebrity or corporate executive clients in efforts to hypo broadcast/print exposure.)
Meanwhile, no media outlet called on an entomologist to provide commentary or analysis.
Maybe next time.
It was called “frog-gate” on the Glenn Beck Show on Fox after the host tossed a green jumper look-alike into boiling water that soon branded Beck an “evil frog killer” on the Web and "boils frog to death" coverage by the Christian Science Monitor, notes Grumpy Editor.
In efforts to illustrate a point he was making, Beck, on camera, selected what looked like a frog from a container, then dumped it into a pot of boiling water.
That brought an online Christian Science Monitor story with the headline:
Glenn Beck boils cute little frog to death --- or did he?
Meanwhile, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) received a number of complaints.
“Beck the frog killer” chatter mounted on the Web.
However, anyone watching Beck’s program last Thursday would have seen that the “frog” involved was made of rubber.
After scooping the “frog” out of the pot, Beck showed it to in-studio guest John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who confirmed it was rubber.
See the frog-gate update video here.
Interestingly, few folks get excited when upscale restaurants serve frog legs as one of the main entrees, such as two pounds of battered fried frog legs topped with mushrooms. Or grilled frog legs with cornbread and purple hull peas.
Imagine the coast-to-coast uproar if Beck put on a chef’s hat and tackled those recipes à la Food Channel.
Meanwhile, PETA and others, including those concerned about birds, should be worried about a newly-discovered real frog species in the Mekong River region of eastern Thailand.
Given the scientific name limnonectes megastomias, the critter --- with enlarged fangs --- lies in wait along steams for prey that includes birds.
For PETA and others, that’s much more worrisome than a rubber frog.