Veteran newspaper editor, journalism instructor, freelance writer

Air pass offering causes PR headache for American Airlines

An American Airlines marketing gimmick is turning into a major public relations problem for the carrier and its parent, AMR Corp., notes GrumpyEditor.com.  The airline, starting in 1987 and through 2004, offered a lifetime AAirpass that, with a companion ticket, allowed …

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On-the-hour radio news leads with a story on --- evils of sunshine

Imagine you are watching preparation for a mid-day, on-the-hour ABC Radio news report and these headlines cross the desk on a busy day.  GrumpyEditor.com asks to guess which is selected to lead the brief newscast: 

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California, New York newspapers gear up to join 'community newsroom' movement

Two daily newspapers, on opposite ends of the country, announce they are going the community newsroom route as editors see it as a way to engage and involve locals, observes GrumpyEditor.com.  The Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News is doing it “to be more  …

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TV news slow in picking up HOA vs. Army veteran's swing set for kids

An April 12 story in The Dallas Morning News on a homeowners association suing an Army captain --- recently back home after nine months in Afghanistan --- over a swing set for his four children, took almost three weeks before television news jumped on the development, n …

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Expect 20th anniversary print/TV recycled coverage of Los Angeles riots this weekend

With many print/broadcast editors ever craving for anniversary stories --- partially because it’s an easy way to fill chunks of editorial space around ads or chew up TV time --- look for lengthy pieces through Sunday on the 1992 Los Angeles riots, predicts GrumpyEditor …

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Broadcast/print media quick to jump on Wal-Mart's alleged bribery in Mexico

Word that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was caught up in allegations of bribing Mexican officials to speed up growth south of the border, then trying to cover up the situation sent most broadcast/print media into overtime yesterday --- as if such activity is unusual in a foreign country,  …

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Los Angeles Times defies military, runs photos of U.S. troops, dead Afghan suicide bombers

GrumpyEditor.com notes after the Defense Department asked the Los Angeles Times NOT to run the images, the newspaper goes ahead and publishes two photos showing American troops, members of the 82ndAirborne Division, posing with the remains of suicide bombers in Afg …

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Obama raises eyebrows with repetitious line on U.S. oil 'scarcity'

GrumpyEditor.com notes that President Barack Obama, in calling on Congress to give federal regulators more authority to crack down against price manipulators, said it again yesterday at the White House: “I've said repeatedly, the problem is we use more than 20 percent  …

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For some journalism students, Fox News CEO advises them to 'change major'

“Change your major,” was Fox News CEO Roger Ailes’s advice to college students pursuing journalism as a vehicle to change or save the world, notes GrumpyEditor.com.  “If you want to bring world peace or save starving children --- both very n …

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Tasty meat recipe, with a dash of ammonium hydroxide, contains hidden ingredient

GrumpyEditor.com wonders why newspaper and magazine food writers didn’t raise eyebrows in preparing tasty meat recipes when one of the “hidden” ingredients --- used for two decades --- recently surfaced, branded as “pink slime,” a grou …

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Obama praises $141 million Boulder City solar facility: 5 jobs, no power for Nevadans

National media on President Barack Obama’s solar energy visit to the Las Vegas area on Wednesday neglected to mention that the one million glittering photovoltaic panels that served as a backdrop for his 17-minute televised speech that brought applause from the audience and …

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Florida veterans react to Obama's image on U.S. flag over Democratic headquarters

Following a Florida television station report about a desecrated U.S. flag, a dozen veterans descended on Lake County Democratic headquarters, resulting in the flag --- bearing President Barack Obama’s image replacing the 50 stars --- being removed from a flagpole at the si …

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February jobs figures coverage brings some confusion

Friday’s release of jobs figures, showing 227,000 added in February, underscores confusion in media when the U.S.

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Las Vegas unveils glittering $146 million attraction without slot machines or craps tables

Las Vegas quietly added a new attraction last week:  a sparkling $146.2 million, seven-story building with high-tech features and Italian marble floors and walls inside the main entrance --- but no slot machines or craps tables, thus not much appeal to tourists from around t …

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Repeated photos illustrating pain at the pump are pain elsewhere, too

Rather than repeated tired images of drivers filling up at the pumps and shots of gas station prices, print and broadcast editors should try something different to illustrate the soaring cost of gasoline --- run photos of U.S.

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Some words, phrases from PR folks trigger grunts from editors

For some public relations folks who like to use fluffy words in news releases that are sure to make editors grunt, a former newspaper business editor reminds them of some terms to avoid, notes GrumpyEditor.com.  The words and phrases to shun list comes from Tom Gable, f …

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Will it be ho-hum again with Feb. 23 North Korea nuclear disarmament talks?

Look for media to play the long-running six-nation talks --- tomorrow in Beijing --- focusing on North Korea nuclear disarmament like something is finally going to break, but GrumpyEditor.com feels it’s likely to be ho-hum time again. Nuclear talks regarding North …

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Abraham Lincoln's birthday gets less media attention as years go by

Few readers of Sunday newspapers were aware that yesterday marked Abraham Lincoln’s birthday ---  a sad reflection on modern editors who usually relish anniversaries as easy ways to fill up columns around ads throughout the year, notes GrumpyEditor.com.  Just …

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Groundhog Day's Punxsutawney Phil to emerge with weather outlook

Despite heavy election year news, look for Punxsutawney (Pa.) Phil to grab front page space in many newspapers following the appearance of the “weather forecasting” groundhog tomorrow, predicts GrumpyEditor.com.  With a flock of note-taking media in attendan …

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Obama pushes 'green' UPS trucks, then leads fossil-fuel-powered 22-vehicle motorcade

While national print/broadcast media traveling with the president somehow fail to observe such things, alert Kyle Gillis, an investigative reporter for Nevada Policy Research Institute counted “22 fossil-fuel powered vehicles” --- with video to back him up --- in …

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Obama visits Las Vegas, still reeling from president's anti-Sin City remarks in 2009

Most curious stop on President Barack Obama’s two days of speeches in five cities is today’s stop in Las Vegas, the place where three years ago he scolded companies that planned to hold meetings or events in the gambling mecca, which now ranks as the foreclosure capit …

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Ladies' Home Journal shelves professional contributors, welcomes amateur writers

What could be the start of something --- frowned on by veteran professional writers --- is a major content change among women’s magazines when readers start writing most of the material, debuting with the March issue of the 129-year-old Ladies’ Home Journal, note …

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Missing from the Las Vegas Strip: a PETA outcry on proposal banning dogs, feeding pigeons

While casino patrons from around the world are welcomed on the famous Las Vegas Strip, pending legislation by Clark County Commissioners would ban some dogs on public and private sidewalks plus pedestrian bridges along the five-mile stretch, finds GrumpyEditor.com.  Beh …

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Republican presidential candidates' two TV debates over weekend miss opportunities

Television viewers saw a total of three and a half hours of Republican candidates’ debates from New Hampshire over the weekend and only once was there a mention of rogue North Korea --- with zero discussion of the Communist nation pushing ahead with a nuclear weapons progra …

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San Diego Union-Tribune name change takes on collegiate flavor

With the San Diego Union-Tribune changing its name to U-T San Diego this week, some confusion has popped up, especially outside of Southern California, finds GrumpyEditor.com. Seems that the abbreviated title --- UT --- has a collegiate flavor since it al …

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  • Obama raises eyebrows with repetitious line on U.S. oil 'scarcity'

    GrumpyEditor.com notes that President Barack Obama, in calling on Congress to give federal regulators more authority to crack down against price manipulators, said it again yesterday at the White House: “I've said repeatedly, the problem is we use more than 20 percent  …

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Grumpy Editor

Articles Posted: 242
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Member Since: 12/2008Last Seen: 5/16/2012

Grumpy Editor�??s well-rounded editorial expertise ranges from covering homicides to writing front page headlines. On a major Los Angeles newsp …

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