CNN Reporter Arrested for Having an 'Oba-Mao' T-Shirt in Beijing

CNN's Emily Chang writes about her experience in Beijing trying to get a hold of an "Oba-Mao" T-shirt that has been banned by the Chinese government.

We found nothing but could not be sure they hadn't sold them there before. So, I chose that opportune moment to do a piece to camera with the shirt in hand. Bad move? Maybe. But it ended up being great television.

Two security guards happened to pass by at the moment I announced to the camera: "This is the T-shirt everybody is talking about." And that was it. They scrambled toward us and tried to pry the shirt out of my hands. I didn't give in.

Technically, we did not have permission to film in the market. And the security guards scolded us for not getting permission ahead of time.

There was a bit of yelling and quite a scuffle. My producer Jo Kent emphatically stated our case. Photographer Miguel Castro kept his cool. By this point, we had everything on tape.

We ended up being detained for two hours in the cold maze of a market. A crowd gathered round. More security and then police showed up. They wanted our press cards, our passports, but most of all, they wanted the shirt.

Ultimately, they confirmed that we were indeed "real" journalists (that is legally reporting in China.) But that didn't stop them from scolding us and making it very difficult to leave. After asking repeatedly and then one last time for the shirt, I refused.

Finally, they let us go. Phew!

Now It's Sarah Palin vs. the Media

The Week takes on the new Sarah Palin vs. The Media squabble over the fact-checking of her book, "Going Rogue." Here are some of its findings:

"The blogosphere has been busy truth-squading [Sarah Palin's new memoir] 'Going Rogue,' reports The New York Times, calling the Associated Press's debunking of the book's claims an unusually "sharp-elbowed" dispatch. Conservative blogs have posted detailed rebuttals, and Palin herself, via her Facebook account, has condemned the AP's decision to devote 11 fact-checkers to produce "erroneous" "opposition research" when they could have been fact-checking "Sheik Mohammed's trial, Pelosi's health care takeover costs, [and] Hasan's associations." Is Palin wise to wage war against perceived media bias? (Watch a discussion on whether the media treats Sarah Palin fairly)

The excessive AP attack justifies Palin's angry defense: This media abuse has gotten ridiculous, says Mark Steyn in National Review. The AP "assigned 11 writers to 'fact-check' Sarah Palin’s new book," and the resulting 695-word report came up with nothing even remotely "earth-shattering." So "if you wonder why American newspapering is dying..."

Fighting with the press never ends well: "Going to war with the Associated Press is as dumb as going to war with Fox News," says Don Surber in the Charleston Daily Mail. Just ask President Obama. "Sarah Palin should leave the criticism of the media to others. We like our leaders a little above the fray."

With her shrewd counterattack, Palin is channeling Reagan: Ronald Reagan didn't fight with the media, says Dan Riehl in Riehl World View. Instead, "he went over the media's head directly to the American people." By exploiting Facebook and the like, Palin's doing much the same thing. And "don't be surprised if it works, even as the media and some old-line politicos point how what a bad idea it is."

Sunday Morning News Shows

Here's a snippet of this morning's news shows from POLITICO.

Clinton Would Accept a Coffee With Palin

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told NBC's David Gregory today on "Meet The Press" that she would happily accept an offer from former Gov. Sarah Palin to sit down for a coffee, as mentioned in Palin's new book, "Going Rogue."

"I absolutely would look forward to having coffee. I've never met her. And I think it would be very interesting to sit down and talk with her. I've got more than I can say grace over to read, but obviously, in the next week there's gonna be a lot of attention paid to her book. And I'm sure that I'll see excerpts printed and you know, snippets of interviews as I, you know, channel surf in Singapore and in Shanghai and in Beijing. But you know, I'm ready to have a cup of coffee."

Palin wrote: "Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we would fundamentally disagree on many issues. But my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail."

Clinton did say she would also talk about politics: "Maybe I can make a case on some of the issues that we disagree on."

CDC Estimates 14 Million to 34 Million Cases of Swine Flu (H1N1) So Far

There have been between 14 million and 34 million cases of 2009 H1N1 between April and Oct. 17, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday.

It estimates that 2009 H1N1-related deaths range from 2,500 to 6,000.

The report also said that between about 63,000 and 153,000 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations occurred during that time period.

The CDC warned that the estimated ranges generated by this methodology provide a sense of scale in terms of the burden of disease caused by 2009 H1N1. It may never be possible to validate the accuracy of these figures. The true number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths may lie within the ranges provided or it’s also possible that they may lie outside the ranges.

This methodology is not predictive and cannot be used to forecast the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths that will occur going forward over the course of the pandemic because they are based on actual surveillance data.

Pictured is a negative stain EM image of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A/CA/4/09 that was taken by C. S. Goldsmith and A. Balish of the CDC.

LA Times: How Low Will Obama Go in Bowing Before Emperor Akihito?

The Los Angeles Times asks the question this morning after President Barack Obama greeted Japanese Emperor Akihito today with a very low bow, which is often seen as a sign of great respect and deference to a superior in Japan.

The photo is sure to garner the ire of the conservative pundits for the next few days.

This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference to a superior.


To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better. Remember Michelle Obama casually patting Britain's Queen Elizabeth on the back during their Buckingham Palace visit? America's royalty tends to make movies and get bad reviews and lots of money as a sign of respect.

Obama could receive some frowns back home as he did for his not-quite-this-low-or-maybe-about-the-same-bow to the Saudi king not so long ago.

The story also compared Obama's posture to how Gen. Douglas MacArthur presented himself to the emperor.

As the conquering Allied general and then presiding officer of the U.S. occupation, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, decided to allow Japan to keep its emperor as a ceremonial unifying institution within a nascent democracy.

Tojo, on the other hand, was hanged.

MacArthur treated Emperor Hirohito respectfully but, as his body language in this black and white postwar photo demonstrates, was not particularly deferential.

(But then MacArthur was not known as a particularly deferential person, as Truman discovered just before firing him later. But that's another war.)

Anita Dunn's Final Parting Shots at Fox News

Sam Stein of The Huffington Post today wrote about Anita Dunn, the outgoing interim White House communications director, and her parting shots at Fox News:

The outgoing administration spokeswoman took a clear and enjoyable dig, first at Sean Hannity for recently airing spliced footage designed to make a crowd of anti-health care protesters seem bigger than reality.

"A fun fact from this week is that an opinion show on a certain news network was using edited footage to make it appear that a rally last week, and political opposition to the president, was much larger than it appeared," said Dunn, during her appearance at the Bloomberg News Washington Summit. "Some of you may have heard about it. The people who went in and did fact checking on that, and actually exposed the spliced edited was... Jon Stewart of the 'Daily Show' on Comedy Central. Well that is where you are getting fact-checking and investigative journalism these days folks. It is a different media environment."

Showing an even greater appreciation for the "Daily Show"'s Fox News fact-checking abilities, Dunn referenced another Stewart triumph later in her question-and-answer session.

"Jon Stewart actually did one of the most amazing pieces of journalism last week or a couple of weeks ago," she said, "in which he looked at the way Fox, on their opinion shows, raises some issue that then gets reported on by their news division as 'a controversy.' ... Now, that's a point of view. That's fine. That's entertainment. It helps their ratings. But I think if you go downstairs and walk through the Newseum that's not traditionally what you think of as traditional news -- to some extent inventing the story."

Approached in the halls outside the forum, the Huffington Post asked Dunn to put Glenn Beck's recent theatrics into the context of her critiques of Fox News's coverage. She chuckled. For the past few weeks, Beck has insisted that the outgoing communications director considers Mao Zedong a political hero and has put a red telephone on his set begging for her to call and explain her political dispositions.

"I think it was news to everybody who knows me," she replied. "You know, most media consultants usually are accused of other things, but that's not one of them."

Last month, Dunn got caught up in a war of words between the White House and Fox News when she made the rather bland observation that the network carries a Republican agenda. On Friday, she was asked whether she considered MSNBC to have a counter-balancing bias -- a common retort offered by Fox's defenders. Dunn replied by noting that for three hours every morning that network handed over its programming to "a former Republican congressman who was a member of Newt Gingrich's revolution": Joe Scarborough.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Dunn acknowledged that her decision to go after Fox News was not an example of her "going rogue." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and perhaps even the president himself gave her the green light ...

Bucking a Trend, Two Brothers to Start a Newspaper in Detroit

Mark and Gary Stern, two brothers who are veteran publishers, announced today that they plan to launch a daily newspaper for the Detroit area, The Associated Press' Jeff Karoub reported.

Brothers said Friday they'll start publishing the Detroit Daily Press on Nov. 23, selling it for 50 cents daily and $1 on Sundays. Home delivery starts Nov. 30 in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

The paper's 60 full-time employees, many with experience at Detroit newspapers, are using the former offices of The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak, which moved to the offices of sister publication The Macomb Daily.

"We are affordable, both to the advertiser and the reader," Mark Stern told The Associated Press before a news conference.

He said he and his brother called themselves out of retirement when they learned of the Detroit newspapers' plans to scale back home delivery. The brothers also said they seek to start more daily newspapers in other metro areas, focusing on places where papers have shut down or scaled back.

The Sterns ran daily newspapers in Detroit in 1964 and 1967; New York in 1978; and Minneapolis in 1980 when workers at those cities' major newspapers went on strike.

Mark Stern, 64, published weekly dining and entertainment publications for 22 years in Fort Lauderdale, where he now lives. Gary Stern, 67, now lives in the Atlanta area. The Sterns, both Detroit natives, say they will also maintain a residence in the area.

New York Times News Service Trims at Least 25 Staffers

The New York Times News Service will dismiss nearly eyeryone on its editorial staff and will move the news operation to the Gainsville Sun, the service announced yesterday through a report in The New York Times.

David Kaplin writes on PaidContent.org:

The NYTNS edits and syndicates articles from the NYT and more than 100 other sources. It acts like the NYTCo’s version of the AP. It also provides videos and photos to members of its syndicate, as well as features for weekly newspaper supplements.

There’s some dispute about how many of the NYTNS editors and writers will lose their jobs. The NYTCo (NYSE: NYT) says that the 25 of total 30 staffers will be let go, while the Newspaper Guild, which represents the employees, claims that 28 are being dismissed. Either way, the numbers of laid of news service staffers will not count toward the 100 cuts the main NYT newsroom is looking to make by the end of the year.

The layoffs that the NYTNS effectively leave the operation shuttered in New York. By moving it to The Sun in Florida, the NYTCo will have the paper’s less-costly non-union staff handling the duties of running the service. There was no indication as to how much the company would save on the changes or how much the layoffs would initially cost.

Speaking if the non-union workforce at the NYTCo, the company said it would stop cease contributions to their pensions when the year draws to a close. Instead, the NYTCo would take 3 percent of their wages each year and put that in non-union staffers’ 401(k) plans. No word on how much that move would save either.

Here is the Guild's memo as published on Romenesko:

Times to Subcontract News Service

Times management informed the Guild late this afternoon that the company intends to subcontract the work of the News Service. Management representatives told the Guild the work will be sent to the Gainesville Sun, a property owned by The New York Times. The subcontracting would impact all 28 Guild staffers – one assistant to the editor, two editors, 23 staff editors, one news assistant and one news clerk.

After members had been informed by management of the subcontracting, the Guild met with the affected employees to answer questions and inform them of their rights under the collective bargaining agreement. Under the contract, The Times has given the contractually required notification to the Guild, which triggers a 60-day period that allows the Guild an opportunity to try to avert the subcontracting. The Guild, as always, will monitor the situation and keep members informed.

Times Freezes Nonunion Pension Plan

The Times this morning also announced it will freeze the nonunion pension plan, effective December 31, 2009. This action will not impact the Guild/Times Pension Plan that covers Guild employees, which was left unclear in a communication put out by the company earlier today. Because the Guild/Times pension is protected under our contract the Times cannot make unilateral changes to it.

While The Times has frozen the exempt pension plan and increased the cost of the exempt health care plan, the company cannot make these unilateral changes for Guild covered employees, thanks to our contract.

#####

Colorado Springs Gazette Lays Off 11 Employees

The Colorado Springs Gazette, a Freedom Communications Inc. newspaper, laid off 11 employees today, President and Publisher Steve Pope announced.

Seven employees are from the newsroom, three are from circulation and one is from advertising.

Wayne Heilman of the Gazette writes:

The cuts here included seven employees in the newsroom, three in circulation and one in advertising, leaving Colorado Springs’ only daily newspaper with a staff of fewer than 300, Gazette President and Publisher Steve Pope said Friday. The Gazette employed nearly 500 people in early 2007 but has cut its staff through attrition and several rounds of layoffs as competition from online advertising outlets has reduced advertising revenue across the industry.

Deteriorating economic conditions in Colorado Springs, particularly among retailers, auto dealers and the real estate industry, prompted cuts in The Gazette’s budget for 2010, which triggered the layoffs, Pope said during a meeting with employees. The company tried to avoid layoffs through mandatory furloughs, a 5 percent salary cut for all employees and a variety of cost-cutting measures this year, including trimming pages from the printed newspaper, he said.

Freedom has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since Sept. 1.

I was a staff editor at the newspaper in the mid-80s, when times were good and circulation was growing with the town. But it's a different story now, as Pam Zubeck writes for the Colorado Springs Independent.

Things are so tight that Colorado Springs' daily newspaper has relinquished its credentials to cover the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, the first time it will pass on covering any Olympics with its own personnel since the U.S. Olympic Committee relocated to Colorado Springs in 1977.

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations report shows the Gazette's Sunday circulation plunged by 10.6 percent in a 24-month period ending Sept. 30, dropping to 84,265, while the weekday count lost 12 percent to 63,404. Those figures represent average paid circulation at 50 percent or more of the subscription price.

2009 Weblog Awards

If you're happy with my efforts here, vote for News Cycle in the 2009 Weblog Awards in the Best Large Blog category (my Technorati Authority is 496 as of today. Four more and News Cycle joins the Very Large Blog category!

Commentators React to Dobbs' Departure From CNN

Here's a short one-minute snippet of reactions to Lou Dobbs sudden departure from CNN. It was compiled by POLITICO. Most everyone was gracious to Dobbs with the exception of Keith Olbermann and The New York Times, who both showed their class once again.

In addition to his on-air comments, Olbermann had this advice for Dobbs' soul on POLITICO's Arena:

I can only say that I always wondered if his stance on immigrants, legal or otherwise, took a bigger toll on him than on the immigrants. This is, whether he or others will admit it, a Hispanic issue, and not only are Lou's wife and kids Hispanic but the daughters are in the Horse Show game, which, after the restaurant industry, is the top employer of undocumented immigrants in this country - and Lou helps pay them. If that isn't the ultimate hypocrisy, it must be the ultimate self-contradiction and very painful psychologically.

I worked with Lou as long ago as 1981 and I never heard any of this back then. He's always been a bully and one of those put-up-your-dukes clowns, but I think the immigration stance was mostly opportunistic. The insincerity of the xenophobia would explain how he went from 2nd place to 4th.

As to what he should do next, his soul would benefit from a few years at Telemundo.

The New York Times used up valuable Editorial Page space to make this comment:

Lou Dobbs has left CNN, or maybe the other way around. Whichever it is, an old, odd, infuriating-to-many mismatch of sober network and strident host is over. CNN, for now anyway, changes back to something closer to the nonpartisan, straight-up news network it wants you to think of it as, different from its ideologically branded rivals Fox News and MSNBC. The real question is the effect the change will have on Mr. Dobbs.

Mr. Dobbs, once a pinstriped purveyor of financial news, has burrowed deep into the popular culture as a self-styled populist enraged by illegal immigration. When he resigned on the air Wednesday night, he made it clear that that aspect of his public persona is not going away. He listed immigration along with jobs, the middle class and war as among the issues urgently needing his kind of honest, straightforward examination.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “these issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion.”

Mr. Dobbs couldn’t have phrased a more apt criticism of himself. He calls himself Mr. Independent, but he is far closer in style and method to the right-wing ranters who mold the facts to shape the argument on television and on AM radio, where Mr. Dobbs still has a show. Mr. Dobbs’s CNN program has long been a nesting ground for untruths and conspiracy theories: fretting over a nonexistent, immigrant-borne leprosy epidemic; questioning President Obama’s citizenship; issuing dark warnings about the “North American Union,” a supposed plot to strangle United States sovereignty.

It’s hard to pinpoint how much damage these kinds of ideas have done to the national discussion of illegal immigration, but they have been corrosive. Solutions have withered as many politicians parrot the central myth that people desperate to seek new lives in the United States are an affliction to be feared, not an opportunity to be engaged, future Americans who could enrich the country as immigrants always have and will.

Now Mr. Dobbs has pledged to “engage in constructive problem solving.” Here is a problem to solve constructively: Illegal immigrants are, as Mr. Dobbs likes to say, decent, honest, hard-working people. They are exploited by greedy corporate interests. They are not about to deport themselves, and we aren’t about to deport them all.

It’s a problem to which Mr. Dobbs has never really offered an answer. Perhaps someday he will.

Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN After Tonight's Show

CNN host Lou Dobbs told The New York Times this evening that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.

“Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving,” Mr. Dobbs said just after 7 p.m., suggesting that he would remain involved in the civic discourse, but perhaps not on television.

“I’m considering a number of options and directions,” Mr. Dobbs added.

Wednesday’s program will be his last on CNN, one of his employees said earlier in the evening.

Once Again, Newspaper Layoffs Ease in October

Newspapers in the United States reported that they dismissed 375 people from their jobs in the month of October. It's the third consecutive month that the reported number of newspaper employees losing their jobs has been below 425 people.

The biggest cut came from The New York Times, which reported that it would let go 100 people.

The slowdown in newspaper job losses comes at a time when there are postive signs in advertising revenue. For instance, Times Co. president and chief executive Janet Robinson told Chris Lefkow of Agence France Presse that, "We have seen encouraging signs of improvement in the overall economy and in discussions with our advertisers. Early in the fourth quarter, print advertising trends, in comparison to the third quarter, have improved modestly, while digital advertising trends are improving more significantly."

Here is the list for October:

Oct. 29: The Wall Street Journal, nine people as the Boston bureau is closed.
Oct. 21: The Midwest City (Okla.) Sun ceases publication. The twice weekly will lay off 10 people.
Oct. 20: Los Angeles Times, at least 30 people.
Oct. 19: The New York Times, 100 newsroom employees.
Oct. 19: The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., at least 40 employees, 16 from the newsroom.
Oct. 18: Gannetoid.com now reports 1,514 people laid off from Gannett publications this year. This is 40 more than the Sept. 9 posting.
Oct. 16: La Frontera of McAllen, Texas, ceases publication. The number of employees laid off here was not released by Valley Freedom Newspapers, the chain has said 70 people have been laid off in the past 18 months.
Oct. 13: The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 50 people.
Oct. 12: The Modesto (Calif.) Bee, seven people.
Oct. 2: The Decatur (Ala.) Daily, 19 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Obama Honors Slain Heroes at Fort Hood

Here is President Obama at today's ceremony honoring the fallen at Food Hood.

Tancredo Storms Off MSNBC Set During Interview With Moulitsas

Former GOP congressman Tom Tancredo walked off the set last night during a discussion about health care with Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and David Shuster.

Shuster, who was sitting in for Ed Schultz on his MSNBC show, asked Tancredo whether the Veterans Administration, which is a single-payer system, is also a "threat to our freedom."

Tancredo said there were problems with the VA and told Moulitsas he should talk more to veterans. Moulitsas responded by saying; ""I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam." The former congresman from Colorado soon left the set.

Moulitsas is a veteran, and Tancredo got a 1-Y deferment from serving during the Vietnam war, meaning he was qualified for military service only in time of national emergency due to his depression.

Pelosi's Bill: Buy a $15,000 Health Care Policy for Your Family or Go to Jail

Ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) yesterday released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail.

The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

"Although premiums under H.R. 3962 would vary by geographic area to reflect differences in average spending for health care and would also vary by age, the table shows the approximate national average for that lower-cost reference plan —about $5,300 for single policies and about $15,000 for family policies in 2016," according to a CBO letter by Douglas W. Elmendorf, director, sent to Rep. Charles Rangel on Nov. 2.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Criminal penalties could range from misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year or a felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.”

Fox's Shepard Smith Apologizes for Unbalanced Report on N.J. Race

Fox News correspondent Shannon Bream had a live interview on Tuesday afternoon with New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie. Afterward, Shepard Smith said on air that Jon Corzine, the Democratic incumbent, should have been interviewed too, and he apologized. Later that evening, Fox included a sound bite of Corzine.

Wall Street Journal's Frank Says Obama Was Right About Fox

Thomas Frank writes today in The Wall Street Journal that President Barack Obama was right about Fox, but his administration should have taken a different approach in attacking the network.

To point out that this network is different, that it is intensely politicized, that it inhabits an alternate reality defined by an imaginary conflict between noble heartland patriots and devious liberals—to be aware of these things is not the act of a scheming dictatorial personality. It is the obvious conclusion drawn by anybody with eyes and ears.

Still, one wishes that the Obama administration had taken on Fox News with a little more skill. As cultural criticism goes, this was clumsy, plodding stuff. What the situation required was sarcasm, irony, a little humor. Simply feeding Fox a slice of raw denunciation was like dumping gasoline into a fire. It did nothing but furnish the network with a real-world validation of its long-running conspiracy theories—and a nice bump in its ratings.

Calderone: Balanced Reporting Losing Ground to Partisan Media

Michael Calderone of POLITICO this morning looks at a possible connection between declining circulation in American newspapers and CNN's dead-last finish in ratings behind the partisan competitors of Fox and MSNBC.

Eric Alterman, a media columnist for the Nation, and a frequent critic of the MSM, thinks they are. "Non-partisan news, and news aimed at a broad audience, doesn't have the cache, and therefore the consumer base it once had,” Alterman said. “The whole notion of citizenship has been declining for decades now.”

With the proliferation of media across platforms these days, there’s less shared knowledge among people, who are increasingly heading to niche outlets for information. At the same time, there’s a large appetite for the new media world where the MSM gatekeepers no longer hold as much clout, and “he said, she said” journalism gives way to strong point-of-view. Just last night, NYU hosted a debate among prominent journalists on the subject: “Good Riddance to Mainstream Media.”

And in today’s cable news universe, Alterman said, “politics without a slant, without a point-of-view, is interesting to very few people.”

That’s probably one thing that the Nation writer and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly agree on.

O’Reilly, host of the top-rated cable news show, told an audience last week that networks need to give viewers “a product that is entertaining and informative.” As for his 8 p.m. rival on CNN, O’Reilly said: “Nobody watches Campbell Brown. You have to evolve if you want to survive in the commercial world. If you are going to do a straight newscast in primetime, you are going to lose.”

Brown is not only losing to O’Reilly and a partisan on the left, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, but also to Nancy Grace, who hosts a more tabloidy show at the same time on sister-network, HLN.

Garrett: Fox Has a Standing Request With White House on Interviews

Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett gave his side of story about the White House not allowing Fox to participate in a pool interview with pay czar Kenneth Feinberg last week.

Garrett told a Washington radio show today that he's had a "standing request" to sit down with any newsmakers when the other networks are doing so for Fox News. Part of the request is to provide interviews for Fox Business, which does not have the rating's power to compete with the bigger networks.

Garrett said there was about "an hour-long effort to exclude us," but that was "resolved."

Rasmussen: Just 4 Pct. of Americans Trust Reporters More Than Themselves on What's Good for America

Do you have trust in reporters? If so, you are one of the few in America, according to a new Rasmussen report released today.

Only four percent of Americans trust reporters' judgment in matters concerning what's good for the country, the survey reports.

Here is the text of its report:

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 85 percent of U.S. voters trust their own judgment more than the average reporter when it comes to the important issues affecting the nation. Only four percent trust the average reporter more. Eleven percent aren’t sure.

Ninety percent or more of voters ages 40 to 64 trust themselves more than the average reporter.

In part, this is because just 23 percent of all voters say the average reporter is about the same as they are ideologically. Fifty-three percent think the average reporter is more liberal than they are, while 16 percent say more conservative.

Two-out-of-three voters (67 percent) say most reporters when covering a political campaign try to help the candidate they want to win. Just 21 percent say most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage. These findings are identical to those found throughout last fall’s presidential campaign.

Just before last November’s election, for example, 68 percent of voters said most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and 51 percent believed they were trying to help Democrat Barack Obama. Just seven percent thought they were trying to help his Republican opponent, John McCain.

Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party overwhelmingly say most reporters try to help the candidate they favor. Democrats are more closely divided: 32 percent say most reporters try to be unbiased, while 47 percent say they try to help the candidate they want to win.

Similarly, 79 percent of GOP voters and 59 percent of unaffiliateds believe most reporters are more liberal than they are. Democratic voters, are evenly split between those who say most reporters are more liberal or more conservative. A plurality of Democrats (44 percent) say reporters are about the same ideologically.

Three-out-of-four Americans (74 percent) trust their own judgment more than that of the average member of Congress when it comes to economic issues facing the nation.

But then 51 percent of voters say Congress is too liberal while 22 percent hold the opposite view and say it is too conservative. Fourteen percent (14 percent) say the ideological balance of Congress is about right. ...

Forty-three percent (43 percent) of Americans have a favorable opinion of journalists, while 54 percent view them unfavorably. Adults rank them fifth out of a list of nine professions that Rasmussen Reports periodically surveys on. Being a member of Congress is the least respected job.

USA TODAY's Spin: We're No. 1 in Circulation

USA TODAY's public relations department was in full force this afternoon as it touted the daily newspaper as leading the nation in total daily print circulation on the day the Audit Bureau of Circulation rated it No. 2 behind The Wsll Street Journal by about 124,000 a day.

For immediate release

USA TODAY REMAINS NUMBER ONE IN TOTAL DAILY PRINT CIRCULATION

Sells nearly 275,000 more print copies per day than closest competitor


McLean, Va. (Oct. 26, 2009) – USA TODAY remains number one in total daily print circulation in the United States, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation report. USA TODAY’s daily print circulation was 1,891,604 for the period ending September 30, 2009.

USA TODAY’s print circulation is nearly 275,000 copies per day larger than its closest competitor, The Wall Street Journal, and more than 1,000,000 copies per day larger than The New York Times. USA TODAY is also the newspaper leader in single copy newsstand sales selling more than 475,000 copies per day versus The Wall Street Journal’s 89,951 copies per day. Single copy newsstand sales reflect customers who actively seek out the newspaper each day and pay full newsstand price, which is widely considered the most valuable circulation by advertisers.

"We are proud to remain America's number one choice in a daily print newspaper. For 10 years USA TODAY has been the leader in print. In these trying times, the most people continue to choose USA TODAY day in and day out for the news they want to know,” said Dave Hunke, president and publisher of USA TODAY.

Audit Bureau of Circulation Finds Newspaper Circulation in Steep Decline

Circulation for the country's daily newspapers were in a steep decline over the past six months since September, the Audit Bureau of Circulation reported today.

ABC said that 379 daily newspapers reported an average 10.6 percent drop in their circulation to 30,395,652. This represents one of the most severe declines ever. Sunday circulation for 562 reporting newspapers was down 7.4 percent to 40,012,253, ABC said.

Only The Wall Street Journal reported a daily circulation gain among the nation's top 25 papers. ABC said that the Journal had a modest 0.61 percent increase to 2,024,269 a day. Nobody among the top 25 posted a gain in their Sunday circulation.

Here is Editor & Publisher's list of top 25 newspapers with their ABC results, as compiled by Jennifer Saba.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- 2,024,269 -- 0.61%
USA TODAY -- 1,900,116 -- (-17.15%)
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- 927,851 -- (-7.28%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES -- 657,467 -- (-11.05%)
THE WASHINGTON POST -- 582,844 -- (-6.40%)

DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) -- 544,167 -- (-13.98%)
NEW YORK POST -- 508,042 -- (-18.77%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 465,892 -- (-9.72%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- 384,419 -- (-14.24%)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- 361,480 -- N/A

NEWSDAY -- 357,124 -- (-5.40%)
THE DENVER POST -- 340,949 -- N/A
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC -- 316,874 -- (-12.30%)
STAR TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS -- 304,543 -- (-5.53%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES -- 275,641 -- (-11.98%)

The PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND -- 271,180 -- (-11.24%)
DETROIT FREE PRESS (e) -- 269,729 -- (-9.56%)
THE BOSTON GLOBE -- 264,105 -- (-18.48%)
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS -- 263,810 -- (-22.16%)
THE SEATTLE TIMES -- 263,588 -- N/A

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- 251,782 -- (-25.82%)
THE OREGONIAN -- 249,163 -- (-12.06%)
THE STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK -- 246,006 -- (-22.22%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE -- 242,705 -- (-10.05%)
ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES -- 240,147 -- (-10.70%)

Here is Editor & Publisher's list of top 25 Sunday newspapers with their ABC results:

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- 1,400,302 -- (-2.66%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES -- 983,702 -- (-6.76%)
THE WASHINGTON POST -- 822,208 -- (-5.06%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 803,220 -- (-7.13%)
DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) -- 603,671 -- (-10.45%)

DETROIT FREE PRESS -- 560,188 -- (-7.46%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- 547,387 -- (-6.30%)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- 499,140 -- N/A
THE DENVER POST -- 495,485 -- (-9.16%)
STAR TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS -- 477,562 -- (-8.31%)

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC -- 458,992 -- (-0.87%)
THE BOSTON GLOBE -- 418,529 -- (-16.90%)
NEWSDAY -- 413,830 -- (-4.62%)
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION -- 405,549 -- (-12.75%)
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH -- 401,427 --(-5.23%)

THE PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND -- 390,636 -- (-4.97%)
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS -- 390,520 -- (-19.29%)
THE STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK, N.J. -- 371,060 -- (-18.57%)
ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES -- 370,050 -- (-5.19%)
THE SEATTLE TIMES -- 359,672 -- (-5.93%)

NEW YORK POST -- 343,361 -- (-11.07%)
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL -- 334,240 -- (-10.97%)
THE BALTIMORE SUN -- 322,491 -- (-8.03%)
THE COLUMBUS (OHIO) DISPATCH -- 316,202 -- (-4.75%)
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE -- 309,571 -- (-9.58%)

And, on the brighter side. Editor & Publisher listed the top 10 gainers by percentage nationwide:

YORK (PA.) DAILY RECORD -- 55,370 -- 16.45%
WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY -- 53,142 -- 14.31%
THE OAKLAND (MICH.) PRESS -- 68,067 -- 7.26%
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL -- 175,841 -- 6.56%
CHATTANOOGA (TENN.) TIMES FREE PRESS -- 69,569 -- 2.18%

OGDEN (UTAH) STANDARD-EXAMINER -- 62,062 -- 1.89%
NEW HAVEN (CONN.) REGISTER -- 70,559 -- 0.79%
MOBILE (ALA.) PRESS-REGISTER -- 92,849 -- 0.75%
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- 2,024,269 -- 0.61%
THE FORUM, FARGO, N.D. -- 50,131 -- 0.39%

PR Agencies Starting to Bypass Journalists and Make Pitches Directly to Consumers

Public-releations agencies are no longer relying on journalists in their efforts to create publicity, Ad Age reports.

As the body count of magazines and daily newspapers continues to rise and the once-robust news and feature holes of surviving publications shrink along with reporting staffs, some marketers have given up on the traditional path to media coverage: pitching journalists. According to the website Paper Cuts, which tracks layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers, nearly 30,000 reporters have left the industry since the beginning of 2008. [I'm not so sure this is correct, Erica Smith's website tracks layoffs and buyouts of all newspaper employees, not just reporters. -- Jeff P.] So instead of pitching their stories to reporters, a growing number of marketers are directly engaging consumers through original content they and their agencies are creating.

"The traditional one-way media model has definitely had its day," said Sam Lucas, chair of U.S. brand marketing at WPP's Burson-Marsteller. "So agencies are talking to clients about these engagement models much more."

And while they haven't completely abandoned traditional media outlets, big-name marketers such as Procter & Gamble, Best Buy, MasterCard and Coldwell Banker are among those who have taken matters into their own hands by creating content and bringing it straight to consumers.

Obama Declares National H1N1 Emergency

Here is the text of President Obama's declaration of a national emergency in reaction to the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

Although the proclamation was signed Friday night, it was not released to the media until earlier today.

The move authorizes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to temporarily waive certain standard federal requirements in order to enable U.S. health care facilities to implement emergency operations plans to deal with the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release October 24, 2009
DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE 2009
H1N1 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On April 26, 2009, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the "Secretary") first declared a public health emergency under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 247d, in response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

The Secretary has renewed that declaration twice, on July 24, 2009, and October 1, 2009. In addition, by rapidly identifying the virus, implementing public health measures, providing guidance for health professionals and the general public, and developing an effective vaccine, we have taken proactive steps to reduce the impact of the pandemic and protect the health of our citizens. As a Nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic.

Nevertheless, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the Nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities.

Thus, in recognition of the continuing progression of the pandemic, and in further preparation as a Nation, we are taking additional steps to facilitate our response.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and consistent with section 1135 of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5), do hereby find and proclaim that, given that the rapid increase in illness across the Nation may overburden health care resources and that the temporary waiver of certain standard Federal requirements may be warranted in order to enable U.S. health care facilities to implement emergency operations plans, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States constitutes a national emergency. Accordingly, I hereby declare that the Secretary may exercise the authority under section 1135 of the SSA to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance programs and of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule throughout the duration of the public health emergency declared in response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. In exercising this authority, the Secretary shall provide certification and advance written notice to the Congress as required by section 1135(d) of the SSA (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(d)).

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

In other H1N1 news, the FDA on Friday approved emergency use of the experimental intravenous antiviral drug peramivir to treat hospitalized patients with pandemic H1N1 influenza. Tamiflu, the primary drug used to treat swine flu, is given orally, and Relenza is given as a nasal spray.

Media Matters: Fox Is a Lethal 24/7 Partisan Political Operation

In a memo directed at progressive advocacy groups, the founder and chief executive officer of Media Matters, David Brock, called "a lethal 24/7 partisan political operation.

"Fox News has exhibited a consistent willingness to ignore any and all journalistic standards to pursue political ends," Brock writes. "The failure to recognize Fox News for what it is enables the network to continue waging a massive conservative political campaign disguised as journalism."

Here is the full memo:

In recent days, a new level of scrutiny has been directed toward Fox News, in no small part due to statements from the White House, and from Media Matters, challenging its standing as a news organization.

Media Matters has monitored Fox News every day for more than 5 years. Our analysis of their programming has led us to the unavoidable conclusion that Fox is no longer operating as a “conservative news organization,” but as an outright partisan political operation – and brazenly so.

Since the election of Barack Obama, the Fox News Channel has transformed itself into something truly unprecedented: a lethal 24/7 partisan political operation with an instantaneous national reach. Fox has declared war on this White House, the majority in the United States Congress, and progressive organizations and activists. For Fox News, victory is defined as the destruction of both the Obama administration and the entire progressive policy agenda. Fox News host Glenn Beck predicted last week that he will soon "take the administration down."

The danger to progressive causes and the institution of journalism has become too significant to ignore. At Media Matters, we believe it is of paramount importance that progressive leaders have the information necessary to understand exactly what Fox News has become. We hope this brief memorandum will assist you in reaching your own decision on how best to engage this threat.

As our evidence demonstrates, Fox News has exhibited a consistent willingness to ignore any and all journalistic standards to pursue political ends. The failure to recognize Fox News for what it is enables the network to continue waging a massive conservative political campaign disguised as journalism.

We hope you find this information helpful. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please feel free to contact Media Matters at your convenience. Together, we can hold Fox News accountable to the high standards of journalism every American has a right to expect from their media.

Sincerely,

David Brock
Founder & CEO, Media Matters for America

Major Networks Refuse to Interview White House Pay Czar Until Fox Was Included in Pool

The war is heating up a bit, and yesterday there was another example of Fox News getting support from its colleagues.

The White House had set up a round of interviews for major media outlets with Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg but had excluded Fox. The Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV networks refused to interview Feinberg unless Fox News was included. In the end, the White House stepped down and allowed Fox to participate in the round of interviews.

"I'm really cheered by the other members saying "No, if Fox can't be part of it, we won't be part of it,'" Baltimore Sun TV critic (and regular Fox News detractor) David Zurawik told The Huffington Post. "What it's really about to me is the Executive Branch of the government trying to tell the press how it should behave. I mean, this democracy -- we know this -- only works with a free and unfettered press to provide information," he said.



Meanwhile, here are some more viewpoints of the continuing battle between the White House and Fox News. First, POLITICO reporters weigh in:


Media Matters, a left-leaning media group, offers these opinions:


Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times gives a primer on the background of this war.

Newsday Will Tweak Web Paywall as Conditions Warrant

Newsday will alter what's free and what isn't on its website after it unveils a new subscriber requirement next week, Debby Krenek, managing editor and senior vice president/digital media, tells Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp.

Krenek, who has overseen the Web site since 2001, told E&P nothing is set in stone -- and the site may well make some paid items free, and vice versa, as time goes on.

"The Web is a moving, breathing thing. We are going to be able to watch and see what people do," said Krenek. "We are going to be tweaking based on what [readers] have to say. One of the great things about the Web is that you get immediate feedback on what your users are coming to you for."

For example, if a big story breaks that editors feel should require free access, they will allow it. "If there is something that is of critical need for Long Islanders to be aware, we would give them access," she said. "Some major disaster in the area, some health scare, anything we feel would be critical.

"We think it is going to be successful and a real value for Long Islanders," said Krenek, a former editor of New York's Daily News. "We have a unique opportunity to do it."

Newsday print subscribers and Optimum customers will have total access to the website while other customers will be charged $5 per week.

Jennifer Saba of Editor & Publisher talked to some media analysts who sai it's not as risky of a venture as it would seem at first glance:

Alan Mutter, a newspaper observer and author of Reflections of a Newsosaur. "It's not nearly as bold as an experiment as it appears to be," he said. Since Cablevision already reaches 75% of Long Island, there is a "much smaller risk of losing online traffic than the typical newspaper would."

Newsday can take such gamble thanks to Cablevision's online subscribers. If Newsday were to go this alone and not offer free access to Optimum Online users it would reach much less of its core market. According to Newsday's most recent Audit Bureau of Circulations Audit Report for the year ending September 2008, Newsday's average daily circulation covered 38% of Suffolk County and 36% of Nassau County.

Noted Ken Doctor, an affiliate analyst at Outsell Research and author of Content Bridges: "I think this is a one-off because of the unique nature of a cable company that owns a newspaper. I don't see it as a model that applies to anybody else."

What is interesting, said Doctor, is that Cablevision is essentially charging for access, not content. And it's using a model that is already very familiar to the newspaper industry: bundling.

Journalist Gina Chen on Ethics in a Social Networking World

Here is an absolutely fantastic post by Gina Chen writing on Savethemedia.com about ethics in the social networking world.

It should be read and understood by everyone in the profession.

I think ethics are ethics. You can’t have one set of rules for online and another for print. But I do think the medium impacts how we live out these philosophies, and I’ll get to that more later. When it comes to social media, one of the key questions becomes: If a journalist offers an opinion on Twitter, is that unethical? Does that violate some type of rule? Think about that ...

I hear so many times writers and editors justifying to themselves "well, it's just a blog (post, tweet ... whatever)." But ethics are a true test to who we are, and they cross platforms.

Newsday to Charge $260 Annually to Access Website

[CORRECTION: Newsday will charge $5 a week. The original version of this post had incorrectly said $5 a month.]

If I want to read my old newspaper online, I'll have to pay $260 a year to do so.

Newsday announced today that it will charge that amount to access its content on Newsday.com. The subscriber model is effective next Wednesday.

"We are excited about this model because in addition to a unique ability to immediately reach about 75 percent of Long Island households, we believe the hyper-local approach is right for Long Island," said Debby Krenek, Newsday managing editor and senior vice president/digital, said on its website.

The $260-a-year price point represents $5 a week, which equals the paper's seven-day home subscription plan. The newspaper said most content of Newsday.com will be accessible only to those who subscribe to the print newspaper or Optimum Online, or those who are willing to pay the fee.

Some online content that will remain free includes the home page, weather, obituaries, classified ads, entertainment listings and school closings.

Newsday is the first major newspaper to take this step. Every newspaper in the country has been struggling with lost revenues in print advertising, citing the fact that more people are going to their websites to access news and information than paying for a print version. Other newspapers, most notably The New York Times, are considering some type of pay structure for their websites.

The announcement comes the same week that Editor & Publisher released its monthly website rankings in which Newsday registered a 25 percent drop in traffic from the previous month.

The argument against a move such as this is that consumers will probably become more selective in the websites they choose to read, especially during difficult economic times. Very few people will be willing to pay hundreds of dollars a year to read more than one or two newspapers online. This would reduce the traffic to all newspapers overall.

For instance, typically I visit Newsday, The New York Times, The Washington Post, POLITICO, my local paper and about four or five others each day. If each started to charge $260 a year for access, I only pick one to read (which one I don't know).

The other argument is that a paywall could reduce nation exposure and limit links to your site. This is not so much a concern for Newsday as it has for years placed its primary focus on local reporting.

What will be interesting to see is how the public reacts to pay news sites. No one knows if consumers will accept it at a level that makes it a success for media outlets, or if consumers will -- after years of free access -- equate it to paying to bring your luggage along on a plane trip.

New York Times Reports 16.9 Percent Drop in 3Q Revenues Compared to 3Q 2008

The New York Times Co. reported in a press release this morning that total revenues decreased 16.9 percent to $570.6 million in the third quarter from $687.0 million in 2008's third quarter primarily because of lower print advertising results.

Advertising revenues decreased 26.9 percent; circulation revenues rose 6.7 percent; and other revenues decreased 38.5 percent.

But there was some optimism in the statement.

Janet Robinson, president and chief executive officer, said in the press release that “looking ahead, visibility remains limited for advertising in the fourth quarter. But as is the case across the media sector, we have seen encouraging signs of improvement in the overall economy and in discussions with our advertisers. Early in the fourth quarter, print advertising trends, in comparison to the third quarter, have improved modestly, while digital advertising trends are improving more significantly."

The company, which just announced a reduction in its New York Times newsroom workforce of about 100 employees, expects to save approximately $475 million in operating costs as a result of reductions in nearly all major expense categories.

Politico 44 President's Calendar

A new widget for the cite details the president's schedule and other important White House events. Let me know what you think.

And while you're at it, give me your feedback from my site!

Media General Posts 3Q Loss of $62.5 Million

Media General Inc., the Richmond, Va.-based publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Tampa Tribune, reported a loss of $62.5 million, or $2.80 per share, in the third quarter today.

In 2008's third quarter, the media company had a profit of $6.1 million, or 27 cents per share. Revenue reportedly dropped 18 percent to $158 million.

The absence of Olympic and political ad revenues, which contributed about $18.5 million in sales a year ago, were the reasons for the downturn, the company said.

Chief executive officer Marshall Morton conceded that the "advertising environment in the third quarter remained challenging."

Media General says a hefty write-down in the value of its assets took profits down by $84 million. Excluding special items, it says earnings would have come to $4.4 million, or 20 cents per share.