Archive for February, 2009
Rocky Mountain News Closes, Another EyeShut
February 27, 2009
A newspaper died today, as on February 27, 2009, after 150 years in business, the Rocky Mountain News shut down.
Yes, hundreds of journalists, press operators, deliverymen and others (at least two newstands in my upscale neighborhood have been closed for years) have lost their jobs.
But more importantly, another eye has been shut, whether it watched local news, government spending, crime, sports or politicians. With the complex issues facing our country, from Obama&;s enormous budget to Iraq and Afghanistan to the endless bailouts of financial institutions, we need more trained eyes watching, not less. We need more readers, more questioning of the press, more dialog between media and reader.
Nobody loves the press. But without the press doing their job, you get this or this.
Tags:death-of-journalism, death-of-newspapers, death-of-print Posted in Journalism | Leave a Comment &;
James Cramer Swears OffStocks
February 27, 2009
So the king of the pump and dumpers (not to mention multiple possible conflicts of interest) has sworn off stocks.
&;I say, patiently, and endlessly, and I&;m on record on this, that if you need money for anything important, take it the heck out of the stock market.&;
Thanks Jim. Where were you 6000 Dow points ago? He should have written Soviet history; massive ongoing revisions without shame.
CNBC likes to say his show is for entertainment value. Perhaps we should think of him as Proximo, the rotund gladiator keeper and showman in Gladiator.
Proximo: I know that you are a man of your word, General. I know that you would die for honor, for Rome, for the memory of your ancestors. But as for me? I&;m an entertainer.
Maximus: Do you remember what it was to have trust, Proximo?
Proximo: [unfamiliarly] Trust?
There&;s always a bull market somewhere.
Are you not entertained?
Tags:business-journalism, Jim-Cramer, pump-and-dump Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment &;
Judges Sell Children to Prison, CNN Late toStory
February 23, 2009
A story recently came to light that truly shakes our democracy to its core; a pair of Pennsylvania judges made a deal with a private prison operator in their state and jailed almost 5000 minors in return for over $2.5 million dollars.
Trading the freedom of a child for money by a judge sworn to uphold the law is an absolute abomination. I don&;t care how jaded the public is by financial scandals, easy-to-blame boogey men like Bernie Madoff and economic disaster.
Ironically, I became aware of this crime around February 14, which is when the Torah portion Yitro (Jethro) is read. While that portion is much better known for Moses being given the Ten Commandments, it begins with Yitro, Moses&; father-in-law, watching how overburdened Moses/Moshe is with the people&;s problems.
Yitro, seeing this, approaches Moshe and, speaking like a true father-in-law, says: &;This is not good, this thing you are doing. You will surely be worn out, you and the nation with you, for this is too great a burden for you, you can not do it by yourself.&; Yitro then goes on to outline a brilliant solution: he suggests that Moshe recruit suitable men&;God-fearing, honest,&;and appoint them as judges. Yitro proposes that a system of upper and lower courts be established, with Moshe at the top of the pyramid.
CNN finally picked up this troubling story more than two weeks after it was covered in an editorial in a major daily in one of America&;s largest cities, Philadelphia. Tellingly&;and pathetically&;CNN doesn&;t even bother to post a dateline on this &;news&; (if hardly &;new&;) story. News isn&;t just what the mainstream media says it is, it&;s when the mainstream media decides to run with it.
Also troubling is that major outlets like CNN are reporting the outcome of a Federal investigation that began in 2006. What happened to breaking news stories instead of Oscar fashion &;coverage&;? Where was the crusading media for years while these children were locked up?
Tags:CNN, CNN-failure, death-of-journalism, government-corruption, Jethro, Yitro Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment &;
Newsweek Sanctions DubaiPrejudice
February 20, 2009
When the Dubai government refused to issue a visa to Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, the Tennis Channel refused to cover the tournament and the Wall Street Journal Europe revoked its sponsorship.
Newsweek, the other media sponsor, did nothing. Later they issued this statement:
&;Newsweek shares the stated commitment of the Women&;s Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals to &;fair play&; in Dubai and to assuring that tournaments are open to all qualified players in the future. If Israeli player Andy Ram is not permitted to enter Dubai to play in the men&;s tournament, which begins Monday, Newsweek will withdraw from sponsoring the event.&;
So discriminating against Peer is apparently OK with Newsweek. But if Dubai does it one more time, they might do something.
Yet another missed chance for relevancy and courage for Newsweek. There won&;t be many more.
Tags:death-of-journalism, death-of-newsmagazines, Dubai-prejudice, Israeli-tennis-discrimination, Newsweek-prejudice Posted in Journalism, public-relations-disaster | Leave a Comment &;
Housing and Stocks Meet at theBottom
February 20, 2009
In a little-notified confluence of misery, stock prices and the Southern California housing market each returned to their 2002 levels yesterday.
The median price of a home in Southern California (LA , Ventura, Orange, San Diego, San Bernadino and Riverside Counties) hit $250,000, a 40% decline from last year. In LA County, the drop was &;only&; 35%, but numbers don&;t lie; the current median price is now $300,000, down from $458,000 in January 2008.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones closed yesterday at 7465, its lowest level since&;yes&;2002. The numbers echo what some wag once said about gambling, &;The guy who invented gambling was smart, but the guy who invented chips was a fucking genius.&; The point&;like chips, they&;re not just averages, but real money, burning up.
So is this return to 2002, itself a recovery from 9-11, the bottom bottom we&;ve been looking (and praying) for? One can hope&;but the smart guys we trust to run business and the government don&;t seem to have a clue about what to do. Even CNBC&;s business cheerleaders and pump-and-dump squad have had enough.
Tags:economy, gambling, pump-and-dump, Rick-Santelli Posted in business-journalism | Leave a Comment &;