Grumpy Editor

The lead in an Advertising Age story on how demand for ethanol is contributing to higher popcorn prices gave Grumpy Editor a hearty chuckle.  Written by Claude Brodesser-Akner, it read:Suddenly, in Hollywood and sticky-floored movie theaters across the nation, "corn" really is a four-letter word. The story points out demand for ethanol, produced from corn, "will claim 40 percent of next year's corn crop, munching away at the margins of theaters that rely on concession sales for as much as 45... Read Full Story

“There’s probably been an overreaction of some people thinking we’re significantly worse off than we are because of the media’s fairly heavy coverage” of the economic slowdown, says an economist, who also points out consumer confidence telephone surveys may not be as accurate as they once were, notes Grumpy Editor.Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also told Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jennifer Robison that it’s... Read Full Story

With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan involving thousands of U.S. military personnel --- and despite more politicians wearing flag pins in lapels --- what amounts to this year’s least recognized long-running event was Saturday’s Armed Forces Day, notes Grumpy Editor. This year’s observance, with few exceptions, was rather quiet in print and broadcast media over the weekend compared with a widely-promoted and over-covered event earlier this month --- Cinco de Mayo which commemorates the victory... Read Full Story

The saga of the father getting static from county officials because he is caring for his son’s two dogs while the soldier is in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division (see April 21 Grumpy Editor) has come to a sudden, happy conclusion. Following national publicity on the matter, officials are showing fresh sensitivity to pet-owning service personnel in the area, home to Fort Bragg, a major military reservation.  Cumberland County, N.C. officials had claimed Henry Carroll, of Fayetteville... Read Full Story

The embedded media program in the Iraq War's first month and a half --- more than five years ago --- proved to be a Pentagon victory because it kept reporters focused on the horrors facing the troops, not the horrors of the civilian war experience, writes a sociologist in the spring issue of Contexts magazine.  Grumpy Editor sees nothing sinister about that since reporters were attached to specific U.S. military units --- and were covering the action from the military view.Besides, embedded... Read Full Story