Grumpy Editor

Subediting. That’s the word that will trigger grumbling in newspaper editorial departments in the days ahead as publishers, seeking to boost bottom lines, employ more outsourcing, predicts Grumpy Editor . Latest to go that route in a big way is the 117-year-old Toronto Star , Canada’s largest newspaper. With the move, the Star is eliminating 78 editing jobs, figuring it will save 3.8 million (equivalent in U.S. dollars) in the conversion. Also look for more involvement in outsourcing production activity via Pagemasters North America, with roots in Australia, which will be handling subediting for the Star . Pagemasters North America, wholly owned by national ... Read Full Story

In this slow recovering economy, when a major global company announces a 10 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, that is upbeat news.  But Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup Co. --- marking its sixth consecutive year of hiking payouts --- sure didn’t get much of a spotlight last week when it upped its dividend, notes Grumpy Editor . Neither did some other operations, including spirits company Brown-Forman, Louisville, with a 4.3 percent quarterly dividend increase; Houston headquartered Sysco Corp., food service distributor, with a 4 percent rise in its quarterly, and Boston-based NSTAR, an energy delivery company, with a 6.7 percent jump. And that’s just ... Read Full Story

More details stemming from the Sarah Palin book fact-checking-by- Associated - Press saga, covered here on Tuesday, illustrate how AP --- using 11 reporters to scrutinize “Going Rogue: An American Life” --- ganged  up on the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, notes Grumpy Editor .  Her top-selling 432-page book debuted Tuesday, the same day AP laid off at least 57 editorial staffers, with more to come by year end as the news service seeks to cut 2009 payroll costs by 10 percent. “The treatment Palin's book received appears to be something new for the AP ,” writes Robert Shaffer on FOXNews.com. ... Read Full Story

The Wall Street Journal  without fanfare --- although it should trumpet the move --- has quietly reinstated the listings of regular payouts in its dividend table within the Money & Investing section, discovers Grumpy Editor . The WSJ abandoned regular dividends in print months ago, spotlighting only changes, including reduced, increased, initial, irregular, special and foreign. Since then --- while more convenient to open up the Journal and check the dividends table --- readers/investors had to search the Web to see dividend action of companies with unchanged payouts. Important to investors:  knowledge of record and payable dates, even with regular dividends. With the reinstatement of ... Read Full Story

ABC News Time Crunch Looms for Health Bill Wall Street Journal Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pressing to advance his version of health-care legislation past a key juncture this week in a bid to avoid a timing crunch that could otherwise kick the proposed revamp into next year. ... Senate Liberals Demand Reid Hold Firm on Public Option New York Times Senate liberals press Reid on public option Politico Medicare tax may rise for the wealthy, insurance tax may fall, as Senate ... Baltimore Sun Washington Examiner  - The Hill  - Washington Times all 155 news articles » Read Full Story