Tag Archives: business coverage

NBC Chief Jeff Zucker Open to Political Run, Bringing Couric Back to Network

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

We’ve heard the knocks on NBC and the institutional bias that exists in its network – from the subtle spin in its flagship network’s news coverage at NBC to the over-the-top bias at its cable news channel MSNBC. So maybe the man behind the curtains at NBC Universal would like to be more overt with his opinions – as a politician? On MSNBC’s Aug. 25 “Morning Joe,” Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal, addressed both his possible political aspirations and bringing back one of the network’s former star personalities. Host Joe Scarborough asked Zucker where his political interests were at this stage. “You know Joe – look, politics is something I’ve always had an interest in,” Zucker said. “It is something I’ve always thought about. It is not something that is on my current radar. It’s not something I’m thinking about in the next few years, but it is something that I would always consider. I think – I love politics. I would love to give back. I would love to serve. I would love to do something, but it is not imminent. It’s nothing now.”  That set Zucker up for a question from Scarborough – if he was holding out to bring Couric back to the peacock network where she was a fixture at NBC’s “Today” from 1991 until 2006. “You are going to wait until you get Katie Couric back at NBC then you’re going to get into politics?” Scarborough asked.  It’s been no secret the Katie Couric project at the “CBS Evening News” has not produced the results that were anticipated. Couric’s broadcast just tied its all-time low in total viewers with an average of 4.89 million tuning in during the five days. Zucker dodged Scarborough’s inquiry, but Scarborough continued to press him on the topic.  ZUCKER: I think those are two separate issues there. SCARBOROUGH: Is Katie coming back to NBC? ZUCKER: Well I think she is fully ensconced in a job today and she’s happy where she is. SCARBOROUGH: No, she’s not. Come on. You’re talking like a politician. She hates it over there. ZUCKER: Oh, I don’t know that’s the case. SCARBOROUGH: No, it’s the case. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: That’s not politically correct. SCARBOROUGH: Since she doesn’t like it where she is — ZUCKER: I thought we were talking politics here for a second. BRZEZINSKI: I was going to ask you about the mosque. SCARBOROUGH: This is your first press conference here buddy. So since she doesn’t like where she is, since you have a great relationship with Katie, would you like Katie Couric back at NBC? Zucker relented, saying he would be open to the possibility of Couric returning to NBC in some capacity. “I always said that, look Katie would be a great addition wherever she is,” Zucker said. “If the time were right, I think that’s something we would look at. But she’s under contract now, and I think she’s happy where she is, whether you believe it or not, so I’m not going to wade into that controversy.”

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CNN.com Plugs Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Magazine ‘Born of Frustration’

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

CNN continued its promotion of homosexual “marriage” with an online article on Thursday highlighting a new magazine for same-sex couples planning their ceremonies. Writer Shaunte Dunston used glowing language to describe the experiences of “Equally Wed’s” founders, as well as that of vendors who cater to the homosexual community. Dunston, a ” media coordinator ” for the cable network, began her CNN.com article, ” Same-sex bridal magazine born of frustration ,” with a flowery account of Kirsten Ott and Maria Palladino’s ceremony (the two founded “Equally Wed”). The two were the main subjects of the piece: Kirsten Ott walked down the aisle in a white strapless gown with an embroidered bodice and cascading ruffles . Maria Palladino, dressed in a white suit, waited for her at the end of the aisle with a minister. Surrounded by their family and close friends, the women committed to each other for the rest of their lives . A beautiful reception followed. It had all the makings of a traditional wedding , but instead of calling themselves bride and groom, the couple used the terms bride and “broom.” “Broom is a combination of bride and groom,” said Kirsten, who took Maria’s last name when they wed. The “broom’s” cake was a giant crab, Maria’s favorite sea animal. “It was gorgeous and realistic,” Kirsten said. “It actually stole the show from the wedding cake itself.” Both were relieved the special day they had planned for so long finally arrived . The writer didn’t mention when the event took place, but continued that ” organizing a wedding can be challenging , what with finding the right photographer, the perfect cake, the prettiest flowers and, most importantly, the venue. It was even harder for Kirsten, because she had to find vendors who accepted same-sex marriage in Atlanta, Georgia, where the union isn’t legally recognized .” Dunston spent the following six paragraphs quoting extensively from Ott about their apparent difficulties in finding cooperative vendors. In the midst of this, she added that “planning their wedding inspired the newlyweds to start their own wedding magazine geared toward engaged same-sex couples. Kirsten, a journalist, and Maria, a graphic designer, used their career backgrounds and personal experience to launch the online magazine Equally Wed.” Later in the article, the CNN writer cited from one homosexual-friendly vendor who makes rings, as well as from the “Equally Wed” founders, to portray same-sex “marriages” as no different than traditional marriage: Jeweler Rony Tennenbaum in New York designs wedding rings for same-sex couples. “Most of the time they are opposite in the likes and tastes. One might be aggressive, rugged and one wants classier,” Tennenbaum said. Tennenbaum also said it’s important to break same-sex wedding stereotypes . “It’s important not to make rings that a straight person might think a gay couple wants. Gay couples don’t need to wear triangles … it’s not about symbols, it’s about signifying love.”… “That’s kind of why we wanted to do Equally Wed. [It] was to showcase normal gay weddings for anybody that’s planning their own. It helps to have a model to look at, [to] help you feel like what you’re doing is OK,” Kirsten said. Maria said most gay weddings are similar to straight weddings , but there might be a question about which bride will walk down the aisle or which groom will propose. “Just some of the little things that come out in the details of planning.” On August 4, the day that a federal judge struck down California’s Proposition 8 as “unconstitutional,” CNN’s daytime coverage leaned heavily towards supporters of same-sex “marriage,” even going so far as to get immediate reaction from patrons of a “gay” bar in West Hollywood. Two month earlier, the network aired several pro-homosexual agenda segments as part of their promotion for their propagandistic “Gary and Tony Have a Baby” documentary .

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AP Revises Reporting on Government Pressure to Rush GM’s Planned IPO; Why?

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Unplanned but necessary “improvements,” or induced corrections? I’ll report; readers can decide. My early afternoon post at my home blog dealt with Government/General Motors’ profitability and CEO Ed Whitacre’s “coincidental” step-down from his CEO position. That post originally noted two things that seemed problematic in the Associated Press’s reporting about the company’s plans for an initial public offering this year (the IPO is problematic thanks to Obamanomics , but that’s not the topic here). In the  AP’s original report (since revised, which is why it’s saved here at my web host for future reference, fair use and discussion purposes), reporters Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin, with assistance from Dan Strumpf, reported the following two items in supposedly relaying the results of a discussions with “Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPO Boutique in Tampa, Florida, which advises investors on IPOs,” Whitacre, and unnamed government officials (bold is mine): Several recent IPOs have been postponed because of concerns that they won’t get a high enough share price, he said. He also said the Obama administration is pressuring GM to sell prematurely to influence the November congressional elections. Last week, Whitacre said the elections are not being considered, and the government has repeatedly said GM is in charge of the sale timing. My original reactions to the two items in my original post were as follows: (to the assertion about government pressure to sell prematurely) “The AP’s quoted expert also dropped a bombshell — apparently without qualification — that may not survive future AP revisions.” (to the possibly contradictory assertions about who’s controlling the IPO’s timing) “(Whitacre) saying that GM ‘is in charge of the sale timing’ is NOT the same as saying ‘we’re not trying to influence the timing.’” Amazingly, the 4:51 p.m report by the same three reporters, with additional help from Ken Thomas (also saved at my web host , for the same reasons as above), revised — perhaps more accurate terms might be “cleaned up” or “covered the tracks of” — the wire service’s earlier report thusly (bolds are mine): Sweet said the Obama administration may be pressuring GM to sell prematurely to influence the November congressional elections and make the government’s controversial investment look smart. Whitacre and the government have both said GM is in charge of the timing of the IPO. So Sweet went from an unqualified affirmative assertion concerning government interference to a “maybe.” Oh, and now GM and the government are magically saying the same thing about who’s in charge of the IPO’s timing, even though it seems that they weren’t before. As legendary Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen might have said , “How ’bout that!” Or, given the last name of the statement-changing subject matter expert involved, it might be the late Jackie Gleason’s “How Sweet it is!” I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether AP’s version 1 or version 2 is more accurate, and whether version 2 might have been influenced by yours truly’s critique of version 1. If it’s the latter, I would like to formally welcome the AP reporters involved to the self-correcting (or is it track-covering?) mechanism known as the blogosphere. Say hi to Tom Curley & Co. for me, will ya? And while you’re at it, ask him how his war against bloggers, search engines , and the online world in general is going. If it’s the former, readers and commenters are free to speculate on what instigated the changes. Geez, I didn’t even cross-post my initial effort at NewsBusters. But this one has been. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .

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Nets Which Promoted NAACP’s Attack on Tea Party Treat Sherrod as Victim; NBC First to Voter Intimidation

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

ABC and CBS last week jumped to advance the NAACP’s charge of racism within the Tea Party movement with friendly stories which provided corroboration for the allegation as neither identified the left-wing group’s ideology. On Tuesday night, however, the ABC and CBS evening newscasts had a sudden concern for the accuracy of the racism charge leveled against a USDA official via video posted by BigGovernment.com , a group the networks were quick to label “conservative” as they painted Shirley Sherrod as a victim of distorted editing of the video of her remarks – as if the news media never does that. Meanwhile, the NBC Nightly News, which last week managed to refrain from promoting the NAACP’s anti-Tea Party agenda, ran a full story on Sherrod and BigGovernment.com’s “lie,” but also ran the very first broadcast network story on the Justice Department’s refusal to pursue the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case. “We turn now to a story about race, politics and what constitutes a rush to judgment,” ABC anchor Diane Sawyer intoned. (Last week: “The NAACP has just adopted a resolution this evening at its annual convention condemning quote, ‘racist behavior by Tea Party members.’”) Jake Tapper referred to “a conservative Web site posting a video clip of Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod at an NAACP event talking about meeting with a white farmer…” He noted the NAACP, which had condemned Sherrod, later in the day “reversed course, saying they’d been snookered by conservative media.” On CBS, Katie Couric announced: “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended his decision to fire a black official who was accused of discriminating against a white farmer. But the ousted official denies the allegation and so does a farmer.” (CBS Evening News anchor Harry Smith last week: “The Tea Party movement has come under fire from the NAACP. The accusation: the party tolerates racism in its ranks.”) On Tuesday night, CBS’s Jan Crawford cited how Sherrod’s remarks “lit up the blogosphere after a conservative Web site this week aired it and suggested there was reverse racism in the administration,” but “Sherrod then angrily answered. She told CNN she was unfairly forced out by a White House skittish about issues of race.” Crawford also noted how the NAACP blamed distorted editing for fooling them: “They said the speech was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias.” On NBC, Brian Williams set up a full report on the controversy unleashed by the video clip “posted on a conservative blog” and Mark Whitaker, the NBC News Washington Bureau Chief, fretted over lies on the Internet: Mark Twain said, a century ago, that a lie can get make its way half way around the world before the truth has its shoes on. That’s just been intensified, both in term of the viral nature of these stories, but also, as we’ve seen, the potential to edit them and distort them before they get out there.  NBC also aired the first broadcast network look at the New Black Panther Party case as Brian Williams introduced a full story from Pete Williams: Another story involving race and politics. It’s been gaining traction and attention. This started with amateur video of two men standing at the entrance of a Philadelphia polling place during the last presidential election. One of them was holding a club, many of those who’ve seen the video see it as a clear case of voter intimidation at a polling place. But the Justice Department did not, they dropped the case without saying much about it. From last week: July 13 : ABC Hypes NAACP Indictment of Tea Party as Racist, a Smear the Network Stoked July 14 : CBS Uses Al Sharpton to Boost NAACP’s Accusation Tea Party is ‘Tolerating Bigotry’ The MRC’s Brad Wilmouth provided these transcripts of the stories from ABC and CBS on Tuesday night, July 20: ABC’s World News: DIANE SAWYER: And we turn now to a story about race, politics and what constitutes a rush to judgment. It involves a black federal employee, a tape posted on the Internet, and what she says was misinterpretation about statements she made decades ago. And the White House reacted. Jake Tapper reports. JAKE TAPPER: It was combustible. A conservative Web site posting a video clip of Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod at an NAACP event talking about meeting with a white farmer. SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA EMPLOYEE, IN VIDEO: I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farm land, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. TAPPER: Last night, an Obama administration official called Sherrod in her car and demanded she pull over and type a resignation letter in her Blackberry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement that “There is zero tolerance for discrimination” at his agency. None of them bothered to learn that the incident in question happened 24 years ago when Sherrod worked for a nonprofit. TAPPER ON PHONE TO SHERROD: The question is, why would you look at the white farmers differently than you looked at the black farmers? SHERROD: Because I always, up to that point, I felt they had all of the advantages. TAPPER: Then, in 1986, she changed her mind, as she said in the speech. SHERROD: That’s when it was revealed to me that it’s about poor versus those who have. TAPPER: In your view, your story was about how race shouldn’t matter with people. SHERROD: Right. And they turned it into saying that I’m a racist. TAPPER: And you’re not? SHERROD: You better believe it. TAPPER: And the white farmers in Sherrod’s story agree, and credit her with saving their farm. Roger and Eloise Spooner from Iron City, Georgia, consider Sherrod a friend. ROGER SPOONER, FARMER: If it hadn’t been for her, we would have, it wasn’t a matter of a few months and we would have lost it. TAPPER: And, Diane, earlier today, the NAACP was applauding Secretary Vilsack’s decision, but just a few minutes ago, they reversed course, saying they’d been snookered by conservative media, wanted Sherrod reinstated. Secretary Vilsack is standing by his decision. Diane? SAWYER: Quite a TV drama today. Thank you, Jake Tapper. CBS Evening News: KATIE COURIC: Meanwhile, in Washington today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended his decision to fire a black official who was accused of discriminating against a white farmer. But the ousted official denies the allegation and so does a farmer. Here’s our chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford. JAN CRAWFORD: It started with a speech by USDA official Shirley Sherrod describing her attitude 24 years ago toward a white farmer. SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA OFFICIAL: And here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. CRAWFORD: That comment in a speech to the NAACP lit up the blogosphere after a conservative Web site this week aired it and suggested there was reverse racism in the administration. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reacted swiftly. He said today the USDA  had zero tolerance for discrimination and fired Sherrod for those comments. TOM VILSACK, USDA SECRETARY: When I saw the statements in the context of the statements, I determined that it would make it difficult for her to do her job as a rural development director. CRAWFORD: But, as with so many issues of race, there is a lot more to this story. Sherrod said later in the same speech she was wrong and ultimately helped the man save his farm. But that statement didn’t get out on the Internet. And when the farmer and his wife heard the charges against the woman who helped them 24 years ago, they were shocked. ROGER SPOONER, FARMER: She was just as nice as she could be to us. As far as race, I think somebody just wants to start something. CRAWFORD: Sherrod then angrily answered. She told CNN she was unfairly forced out by a White House skittish about issues of race. SHERROD, ON CNN: I had at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign. CRAWFORD: Vilsack said the decision was his alone. VILSACK: So I made this decision. It’s my decision. Nobody from the White House contacted me about this at all. CRAWFORD: But in this growing controversy, this much is clear: Shirley Sherrod, now out of a job, helped Roger and Eloise Spooner. SPOONER: She saved our farm, 400 and some acres, almost 500 acres. She saved our farm. CRAWFORD: Now, while Secretary Vilsack said this issue is closed, but the cables having a field day and the blogs anything but done, the Secretary may be in for a surprise. Katie? COURIC: And, Jan, I know the NAACP initially condemned Sherrod’s remarks, but now that organization has put out a new statement. CRAWFORD: Katie, they just released a statement. They said they were snookered by these initial reports, they were completely changing course on this. They’re urging the Secretary to reconsider firing her, and they said the speech was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias.

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Nets Which Promoted NAACP’s Attack on Tea Party Treat Sherrod as Victim; NBC First to Voter Intimidation

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Newsweek Mocks ‘Poor Little CEO’s,’ Attacks Private Sector

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The news media love to bash businesses and support regulation, so Newsweek’s mockery of the CEO class and claims that they accomplished nothing between 2001 and 2009 shouldn’t be a surprise. In his July 20 ” Poor Little CEO’s ” story, Newsweek’s Daniel Gross, known for his ” tea bagging ” comments and staunch defense of Obama , derided a July 12 “Jobs for America” summit held by the U.S Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and the National Federation of Independent Business. Gross mocked the jobs summit saying it was “a little like BP holding a deepwater-drilling safety summit.” He also blamed corporate America for a “lost decade” that ended with “the deepest recession since the Great Depression.” “Between 2001 and 2009, corporate America designed the playing field to its specifications – easy money from the Federal Reserve; lower taxes on capital gains, dividends, and income; an administration that let industry essentially write its own regulations,” Gross claimed. On the contrary, the Bush administration passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which policed mark-to-market accounting with criminal penalties, hardly a regulation “designed” to corporate America’s “specifications.” As for the “lost decade,” the Bush Administration oversaw 52 months of job creation in a decade despite constant media assault. Gross criticized both the Bush and Obama administrations for being “remarkably solicitous” to big business and for their regulatory policies not going far enough: “What’s more, many of the policies recently put in place are quite friendly to big business.” As an example he cited one company, General Electric, ignoring the many other businesses threatened by Obama’s policies. Friendly? A financial reform bill that includes a consumer financial protection bureau and the Volcker Rule is not “friendly.” Additionally, President Obama has hardly been “friendly” to businesses, from forcing the ouster of General Motors’ CEO to his constant anti-business rhetoric .

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CNNMoney Promotes ‘Other Kinds of Government Assistance’

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

While Washington lawmakers may be deadlocked over extending unemployment benefits, the liberal media are picking up the slack and helping unemployed individuals find more government help. In a July 13 story on CNNMoney.com , reporter Hibah Yousuf profiled two individuals who’ve been unemployed for over 99 weeks, the maximum number of weeks a person is eligible for unemployment benefits. Yousuf how they’re turning to more government agencies for assistance: “Many have already started falling through the safety net,” she reported. “These people are coping any way they can, often reaching out for other aid from agencies and charities.” Yousuf devoted one paragraph to explaining how the first individual, Kevin Huffer, took matters into his own hands by doing handyman work in exchange for rent and went fishing for meals. But she devoted another three paragraphs to the various agencies and organizations, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Community Action Partnership, helping out-of-work Americans find federal assistance beyond the nearly two years of unemployment benefits. “Others who have maxed out their benefits have managed to keep their housing stable but need other kinds of government assistance to survive,” Yousuf wrote. The second individual Yousuf profiled, Rebecca Miranda, applied for food stamps through the government-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) but dropped her food stamps because her recently launched candy company, Sherry’s Jubilee Desserts, began attracting more attention and earned her over $400. However, rather than promote Miranda’s entrepreneurship, Yousuf continued plugging SNAP: “SNAP is the government’s most universal program for low-income households since singles, couples and families can qualify as long as they meet the income limits. And there are also a handful of other government initiatives that the long-term unemployed can turn to for extra cash.” In the 22-paragraph story, Yousuf devoted only three paragraph’s to Huffer’s and Miranda’s individualism while she championed government programs in twice as many paragraphs. This isn’t the first time the media downplayed Americans’ entrepreneurial spirits and provided a soapbox for government assistance , and it certainly isn’t the first time the media played the victim card .

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Same AP Reporter Produces Two Decidedly Different Reports on Retail Sales Within Seven Hours

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

I was quite surprised to see the difference in tone between two different Associated Press reports on retail sales Thursday. The earlier article, unbylined and time-stamped at 10:43 a.m. at MSNBC (HT Hot Air ), has the headline “Nation’s retailers post tepid June sales” and this subheadline: “Concerns about back-to-school shopping, health of recovery.” It is decidedly downbeat. The later AP item, with Anne D’Innocienzio’s byline and time-stamped at 4:59 p.m. at the AP’s main site , is headlined “Retailers post choppy June, deepen discounts.” Compared to the morning story, this account is largely sanitized of macroeconomic negativity and dour words. Imagine my surprise when I found a bylined version of the earlier report — time-stamped at 9:37 a.m. Mountain Time (11:37 ET) at an Idaho TV station’s web site — and learned that Ms. D’Innocenzio also wrote that report. Who fed this woman happy pills during the afternoon? Here are some key paragraphs from the AP retail writer’s morning offering (negative words bolded; number tags are mine): Americans didn’t go on many shopping sprees in June, resulting in sluggish sales [1] for many retailers. It often took deeply discounted clothing to get shoppers to spend – and then only if they needed it. The lackluster performance [1] , being compared with a weak June 2009, is raising concerns about the back-to-school shopping season [2] and the health of the economic recovery [3] . The International Council of Shopping Centers’ index of June retail sales saw a 3 percent increase, the low end of its growth forecast that ranged from 3 to 4 percent. But that’s compared with a 5.1 percent decline in the year-ago period. The figures are based on revenue at stores open at least a year and are a key indicator of retailers’ health. … After ramping up spending surprisingly in the first quarter, shoppers have hunkered down since April. Some worry they’ll continue to be tight-fisted through the holiday shopping season [2]. … June is a time when stores clear out summer goods to make room for back-to-school merchandise. But analysts say discounting was heavier than expected as stores had to work hard to pull in shoppers continuing to grapple with a deluge of financial issues [4]. Such deeper-than-planned discounting resulted in some stores, including American Eagle Outfitters and Wet Seal, trimming profit forecasts Thursday. … Uncertainty is growing as evidence mounts – from disappointing housing data to sluggish hiring – that the recovery is stalling heading into the second half of 2010 [5]. And that is when the benefits of most of the government’s stimulus spending will begin to fade. Now compare the previous excerpted verbiage to what follows from D’Innocenzio’s afternoon item: Stores deepened discounts more than planned in June to draw recession-scarred shoppers to buy summer tops and other merchandise . But shoppers bought mostly items they needed, resulting in small revenue gains. The mixed results [1] from June, released Thursday, are raising concerns about the back-to-school season [2] and consumers’ ability and willingness to hit the accelerator on spending. … The third straight month of modest sales gains [1] after a surprisingly solid start to the year underscores t he choppiness of the economic recovery [3] and puts more pressure on retailers to come up with innovative tactics to get shoppers to spend in the critical months ahead, instead of just resorting to price slashing. … Merchants’ come-ons are great news for deal seekers – if they have the means to spend. [4] … After ramping up spending surprisingly in the first quarter, shoppers have hunkered down since April, going out to stores only to buy necessities. The volatile economic environment has made business uneven from week to week, and economists don’t see that changing until American businesses start making significant hiring. Uncertainty is growing as evidence mounts – from disappointing housing data to sluggish hiring – that the recovery is stalling heading into the second half of 2010 [5] . And that is when the benefits of most of the government’s stimulus spending will begin to fade. Here’s how the tagged items compare in the two reports:

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AP Quietly Lowers the ‘Normal’ Unemployment Bar to 6%

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Those looking for evidence that there a move afoot in the establishment press to lower the bar for whatever economic accomplishments might be accomplished during the Obama administration will be interested in how the Associated Press’s report on the government’s June jobs report defined “normal” unemployment. Perhaps it’s valid for reporters Jeannine Aversa and Christopher Rugaber to refer to 6% unemployment as “normal,” if by that they mean “typical non-recessionary” or “long-term average” unemployment. But I couldn’t help but remember that during the Bush 43 and Reagan years, unemployment rates just above and occasionally even below that level were described by wire service reporters and other journalists as “persistent unemployment” — i.e., decidedly not “normal.” I quickly found several AP and other reports from those eras that confirmed my recall of what is now a demonstrated double standard. Here is the opening sentence from the AP report , followed by the term-redefining paragraph: A second straight month of lackluster hiring by American businesses is sapping strength from the economic rebound. … Unemployment is expected to stay above 9 percent through the midterm elections in November. And the Fed predicts joblessness could still be as high as 7.5 percent two years from now. Normal is considered closer to 6 percent , and economists say it will probably take until the middle of this decade to achieve that. “Closer to 6%” seems to imply that “normal” is really “slightly above” that level.  It’s legitimate to question whether there has really been an economic rebound when people who are looking for work aren’t finding it and so many others have abandoned their quest. The truth is that the number of people reported as working according to the Establishment Survey in yesterday’s Employment Situation Report is lower than it was a year ago , when the recession as normal people define it ended. It’s also worth remembering, assisted by an updated version of the indispensable chart from Innocents Bystanders , that the administration predicted that its stimulus plan would return the economy to the AP’s new “normal” by the first quarter of 2012, three years earlier than “the middle of this decade”: Oops. Here are some previous examples of situations described by the establishment press as “persistent unemployment”: October 7, 2003 — Both an AP story and an item at USA Today on California’s recall election told readers that “Californians face an $8 billion state budget deficit, persistent unemployment and struggling schools.” The Golden State’s unemployment rate in September 2003 was 6.4% . June 13, 2003 — A Reuters report on consumer sentiment relayed that “Consumer sentiment deteriorated sharply in early June, suggesting persistent unemployment is taking its toll on Americans’ expectations for the economy’s future.” The national unemployment rate in May 2003 was 6.1% . April 4, 2004 — A Fox News item to which AP contributed claimed that “there is evidence that persistent unemployment, despite other signs of a recovering economy, is taking its toll on the president’s popularity.” On April 2, the government reported a national unemployment rate of 5.7% . Going back further, in a March 29, 1987 book review at the New York Times (“No Time for Radicals”), Michael Janeway wrote this of author Robert Lekachman: “Under Ronald Reagan, the author writes, no god but that of the marketplace is worshiped, yielding ‘privatization, militarization, persistent unemployment, de-unionization, middle-class shrinkage, and the triumph of plutocracy.’ Mr. Lekachman’s cases in point, when backed by fact and figure, make for an intelligently passionate brief against the Reagan Administration.” Janeway didn’t dispute the factual accuracy of Lekachman’s claim about “persistent unemployment, which at the time was 6.5% . Gosh, who knew that “normal” was only a half-point or less below that of “a mean society”? But what was once “persistent unemployment” is now “normal.” No double standard there (/sarcasm). Oh, wait a minute. Maybe the AP pair is subtly informing us that as long as the Obama administration is in power and Democrats control Congress, “persistent unemployment” will be “normal.” If so, guys, thanks for letting us know. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

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AP Quietly Lowers the ‘Normal’ Unemployment Bar to 6%

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CNBC’s Greenburg, CNET.com’s Del Conte Suggest Twitter’s ‘Fail Whale’ Could Be Its End as a Viable Business

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The Twitter “Fail Whale”: An irritating part of anyone’s day that regularly uses social networking in their day-to-day activities. But could this endanger the viability of Twitter as long-term business? A couple of analysts say think so. Both CNET.com senior editor Natali Del Conte and Herb Greenburg of CNBC Business News suggested Twitter’s infrastructure problems could pose issues for Twitter’s survival on CNBC’s July 2 “Power Lunch.” “Twitter’s down all the time,” Greenburg said. “I love using Twitter. I will say it here and now – if Twitter were a business, it would be broke . Wait! Twitter is a business, but it’s a private business. Maybe it’s the type of business that should go public in this environment because those are the kind of companies that go public. Greenburg referenced to claims that Google was a monopoly and pointed out Twitter is in a similar position since Twitter’s spotty service affects all users, who have no other alternative. “To tie this together, remember, Google had the Buzz which didn’t do much,” Greenburg said. “Twitter you can argue is a monopoly in this space. But it’s a monopoly that is constantly out and we have to put up with it. And somebody at some point should make a point about this because we’re all users.” But Del Conte explained the problem with the Twitter is that its business model doesn’t allow for it to invest in infrastructure since there hasn’t been an established way for the service to make enough money to do so. “They just don’t have the Google dollars,” Del Conte said. “Google has this big huge infrastructure. They have servers and things to prevent this from happening. And Twitter is still just relatively new. It’s in its infancy. Things like World Cup really pushed Twitter down because people are just flooding the service.” CNBC “Power Lunch” co-host Michelle Caruso Cabrera made the point that Twitter would seem like a candidate for investment – a product with huge demand. However, it has some management issues. “If I’m an investor, I look at that and say, ‘Wow, this is a product with huge demand, but it’s not being managed well,'” Caruso Cabrera said. But Del Conte warned that if Twitter didn’t figure out how to overcome these issues and begin to invest in its service, the social networking giant might not continue to stay in business. “[T]hey’ve been coming out with small ideas for how they’re going to monetize with tweets inside your stream that are advertising,” Del Conte said. “And a lot of people are like, ‘No, don’t want anything to do with that.’ But I think that we’ve become very tolerant of targeted advertising and that would be fine. We’ll see that in the next couple of years as Twitter continues to expand. I’m not worried that they won’t figure out how to make money. I’m worried they won’t figure out how to continue to stay in business. ”

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CNBC’s Greenburg, CNET.com’s Del Conte Suggest Twitter’s ‘Fail Whale’ Could Be Its End as a Viable Business

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CNBC Analyst: BP to Lose Offshore Leases, Faces Bar from Government Contracts

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

With the federal government – both on Capitol Hill and in the White House – beginning to take investigative and punitive action against BP (NYSE: BP ), the future of the company, at least in the United States, is in peril. On CNBC’s June 14 “The Kudlow Report,” John Kilduff, a CNBC contributor and the vice president of MF Global was asked by host Larry Kudlow about a potential debarment from eligibility to be awarded government contracts, which have been very lucrative for the embattled oil giant. “John, this would effectively be debarment,” Kudlow said. “This is something we talked about a week ago, and the prevailing attitude was there would not be debarment because that hardly ever happens in American commercial history. Is President Obama having this as a Sword of Damocles over BP?” And Kilduff explained that this debarment wasn’t necessarily as difficult procedurally to do as some might have thought, which according to him was warranted. “No question about it,” Kilduff replied. “And, you know, we were led to believe that … it was a very sort of torturous procedural issue. Clearly it’s not, and clearly BP’s track record supports amply a debarment action here.” According to Kilduff, debarment from federal contracts would mean the loss of a $2.1-billion annual Pentagon contract. But he also said this potential government action would force the British petroleum giant to divest itself of its American assets at below-fire sale prices. “It’s not just that,” Kilduff said. “Of course it would be very damaging, and plus all the other asset sales, they would have to divest themselves of their Gulf of Mexico assets, their Prudhoe Bay asset, and keep this in mind, this would be more than a fire sale, Larry, because the whole game as changed. As being the lead driller, we’re seeing the extent of the liabilities that the lead driller has. Who’s going to want to step up now and take over a BP-run operation? You don’t know what kind of rat’s nest you’re getting into.” Reports have surfaced that BP has sought the services of Wall Street banking firms to procure a potential takeover defense. According to MarketWatch , ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) are all named as potential buyers. Kudlow asked if these government actions were a foreshadowing of what was to come. “These government punishments and sanctions, and it’s coming from President Obama, it’s coming from Sen. Harry Reid, who’s pushing for this $20 billion escrow fund, now, is this why we are hearing rumors that BP has actually hired Wall Street banking firms for some kind of takeover defense? Is that – can I connect those dots?” Kilduff’s response was that indeed these actions by BP were no more than efforts to “cut corners,” which after facing attacks on all these fronts and having its bottom line battered, makes it vulnerable to such a takeover attempt. “Oh, absolutely, Larry,” Kilduff replied. “And look, what we’re seeing from Congressman Waxman’s hearings tomorrow, the fingerprints are there. What we talked about for all 56 days I feel like on your program, it is a situation of corners cut to save a little bit of money that got us into this mess. They’re caught dead to rights on this. That’s what you’re going to see tomorrow. That’s what’s been released this afternoon. And it’s clear they’re going to be under severe attack from all kinds of quarters – shareholder lawsuits, the federal government, civil, criminal liabilities. All of it.”

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CNBC Analyst: BP to Lose Offshore Leases, Faces Bar from Government Contracts

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