The Social Cost of the Decline of Newspapers?Becker

We need to make sure we continue to support the traditional sources of news. With out them the truth may never be told. Professional journalists need our encouragement. -Peter

According to data compiled by my colleagues Matt Gentzkow and Jesse Shapiro, the number of daily newspapers in the United States has been declining for more than 90 years, from a peak of about 2200 to its present level of about 1400. The decline started with the advent of radio, accelerated with the growth of television, and continued of course as the Internet became more popular. The likelihood is that many more newspapers will disappear during the coming decade, and that dailies no longer will be a major source of information and news. This has already happened to evening newspapers: their circulation went from about five eights of the circulation of all dailies in 1940 to only about 12% at present.

A free press has been a foundation of democracies because the press spreads information about political and other developments. This is why one of the first moves totalitarian and other non-democratic governments make is to suppress the press. For example, the Iranian government has closed virtually all newspapers that are openly critical of the government. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the decline in the number of dailies, even if it rapidly accelerates, poses a major threat either to the viability of democracies, or to the spread of political and other information.

The main reason for this belief is that the Internet is far more efficient than newspapers in providing news, information, and opinion. This is obvious with respect to sports, financial developments, and weather since online updates are much more frequent than is possible even for the best papers. During the past 10 days of the Iranian election crisis, my wife and I turned mainly to the Internet for the very latest news and pictures on what was happening in Teheran and elsewhere in that country. These sources certainly included online editions of several newspapers, but also important were various online accounts by observers of and participants in the protests.

read the rest > http://bit.ly/1S1rq0

Kodak Will Retire Kodachrome, Its Oldest Color Film Stock

This is a very sad moment in US business history.

Sorry, Paul Simon. Kodak is taking Kodachrome away.

The Eastman Kodak Company announced Monday it would retire Kodachrome, its oldest film stock, because of declining customer demand in a digital age.

It was the world’s first commercially successful color film, immortalized in Mr. Simon’s song in 1973: “They give us those nice bright colors. They give us the greens of summers. Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day. ... So, Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away.”

It enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, but in recent years sales have dropped to just a fraction of 1 percent of the company’s total sales of still-picture films.

“It really has become kind of an icon,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, the departing president of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group.

read the rest>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/technology/companies/23kodak.html?em

Printing That Won't Cost The Earth

Nothing is more visible than the printer as a source of materials wastage in the office. Every day reams of paper appear in the out tray awaiting collection and packs of refill paper and replacement cartridges stand as witness to the constant cycle of usage.

Consequently the printer industry receives more than its fair share of criticism and the manufacturers are becoming more proactive and creative regarding sustainability issues. Cartridge recycling is heavily promoted and duplex printing is often a default setting on office systems - reducing paper use by printing on both sides. There is also plenty of advice available on further reducing wastage such as carefully selecting emails and cutting and pasting only essential information for printouts.

read the rest > http://bit.ly/9ZtJ4

Credit Scores: What You Need to Know

You may not have checked your credit score lately, but there’s a good chance someone else has.

If you have applied for a mortgage or a loan — or even received a credit card offer in the mail — someone accessed that three-digit number to help determine the amount you can borrow and the interest you’ll owe on it.

So what goes into this all-important score? And how can you make sure you’ve got a good one?

The term credit score usually refers to your FICO score, a number based on a formula developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. Fair Isaac looks at a summary of all your credit accounts and payment history. If you’ve got a mortgage, a MasterCard or a Macy’s account, it will be included in the report, as will late or missed payments. FICO scores range from 300 to 850, and Fair Isaac calculates them for each of the three big credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. That’s one reason why your FICO score with each may differ slightly. Generally speaking, the higher your score, the more money you can borrow and the less you’ll pay for the loan.



read the rest > http://bit.ly/DGQc

Typing In an E-Mail Address, and Giving Up Your Friends’ as Well

I THOUGHT it was a little strange when I received separate e-mail messages from two people I knew only slightly asking me to click and see their photos on a social networking site called Tagged.

I ignored them at first, but then thought maybe I should check it out. After all, I should keep up on what’s hot in the social networking world, right? This could be the new Twitter.

That’s when I started doing everything wrong. I obligingly typed in my e-mail address and a password to see those photos. Well, the photos didn’t exist, but I had unwittingly given the site “permission” to go through my entire e-mail contact list and send a message to everyone, inviting them to see my “photos.”

read the rest > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/technology/internet/20shortcuts.html?_r=1&em

AmEx Charges You For Having A Negative Balance. What?

American Express hit Mike with a finance charge because his Blue card had a balance. A negative balance. Incredulous, Mike called and said, "so you dinged me for carrying a balance and not making a payment, even though it was a negative balance?," to which AmEx replied, "Right, even negative balances."

read the rest > http://consumerist.com/5288105/amex-charges-you-for-having-a-negative-balance-what

Top 10 Wine Myths

Urban legends and myths continue to dupe us. Until the Paris tasting in 1976, the myth that France was the only Country that could produce high quality wine lived on in oenophiles minds. Even though you may laugh at the myths below some people are still fooled by them. Let’s try to set the record straight.

This is a must read > http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-wine-myths.php

The Shame of Living in New York State! Will It Ever Be Fixed?

ALBANY — For a fourth day, pandemonium reigned in the Capitol.

Republicans used a mysterious set of keys to force their way into the Senate chamber for the first time since their leadership coup on Monday. Protesters chanted “Senate not for sale” and banged on the chamber’s windows while Republicans tried to convene. And the Republicans’ vow to resume the session fizzled after one of the two dissident Democrats they were depending on for a quorum, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, walked out of the chamber shortly after the proceedings began.

Both sides continued to battle in court; a hearing is set for Friday morning, and Democrats will argue that the Republicans’ coup was illegitimate.

“The dysfunction and chaos in the Senate has wasted an entire week of the people’s business,” a clearly irritated Gov. David A. Paterson said in a statement released Thursday. He has been largely relegated to the sidelines during the dispute.

read the rest> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/nyregion/12albany.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Is GM the New Amtrak?

Taxpayers are still sinking billions of dollars into Amtrak—almost 40 years after buying it. Economist James Langenfeld says the bailout of GM could be an even bigger disaster.

Both Congress and the Obama administration apparently believe a bailout is best for GM, and that “what’s good for General Motors” is still good for America. So we taxpayers appear to be on the brink of owning most of GM. Do we know what we are buying, how long we will own it, and what it will really cost? Perhaps we can learn some lessons from another government owned company, the National Rail Passenger Corporation—aka Amtrak.

Read the rest> http://tinyurl.com/ndbela

Stimulus Funds Spent to Keep Sun Belt Cool

The federal government is spending $5 billion in stimulus money to weatherize homes across the country. That is almost as much as it has spent on weatherization since the program was created in the 1970s to cut heating bills and conserve oil for low-income people.

But this year, there is a twist.

An unusually large share of the money will be spent not on keeping cold air out but on keeping cold air in. As a result of a political compromise with Sun Belt lawmakers last decade, the enormous expansion of the weatherization program will invoke a rarely used formula that will devote 31 percent of the money, nearly double the old share of 16 percent, to help states in hot climates, like Florida, save on air-conditioning.

Many environmentalists say that cutting the use of electricity for cooling is just as worthwhile as reducing the use of oil or gas for heating. But there are substantial questions about whether it is the most efficient way to save energy.

read the rest > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/science/earth/08weatherize.html?hp

5 Things For Chrysler & GM Car Owners To Know Now

Now that Chrysler and GM are getting remixed, what does this mean for me? Consumer Reports Online Auto Crisis Center has the answers to five questions every Chrysler and GM car owner will want to know as the two car companies move their restructuring.


reda the rest here > http://consumerist.com/5278613/5-things-for-chrysler--gm-car-owners-to-know-now

Not So Cold ... Doctor’s Order .. the chilling white wine far too long

IT could be that I’m a crank. Or a grump. Or maybe I’m anticipating that time in life when I’m not expected to be anything but cranky or grumpy. But I must call attention to an almost reflex practice among many American wine drinkers that troubles me in the extreme.

It’s the habit of chilling white wine far too long and drinking it way too cold.

This is perhaps a pointless argument to make in a country that loves things cold. We demand ice cubes in just about any beverage but beer, yet fetishize cold beer to the extent of marketing a brand simply by promising it will offer an icier drinking experience, all while reveling in the shivery goose-flesh chill of over-air-conditioned theaters, restaurants, cars and offices.

Nonetheless, I feel that I must try if only because it is clear to me that drinking overchilled white wine — good white wine — deprives one of fully enjoying the complex aromas and delicious flavors in the glass.

read the rest> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/dining/03pour.html?_r=1&ref=dining

At $2.3 Billion, This Mall Could Be Too Big to Fail

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The chair lifts, fans and snow guns are in place, which means that the 800-foot indoor ski slope, the only one in the country, is ready to be covered with manufactured snow. The floor tiles, including some with intricate mosaic patterns and others that sparkle like fireflies, have been laid. The anchor restaurant, a Cheesecake Factory, looks as if it could be welcoming customers before long.

But although its common areas are nearly completed, the 2.4-million-square-foot Meadowlands Xanadu is eerily quiet.

The opening of the $2.3 billion entertainment-and-shopping center, originally scheduled for last November and then postponed until this summer, has been delayed again until some unspecified date next year. Work has slowed considerably at the project, which occupies state-owned land in the Meadowlands Sports Complex, at the intersection of Route 3 and Interstate 95, where the Giants and Jets are building a football stadium.

Read the rest > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/realestate/commercial/20xanadu.html?ex=1259035200&en=e61c24c3e7a6b8d3&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=RE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M099-ROS-0609-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

The Elders of California

While out in California recently I took part in a tasting of wonderful old California cabernet sauvignons at a benefit for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. The tasting, held on a breezy, transporting afternoon in the Berkeley foothills, in the comfortable living room of Dwight M. Jaffee, a finance professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lynne LaMarca Heinrich, a fund-raising consultant, was another confirmation of how well California cabernets can age.

read the rest > http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/the-elders-of-california/?src=twt&twt=nytimesthepour