By Steve Rhodes
Jim Cramer is a showman with a crappy track record, but he’s Wall Street’s showman so it’s noteworthy that he just put Michael Ferro on his Wall of Shame with this takedown:
Posted on May 27, 2016
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
New Tribune Publishing investor and vice chairman Patrick Soon-Shiong has his “machine vision,” but it already sounds antiquated (if not inherently silly and nonviable) compared to what Apple is cooking up.
“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 66 newly granted patents for Apple Inc.,” Patently Apple reported earlier this month.
“In this particular report we cover one of Apple’s most revolutionary ideas that they’ve had in some time. Apple’s invention covers a futuristic newspaper using a very thin flexible OLED display.
“Apple reveals that the new device would use an advanced form of MMS to deliver the content to this new kind of device.
“Apple notes that ‘Although the availability of multimedia information is ubiquitous, proper viewing, display, and delivery of information for an enjoyable user experience is still lacking. This is especially the case for viewing periodicals such as online magazines or news content on a mobile device where a large display is desirable.'”
In other words, while Soon-Shiong works on reinventing the print newspaper, Apple is at work reinventing the mobile newspaper.
Posted on May 26, 2016
The [Wednesday] Papers
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotechnology pioneer, wants to bring the print newspaper back to life,” Bloomberg reports.
“On Monday, Tribune Publishing Co. said Soon-Shiong’s Nant Capital had made a $70.5 million investment in the publisher, a move seen as an attempt to fend off a hostile takeover by Gannett Co. Soon-Shiong will become vice chairman of the board, and Nant Capital will have a 12.9 percent stake, making it Tribune’s second-largest shareholder.
“In an interview, Soon-Shiong, a 63-year-old surgeon and chief executive officer of NantKwest Inc., a cancer-research firm, said he wants to use ‘machine vision’ technology he’s developed to transform the experience of reading a print newspaper.”
Uh-oh.
Posted on May 24, 2016
The Weekend Desk Report
By Steve Rhodes
Like potholes, maddeningly long TSA lines are hardly just a Chicago concern. It would be nice if local media coverage placed the problems we’re having here in a national context.
For example, CBS This Morning produced this piece over a month ago about security lines doubling at airports around the nation. As you can see, the head of the TSA even went to Seattle and met with airport officials there amidst local talk of replacing federal screeners with privatized workers! I mean, I know Rahm Emanuel (and Dick Durbin et al) are acting as if they are the toughest hombres on the planet, ordering the TSA chief to O’Hare for a dressing down, but in reality this is just the latest in a long line of stops in which TSA officials are saying there isn’t much they can do but thank you for inviting us here.
Watch:
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Pack your patience!
Posted on May 21, 2016
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“In an unprecedented move, city attorneys on Friday offered to admit to a federal jury that a code of silence exists in the Chicago Police Department if it meant Mayor Rahm Emanuel would not have to testify about it at the upcoming trial involving two whistleblower cops,” the Tribune reports.
Because presumably only bad things can happen when you get Rahm Emanuel under oath – and before a jury. City attorneys would admit to being the real killers O.J. Simpson has been looking for if it meant they could keep Rahm off the stand.
Posted on May 20, 2016
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“The city’s population fell by 3,000 residents, or 0.11 percent, during the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2015, Crain’s Greg Hinz reports.”
Name those 3,000 people! I mean, let’s find them and ask them why they left. Can we get grant funding for that?
Posted on May 19, 2016
The [Wednesday] Papers
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
I briefly considered making fun of Mel Reynolds today, but his life is actually not very funny. It’s tragic, and sad.
And so is the life of Sinead O’Connor. (And many of our own lives.)
Posted on May 17, 2016
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Marathon security lines over the weekend stranded dozens of people overnight at O’Hare International Airport because of missed flights, as a TSA staffing shortage continues to plague travelers nationwide, airline officials said,” the Tribune (and others) reports.
Transportation Security Administration lines were more than two hours long Sunday, causing 450 people to miss their flights, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott. Stranded passengers who couldn’t get on a later flight slept on cots at the American terminal.
The lines are being blamed on insufficient TSA staffing due to strengthened security measures, a higher-than-anticipated increase in air traffic and incorrect guesses about how many people would sign up for expedited screening. The situation has been accelerating for months – and is expected to get worse heading into the busy summer travel season.
Midway is no picnic, either.
Posted on May 16, 2016