Why are so many newspapers going under?
(PHOTO CREDIT: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES)
The newspaper industry could be at a breaking point. Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 this week and the Wall Street Journal reports that the New York Times Company, which publishes 19 newspapers, is negotiating with lenders to borrow less next year due to falling ad revenues.
Newspaper publishers say there's been a 15 percent drop in advertising sales across the industry this year and the outlook is bleak for 2009.
Papers were already struggling to compete with cable TV and the internet and now the economic downturn is spelling more trouble.
Last year Tribune, which owns television stations and newspapers, went private and was bought out for $8.2 billion but it wasn't enough to save them.
The New York Times has been cutting costs by consolidating and closing print plants.
McClatchy Company, which owns 30 newspapers, cut 2,550 jobs this year and took other steps to cut $200 million. But it still may not be enough.
Here's my question to you: What does it mean that so many newspapers are going under?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Liberals right to be upset with President-elect Obama?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Poll, 79-percent of Americans approve of the way President-elect Barack Obama is handling his transition to the White House. And those are pretty good numbers, 14-percentage points higher than President-elect George W. Bush received and 17-percentage points higher than President-elect Bill Clinton.
Some are voicing concerns about Barack Obama though, many of whom campaigned for "change" alongside him, but feel they've ended up with something quite different. Specifically, some Liberals are not happy with his cabinet appointments from the political center as well as his change of mind on things like rolling back the Bush tax cuts, taking on big oil and hedging plans to pull out of Iraq.
In Sunday's Washington Post, David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief of the liberal non-profit magazine Mother Jones, said: "Sure, Obama's appointments do represent change - that is, change from the widely unpopular Bush-Cheney status quo. But do these appointments amount to the kind of change that Progressives, who were an essential part of Obama's political base during the campaign, can really believe in?"
Here’s my question to you: Are Liberals right to be upset with President-elect Obama's cabinet appointments and tax cut plans?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Gov. Blagojevich trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested by Federal authorities this morning on corruption charges. A 76-page complaint spells out numerous allegations against the Governor including trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
The evidence seems clear: conversations caught on tape thanks to wiretaps of the Governor's home and campaign office.
The depth of the corruption alleged in the complaint is breathtaking - even for Illinois. It includes Blagojevich allegedly instructing his chief of staff to tell the Tribune Company to fire members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board in exchange for assitance from the Illinois Finance Authority to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field.
Illinois political corruption is not new... Governor George Ryan is serving a six-year sentence for fraud and racketeering.
And former Governor Dan Walker was convicted, after leaving office, for bank fraud.
But this could be a new low. Under Illinois law it is up to the governor to name a replacement to fill Barack Obama's senate seat, but whether Blagojevich will still get to do that remains to be seen. The prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, says the governor retains that right despite today's arrest.
Here’s my question to you: Do you believe that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Karl Rove's book: What would make you buy it?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
No big surprise here: Karl Rove has signed a $1.5 million book deal with publishing giant Simon and Schuster.
He promises the usual behind-the-scenes look and vows to not only name names. He told Fox News he'll go a step further and give examples of how Washington insiders were unaccepting of President Bush. A lot of them simply felt Bush was not qualified to lead the country. Rove also says that while Bush was quick to call on his subordinates to take responsibility for their actions, "The Decider" was a little slow to ever take responsibility for his own. According to Rove, Bush's failures were always somebody else's fault.
He says he will identify those who questioned whether or not George Bush could be a legitimate President.
In an interview Rove said much of the resistance to the Bush Administration was directed toward the Texans Bush brought with him to Washington because they weren't Beltway insiders.
Here’s my question to you: What would Karl Rove have to say to get you to buy his book?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Good idea for D.C. bars to stay open all night during inauguration?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is going to be a huge celebration bringing millions of people to Washington D.C. to party.
In order to literally keep the party going all night long, the city council passed emergency legislation this week allowing bars, night clubs and restaurants to stay open around the clock from January 17th until January 21st.
People could disagree about whether this is a real good idea. Yesterday, the leader of the Washington D.C. police union told the Washington Post he's worried that police resources could be insufficient during Inauguration weekend because of extended hours for clubs, bars and restaurants.
He said the officers in the seven precincts that serve the district will be spread thin and the amount of manpower needed for these extended bar hours is unknown. What is known, or can be reasonably assumed, is that if between three and five million people descend on Washington for the inauguration and the bars are open around the clock there could be problems.
Here’s my question to you: Is it a good idea to keep the bars in Washington D.C. open 24 hours a day for four days during inauguration week?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Pres.-Elect Obama assertive with financial crisis, auto industry?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/05/art.obama2.gi.jpg caption=" The President-Elect insists there's only one President at a time."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President-Elect Barack Obama isn't even in office yet and already members of his own party are whining. You'd think after the last eight years they would be so happy to have him on his way to the oval office that they would keep their mouths shut, but no.
Some Democrats, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, are complaining that they want a more assertive Barack Obama.
The President-Elect insists there's only one President at a time, although some say his numerous press conferences and public image suggest he's more presidential than the president.
Doesn't matter, members of his own party say he's not being aggressive enough when it comes to critical economic issues facing the country like the potential collapse of the auto industry and the mortgage meltdown.
President-Elect Obama called for an extension of unemployment benefits, which passed and has talked about a stimulus package before he takes office. He has also said he wants to help the auto industry. But apparently that's not enough for the whiners.
Here’s my question to you: Is President-Elect Obama being assertive enough when it comes to issues like the auto industry and the financial crisis?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities without U.S.?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/05/art.israel.air.b.gi.jpg caption="Should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities without coordination with the US?"]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Israel is apparently considering a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities without our help.
The Jerusalem Post reports Israel is drawing up options to attack Iran WITHOUT coordination with the U.S.
Coordination would be helpful because the U.S. controls Iraqi airspace and the U.S. Air Force could give the codes to the Israeli Air Force.
A top official with the Israeli Defense Ministry told the newspaper that while it's better to coordinate an attack, they are considering options that do not include our help.
Various news reports have said President Bush has refused to give Israel the green light.
But that won't necessarily stop an attack.
Officials in Teheran are reportedly skeptical that Israel will strike.
There's apparently still some time left to decide on making a move...Israeli officials say while Iran is making progress, they don't expect them to have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb until the end of next year.
Here’s my question to you: Should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities without coordination with the United States?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Pres.-Elect Obama scale back inauguration plans?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/12/04/art.inaug.b.gi.jpg caption="Preparation for Obama's inauguration is already underway in Washington, D.C."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Oprah's going to Washington along with everyone else. The daytime Diva plans to do her television show from the Nation's Capitol during inauguration week.
Estimates are that 3 million people may show up for this historic event...the swearing in of the first Black President. The mayor of Washington says it could be as many as 5 million.
Some will come to watch and some to celebrate. There will be numerous parties and even formal balls.
But according to a CNN opinion poll out today about the economy, 79 percent of Americans say things are going badly in the country right now and 42 percent say the recession is serious.
News of layoffs and pleas for government bailouts continue. The bad news about the economy shows no sign of letting up, so is it really time for a huge celebration?
Obama insiders won't reveal any details of the inauguration plans but they tell CNN the party will go on. We just don't know how big a party it will be.
Here’s my question to you: Should Barack Obama scale back his inauguration celebration in light of the economic crisis facing the country?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Will loss of automakers lead to a depression?
GM CEO Richard Wagoner, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, Ford CEO Alan Mulally and CEO of Chrysler Robert Nardelli were back on Capitol Hill today. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A top executive at Chrysler, Vice Chairman Jim Press, is warning that the failure of just one of the Big Three automakers could drive the U.S. economy into a depression.
The CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and GM were back on Capitol Hill today asking for $34 billion in aid, just two weeks after they asked for $25 billion and were shot down.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally quoted an estimate from Goldman Sachs during his testimony that said the failures of the three companies could cost the U.S. economy up to $1 trillion.
Sure the companies need cash. And sure they directly provide jobs to 355,000 workers. And an additional 4.5 million jobs in related industries. But there are real questions about whether we would be throwing good money after bad. Detroit has failed to keep up with a changing industry for years, despite the handwriting that was clearly put on the wall by Toyota and Honda, among others. American cars come with legacy costs unrivaled anywhere in the industry. Sales figures released this week were terrible. GM down 41 percent, Ford down 31 percent. Congress is grappling with whether the cure is worse than the disease.
Here’s my question to you: Will the loss of any one of the Big Three auto companies lead to a depression?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Half of Americans want health care as is?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President-elect Obama campaigned on promises to fix the ailing health care system.
An estimated 47 million Americans have no health insurance. And you don't have to look far to find those who do have coverage complaining about it.
But a new Gallup poll finds that Americans are sending mixed signals when it comes to health care.
Watch: Cafferty: Health care poll?
Forty nine percent of those surveyed said leave the system as it is. Only 41 percent said they want a new government-run system.
There's more confusion. The poll found 59 percent say the current system has major problems. Access and cost are cited as the biggest concerns.
But at the same time, 57 percent say their health care is excellent or good.
On the heels of a campaign promising change, health care included, most people, according to this poll, are really okay with what they have.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean when almost half of Americans want to leave the health care system as it is?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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