This is the second part of a three-part series on News in America. Part 1 provided the consumers’ perspective on the news. This part outlines journalists’ thoughts and industry data. Part 3 will present improvement recommendations. News in America is in trouble. It is “struggling” and in “chaos.” Those descriptors are not ours, but words of journalists who participated in a Pew Research Center survey (Pew) of nearly 12,000 U.S.-based journalists conducted in the … [Read more...]

  I’ve Got a Secret was an American TV panel game show that ran from the early ‘50‘s to the later 60’s. On the show, the panel tried to guess the secret of a contestant by asking a series of questions. More than one-half a century later, we do not have to ask investigative journalist Amanda Ripley any questions to guess her secret. In the opening of her widely circulated Washington Post column, she tells us: “I have a secret. I kept it hidden for longer than I … [Read more...]

  This nation came into being because it won The Revolutionary War fought with Great Britain from 1775 to 1783. The United States of America itself was officially established in 1787 with the signing of the Constitution. In the decades and centuries since then, citizens have won hard-fought battles for equality in An Evolutionary War to create the “more perfect union” envisioned in the preamble to the Constitution. In 2022, we are in the midst of A Devolutionary … [Read more...]

      The democratic republic known as the United States of America is fragmenting. The storming of our U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists on January 6, 2021 highlighted elements and some of the consequences of this fragmentation. The January 6 Committee, in its series of eight hearings, which began on June 9, is providing new and important insights into what caused and who precipitated and contributed to that assault. Unfortunately, however, January 6 is only the tip of … [Read more...]

  In the 20th century, Amazon was known as a river in South America with numerous tributaries. It was and still is by far the largest river in the world in terms of the discharge of water. In this 21st century, another Amazon has become known as one of the largest businesses in the world. Amazon is a diversified enterprise with numerous components. In its 2021 annual report, Amazon states that it seeks to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” It defines its primary customer … [Read more...]

    If there ever was a misnomer, social media is it. When social media first came on the scene in 1997, it was supposed to be an electronic platform for bringing us closer together — a way for friends, family, and like minds to network. As it evolved, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others were going to be the means for elevating our communications. In many instances it has achieved those ends. Unfortunately, in many instances it has not, and a segment of what transpires in the … [Read more...]

  From March 2021 to March 2022, wages for the American worker grew by 5.6%. Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff of Business Insider state, “Over the past year, wages have been skyrocketing as employers try to staff up…” For the week ending March 19, jobless claims fell by 28,000 to 187,000. According to Matt Ott of the Associated Press (AP), that is “the lowest since September of 1969.” On April 12, AP business writers Paul Wiseman, Anne D’Innocenzio and Mae Anderson … [Read more...]

    The Critical Shortage of Teachers, Truckers and Tradespeople. The first quarter of 2022, provided conflicting signals regarding the condition of employment in America. 678,000 new jobs were added in February according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This far exceeded the expected job growth of around 400,000. Nonetheless, the BLS also reported that “The number of job openings was little changed at 11.3 million on the last business day of … [Read more...]

    On January 6, 2020 a secessionist mob invaded the U.S. Capitol and unsuccessfully tried to overthrow a free and fair election. That should have been a pivot point for concerned Americans of all stripes to unite and put their country first instead of their party. Sadly, it was not. On, February 24, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine in a to-date unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the legitimate democratic government of that nation. Unexpectedly, that outrageous act caused Americans … [Read more...]

  So, on this night, on our 245th year as a nation, I have come to report on the state of the nation — the state of the union. And my report is this: the state of the union is strong because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we’ll be stronger a year from now than we are today. This is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. And we will, as one people. One America. The United States of America. God bless you all, … [Read more...]