In Other News: Government awarding $1 billion to schools for electric buses; Once key, US newspaper editorial endorsements fade away

Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 29, 2022

Once key, US newspaper editorial endorsements fade away

Once a key part of the political season and an important role for newspapers, editorial endorsements of candidates are fading away. A recent announcement that newspapers controlled by the Alden Global Capital hedge fund would no longer endorse candidates for president, governor and U.S. Senate is the latest indicator of the trend. In many cases, endorsements have become victim to both the news industry’s troubles and the era’s bitter politics. After many newspapers advised against voting for Donald Trump as president in 2016 — and he won anyway — many news organizations wonder if it’s worth alienating readers when they’re hard enough to come by.

Government awarding $1 billion to schools for electric busesNearly 400 school districts across the country are receiving grants totaling about $1 billion to purchase 2,500 “clean” school buses under a new federal program. The Biden administration is making the grants available as part of a wider effort to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution near schools and communities. Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan are set to announce the grant awards Wednesday in Seattle. The new, mostly electric school buses are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and better protect children’s health.

Nielsen, Amazon Prime spar over who really watches footballBy the Nielsen company’s count, 7.8 million people watched Amazon Prime’s coverage of last Thursday’s NFL game between New Orleans and Arizona. But Amazon says no, there were actually 8.9 million people watching. So which is it? You’ll have to judge for yourself. After each of its Thursday night games this season, Amazon has publicly contradicted Nielsen in this manner, one of the boldest challenges ever to a company that for generations has monopolized the count of people watching programs on television. Neither company is saying the other is wrong, but neither is backing down, either. The result is confusion, most notably for advertisers. Nielsen, as it has for years, follows the viewing habits in a panel of homes across the country and, from that limited sample, derives an estimate of how many people watch a particular program. That number is currency in the media industry, meaning it is used to determine advertising rates. Amazon, in the first year of an 11-year contract to stream Thursday night games, says it has an actual count of every one of its subscribers who streams it — not an estimate. The games are also televised in the local markets of the participating teams, about 9% of its total viewership each week, and Amazon uses Nielsen’s estimate for that portion of the total.