Almost without exception news articles cite Citigroup’s claim that the Postal Service is undercharging Amazon as if it were true. Too bad it’s not.
When good news is bad news: The Postal Service spins its Q3 financial report
One might think that a good financial report would be welcome news to postal management, but good news isn’t good when you’re trying to justify downsizing, service cuts, and more dismantling. The third quarter financial report came out last week, and it looks like the Postal Service is having a decent year. Maybe the worst is over. Maybe the upturn … Read More
The Postal Service propaganda machine kicks into gear
Over the past couple of weeks, numerous local news outlets around the country have published op-ed pieces and "letters to the editor" written by District Managers of the Postal Service. The writers argue that Congress needs to give the Postal Service more freedom to act like a business so that it can return to profitability. They advocate going to five-day … Read More
More fun with charts: The Times graphs mail volumes
The New York Times has an opinion forum today with six contributors weighing in on the Postal Service’s plan to eliminate next-day delivery for first-class mail. One of the contributors is yours truly, Steve Hutkins of “Save the Post Office,” so many thanks to the Times and editor Katy Roberts for the opportunity to tell a different story about what’s … Read More
The New York Times Editorial: How many things can you get wrong in 300 words?
The New York Times welcomes the holiday season with a 300-word editorial entitled “Overhauling the Post Office for the 21ST Century.” The piece gets so many things wrong that it would be laughable if it weren’t so maddening. It’s really the Times’ editorial staff that ought to overhauled. On five-day delivery First, the Times calls the request from management to … Read More
Setting the Record Straight, part one: The Postmaster Takes the National Review to School
The Oct. 3 issue of the National Review has an article by Robert VerBruggen entitled “Dead Letter – Tough Unions, Weak Management Doom the USPS.” The National Review Online is subscription only, so you’re spared having to read it, but if you want a taste of VerBruggen, you can check out some of his earlier pieces, like “Yes, End the Postal … Read More
Setting the Record Straight, part two: The NY Times Does It Again
The New York Times does it again. Not a word, not one, about the hundreds of “Save America’s Postal Service” rallies that took place across the country on September 27, and then today it publishes an article with the usual mainstream-media slant and uncritical repetition of Postal Service PR. It's by Randall Stross, a business professor at San Jose State University, … Read More
What’s wrong with the Postal Service? How about what’s wrong with the media?
Trying to correct all the bogus postal stories being put out by the media and think-tanks is like playing a game of Whack-a-Mole, and it’s impossible to come out ahead. One day it’s the Congressional Research Service publishing a flawed report on the post office, then it’s the New York Times, and who can keep up with the Washington Post? … Read More
Mix-Up at the Times: Editorial Ends Up as Front-Page Lead
Leave it to the New York Times to ignore the story on the post office for months, and then to put out a front-page piece that gets most of the story wrong. Actually, the piece is fine, but it’s in the wrong part of the paper — it belongs on the Op-Ed page. It’s not news. It’s rife with opinion, slant, and … Read More
It’s the end of the post office, and the national media didn’t get the press release
More than 150 post offices close in a matter of months, over a thousand post offices are under study for closure, the Postal Service announces that it is going to consider 3,600 post offices for discontinuance over the next year, and the Postal Regulatory Commission is about to begin a review of the USPS plan for an Advisory Opinion—an Opinion … Read More
