BoRev and Simon Romero

["michael a. lebowitz" <mlebowit@xxxxxx>]

Looks like a favourite blog, BoRev [worth an RSS], has identified a favourite target of mine--- the future ex-NYT correspondent in Vzla./m

BoRev.Net

Dispatches from the Bolivarian Revolution

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Perfectly Good Economist Story Mocked By ?Economic Reality? »

So You Want to Be a Foreign Correspondent?

Looking for a
glamorous new job in an exotic land working for a bigshot international
newspaper? It may be easier than you think! Seriously. 

As the New York Times? Simon Romero shows us, all it takes is a good
grasp of conventional wisdom, access to the wire services, and a short
rolodex of contacts for a couple of pithy new quotes. Oh and a blender!
Fruity rum drinks are a must in the tropics.

Once in a while you may want to mix it up with an original story on your
favorite local vacation spot, peculiar wildlife or cheesy local gossip,
but really, you don?t need to get too crazy. 

A quick look at Romero?s Venezuela stories over the last few months shows
that roughly 80% of them came from sources other than?his own
noggin.

Join us in Margaritaville, after the jump. We?ll even bring along the
laz-o-meter to rank each story. 

Here we go. In chronological order:

Legislature Grants Chavez Broad New Powers to Shape Venezuela
February 1
Storyline: Chavez gets supersized. 
Point of Interest: Some Venezuelans like their president; others
don?t. 
Originality: While short on substance, the article is long
on?tardiness. This had all been written up two weeks earlier by

Voice of America, and they're one of those ineffiecient state
run news outlets. Hell, even

I had published an article on this two days earlier.
Laziness Score: ZZZZ (out of 5)

'76 Bomb Resonates With Diplomats, Not With the Bomber
February 3 [Link not available]
Storyline: An interview with the terrorist who blew up planes
with Luis Posada Carriles.
Point of Interest: Although families of the dead still hate him,
the terrorist lives in quiet obscurity today, which pretty much destroys
Posada?s extradition defense. 
Originality: A rare Simon Romero exclusive!
Laziness Score: Z

Chavez Threatens to Jail Violators of Price Controls
February 17
Storyline: Tyrannical dictator threatens lawbreakers with U.S.-style
?jury trials.?
Point of Interest: Mad, hot hyperbolic quotes: ''If the government
insists on sticking to policies that are clearly failing, we may be
headed down the road of Zimbabwe.''
Originality: The ?jail threat? lede was announced on Venezuelan TV
the day before. The rest of the story, on Venezuela?s inflation, was
covered by the

Associated Press nine days earlier. 
Laziness Score: ZZZZ

Expanding Power Puts Family of Venezuelan President Under Increasing
Scrutiny
February 13
Storyline: V-slime gets slung as Romero travels to Chavez?
hometown.
Point of Interest: Chavez?s mom has a poodle! His brother drives a
hummer!
Originality: Umm, nobody else would cover this crap. A Simon
Romero exclusive!
Laziness Score: Z 

Venezuela Rivals U.S. in Aid to Bolivia
February 23
Storyline: Chavez is taking over where the U.S. left off, only
without all that good ol? American benevolence.
Point of Interest: Moderate headline aside, Venezuelan aid to
Bolivia actually obliterates that of the US. 
Originality: Aside from the groovy numbers estimates, this is
virtually the same story that was published in the LA Times

two weeks before. 
Laziness Score: ZZZ

Chavez Ends Busy Week Aiding Venezuela's Latin Neighbors
February 24
Storyline: Chavez blows Venezuela?s fortune on aid to Nicaragua,
Ecuador and Argentina. 
Point of Interest: The Argentine bond buyout, which generated
millions of dollars for Venezuela?s treasury, is portrayed as a
giveaway.
Originality: The Washington Post published the same story, with

far more detail, the day before.
Laziness Score: ZZZZ

Venezuela Spending on Arms Soars to World's Top Ranks
February 25
Storyline: Chavez wants to blow up your kids
Point of Interest: According to media watchdog groups, virtually
every statistic cited in this article is
bullshit. 
Originality:

Bloomberg reported the same BS numbers three days earlier.
Laziness Score: ZZZZZ

Chavez Shares Some Airtime With Castro
Feb 28 [No link available]
Storyline: Despite US ?intelligence?, Castro is still
alive.
Point of Interest: Romero transcribes portions of the
conversation.
Originality: Everyone published this story the same day. I mean,
it was on TV, you don?t even need to get out of your
recliner.
Laziness Score: ZZZZ

Venezuela and Iran Strengthen Ties With Caracas-to-Tehran Flight
March 3
Storyline: Conviasa Airlines begin weekly flight between Venezuela
and Iran. 
Point of Interest: Romero manages to link ?tourism? and ?Iran?s
uranium enrichment program.?
Originality: AP had run the story

three weeks earlier. Romero even borrowed the same quote from the
Iranian Ambassador in Caracas from the AP piece.
Laziness Score: ZZZZZ

Venezuela to
Give Currency New Name and Numbers
March 18
Storyline: Chavez is an economic retard if he thinks ?redenominating?
will solve the country?s inflation problem
Point of Interest: This ?startling? announcement that ?baffled?
economists ignores the actual inflation-fighting plan,

which worked.
Originality: Romero seemed to have copied his entire analysis,
mistakes and all, from a

Bloomberg story that ran a full month earlier.
Laziness Score: ZZZZZ

Health Inspectors Take Note: Rodents Can Be a Delicacy
March 21
Storyline: Venezuelans like to eat big rats & pretend its
fish.
Point of Interest: Capybaras eat their own poop.
Originality: A Simon Romero Exclusive!
Laziness Score: Z

Cuba and Venezuela, the Odd Couple
April 1 [no link available]
Storyline: Unlike Cuba, Venezuela is riddled with crime, fake
breasts.
Point of Interest: Mexicans Cubans take the crap jobs that
Venezuelans won?t.
Originality: Not only was the ?light bulb? portion of this story
covered by AP

back in November, but Romero notes that he got his interviews when
the ?three Cubans lugging bags of light bulbs showed up at this
reporter's home.? !!! What next? The lives of Mormon missionaries
or mailmen?
Laziness Score: ZZZZZ 

A New
Decree From Chavez: Less Elbow-Bending
April 4
Storyline: Venezuela restricts alcohol sales hours during violence
prone holiday.
Point of Interest: Everyone fucking breaks the law.
Originality: The AP story had been tearing up the internet for 5
days (with the hyper-paranoid
subhead ?some suspect
measure inspired by Iran?) before Romero got around to copying
independently verifying it.
Laziness Score: ZZZZZ

Deadline Nears In Chavez Fight Against Big Oil
April 9
Storyline: Big oil hates Chavez
Point of Interest: Romero turns up some jingopath in Houston
willing to say this with a straight face: ?'Chavez poses a much bigger
threat to America's energy security than Saddam Hussein ever did.''
Originality: Deranged quotes aside, this cowboy ?showdown? story
had been covered for weeks by Reuters
(
here &

here), the

Wall Street Journal, and

Market Watch.
Laziness Score: ZZZZ 

Salud, Simon! Nice gig you've got.

Tags:

• Hugo Chavez
• Media
• NYT
• Simon Romero
• Venezuela

Posted on April 12, 2007 6:47 PM |

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posted on April 12, 2007 6:47 PM.

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Press Blackout Enters Second Day.

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Michael A. Lebowitz

Professor Emeritus

Economics Department

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6

Currently based in Venezuela.

NOTE NEW PHONE NUMBERS

Can be reached at

Residencias Anauco Suites

Departamento 601

Parque Central, Zona Postal 1010, Oficina 1

Caracas, Venezuela

(58-212) 573-6333, 571-1520, 571-3820 (or hotel cell: 0412-200-7540)

fax: (58-212) 573-7724