Who Had the Worst Week?

• Hurricane Idalia took two lives and is expected to cost insurance companies nearly $10 billion.
• Denver appears to be on the hook for another $4.72 million in payouts to Black Lives Matter protestors whose rights were violated. Desperate for a silver lining? Last year, the city paid $14 million to protestors, so … they’re trending in the right direction?
• Former Denver Post reporter Joseph Sebastian Sinisi passed away at the age of 80. Known for his thick Brooklyn accent, he covered everything from Pope John Paul II‘s visit to Denver to the Columbine High School shooting.
• Newspaper chain Gannett is rethinking its efforts to use AI to write high school sports stories after the technology botched several stories in Ohio. Or as the Gannett AI bot would report it, “The outlet of news media Gannett made the verdict to come to an end of its assessment of AI technology due to bigly wrong effects.”
• “Almost 42 million Americans – over one-eighth of the U.S. population – are estimated to have lived within one mile of a mass shooting since 2014,” according to CNN.
• The number of euthanizations performed by the Denver Animal Shelter has doubled since 2020. Experts blame several factors, including inflation that had made pet expenses soar, including costs associated with spaying or neutering animals.
• The Texas Tribune, “one of nonprofit news’ brightest stars,” is under fire for a lack of transparency around its recent layoffs, and for utilizing the services of a high-priced, high-profile, New York City-based crisis communications firm while simultaneously claiming financial hardship.
• Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and journalist Stephanie Ruhle are scrambling to explain the nature of their relationship after he gave her a secret burner phone to share nonpublic financial details and she provided him PR counsel on how to address negative publicity.
• A Nebraska man was pulled over by police for driving with a massive bull sitting in the passenger seat of his compact car. He had removed half of the car’s roof and windshield to make room for the animal. Nebraska, amiright?
• Pet dementia is real. Experts estimate that as many as 35% of the pet dog population age 8 and older and nearly one-third of cats ages 11 to 14 are affected.
• Ruby Franke, famous for her “8 Passengers” YouTube channel, was arrested on charges of child abuse.
• Burger King is being sued for allegedly making its Whopper burgers look 35% larger in ads than they really are.
• Rapper 50 Cent allegedly threw a malfunctioning microphone into the crowd at a concert, hitting and injuring a fan. While I don’t condone that, it is nice to see performers getting to hit fans with stuff for a change.
• American Airlines has been fined $4.1 million for holding passengers hostage on tarmacs.

So, who won the week?

• Denver Post reporter Jon Murray has been promoted to senior editor for public affairs at the paper.
• Lauren Scafidi is joining 9News as a reporter. She joins the station from 9 & 10 News in Northern Michigan.
• Colorado Public Radio has purchased a 72,000 square-foot building at 7th and Grant to serve as home for CPR News, Denverite, CPR Classical, Indie 102.3, Audio Innovations and the organization’s production and business offices. A donor footed the $8.34 million cost.
• Michelin Guide Colorado named nine local spots to its list of “budget-friendly” restaurants. Casa Bonita is not on it, but Hop Alley in Five Points and Basta in Boulder are.
• CNN named former New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson as its chairman and CEO. His job: to stop “a nearly endless string of crises for the last 18 months.”
• Who says cheating doesn’t pay? Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and his wife have sold their Aspen home for $17.5 million.
• Ethics Month for PR professionals begins today. I don’t think asking PR people to be ethical one month per year is too much to ask.
• The University of Nebraska women’s volleyball team set the world’s record for attendance at a women’s sports event this week, drawing 92,003 fans to its match against Omaha.