What Would Henry Ford Think?

The Model T, the ’32 deuce coupe, the Thunderbird, the Mustang: For much of its 115-year history, Ford Motor Co. has been synonymous with cars.

But now Ford, one of the great engines of 20th Century American industry, is about to do the unthinkable: abandon the American car business almost entirely.

Just two years from now, a mere 10 percent of the vehicles rolling off Ford assembly lines and into North American showrooms will be sedans and sports cars like the Taurus or Mustang. The rest will be pickups, SUVs and commercial vehicles — more lucrative models that the company hopes will secure its future as change tears through the global auto industry.

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Rear Adm.(Dr) Ronnie Jackson has withdrawn his name for consideration to become the next Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

NPR:

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Trump’s embattled nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, has withdrawn from consideration for the post amid allegations he had fostered a hostile work environment and behaved improperly while serving as the top doctor leading the White House medical unit.

In a statement Thursday morning, Jackson said, “Going into this process, I expected tough questions about how to best care for our veterans, but I did not expect to have to dignify baseless and anonymous attacks on my character and integrity.”

Jackson, who has been serving in his role as Director of White House Medical Unit since 2006, was appointed physician to the President by then-President Barack Obama and retained by President Trump. But his appointment to head the second largest department of the federal government raised eyebrows from the start:

More from NPR:

Jackson’s initial nomination came as a surprise to many when the president announced his pick last month to lead the VA after the departure of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who had been confirmed with unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate.

While previous presidents had praised Jackson’s medical care, almost immediately questions arose as to whether or not he had the managerial experience to oversee a massive health care operation of 370,000 employees that serves more than nine million veterans and has a budget of nearly $200 billion.

“Admiral Jackson is highly trained and qualified and as a service member himself, he has seen firsthand the tremendous sacrifice our veterans make and has a deep appreciation for the debt our great country owes them,” Trump said in announcing his nomination.

But after the allegations against Jackson began to be reported by national media outlets this week, Trump said he wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson wanted to withdraw given the rising storm, but that it was “his decision.”

President Trump, while praising and defending his nominee, quickly turned his attention to political concerns.
AP:

In a phone interview with “Fox & Friends” Thursday, Trump says Jackson “would have done a great job,” but that he saw where his nomination was going.

Trump says he told Jackson, a Navy vice admiral: “Welcome to Washington. Welcome to the swamp. Welcome to the world of politics,”

Trump places the blame on Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, whose office issued a report Wednesday listing allegations it had gathered about Jackson’s work as White House doctor. Trump says: “I think Jon Tester has to have a big price to pay in Montana.”

Whatever comes next, certainly there will be more chaos and controversy for the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Answer the question, or take the physical challenge? Kids who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s might be listening to their own children hear those words, if Nickelodeon’s announced return of Double Dare succeeds.

TV Guide:

Nickelodeon announced Wednesday that it’s reviving the iconic ’80s and ’90s kids’ game show Double Dare. The network has ordered 40 episodes of the series, to premiere in the summer.

Originally running (under various titles like Family Double Dare and Super Slimy Double Dare) from 1986 to 1993, the Marc Summers-hosted show had families compete at trivia and physical challenges before making it to the grand finale: running through a messy obstacle course that culminated in pulling a slimy snot-covered flag out of a giant disembodied nose. It ruled, which is why the revival will keep the format.

But more than nostalgia is behind such a move. Nickelodeon, long the king of Kids TV networks, is losing ratings, along with Disney Channel and Cartoon Network.

Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw reports kids-centered broadcast television, long a ratings stalwart, is hurting:

Kids TV networks are suffering their worst year of ratings declines in recent history/ever. Disney/Nick/Cartoon all down 20%+ https://t.co/YvH6E3pcr9 pic.twitter.com/nB4I48AllF

— Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) April 25, 2018

And the reason for that decline:Streaming

The cable networks for children, in decline for years, are now in a free fall. This season’s ratings for the 2-to-11 set are shaping up to be the worst yet. And few in the industry predict a turnaround.

The implications are enormous for giants like Viacom Inc. and Walt Disney Co. Viewership of the three most-popular networks for the very young — Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network — is down more than 20 percent this season from year earlier, according to data from Nielsen. It’s a low point in a long-running trend as Netflix Inc., YouTube and other streaming services have taken off.

Media companies still make money from children’s TV, with the most-watched cartoons spawning toy brands and licensing deals that can generate millions of dollars. So “the traditional brands are stuck in a tough position,” said Birk Rawlings, who left Nickelodeon to run DreamWorksTV, a kids media company that includes a YouTube channel. “They can see what is changing, but to embrace what’s new they must run away from a healthy business.”

It will be good for some to see an old friend, but the new ways of viewing kids programming are both posing tough questions and a physical challenge to broadcasters.

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