Too many "buts" in Black Friday coverage

Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, notes the preponderance of “buts” in stories about Black Friday shopping.

Morris writes, “Best balance — without a but — was in the Midwest where Grumpy Editor noticed this paragraph by Doug Schorpp in the Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa:
 
“‘It’s difficult to get a handle on the effects of the economic slide on Black Friday shopping. Some retailers said they saw only a slight dropoff in the usual hordes. Others said they were as busy as in previous years. Shoppers still waited in lines for hours for stores to open, showing up in big numbers to hunt down sales on the unofficial first day of the holiday shopping season. Many stores opened as early as 4 a.m.’

“The ‘buts’ may not be over.

“Today is Cyber Monday when millions of shoppers with Internet access go online seeking thousands of holiday promotions from retailers.

“Web sales may set a record, but… “

Read more here.