Media Navel Gaze: December 1, 2014

The Week Unpeeled

Black Friday was more shades of grey really with early-bird specials taking the usual punch out of post-Thanksgiving mall mayhem and big retailers now seeing more and more of their customers shop online (about 40 percent).  Still, some reports showed that overall online sales were down 5 percent so far this season.  Cyber Monday (that seems quaint now, right?) awaits.

Elsewhere:

• November proved to be an extremely strong month for stocks where records were anything but rare and the Dow ended the month up 2.5 percent to close at 17,828 (Walmart, by the way, led the charge, up 3 percent on Friday);
• The US economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a decade, with GDP in the third quarter rising 3.9 percent, suggesting perhaps that the indicators are catching up to the stock market at last;
• A Ferguson jury did not charge a Missouri policeman in the killing of a teen, sparking protests in cities around America and front-page and editorial coverage throughout the week;
• US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned, apparently amid misaligned views on strikes against ISIS; and
• Snooki wed.