Media News

Friday, 11/6/2009

Cable News Scrambles to Cover Fort Hood

When the first dribs and drabs of news began to emerge Thursday afternoon about the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, the cable news networks all quickly went to DEFCON 1, scrambling for any scrap of information and clambering for on-air guests germane to the tragedy. Unfortunately, for the first couple of hours, valuable nuggets were few and far between.

Wednesday, 11/4/2009

Time Inc. Files to Cut 280 Jobs in New York

Time Inc. has filed with the New York State Department of Labor, giving notice that it has planned 280 layoffs in the state between Nov. 2 and Jan. 31. This gives the first hint of hard numbers for Time Inc. layoffs; the company has so far declined to specify how many jobs it will cut.

Tuesday, 11/3/2009

Allen Surprised By WaPo Fistfight Coverage

Washington Post assignment editor Henry Allen, following news reports that he punched Style reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday night, says he was surprised by the huge reaction in the media world. "Back when I got into journalism, the idea that a fistfight in a newsroom would turn into a news story was unthinkable," he said. "The guys in the sports department at the New York Daily News, they had so many, you wouldn’t even look up."

Collecting Headlines Funnier Than This

Headlines in the satirical weekly newspaper The Onion tend to function both as punch line and setup, in that order. They are the heart of the paper, and not only the first thing anybody reads, but also, unlike headlines in real newspapers all over the world, the first things to be written. The staff devotes the first two days of every week to composing headlines.

Monday, 11/2/2009

Another Newspaper Bites the Dust

The Internet is picking off newspapers left and right and the latest victim: The East Valley Tribune. Heat City is reporting and the twitter-sphere is abuzz with news that the Trib will stop the presses for good on December 31. Freedom Communications, the Trib's parent company, declared bankruptcy last month and was looking to sell the Pulitzer Prize-winning paper but was unable to find a buyer -- or a serious offer, for that matter.

Dobbs Takes Flak From Many Directions

CNN’s Lou Dobbs is a man with a mission: Keep hammering on immigration in the United States. He’s been at it for years, warning that immigrants (illegal and sometimes legal) are a threat to the country’s economic and social well-being, maybe even its domestic tranquility and security. Whether or not he believes everything he says -- and apparently he does -- it’s a very effective broadcast shtick.

Friday, 10/30/2009

More Reporters Becoming Entrepreneurs

Nationwide staff cuts at media outlets around the country are prompting a new breed of independent news organizations to pop up. With more than 14,000 media-related jobs slashed this year alone, many journalists are helming their own publications. Jerry Lower, who worked at the Sun-Sentinel, founded The Coastal Star, a paper that serves the communities around Delray Beach, Florida.

Wall Street Journal to Close Boston Bureau

The Wall Street Journal plans to close its Boston bureau by the end of the year, another example of how the recession and advertising slump is hurting even the biggest newspapers in the country. Officials for the Wall Street Journal said yesterday that the bureau, which produces articles for the paper about New England and industries such as health care, education, and financial services, will shutter by Dec. 31.