Trial of the Knights Templar secret documents published by the Vatican

Secret documents about the trial of the Knights Templar have been published by the Vatican. The entire collection, which surrounds the papal hearings after the arrest and torture of the orders’ leaders under the charge of heresy, has been made available for a “limited edition” price of more than $8,300. Also included is a parchment that shows that the order was absolved by Pope Clement V.

From the AP article, “Vatican to publish Templar trial papers”:

“Going on with my research, it turned out that in reality it was an inquest of very great importance” on behalf of the pope, [Barbara] Frale said. Fredol “had gone to question the Great Master and other heads of the Templars who had been segregated, practically kidnapped, by the king of France and shut up in secret in his castle in Chinon on the Loire.”

New model for the Magazine? BusinessWeek thinks so…

The fully re-designed, re-developed BusinessWeek magazine is set to launch this week. Bruce Nussbaum explains the new layout and content in his article, “Business Week Reinvents The Magazine–Make Way For Curating The Conversation Through Aggregation, Briefings, And Story-Telling.”

We’re introducing this type of open source aggregation into the new magazine, with blog items, quotes, and content from unusual, global sources surrounding stories, sometimes enhancing them, sometimes disagreeing with them. It’s a conversation, not a lecture.

If all goes as planned, could this really be the new model for the magazine publishing industry? Could the introduction of narrative and “conversational” content provide the link between web and print? If it works for BusinessWeek, and others within the magazine industry in the future, could a model like this work for newspapers as well?

Tribune Co. shows no love to smokers

The Tribune Co. plans to begin charging its staff smokers additional fees for healthcare coverage. The company plans to assess options in the upcoming year, stating that the proposed fees are needed to offset the rising cost for healthcare across the U.S. In addition to the ‘smoker fee,’ Tribune Co. also has plans to collect on spousal coverage.

From the Editor & Publisher article “Tribune Co. ‘Smoker’ Fee — and Spousal Surcharge — Draw Union Fire”:

Specifically, the assessment would require Tribune employees who smoke or have a family member covered under their policy who smokes to pay an additional $100 per month. In addition, Tribune employees who place a spouse under Tribune coverage who could be covered under their own employment plan elsewhere will be assessed another $75 per month fee.