Job Cuts at New York Times

According to an article from Editor and Publisher, executive editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller, sent an internal staff memo describing plans to layoff 12 current newsroom employees as well as outlining the intentions of future management position “eliminations.”

“As we move into 2008, we will be rethinking coverage priorities and how we use our space and our people, but always in ways that preserve what The Times does best. In the future, as in the past few months while these matters were under review, we have worked closely with our partners on the business side, with a single shared ambition: to seek cutbacks and reductions that are as strategically focused as possible, and do nothing to damage our core journalism.”

This announcement shows that no publication is stable enough to survive the transition from print to web completely intact.

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31 jobs cut by Sun-Times Media Group

After the Sun-Times Media Group released its third-quarter results, over 30 staff members were told that their jobs were being cut. Sun-Times Media plans to combine the Daily Southtown and biweekly Star publications in order to save about $3 million a year.

“The newspaper advertising market in Chicago continued to be very tough,” Chief Executive Cyrus Freidheim told the analysts. “We are simply not where we wanted to be in the third quarter.”

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?

New online advertising widget available for newspapers and magazines

NewspaperDirect Inc., a multi-channel newspaper and magazine distributor, is launching a new product for publishers that currently use NewspaperDirect SmartEdition technology. Adget, an online “advertising widget platform” will create a more cost-effective and efficient solution for local business advertisers who want to harness the online market.

Adget embeds ‘Cost-per-Action’ advertising directly into a digital newspaper. Adget-enhanced ads can contain an embedded video, audio file or graphic to promote special offers from local merchants. Within the Adget, buttons or links allow the reader to ‘click to transact’ with the advertiser.

The Oakland Tribune, Now and Then

In today’s column Ghosts of newspaper’s past haunt Oakland’s Trib, Al Martinez revisits his old stomping ground. The Tribune, during its prime, was one of the most successful publications on the West Coast. However, times have changed. Staff has been cut, buildings have been abandoned and subscription rates have fallen, leaving the Tribune with the same problems that many in the industry are currently facing.

As I was reading Martinez’ column, I became entranced with the glamour of what the industry used to be like. His descriptions of journalists working with local law enforcement reminded me of a scene from Dick Tracy. Has journalism changed that much over the past few decades? Is there still passion in the industry on the local level? Are today’s readers bored of current trends?

We were a brotherhood of young lions back then, working hard through a half-dozen deadlines a day and drinking hard at the Hollow Leg, a bar across the street. The Leg ceased to exist years ago, after Nels the bartender died, taking the policy of every-third-drink-free with him. He left me his dog, a white German Shepherd named Pooh.

Gettysburg, PA resident finds old article to support cause

In a Letter to the Editor of the Evening Sun, Gettysburg resident Jack Grant argues against a project to remove trees located on the grounds of historic Gettysburg National Military Park. Grant, along with his wife, found an article in NewspaperARCHIVE.com that discusses the original planting of the trees. The trees were originally planted with the intent to block out the subdivision now known as Colt Park.

Study: Young people who read newspapers are more likely to become active in community issues

A study released by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation reveals that young people who read newspapers and use them in the classroom are more likely to become active in their community when they enter into adulthood.

The study focused on three main areas: voting activity, civic expression and volunteering time and money. The following are among the findings of the study.

About the study
MORI Research interviewed 1,506 young adults in the US by telephone from May 15 to June 3, 2007. Respondents’ telephone numbers were selected using a standard random-digit dialing sample, and the data set was statistically adjusted to match updated US Census estimates for gender within age categories, education, race and census region. The survey sample included 51% men and 49% women. The age groups 25-29 and 30-34 were equally represented.

NAA Foundation Press Release
Full Report from the NAA Foundation (pdf)