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Fark Teams Up With USA Today (Mediaite)
Fark, one of the oldest and strangest crowdsourced news aggregators on the Internet, is teaming up with USA Today. Fark will be getting USA Today's exclusive sponsorship for its geek page, which will throw more USA Today stories into the mix and turn over ad placement to the paper.
State Department Spruces Up With Help From Shelter Mag (Politico)
The State Department has partnered with the magazine industry to help decorate 17 rooms for the holiday season. The rooms are in the State Department's Harry S. Truman Building and Blair House, both of which are located in Washington.
Booksellers Remain Anxious (WSJ)
They have the books. Now they need the customers. With Christmas less than five weeks away, the two largest booksellers in the U.S. are concerned that the weak economy will keep shoppers from walking in, snapping up best sellers from Dan Brown, Stephen King, and Sarah Palin and buying more.
More Newsfeed here...
Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was Isobella Jade, the petite model who wrote her memoir in an Apple Store--building an impressive author platform from scratch.
Here's an excerpt: "No matter what your book is about, there's going to be a reporter or publication out there that might want to quote you. I think it comes down to analyzing you--analyzing who you are and what you can offer... I thought, 'What is it about my book to make this marketable, to make it interesting so a newspaper would care to quote me or feature my story?'"
The show also discussed layoffs and closures that rocked the media world this week: the Washington Post closing LA, NYC and Chicago bureaus, more cuts at Time, Inc., and the closure of InStyle Weddings.
The show was hosted by GalleyCat editor Jason Boog and FishbowlNY editor Amanda Ernst. You can listen to all the past podcasts archived at mediabistro.com or download episodes for free on iTunes.
Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email.
Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email.
WaPo Closing LA, NYC and Chicago Bureaus (FishbowlDC)
In a message from editor Marcus Brauchli to Post staff yesterday afternoon, it was announced that the paper is closing their offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Three news aides will be let go but the reporters in those cities have been offered positions in Washington. WaPo: "We are not a national news organization of record serving a general audience. Nor are we a wire service or cable channel," said Brauchli. Politico: It looks like the Post will increasingly cover events outside Washington -- whether across the country or the world -- through the prism of how it affects Washington.
John Byrne BusinessWeek Departure Rumors Turn True (FishbowlNY)
Recently, the magazine departure watchdogs had turned their interest on BusinessWeek.com's editor-in-chief John Byrne, and this time the gossipers were right. Turns out, Byrne is leaving the Bloomberg LP-owned business magazine to launch a digital media company in San Francisco. BusinessWeek: Byrne did not elaborate on what kind of media company he was interested in launching, or whether he had any financial backers.
Lou Dobbs Weighs Senate Run, as a Steppingstone (NYT)
Lou Dobbs' name has been floated as a potential challenger in 2012 to United States Senator Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat, an ardent advocate for immigrants' rights and the chamber's only Hispanic member. On Monday, Dobbs said he had also been urged to ponder a White House run. WSJ: Dobbs reaches out to Latinos, with politics in mind.
BBC: We Won't Charge for Online News (Guardian)
The BBC said yesterday that it has "no intention" of charging for online news, in a declaration that is unlikely to please James Murdoch and his father Rupert as they prepare to start charging for News Corporation content on the Internet. Bloomberg: Publishers of the Denver Post and the Dallas Morning News may pull some of their stories from Google News, a move that would emulate News Corp.'s Murdoch.
Good Morning America Cancels Adam Lambert Concert (TVNewser)
Following American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards Sunday, ABC News canceled a scheduled concert this morning on Good Morning America. After GMA canceled Lambert, the CBS Early Show added him to the lineup.
Time Inc. Folding InStyle Weddings (Gawker)
Time Inc. is folding Instyle Weddings, a quarterly publication. The mag's closure will come with about nine layoffs. Its final issue hits newsstands on Dec. 25, and will be there through March. InStyle will continue to publish other similar types of spinoffs (i.e. InStyle Hair).
Palin Book Sells Big in First Week (AP)
Sarah Palin appears well on her way to becoming a million-selling author. Going Rogue sold 700,000 copies in its first week of release, according to a publishing official close to the former Alaska governor. The official was not authorized to release the sales figure and asked not to be identified.
Facebook Stockholders Tighten Their Grip (WSJ)
Facebook Inc. took steps to solidify management's control in the event the social-networking company goes public. The firm established a dual-class stock structure that would increase the voting power of Zuckerberg and other existing shareholders if they hold onto their shares during an IPO.
More Cuts at Time Inc. (NYP)
The list of staffers downsized from Time Inc. yesterday grew by another 25 people. Fortune was the hardest-hit title. Including yesterday's layoffs, about 30 staffers have left the company rather than the expected 40, with about 22 from the edit side.
Tribune, Scripps Use Thanksgiving to Increase Newspaper Prices (Bloomberg)
With the U.S. newspaper industry suffering record declines in advertising sales and circulation, Tribune Co. and E.W. Scripps Co. will raise prices for newspapers from Washington to San Bernardino, Calif., on Thanksgiving, as readers seek inserts touting holiday discounts.
Toronto Star to Cut One-Fifth of Newsroom Staff (E&P)
The Toronto Star, Canada's biggest newspaper, is outsourcing its copy editing to Pagemasters North America, eliminating 78 editing jobs. The reductions, amounting to about one-fifth of the staff, were outlined in a memo to employees by Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Cooke.
Disney Channel Names Carolina Lightcap as President (LAT)
Carolina Lightcap, the senior vice president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Latin America, has been named president of Disney Channels Worldwide. The 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry is known for building Disney Channel Latin America into a top cable channel in the region.
2009 Folio: Awards Announced (Folio:)
Folio: has unveiled the Gold winners of its annual Eddie and Ozzie Awards contest, recognizing excellence in magazine editorial and design. A panel of 60 expert judges sifted through more than 2,000 entries this year. Taking top honors were Bonnier's Field & Stream and Hanley Wood Business Media.
Can James Finkelstein and Lachlan Murdoch Save Nielsen's Trade Titles? (AdAge)
The Nielsen Company's beleaguered trade-publishing unit, including Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and Adweek, is on the block again. Can a private-equity group including the publisher of The Hill newspaper and News Corp. scion Lachlan Murdoch save it?
Could Bloomberg Acquire Newsweek? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Why doesn't Bloomberg try to buy Newsweek from the Washington Post Co.? Newsweek, officially, is not for sale. But the mag would offer a suitor many rewards: a world-class brand name, tremendous general-interest appeal and a talented staff of veterans.
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