Nick Denton's Gawker Media is laying off 19 people and suspending the page view bonus model. Good news is he's also hiring 10 people. The only one named is LA's Gabriel Snyder to be the managing editor.

As we say, it's an 'adjustment'.

The full memo - the one not on Gawker of course - is here.

It's rare to find an editor who will put his money where his mouth is when talking about newsroom cuts, but Steve Smith, editor of the Spokane, Wash. Spokesman-Review, has resigned from the paper to do just that.

Smith tells Knight Digital Media Center: "It is no longer my job or our job to save newspapers. Our job is to save journalism and the values that underlie newspaper journalism," such as the free flow of information and aggressive coverage of government.

Smith sounds as though he's daring other editors and reporters to follow suit, saying, "It is time to stop standing behind our salaries, our bonuses and our pensions and stand up and say what needs to be said" -- that short-term thinking and cutbacks are "dooming our organizations to irrelevance and causing irreparable harm to our systems and society without consideration of the larger loss."

True statements, all of them. But how will leaving the paper help save journalism? Smith explains: By resigning, Smith says, "I regain my voice." Smith said he has not felt free to speak out about the journalistic decline that comes from cuts in an industry environment that promises more with less. "I simply wasn't willing to stand up and tell people things would be better or even OK. And our publisher needs someone who can do that."

--Via Stress-Telegram

Matt Donnelly leaves E! (again), and this time -- maybe -- for good! Donnelly informed us that "after a great couple of months with Ken Baker and his team, I'm headed back to writing (after newsgathering with Ken) and reporting for Buzznet's Celebuzz."

As we reported earlier, Jeff Leeds and Leslie Simon are already on board, and the place "is exploding."

Congratulations, Matt!

Freedom Communications sent us the following press release about a new hire for their regional specialty magazines:

IRVINE, Calif. -- Sept. 23, 2008 -- Freedom Specialty Media, a division of Freedom Communications, Inc., today announced Erin Zilis has been appointed vice president, publisher. Zilis joins Freedom on September 25, reporting to Doug Bennett, senior vice president, Technology and Administration, Freedom Interactive.

Zilis will be responsible for overseeing operations for Freedom's Specialty Media publications including Coast, Coast Kids and Preferred Destinations.

continued...

In an e-mail to staffers today, Eddy Hartenstein announces that Jim Newton is coming back to his job as editorial page editor:

I'm pleased to announce that Jim Newton has agreed to return to The Times to resume his duties as editor of the editorial pages. You all know Jim, so no introduction is needed. I would like to note that his decision to rejoin our enterprise, despite the demands of his book-writing career, is a vote of confidence in what we are trying to accomplish.

He'll start on Monday and report to me. In the meantime, Jim asked that I send along this note:

"As you all know, The Times has a special claim on my heart and I'm convinced that Eddy represents our best chance for sustaining and building great journalism. Given that, I'm delighted that he's offered me the chance to return, and I'm thrilled to move back into my old office -- the best in the building. See you all in a few days."

Please join me in welcoming Jim back to the team.

eddy

As one staffer put it to us: "Wow."

944 Media sent us a note to let us know of their recent expansion and launch of a "Custom Publishing Division."

The following chock-full-of-goodness press release highlights the expansion of the "core executive team" to include Sharyn Bires and Tiffany Cohen, formerly of Los Angeles magazine and Emmis Communications -- along with the an increase of "$10 Million in credit facilities " to expand the companies portfolio.

Buried in the release are more hires and changes, including the promotion of Martine Bury to Editor in Chief.

continued...

Register employees received this e-mail regarding the promotion of Reg top ed Jeff Light. What his new job is, we don't quite get. In fact, we're not entirely sure what any of this memo means, but we're assuming they do:

Jeff Light has been named vice president of Interactive at Orange County Register Communications, Inc., to provide leadership and strategic direction to its interactive content and product development. An announcement regarding this appointment is posted on Rnet.

Light will be partnering with Mike Hodges, the recently appointed vice president of Sales at Freedom Interactive, to align resources and drive interactive growth across Orange County Register Communications and Freedom Communications, Inc.'s network of media properties."

UPDATE: We've heard from our folks on the inside, and, nope, they don't know what it means either. Oh well. We suppose congratulations are in order. So, congratulations!

We stumbled upon this video. It's Matt Welch - former LAT editor current editor-in-chief of Reason magazine. Hi Matt!

'Cuz, apparently, not even Nick Denton wants to be Nick Denton.

Among the first moves of new LAT publisher Eddy Hartenstein was to snag Freedom Communication's Scott McKibben.

McKibben will be the LAT's Chief Revenue Officer... which should be a pretty easy job seeing how there are fewer numbers to add up with each passing year.

Ed Padgett has the full memo here, but here's your highlight:

"Scott already knows all the key players in our industry and how newspapers work—no learning curve here."