Via Keith Kelly:

Mort Zuckerman is swinging the ax again at the struggling No. 3 newsweekly, U.S. News & World Report. About a half dozen editorial people from the headquarters in Washington D.C. were cut yesterday, sources told The Post. At least one editorial person was axed in the New York office a week earlier. Another reliable industry source said that six other people on the business side were cut earlier in the week. “They are doing it in waves for some reason,” said the source.

So that’s why he was being so testy:

Mort Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report and and co-publisher of the Daily News, abruptly ended an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education for a special report on the recent controversy surrounding the ranking system that powers U.S. News‘ “America’s Best Colleges” — a.k.a its swimsuit issue.

EARLIER: