Chicago Tribune Could Begin Charging For Content The Chicago Tribune will build a paywall around its online content and will consider a "creative way" of charging for access, according to editor Gerould Kern. Read more.
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Chief Of ABC News Is Resigning (NYT)
David Westin, the longtime president of ABC News, has decided to resign his position on Tuesday. In an e-mail that Westin sent to the staff on Monday night, he pledged to stay in the position until the end of the year to give ABC time to find a replacement. The decision, one of the staff members said on Monday night, relates to a long-running conflict between Westin and the management of the network, including ABC's parent company, Disney, over the financial standing of the news division. TVNewser: Westin wrote in his memo to staff: "I am confident ABC News is better positioned for the future than it has been at any time since I came here in March of 1997. As rewarding as I've found my time here, there are some other things I want to do professionally -- things that I cannot explore while fulfilling my responsibilities here."
Washington Times Struggles Amid Divisions Of Family, Ideology, Finances (WaPo)
The Washington Times' future rests on a fragile deal. The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, represented by a trio of recently fired Times executives, is negotiating to purchase the paper back from his son Preston Moon for $1, according to an internal Times memo. Former and current Times employees say that under the buyback proposal, Moon and his top aides would also assume the paper's $8 million to $10 million in liabilities and debt.
What Did Rupert Murdoch (And Son James) Know, And When Did They Know It? (Newser) The New York Times Sunday Magazine's story last week about how the Murdoch organization systematically hacked into the voicemail messages of just about anybody who is anybody in London -- a story that few UK news outlets, save for the Guardian, have touched, and that Scotland Yard has been loath to pursue -- is a rousing whodunit with many smoking guns. But it is as menacing to the Murdochs for what's not in it. Indeed, the story is even more powerful as a threat whose second part is yet to be written.
Men's Journal To Reinstate Cut Issue (Mediaweek)
In another sign of the stabilizing economy, Men's Journal will add back one of the two issues it cut this year to reduce expenses amid plummeting ad pages. In 2011, the Wenner Media title will publish 11 issues by adding a separate July issue. It will continue to publish a combined December/January issue. The additional issue builds on Men's Journal's strong newsstand and ad page momentum.
FT Launching Seventh Niche Paid Site To Reduce Advertising Reliance (paidContent:UK)
The Financial Times is increasingly launching specialist spin-off sites targeted at niche audiences of financial professionals. The latest is SchemeXpert.com, a news and analysis site covering the pensions sector. The moves are "designed to reduce the FT's reliance on more cyclical advertising", as a spokesperson put it.
EW And YouTube Launch Fall TV Preview Channel (minOnline)
The annual Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly is one of the most popular of the year for the magazine brand, but with the 2010 edition EW has leveraged YouTube to fuel the buzz. A new EW-branded Fall TV Preview channel at the Google-owned video hub pulls together scores of clips previewing new and returning TV programs and wraps around exclusive EW videos.
Howard Stern 'Pretty Sure' He's Leaving Sirius (TheWrap)
Howard Stern told his satellite radio listeners on Thursday that he is "pretty sure" he will leave Sirius XM when his five-year, $500 million contract expires at the end of the year. The self-proclaimed "King of All Media" also hinted at the option of taking his show to a mobile platform, where users would pay a "low monthly fee." Stern has also said he's had discussions about returning to the terrestrial airwaves, though he doubts that would happen.
The Atlantic Will Follow Paid iPad Edition With New 'Atlantic Premium' (paidContent) The Atlantic is the latest to mine for gold in the iPad App Store with single issues for sale at $4.99 -- but that's just one part of a grander digital scheme. In coming weeks, the magazine publisher plans to convert single-issue app sales to an iPad digital newsstand app -- and to launch Atlantic Premium, a daily bundle of everything the magazine produces online for a monthly access fee.
LAT Editorial Cartoonist Paul Conrad Dies At 86 (LAT)
Paul Conrad, whose fiercely confrontational editorial cartoons made him one of the leading political provocateurs of the second half of the 20th century and helped push the Los Angeles Times to national prominence, has died. He was 86. Conrad won three Pulitzer Prizes, a feat matched by only two other cartoonists in the post-World War II era. He both thrilled and infuriated readers for more than 50 years with an unyielding liberal stance, rendered in savage black and white.
AFJ Names Winners In Awards Competition 2010 (Poynter / Romenesko)
The Association of Food Journalists announced winners in its Awards Competition 2010 at its annual conference. The awards recognize excellence in reporting and writing in all media, newspaper food section design and content, food illustration and food photography. A total of $4,500 will be awarded in 15 categories. There were 229 entries in the competition. All winners receive a certificate and the first-place winner is awarded $300.
Check In Before You Check Out That Show (AdAge)
You can now check in to TV shows like you can to your corner bar. The new breed of check-in apps aim to take the behavior made popular by Foursquare -- in short, tapping a button to say, "I'm here" -- to entertainment properties like TV shows, movies and books. Just like location apps, the list of check-in start-ups for content is already long: Miso, Philo, Starling and GetGlue have snagged deals with media companies as a means to cross-promote, build brands and reward loyal viewers.
Random House And Stardoll Co-Launch Online Story Project (Guardian)
The publisher Random House is exploiting the trend for vampire romance through an interactive story project in partnership with Stardoll, the social gaming site for teenage girls. "Mortal Kiss" has been created by writers at Random House and Stardoll designers, based around a story serialized over eight weeks from today until Halloween. As well as reading the story, Web users are invited to discuss the characters and vote on the outcome of the story and explore an interactive map of the setting.
William Gibson On the Future of Publishing: Made to Order Books (WSJ)
It's no surprise that William Gibson is a prolific user of Twitter. The author of science-fiction classics like Neuromancer and Spook Country has long been interested in emerging technology. In recent years, Gibson has abandoned the speculative world of sci-fi to write thrillers set in the present day. Gibson's new novel, Zero History, similarly explores modern culture, particularly the cult of consumerism and marketing. Now, the author offers his take on a much-debated hot topic: the future of book publishing.
Three Start-Ups That Are Changing The Music Industry (Telegraph)
Launched just under a year ago, Dizzyjam has several hundred band shops and 3,500 products. Dublin-based Muzu.tv now attracts 5.5m views each month of its 85,000 official band videos and is growing fast, helped in part helped by the viral nature of its publishing platform. Two property entrepreneurs, Tim Robinson and Mark Wadhwa, bought EMI, established a graphic design, retail and gallery base in London's Soho that now employs 50 people and produces 25,000 records a week.
Spotlight: From News Corp, An Apple TV Competitor? (TMM)
Apple isn't the only influential company with a plan for a "new TV" -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has one as well, which they are calling "InfiniteTV." And while the project been off the radar awhile, maybe it's time that changed... Also up: Is it possible that MySpace might be fixed by a new grading scheme?
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