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NY Times Expects Newsroom Layoffs (NYO)
The New York Times announced that it's all but a done deal that the paper will have to lay off staffers in the newsroom. The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for newsroom staffers to volunteer for a buyout. An internal memo from the paper's assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, said that the paper expects it will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs. NYP: "While we will not know the hard count until that time, every effort to handicap the outcome suggests that we are almost certain to fall short of the number of volunteers we will need," Schmidt said in a memo to staffers yesterday. Radar: Reporters and editors who have either already made up their minds or are strongly leaning towards accepting the buyout include investigative reporter Philip Shenon of the Washington bureau, education reporter Karen Arenson, Jane Gross, and Lawrence K. Altman, the staff "doctor" who has been writing about medicine and evaluating the health of presidents for 39 years.

Sued by Harry Potter's Creator, Lexicographer Breaks Down on the Stand (NYT)
The librarian at the heart of the Harry Potter copyright-infringement lawsuit stood up to J. K. Rowling on Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom, and then broke down sobbing. On the witness stand, librarian Steven Jan Vander Ark portrayed the famous writer as his idol, who had been unaccountably bewitched by the evil, money-grubbing forces of publishing, like one of Voldemort's vassals. Portfolio: The issue has become something of a personal crusade for Rowling, who traveled from Scotland to testify in person and said the lawsuit has decimated her creative work over the past months.

China Demands CNN Apologize for Commentary (NYT)
China on Tuesday intensified its criticism of the foreign news media's coverage of the Tibetan crisis by demanding that CNN apologize for sharply critical remarks made last week about the Chinese government by one of its commentators. CNN said the criticism by the commentator, Jack Cafferty, reflected his personal opinion and was focused solely on the government.

Wrangling at Elle Over Garcia's Exit (WWD)
On Tuesday, more details emerged of the behind-the-scenes wrangling between former Elle fashion director Nina Garcia, Project Runway, and the magazine as Garcia continued to mull over whether to accept a temporary contributing editor role at the title after being pushed out on Friday. But even if she does, her time at Elle would end by the sixth season of Project Runway.

Laura Bush Gets an Hour as Today Guest Host (TVNewser)
For the first time ever, a sitting First Lady of the United States will guest host the Today show. Laura Bush will co-host the 9 a.m. hour of the show next Tuesday, April 22, and she will be joined by her daughter, Jenna Bush during the program. Bush will be involved in all aspects of the show, from interviewing guests to participating in segments.

Why Paying People by Page Views is Wrong (MediaShift)
Mark Glaser: Paying a blogger or journalist based on page views puts the onus on the writer to get traffic and takes away from their main job of research and writing. There's only one result of paying writers by page view: They will pander, sensationalize, and go for short-term gain over long-term value. And it does damage the site's reputation.

Covering Campaigns and Jumping out of Planes (TVNewser)
As RTNDA chairwoman Barabara Cochran put it in her introduction, "over a century of political reporting" took to the stage yesterday at the NAB-RTNDA conference in Las Vegas. CNN's John King moderated a discussion of the campaigns with NBC's Ron Allen, 40-year ABC vet Sam Donaldson, ex-ABC correspondent Linda Douglass, John Harris of Politico.com, and Peter Maer of CBS News radio.

What's News? Who Knows! Welcome to Print 2.0 (NYO)
By nature, breaking news stories need a break: an on-the-record quote; a clean anecdote. Those are the types of stories that get prominent placement on front pages of newspapers. And if you're missing that? Any reporter will tell you it requires a trip back to your sources to get something more. But is that changing?

Kluster.com Reinvents the Online Newspaper, Pays Well (FishbowlNY)
In another vain attempt to save the newspaper industry online, Kluster.com, a "crowd sourced decision making outfit," will launch a community-driven newspaper later this week. The site will publish content once a day in traditional newspaper sections including politics and sports. The site's users will vote on which original content runs each day, as well as links to relevant articles published elsewhere.

Hearst to Distribute Magazine Content via Facebook, IM (Folio:)
Hearst Digital Media has partnered with Spleak Media Network, a hybrid publishing platform that distributes a combination of user generated and professionally-generated content across a variety of networks including Facebook, MySpace, MSN Messenger, and AIM, as well as through text messaging.

Bravo Unveils Upcoming Slate (Variety)
The anticipated loss of Project Runway, its biggest hit show, didn't put a damper on Bravo's upfront presentation to reporters on Tuesday. "This is not a comeback story," said Lauren Zalaznick, president of Bravo and its Oxygen sibling, alluding to the fact that Lifetime outbid Bravo for Runway. "Our story is continued momentum and record revenues and demographic ratings."

Obama's Game, ESPN Isn't (NYDN)
Doesn't ESPN think sports fans want to hear Barack Obama? At the last minute, network executives killed a podcast with the senator that was scheduled for Friday with host Bill Simmons. The presidential candidate was all ready to do it. Griped one source, "They landed the hottest politician in 50 years, and they couldn't even see the interview through? This is insanity."

Wired Plots a New Style for Web Journalists (Marketwatch)
For decades, journalists have relied on such time-honored books as the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. But if these seem a tad too 20th century for your tastes, enter Wired.com. The technology-centric publication plans to unveil a stylebook that will not only modernize its popular decade-old version but also provide a fresh, sophisticated look at current issues facing online media.

Newspaper Editors Suggest Some Colleagues Really Want to Quit Biz (E&P)
Among the gossip and trends swirling at the Capital Conference/combined media convention here is the reality that more and more editors are wishing they could get out of the newsroom earlier in their careers. Several editors said the state of the industry has more of their colleagues talking about wanting to hang it up well before retirement age.

The Price Is Right's Strange Grip on America's Psyche (Slate)
When Bob Barker announced his retirement from hosting The Price Is Right in late 2006, it came as something of a shock. There's nothing unusual about a man in his 80s deciding to call it a career, but Barker's Price had been a staple of the daytime lineup for 34 years, during which time The Price Is Right experience had remained remarkably unchanged. Can the show survive post-Barker?