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Wall Street Journal Closes Boston Office (FishbowlNY)
News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal announced today that it is shuttering its Boston bureau, laying off nine staffers. The Dow Jones Newswires and MarketWatch offices there will remain open, and none of those employees will be affected, the company said. BusinessWeek: The Journal's newsroom has been abuzz for several weeks about possible layoffs. Poynter: Under its successive chiefs, Larry Ingrassia and Gary Putka, no bureau could outdo Boston when it came to Page 1 stories.
Time Inc. Is Expected to Eliminate More Jobs (NYT)
Adding another blow to what is becoming an increasingly grim industry, the magazine publisher Time Inc. is expected to announce next week that it will cut $100 million in costs and make significant layoffs. No magazines appeared likely to close, one source said.
Globe Publisher Ainsley to Retire (Boston Globe)
Boston Globe Publisher P. Steven Ainsley announced today that he would retire at the end of the year. He will be succeeded by Christopher Mayer, 47, a longtime Globe executive who is currently senior vice president of circulation and operations for the newspaper.
Amid Price War, Three Retailers Begin Rationing Books (WSJ)
Two weeks after an online book price war broke out among giant retailers, the three stores involved -- Walmart, Amazon and Target -- are limiting the number of copies their customers can buy. The limits will stop other booksellers from scooping up cheap copies in large quantities and reselling them.
Editors See Financial Gains From Cutting Frequency (AP)
In an industry struggling with bankruptcy filings, diminished advertising and the exodus of many readers to the Internet, about 100 U.S. newspapers have either reduced the number of days they publish or gone to the Web entirely. The risks and benefits were discussed among newspaper editors this week.
Meacham: Digital Delivery of Print at the Sony Cassette Walkman Stage of Development (New York/Daily Intel)
"We might be living in a world very soon where there is electronic paper, and that, yes, Newsweek is beamed to you and you look at the page and you push it and it comes and goes," Newsweek editor Jon Meacham said. "The Jetsons were right."
Week's Layoffs Hit Top Echelon at ForbesLife (NYP)
In the latest sign that the cuts are reaching into the highest ranks of Forbes, Gary Walther was bounced as editor of ForbesLife magazine, the publication he has run for 17 months. Richard Nalley, longtime senior editor, was named editor of ForbesLife.
Offers for Travel Channel Expected to Approach $1 Billion (NYT)
Cox Communications is expected to command close to a billion dollars for the Travel Channel, people close to the bidding war for the channel said on Thursday. The company is entertaining bids from a number of media companies, including the News Corporation and Scripps Networks.
BBC to Cut Pay, Jobs (WSJ)
Under pressure over its pay practices, British Broadcasting Corp. plans to cut the salaries of top managers and axe more than 100 senior posts as part of a broader overhaul. The BBC, which is funded by a license fee paid by the public, plans to cut the amount it spends on the salaries of its top bosses by about 25 percent.
Unsolicited Advice for Jim Brady (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Most of the news coverage about Jim Brady's forthcoming site assumes a hidebound sense of what a local Web news site should be, i.e., city council meetings, murder, traffic, weather, etc. But I've got a sense that Brady will shake up the D.C. media scene by doing something radical.
Fox News 'Truce' With White House Is No Victory for Obama (Daily Finance)
Jeff Bercovici: If the Administration's goal was primarily to undercut Fox's claim to objectivity, there's some evidence that it's succeeded: Almost half of Americans now consider the network conservative. But I can think of better ways the White House could've used the bandwidth. The Daily Beast: Long before the White House offensive, Media Matters was truth-squadding the right's house network. Founder David Brock talks about how his group laid the base for Team Obama's counterattacks.
Who Is The Ultimate Game Changer In Media? (HuffPo)
HuffPost's Game Changers celebrates 100 innovators, visionaries, and leaders in 10 categories who are harnessing the power of new media to reshape their fields and change the world. They've picked 10 people who are changing the game in media.
Meredith's National Magazine Division Sees Profit Spike (Folio:)
Magazine publisher Meredith Corp. Thursday reported $18.3 million in net earnings for its fiscal first quarter 2010, slipping less than 2 percent from $18.6 million during the same period last year. Meanwhile, Meredith's national media group reported $39 million in operating profit, a 14 percent increase.
Rumor: Media General Plans To Consolidate Copy Editing, Designing, Thus Cutting Jobs (MediaJobsDaily)
We hear that Media General is planning to consolidate the copy-editing and design functions for most of its papers into a central location, which would ultimately end in reducing staff. Several sources have said that the company plans to move all its design, pagination, and copy editing crew to Lynchburg, Va.
New York Mag to Expand TV Coverage Online (The Wrap)
In a signal of just how obsessive television fans have become on the Web -- and how important its award-winning site is to its publishing future -- New York magazine has lured away editor Josh Wolk from Entertainment Weekly to head up an expansion of its TV coverage online. Folio:: New York magazine sees 287 percent ROI boost from video platform.
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