Editor & Publisher to Cease Operations

The journalism trade journal of choice since 1901, Editor & Publisher, is closing its doors.

The Nielsen Co., made the announcement this morning. Staffers were told both forms of E&P, online and print, were to cease operations. Staffers will remain until the end of the year.

The magazine's owner, Nielsen Business Media agreed with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, which was formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, Shawn Moynihan wrote on E&P's website. The sale includes E&P sister magazines Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. E&P was not included in this transaction.

Editor & Publisher was launched in 1901 when it merged with The Journalist, which was created in 1884. It has long been considered the absolute bible of the newspaper trade with its reporting on all phases of the business from advertising and editorial to production and circulation.

Greg Farrar, president of Nielsen Business Media, released this memo:

Dear Colleagues,

Today, we announced that Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, a new company formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, including Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, The Clio Awards, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media Holdings has also agreed to acquire our Film Expo business, which includes the ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia trade shows.

In addition, we've made the decision to cease operations for Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews.

This move will allow us to strengthen investment in our core businesses – those parts of our portfolio that have the greatest potential for growth – and ensure our long-term success. We remain committed to building our trade show group and affiliated brands. These assets continue to be a key part of The Nielsen Company's overall portfolio and we strongly believe they are positioned to grow as the economy recovers. In addition, we'll continue to assess the strategic fit of our remaining portfolio of publications.

As a result of these decisions, many of our friends and colleagues within these businesses will be leaving the company or will begin to transition to the new ownership immediately. These venerable brands have long been an important part of our Business Media family, and we are pleased that e5 will continue to capitalize on the brands' potential. The transition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Pluribus Capital was founded in 2009 by James Finkelstein, George Green and Matthew Doull to focus on acquiring and managing industry leading media properties with high growth potential, particularly those with strong brand recognition across multiple platforms including digital, print and events. Guggenheim Partners is a privately held, diversified financial services firm. Both Pluribus and Guggenheim have strong track records of successfully managing investments in a variety of companies.

I want to take this opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks to our colleagues who will be leaving the company for their dedication and commitment to Nielsen over the years. Please join me in wishing them well in their future endeavors.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Lays Off 39 Employees

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel laid off 39 business-side employees today, publisher Betsy Brenner wrote in an email to employees. The layoffs came from the advertising, circulation and other business departments.

It's the third round of job cuts this year for the newspaper.

Parent company Journal Sentinel Inc., said it represented 3 percent of its workforce.

These job reductions primarily affect the Journal Sentinel’s circulation field operations and other business departments, a press release said. No newsroom employees were affected.

The 39 employees are expected to leave before the end of the year, the company said. The company will record a pre-tax workforce reduction charge of $600,000 in the fourth quarter. Journal Sentinel Inc. is a Journal Communications, Inc. (NYSE:JRN) company.

“This difficult decision was necessary as the advertising environment continues to be challenging,” said Journal Sentinel President and Publisher Betsy Brenner. “We thank our colleagues for their exceptional service to the company and to our customers. We remain committed to our role as the leading news gathering organization in southeastern Wisconsin.”

On Aug. 4, the newspaper announced that it would reduce its workforce by 92 employees, or 6.2 percent, in a layoff that includes 37 voluntary buyout offers that were accepted by newsroom staffers.

The Journal Sentinel on April 6 laid off 26 full time and five part-time employees to reduce expenses. The Journal Sentinel previously provided buyouts to newsroom staff in summer 2008 and fall 2007, leading to job cuts of 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Gibbs to Reporter: You're Acting Like My Child

April Ryan of American Urban Radio asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday a legitimate question about White House social secretary Desiree Rogers' role at the recent state dinner, in which Gibbs not only laughed off the question but compared Ryan to a dealing with his son.

Gibbs' treatment of the reporter got some audible hisses in the press room.

Feinstein, Durbin Offer Amendment to Bill to Hinder Citizen Journalism

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., have offered an amendment to a Press Shield Bill sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., that would eliminate protections from citizen journalists that are offered to paid journalists.

Their amendment to S. 448 would deny ordinary citizens doing vital investigations in the public interest the same legal protections as professional journalists.

By denying these protections, citizen investigations would be stifled. The most recent example of a citizen investigation would be the ACORN probe by an independent filmmaker.

The bill states that it will maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.

An amendment filed by Durbin and Feinstein would exclude an individual who gathers or disseminates the protected information sought to be compelled anonymously or under a pseudonym.

Feinstein Amendment to S 448 (12-09) (00131100)

The bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. Committee on the Judiciary is scheduled to consider the bill on Dec. 10.

The amendment is a very dangerous intrusion on everyone's First Amendment rights. Since Thomas Paine, Americans have always voiced their opinions, commentaries and investigations into what they see as injustices and corruption. The ACORN story was a national story, but across the country there are many individuals using the Internet and film to shine the light on their local governments. They deserve every protection that paid journalists enjoy under the law.

This couldn't be payback for the ACORN story, could it?

Investigation Into Philippine Massacre of Journalists Continues

Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, takes a look this morning at the recent massacre of at least 30 journalists in the Philippines. He reports that:

Four groups in the Philippines released what appears to be the most authoritative account on the murder of 57 people on November 23 in Ampatuan, in Maguindanao province, in the Philippines’ southernmost main island, Mindanao. The report puts the death toll for journalists at 30, with a few others classified as media workers—drivers and other support staff. Some bodies are still unidentified. The nine-person investigative team spent November 25 to 30 in the nearest large city, General Santos City, and traveled to the site of the massacre in Ampatuan and to nearby towns interviewing relatives of those killed.

The organizations -- Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, MindaNews, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism—felt they had to act quickly because the Philippines has a very poor record of carrying out investigations and bringing prosecutions in the deaths of journalists. CPJ ranks the country the sixth worst in terms of impunity for those who kill journalists. They were right to move quickly. When the investigative team went to Ampatuan they were accompanied by a forensics expert. They were horrified by the destruction of evidence by the police and army teams who were using excavators to search for and retrieve the victims’ bodies. The scene of the crime—actually there were a few killing areas—was ruined in a way that will make it very difficult if not impossible to reconstruct what happened.

The BBC reported today that 19 people being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation for their involvement in the massacre have been placed on a security watch list. That means they can’t leave the country, but they haven’t been arrested. The BBC said 12 of the 19 are relatives of Andal Ampatuan Jr.—the only person in custody. Ampatuan is charged with multiple counts of murder, which he denies. He has applied for release on bail. He belongs to the powerful Ampatuan political clan. He is the son of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and brother of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan.

Tomorrow, representatives from about 10 international media support groups will start assembling in General Santos City, to support their Philippines colleagues. The idea is to carry their investigation forward and start assessing the needs of the victims’ families. But it is also to show solidarity with Philippine reporters in the entire nation. With the facts gathered, they will then focus on high-level advocacy and giving as much support as possible to the local media community, culminating in Global Day of Action on December 9, preceding International Human Rights Day.

U.S. Unemployment Drops to 10.0 Percent

The unemployment rate edged down to 10.0 percent in November, and nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-11,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

In the past 3 months, payroll job losses had averaged 135,000 a month, the government said. In November, employment fell in construction, manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care added jobs.

In November, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.4 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, edged down, the report said. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.5 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent.

Among the major worker groups, the govenrment said that unemployment rates for adult men (10.5 percent), adult women (7.9 percent), teenagers (26.7 percent), whites (9.3 percent), blacks (15.6 percent), and Hispanics (12.7 percent) showed little change in November. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs fell by 463,000 in November, according to the report. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) rose by 293,000 to 5.9 million. The percentage of unemployed persons jobless for 27 weeks or more increased by 2.7 percentage points to 38.3 percent.

The civilian labor force participation rate was little changed in November at 65.0 percent. The employment-population ratio was unchanged at 58.5 percent.

The number of people working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in November at 9.2 million, according to the federal government. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

Comcast Buys NBC From GE for $30 Billion

Comcast, America's largest cable operator, agreed on Thursday to acquire NBC Universal from the General Electric Co. for $30 billion. The move will most likely shake up the competition among television networks.

The New York Times speculated yesterday that the acquisition could be a threat to ESPN:

But Comcast’s impending acquisition of NBC Universal will certainly set off an effort to turn Versus into a viable alternative, if not a full-fledged competitor, to ESPN, The New York Times’s Richard Sandomir writes. Under Comcast’s ownership, Versus has transformed from the Outdoor Life Network to OLN, then, in 2006, into its current incarnation.

But Versus is a second-tier network whose highest-profile sports, the N.H.L. and the Tour de France, aren”t blockbusters. It lacks a studio show that would give it identity, like ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” or an announcer who is its defining personality.

Versus (and its sister network, the Golf Channel) will be turned over to NBC for an overhaul, assuming regulators approve the deal, a process that could take 12 to 18 months. Versus will probably be renamed something like NBC Sports Cable to reflect a more defined sports brand. On-air and production talent would migrate from NBC, to a certain extent, although Bob Costas would not be hosting IndyCar races.

Versus and Golf would certainly be overseen by Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports, who has never had a sports cable network to tinker with (the expanding Universal Sports channel is distributed through NBC stations and affiliates); he would no doubt quickly strip Versus of its current crop of late-night infomercials.

And, Bleacher Report says don't forget Norte Dame football ...

According to the Sports Business Journal, Comcast has its sights set on the Irish, in part because NBC's current contract with Notre Dame contains a clause that allows for a certain number of games to "mitigate to cable."

A quick glance at the 2010 schedule reveals a slate ripe with cable-caliber opponents: Western Michigan, Tulsa, Utah, and perhaps even a nostalgic neutral-site date with Army at Yankees Stadium.

Such reallocation to a cable channel would surely be perceived as a demotion and rankle a segment of the Notre Dame fan base, who are already disgruntled by ABC/ESPN's oxymoronic coverage-map approach to national broadcasts.

Fighting Irish faithful routinely combat the perception of entitlement, but the one arrogance we can't deny is the "right" to watch our team for free every Saturday during the fall.

Here is the top of today's press release announcing the acquisition. The link will take you to the full release:

Comcast and General Electric announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that will be 51 percent owned by Comcast, 49 percent owned by GE and managed by Comcast. The joint venture, which will consist of the NBC Universal (NBCU) businesses and Comcast’s cable networks, regional sports networks and certain digital properties and certain unconsolidated investments, will be well positioned to compete in an increasingly dynamic and competitive media and digital environment.

The combination of assets creates a leading media and entertainment company with the proven capability to provide some of the world’s most popular entertainment, news and sports content, movies and film libraries to consumers anytime, anywhere. The joint venture will provide consumers the broadest possible access to content, and support high-quality, award-winning content development across all platforms including film, television, and online. It will be anchored by an outstanding portfolio of cable networks and regional sports networks that will account for about 80 percent of its cash flow, including USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, Versus, CNBC and MSNBC. The joint venture will be financially strong with a robust cash-flow-generation capability.

Under the terms of the transaction, GE will contribute to the joint venture NBCU’s businesses valued at $30 billion, including its cable networks, filmed entertainment, televised entertainment, theme parks, and unconsolidated investments, subject to $9.1 billion in debt to third party lenders. Comcast will contribute its cable networks including E!, Versus and the Golf Channel, its ten regional sports networks, and certain digital media properties, collectively valued at $7.25 billion, and make a payment to GE of approximately $6.5 billion of cash subject to certain adjustments based on various events between signing and closing.

Comcast Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts said, “This deal is a perfect fit for Comcast and will allow us to become a leader in the development and distribution of multiplatform ‘anytime, anywhere’ media that American consumers are demanding. In particular, NBCU’s fast-growing, highly profitable cable networks are a great complement to our industry-leading distribution business. Today’s announced transaction will increase our capabilities in content and cable networks. At the same time, it will enhance consumer choice and accelerate the development of new digital products and services. GE has provided NBCU with a great home and has dramatically and positively transformed the business. We are honored that under this agreement Comcast would take over the stewardship of this important collection of assets and are absolutely committed to investing in NBCU and ensuring that it is a vibrant, financially strong company able to thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace by delivering innovative programming. We are particularly pleased to be creating this new joint venture with GE and Jeff Immelt and to have their continued involvement.

“For Comcast, this transaction is strategically compelling and will generate attractive financial returns and build shareholder value,” continued Roberts. “It is also expected to be immediately accretive and will also allow us to maintain our strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders– all while increasing the scale, capabilities and value of our cable distribution, content and digital assets. Significantly, it is entirely consistent with our intense focus on value creation and our disciplined strategy of pursuing profitable growth in areas complementary to our distribution business.”

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said, “The combination of Comcast’s cable and regional sports networks and digital media properties and NBCU will deliver strong returns for GE shareholders and business partners. NBCU has been a great business for GE over the past two decades. We have generated an average annual return of 11 percent, while expanding into cable, movies, parks and international media. We are reducing our ownership stake from 80 percent to 49 percent of a more valuable entity. By doing so, GE gets a good value for NBCU. This transaction will generate approximately $8 billion of cash at closing with an expected small after-tax gain. We have many opportunities to invest in our high-technology infrastructure businesses at attractive returns. I believe that the new NBCU will deliver value for both Comcast and GE in the future. We will give consumers and advertisers more choice and our cable and digital assets will be second to none. I am confident Brian Roberts and his team at Comcast will be great partners.”

Dallas Morning News Lifestyle and Sports Editors Now Answer to Business General Managers

The Dallas Morning News sports and entertainment journalists are being moved into business segments with its sales and business development personnel. The senior sports and lifestyle editors will report directly to the general managers "while retaining a strong reporting relationship to the editor and managing editor."

The move is counter the traditional newspaper model where the business side and the editorial side were separated by an invisible wall.

Here is the memo:

December 2, 2009

Colleagues:

Today we are launching a new business segment structure as the next step toward becoming the most comprehensive and trusted partner for local businesses in attracting and retaining customers and continuing to generate important, relevant content for our consumers.

To better align with our clients' needs, we will be organized around eleven business and content segments with similar marketing and consumer profiles including: sports, health/education, entertainment, travel/luxury, automotive, real estate, communications, preprints/grocery, recruitment, retail/finance, and SMB/Interactive.

Each segment will be led by a General Manager (GM), a newly-defined role, each reporting to Cyndy Carr, charged with analyzing and growing the business by developing solutions that meet consumer needs and maximize results for our clients. Their responsibilities will include sales and business development. They will also be working closely with news leadership in product and content development.

In the Sports and Entertainment segments, the senior news editors will report directly to the GM while retaining a strong reporting relationship to the editor and managing editor. These collaborations will bring new products that consumers want to the market more rapidly. We are proceeding knowing and trusting each other's distinct roles and responsibilities in the same way our News leadership and our Publisher have worked collaboratively for years.

This business/news integration is a progressive step and is strongly supported by the news leaders of both the Sports and Entertainment segments:

"As a segment, we have a lot of advantages usually associated with a start-up," said Bob Yates, deputy managing editor and Executive Sports Editor. "We should be able to move much more quickly to take advantage of opportunities. That comes from having greater autonomy that gives us the freedom to develop both advertising and content solutions."

"As a journalist who has participated in many new product launches, I'm excited about the idea of working with a business partner on an arts and entertainment segment," added Lisa Kresl, deputy managing editor for Lifestyles. "Our high quality, credible content will reach new audiences in a variety of formats."
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The new segment leadership team is comprised of a very talented and accomplished group of business professionals:

Entertainment and Travel/Luxury Segments: Tracy Martin Taylor is the GM for the Entertainment and Travel/Luxury segments. As part of the new GM role, Tracy will be responsible for overseeing content. Tracy will continue her role as Quick Publisher and assume the role of FD Luxe Publisher. Prior to joining The News in July, she was in sales management at Clear Channel Radio and marketing at Wherehouse Music.

Sports and Health/Education Segments: Rich Alfano is the newest member of our management team. Rich worked for Times Mirror Magazines and served as President of Yachting, Saltwater Sportsman and Golf Magazine. He has most recently served as Senior Vice President/General Manager and SVP/Strategic Marketing for Practitioner's Publishing Co./Thomson Reuters. His professional success and experience in several industries makes him ideally suited to lead two of our high-growth segments.

Automotive Segment: Bill Bradley is the Automotive GM. Bill has over ten years of experience in sales management and has been a leader in solution-based selling. His in-depth knowledge of the auto industry combined with his strong local dealer relationships make him ideal for the role. Bill has held sales management positions on the News classified and local teams as well as sales and training roles in the newspaper industry prior to joining the company.

Real Estate Segment: Bill Bradley will assume the role of acting GM for Real Estate until the permanent position is hired.

Communications Segment: Alejandro "Alex" Sanchez is the Communications GM and Publisher of Al Día. He's been the Publisher of Al Dia the past two years and is responsible for achieving profitability earlier this year. Prior to The News, Alex spent 10 years as vice president and general manager for various television and radio stations in Texas, New York and California.

Pre-prints/Grocery Segment: Dan Phelan is the GM for the Pre-Print/Grocery Segment. Since becoming pre-print sales director in 2003, Dan has excelled in delivering creative solutions for our clients and has ranked at the top of our peer group in revenue performance. Prior to The News, Dan spent 18 years with Advo/Valassis in customer service and sales management roles.

Recruitment Segment: Michael Mayer is GM for Recruitment Advertising segment. He is a seasoned sales leader and has held various sales management positions in the newspaper industry including Recruitment Director at The Denver Newspaper Agency.

Retail/Financial Segment: Grant Moise is GM for the Retail/Financial segment. Grant has also been named Publisher of Briefing after leading it to profitability since joining The News in December. Grant was previously the Regional Sales Director for Tribune Media Net and the National Advertising Director at The News.

SMB/Retail Interactive Segment: As the GM of SMB/Retail Interactive, Robert Jehling will focus our existing local teams on sales opportunities in the small and medium business (SMB) segments. SMB is composed of the General Classifieds organizations, SMB sales teams, and the Self Serve Portal. Robert will also continue to lead the Local and National Retail Interactive teams which have achieved revenue growth under his leadership. In addition, Robert will serve as Publisher for NeighborsGo andNeighborsGo.com . Prior to joining The News last November, Robert was a Senior Sales Director at AT&T. Robert has over 15 years in leading consultative sales and marketing teams, with a proven track record of success in merging sales organizations and driving increased productivity.

The segment restructure is one of several key strategies we have implemented this year to better serve our advertising clients, including the following:

· Every member of the sales staff has completed a solutions-based training and evaluation program to increase their ability to better understand our clients' marketing objectives and recommend solutions that deliver results. Training is an ongoing priority. Future training topics will include digital, product and segment training in addition to a learning management system to facilitate continuous education and assist in certification.

· Implemented a new Integrated Advertising System (IAS) in July, which consolidated over five disparate operating systems enabling us to more efficiently manage our clients' accounts.

· Restructured the marketing organization to better support the sales staff in the development of media solutions for our clients. Market, audience and segment analysts provide valuable insights while marketing strategists, media planners and the agency help create campaigns that deliver results.

· Created an agency liaison team to better serve our advertising agency clients through a more singular focus on account management. After the first 90 days, our satisfaction ratings have increased significantly.

As The Dallas Morning News approaches its 125th anniversary in 2010, our business stands at a critical crossroads. Our success depends on employing bold strategies to evolve our organization: our home delivery pricing strategy (on which Jim and John updated us on Monday), our continued dedication and investment in important and relevant journalism that makes a difference in our community and the ongoing development of our product portfolio have all played a role in changing our approach to how we do business.

This restructure and strategic integration with news, along with the many other strategies we've put into place this year to better serve our clients and consumers, position us for significant growth and stability as we head into the new year.

Cyndy Carr Bob Mong
SVP/Sales Editor

Newspaper Layoffs in November Show Spike From Previous Months

Newspaper layoffs in the United States picked up steam just in time for the holidays as 623 people were dismissed or offered buyouts in November, News Cycle's list shows. This is about a 50 percent increase over the layoffs reported in both October and September. But three major announcements in the month did not add to News Cycle's running total.

The Associated Press reported that it was dismissing 190 people from its staff either through accepting a buyout plan or a layoff. In May, it was estimated that 400 AP staffers would lose their jobs this year. News Cycle subtracted 210 from its grand total figure to compensate.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offered buyouts to 140 managers on Nov. 6. Block Communications would not say what its target was, nor would it release its deadline. This number is not included in News Cycle's 2009 total.

Finally, The East Valley Tribune in Arizona announced on Nov. 3 that it would cease publication on Dec. 31, putting 140 out of work. But on Nov. 25, Randy Miller's Thirteenth Street Media, which owns the Tucson Explorer, signed a letter of intent to purchase the newspaper and keep a "substantial" number of employees on the job.

Here are November's other confirmed layoffs:

Nov. 13: Colorado Springs Gazette, 11 people.
Nov. 12: New York Times News Service, at least 25 people. Union sources say that up to 28 people may be cut.
Nov. 10: The Arizona Daily Star, 15 people.
Nov. 9: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 100 people.
Nov. 7: The Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, two people. Three other unfilled positions will remain vacant.
Nov. 6: The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., 16 people plus seven unfilled positions cut.
Nov. 5: Huron (Mich.) Daily Tribune, 30 people.
Nov. 4:The Fresno (Calif.) Bee, 51 people in the circulation department. Dismissals will happen in phases and be completed by Jan. 31.
Nov. 4: Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance, 40 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Waxman: U.S. Government Must Help Resolve Journalism Issues

A top Democratic lawmaker predicted today that the federal government will soon be involved in shaping the future for struggling U.S. media organizations, according to reporting by John Poirier of Reuters.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman of California said that quality journalism was essential to U.S. democracy and that eventually government would have to help resolve the problems caused by a failing business model, according to the report.

Waxman, other U.S. lawmakers and regulators are looking into various options to help a newspaper industry hurt by the shift in advertising revenues to online platforms.

Tweaks to the tax code to allow newspapers to spread losses over a greater number of years, providing a nonprofit structure to allow for public and foundation funding, and changes to antitrust laws are being considered by lawmakers and policymakers.

"Eventually government is going to have to be responsible to help and resolve these issues," Waxman told a conference hosted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on the future of journalism.

Free Press, a public interest group, said the search for solutions to the crisis in journalism should be premised on the idea that news-gathering is a public service, not a commodity.

Waxman's "indication that government has a role to play is both bold and soberly sensible," said Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott on the sidelines of the FTC conference.

At the Federal Communications Commission, officials are embarking on a quadrennial review of the state of U.S. media. The study, which is mandated by Congress, seeks to determine whether current rules should be changed to allow for a more vibrant media industry serving a diverse audience.

Colleagues Celebrate Jimmy Breslin's 60 Years in Journalism

A Who's Who of New York journalists and writers convened by Pete Hamill will discuss the career of Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist, non-fiction author and novelist Jimmy Breslin at New York University on Monday.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. at the Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Sq. S., fourth floor in Manhattan, a press release says. It is co-sponsored by Glucksman Ireland House — the Center for Irish and Irish-American Studies at New York University — and the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

Among the participants: Dan Barry, columnist, The New York Times; Gail Collins, columnist, The Times; Jim Dwyer, columnist, The Times; Mary Ann Giordano, editor, The Times; Carl Hiassen, novelist, columnist, The Miami Herald; Mike Lupica, novelist, columnist, N.Y. Daily News; Stephen G. Murphy, defense attorney; Mike O’Neill, former editor, Daily News; Sam Roberts, urban affairs correspondent, The Times and former city editor, Daily News.

A matchless New York voice, the city’s “steadiest and most accurate chronicler” (Tom Robbins, The Village Voice, March 19, 2002), Breslin was born in Queens, N.Y., in 1929. He started as a copy boy at 15 at the Long Island Press and worked there as a reporter covering fires, crime and sports. In the late 1950s he became a sports columnist at the New York Journal-American and in 1963 he published his first book, Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game? The Improbable Saga of the New York Mets’ First Year. Breslin wrote his first city-side column for the New York Herald-Tribune from 1963 to 1966. He was at The Daily News from 1976 to 1988 and received the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary at the paper in 1986. He then joined Newsday and stayed from 1988 until his retirement as a columnist in 2004. Pioneering in style and in focus, his columns were peopled with the prominent, the shady, and those struggling with poverty and crime. He also reported from Northern Ireland, Vietnam, and other places well beyond New York. His first novel, The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight, was published in 1970 and was made into a successful film. His most recent book The Good Rat: A True Story, was published in 2008. In all, he has published seven novels and 10 works of non-fiction.

Journos and Rock Stars "Unite" for Newseum Panel

Journos and Rock Stars "Unite" for Newseum Panel

Reaction to Obama's Afghan Troop Plan

Here is POLITICO's video composite of reactions to President Barack Obama's announcement that the United States will send about 30,000 additional troops to fight in Afghanistan.

Google Modifies First Click Free Program

Google announced that it is changing its First Click Free program to allow newspaper publishers to limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing.

"If you're a Google user, this means that you may start to see a registration page after you've clicked through to more than five articles on the website of a publisher using First Click Free in a day. We think this approach still protects the typical user from cloaking, while allowing publishers to focus on potential subscribers who are accessing a lot of their content on a regular basis," wrote Josh Cohen, Senior Business Product Manager of Google on a blog posting yesterday.

Cohen went on to write: We will crawl, index and treat as "free" any preview pages - generally the headline and first few paragraphs of a story - that they make available to us. This means that our crawlers see the exact same content that will be shown for free to a user. Because the preview page is identical for both users and the crawlers, it's not cloaking. We will then label such stories as "subscription" in Google News. The ranking of these articles will be subject to the same criteria as all sites in Google, whether paid or free. Paid content may not do as well as free options, but that is not a decision we make based on whether or not it's free. It's simply based on the popularity of the content with users and other sites that link to it."

News Corp. chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch has lead the charge against Google, including saying on Tuesday that media companies should charge for content and stop news aggregators like Google from "feeding off the hard-earned efforts and investments of others."

News Corp. charges for online access to The Wall Street Journal and it plans to expand that to other publications, including British newspapers The Sun and The Times. Newsday now charges for access to its site as well if you are not a print subscriber or a customer of Optimum Online.

The Associated Press reported that Murdoch told the U.S. Federal Trade Commission conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday that a fundamental problem facing the media industry is that "technology makes it cheap and easy to distribute news for anyone with Internet access, but producing journalism is expensive."

"Right now there is a huge gap in costs," he added, referring to news compilation sites like Google.

Washington Times Announces Significant Staff Reductions

The Washington Times today announced what it called "significant staff reduction of its 370 personnel."

Michael Calderone of POLITICO says his sources put the number at about 40 percent, which would represent roughly 148 people.

The newspaper, which is owned by News World Communications, a division of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, has seen unprecedented upheaval over the past few months. Earlier in November, executive editor John Solomon resigned amid rampant rumors of the newspaper's demise. In addition, there have been reports of security guards monitoring staff activity, as well as a discrimination complaint from the former editorial page editor, who said he had been “coerced” into attending a church event. Church and newspaper officials have long denied any influence by the Unificiation Church over the newspaper's policies, practices and editorial content.

Here is the newspaper's press release about the staff reductions:

The Washington Times LLC today announced changes to refocus its position as a provider of vital information and insight to readers in the nation's capital, across the country and around the world. As with other news organizations in the United States, the company continues to reshape operations to keep pace with the dynamically changing economics of the news business.

"These changes will continue The Washington Times' transformation into a 21st century media company and reinforces its mission to provide an independent, alternative voice in the nation's capital," said President and Publisher Jonathan Slevin. "We have developed plans to secure our position and advance our vital role in an evolving media marketplace and through challenging economic times. A new Washington Times will continue to reach readers and more effectively earn new audiences via digital, broadcast, print and wireless media.

"Changes at the Times are rooted in a rigorous business analysis, applying sound and tested financial principles, and shaping plans informed by current marketplace realities," continued Slevin. "In this regard, the company is aggressively working to achieve efficiencies of scale that must include significant staff reduction of its 370 personnel."

Scheduled for incremental implementation between now and the first half of 2010, the changes announced include:

• News focused on strengths. The Washington Times news operation will operate in a highly focused manner, investing in Washington Times' well-established core strengths that include exclusive reporting and in-depth national political coverage, enterprise and investigative reporting, geo-strategic and national security news, and cultural coverage based on traditional values.

• Controlled-market local circulation. In the first quarter of 2010, the local print edition will be distributed at no cost in select areas, and home/office delivery will be offered at a premium price. No-cost distribution will focus on targeted audiences in branches of the federal government as well as at other key institutions. Single copy sales will continue through newspaper boxes and retailers at select locations. Current subscribers will also be offered a choice of subscriptions to Washington Times digital editions and The Washington Times National Weekly.

• Digital news resources: The company will expand the recently-launched theconservatives.com, subscription-based e-briefings and other new digital information resources as part of its online strategy.

• Radio programming. The newspaper's 3-hour-a-day morning radio program, "America's Morning News," will continue to grow through syndication by Talk Radio Network. The program currently airs in more than 70 markets nationwide.

• Partnerships. The Washington Times will work closely with its affiliate company, United Press International (UPI), to mutually benefit both organizations through collaboration in areas such as photography and online sales, as well as leveraging UPI's multi-lingual and international presence.

"The new Washington Times will continue to report Washington-focused news that other journalistic enterprises often overlook," said Slevin. "Fearless reporting, respect for American values, and crisply written editorials and columns will remain the centerpieces of our new strategy, and our content will continue to engage readers and viewers through a wide range of 21st century media."

Chris Matthews: Obama Spoke at the 'Enemy Camp' at West Point

Chris Matthews of MSNBC yesterday described the cadets and soldiers listening to President Barack Obama at West Point as "the enemy camp." It's a stunning description of volunteers willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our country.

Michael Moore to Obama: Say It Ain't So!

Filmmaker and progressive standard bearer Michael Moore does not take too kindly to President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan.

All of us that voted and prayed for you and cried the night of your victory have endured an Orwellian hell of eight years of crimes committed in our name: torture, rendition, suspension of the bill of rights, invading nations who had not attacked us, blowing up neighborhoods that Saddam "might" be in (but never was), slaughtering wedding parties in Afghanistan. We watched as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered and tens of thousands of our brave young men and women were killed, maimed, or endured mental anguish -- the full terror of which we scarcely know.

When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.

Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.

CNN Reporter Arrested for Having an 'Oba-Mao' T-Shirt in Beijing

CNN's Emily Chang writes about her experience in Beijing trying to get a hold of an "Oba-Mao" T-shirt that has been banned by the Chinese government.

We found nothing but could not be sure they hadn't sold them there before. So, I chose that opportune moment to do a piece to camera with the shirt in hand. Bad move? Maybe. But it ended up being great television.

Two security guards happened to pass by at the moment I announced to the camera: "This is the T-shirt everybody is talking about." And that was it. They scrambled toward us and tried to pry the shirt out of my hands. I didn't give in.

Technically, we did not have permission to film in the market. And the security guards scolded us for not getting permission ahead of time.

There was a bit of yelling and quite a scuffle. My producer Jo Kent emphatically stated our case. Photographer Miguel Castro kept his cool. By this point, we had everything on tape.

We ended up being detained for two hours in the cold maze of a market. A crowd gathered round. More security and then police showed up. They wanted our press cards, our passports, but most of all, they wanted the shirt.

Ultimately, they confirmed that we were indeed "real" journalists (that is legally reporting in China.) But that didn't stop them from scolding us and making it very difficult to leave. After asking repeatedly and then one last time for the shirt, I refused.

Finally, they let us go. Phew!

Now It's Sarah Palin vs. the Media

The Week takes on the new Sarah Palin vs. The Media squabble over the fact-checking of her book, "Going Rogue." Here are some of its findings:

"The blogosphere has been busy truth-squading [Sarah Palin's new memoir] 'Going Rogue,' reports The New York Times, calling the Associated Press's debunking of the book's claims an unusually "sharp-elbowed" dispatch. Conservative blogs have posted detailed rebuttals, and Palin herself, via her Facebook account, has condemned the AP's decision to devote 11 fact-checkers to produce "erroneous" "opposition research" when they could have been fact-checking "Sheik Mohammed's trial, Pelosi's health care takeover costs, [and] Hasan's associations." Is Palin wise to wage war against perceived media bias? (Watch a discussion on whether the media treats Sarah Palin fairly)

The excessive AP attack justifies Palin's angry defense: This media abuse has gotten ridiculous, says Mark Steyn in National Review. The AP "assigned 11 writers to 'fact-check' Sarah Palin’s new book," and the resulting 695-word report came up with nothing even remotely "earth-shattering." So "if you wonder why American newspapering is dying..."

Fighting with the press never ends well: "Going to war with the Associated Press is as dumb as going to war with Fox News," says Don Surber in the Charleston Daily Mail. Just ask President Obama. "Sarah Palin should leave the criticism of the media to others. We like our leaders a little above the fray."

With her shrewd counterattack, Palin is channeling Reagan: Ronald Reagan didn't fight with the media, says Dan Riehl in Riehl World View. Instead, "he went over the media's head directly to the American people." By exploiting Facebook and the like, Palin's doing much the same thing. And "don't be surprised if it works, even as the media and some old-line politicos point how what a bad idea it is."

Sunday Morning News Shows

Here's a snippet of this morning's news shows from POLITICO.

Clinton Would Accept a Coffee With Palin

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told NBC's David Gregory today on "Meet The Press" that she would happily accept an offer from former Gov. Sarah Palin to sit down for a coffee, as mentioned in Palin's new book, "Going Rogue."

"I absolutely would look forward to having coffee. I've never met her. And I think it would be very interesting to sit down and talk with her. I've got more than I can say grace over to read, but obviously, in the next week there's gonna be a lot of attention paid to her book. And I'm sure that I'll see excerpts printed and you know, snippets of interviews as I, you know, channel surf in Singapore and in Shanghai and in Beijing. But you know, I'm ready to have a cup of coffee."

Palin wrote: "Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we would fundamentally disagree on many issues. But my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail."

Clinton did say she would also talk about politics: "Maybe I can make a case on some of the issues that we disagree on."

CDC Estimates 14 Million to 34 Million Cases of Swine Flu (H1N1) So Far

There have been between 14 million and 34 million cases of 2009 H1N1 between April and Oct. 17, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday.

It estimates that 2009 H1N1-related deaths range from 2,500 to 6,000.

The report also said that between about 63,000 and 153,000 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations occurred during that time period.

The CDC warned that the estimated ranges generated by this methodology provide a sense of scale in terms of the burden of disease caused by 2009 H1N1. It may never be possible to validate the accuracy of these figures. The true number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths may lie within the ranges provided or it’s also possible that they may lie outside the ranges.

This methodology is not predictive and cannot be used to forecast the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths that will occur going forward over the course of the pandemic because they are based on actual surveillance data.

Pictured is a negative stain EM image of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A/CA/4/09 that was taken by C. S. Goldsmith and A. Balish of the CDC.

LA Times: How Low Will Obama Go in Bowing Before Emperor Akihito?

The Los Angeles Times asks the question this morning after President Barack Obama greeted Japanese Emperor Akihito today with a very low bow, which is often seen as a sign of great respect and deference to a superior in Japan.

The photo is sure to garner the ire of the conservative pundits for the next few days.

This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference to a superior.


To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better. Remember Michelle Obama casually patting Britain's Queen Elizabeth on the back during their Buckingham Palace visit? America's royalty tends to make movies and get bad reviews and lots of money as a sign of respect.

Obama could receive some frowns back home as he did for his not-quite-this-low-or-maybe-about-the-same-bow to the Saudi king not so long ago.

The story also compared Obama's posture to how Gen. Douglas MacArthur presented himself to the emperor.

As the conquering Allied general and then presiding officer of the U.S. occupation, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, decided to allow Japan to keep its emperor as a ceremonial unifying institution within a nascent democracy.

Tojo, on the other hand, was hanged.

MacArthur treated Emperor Hirohito respectfully but, as his body language in this black and white postwar photo demonstrates, was not particularly deferential.

(But then MacArthur was not known as a particularly deferential person, as Truman discovered just before firing him later. But that's another war.)

Anita Dunn's Final Parting Shots at Fox News

Sam Stein of The Huffington Post today wrote about Anita Dunn, the outgoing interim White House communications director, and her parting shots at Fox News:

The outgoing administration spokeswoman took a clear and enjoyable dig, first at Sean Hannity for recently airing spliced footage designed to make a crowd of anti-health care protesters seem bigger than reality.

"A fun fact from this week is that an opinion show on a certain news network was using edited footage to make it appear that a rally last week, and political opposition to the president, was much larger than it appeared," said Dunn, during her appearance at the Bloomberg News Washington Summit. "Some of you may have heard about it. The people who went in and did fact checking on that, and actually exposed the spliced edited was... Jon Stewart of the 'Daily Show' on Comedy Central. Well that is where you are getting fact-checking and investigative journalism these days folks. It is a different media environment."

Showing an even greater appreciation for the "Daily Show"'s Fox News fact-checking abilities, Dunn referenced another Stewart triumph later in her question-and-answer session.

"Jon Stewart actually did one of the most amazing pieces of journalism last week or a couple of weeks ago," she said, "in which he looked at the way Fox, on their opinion shows, raises some issue that then gets reported on by their news division as 'a controversy.' ... Now, that's a point of view. That's fine. That's entertainment. It helps their ratings. But I think if you go downstairs and walk through the Newseum that's not traditionally what you think of as traditional news -- to some extent inventing the story."

Approached in the halls outside the forum, the Huffington Post asked Dunn to put Glenn Beck's recent theatrics into the context of her critiques of Fox News's coverage. She chuckled. For the past few weeks, Beck has insisted that the outgoing communications director considers Mao Zedong a political hero and has put a red telephone on his set begging for her to call and explain her political dispositions.

"I think it was news to everybody who knows me," she replied. "You know, most media consultants usually are accused of other things, but that's not one of them."

Last month, Dunn got caught up in a war of words between the White House and Fox News when she made the rather bland observation that the network carries a Republican agenda. On Friday, she was asked whether she considered MSNBC to have a counter-balancing bias -- a common retort offered by Fox's defenders. Dunn replied by noting that for three hours every morning that network handed over its programming to "a former Republican congressman who was a member of Newt Gingrich's revolution": Joe Scarborough.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Dunn acknowledged that her decision to go after Fox News was not an example of her "going rogue." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and perhaps even the president himself gave her the green light ...

Bucking a Trend, Two Brothers to Start a Newspaper in Detroit

Mark and Gary Stern, two brothers who are veteran publishers, announced today that they plan to launch a daily newspaper for the Detroit area, The Associated Press' Jeff Karoub reported.

Brothers said Friday they'll start publishing the Detroit Daily Press on Nov. 23, selling it for 50 cents daily and $1 on Sundays. Home delivery starts Nov. 30 in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

The paper's 60 full-time employees, many with experience at Detroit newspapers, are using the former offices of The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak, which moved to the offices of sister publication The Macomb Daily.

"We are affordable, both to the advertiser and the reader," Mark Stern told The Associated Press before a news conference.

He said he and his brother called themselves out of retirement when they learned of the Detroit newspapers' plans to scale back home delivery. The brothers also said they seek to start more daily newspapers in other metro areas, focusing on places where papers have shut down or scaled back.

The Sterns ran daily newspapers in Detroit in 1964 and 1967; New York in 1978; and Minneapolis in 1980 when workers at those cities' major newspapers went on strike.

Mark Stern, 64, published weekly dining and entertainment publications for 22 years in Fort Lauderdale, where he now lives. Gary Stern, 67, now lives in the Atlanta area. The Sterns, both Detroit natives, say they will also maintain a residence in the area.

New York Times News Service Trims at Least 25 Staffers

The New York Times News Service will dismiss nearly eyeryone on its editorial staff and will move the news operation to the Gainsville Sun, the service announced yesterday through a report in The New York Times.

David Kaplin writes on PaidContent.org:

The NYTNS edits and syndicates articles from the NYT and more than 100 other sources. It acts like the NYTCo’s version of the AP. It also provides videos and photos to members of its syndicate, as well as features for weekly newspaper supplements.

There’s some dispute about how many of the NYTNS editors and writers will lose their jobs. The NYTCo (NYSE: NYT) says that the 25 of total 30 staffers will be let go, while the Newspaper Guild, which represents the employees, claims that 28 are being dismissed. Either way, the numbers of laid of news service staffers will not count toward the 100 cuts the main NYT newsroom is looking to make by the end of the year.

The layoffs that the NYTNS effectively leave the operation shuttered in New York. By moving it to The Sun in Florida, the NYTCo will have the paper’s less-costly non-union staff handling the duties of running the service. There was no indication as to how much the company would save on the changes or how much the layoffs would initially cost.

Speaking if the non-union workforce at the NYTCo, the company said it would stop cease contributions to their pensions when the year draws to a close. Instead, the NYTCo would take 3 percent of their wages each year and put that in non-union staffers’ 401(k) plans. No word on how much that move would save either.

Here is the Guild's memo as published on Romenesko:

Times to Subcontract News Service

Times management informed the Guild late this afternoon that the company intends to subcontract the work of the News Service. Management representatives told the Guild the work will be sent to the Gainesville Sun, a property owned by The New York Times. The subcontracting would impact all 28 Guild staffers – one assistant to the editor, two editors, 23 staff editors, one news assistant and one news clerk.

After members had been informed by management of the subcontracting, the Guild met with the affected employees to answer questions and inform them of their rights under the collective bargaining agreement. Under the contract, The Times has given the contractually required notification to the Guild, which triggers a 60-day period that allows the Guild an opportunity to try to avert the subcontracting. The Guild, as always, will monitor the situation and keep members informed.

Times Freezes Nonunion Pension Plan

The Times this morning also announced it will freeze the nonunion pension plan, effective December 31, 2009. This action will not impact the Guild/Times Pension Plan that covers Guild employees, which was left unclear in a communication put out by the company earlier today. Because the Guild/Times pension is protected under our contract the Times cannot make unilateral changes to it.

While The Times has frozen the exempt pension plan and increased the cost of the exempt health care plan, the company cannot make these unilateral changes for Guild covered employees, thanks to our contract.

#####

Colorado Springs Gazette Lays Off 11 Employees

The Colorado Springs Gazette, a Freedom Communications Inc. newspaper, laid off 11 employees today, President and Publisher Steve Pope announced.

Seven employees are from the newsroom, three are from circulation and one is from advertising.

Wayne Heilman of the Gazette writes:

The cuts here included seven employees in the newsroom, three in circulation and one in advertising, leaving Colorado Springs’ only daily newspaper with a staff of fewer than 300, Gazette President and Publisher Steve Pope said Friday. The Gazette employed nearly 500 people in early 2007 but has cut its staff through attrition and several rounds of layoffs as competition from online advertising outlets has reduced advertising revenue across the industry.

Deteriorating economic conditions in Colorado Springs, particularly among retailers, auto dealers and the real estate industry, prompted cuts in The Gazette’s budget for 2010, which triggered the layoffs, Pope said during a meeting with employees. The company tried to avoid layoffs through mandatory furloughs, a 5 percent salary cut for all employees and a variety of cost-cutting measures this year, including trimming pages from the printed newspaper, he said.

Freedom has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since Sept. 1.

I was a staff editor at the newspaper in the mid-80s, when times were good and circulation was growing with the town. But it's a different story now, as Pam Zubeck writes for the Colorado Springs Independent.

Things are so tight that Colorado Springs' daily newspaper has relinquished its credentials to cover the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, the first time it will pass on covering any Olympics with its own personnel since the U.S. Olympic Committee relocated to Colorado Springs in 1977.

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations report shows the Gazette's Sunday circulation plunged by 10.6 percent in a 24-month period ending Sept. 30, dropping to 84,265, while the weekday count lost 12 percent to 63,404. Those figures represent average paid circulation at 50 percent or more of the subscription price.

2009 Weblog Awards

If you're happy with my efforts here, vote for News Cycle in the 2009 Weblog Awards in the Best Large Blog category (my Technorati Authority is 496 as of today. Four more and News Cycle joins the Very Large Blog category!

Commentators React to Dobbs' Departure From CNN

Here's a short one-minute snippet of reactions to Lou Dobbs sudden departure from CNN. It was compiled by POLITICO. Most everyone was gracious to Dobbs with the exception of Keith Olbermann and The New York Times, who both showed their class once again.

In addition to his on-air comments, Olbermann had this advice for Dobbs' soul on POLITICO's Arena:

I can only say that I always wondered if his stance on immigrants, legal or otherwise, took a bigger toll on him than on the immigrants. This is, whether he or others will admit it, a Hispanic issue, and not only are Lou's wife and kids Hispanic but the daughters are in the Horse Show game, which, after the restaurant industry, is the top employer of undocumented immigrants in this country - and Lou helps pay them. If that isn't the ultimate hypocrisy, it must be the ultimate self-contradiction and very painful psychologically.

I worked with Lou as long ago as 1981 and I never heard any of this back then. He's always been a bully and one of those put-up-your-dukes clowns, but I think the immigration stance was mostly opportunistic. The insincerity of the xenophobia would explain how he went from 2nd place to 4th.

As to what he should do next, his soul would benefit from a few years at Telemundo.

The New York Times used up valuable Editorial Page space to make this comment:

Lou Dobbs has left CNN, or maybe the other way around. Whichever it is, an old, odd, infuriating-to-many mismatch of sober network and strident host is over. CNN, for now anyway, changes back to something closer to the nonpartisan, straight-up news network it wants you to think of it as, different from its ideologically branded rivals Fox News and MSNBC. The real question is the effect the change will have on Mr. Dobbs.

Mr. Dobbs, once a pinstriped purveyor of financial news, has burrowed deep into the popular culture as a self-styled populist enraged by illegal immigration. When he resigned on the air Wednesday night, he made it clear that that aspect of his public persona is not going away. He listed immigration along with jobs, the middle class and war as among the issues urgently needing his kind of honest, straightforward examination.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “these issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion.”

Mr. Dobbs couldn’t have phrased a more apt criticism of himself. He calls himself Mr. Independent, but he is far closer in style and method to the right-wing ranters who mold the facts to shape the argument on television and on AM radio, where Mr. Dobbs still has a show. Mr. Dobbs’s CNN program has long been a nesting ground for untruths and conspiracy theories: fretting over a nonexistent, immigrant-borne leprosy epidemic; questioning President Obama’s citizenship; issuing dark warnings about the “North American Union,” a supposed plot to strangle United States sovereignty.

It’s hard to pinpoint how much damage these kinds of ideas have done to the national discussion of illegal immigration, but they have been corrosive. Solutions have withered as many politicians parrot the central myth that people desperate to seek new lives in the United States are an affliction to be feared, not an opportunity to be engaged, future Americans who could enrich the country as immigrants always have and will.

Now Mr. Dobbs has pledged to “engage in constructive problem solving.” Here is a problem to solve constructively: Illegal immigrants are, as Mr. Dobbs likes to say, decent, honest, hard-working people. They are exploited by greedy corporate interests. They are not about to deport themselves, and we aren’t about to deport them all.

It’s a problem to which Mr. Dobbs has never really offered an answer. Perhaps someday he will.

Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN After Tonight's Show

CNN host Lou Dobbs told The New York Times this evening that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.

“Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving,” Mr. Dobbs said just after 7 p.m., suggesting that he would remain involved in the civic discourse, but perhaps not on television.

“I’m considering a number of options and directions,” Mr. Dobbs added.

Wednesday’s program will be his last on CNN, one of his employees said earlier in the evening.

Once Again, Newspaper Layoffs Ease in October

Newspapers in the United States reported that they dismissed 375 people from their jobs in the month of October. It's the third consecutive month that the reported number of newspaper employees losing their jobs has been below 425 people.

The biggest cut came from The New York Times, which reported that it would let go 100 people.

The slowdown in newspaper job losses comes at a time when there are postive signs in advertising revenue. For instance, Times Co. president and chief executive Janet Robinson told Chris Lefkow of Agence France Presse that, "We have seen encouraging signs of improvement in the overall economy and in discussions with our advertisers. Early in the fourth quarter, print advertising trends, in comparison to the third quarter, have improved modestly, while digital advertising trends are improving more significantly."

Here is the list for October:

Oct. 29: The Wall Street Journal, nine people as the Boston bureau is closed.
Oct. 21: The Midwest City (Okla.) Sun ceases publication. The twice weekly will lay off 10 people.
Oct. 20: Los Angeles Times, at least 30 people.
Oct. 19: The New York Times, 100 newsroom employees.
Oct. 19: The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., at least 40 employees, 16 from the newsroom.
Oct. 18: Gannetoid.com now reports 1,514 people laid off from Gannett publications this year. This is 40 more than the Sept. 9 posting.
Oct. 16: La Frontera of McAllen, Texas, ceases publication. The number of employees laid off here was not released by Valley Freedom Newspapers, the chain has said 70 people have been laid off in the past 18 months.
Oct. 13: The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 50 people.
Oct. 12: The Modesto (Calif.) Bee, seven people.
Oct. 2: The Decatur (Ala.) Daily, 19 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

Obama Honors Slain Heroes at Fort Hood

Here is President Obama at today's ceremony honoring the fallen at Food Hood.

Tancredo Storms Off MSNBC Set During Interview With Moulitsas

Former GOP congressman Tom Tancredo walked off the set last night during a discussion about health care with Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and David Shuster.

Shuster, who was sitting in for Ed Schultz on his MSNBC show, asked Tancredo whether the Veterans Administration, which is a single-payer system, is also a "threat to our freedom."

Tancredo said there were problems with the VA and told Moulitsas he should talk more to veterans. Moulitsas responded by saying; ""I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam." The former congresman from Colorado soon left the set.

Moulitsas is a veteran, and Tancredo got a 1-Y deferment from serving during the Vietnam war, meaning he was qualified for military service only in time of national emergency due to his depression.

Pelosi's Bill: Buy a $15,000 Health Care Policy for Your Family or Go to Jail

Ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) yesterday released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail.

The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

"Although premiums under H.R. 3962 would vary by geographic area to reflect differences in average spending for health care and would also vary by age, the table shows the approximate national average for that lower-cost reference plan —about $5,300 for single policies and about $15,000 for family policies in 2016," according to a CBO letter by Douglas W. Elmendorf, director, sent to Rep. Charles Rangel on Nov. 2.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Criminal penalties could range from misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year or a felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.”

Fox's Shepard Smith Apologizes for Unbalanced Report on N.J. Race

Fox News correspondent Shannon Bream had a live interview on Tuesday afternoon with New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie. Afterward, Shepard Smith said on air that Jon Corzine, the Democratic incumbent, should have been interviewed too, and he apologized. Later that evening, Fox included a sound bite of Corzine.

Wall Street Journal's Frank Says Obama Was Right About Fox

Thomas Frank writes today in The Wall Street Journal that President Barack Obama was right about Fox, but his administration should have taken a different approach in attacking the network.

To point out that this network is different, that it is intensely politicized, that it inhabits an alternate reality defined by an imaginary conflict between noble heartland patriots and devious liberals—to be aware of these things is not the act of a scheming dictatorial personality. It is the obvious conclusion drawn by anybody with eyes and ears.

Still, one wishes that the Obama administration had taken on Fox News with a little more skill. As cultural criticism goes, this was clumsy, plodding stuff. What the situation required was sarcasm, irony, a little humor. Simply feeding Fox a slice of raw denunciation was like dumping gasoline into a fire. It did nothing but furnish the network with a real-world validation of its long-running conspiracy theories—and a nice bump in its ratings.

Calderone: Balanced Reporting Losing Ground to Partisan Media

Michael Calderone of POLITICO this morning looks at a possible connection between declining circulation in American newspapers and CNN's dead-last finish in ratings behind the partisan competitors of Fox and MSNBC.

Eric Alterman, a media columnist for the Nation, and a frequent critic of the MSM, thinks they are. "Non-partisan news, and news aimed at a broad audience, doesn't have the cache, and therefore the consumer base it once had,” Alterman said. “The whole notion of citizenship has been declining for decades now.”

With the proliferation of media across platforms these days, there’s less shared knowledge among people, who are increasingly heading to niche outlets for information. At the same time, there’s a large appetite for the new media world where the MSM gatekeepers no longer hold as much clout, and “he said, she said” journalism gives way to strong point-of-view. Just last night, NYU hosted a debate among prominent journalists on the subject: “Good Riddance to Mainstream Media.”

And in today’s cable news universe, Alterman said, “politics without a slant, without a point-of-view, is interesting to very few people.”

That’s probably one thing that the Nation writer and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly agree on.

O’Reilly, host of the top-rated cable news show, told an audience last week that networks need to give viewers “a product that is entertaining and informative.” As for his 8 p.m. rival on CNN, O’Reilly said: “Nobody watches Campbell Brown. You have to evolve if you want to survive in the commercial world. If you are going to do a straight newscast in primetime, you are going to lose.”

Brown is not only losing to O’Reilly and a partisan on the left, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, but also to Nancy Grace, who hosts a more tabloidy show at the same time on sister-network, HLN.