Times To Jossip: Please Work For Us "Fiona Spruill, editor of the Web newsroom of the New York Times, describes the skills she looks for when hiring young journalists: 'They need to have solid journalism credentials and strong technical skills. We want people to walk in the door with a proficiency in Photoshop, HTML.'" Thanks for the shout-out, Fiona! We'll have our desks cleaned out by 4.
Apparently, employers these days aren't just concerned with your qualifications, degree and relevant experience. They're also quite interested to find out whether you're a pain in the ass. Or, put another way, "in this bloggable, cell phone camera world, your brand on the inside is going to be your brand on the outside. If you have a bunch of jerks, your brand is going to be a jerk."
Of course, the system isn't full-proof, and a few less than desirable coworkers always seem to slip through the cracks. Which is to say, every office has its requisite jerk. So look around you. Can't figure out who that person is? Then it's probably you. [CNN]
This just in, hot off the presses (or, at the very least, lukewarm): PageSix.com's newest hire is…none other than In Touch's articles director Kathy Campbell.
After the jump, Campbell's less-than-tearful internal farewell email to IT staffers. The best part: At then end, when she says "Please keep in touch!" Ha! Wait, is she kidding? You decide.
Do you watch ABC's Ugly Betty? Neither do we! But that doesn't mean we're not more than happy to acknowledge its multifaceted contribution to society.
First and foremost, it's inspired strong, intelligent women with great personalities and below-average looks to follow their dreams of working in completely superficial environments where they'll constantly be judged based on their physical attributes.
Second, it's proved an invaluable comeback vehicle for previously forgotten-about actress/singer Vanessa Williams!
And third, it's evidently helped to generate a significant rise in employment opportunities for Hispanics at all the major networks.
Time Inc. has lured SportsCenter mainstay Dan Patrick away from ESPN The Magazine and his ESPN radio show and convinced him to totally switch directions. In a stunning turnaround, Patrick will henceforth be a senior writer at Sports Illustrated magazine and will host a radio show for Sports Illustrated's website.
Yeah, we're still trying to wrap our heads around it, too. But as far as we can tell, the name of the game is still synergy—meaning the only that's really changed here is the brand. And, presumably, the number of zeros on those paychecks Patrick's cashing.
[Folio]
Former general manager of CBSNews.com Betsy Morgan will be announced today as The Huffington Post's new permanent CEO.
"Getting somebody like this to come to our site says a boatload about where the industry is going," said Kenneth Lerer, who has been acting as the chief executive of The Huffington Post and will move up to chairman.
And while Morgan's move arguably solidifies HuffPo's place in the blogosphere, it says even more about the direction CBS News is headed.
We're hearing that ABC News president David Westin (whom some people find strangely attractive) is about to completely overhaul the structure of his news division. Insiders say Paul Slavin (the SVP of ABC News since 2003) will no longer be Westin's second-in-command going forward, and will now have a bullshit assignment jurisdiction over "Digital" rather than oversight of the news programs.
Update: WABC general manager Dave Davis joins ABC News as its new executive vice president [TVNewser]
After months of flagging circulation over at Star magazine, EIC Candace Trunzo has finally (and rather belatedly) jumped into action, poaching three upper level In Touch staffers (reporter Cristina Everett, senior editor Casey Brennan and news editor Aaron Rasmussen) within the last week in an ongoing effort to streamline the tabloid and leave the Bauer pub with a senior writing staff comprised primarily of interns.
And while we're vaguely curious to see whether Star's new makeover has any effect on its sales numbers, we're also interested to see whether In Touch can rebuild some of its earlier momentum, or whether this will hamper their ability to reproduce the same Brad and Angelina cover story week, after week, after week.
Earlier this week, we told you the New York Times was tapping TVNewser editor (and 21 year-old Towson University graduate) Brian Stelter as its newest media reporter. Which means Stelter's old job is up for grabs, and Mediabistro hasn't wasted any time looking for his replacement. And, from the looks of it, the pool of applicants isn't exactly limited to undergraduates this time around.
According to HuffPo, the people who have already applied to be the new Newswer include "a famous TV columnist with umpteen years of experience," "an executive producer at MSNBC," "a senior producer at CBS" and "a former managing editor of Cablevision."
In related news, our contract is up later this year, and we're already fielding offers from a variety of potential replacements including multiple high school dropouts, a college student who's "a journalism major and with a minor in communications, and [has] always enjoyed the Perez Hilton site" and the guy who sells us our morning coffee.
Breaking news, from the Hearstlink wires! Suzanne Sykes has just been named the new creative director of Marie Claire! This earth-shattering development was revealed earlier today in a stunning mid-day announcement by editor-in-chief Joanna Coles.
But what, you might ask, are Sykes' qualifications?
Answer: She was previously the art director of Grazia, which you've never heard of because it's from the U.K., and prior to that, she was the art director at M magazine, which you've also never heard of because it sucks for the very same reason.
Nevertheless, Coles seems thrilled to have her on board, describing herself as "elated to have lured [Sykes] to the States to work on Marie Claire." Sadly, Coles does not explain exactly how Sykes was persuaded to emigrate here, although we presume it has something to do with Joanna's feminine wiles.
Or possibly an incentive plan that does not, in any way, revolve around company stock.
The full intra-office (inter-office?) memo, after the jump!
Editorial Director
