Thanks to the convenient doubling up of jobs that always happens when two companies merge, Thomson Reuters will be letting go of 140 of journalism's finest by the end of the year, with more than half the cuts going down in Europe. [Guardian]
In other celebrity tabloid insider news, in addition to Us Weekly's Joey Bartolomeo jumping to People, we hear In Touch just removed David Thompson, their West Coast bureau chief, who was described to us as "very strange" and one with "no people skills," and simply wasn't up to the task at hand.
He came aboard at the end of November from OK! (and, before that, The Globe), replacing Martin Gould (now at Star). Gould's deputy at the time was Ashley Dillahunty, who remained the No. 2 on the West Coast as news director when Thompson took over.
Now, it's her turn to shine: Dillahunti has been elevated to the bureau chief spot, while former Us Weekly staffer and 944 Vegas editor-in-chief Abby Tegnelia, who's credited with breaking stories like Angelina Jolie giving birth to Shiloh in Namibia, and someone who's been described to us as "talented" and "unassuming," returns to In Touch to grab Dillahunty's old post.
Texas Monthly, the award-winning and well-designed title that's among few books to give New York a run for its region-specific/national-in-scope money, is saying goodbye to editor Mike Levy. [FBNY]
Lots of big names are taking buyouts at the Washington Post. [Portfolio]
Harry McCracken, the PC World EIC who was fired and re-hired last May after daring to criticize magazine advertiser Apple, is leaving the magazine. Again. On his own terms. He's been at PC World in various capacities for 14 years, which is, like, pre-Facebook, pre-Blackberry, pre-TiVo. A whole other era! McCracken, who announced his departure on his blog, is leaving to start "a technology site of my own–one that I'll build from scratch and launch this summer." God, don't let it be a social network. Or a blog.
A bit of breaking news: Bonnie Fuller, blogger and comedian, is finally stepping down as editorial director of American Media Inc., a position she's held since July 2003, silencing the months/years-long rumors that she would do so. The decision is effective tomorrow. She'll stay on as editor-at-large for Star and will, says the release, serve as a consultant to CEO David Pecker.
This will give Bonnie more time to criticize Lynne Spears.
Update: Naturally, the speculation that Bonnie has been fired is bubbling up. We're assured by one multiple insiders that she's stepping down voluntarily. Though perhaps unfortunately for Fuller, both scenarios are plausible.
CONTINUED »
OK! THX BI Following the dismissal of executive editor Juliet Heller two weeks ago, OK! magazine just dismissed two more senior staffers, we're hearing. Gone are the photo director and design director. Wonders a source: Is Sarah Ivens next?
The Walt Disney Co. has, after months of back and forth dealmaking, resigned ABC president Stephen McPherson's contract for an "unspecified" number of years. [NYT] This is significant because McPherson has turned the network into America's most favoriteist channel, where all the shows worth watching (Lost, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy) are housed, bringing the channel's ratings to the No. 2 spot, while a guy like Jeff Zucker keeps getting re-upped at NBC despite dragging the network from No. 1 to No. 4, and then to No. 3.
Ya know who's not excited about Ugly Betty moving to New York? The production crew that's being left behind in Los Angeles, where the show has spent the last two years filming. So upset are they at losing their jobs, and the possibility that other shows could follow suit to the Big Apple, where tax credits for filmmakers have tripled, that they're taking out a full page ad in Friday's Variety "that begs state and Los Angeles officials to do something to keep productions local." [DHD] They're going after folks like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to do more to increase incentives to keep Hollywood, well, Hollywood. The text of the ad below. CONTINUED »
GREY LADY SPILLING RED With too few journos accepting buyout offers, the Times Arthur Sulzberger authorized the paper's first mass firing, laying off 15 editorial types to reach the goal of 100 total exits. Says exec ed Bill Keller in a memo: "While the overwhelming majority of our reductions did indeed come from volunteers, we have been forced to resort to a relatively small number of layoffs to meet our assigned goal." [KK]
WHO'S GOING TO REFILL YOUR WATER GLASSES AND CLEAN YOUR POOL? Courtesy the expiration of an immigration visa rule that exempted summer workers from caps, you can expect labor shortages this summer in the Hamptons. Which means those who do get through the border and to the East End can up their fee? [NYS]
BEST OF TIMES, WORST OF TIMES Thanks to too few staffers accepting buyout offers, the New York Times is preparing to ax "as many as 30" editorial types. Bill Keller wants 100 newsies gone to meet budget reductions, but so far only 70 people have taken the bait. [NYP]
For the working class out there that toils away in coffee shops trying to eek out an existence writing front-of-the-book blurbs for beauty magazines, today represents a special kind of hell: It's tax day, and while most everyone else in employed life already had their government dollars withheld by their employer, you, dear soul, have not, and had to sort through all of your 1099s and receipts to figure out how much Uncle Sam is stealing from you this year.
Salon's Catherine Price found herself in a similar situation. Last year. It involved the scenario your cramped studio apartment looks like right now: Forms strewn all over your parquet floor, coffee rings bleeding through important government slips, and yourself, curled up in a fetal position. So she came up with a handy listicle of tips to get you through your pain and suffering. Most of her ideas are smart; all of them are obvious.
Get a tax adviser. Set up different bank accounts for business earnings. Pay your taxes quarterly. Set aside funds specifically for taxes. Bathe. (One we don't agree with: Don't own a coffee maker. This forces you to go outside and socialize. Good for your mental health, bad for your ability to get out of bed in the morning.)
But what's the one thing wrong with all of this good advice? CONTINUED »
Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, and The Hollywood Reporter, is laying off an indeterminate number of editorial staffers; it's not clear how much bloodshed there will be. (Not that it stopped Nielsen from
But expect more. While Nielsen may be a publisher facing the same ad dollar restraints as anybody else in the print realm, it's long been rumored they've been looking to sell NBM, even though they deny it. And what's the one thing a seller will do to make its properties look more attractive to a potential buyer? Cut costs across the line to boost margins.
Editorial Director
