In your hope-infested Thursday media column: the Right Nation is not media-friendly, layoffs at the Miami Herald, the NYT PR department is getting poach-y, and an offer of help for stiffed Paste freelancers.

  • "Right Nation 2010" is Glenn Beck and Andrew Breitbart's upcoming right-wing convention thing in Chicago, this weekend. FUN FACT: a Chicago journalist who tried to get press credentials was told this week, "We are still not certain that press will be allowed into the arena for the event," so no press credentials have been issued yet. No press credentials at all! Freedom!
  • The Miami Herald is laying off 49 employees, including 15 in the newsroom. Which is bad, since the Miami Herald is one of the less stable newspapers out there.
  • Bit by bit, Bob Christie—the former Dow Jones PR man who jumped to the NYT earlier this year—is luring his entire former staff over to the NYT. It's a veritable poachfest! The latest poachee: Danielle Rhoades-Ha, formerly of Dow Jones, now overseeing editorial PR for the NYT. What this all means: the NYT is getting progressively feistier, PR-wise, girding its burning loins for battle against Rupert Murdoch's empire. Talking more shit! Which has historically been valued more at Rupert Murdoch-owned properties than at Sulzberger-owned properties. Though not for long.
  • A public service announcement for any freelancers who are getting screwed out of their payment by Paste magazine: Paul MacArthur, an official with the National Writers Union, tells us that "the NWU provides grievance assistance to our writers who are having problems with publishers," and encourages any Paste freelancers to contact them. Info on the NWU's Grievance Assistance program is here.