media
The End of Portfolio, Newspaper Circulation Falls
cityfile · 04/27/09 11:59AM• More on the decision by Condé Nast to shut down Portfolio. [NYO, Gawker]
• Newspaper circulation figures for the past six months show steep declines at most major papers, including the Times, Post, and Daily News. One bright spot: the Wall Street Journal, which experienced a tiny, 0.6% gain. [E&P]
• Phil Falcone's Harbinger, the hedge fund that battled for a piece of the New York Times Co. last year, may now be looking to unload its stake. [WSJ]
• CNN has fallen behind MSNBC and Fox News, as you may have heard. [NYT]
• PRWeek is going monthly. But it'll still be called PRWeek, so you know. [NYT]
• Obsessed starring Beyonce was No. 1 at the box office this weekend. [THR]
Andrea Peyser Condemns the Following Hot Teen Sex Acts
Hamilton Nolan · 04/27/09 10:53AMMichael Wolff Gets Gassy
cityfile · 04/27/09 10:28AMDid you know that Michael Wolff's unknown, third-rate website is "the fastest growing news site in the country"? Did you know it's putting the New York Times out of business? We sure didn't, and while we have our doubts about the continued survival of the Times, too, we're pretty sure the last thing Arthur Sulzberger Jr. worries about before he goes to sleep at night is the fifth failed media company that Michael Wolff has started over the past two decades. But it is nice to hear him talk about his company's unique ability to take an "incredibly long, incredibly gassy" Times story that's 1,200 words and reduce it to 65-120 words without losing "a thing." Perhaps next Wolff could kindly take his gassy 3,300-word columns for Vanity Fair and reduce them, too? Considering that amid all the gassiness, Wolff rarely has a point to make, a five or ten-word sentence should suffice. A clip from Wolff's appearance on CNBC on Friday night after the jump.
Swine Flu Panic: Bullshit
Hamilton Nolan · 04/27/09 10:12AMPortfolio, 2007-2009
Hamilton Nolan · 04/27/09 10:11AMPortfolio Has Folded
Hamilton Nolan · 04/27/09 09:05AMPortfolio Folds
cityfile · 04/27/09 07:34AMHachette: Outsourcing Departments, Cutting Freelance Pay
Hamilton Nolan · 04/24/09 03:50PMJust last week, Hachette cut pay across the board and increased work hours. Today employees got the memo below, telling them that "certain functions" in IT and finance are going to be outsourced by the end of the year. We also got a tip that Hachette is notifying freelancers that it's cutting their rates—by 3% in one case, although it may vary.
Barack Obama's First 94 Days: A Look Back
Pareene · 04/24/09 02:35PMSean Hannity Has No Excuse Not to Get Waterboarded
Hamilton Nolan · 04/24/09 01:10PMThe News, Auto-Tuned
Hamilton Nolan · 04/24/09 12:11PMThe Times, The Observer & MySpace
cityfile · 04/24/09 11:34AM• Arthur Sulzberger Jr. says he has no plans to take the New York Times Co. private, despite "brutal conditions" that threaten his paper's survival. [NYT]
• Meanwhile, Moody's has downgraded the NYT Co.'s credit rating. [E&P]
• A few theories on why Peter Kaplan departed Jared Kushner's Observer, and what's in store for Kaplan—and the paper—in the future. [WWD]
• Former Facebook exec Owen Van Natta is the new CEO of MySpace. [WSJ]
• Is GE looking to sell NBC Universal to Time Warner? It's possible! [TDB]
• Ambushing the ambusher: Staking out the home of Jesse Watters, the Fox News producer who stalks liberals for Bill O'Reilly. [Gawker]
Peter Kaplan vs. Jared Kushner
Hamilton Nolan · 04/24/09 09:35AMIndian Police Drop Child-Selling Case, Rather Than Place Phone Call to England
Hamilton Nolan · 04/24/09 08:35AMCNN's Tony Harris Doesn't Want to Read Your Stupid Comments on His 'Blog Page'
John Cook · 04/23/09 01:46PMDrown Sean Hannity For a Good Cause
Hamilton Nolan · 04/23/09 01:20PMNew York Times Foundation Ends Grants, Gift-Matching
Hamilton Nolan · 04/23/09 12:11PMSplits at the NYO and MySpace; Viacom's New Channel
cityfile · 04/23/09 11:14AM• Chris DeWolfe is out as the CEO of News Corp.-owned MySpace. [CNN]
• More on Peter Kaplan's split from Jared Kushner's Observer, and the rumor Kaplan is now heading to Condé Nast Traveler. [NYT, WWD, DHD]
• ABC has renewed 12 series, including Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives. [THR]
• Viacom, the parent company BET, is planning to start up a new cable TV channel for middle-aged African-Americans. [NYT]
• Barry Diller is looking to shed his email newsletter Very Short List. Bob Pittman and Jared Kushner have taken a look; co-founders Kurt Andersen and Michael Jackson are considering a management buyout. [NYP]
• The New York Times Co. foundation is suspending its grants and no longer matching employees' charitable donations. [Gawker]