Trader Monthly and its brethren committed mass suicide today after the death of their benefactor, Wall Street, left them penniless and alone. But other publications are determined not to suffer the same fate! The Times is soldiering on despite the naysayers, and over at Time Inc., CEO Ann Moore is organizing some kind of media militia.
• Steve Brill says the press is “committing suicide by giving journalism away for free” on the internet. And the Times’ Bill Keller says “really good information … wants to be paid for.” Does it want to be anthropomorphized, too? [AJR, NYT]
• Johnson Publishing, home of Ebony magazine, is “reorganizing” its staff by having its employees reapply for jobs within the company. Well, that sounds awful. [Folio]
• Also confusing: Time Inc. CEO Anne Moore said today the company was developing a “serious training academy” as part of its recession strategy. What are they training them to do? Subsist on air? [Folio]
• The Onion may have split with the Washington Post, but they’re looking better than ever! Their website has been revamped and expanded. [Onion]
• Media pundit Peter Osnos speculates that Google may become a monopoly before being forced to share its megamoney with the creators of the content it’s delivering (i.e. newspapers and magazines). “The notion that ‘information wants to be free’ is absurd when the delivery mechanism is making a fortune and the creators are getting what amounts to zilch,” he says. [Daily Beast]
• “I hate to, in a public forum, articulate anticipated layoffs,” Tribune lawyer Kevin Lantry said today before stating that the company anticipates “a number of layoffs.” [AP]
• The publisher of the Jersey Journal was also saddened to announce they’d have to close the paper in April unless they find some money somewhere. [NJ.com]
• Details is moving into Domino’s old offices. So soon? Bad luck? [Gawker]
