media deathwatch

Chicago Sun-Times, Bankrupt

Papers go bankrupt, magazines make staff cuts, publishers retire, and journalists have begun laying themselves off for the sake of their comrades. Bad news for the news!

• Sun Times Media Group, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company plans to restructure itself to better befit a buyer, among other new aims. [Sun-Times]

Forbes is laying off more than 50 people on its editorial and business teams. [MediaMemo/All Things D]

• Nicole Wong laid herself off from the Boston Globe “to save the job of a reporter who has less seniority than [she] and who has greater needs to stay in the Boston area due to family commitments and other obligations.” So she basically quit, which, given the state of newspapers, is apparently now martyrdom. [Talking Biz News]

Life magazine has been resurrected as Life.com, a comprehensive photography site in partnership with Time Inc. Taking from Life magazine archives and a growing Getty collection, the website will be “the single largest online cache of professional photography.” And it all begins with Ellen DeGeneres guest-editing a slideshow of puppies. [Life.com, Mixed Media/Portfolio]

• Craig Moon, president and publisher of USA Today, has laid himself off, too. Well, he’s retiring in April. [Yahoo]

Chicago Sun-Times, Bankrupt