DeBaise joins BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek Smallbiz magazine has a new deputy editor.
Cision reports that Colleen DeBaise, previously an associate editor for SmartMoney.com, has signed on to lead the publication.
Previously, DeBaise was a personal finance reporter for Dow Jones Newswires, and covered hard news and decisions affecting publicly traded companies from the federal courthouse in New York City.

Dow Jones adds two reporters

Cision reports that reporters Sarah Lynch and Josh Mitchell have joined the Washington bureau of Dow Jones Newswires.
Lynch covers the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and general news beats. Mitchell is a transportation reporter, and covers federal transportation funding legislation.

Editor & Publisher to debut two blogs

Editor & Publisher reports it will unveil two new blogs after Labor Day. "Fitz & Jen Give You the Business" will focus on business issues and "The E&P Pub" will be "newsroom-oriented" and focus on areas of "newspapering." Visitors will be encouraged to "belly up to the bar, chat up your friends and distant colleagues, and throw a few darts."
For more click here.

CNBC and others get ratings boost from Olympic coverage

World Screen is reporting that cable networks airing coverage of the Beijing Olympics including CNBC, MSNBC, USA and Oxygen, all saw audience increases in key demographic areas. Combined, cable networks that aired the Olympics attracted a total of 88 million viewers.
NBC enjoyed the biggest boost as the coverage gave the network a 244 percent lead over its competitors each of the 17 nights of the games.
The Beijing Olympics set a new record as the most-viewed event in American TV history with a total of 214 million viewers.

For more click here.

Newspaper revenues continue to slide

Follow The Media reports disappointing figures for newspapers in both their print and online divisions. Online growth has "slowed to negligible" while losses in advertising revenue on the print side continue to grow. The article notes that "for every dollar drop of advertising revenue by print it only gains back about 14 cents via the web."
Online revenues grew annually by at least 20-30% in past years and would account for, in some cases, as much as 50% of a company's total revenue.

For the full story click here.

Bloomberg accidentally releases obit

Gawker reports that Bloomberg accidentally released an obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs onto its financial newswire.
The obit was being updated when it suddenly showed up on the wire and then disappeared. Gawker says, "the obituary contains nothing to indicate Bloomberg had new information on Jobs's health, at least in our quick skim.
Here's the retraction from Bloomberg:

Story Referencing Apple Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today. The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted. —Editor: Joe Winski, Cesca Antonelli

For more click here.

DNC and biz coverage

Fox 31 of Colorado found a business story at the Democratic National Convention, reporting on the economic bump Denver's leaders are hoping the event will bring to their city.
The report says officials were hoping for a $200 million boost, but economists say the end result will probably be about one-tenth of that amount.
Still, the story says, "all over upper and lower downtown, businesses are getting much-needed traffic and dollars from the estimated 50-thousand visitors the convention has brought."
For more click here.

Chicago Tribune gets a facelift, financial future still a concern

Chicago Business reports that a redesigned version of the Chicago Tribune will make its debut on Sept. 29. While several possible prototypes have recently been leaked, a spokesperson for the Tribune said that "anything you are seeing at this stage is nothing more than, at best, a work in progress." 

Analysts warn, however, that a new version of the Tribune may not help the already struggling company that has cut 900 jobs since last December. One analyst noted that "recent efforts to polish the paper or slim down its staff haven't done anything to buff up the media company's financial outlook." Chicago-based Dave Novosel of Gimme Credit LLC also sees little hope: "While we do not feel bankruptcy is imminent, it is hard to envision a catalyst that will drive these bonds higher." 

For the complete story click here. 

Veteran journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter joins The Washington Times

The Washington Times has named award-winning journalist, TV commentator and author Jeffrey Birnbaum its Digital Media Operations Managing Editor. Birnbaum once served as Fortune's Washington Bureau chief and spent 16 years at the Wall Street Journal. Birnbaum has written four books on money, politics and policy.

For more click here. 

Large daily sues small business paper and loses

Idaho news station KTVB is reporting that the Idaho Statesman lost a lawsuit against the Idaho Business Review over the right to publish legal notices. Lawyers for the Idaho Statesman argued that the paper had the exclusive right to publish legal notices placed by non-government entities simply because it had the largest circulation in the area.

The battle centered on notices placed by non-government entities.  The Statesman said the law applied to all legal notices, while the Business Review said that any notice placed by businesses and private individuals could run in either paper – or both.

 The legal battle went all the way to the state's highest court, which sided with the smaller Idaho Business Review: "Supreme Court Justices said a clause in the state’s constitution means the Business Review can charge for legal notices because of the way the law’s title was written."
For the full story click here

Rutland now biz editor in Texas

Cision reports that Joe Rutland will shift from his current role as news editor to the business desk for the Laredo (Texas) Morning Times Newspapers.
Rutland will now lead the business team as editor.

Star Tribune to drop AP

Editor & Publisher reports that the Star Tribune of Minneapolis plans to drop its Associated Press service in 2010, making it the largest daily newspaper to part ways with the wire service. The story was originally reported by MinnPost.com, a nonprofit journalism group.
From the story:

"It’s hard to imagine: the Star Tribune without the Associated Press. But that’s what could happen in 2010; the region’s biggest news source recently sent the nation’s most prominent wire service the required two years' cancellation notice," MinnPost.com's David Brauer reported, adding "If a split comes to pass, Strib readers will notice changes from the biggest international headlines to the smallest sports agate type. Just this morning, I counted at least 18 AP stories or photos in the Strib’s news sections; a wire-service credit was attached nearly all the national sports news and briefs, plus a half-dozen business and Variety items."

For more click here.

Bernstein promoted to biz assignment editor at LA Times

Sharon Bernstein is now an assignment editor for real estate, regional economics coverage and the Sunday Business section at the Los Angeles Times.
Bernstein joined the paper in 1989 and has spent the last seven years as a reporter and editor for the California section.
She joined the Times as a television reporter and over the last nearly 20 years, has served in a variety of roles, including assistant city editor, Sunday night editor, senior general assignment reporter and health care reporter.
From the story:

Sharon has won numerous awards, among them the Greater Los Angeles Press Club award for Best Investigative Reporting for stories on the refusal by hospitals and doctors to provide anesthesia to poor women in childbirth unless they paid in cash. She was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting for coverage of the 1997 North Hollywood Shootout.

For more click here.

WSJ magazine debuts Sept. 6

Gawker is sharing preliminary details about The Wall Street Journal's new magazine WSJ, which is set to debut Sept. 6.
The article says the buzz in the newsroom is that the content is "very disappointing." The magazine, which is focused on "modern wealth" has 51 advertisers and the stories are written by Journal staff reporters and freelancers.
For more analysis on the magazine click here.

Los Angeles Times appoints new chief revenue officer

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the L.A. Times Media Group has appointed Scott McKibben, an industry veteran, as chief revenue officer in an effort to revive the company's "flagging financial fortunes."
The Los Angeles Times and countless other newspapers have been struggling in recent years due to "sharp slides in ad revenue caused by a slump in the housing industry and the flight of advertisers and readers to the Internet and other nontraditional news outlets."
So far, the ad revenue lost on the print side has not been replaced by the growth in online advertising revenue from the newspaper's Web site.
McKibben brings more than three decades of diverse experience to the Los Angeles Times.
For more click here.

New biz reporter at The Holland Sentinel

Cision reports that Ashley Teffer was recently hired at The Holland (Mich.) Sentinel as a business reporter.
Before joining the paper's business team, she worked as a reporter at The Alpena (Mich.) News.

Rovell writes about best marketing names

On his blog SportsBiz, business reporter Darren Rovell recently wrote that Usain Bolt, the Olympain world record holder in the 100 and 200 meters, has a name that's a marketers dream.
Rovell says "Blot" might be, "the most accomplished athlete to have such a marketable name. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one real name (names like Kimbo Slice are not eligible) that is almost as good: Jeff Beukeboom. How can you not love a hard-hitting NHL defenseman with "-boom" at the end of his name?"
Rovell asks his readers to chime in with suggestions on athletes with marketable names. The entry is part of Rovell's sports business blog, which tracks the top business stories in the industry.
For more click here.

LA Times Media Group and real estate

The Los Angeles Times Media Group is hoping that tapping into the real estate business will add more revenue beyond newspaper advertising, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times.
Today the group, along with a several other partners, launched ZetaBid, a business that will auction foreclosed homes and other properties. The company would also run a website where the properties could be viewed.

The venture is the latest effort by the struggling media company to tap additional revenue streams beyond newspaper advertising. The media group also operates revenue-sharing ventures through its Cars.com and Apartments.com classified-advertising enterprises.
"These businesses are transforming and [ZetaBid is] another way to participate in advertising revenue with a slightly different model," said Bob Bellack, who is president of digital media, classified and development for Times Media Group and will be chairman of the new enterprise.

For more click here.

The Times Union may cut biz coverage

Editor & Publisher reports that the The Times Union of Albany, N.Y. is searching for ways to counter the rising cost of newsprint.
The paper's editor, Rex Smith, says The Times Union may cut up to 28 pages each week, including several feature and business sections to save money.
In addition to possibly reducing the number of sindicated columns and comics, the paper may opt to reduce one or all of the standalone business sections that run five days each week.
A task force is reviewing cost-saving options for The Times Union and will most likely have a solid recommendation of where to cut next week.
For more click here.

New biz editor at The Berkshire Eagle

The Berkshire Eagle ( Pittsfield, Mass.) has named a veteran reporter to lead its business coverage, according to reports from the paper.
Tony Dobrowolski, a reporter at The Eagle for the last 16 years, will replace former business editor Ellen Lahr, who is leaving to for a director of communications post at Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y.
Executive Editor Tim Farkas said Dobrowolski will be responsible for paper's overall business coverage, in print and on the Web at www.berkshireeagle.com. "I am looking forward to using the experience that I have gathered in my other beats throughout the Berkshires to coordinate The Eagle's business coverage," Dobrowolski said. "I am excited about the opportunity."
For the full story click here.

Arkansas biz weekly folds

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will fold Northwest Arkansas Business Matters with the Aug. 31 issue, according to reports from Editor & Publisher.

"Most of the content that currently appears in Business Matters, including data and cover of local businesses and industry, will move to an expanded Sunday business news section of the paper," Jeff Jeffus, the Democrat-Gazette's vice president and general manager of northwest Arkansas operations, said in a statement Thursday.

For more click here.

Leadership changes at LA Times

Editor & Publisher reports the Los Angeles Times has named a former business reporter as its deputy managing editor for the national staff.
Ashley Dunn, who has served as science editor since 2002, was chosen to lead the team with Roger Smith, who will jump from projects editor to become national editor on Nov.10.
Dunn was previously a business reporter and deputy editor of Tech Times, a weekly section on personal technology, at the Times.
In addition, Bruce Wallace, the paper's Tokyo bureau chief, has been named the Los Angeles Times' new foreign editor.
For more click here.

Hirt is the new ME for Chicago Tribune

Jane Hirt was named the new managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, the paper reports. In the position, Hirt will be the managing editor for both news and features; a merging of two positions that were separated in the past.
She will replace James Warren, previously the features managing editor, who is leaving the paper this week.
The story says that Hirt has served the paper for 15 years, most recently as editor of RedEye, a free daily edition targeting younger audiences attractive to advertisers.
"Jane has the experience and credentials to move our newsroom toward the future," editor Gerould Kern said in a statement.
For the full story click here.

TechCrunch: UK's best biz blog

Washingtonpost.com reports that TechCrunch UK was voted best Web 2.0 and business blog in the UK by Computer Weekly.
TechCrunch is a weblog dedicated to profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. Also, it focuses on profiling existing companies that are making an impact on Web space.
Editor Mike Butcher oversees the content. He was also named one of the top 100 media personalities in the UK.
For more click here.

Changes on the Post-Dispatch biz desk

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has announced two staffing changes on the business desk.
Adam Goodman, known for his enterprise coverage of the Anheuser-Busch saga, was named the deputy managing editor for Metro and Business.
From the memo posted on Lee Watch, a blog about Lee Enterprises:

Adam brings to the position deep familiarity with the St. Louis business world, thanks to his many years as a business reporter and editor. His beats included real estate, banking, aerospace and defense. He moved to Metro in the late 1990s as an assistant editor and subsequently has had stints as environmental reporter, science editor and deputy metro editor. He was named assistant managing editor in 2005.

Irv Harrell will also step into a business editing role as assistant business editor. Harrell, a former political reporter, designer, copy editor, assistant news editor and night city editor, will help supervise business reporters and also continue his recruiting efforts for the paper.
For more click here.

WSJ on your BlackBerry

The Associated Press reports that The Wall Street Journal has launched a new wireless application for BlackBerry phones, which allows users to view headlines, summaries and full articles from the publication.
According to AP reports, "Users can customize content based on category lists, keywords and other criteria. Users can also track specific companies, getting headlines and stock quotes, though with a delay of up to 30 minutes."
To read more click here.

BusinessWeek.com's EIC Talks Career and Online Innovation

John Byrne, Editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com, opens up to David Hirschman of Mediabistro.com about his interest and career in business journalism and about what's next for online publishing.
Byrne, the author or co-author of eight business books, has a long career in business publications. In addition to his time at BusinessWeek, both in print and online, Byrne also
has served as editor-in-chief of Fast Company.
From the article posted today:

What got you on the business journalism track originally?
[Starting in college] I kind of knew I wanted to get into business journalism for competitive and ambitious reasons, and for reasons that most journalists get into this field -- because they think they can reform or get things done for the better. Everyone wanted to write about politics, and because I knew that's where the crowd was, I didn't want to go where the crowd was. The second reason was that when I sat back and looked at what was really going on, I really felt that the people who have the most influence in the way we live and what we do are people in business -- not people in politics. These are the people who determine whether we have meaningful employment and how productive we are as human beings, and how well we live. I felt while I was growing up that it was a less examined part of our society.
What do you see as some of the major challenges for online news brands today?
It's not, as some people say it is, "online vs. print," because the contrasts are actually more insidious and dangerous than that. The more threatening contrast is between aggregation and original content -- because aggregation is something that's cheap. You don't have to pay writers and editors to do it; you can do it automatically, and basically Yahoo, AOL and MSN [as well as Google News] have already won on aggregation. If you look at the reader research, you'll find that readers prefer getting their news and analysis from multiple sources instead of one. The average reader of BusinessWeek content gets news from 20 other brands (includes radio and TV, online and print) on a regular basis. Aggregation just plays to their needs and their wants.

Byrne also discusses BusinessWeek.com's new networking/aggregation product, the Business Exchange, set to launch in early September.
Read the entire article here.

New biz editor at Indiana paper

Cision reports that Marc Chase has been named the business editor for The (Munster, Ind.)Times. Chase, who also will continue in his role as regional editor, replaces Bill Bero who left the paper at the end of July.

AJC's Jackson moves into new role

Andre Jackson, a member of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Editorial Board, will soon become the paper's senior editor for business, federal and state.
Jackson, who joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March will take over his new role in September.
Previously, he was the assistant managing editor for business at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,where he worked for almost 21 years.
He moved to the business desk at the Post-Dispatch after earning a master’s in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1996.

Lesonsky blogging for allbusiness.com

The Orange County Register reporter that Rieva Lesonsky, former long-time editorial director of Irvine-based Entrepreneur Media, is now blogging for AllBusiness.com.
She has written several books about entrepreneurship, served on the Small Business Administration’s advisory board and given hundreds (thousands?) of speeches on business ownership and all that goes with it. She recently started her own business.
For more click here.

The local biz niche

Clifford G. Cumber, business editor of the The Frederick News-Post,wrote a column that says he passionately believes in the declining economy, business journalism is more important than ever.
He sites a study, recently released by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which says 34 percent of papers have cut Business coverage.
The news was depressing, but after a business journalism conference, Cumber decided that he would focus on his paper's most important niche -- business in its own backyard. And so far, the response has been positive.

Our most read stories online, judged by the number of hits they get, are business openings and closings. Between an update posted to the web and the full story online, we netted 4,442 hits.

That's a pretty respectable amount. It certainly proves there's an audience for business news. And it ties in with something else Pew found in its study. Sixty-two percent of papers had invested more space to community and local coverage. That's why I felt relieved at this year's SABEW conference, despite the doom and gloom. We've got a niche.

Ironically, it's this declining economy affecting papers so badly that allows the FNP's business desk to shine. What we're trying to do is develop resources for you to find out about the economy and weather out the storm.

To read the full column click here.

Sentinel hires new biz reporter

The Holland Sentinel is adding a new business reporter to its staff.
Ashley Teffe, who most recently was a general assignment reporter at The Alpena News,will soon join the Sentinel, according to the paper's Web site.

BusinessWeek Develops Online Topic Pages

As advertising revenues continue to drop across the industry, BusinessWeek is developing a new online model.
According to an article in The New York Times, "The site, called Business Exchange, is one approach to the fast-evolving digital world, where some news sites that experiment have rapidly expanded their audiences while those that do little more than post articles online have been left in the dust. After two years of quiet development, it will go public in late September, accessible through BusinessWeek’s own Web site."
The Exchange will be comprised of specific topic pages that are targeted toward a variety of reader interest groups. Topics might be as broad as the housing market or as narrow as Blackberry vs iPhone or Boeing 787.
Read the complete article here.

Murdoch and Palestra.net

Forbes reports that Rupert Murdoch bought a stake in Palestra.net, a Web video-based college news network featuring student reporters.
Palestra.net focuses on news, sports, business and entertainment features, it pays student reporters $240 to $300 to produce three news packages a week for the Web site and Fox's cable networks.
From the story:

More than 10 pieces of student-reported Palestra content a week should be running on both the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network by the fall as the school year restarts and the presidential campaigns swing into high gear. And founder Joe Weasel--a former on-air journalist for NBC affiliate WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio--says he began talking with Fox's local affiliates last week about placing Palestra content on their Web sites around the country, which could lead to on-air spots.

Palestra's reporters aren't just telling the stories--they are the story. When Weasel hired student reporters Sarah Barga, Sarah Jane Dugger and Chris Kaechele as summer interns to create a marketing campaign for Palestra, Fox Business Anchor Alexis Glick had them brought to New York for a segment on the internship. And while there, Weasel says the three had a meeting with senior Fox officials about how they saw digital media developing.

For more click here.

Gannett to cut 1,000 newspaper jobs

Jim Hopkins of Gannett Blog recieved a memo from a newspaper publisher in Maryland and then began reporting yesterday that Gannett Co. could possibly reduce its newsroom workforce by 3 percent, or 1,000 jobs, through cuts and attrition.
Today, Gannett Vice President of Corporate Communications Tara Connell confirmed the reductions to Editor & Publisher.
What does this all mean?
The story from E&P says staff cuts will be made, "at each property based on financial targets and performances. The McLean, Va.-based company publishes more than 80 dailies, including USA Today, and 900 non-dailies. Gannett corporate is expected to review and approve the decisions."
The fallout it seems has already begun. Today The Courier-Journal, based in Louisville, told employees that 15 staffers will be laid off by Aug. 27.
To read more click here.

For Sale: Austin American-Statesman

According to reports from Editor & Publisher, Cox is planning to sell the Austin American-Statesman, its community newspapers in North Carolina, Colorado and Texand and its direct mail operation in Valpak.
The company said it will retain ownership of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Palm Beach Post in Florida, and the Dayton Daily News in Ohio.
From the story:

"This decision was made as part of an ongoing strategic review of our portfolio and enables us to maintain our strong and stable financial performance by further paying down debt," Jim Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, said in a statement.

To read the full report click here.

So far, so good at small/community papers

A podcast on Editor & Publisher gives a glimpse into what the newspaper business is like for small and community newspaper operators.
Turns out, it's not so bad.
The Suburban Newspapers of America reported that Q2 advertising renenue for about 1,000 of its papers declined by just 2.7 percent. But in 2007, ad revenue grew.
For more check out E&P's podcast "Fitz & Jen Give You the Business."

Massive changes at Source Media

Folio reports that Source Media is undergoing a reorganization that will concentrate its more than 60 magazines into four business groups—banking, capital markets, technology and professional services.
Source Media, who is the publisher of American Banker and other financial media titles, will also juggle its editorial staff to put employees under one of the four new groups.

"As part of the restructuring, American Banker editor-in-chief David Longobardi has been named executive vice president and chief content officer, overseeing all Source Media editorial. Reporting to Longobardi will be four group editorial directors who will oversee editorial for the four separate groups.
Each title will continue to have an editor-in-chief, Malkin says, but those editors will not have a dedicated editorial team. Instead, they will "draw from a community pool" of content generated company-wide."

For the full story click here.

New biz editor for Times-Dispatch

InRich.com reports that John Hoke was named business editor of the the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The story says that Hoke, a 55 year-old veteran reporter and editor at the paper, will supervise an award-winning team of eight reporters and editors.
He joined the Times-Dispatch in 1992 and has served in its Clarksville and Roanoke bureaus and as night Virginia editor, Sunday Virginia editor and deputy editor for Chesterfield County.

Former biz reporter promoted in Sun-Times Co.

MarketWatch reports that Tammy Chase, who began her career with Sun-Times Media Group as a business reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, was recently named director of corporate communications for the company, expanding her role of director of investor relations.
Chase will oversee communication with shareholders, media and the community.
She joined the company in 2000 after working as a Federal reserve and economics reporter for Bloomberg News.
For more click here.

Downie to visit ASU in the fall

Leonard Downie Jr., who led The Washington Post to 25 Pulitzer Prizes during his 17 years as executive editor, will be the Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecturer this fall at Arizona State University.
Downie will spend a week at ASU in October, one month after stepping down from the Post. He will deliver the Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecture on Oct. 16 at the Galvin Playhouse on the Tempe campus and will visit with students and professors during the week.
“The Flinn Centennial Lecture was established to bring some of the world’s most influential intellects to ASU’s campus,” said Dean Mark Jacobs of the Barrett Honors College. “Len Downie’s remarkable record at the helm of one of the world’s best newspapers makes him a perfect choice for this lectureship.”
The lecture series was established in 1985 by the Flinn Foundation to commemorate ASU’s 100th year. Past Centennial lecturers include journalists Anna Quindlen, David Halberstam and James Fallows and playwrights Edward Albee and Susan Sontag as well as scientists, diplomats, poets and legal scholars.
For more click here.

Loceff hired at North Bay Biz Journal

Cision reports that Jenna Loceff was hired as a reporter at the North Bay Business Journal. Loceff, who will cover banking, finance, accounting and residential real estate, replaces Will Jason, who left the paper to pursue a master's degree in journalism.

Longtime biz reporter leaves Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's longtime business reporter Avi Lank has accepted a buyout, adding to a growing number of employees who area leaving the paper, according to reports from the Milwaukee Business Journal.
From the story:

Journal Sentinel executives this week were reviewing applications from employees who volunteered to accept the company’s severance package as it seeks a 10 percent staff cut, or about 130 positions across all departments. That followed a 5 percent staff reduction in fall 2007. Betsy Brenner, publisher and executive vice president of parent Journal Communications Inc., said she didn’t know as of The Business Journal’s Aug. 6 deadline whether the voluntary separations will reach the 10 percent goal or whether the company will need to lay off employees.

For the full story click here.

St. Pete Times buyout update

A story on tampabay.com lists the names of some of the staffers from the St. Petersburg Times who have elected to accept the buyout offer.
The list includes business columnist Helen Huntley, Homes Editor Judy Stark, former food critic Chris Sherman, longtime writer and editor Dave Ballingrud, Pulitzer Prize winner and editorial board member Jack Reed.
The changes also prompt some staffing movements, including business editor Bob Trigaux, who will return to writing, resuming his three-times a week business column. Business reporter Kris Hundley will move to the investigative team.
For the list click here.

The Sun to launch its redesigned paper

Editor & Publisher reports that The Sun of Baltimore will unveil its newly designed paper on Aug. 24.
The paper will have three broadsheet sections, which include news, sports, and features. It is geared toward readers with "busy lives" and offers "high impact promotion opportunities."
From the story:

Lee Abrams, Tribune's chief innovation officer, said in a statement that he was "blown away" by the prototype. "It was intelligent, thought out and dramatic ... a tour de force package that's going to help re-write the Tribune Co. -- and newspapers."

For more click here.

Declining auto ads hurts media companies

The auto industry is spending significantly less on advertising and it's cost-cutting is hurting newspapers, radio, television stations and major media companies, according to a story in The New York Times.
In the first quarter, the auto industry spent $414 million less on ads. Newspapers alone lost $131 million in auto advertising.
From the story:

For all the discussion of new media’s role in hurting profits and revenues at traditional media outlets — newspapers, magazines, broadcast television and radio — the sharp downturn in the auto industry is another big culprit, and is taking an increasing toll on the advertising revenue generated by the media...In recent earnings reports from the major media companies, like Viacom and Time Warner, executives mentioned the downturn in the auto industry as one reason for lagging revenue at cable networks and magazines.

For the full story click here.

Sun-Times Media 2Q Loss

Sun-Times Media Group Inc., noted a loss in their second quarter report ending June 30.
Chicago Tribune reported that Sun-Times Media showed a loss of 37.8 million.
The report showed that losses in advertising and circulation revenue were the most significant factors for the drop in the second quarter.
The company is now looking for ways to cut costs, including looking to sell some of its real estate.
Read more here.

Blogger workshop to set guidelines

This year the Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop will focus on ethical guidelines for bloggers.
The workshop is schedule for Sept. 18. Speakers include Henry Blodget of siliconalleyinsider.com, who writes and speaks frequently about the Internet, investing, and the financial markets.
At the conclusion of the workshop, Poynter will release updated guidelines for bloggers.

This program brings together online experts and practitioners for what should be an exciting, no-holds-barred debate about this hot issue. This year, for the first time, The Poynter Institute will issue a document from the conference. It may take the form of a “white paper” or it may be an updated set of Poynter’s Guidelines for Online Journalists.

For more click here.

LA Times site hits 127 million page views

The Los Angeles Times recorded all-time record of 127 million Web site page views for July, the paper reports.
The number marks a 66 percent growth from last year and included more than 19 million unique users.
From the story:

You’ll see more traffic driving elements in the most-viewed lists below. But there are other reasons for the growth. We’re using technology and the Web at large to spread our journalism far and wide. Latimes.com keeps getting better at SEO (search engine optimization), which means our stories are ranking higher in Google and other search engines. We are also performing better on sites like Digg.com. All that adds up to more exposure and more readership than ever before.

For the full story click here.

Sitting down with Sarah Lacy

Sarah Lacy, a technology reporter and author of "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0," shares her secrets for making Web 2.0 work for your business or career in an interview with U.S. News & World Report.
Lacy currently cohosts Yahoo's Tech Ticker and is a columnist for BusinessWeek.com.
I the article, she details her journalism career and explains how to best make connections online.
From the story:

"I think early in my career it was really obvious that the traditional newspaper world was broken and going away, and if you really wanted to have a career as a journalist that would be sustainable and would continue to be really exciting, you had to get to a point where you were more important to your publisher than they were to you. So for 10 years, I got into places where it was way more important for me to be working for them. But I worked really hard to build enough of a unique perspective to what I was doing and a type of piece that I was very good at writing and really differentiate my skills as a reporter and my skills as a writer and what was different about what I was bringing."

For more click here.

Key staff changes: New Mexico Biz Weekly

The New Mexico Business Weekly announced two key staffing changes today.
Nancy Salem has been named the publisher and Kathi Schroeder has been promoted to editor.
Salem is a veteran business journalist who joined the Business Weekly after working as a business editor for the Albuquerque Tribune, which closed in February. She will supervise all of the newspaper's functions and staff.
Schroeder joined the paper as a freelance writer in 2000 and worked as a real estate reporter between 2001 and 2004.
In 2004, she was promoted to managing editor.
She will manage the news staff and the production of the newspaper and special publications.
For the full story click here.

Rausch to lead AC biz team

Cision reports that Tim Rausch, who had been serving as The Augusta Chronicle's interim business editor since Damon Cline's departure in June, was officially appointed to the position.
Rausch joined the publication as a business reporter in April 2006.

News Corp Reports Rise in Profit

News Corporation reported earnings were up 27 percent for the last quarter and 57 percent for the end of their fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Asset sales and improved performance for the companies television services, Fox News Channel and their Italian satellite television, over compensated the losses from Fox Business Network.
Revenue from News Corporations film division productions of 'Juno' and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' and also increased income from book publisher HarperCollins and internet networking site Myspace have greatly helped the company this fiscal year.
Read more here.

In UK, online readership demographics match print

In the United Kingdom, City Adventurers - young, single city dwellers - were early adopters of the internet but now online traffic from Industrial Grits - family-oriented blue collar workers who tend to live in smaller industrial towns - is rising and is now on par with City Adventurer use.
The increase in less-internet-savvy readers is leading newspaper sites, like The Sun and the Daily Mail, to challenge "quality papers" like the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph for highest readership gains.
For the full story from Media Life Magazine, click here.

AJC buyout list

Creative Loafing has posted a partial list of employees who have accepted a voluntary separation package at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The employees listed were those who wanted their names to be shared.
For the list click here.

News Corp. investors eye MySpace plan

The Wall Street Journal reports that investors will be closely watching News Corporation's 2008 earnings to review the plan of generating more advertising revenue from traffic on its MySpace social-networking Web site.
One initiative that could be critical to MySpace's success, according to media buyers and industry analysts, is a system that lets marketers aim their ads at particular groups of users.
For more click here.

Brannon to direct News21 project

Jody Brannon, who has held top editor positions at MSN.com, USAToday.com and washingtonpost.com, will direct a 12-university, $7.5 million project to explore new ways to produce in-depth multimedia journalism.
Brannon will be national director of the Carnegie-Knight News21 journalism initiative, based at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
News21 was started by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation foundations three years ago with digital media “incubators” at the University of California at Berkeley, Columbia University, Northwestern University and the University of Southern California.
Under a new three-year grant recently approved by the foundations, four more incubators have been added to the program: ASU, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina and Syracuse University.
Four other schools under the Carnegie-Knight journalism initiative – Harvard University, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska and the University of Texas – will send students to participate in incubators at the other eight schools.
“Jody Brannon is the ideal person to lead the next generation of News21,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. “She is highly collaborative, possesses great leadership experience and is a nationally recognized leader in the digital news industry. She will help promote collaboration and innovation at the highest levels among the Carnegie-Knight schools.”

NJ papers must make big cuts to stay afloat

The New York Times' Richard Perez-Pena reports that The Star-Ledger of Newark and a smaller sister paper in Trenton need to eliminate at least 20 percent of their staffs and win concessions from trade unions to stay afloat, their management said on Thursday, or their owner will sell the papers and possibly close the smaller one.
The Star-Ledger’s publisher sent a note to its staff saying the paper must have 200 nonunion workers take buyouts. The paper has about 1,000 employees, about three-quarters of them nonunion.
The paper’s owner, Advance Publications, wants to buy out about 100 newsroom employees at The Star-Ledger, out of a total 330 to 350, the company’s president, Donald E. Newhouse, said. Newhouse said that the two papers had been operating in the red for years, and that they would lose $30 million to $40 million this year.
To read the full story click here.

Sale of Entrepreneur on hold

After asking $200 million this spring, company executives say the sale of Entrepreneur will not move forward.
Folio reports that Entrepreneur CEO Peter Shea announced in a a memo to employees that they will not secure a deal with Austin Ventures, a Texas-based private equity firm, which was supposed to be completed in July.
“There are several reasons for this,” Shea wrote. “One being that I decided that I am not ready to retire, another reason being that the debt market has made it a very difficult market for [buyout] funds to raise debt financing at a reasonable multiple and percentage rate.”
For more click here.

Bear Stearns book released this fall

MarketWatch reports that the first mass-market book covering the Bear Stearns financial collapse, entitled Bear Trap, will hit stores in September.
The book was written by Andrew Spencer, VP Literary of CMG Holdings Inc. Creative Management Group Inc. and an anonymous author who was a senior director at Bear.
From the story:

"A senior executive at Bear Stearns describes what happened within Bear's walls and on the trading floor that resulted in the most sensational financial crisis of our times. He recounts in detail the chain of events that led to the downward spiral-from both Bear's point-of-view and from the overall world financial marketplace's. He describes the securities manipulations that served to precipitate the credit crisis-those same securities we see in our IRAs and 401Ks. Anonymous reveals for the first time how foreign demand of US capital, too, played a role in the Bear's massacre, and he provides an insider's view of the unprecedented actions taken by the Treasury and Federal Reserve to avoid a world-wide financial crisis. - Brick Tower Press"

For more click here.

Rausch promoted to biz editor at Augusta Chronicle

The Augusta Chronicle has promoted Tim Rausch to business editor, after working as a business reporter at the paper for 15 months.
Before joining the Chronicle, Rausch was a business editor at The Lima News in Lima, Ohio.
"Tim has done an excellent job reporting on local finance, industry, development and consumer issues," said Managing Editor Elizabeth Adams. "He has strong relationships with local business leaders, and he regularly breaks important news. We look forward to the continuation of Tim's high-quality coverage of economic issues that affect our community."
For the full story click here.