Julie Starr quotes pertinent sections, and links to, a transcript of a conversation with New York Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, at a Nieman conference on ‘Public Interest Journalism’.
Dan Gillmor weighs in on an issue raised by former New York Times and International Herald Tribune writer Thomas Crampton, whose back catalogue of IHT articles online seems to have been deleted during the merger of the title’s website with that of the Times.
“Changing the URL structure of websites is a too-common event. Even if, as is the case most of the time, the originals are still around, disappearing the links is tantamount to hiding the original material,” writes Gillmor.
“The point is that I no longer rely entirely on the good graces of other people, including employers, to preserve what I’ve created, much less keep it available for you to see. I try to rely on myself.”
The New York Times has suspended a move to shut down the Boston Globe following an agreement with six of the titles seven unions.
The paper is reportedly set to lose NYTimes Co $85 million this year – but could it be saved and restructured to create a model for recession survival, asks Alexandra Marks from CSM.
Spotted on a few blogs via Technorati, this clip from Fox News. Here at Breitbart.tv, and the PajamaPundit, for example. See also the Columbia Journalism Review’s round-up, at this link.
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly asks Bernard Goldberg, author of ‘A Slobbering Love Affair’ what he makes of a New York Times’ reporter’s question to Obama at the 100 day press briefing. Goldberg says it is a ‘soft’ question that ‘fits our metrosexual times’. “Today’s men, a lot of men today, even men in powerful positions, especially men in journalism, they’re softer, they’re what a friend of mine calls NPR men,” adds Bernard Goldberg.
The transcript from the O’Reilly Factor:
Bill O’Reilly: “The worst question was one that I cited in my Talking Points memo… Roll tape.”
[shows clip]
Jeff Zeleny, the New York Times: “During these first 100 days what has surprised you most about this office? Enchanted you the most about serving this office; humbled you the most; and troubled you the most?”
Obama: “Now, let me write this down…”
[ends clip]
O’Reilly: “Did he actually say enchanted you the most? Did he actually say that word enchanted?”
Bernard Goldberg: “Yeah, well we’re saying this is the worst question but it’s really a fascinating question. Now let me tell you why. I cannot picture any journalist asking Franklin Roosevelt if he was enchanted. Or Harry Truman. I mean, he had a foul mouth if he was enchanted. Or Dwight Eisenhower. Or even Kennedy or Nixon. Because they were men of a different era, they were men of a John Wayne era. Today’s men, a lot of men today, even men in powerful positions, especially men in journalism, they’re softer – they’re what a friend of mine calls NPR men. They want to know about your feelings. Whether you’re enchanted. If I did a piece about you Bill, for my website or for a magazine, and I said ‘Bill what is it that enchants you?’ You’d punch me in the head.”
O’Reilly: “I don’t know what that means… I know what the enchanted forest is…”
Goldberg: “It’s the kind of question that fits our metrosexual times, if you know what I mean.”
O’Reilly: “I agree, it was a softball question.”
“The fast-shrinking newspaper business set a new standard for job insecurity in the last couple of weeks. Winning your profession’s highest honor does not mean you get to keep your job, and neither does taking a bullet while at work,” writes Richard Perez-Pena.
While Perez-Pena focuses on the US industry – citing the example of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Giblin who had been made redundant in January – the same story is seen in the UK: Northcliffe Media made the Newspaper Society’s digital team of the year redundant earlier this year.
Article rounding-up the state of several hyperlocal news start-ups in the US, including Everyblock, Outside.in, Placeblogger and Patch.
Such sites face an advertising paradox, suggests the article: they offer more targeted readers to advertisers, but fewer of them.
Newspapers can cut costs by concentrating on their strongest coverage, Tom Glocer, Thomson Reuters chief executive, told an industry gathering on Monday.
“Why does The New York Times need to have 600-700 journalists? Why not 30 journalists with 30 apprentices?” he said.
Parent firm the New York Times Company will close the Boston Globe unless staff unions agree to pay cuts and pension scheme changes, according to reports.
An ultimatum was delivered to union leaders last Thursday.
The company needs to save $20 million from The Globe.
Update: But, says Newsosaur’s Alan Mutter, reports of the Globe’s demise are exaggerated.
An extract from comments made by New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, at the opening of the Stanford Daily’s new building this week, has sparked a flurry of comment under the original Politico.com post, which was picked up by both the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post.
Michael Calderone’s post uses quotes reported by Politico’s Tim Grieve, which include:
“Keller predicted that the Times will be ‘left standing after the deluge.'”
“Commenting on the keep-the-Times alive movement, Keller said: “Saving the New York Times now ranks with saving Darfur as a high-minded cause.””
The comments below the article particularly pick up on the latter remark, many readers angered by what they perceive as Keller’s likening of the New York Times situation with that of the crisis in Darfur. “Talk about delusions. As important as Dafur!” writes ‘CLJ124’.
The link to the article on the front page of the Politico site, meanwhile, makes reference to the fact that Keller ‘joked’.
Commenter ‘Michael Green’ writes: “Some of the comments about this piece miss a point or two. One is that Mr. Keller might have been ironic in referring to saving The Times as the equivalent to saving Darfur.”
Another, ‘Stacy Harris’, writes that it “is likely a poor choice of words that, upon reflection, Keller will regret.” An anonymous commenter, writes that it was a ‘parody’: “Regarding Darfur, Keller said that, considering all of the people who have offered to donate money to keep the Times alive, it appears that at least some people equate saving the Times with saving Darfur.”
Keller is also reported by Politico to have said “If you’re inclined to trust Google as your source for news – Google yourself.”
If he does that today he will find that a Google blog search on “bill keller” now returns: http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/blogsearch?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&hs=vih&q=bill%20keller&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wb and this is the result of a Google News search: http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=%22bill%20keller%22&sa=N&tab=bn.
Update: Bill Keller has emailed Politico, in response to the comments on the Politico post. Of his remarks he said:
“I think it’s pretty obviously a reflection of my mild astonishment at the earnest fervor with which some people have suddenly embraced the cause of saving newspapers.
“That’s matched only by my mild astonishment at the silly literal-mindedness with which some people read my occasional public comments.”
A fuller context to his comment is given in a new Politico blog post, at this link.
Silicon Valley Insider editor, Nicholas Carlson, comments on the possibility of cuts at the New York Times [Thursday April 2].
“The New York Times says it will lay off 70 people from its newsroom if employees who belong to the Newspaper Guild don’t agree to take pay cuts.
“We expect the Guild, which met with Times management yesterday [Wednesday], to make all the necessary concessions.”