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Which Photo Did You See?

The power and ethics of image manipulation before Photoshop. Click HERE. Sphere: Related Content

Which Photo Did You See?

The power and ethics of Photoshop... Click HERE. Sphere: Related Content

Ruben Salazar Gets a Stamp

The journalist killed by a Los Angeles County sheriff's projectile during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War — held on August 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles — will be honored with this postal stamp next week in Washington. Today, City Council President Eric Garcetti will carry a motion to declare April 22 Ruben Salazar Day, with some of the reporter's family and Times Publisher David Hiller there. Salazar was a columnist for the Times and news director of KMEX who covered the march and rioting that ensued. He was killed when hit in the head by a tear gas projectile while sitting in the Silver Dollar Bar. [LAO] Sphere: Related Content

A Name to Herald Its Merger: Thomson Reuters

Years ago, when Thomson was primarily a newspaper publisher, its head office in Toronto’s department store district displayed the company’s low-key approach to business. Its only corporate promotion was an undistinguished brass sign beside the front door.

Little of that shyness will be found on Thursday when the Thomson Corporation, a leading provider of electronic financial, medical and legal data, officially completes its takeover of Reuters, the venerable British financial information provider and news agency.

Entire subway stations in New York, Toronto and London will be decorated with the company’s new name, Thomson Reuters, and its new logo, a series of encircling dots, as will the buildings housing the leading stock exchanges in those cities. And most of the electronic displays in Times Square will be taken over by the logo for part of the day as the chief executive, Thomas H. Glocer, leads a global telecast for the combined companies’ 50,000 employees. [Click for MORE]

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New York Times Company Posts Loss

The New York Times Company, the parent of The New York Times, posted a $335,000 loss in the first quarter — one of the worst periods the company and the newspaper industry have seen — falling far short of both analysts’ expectations and its $23.9 million profit in the quarter a year earlier.

The company did break even on a per-share basis, compared with the average analyst forecast of earnings of 14 cents, down from 17 cents in the first quarter of 2007. [Click for MORE]

> Lee's Coalinga Record folds

> Star-Telegram to eliminate 15 positions

> Tribune may sell more assets but expects to meet short-term obligations

> Toronto Star cuts 160 jobs, entire Internet production staff let go

> Google profit exceeds forecast

> Star-Ledger to shutter production facility

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Le Monde's Presses to Fall Silent Again

Le Monde, France's newspaper of record, will not be on newsstands tomorrow for a second time this week after staff today voted to strike over proposals for job cuts.

The paper was also not published on Monday, with Le Monde staff up in arms at management plans to cut 129 jobs at the newspaper.

Two-thirds of these job losses would be in the newsroom, as part of a plan that Le Monde's management said would safeguard the paper's future. The newsroom cuts represent one in four journalists at the paper - about 87 staff.

"The aim of this new strike is to prevent the publication of the edition dated Friday," staff representative Christiane Chombeau told MediaGuardian.co.uk. [Click for MORE]

> New strike hits Le Monde Sphere: Related Content

If Freakin' Kodak Can Come Back From the Dead, Why Not Newspapers? Booyah!

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Q&A: Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller

David Hiller has been in the hot seat ever since he was appointed publisher, president and chief executive of Tribune Co.'s Los Angeles Times in October 2006.

Hiller came on board after Tribune canned his popular [predecessor] Jeffrey Johnson, who had opposed further staff cuts at the newspaper. The following month, Hiller, who was previously publisher and CEO of the Chicago Tribune, fired Times Editor Dean Baquet for the same reason. A little more than a year later, he forced out Baquet's successor James O'Shea, also over budget differences.

If all of that wasn't enough, Hiller now reports to billionaire real estate mogul Sam Zell, who led a buyout of Tribune in December and has vowed to inject a more entrepreneurial culture at the company.

In an interview, Hiller talked about the challenges facing the Times and the newspaper industry. [Click for MORE]

> Newsday stock-swap sale could save Zell $245 million

> Murdoch, Zell appointed to AP board

> Sale of Cubs a tale of ineptitude

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New York Times: 'We Expect' Layoffs

The New York Times announced that it's all but a done deal that the paper will have to layoff staffers in the newsroom.

The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for the staffers in The New York Times newsroom to raise their hand and volunteer for a buyout. An internal memo from the paper's assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, just went out and said that "we expect" that the buyout numbers aren't looking good and that for the first time the paper will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs.

"While layoffs have become all too common across our industry, this is the first time the newsroom as a whole has confronted that blunt reality, and we approach it with a heavy heart," he said in the e-mail. [Click for MORE]

> Modesto Bee offers buyouts to one-fourth of its employees

> Tampa Trib offering buyouts to half of all employees

> McClatchy-owned Miami Herald offers buyouts

> Newspaper vendors worry about downturn

> ASNE survey: Over last year, dailies shrank their newsrooms by biggest margin in three decades

> How to demoralize a workforce

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Assignment for April 16

1) Complete the in-class exercise. First read the Wall Street Journal editorial that criticized the Pulitzer committee for awarding the prize to journalists who exposed the actions of White House aides who "outed" a covert CIA agent. Then read the column by Tim Rutten of the LA Times, in which he takes the WSJ editors to task. Both opinion pieces were emailed to you earlier. Decide with which position you agree. Make some notes and come to class ready to discuss.

2) Read Chapters 11 and 12 on web and broadcast journalism.

Looking ahead:

3) Review the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics at http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.

4) Read ahead to Chapters 13 and 14. Also, read and pay special attention to appendix pages 501 - 513.

5) Plan to attend class on Monday, April 21. Attendance is required to hear guest speaker Rip Rense, photo right . Be prepared to ask questions You will write a story based upon his talk. For more on Rense, see http://www.riprense.com/Riprense.htm. Sphere: Related Content

BostonNOW Closes, Baltimore "b" Opens

A big day for free daily newspapers. BostonNOW abruptly closed after a year in business while the Tribune Co. launched a youth-oriented free daily in Baltimore modeled after its successful RedEye in Chicago.

BostonNOW posted a story on its Web site this morning that said today’s edition would be its last because of tough economic conditions its investors face in Iceland. [Click for MORE]

> Hundreds of Tampa Tribune, WFLA staffers offered buyouts
> Mutter: Why the profitable Journal Register Co. is in trouble
> LAT not sure what's next for newsman who wrote Tupac story
> Zell named to AP board Sphere: Related Content