* Update: Greenwald is joining a new media venture funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (reuters.com)
Glenn Greenwald has been inconvenienced by a leak today. My irony detector just blew up.
— Sean Anderson (@moniker42) October 15, 2013
Glenn Greenwald says:
“The decision to leave [The Guardian] was not an easy one, but I was presented with a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline. Because this news leaked before we were prepared to announce it, I’m not yet able to provide any details of this momentous new venture, but it will be unveiled very shortly.”
* Glenn Greenwald leaves The Guardian for a new news outlet (buzzfeed.com)
* Statements from Greenwald and The Guardian (ggsidedocs.blogspot.com.br)
Letter to Romenesko
From BRUCE MacLEOD: Attached is a farewell column from my high school (Riverside Secondary in Windsor, Ontario) paper in 1978. The paper was going out of business because of a lack of sales.
The situation has been repeated for decades and is especially timely today with print sales being so low. But the way this writer happily lays blame on the customers is a column that all newspaper people would love to have written.
“The students do not deserve a newspaper. It isn’t appreciated and even more, it seems most of you don’t give a damn if there is a paper or not.”
Priceless. Unfortunately timeless as well.
I’ve asked Darlene Hebert about her editor stint and what she’s up to now.
The Smoking Gun found an AOL “Attorney’s Eyes Only” memo that reveals Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, who sold her site to AOL in 2011, received less than seven percent of the sale price of $315 million.
Media reporters guessed two years ago that she had received about $100 million, but the newly surfaced memo says it was around $21 million — probably less than what was earned by several of HuffPo’s financial backers.
“The deal document stresses Huffington’s critical importance to the web site, noting that her departure ‘could have a significant detrimental effect on the Company’s business,'” reports The Smoking Gun.
* Huffington haul detailed in AOL internal memo (thesmokingun.com)
ALSO IN AOL-LAND… Many editors at AOL’s Patch are saying goodbye to readers today. Here’s a batch of farewells found via Google.
* Focus back on Senate as House drops its fiscal plan (with correction) (nytimes.com)
Related:
Another co-byline with @jwpetersnyt. Will the Onion notice again? http://t.co/v2dRCoQGir http://t.co/k8tDrvGp9j
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) October 15, 2013
On page 40 of today’s paper:
I asked laid-off Sun-Times photographer Rob Hart about this. He writes:
I doubt any of my awesome photos are in there, I don’t care to look, and if they are and someone loves it enough to pay for it and display on their fridge then that’s pretty great. They trusted me to go out in the community and find great stories and compelling images that are worth something and I can’t fault them for wanting the world to see our images. John H. White taught us to be like the lightning bug and never let anyone contain our light. We don’t take photos to put them in a box.
Waking up everyday knowing people value your work is the best part about not working for that paper. It’s been almost 5 months since I’ve had to say “I’m sorry we’re doing the best with what we have,” everyday. So thanks Michael Ferro!
UPDATE — Chicago Newspaper Guild communications director Beth Kramer writes: “Sun-Times photo archives are full of incredible photographs from professional photojournalists. It’s a shame that these archives aren’t getting any recent additions since there are no longer any photojournalists on staff. Chicago Newspaper Guild remains hopeful that we will win our legal battle to see these talented photojournalists restored.
“The Guild’s charges against Sun-Times to restore the photographers are pending with National Labor Relations Board. Before the government shut down, the case was sent to the advice division in Washington D.C. due to the complex nature of the legalities of the case.”
NEW: Crain’s rounds up reactions to this post from Twitter (chicagobusiness.com)
Earlier:
* Sun-Times closes its photo department and lays off 28 staffers (jimromenesko.com)
* Sun-Times boss proudly points out photos in his office — all taken by Sun-Times shooters (chicagomag.com)
* “The economics of this magazine are still very healthy,” says Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. (nymag.com)
* The New Republic is giving an iPad Mini to the staffer who sells the most subscriptions to friends and family. (forbes.com)
* Michael Miner: “If editorial writers signed their editorials, they’d put a little more effort into writing them.” (chicagoreader.com)
* I’m getting a lot of farewell posts from Patch editors today; here are two: (studiocity.patch.com) | (facebook.com)
* Three former journalism school deans write “Educating Journalists: A New Plea for the University Tradition,” a 25,000-word report. (journalism.columbia.edu)
* PunditFact will focus on claims that are “provocative, outrageous.” (usatoday.com)
* Journalists can succeed as chief executive officers, say journalist/CEOs. (digiday.com)
* There won’t be nudity in Nude, a new surfing magazine. (bizjournals.com)
* Capital New York adds three columnists: Jim Windolf, Joanna Molloy, and Glynnis MacNicol. (huffingtonpost.com)
* No. 1 on a sports journalist’s interview wish list: famous Cubs fan Steve Bartman. (shermanreport.com)
* “I just want to go hide behind the camera again,” says Boston Globe’s Stan Grossfeld. (time.com)
* Seven reasons to love/hate BuzzFeed. (bbc.co.uk)
* Palm Beach Post reporter, 57, points out that “my forced retirement is another reporter’s job security.” (spjnetwork.org)
* Hearst is moving Country Living’s editorial operations from New York to Birmingham, Alabama. (adage.com)
