WordCount online media recap for week of May 2

Conde Nast closes Portfolio – The publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker shut down its glossy business monthly just two years after launch.  According to news reports, Conde Naste had planned to spend $100 million over 5 years on the title, which was ultimately done in by declining ad sales. The mag’s Portfolio.com website will stay up through the second quarter, although there’s been some speculation it could remain in some form going forward (Note: I’ve done some work for Portfolio.com). One of the best commentaries on the closing came from ex-New Yorker and Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown on her Daily Beast news blog, The Quake at Conde Nast.

UC Berkeley j-school can’t find a dean – Sounds like candidates and students are ready to move the school’s venerable j-program into the 21st century but old guard faculty aren’t 100 percent on board, leading to a longer decision-making and interview process than candidates were willing to put themselves through.

That’s no typo – John McIntyre, long-time copy desk chief at the Baltimore Sun and the red pencil behind the You Don’t Say grammar column is leaving. I picked Your Don’t Say as one of the best blogs for writers in 2008 so am especially said to see him go. (Stay tuned for the 2009 list of best blogs for writers coning soon.)

New media training wheels – Webbmedia Group’s new media Webinars have proven so popular with newly unemployed journos and other writers the company’s creating an online community to carry on its mission of educating the ink-stained class in the ways of Web 2.0. The new Knowledgewebb site has live chats and message boards as well as plenty of online training sessions. Annual subscription is $129, or $80 if you’ve ever attended a Webbmedia Webinar before. Look on the site for more details.

This week’s online news link love:

• So you’ve been scammed – Advice from Bizzia freelance writing biz blogger Allison Boyer on what to do if you’ve gotten stung in a freelance writing scam.
• Regret the error – Reports on corrections, retractions, clarifications and trends regarding accuracy and honesty in the media. The blog’s the creation of Craig Silverman, a Montreal-based freelance journalist, CJR columnist and author of the book Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech .
• Happy birthday Freelance Writing Jobs – The reliable source of how-to articles and job listings turns four.

Twitter tools:

• Twitter homepage highlights search: The microblogging service tweaked its front page by positioning a new Search window high up in the right-hand column along with Following list. The tools column also has a collapsible Trending Topics list making it easier to see hot topics people are tweeting about.
• Twitter Guys make Time’s Most Influential People in 2009 list – Ashton Kutcher, who famously rode the Twitter craze to become the service’s first Millionaire – first member to hit  1,000,000 followers, that is – wrote the profile.