Bad news continues for news companies. Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection, freezing deferred compensation payments to former employees and making it uncertain whether freelancers with unpaid invoices will get their money from the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
Listener-supported radio news hasn’t escaped the current downturn. This week National Public Radio announced it will lay off 64 people and cancel two shows, “Day to Day” and “News and Notes.”
It’s not good times for the economy. But it’s good times for people who write about it. In the week of Dec. 1-7, two-thirds of coverage tracked by the the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism weekly news coverage index was devoted to the economy – the financial crisis, the Obama administration’s plans for dealing with it and attempts to bail out the auto industry.
Time picks the best magazine covers of 2008. No. 1 is The New Yorker’s Nov. 17 cover showing a moonlit “O” shining over the Lincoln Memorial. My personal favorite is Los Angeles magazine’s cover tribute to the city’s best high schools, rendered completely in ball-point pen doodles.
WordPress rolls out its annual winter fun feature – make snow fall over your blog posts.