New York Times

A day after the Times announced that there will be layoffs--perhaps around 15--the paper has picked up a star: Charlie Savage, a Pulitzer-winner on his coverage of Bush-Cheney White House, is moving to Dean Baquet's Washington bureau.

On Monday, MSNBC kicked off The New York Times Special Primary Edition, a new irregularly recurring daytime political show hosted by John Harwood in which Times scribes chew over news from the campaign trail.

So how did the show's premier do?

Not great!

According to Nielsen data, "The New York Times Special Primary Edition," finished fourth among cable news networks in the 2 P.M. time slot.  read more »

There will be layoffs at The Times. In an emotionally charged memo, Bill Keller writes that the vast majority of the 100 newsroom job cuts he announced back in February will come through buyouts, but the paper is "forced to resort" to laying the rest off. He said the paper will not disclose numbers or names in this "usettling and dispiriting time."

In the memo, he vehemently thanks reporters and editors at the paper for their service, as well as the Sulzbergers, and then says, "it is time to regroup."

He writes:

Most important, we retain the strongest team of talented journalists in the business, and they—you—remain the key to all of our ambitions.

Now it is time to regroup and move forward. In the coming weeks we will be working with department heads to reorganize and reimagine our coverage to ensure the quality journalism that is our standard. When we met in the Times Center in February, I told you that we were facing two seemingly contradictory challenges in the coming year. On the one hand, we must reduce our staffing and costs. On the other hand, we must do whatever we can to strengthen our competitive position. As I said then, that will mean our staff cuts will be offset a little by some investments to ensure, among other things, that we are well equipped to navigate the passage to our digital future.

Entire memo after the jump ...  read more »

The Times and MSNBC are joining forces for a new cable show. Today is the debut of The New York Times Special Primary Edition, a new political show hosted by John Harwood where Times-journos will handicap the election. From a Times memo, it appers these shows will appear as specials--that is, they won't run every week, but whenever MSNBC and the paper choose to do it.

Today's program will preview the Indiana and North Carolina primaries and Adam Nagourney, Pat Healy and Gail Collins are included guests.

Here's the memo:  read more »

One year after the New York Times moved into its shimmering new tower, the paper is ready for a dramatic software upgrade. Welcome to Microsoft Office 2003! The brand newish software was installed in the third-floor newsroom last night, and the culture department on the fourth floor is on-deck for tonight. The Times is also finally abandoning the old Eudora e-mail system for the mysterious but apparently very reliable "Outlook" e-mail. Memo, sent last night, after the jump:  read more »

There's some movement on the local political beat!  read more »

This morning, the New York Times announced the recipients of their 2007 Punch Awards. The awards, named after the nickname of former Times honcho Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, have two categories: "journalistic or editorial excellence" in community service and "business accomplishments."  read more »

The Post's Keith Kelly hears that 70 Times staffers are going to take buyouts, which means that about 30 are on the chopping block and it'll be Joe Sexton's Metro team that'll take the brunt of the hit.  read more »

Times metro-staffers were sent a sorta friendly-not friendly reminder this week that they work at a newspaper, and as such, shouldn't be spending too much money on lunch. Apparently, lunches with sources lately "have gotten stuck on posh." So there are new spending restrictions and a suggestion of also eating in their "zippy new cafeteria!"

Other problems: some metro staffers appear to be guilty of filing expenses for things like water and Cheez-its while they're still in the city (that reminds us of Jayson Blair!) Also some of them are filing expenses without receipts! Also, they should take the subway.

Full memo after the jump.  read more »

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., who is speaking right now at the Times Building for the paper's annual shareholders meeting, declared the newspaper is not for sale. Choire Sicha sends in this dispatch, via text:

Sulzberger: "This company is not for sale." Media reports are "ill-informed."

Newsday, which is close to being sold to Rupert Murdoch, is "our closest competitor" on the web.

The Times copy chief Merrill Perlman is on the buyout list, said a newsroom source. Apparently, she's making her way around the newsroom today to announce her departure. Ms. Perlman has been an institution at the paper for nearly 25 years, and was one of the biggest voices in helping finish up the most recent version of New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. Why doesn't the paper use the serial comma? She explains here.  read more »

New York Times CEO Janet Robinson in today's conference call:

From a standpoint of coverage, I think it's clear The Wall Street Journal is positioning quite differently in terms of overall coverage, broadening very much in the international and political arena, and, with the launch of their magazine, entering into broader lifestyle coverage.  read more »

Barry Bearak is on his way home. Here's the statement from Bill Keller, sent to us through the Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis:

Barry's family, friends and colleagues are overjoyed that the court threw out the preposterous charges against him, and that he is on his way home. His only offense was honest journalism, telling Zimbabwe's story at a time of tormented transition. He had no intention of becoming part of that story.  read more »

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.

The entire memo is below:  read more »

The old online editor at Portfolio, Chris Jones, is joining the digital side of nytimes.com. The last time we heard from Mr. Jones, he was fleeing the increasingly encroaching presence of the business side at portfolio.com.  read more »

Andy Jacobs, the Times reporter who covered Cory Booker and Manhattan night clubs, is in Beijing. Today, his China-based dateline is his first. "I’m going to be in the bureau there," said Mr. Jacobs to Media Mob, shortly before he left.  read more »

Jane Gross, a Times-lifer, is taking a buyout. And per her brother's blog (the writer Michael Gross), she's a pioneer! He writes:

She was the first woman reporter ever in an NBA locker room while she was at Newsday; broke the story of the existence of crack; was one of the earliest reporters on the AIDS beat, and in that capacity was the first person to use the term anal sex in the Times (now there’s something to be be proud of).  read more »

The New York Times under executive editor Bill Keller still has fewer Pulitzer victories to its credit than during the short-lived reign of his predecessor, Howell Raines.

Under Raines, who served approximately 21 months before resigning in 2003 in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, the paper's news pages published seven Pulitzer-winning entries.

In more than twice that span of time—53 Pulitzer-eligible months as executive editor—Keller has published six Pulitzer winners.  read more »

Yesterday, the Pulitzer Prize administrator, Sig Gissler, told a group of reporters, "The old cliché is that when you win a Pulitzer, the first line of your obituary has been written." Yes, but what if you win three?  read more »

The Times reports that Barry Bearak has been released from a prison in Zimbabwe after making bail.  read more »

For the first time in decades, The New York Times has a new Supreme Court reporter.

Adam Liptak, the Times' national legal reporter, is taking over the position Linda Greenhouse—who covered the beat, off and on, for 30 years—vacated in February after taking a $300,000 buyout. Before Mr. Liptak was a reporter, he was a lawyer for the paper. He joined the newsroom in 2002.

Here's the memo from Washington bureau chief Dean Baquet:  read more »

The Troopergate report (pdf) that came out on Friday has some great back-room gossip between Eliot Spitzer and one of his top aides, Rich Baum, about a Times story.  read more »

Dith Pran, the New York Times photographer whose disappearance and escape from the clutches of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia was famously chronicled in the movie The Killing Fields, died today in New Jersey. He was 65.  read more »

That big Apple ad on nytimes.com is back today! Which is odd. Last Friday that ad appeared as well, which means that's two weeks in a row that Apple has taken over the Times home page.

Back in January, Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis told us that Arthur Sulzberger Jr. had instituted "new rules" regarding ads like that and decided those would be limited to once a month.  read more »

For some weeks now, New York Times editors have been pinch-hitting in the role of weekend editor, ever since the paper announced Marty Gottlieb was moving on in a role to help work out the paper's relationship with the IHT.

Now they've got their full-time replacement: Alison Mitchell. She's been promoted to associate managing editor. (We've sent out an e-mail to a spokeswoman to find out if that means she'll be on the masthead. We'll update you when we find out.)

For now, here's the memo:  read more »

Did a recent Times story borrow from a 14-month-old Newsweek story on the Buenos Aires party scene?

Fishbowl NY, which links to an Argentinan blog which makes the original case, passes no judgment but presents the blog's case.  read more »

What tactics might new governor David Paterson take in dealing with the media when they ask questions about his personal life, I asked Ken Sunshine, the public relations man who is friendly with both Paterson and former governor Eliot Spitzer, late last week.

"I think he should tell the press to go fuck themselves when they ask things that are inappropriate," he said. "Of course, I don't think he should follow that advice. You should delve into the lives of politicians at the same level you delve into the lives of press people."

But already, resulting in what was either a full disclosure or a limited hangout or a modified limited hangout, Paterson and his wife were conducting interviews with Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News. Meeting since Saturday, the couple carefully disclosed news of years-old mutual extramarital affairs.  read more »

The city is safer and the Times is closer to Port Authority. For these reasons, and the fact the paper needs to "reduce spending," there won't be a direct shuttle from the Times Building to Grand Central and Penn Station anymore. Here's the memo:  read more »

Romenesko has a memo from the Guild that says the deadline to apply for a Times buyout has been extended from yesterday to March 7. That's because other than a few high-profile volunteers--Linda Greenhouse, David Cay Johnston--there haven't been nearly enough applicants.  read more »

Yesterday, The New York Times asked what the publishing industry—and the paper itself—could have done to have fact-checked a fradulent story produced by Margaret Seltzer that made its way into a book, and to the pages of the paper itself in a profile.  read more »

It’s deadline day for buyouts at The Times!

And joining Pulitzer winner Linda Greenhouse on the payout line, is Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, who has submitted an application to volunteer for a buyout (Media Mob needs to qualify because technically the paper has the final say and will be reviewing applications for the next 45 days).  read more »

The New York Times City Room writer Jenny 8. Lee's book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, was released today. She'll be touring the city--KGB Bar, the 82nd Street Barnes & Noble--over the next week or so to get word out. And she's gonna be on Colbert too. Here's the mass e-mail that she just sent out (which seems to have made its way to the entire city based on the amount of times it's been forwarded to me over the last few minutes):  read more »

New York Times publisher Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. is not having a bright and shiny day. For one thing, the newspaper's buccaneer shareholder Harbinger Capital increased its pressure on the Sulzberger family's company by formally nominating its own four candidates to the paper's board of directors.

But in Manhattan, boardrooms aren't nearly as important as duplex co-ops. According to a deed filed in city records this afternoon, Mr. Sulzberger transferred ownership of his family's A-line duplex to his wife, the artist Gail Gregg, for $3,255,721. The apartment is in Harperley Hall, a stately pre-war co-op at 64th Street and Central Park West.  read more »

The continuing battle between The New York Times and the paper's Guild over its health-benefit fund just got a lot more intense.

Quick recap: The Guild's health benefits fund is going bankrupt—they're expecting it to run out by the end of the year—and they're negotiating with the paper over how it can help out. According to the paper's assistant managing editor, William Schmdit, talks have "foundered." The Guild wasn't one bit happy about that assessment and they squarely blame his side. (It should be noted that this has nothing to do with the 100 job cuts that we've been talking about over the last two weeks.).

The memos—and the drama!—follow:  read more »

Meanwhile, more job cut news, this time back on Eighth Avenue!

Bill Keller sent out a memo this afternoon digging through some bad news. He said that Times staffers have until March 5 to voluntarily accept a buyout so that they can ease their way into retirement (which is exactly what Linda Greenhouse is doing with her $300,000 buyout) or to "reimagne" a new career outside the newsroom.  read more »

Tara Parker-Pope, who blogs about health and writes a health column for The New York Times, has sold an advice book on healthy marriages to Dutton, Publisher's Weekly reports.  read more »

Yesterday, Media Mob heard from several Times staffers about the Fox News trucks set up outside the Times building. Even though there's presumably less reason to have B-roll of the tower today, the Fox News trucks—and a weather-resistant canopy to protect cameras and reporters—are still there! So we sent trusty intern Matthew Townsend to the scene. Here's what he found out:  read more »

The City Room made its way into the print pages of the New York Times today, landing in a slot on B2 in the Metro Section. A note on the web site today said that City Room will have a dedicated print slot every Friday, which will include stories--today one from Jenny 8. Lee--and readers' comments that appeared on the web site.  read more »

David Brooks writes in the Times today that McCain supporters are trying to figure out who the plausible candidates for the anonymous sources in yesterday's story could be.

Just as a refresher, we decided to call the paper's standards editor, Craig Whitney, to ask what the Times rules are on a related issue: Can a person give both an on-the-record quote and appear in the same story as an unnamed source? The answer is yes, but as long as the messages aren't contradictory. Whitney said:  read more »

Despite all the attention that the Times' McCain piece got today, as of 6:14 p.m., it has been emailed less on nytimes.com than stories like, "Most Americans Are Giving up Golf," "Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location," and another called, "Gentlemen, 5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well." The McCain story doesn't even appear in the top-10.  read more »

The New Republic exegesis on the internal divisions at the Times is up. The story is a walking chronology of what happened. Here's what we learned:

• The story began with a tip that Jim Rutenberg received in November, 2007.
• Washington chief Dean Baquet assigned Stephen Labaton and Marilyn Thompson to the assignment; David Kirkpatrick later joined in.
• John McCain made his phone call to Bill Keller in "early December."

 read more »

Bill Keller has issued this statement on the John McCain story:

On the substance, we think the story speaks for itself. On the timing, our policy is, we publish stories when they are ready.

 read more »

So that Times story about John McCain, the one the world heard about in December, was published last night.

In a nutshell:  read more »

The Times has hired Stephanie Clifford to become their new advertising reporter. Ms. Clifford spent the last three years at Inc. Magazine and before that freelanced for places like Us Weekly and Sports Illustrated Women. She'll replace Louise Story on the beat, who in turn is getting a new—and unannounced—duty on the business desk. Business editor Larry Ingrassia writes in a memo that Ms. Clifford "is eager to work at a newspaper where she can expand her repertoire." Click "read more" for the memo.  read more »

Well, someone is working the holiday weekend! Times Wunderkind Brian Stelter has five bylines in today’s Business Day section.  read more »

At yesterday's series of regular all-staff meetings convened by New York Times executive editor Bill Keller (you know, the one where he announced that between 100 and 150 newsroom employees might be eliminated!), other ways of cutting the newsroom payroll were also discussed, according to two sources, including one senior newsroom source.

Staff were told that the newspaper would consider eliminating bonuses for top editors, section heads, deputies and some of the line editors (which would not include copy editors) to cut costs without elminating newsroom jobs,

One source also said that Keller talked about the possibility of eliminating a masthead-level job. There are currently 13 masthead editors, excluding the editorial page editors.  read more »

Rub the sleep out of those eyes: it's the morning-after in L.A.!  read more »

FormerNew York Times reporter Charlie LeDuff is joining the metro team at the Detroit News. Fishbowl NY has the memo, and reports that Mr. LeDuff is packing it up from California and heading back to his native Michigan.  read more »

Hale and Hearty Soup chain founders Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper have leased the last empty retail space in The New York Times Building.

The brothers will be opening a new restaurant concept described as "an updated version of a classic roadside eatery serving burgers, salads and other American favorites in a fast casual, relaxed setting," in 3,200 square feet at the corner of corner of Eighth Avenue and 41st Street, according to developer Forest City Ratner Companies.  read more »

The City Room's post authored by Sewell Chan on the death of Heath Ledger has reached 1.78 million page views, a spokeswoman said. The Times can't confirm if it's an all-time record for an nytimes.com blog post, but it's probably awfully close.  read more »