John Conroy, Harold Henderson, Tori Marlan and Steve Bogira were laid off this week by editor Alison True, Michael Miner writes on his News Bites blog. True tells the Chicago Tribune that, given the mandate to cut costs by her new bosses at Creative Loafing in August, it became difficult to afford their work. "The numbers are part of a deal that was structured a long time ago," she says. "Even if [CEO Ben Eason] were the most passionate journalist in the world, he wouldn't have the option of saying, 'I'll give you a little extra this year so this doesn't have to happen.' He's bound to his deal." Meanwhile, Fishbowl DC is reporting that five editorial staffers were laid off at the Reader's sister paper today: Washington City Paper writers Joe Eaton, Amanda S. Miller, Tim Carman and Jessica Gould, and editorial assistant Joe Dempsey, are all no longer with the paper.

Continue ReadingChicago Reader & Washington City Paper Editorial Staffers Laid Off

Taking a page from New York Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia, who famously read comics on the radio during the city's 1945 newspaper strike, Olbermann last week read a two-page Tom Tomorrow cartoon from The Village Voice out loud on Countdown. The comic, "Bill O'Reilly's Very Useful Advice for Young People, as Channeled by Vile Left-Wing Smear Merchant Tom Tomorrow," features 16 helpful hints for the "young generation." As far as we know, this is the only time the first-ever recipient of AAN's Molly Ivins Award has had the opportunity to reference his own penis size on air.

Continue ReadingKeith Olbermann Channels Bill O’Reilly, via Tom Tomorrow

"Certainly, the Weekly has accomplished the showy side of going green," says the magazine, referring to the paper's installation of 162 solar panels on its roof earlier this year, "but the Weekly also strives to be green below its roof." Among the small-scale green programs E&P highlights: having a staffer repair bicycles for employees to use in commuting, buying organic produce from the "Vegetable Fairy," and using soy ink. Early last year, the Weekly began calculating its entire carbon footprint, including energy consumption from employee commutes and work routes, with a "Green Team" convening monthly to review the efforts. When the paper repeated its calculation this April, the footprint was 16 percent smaller. "For us this has been a several-pronged initiative," Weekly owner and CEO Bradley Zeve says. "One is around energy, one is around supplies and material, and a third is around our consciousness."

Continue ReadingMonterey County Weekly Makes Editor & Publisher’s ‘Green Team’

A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in reviewing a case it initially considered in May, reiterated on Monday its finding that Google can display thumbnails of copyrighted photographs in search results, the Los Angeles Times reports. Adult publisher Perfect 10 was arguing that Google violated copyright law by displaying its images in search results. The justices ruled that a larger public interest in searching for information amounted to a "transformative use" that trumped copyright claims. The decision overturns part of a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, which had found that Google's thumbnails of Perfect 10's nude models constituted infringement, according to the Times.

Continue ReadingCourt Sides With Google in Fair Use Case