— The New York Times profiles a one-time homeless-shelter operator who now lives in one. It says the number of people in homeless shelters because of foreclosures is on the rise, but the numbers are pretty sketchy and sourced to advocates, though there’s probably no getting around that.
— Speaking of the Times, its journalism is about to get diluted. The paper says it will slash its newsroom by 100 people over the next couple of months. Some of its readers plead in comments: “Charge us!” If the paper doesn’t have the guts to say its report has value worth paying for in whatever format, it ought to at least enable online-only readers who want to support its journalism to somehow do so, whether its in the form of membership programs or a lowly PayPal tip jar.
Let’s say the paper saves about $20 million a year killing those 100 positions (the headcount cut is 8 percent and the Times’s newsroom budget is somewhere around $200 million a year). It could keep those journalists by getting 5 percent of its 17 million online readers to give it just $25 apiece.
— The AtlanticWire has a nice roundup of reaction to the prospect that the Obama administration is finally fed up with the financial industry. I’d guess Yves Smith has the best answer here in saying she doubts it: “The Administration has been an absolutely shameless backer of the banksters’ interests.”
In the old days when I was a young newspaper reporter, we had to edit our own copy.
Guess that doesn't happen now. "Speaking of the Times, its journalist is about to get diluted."
I hope the journalist will have insurance to treat his "dilution".
#1 Posted by Ginny, CJR on Mon 19 Oct 2009 at 09:46 PM
"Let’s say the paper saves about $20 million a year killing those 100 positions (the headcount cut is 8 percent and the Times’s newsroom budget is somewhere around $200 million a year). It could keep those journalists by getting 5 percent of its 17 million online readers to give it just $25 apiece."
And there you have it! All we need to do is to persuade one and half million people to write a $25 check! How hard could this be?
#2 Posted by padikiller, CJR on Mon 19 Oct 2009 at 11:28 PM
Ginny,
Back in my day as a young newspaper reporter, we had copy editors. Alas, the business is hurting these days and this is a blog. Copy fixed above.
Padikiller,
Well, no-- 5 percent of 17 million is 850,000, not 1.5 million. And getting two bucks a month from them isn't like getting their right kidneys. These elite, latte-sipping coastal liberals can go drip for a day, pocket the difference, and give it to the NYT.
Lawrende,
Thanks for the link to "fergie hot fergie hot pics," but you've got to do better than that. Deleted.
#3 Posted by Ryan Chittum, CJR on Tue 20 Oct 2009 at 11:00 AM
Hay dude the artical is so cool and the comments are great too.
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Marq Thompson
foreclosure auctions
#4 Posted by marq, CJR on Sat 31 Oct 2009 at 06:18 AM