Mediagazer: Aaron Kushner's Register newspapers offer buyouts, order two-week furloughs (Jim Romenesko)

8:30 PM ET, June 3, 2014

Top News:

Heritage Foundation starts an online site to cover unreported and under-reported news — It's not enough to be a newsmaker these days, as the conservative Heritage Foundation surely has been with its vigorous opposition to federal budget deficits, Obamacare, immigrant “amnesty” and same-sex marriage.

Discussion: The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, @jayrosen_nyu, @robertbluey, Mediaite, @kelsrenhar, @sandihlogan, @conradhackett, @postbaron, @newsliteracy, @eleanorbarkhorn, @davidjoachim, @washingtonpost and @dailysignal

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

CNN to double digital politics staff for 2016 — Ed O'Keefe was recently hired by CNN to boost the network's digital coverage of politics, a task he's not going to undertake alone. — “If you're a top talent in D.C., expect to get a call from CNN politics,” says the 36-year-old O'Keefe …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, @dylanbyers, @kevinmaddendc, @peterhambycnn, @mdornic, @dorseyshaw, @niemanlab and TVNewser

Neil Midgley / Forbes:

BBC News Division To Cut 500 Jobs — I can exclusively report today that the BBC News is preparing to announce 500 more job losses, as part of its ongoing cost-cutting programme, and that industrial action could well follow. Including new cuts to BBC Radio, the corporation is facing a total of between 550 and 600 redundancies.

Discussion: Guardian, @antderosa, @sunny_hundal, @breakingnewsuk, @shelleyjofre, @markgsparrow, The Huffington Post and Mashable

Jim Romenesko:

Aaron Kushner's Register newspapers offer buyouts, order two-week furloughs — Freedom is instituting the following measures: — • a company-wide, two-week furlough during the months of June and July (see related FAQ [internal access only]) — • voluntary severance packages within the newsroom

Discussion: Freedom Communications, Inc., Associated Press, LA Observed, @jimbradysp, @joannalin and @mathewi

Ezra Klein / Vox:

How the American Prospect changed policy journalism — The American Prospect is laying off or losing most of its staff, pulling back its web operations and returning to its roots as a quarterly policy journal. This is deeply sad for those of us who love TAP. But respect must be paid.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @buzzfeedben, @nickconfessore, @patcaldwell, @motherjones, @ezraklein and @annielowrey

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Phone Hacking Trial: Judge to Start Summing up Case — Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson are also among the defendants in the hacking trial — The lawyer for Mark Hanna, former head of security of News International, on Tuesday argued that his client was part of less “glamorous” circles than his then-boss Rekebah Brooks.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Charlie Brooks may have been stupid but he is not a criminal, says lawyer

Discussion: @peterjukes, @jamesdoleman, @stoopnik, @jamesdoleman, Guardian, @lisaocarroll and @peterjukes

Harry McCracken / Technologizer:

Harry McCracken leaves Time after 25 months, “reboots” Technologizer — The Land Beyond TIME — Jon Stewart furrows his brow at a TIME cover story which I wrote with my colleague Lev Grossman — Twenty-five months ago, I became an editor at large at TIME. I'm awfully glad I did.

Discussion: @thekenyeung and @mathewi, Thanks:@steverubel

Gianluca Mezzofiore / International Business Times:

CNN Reporter Harassed by Police During Gezi Park Anniversary ‘was an Agent’, Claims Turkish PM Erdogan — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused CNN International's correspondent Ivan Watson, who was harassed and detained live on air during the Gezi Park anniversary protest in Istanbul, of being a secret agent.

Discussion: Reuters, TVNewser, Mediaite, UPI, RT, @ibtimesuk, Hurriyet Daily News and Al Jazeera English

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

People Magazine Sheds About a Dozen, All You Publisher Exits — People magazine lost roughly a dozen staff members to layoffs and buyouts last week, according to people familiar with the matter. The departures come just before Time Inc., owner of People, starts to trade independently of Time Warner on Monday, June 9.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Thanks:@msebastian

Keith Richburg / Poynter:

On eve of Tiananmen anniversary, early optimism pushed aside by press, speech crackdown — Two years ago in China, during the run-up to the Communist Party's ritual changing of the guard, there was a heady mood of expectation that the country's new top leaders might revive long-stalled political reform …

Discussion: Forbes, Bloomberg and Associated Press

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:

John Oliver's Net neutrality response swamps FCC — When the Federal Communications Commission released its proposed Net Neutrality regulations, Chairman Tom Wheeler said the founding fathers were likely looking down on the public outcry over the draft rules and smiling. They must be laughing hysterically now.

Discussion: Variety, Mediaite, Lost Remote, PC Magazine, NY Daily News, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, @acoyne, BillMoyers.com, BuzzFeed, TIME and NationalJournal.com

Ryan Chittum / Columbia Journalism Review:

Management isn't journalism's strong suit — And running a newsroom is hard and getting harder — Newsrooms have long hired and promoted based on journalistic chops, and often that alone. The problem, of course, is what makes for a great reporter doesn't necessarily make for a great boss.

Tony Maglio / The Wrap:

Turner CEO John Martin Sends Internal Memo Signaling Staff Changes, Cost Cutting — Turner Broadcasting CEO John Martin sent a memo to his staff on Monday announcing a new “Turner 2020” initiative and likely staff changes. TheWrap obtained the correspondence, which is posted below.

Discussion: Capital New York, TVWeek.com, @willmckinley, Wall Street Journal, FierceCable and C21Media