Don Irvine

WaPo’s Earnings S(t)ink

The Washington Post Company continues to be battered by a generally weak advertising market and continued troubles at its Kaplan Higher Education Unit, as they reported that profits slid 67% from a year ago.

Carney Brings Down the White House

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who was expected to rely on his skills as a journalist to manage the press, is proving instead to not be up to the job, at least according to the Telegraph:

Twitter Beats the Networks on Osama Bin Laden News

Last night’s news of the death of Osama Bin Laden may have been the clearest example of the 24/7 news cycle we now live in and how ill prepared networks are to compete in this new environment.

Journalism Tops List of Most Useless Degrees

More bad news for those budding Ernie Pyles of the world as The Daily Beast ranks journalism at the top of its most useless degree list.

Soros: “Fox Can’t be Neutralized”

Far-left financier George Soros came to Washington, D.C. yesterday to deliver a speech on a wide range of topics. In doing so he may have cheered up conservative while disheartening liberals when he said that Fox News can’t be neutralized:

What Recovery? N.Y. Times Earnings Fall 58%

The New York Times released its first-quarter earnings yesterday and the results showed that the the economic recovery hasn’t reached the newspaper industry.

HuffPo Exec: ‘AOL Is More Conservative Than We Are’

The Huffington Post, which has been trying to publicly distance itself from its liberal roots since merging with AOL, had to go into damage control after one of its executives admitted that the website is not as conservative as its new partner.

Sign of the Times: University of Colorado Votes to Close J-School

Al Sharpton: ‘Media Promotes Black on Black Fight’

She’s Baack! Helen Thomas to Address Pro-Palestinan Conference

Helen Thomas, the veteran journalist who lost her job and her plum seat in the White House press briefing room over her anti-Israel remarks, has re-emerged.

New York Times is Reduced to Giving Away Free Umbrellas

We all know times are tough in the newspaper industry but they must be particularly hard for the New York Times, as evidenced by yesterday’s free umbrella give away just outside Union Station in Washington, D.C.

New York Times Paywall Up, Web Traffic Down

Two weeks ago The New York Times unveiled its second attempt at monetizing its website content by erecting a paywall for visitors.

News Anchors Losing Influence

With the expected departure of Katie Couric from the anchor desk at CBS this summer, media observers are now wondering whether or not we have entered a post-anchor era and exactly what the value is of a news anchor to networks in a vastly changed landscape.

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Plays Defense for GE ‘Tax Cheats’

MSNBC afternoon anchor Andrea Mitchell found her line of pointed questions backfire with Tea Party Express spokeswoman Amy Kremer today. Apparently seeking to propagate the Left’s party line that America doesn’t care for the Tea Party anymore, Mitchell peppered her guest with the routine that is supposed to help paint the movement as inflexible budget deficit hawks. Predictably, Mitchell raised the question of why not raise taxes on the wealthy and strip corporations of tax loopholes. The host found herself awkwardly playing defense when Kremer reminded the audience that those exact corporate tax loopholes were taken advantage of by MSNBC’s minority stock owner, General Electric (emphasis added):

The Daily Struggles to Find an Audience

After months of free downloads and plenty of hoopla, the first iPad-only newspaper started charging this month and its future is far from assured.

NBC News Silent on GE Tax Issue

The Washington Post reported today that NBC News conveniently decided not to report on a story that parent company General Electric avoided paying taxes on its income last year.

WaPo Publisher Gets a Fat Paycheck, Newsroom Gets Cuts

Fishbowl DC reports that staffers in the Washington Post newsroom are none to happy with the news that the paper's publisher earned over $2 million in salary and bonuses while the rank and file continued to suffer from cost cutting measures.

NPR Ekes Out A Surplus, and Hosts Make Out Like Bandits

NPR, which has been under attack after video footage from James O'Keefe showed a now former network executive saying that NPR would be just fine without federal funding, is going to run a surplus or "modest margin," this year. Daily Finance reports on the network's financial turnaround:

Report: Couric Out, Pelley In At CBS Evening News

Howard Kurtz reports that Katie Couric will be gone from CBS when her contract expires in June and that 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley is a leading contender to replace her.

CNN: “Aggressively Independent”

CNN which has been suffering from an identity crisis in the increasingly partisan world of cable news is eschewing the non partisan label for what network chief Ken Jautz calls being “aggressively independent.”