For the Record

Smith Donates First Editions to Bookstore, Receives PEN Service Award:

Poet, singer and memoirist Patti Smith sent a box of signed first editions of her books to Portland, Ore.'s Passages bookshop after a burglar absconded with more than 100 rare books, including a volume of her collected lyrics. Smith, who worked for several years at New York's celebrated Scribner's flagship in the early 1970s, told owner David Abel that she "really loves bookstores." The writer also was announced as the recipient of the 2020 PEN America literary service award Tuesday, with President and 2011 Fiction winner Jennifer Egan lauding Smith's "thrilling incarnations — rock goddess, poet, eloquent witness to the bohemian New York of her youth,"

Times Announces First Digital Subscription Increase:

The New York Times announced its first digital subscription price increase Tuesday. Beginning on March 8, the price for a monthly subscription will be $17, a $2 or 13% increase. Media consultant Rich Greenfield believes that "[the] timing looks solid heading into election interest." In an accompanying letter to subscribers, Publisher A. G. Sulzberger predicated the increase on the newspaper's resources, including the funding of 1,700 journalists in 160 countries.

Hollywood Reporter Lays Off Staffers:

The Hollywood Reporter laid off a dozen staffers Tuesday, including members of its web, styles and international teams. According to Kali Hays, the cuts will have little effect on the news organization's weekly magazine, which is still managed as an autonomous entity.

Simon & Schuster Editor Alice Mayhew Dies:

Longtime editor Alice Mayhew has died at age 87. She edited many Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, including Robert Penn Warren, Taylor Branch, Diane McWhorter and David Maraniss. "Her genius is two things: pace and tone," said another of her authors, Bob Woodward.

C-Suite Shakeup at Tribune:

Tribune Publishing CEO/President Tim Knight is leaving and will be replaced by CFO Terry Jimenez, the media company announced Monday. According to Edmund Lee of The New York Times, "the changes come two months after Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund once called 'a destroyer of newspapers,' acquired the single largest stake in the company and installed two of eight directors on the board. Alden will be permitted to acquire a majority stake in the company (whose holdings include the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News and The Baltimore Sun) after June 30.

Baron/Lowery Social Media Feud Surfaces:

Daily Beast Media Reporter Maxwell Tani reported Monday that Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron clashed with 2016 National Reporting contributor Wesley Lowery over a series of tweets criticizing a New York Times piece on the Tea Party last year. The contretemps echoes the newspaper's recent suspension of Felicia Sonmez in relation to a tweet about 2003 rape allegations against Kobe Bryant. Lowery, who recently left The Post for a 60 Minutes spinoff on shortform streaming service Quibi, appeared to confirm the altercation in a Monday tweet: "[R]eporters of color shouldn't have their jobs threatened for speaking out about mainstream media failures to properly cover and contextualize issues of race. What’s the point of bringing diverse experiences and voices into a room only to muzzle them?"

Miranda Sells "Hamilton" Film to Disney:

2016 Drama winner Lin-Manuel Miranda announced Monday that a long-anticipated film adaptation of "Hamilton" (shot in the theatrical milieu two weeks before the original Broadway cast departed) will be released by Disney in the fall of 2021. According to Deadline Co-Editor in Chief Mike Fleming Jr., the studio paid $75 million for global rights in what may be the "biggest film acquisition deal ever." Directed by frequent Miranda collaborator Thomas Kail, the film features footage from three performances alongside non-audience setup shots.

USA Today Launches Latino Series:

USA Today has launched Hecho en USA, a monthly series featuring "long-form feature stories in English and Spanish about issues that affect Latinos across the United States," according to Hanna' Tameez of NiemanLab. "This series came from many discussions about how we could better cover diverse communities across the United States," said Cristina Silva, a national enterprise editor who oversees the series. "We wanted to cover the contributions Latinos are making to their communities, as well as the unique challenges they face."

Journalism and the Spectrum:

In a guest column for Poynter, journalist Garret Mathews (who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2016) wrote about the effects of the news industry's contraction on non-neurotypical individuals. "Several rarely ventured outside other than to come to the newspaper office," he said of past colleagues. "They lived alone. They never socialized. They had few changes of clothes and no sense of style. They couldn't look you in the eye. But they had their safe place. Their happy place. The newspaper. Not any more."

Guardian Bans Fossil Fuel Ads:

Heated interviewed interim Guardian Chief Executive Anna Bateson about the paper's ban on fossil fuel advertising, including the implications for the bottom line. "It seemed to align our commercial interests and our values, and then it became almost unarguable that this was a commitment and a statement that we should make," Bateson said.