Layoffs at Barnes & Noble:
Barnes & Noble Inc. has laid off a number of employees at its New York head office, a move the bookseller said was an effort to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Laid-off staffers include buyers for specific categories of books. "We now have almost all of our bookstores reopened and must align our head office requirements to our store priorities,” a statement from the company said.
Macmillan CEO Steps Back:
John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan, has stepped back from day-to-day operations at the publisher following an industry-wide day of action protest against racism organized by five Macmillan employees. In a letter to staff, Sargent said: "It is clear that we have to change who occupies the seats at the table when the important decisions are being made."
Google Advertising Revenue Expected to Decline:
Google's U.S. advertising revenue "will decline this year for the first time since eMarketer began modeling it in 2008, the research firm said, largely because Google’s core search product is so reliant on the pandemic-battered travel industry," according to Keach Hagey of The Wall Street Journal. Unlike the 2008-09 financial crisis (during which global revenue grew by 8%), the coronavirus pandemic has "obliterated marketing spending in some of Google search’s biggest advertisers," including Expedia Group and Amazon. Net U.S. advertising revenue is expected to decline by 5%.
State Department Mutes Reporter:
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus muted the line of Reuters reporter David Brunnstrom on a conference call about press freedom Monday when he asked a question about former National Security Advisor John Bolton's memoir, according to Max Cohen of Politico. Ortagus enjoined AT&T to "mute that line," citing the perceived irrelevance of the question when Brunnstrom "asked whether U.S. allies had reached out to the assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs in the wake of Bolton’s book." The State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Advertising Manager Fired at Tennessean:
An advertising manager at The Tennessean was fired by the newspaper and parent company Gannett Monday for buying a full-page anti-Muslim ad from "an Arkansas-based organization centered on end-of-world preaching," according to reporter Adam Tamburin. "The sales and design teams did not fully read the context of the ad content in its entirety and subsequently approved it," said Kathy Jack-Romero, the president of local sales for Gannett. Additionally, the media company also will donate $14,000 (the "value of the ad sale") and a $50,000 advertising credit to the American Muslim Advisory Council, a Nashville-based advocacy group.
Federal Judge Denies Attempt to Block Bolton Book:
D.C. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth "has denied the Trump administration's attempt to block the upcoming publication" of a memoir by former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Katelyn Polantz of CNN reported Saturday. "For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir," Lamberth wrote in a 10-page decision. The judge also determined that Bolton "likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations," setting the stage for the potential seizure of Bolton's advance or other criminal penalties. In a statement, Bolton attorney Charles Cooper said that "the full story" of the prepublication process "has yet to be told — but it will be."
Bascobert Leaves Gannett:
According to a Thursday internal email obtained by Rick Edmonds of Poynter, Gannett operating CEO Paul Bascobert's job will be folded into parent company New Media Investment Group CEO Mike Reed's position. "This organizational shift will increase accountability and transparency between the senior executive team to the Board," said Reed. The appointment of Bascobert, "an outsider with a digital marketing background," was a condition of the sale to New Media. Bascobert "[left] public statements to investors to Reed and [turned] down nearly all requests for profiles or interviews" throughout his 11-month stint. According to NiemanLab, Reed's "salary and compensation are secret because he’s technically not a Gannett employee; officially, he works for the private equity firm Fortress."
McClatchy Names Special Pension Claimants:
According to a court document filed this week and obtained by Kevin G. Hall of McClatchy DC, 596 "former McClatchy and Knight Ridder employees [...] were owed supplemental pensions totaling more than $118 million at the end of 2019," shortly before the media company entered bankruptcy protection in February. Associated Press President/CEO Gary B. Pruitt, a former McClatchy chief executive, "tops the list at $14.5 million," while former Knight Ridder Chairman P. Anthony Ridder "was owed $5.3 million." The pensioners have petitioned the court to honor the remaining obligations, which are not covered by the bankruptcy.
USAGM Dismisses Broadcasting Chiefs:
The chief executives of Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund were dismissed by U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack Wednesday night hours after he sent an introductory memo to staffs of the organizations, according to Jennifer Hansler and Brian Stelter of CNN. Additionally, Jeffrey Shapiro, a former investigative reporter with ties to former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, is "expected to be named to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting," where he was employed as a senior adviser as of 2017. A source also alleged that "Pack's team reached out to the head of human resources and asked for a list of federal employees that were still in their probationary period, prompting the department to remind "political appointees that [career] employees cannot be fired without cause."
Justice Department Proposes Section 230 Overhaul:
The Department of Justice released a set of proposals Tuesday "calling for sweeping reform" to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, the law "that grants immunity to apps and websites for the content users post or share to them," according to Kate Cox of Ars Technica. The proposed changes could deny immunity to individuals or entities that "purposefully facilitate [...] activity or material" in violation of federal criminal law and would mandate the implementation of a mechanism "for users to alert platforms of illegal activity." Although the potential regulation of Section 230 has elicited bipartisan interest, Cox added that any ensuing legislation "seems unlikely to go anywhere before the current Congress ends in January."
