Layoffs at the (New York) Daily News (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Since this morning, staffers to be laid off have been getting called into a conference room to meet with senior vice president of human-resources Jeff Zomper. They're being told the layoffs are part of a "downsizing" operation at the paper. The layoffs aren't yet complete, (The New York Observer and the New York Post are putting the total number at 10); we've confirmed the names of a few of those who've been laid off so far.

Bob Kappstatter, a 43-year veteran of the paper who just turned 68, was one of them.

"It's been a great ride, I've loved this paper; it's been the best job in the world," Kappstatter, whose most recent title was Deputy Police Bureau Chief, told Capital. "I've seen and done things I never would have done anywhere else. I look forward to staying in the business. I'm available!"

Other victims of the downsizing are long-time political reporter Frank Lombardi; federal courts reporter Scott Shifrel; City Hall reporter Kate Lucadamo; and long-time staff photographer John Roca.

Asked about the layoffs, spokesperson Jennifer Mauer would only say, "we don't comment on personnel matters."

The News is in the throes of some internal tumult. Managing editor and tabloid veteran Stuart Marques was reportedly pushed out Oct. 14, though not all reports seemed sure that he didn't quit.

The managing photo editor also resigned this week and will leave the paper at the end of the month, as Capital first reported last night.

Last week editor in chief Kevin Convey brought the managing editors into a meeting telling them he was restructuring the top of the masthead, according to the New York Post's Keith Kelly.

They would name three new managing editors: One editor from the digital side, one "senior editor of convergence," who is working on integrating the digital and print newsrooms, and a third who'd been Senior Executive Editor.

This replaced a structure in which seven managing editors, each with their own departments, reported to Convey.

Kelly also reported that the M.E.'s appealed to chief executive William Holliber about the changes.

Another change: Arthur Brown's jump from the editorial pages to the No. 2 position at the paper, under Convey.

Convey is rumored to be under the gun. But during an online chat with readers last week, he put a positive spin on all the change at the paper.

"We're in the midst of a reorganization right now to bring the print and web staffs together for the first time, make the company digital first, and make all of our content platform-agnostic," he said. "We're always looking for ways to get better."

The staff reductions come at the end of a week that started off on a high note for the News. Data released Tuesday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed that the paper had moved up the auditor's rankings to become the No. 4 top-selling daily in the U.S.

Those were the days when reporters were thrilled with the kind of detective work that goes with the story. In the post-Watergate era it seems most people get into journalism merely as a way to break a big scandal so they can then go on TV and pontificate. They also crave op-ed positions, where they get to tell people what they think (and what the people SHOULD think).

So reporting isn’t a job, a duty in itself, it’s a mere stepping stone to becoming a personality. They’re so eager for that kind of success, which is so rare, they just start editorializing and pushing their views in ‘news’ stories now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism_school

History

The first program for journalism education was introduced by former Confederate General, Robert E. Lee,[1] during his presidency at Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia, in the 1860s.[2] Both the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri founded by Walter Williams in 1908[3] and the Ecole Superieure de Journalisme in Paris, France founded in 1899[4] claim to be the worlds first journalism school. Although Paris’s school opened its doors in 1899 after three years of internal debates, the question was discussed in Missouri since 1895. Since then the journalism school has become standard at most major universities.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, across town, the folks at Forbes are adapting. They are allowing readers and advertisers to become involved in their effort.

Readers comment a la Free Republic, in the magazine

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We're Stirring Up Disruption
Lewis D'Vorkin, 10.05.11, 06:00 PM EDT
Forbes Magazine dated October 24, 2011

AdVoice is for marketers, informed content creators in their own right.

For nearly 100 years FORBES has paved the way in business journalism, first in print and then online. In doing so, we connected our marketing partners to the most sought-after audiences around the world. Now we're taking dead aim at the disruptive forces before us by reconceptualizing how to fulfill the needs of our readers and advertisers alike.

Our AdVoice program is a bold and critical part of our larger strategy--to position the most authoritative content from journalists, authors, academics, experts and marketers, too, at the center of a social media experience. AdVoice is for marketers, informed content creators in their own right. It provides them with the same tools that I or any of our staffers and contributors use to publish content on Forbes.com. It offers marketers a voice--a way to supplement traditional forms of advertising--and a unique opportunity to engage customers with thought-leading ideas in a credible news environment. Transparency is essential. I'm identified as a FORBES staffer; a marketer's post carries the AdVoice label.

Last week AdVoice demonstrated a new reality, exciting for us but perhaps discomfiting to traditionalists. SAP ( SAP - news - people ), a huge software company and an AdVoice partner, published an intelligently provocative post about Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) and the iPhone 5. Readers flocked to it. Powered by Facebook and LinkedIn shares it rose to the No. 1 spot in our most-popular-story module, nestled among posts written by staffers and contributors. An SAP post a few weeks ago on Salesforce.com ( CRM - news - people ) hit the No. 2 spot.

Jonathan Becher, SAP's chief marketing officer and an AdVoice writer, says AdVoice enables his company's employees to write with "authenticity" and join the conversation. "We're all writers now. It's not just about controlling the message. It's more about orchestrating the message and getting it adopted."

Today's audiences want and value informative content from a variety of sources. They parse it, evaluate it and stack it up against competing information and ideas.

Our list of digital AdVoice partners is growing--Dell ( DELL - news - people ), Merrill Lynch, Infosys and gyro. We have AdVoice print partners, too. United Airlines and gyro participate in this issue.

FORBES is evolving into a platform for the exchange and sharing of business news, information and ideas. With all the transparency possible, we're helping readers, journalists and marketers form deeper relationships with one another. That's what the media business has always been about.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.