CNN plans 1,475 full-time job cuts world-wide

CNN has announced plans to cut ten percent of its worldwide workforce or 1,475 full-time jobs. The parent corporation will be cutting 400 positions from its American and international channels, the news organization reported. The company said about 130 CNN reductions will be voluntary buyouts, and the rest will happen through layoffs. Turner Broadcasting, which owns CNN, TBS and TNT networks, said it plans to cut its workforce by ten percent, which means roughly 1,475 full-time positions will be terminated worldwide. 

Postmedia buys Sun papers across Canada

RELEASE -- Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (“Postmedia” or the “Company”) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Quebecor Media Inc. (“QMI”) to purchase Sun Media Corporation’s stable of 175 English language newspapers, specialty publications and digital properties (“Sun Media”), including the Sun chain of dailies, consisting of The Toronto Sun, The Ottawa Sun, The Winnipeg Sun, The Calgary Sun and The Edmonton Sun, as well as The London Free Press and the free 24 Hours dailies in Toronto and Vancouver. The purchase price is $316 million in cash less a $10 million adjustment related primarily to real estate properties to be disposed of by Sun Media prior to closing, and other customary price adjustments to be determined subsequent to closing. The transaction also includes the acquisition of associated English language digital properties, including the Canoe portal outside of Quebec, as well as QMI’s Islington printing plant in Ontario, and 34 owned real estate properties in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba.  Marketwatch 

NBC News freelancer in Africa diagnosed with Ebola

An American freelance cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola and will be flown back to the U.S. for treatment.

The freelancer, Ashoka Mukpo, 33, was hired Tuesday to be a second cameraman for NBC News Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Snyderman is with three other NBC News employees on assignment in Monrovia, reporting on the Ebola outbreak.

Mukpo came down with symptoms on Wednesday, feeling tired and achy. As part of a routine temperature check, he discovered he was running a slight fever. He immediately quarantined himself and sought medical advice. On Thursday morning, Mukpo went to a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) treatment center to be tested for the virus. The positive result came back just undeIn a phone interview with Matt Lauer on TODAY Friday, Snyderman said Mukpo "should have a very good prognosis." She added: "The amount of virus in his body is low."

New York Times plans cutbacks in newsroom staff

The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs, as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the newspaper’s publisher, and Mark Thompson, its chief executive, said that in addition to the job cuts, NYT Opinion, a new mobile app dedicated to opinion content, was shutting down because it was not attracting enough subscribers.

The reductions, they said, were intended to safeguard the newspaper’s long-term profitability.

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The unruly media ruffles real estate flunky's feathers!

Doug Ford held a news conference at the Toronto Real Estate Board about his proposed cuts to the land transfer cuts.
Then it got interesting. As the Star's Daniel Dale reports:
"After Ford finished taking questions, the board’s chief government and public affairs officer, Von Palmer, stepped up to the microphone himself. Other board officials, including president Paul Etherington, watched from the side.
"After various questions about Ford’s proposal, James Tumelty, senior camera operator for Citytv, calmly asked Palmer a series of questions about realtors’ commissions.
"Etherington did not enjoy them."
The whole exchange -- worth reading
Arrogance or what?