Brian Williams reportedly lobbied to succeed David Letterman

Good morning! Here are 10 media stories.

1. More tales of tumult from inside NBC News
   Gabriel Sherman’s much-anticipated longread about the turmoil surrounding Brian Williams’ suspension from the anchor chair dropped Sunday. Among the juiciest tidbits: Williams asked CBS CEO Les Moonves to be considered as a replacement for David Letterman upon the comedian’s retirement from “Late Show,” according to “a high-level source”; Four NBC and NBCUniversal officials visited Williams at his apartment to notify him he was being taken off the air; Richard Esposito, the investigative producer at NBC News conducting a review of Williams, “delivered a 45-minute presentation at [NBCUniversal CEO Steve] Burke’s apartment” that unearthed “more issues” with Williams’ disputed claims; Williams can’t talk to the press under the terms of his suspension and “can’t wait until he can speak” publicly about the situation, according to “a close friend.” (New York) | “If Brian Williams proposed to CBS that he take over when Letterman retires, that alone is reason he should not return” (@jayrosen_nyu) | “Last weekend, workers at NBC’s Rockefeller Center headquarters briefly wiped away promotional photos of Brian Williams.” They went back up the next day. (CNN Money)

2. Gawker Media might sue for Clinton emails
   Gawker Media is “probably likely” to sue under the Freedom of Information Act after its 2013 open-records requests for Hillary Clinton’s emails were rebuffed, Gawker Media investigations editor John Cook told CNN host Brian Stelter for Sunday’s edition of “Reliable Sources.” “It’s because there was this highly unusual, deliberate system created to prevent her records from being released under the FOIA.” (CNN) | The Associated Press is considering legal action, too. (Poynter) | Politico media columnist Jack Shafer says Clinton and company will wait the controversy out. “Six weeks hence, when asked about the emails, Clinton and her staff will flick their hands and say, as they often do, ‘Oh, that’s old news.'” (Politico) | Previously: “The State Department had not searched the email account of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton because she had maintained a private account, which shielded it from such searches, department officials acknowledged on Tuesday.” (New York Times)

3. Newspapers bid Chris Christie spokesman a not-so-fond farewell
   The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger published a biting sendoff for longtime Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak Friday: “Let’s be frank: If Michael Drewniak were an affable and agreeable chap, rather than someone with the personality of an ulcerated nightclub bouncer, the vicious media and vile denizens of the chat room underworld would wish him bona fortuna and that would be that.” (Star-Ledger) | Drewniak, a former Star-Ledger reporter, will be chief of policy and strategic planning for New Jersey Transit. (Star-Ledger) | “Let’s state the obvious right up front: The new six-figure job created for Michael Drewniak at NJ Transit, courtesy of the good graces of Gov. Chris Christie, is a complete waste of money.” (Asbury Park Press)

4. Media show support for International Women’s Day
   Several news organizations have taken steps to show solidarity with the No Ceilings initiative, a Clinton Foundation project that highlights gender inequality. W magazine removed Scarlett Johansson from the cover of its March issue. (New York Times) | “Teen Vogue removed Gigi Hadid and Binx Walton from our March cover to help people imagine a world in which women are missing and to symbolize that girls are ‘Not There’ yet when it comes to equality.” (Teen Vogue) | Vogue published a slideshow of previous covers with women cut out of them. (Vogue) | Mashable briefly changed its Twitter profile picture. (@Mashable) | Related: Reporters Without Borders paid tribute to 10 women journalists around the globe. (Reporters Without Borders)

5. Sun-Times layoffs could be postponed
   Employees at the Chicago Sun-Times will vote today on a proposal “that would forestall layoffs for six months,” Chicago media reporter Robert Feder writes. “But there’s a catch: The moratorium on layoffs is tied to an agreement to reduce six full-time positions to part-time ones in areas where management expects to reduce coverage.” (Robert Feder) | Fifteen editorial staffers at the Sun-Times accepted buyout offers in late February. (Poynter)

6. Guardian report alleges the BBC is punishing sex abuse whistleblowers
   Former BBC journalists Meirion Jones and Liz MacKean told The Guardian’s Nick Cohen they felt their careers were negatively affected after they produced a report detailing allegations of pedophilia against BBC media personality Jimmy Savile. “The scandal is simply this: the BBC is forcing out or demoting the journalists who exposed Jimmy Savile as a voracious abuser of girls.” (The Guardian) | British journalist Nick Pollard reviewed the network’s decision not to publish an investigation into Savile. “He said there was ‘chaos and confusion’ at the BBC but found no evidence of a cover-up over the decision not to broadcast.” (BBC)

7. Read this before you write another post about ‘The Dress’
   Stories that aim to generate traffic by piggybacking on viral trends might face headwinds, Lucia Moses writes for Digiday. “…a confluence of factors, from viewability to changing Facebook algorithms to falling CPMs, are making the economics of this kind of viral strategy a bit more complicated.” Some news organizations have taken away bonuses for high-traffic traffic stories, and advertisers are increasingly suspicious of pageview numbers. (Digiday) | Previously: “‘The Dress’ illustrates ‘viral sameness’ among news organizations” (Poynter)

8. The Toronto Star is ending its subscription program
   As of April 1, readers will be able to access all of the Toronto Star’s content, the paper writes. “We are making this move after extensive input from our readers and our advertisers. Listening to our audiences is critical to the success of our daily newspaper and our digital offerings and we are committed to continually adjusting our digital strategies to provide them with what they want.” (Toronto Star)

9. Front page of the day
   The (Mobile, Alabama) Press-Register offers this then-and-now look at the crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge after the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” (Courtesy Kiosko)
    
   
    

10. Job moves
    Randy Archibold will be deputy sports editor at The New York Times. Previously, he was Mexico bureau chief there. (Email) | Justin Green will manage social media and engagement at IJReview. Previously, he was online editor at the Washington Examiner (IJReview) | Andy Lack is now chairman of NBC News and MSNBC. Previously, he was CEO and director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. (Poynter) | Bryan Bender will be a national security editor at Politico. He is a national security reporter at The Boston Globe. (Dan Kennedy) | Job of the day: Inside Higher Ed is looking for a higher education management and finance reporter. Get your résumés in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.

Corrections? Tips? Please email me: bmullin@poynter.org. Would you like to get this roundup emailed to you every morning? Sign up here.

Correction: A previous version of this post called Jack Shafer a Reuters media columnist. He writes for Politico.