Journalists fight directive to write more stories

Good morning. You have earned the weekend before you. Here are 10 media stories.

1. BuzzFeeed honcho talks about deleted posts: “[I]f you look at that era of BuzzFeed through the lens of newspaper or magazine journalism, you would say [deleting those posts] was a strange decision,” Jonah Peretti tells Will Oremus. “We just didn’t and don’t look at that period of BuzzFeed as being a journalistic enterprise.” (Slate) | But the posts disappeared this year, when BuzzFeed is a journalistic enterprise. Amy Rose Spiegel‘s February 2013 post “What’s the Deal With Jazz” reappeared after Oremus pointed out it had vanished, too. Editor’s note: “This post has been reinstated after it was brought to our attention that the author deleted it, against our editorial standards.” (Gawker) | Hot J.K. Trotter/Craig Silverman/Mathew Ingram action | Related: Summer Anne Burton talks about BuzzFeed’s new “distributed” division. “I think there’s a good chance that in five to ten years the internet is going to look really different, just like it did five or ten years ago,” she tells Catalina Albeanu. “We just want to figure that out and figure out what people like and people share, and establish an audience in those places and show that we’re the best at making things that people love to share.” (journalism.co.uk) | “Buzzfeed is creating a team to develop web and mobile games, according to a listing on the company’s jobs site.” (Capital)
2. Journalists fight directive to write more stories: The Chicago Newspaper Guild has filed a grievance against the Sun-Times Media Group over the Pioneer Press Group’s requirement that its journalists write 2.5 stories per day. (Chicago Newspaper Guild) | “The guidelines explicitly direct managers to exercise reasonable discretion and common sense in dealing with reporters who have provided acceptable reasons for not meeting the daily expectation,” Sun-Times VP for labor relations Ted Rilea says. (Robert Feder)
3. “Platisher” occasions editor’s note: “Caroline tried very hard to avoid using the word ‘platisher’ in this post, but it really does need to be mentioned here.” (Nieman)
4. It pays to tweet a lot: Wesley Lowery‘s sudden silence on social media Wednesday night “told those back in the newsroom everything they needed to know.” (The Washington Post) | The Seattle Police Department has asked the public to “Tweet Smart” during emergencies. “When any entity that holds power over us encourages us to limit our expression for any reason, it is probably better for us to err on the side of expressing more than it would want than less,” Mónica Guzmán writes. (GeekWire) | On Ferguson, The Drudge Report went from “harmonious orchestra of dog whistles” to “Big government versus violent protesters.” (The Awl)
5. Carl Icahn wants a say in how Gannett split occurs: Entities Icahn controls and partners with bought a 6.6 percent stake in the company in the belief its shares “were undervalued and that value could be created by splitting the Issuer into separate print and broadcast companies,” they write in a filing. They want “discussions with representatives of the Issuer’s management and board of directors relating to the planned separation, corporate governance, capitalization and capital allocation.” (SEC) | “We are happy to discuss our plans with Mr. Icahn, as we do with all of our shareholders,” Gannett spokesperson Jeremy Gaines tells Gary Strauss. (USA Today)
6. Chuck Todd will replace David Gregory on “Meet the Press”: “Todd, for whom the term ‘political junkie’ seems invented, will remain the political director for the network news division, but will give up his mid-morning MSNBC newscast ‘The Daily Rundown.'” (CNN) | “The transition brings Gregory’s time at NBC to a crushing end. ‘Meet the Press’ has seen some of its worst ratings ever during his time as host.” (HuffPost) | “I leave NBC as I came – humbled and grateful.” (@davidgregory)
7. NYT names Alexandra MacCallum AME for audience development: She’ll report to both Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Editorial Page Editor Andy Rosenthal. (NYT)
8. Why can’t Europe build its own Huffington Post? “There is a belief in European media that there is no place for the kind of upstarts that are financed and feted and followed by millions in America,” Paul Rapacioli writes. “But this is quite obviously wrong, as the arrival of Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and Business Insider demonstrate.” (StrategyEye)
9. How did I miss this story? Brian Webb delivers newspapers and magazines to customers of Webb’s of Leverington, a newsstand in Cambridgeshire that he owns. And since March he has delivered letters bearing a “Webb’s Postal Service” stamp at 30p (50 cents) a pop, too. He’s up to 1,000 letters a day. “I’m never going to hurt the Post Office but it has gone so well that it has blown us away,” Webb told Ian Burrell in July. (The Independent, via Steffen Konrath) | “Are you still paying 62p for first class Stamps? our customers pay 30p guaranteed next day delivery” (Webbs of Leverington)
10. Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin: Becky Bowers will be editor of the Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog. She’s currently manager of digital operations for PolitiFact and PunditFact. (@beckybowers) | Thomas Claybaugh is now president and publisher for Gannett Central New York Media. Previously, he was general manager of Delmarva Media Group. (Gannett) | Terry Horne will be publisher and president for the (Salem, Oregon) Statesman Journal. He was president and publisher of the Pensacola (Florida) News Journal. (Gannett) | Jason Leopold will be a reporter at Vice News. Previously, he was a reporter for Al Jazeera America. (Politico) | Ryan Tate, Margot Williams and Cora Currier have joined The Intercept. Tate will be the site’s deputy editor. Previously, he was a contributor for Wired and Gawker. Williams will be a research editor. Previously, she was research editor at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Currier will be a reporter for the site. Formerly, she was a reporting fellow at ProPublica. (The Intercept) | Chris Voccio is now publisher of the Niagara Gazette and the Tonawanda News. Previously, he was publisher at the Norwich Bulletin. Job of the day: The Gaston Gazette is looking for “a reporter who doesn’t bore us.” Don’t be “dull” — get your résumés in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.

Suggestions? Criticisms? Would like me to send you this roundup each morning? Please email me: abeaujon@poynter.org.