MediaWire memo
Thompson, who "was instrumental in two Pulitzer Prizes for public service," will be news editor for Reuters in Washington.
The memo:
It is with tremendous sadness that we announce that Deputy National Editor Marilyn W. Thompson is leaving us to join the Reuters Washington bureau as news editor.
Marilyn has been a pivotal force in our newsroom, one of the most admired editors in the building. Over the past several years, she has helped guide the National staff with energy, wit and tenacity. She has been at the center of our best and most ambitious news coverage, from the carnage at Fort Hood to the oil spill in the Gulf. Her well-known investigative skills have been on recent display in directing Carol Leonnig’s and Joe Stephens’ strong work on Solyndra and related developments. (more...)
The Atlantic Wire | Quote and Comment | Huffington Post | Reuters
A Reuters story about Occupy Wall Street is drawing widespread criticism -- first for its unsubstantiated attempt to connect liberal billionaire George Soros to the protests, then for a lack of transparency as it was corrected. As it became clear that the original story relied on unsourced speculation, indirect financial ties and baseless assertions by Rush Limbaugh, Reuters reversed course. The difference in the stories is captured in the headlines:
Romenesko+ Memos
A Reuters memo says former NYTer Geraldine Fabrikant "will put a human face on business, focusing on the bold-face names that behind who make the money world go round," while ex-Fortune writer Bethany McLean "will focus on finance, both high and low." || The Washington Post announced today that it's hired David Beard as its Sitewide Engagement Editor. || Longtime New York Times writer Lisa Belkin has joined Huffington Post as a senior columnist. || Former New York Times reporter Nick Madigan has been named Executive Director of Communications at University of Miami Law School. (The Reuters and Washington Post memos are after the jump.)
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The New Republic | New York Observer
Tim Noah, who was laid off from Slate in late August, returns to The New Republic as senior editor. He interned there in 1980, and became a staff writer in the early 1980s. "Tim will write both a blog and the TRB column in the magazine," says editor Richard Just. "He will replace our esteemed colleague Jonathan Chait, who has accepted a position at New York magazine." || Alix Freedman, who has been deputy managing editor and page one editor at the Wall Street Journal, joins Reuters as Global Editor for Ethics and Standards at Reuters. In one of her roles at the Journal, "she was responsible for overseeing ethics and standards and supervising final-reading of high-impact stories in the newspaper and on the Dow Jones Newswires," writes Reuters editor-in-chief Steve Adler.
Reuters
In a video on Reuters.com, social media editor Anthony De Rosa talks about how he uses Twitter to report news from faraway places. He searches for the best sources at the scene and uses Twitter lists to keep track of their posts in TweetDeck. He also uses Storyful to find credible sources. Then he contributes the latest updates to a live blog on Reuters.com. All of the tools and information are publicly available, but he says, "most folks don't want to go through all the stuff that I'm going through. My job at Reuters is to monitor all this stuff for you." || Earlier:De Rosa named Reuters.com social media editor.
Romenesko Memos
Blake Morrison, who as been at USA Today for a dozen years, joins Reuters as Investigative Projects Editor. His four-person team at USA Today "has earned a reputation for doing creative work with high impact on public policy," says the memo announcing his appointment.
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Vanity Fair According to a "60 Minutes"/Vanity Fair survey, 42 percent of respondents know that Reuters is "a global news agency" — not much more than the 36 percent who couldn't say what it is. A fast-food chain? That college in New Jersey? Maybe it's the airline that took you to Germany. No, a bank in London! Reuters has better name recognition among college graduates (68 percent). Regardless of whether you think "burgers" or "news" when someone says Reuters, you can cast your vote on the "60 Minutes" website.
Correction: This post originally stated that the survey was conducted online. While people can vote online, the poll of 1,021 randomly selected adults was conducted by telephone.
SF Weekly
The lawyer representing the 50 or so former and current FindLaw writers says the employees were encouraged to skip lunch breaks and keep churning out copy. Most writers worked on average 60 hours a week, he says, but weren't paid for the overtime. || Over at AOL...Patricia Chui, the Moviefone editor-in-chief who offered fired freelancers the chance to work for free, has been fired. || Earlier: "I wanted to clarify a couple of things about the email I sent earlier today," writes Chui.
Romenesko Misc.
Reuters says distributing Hollywood TV’s footage of celebrities serves "a crucial role for entertainment programming needs" and complements the celebrity and entertainment coverage currently offered by Reuters. The release is after the jump.
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