GM chairman to resign, five GM directors to keep seats

General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner is being forced to resign, according to The New York Times.
Five of G.M.'s 12 directors will keep their seats, according to The Wall Street Journal.
View the story here.
For a great overview of G.M., click here.

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News Corp. posts results; newspaper division hit hard

News Corporation released its first quarter results Thursday, showing an operating profit of $755 million, down 47 percent from the previous quarter.
The newspaper division, however, was hit particularly hard, according to The New York Times:

The company’s newspapers in particular had a dismal performance. Newspaper operating income fell to just $7 million for the quarter that ended March 31, from $216 million a year earlier. Advertising revenue at The Journal fell 33 percent. News Corporation took a large write-down for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 to reflect the decline in the value of The Journal.

Chairman Rupert Murdoch remained optimistic, saying, "It is increasingly clear that the worst is over... The days of precipitous declines are gone."
Murdoch also stated that at least some News Corp. outlets will begin to charge for content online soon, according to Editor & Publisher.

In a conference call with analysts and journalists after the release of the media and entertainment giant's quarterly results, Murdoch said The Wall Street Journal has proven newspapers can charge for online content.
Asked specifically if he envisioned charging readers for that content from his general interest newspapers such as The Times of London or The Sun, Murdoch replied, "We are absolutely looking at that. Very much so."

As for a general time frame, Murdoch said that some newspapers should begin charging within the next year.

Click here for the Times article, and here for the Editor & Publisher article.

How newsroom cuts may impact SEC

Reuters reports that Mary Schapiro, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said she is concerned that job cuts in newsrooms may hinder the SEC's ability to crack down on illegal behavior.

"It's an absolute worry for me because I think financial journalists have in many cases been the sources of some really important enforcement cases and really important discovery of practices and products that regulators should be profoundly concerned about," the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission told Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit in Washington on Tuesday. "But for journalists having been dogged and determined and really pursuing some of these things, they might not be known to the regulators or they might not be known for a long time," she said.

Schapiro then urged laid-off journalists to apply for jobs at the SEC. She said investigative journalism may be an "interesting skill set" that could be very useful to the agency. "[The SEC] has to really broaden its horizons and bring in people who think about things a little differently than it has historically," she said.

For more click here.

New York Times considers charging for content

At its annual conference Thursday, New York Times Company Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said that The New York Times is considering charging for some content again, according to Editor & Publisher.

Sulzberger did not specify any particular business model, but suggested the Times would look again at trying to get paid for its content. For several years, the flagship paper charged international users to access its site, and for a few years charged for access to opinion columns and other contents in its Times Select program.

Sulzberger did not say that the paper would stop running ads online, a practice he characterized as extremely successful.
He offered no time frame for a potential move beyond a statement that more information would be available "at a future date."
Click here to read more.

Forbes to launch business magazine in India

Forbes Media will partner with TV18 to launch a business magazine in India, according to a report from Business Standard.
Steve Forbes, chairman, CEO and editor-in-chief, said TV18 is one of the most respected and fastest-growing media companies in India.
The new magazine adds to Forbes international ventures including Forbes Asia, Forbes China, Forbes Russia and Forbes Arabia.
“Our partnership with Forbes for a business magazine is another compelling testimony to the growing acceptance of the Indian growth story worldwide. Rapid economic expansion, change in consumer mindsets and deepening of the market economy in the country have led to an enabling environment for business brands,” said Raghav Bahl, managing director, Network18.
To read the full report click here.