"An Incredible Legacy":
Interim CBS CEO Joe Ianniello has announced that CBS News President David Rhodes will step down in March. He will be replaced by Susan Zirinsky, "a 46-year veteran of CBS News and the top producer of the 48 Hours newsmagazine."
"Unlikely Success":
Founded by 21-year-old George Washington University student Bhaskar Sunkara in 2011, the Brooklyn-based socialist quarterly Jacobin has surpassed the "high-water mark of the Partisan Review" in circulation amid the emergence of Bernie Sanders and President Trump. However, Sunkara is ambivalent about the publication's future: "We helped put socialism back on the map in the United States, we helped shape and cohere a new generation of people who are on the left, a new generation of socialists. And now we have to figure out what we are."
At 50:
Developed by Ben Bradlee in 1969, the Washington Post's Style section has published numerous Pulitzer winners, from 2009 Commentary winner and former Pulitzer Board chair Eugene Robinson (who also served as its editor) to book critic William McPherson. In honor of its 50th anniversary, The Post has reprinted highlights from the section, including 2000 Criticism winner Henry Allen's 1988 evisceration of New Hampshire and 2006 Criticism winner Robin Givhan's analysis of "Dick Cheney, dressing down."
"The Perfect Time":
Federal employees will receive free admission to Washington's Newseum for the duration of the government shutdown. Founded by the Freedom Forum in 1997, the interactive museum has no operational ties to the government and "will remain open with normal business hours."
"A Lasting Institution":
Publisher's Weekly has acquired The Millions for an undisclosed price. "One of the last bastions of a once-thriving ecosystem of indie book blogging," the website’s staff reportedly is expected to remain the same, with editor Lydia Kiesling moving into a new role. "This move is great news for the site," Kiesling wrote, "which, like all sites of its kind, needs resources, not just the money kind (although definitely, extremely, also that kind) but infrastructure and people power."
Uncertainty:
The Federal Communications Commission plans to suspend "most operations by the middle of [Thursday]" due to the partial government shutdown. Although the agency's website "will still be available for many types of electronic filing," most proceedings (including a review of Nexstar Media Group's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media) will be indefinitely delayed.
"Just Find It Under My Byline":
Washington Post food writer Tim Carman has dropped the name of his "$20 Diner" column. "I hope to remove at least one possible stigma about the restaurants that I decide to cover: that they are somehow 'lesser' than the ones that might charge higher prices, have table service, offer a full bar or whatever confers prestige among diners," he said.
"Wish Me Luck":
In a resignation letter from NBC News's investigations unit, veteran national security reporter William Arkin condemned what he perceives as "perpetual war" and the "creeping fascism of homeland security" in the post-9/11 era. "There is lots of media critique out there, tons of analysis of leadership and the Presidency," he continued. "But on the state of our national security? Not so much." Arkin, who previously wrote for The Washington Post and Gawker, is currently working on several book projects.
"Mix of Perspectives":
Entertainment and media news site TheWrap has attained gender equity among its film critics. "I said that we wanted to make sure we walked the walk and set an example by our own actions," said founder Sharon Waxman. "We all know that having different a diverse set of views among writers creates a smarter, richer context for the discussion around our popular culture."
"Further Expansion":
Financial Times News Editor Peter Spiegel will succeed Gillian Tett as the newspaper's U.S. managing editor in April. Tett will remain with the publication as an editor-at-large, authoring two columns a week and chairing an American editorial board.
