Nick Bergus Thoughts on what media do, and can do better, and other things

When The Des Moines Register isn’t firing its high-profile staffers, they’re quitting. David Yepsen, the Register‘s senior political columnist, is expected to leave to become the director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, the paper reported. (The New York Times‘ political blog The Caucus sounds pretty convinced that that he [...]

And he has every right to be. Brian Duffy, recently laidoff cartoonist at the Register whose cartoons graced A1 for a couple decades, is pissed. And WHO, in true TV news fashion, is more than happy to play it big and dramatic.

Earlier this week, Gannett slashed at least 1,900 jobs by one tally. The Des Moines Register and the Iowa City Press-Citizen are among the Iowa newspapers Gannett owns and both saw layoffs; 41 at the Register and 11 at the Press-Citizen. Sure the economy is in bad shape, and newspapers have been shedding jobs everywhere, [...]