April Fools’ Poetry: The New York Times turns run-of-the-mill articles into brilliant haikus.

[via]

New Era For Outsports

Who kidnapped Outsports and what have you done with them? If you are wondering what happened to a site that has looked pretty much the same since the mid-2000s, it’s the end of an era. Outsports has been sold and we now have a new look. We couldn’t be more excited.

Outsports has been purchased by Vox Media, which publishes SBNation.com and its 320 fan-focused and team oriented sports blogs along with tech/culture site The Verge and gaming site Polygon. Outsports will now be a part of SB Nation. Cyd and Jim are still running the site and we have editorial control. Vox gives us the technical resources and reach that we were sorely missing being independently owned. We think this might be the first time a mainstream media company has purchased a gay-oriented website. 

If you are not familar with SB Nation sites, it’s known for being a community. Each blog is focused on a particular sports team or sport and Outsports is a great fit. Since we launched in late 1999, our readers have been our No. 1 asset, engaging us, praising us, criticizing us, but never ignoring us. This passion the Outsports audience has was a major selling point for Vox.

While we will continue to produce stories and commentary on the issues of gays in sports, it will come in a nice, new package. We finally have a layout worthy of the current year, not 10 years ago. We invite you to explore the site, poke around and check it out. 

Fed-up Reporter Gives Honest Weather Report

The New New Republic. 

What impression do you want readers to walk away with after seeing the new logo?

Creative Director Dirk Barnett: That we are a must-read brand. Obviously it goes beyond the logo to communicate that, but as soon as we designed our first covers with it, we knew we had something vital. And energetic! One of the underlying principles of our redesign philosophy is to bring a new level of energy to the brand.

[more of that interview] [the new republic tumblr]

futurejournalismproject:

New York Times Staffers Stage Walkout Over Contract Negotiations

Huffington Post with the story.

For background, see Jim Romenesko here and here.

One of the oddities is that the Times, after working to combine its print and digital operations, is proposing separate contracts for print and digital reporters.

In a memo to colleagues, the Newspaper Guild at the New York Times writes, “Any proposal to dismantle the decade of work that has been done to unify the newsroom, securing its place as the world’s premier news organization, could be laughed off as far-fetched legal gimmickry. After all, that would be an act of self-immolation. But even if it’s not worth serious consideration, it has landed just we are heading at full speed toward a crisis over genuine issues like our pay and benefits.”