Lemann to Step Down as Dean of Journalism School at Columbia

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

Nicholas Lemann, the dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, who led the program through a turbulent decade as digital media forced sweeping changes in the industry, is stepping down at the end of the academic year. The university is expected to officially announce his departure on Wednesday morning.

In an unusual move, the university president, Lee C. Bollinger, said he would actively help choose a replacement. Normally in searches for new deans, Mr. Bollinger has a committee submit three candidates. But because journalism is in such a transitional phase, he will chair the search committee himself.

He said in an interview that his expertise in the First Amendment and his background as the son of a newspaper owner convinced him to be part of that decision.

“We do not know how journalism is going to evolve,” he said. “You need someone to highly attuned to that. Developing our great school of journalism, which is clearly the best in the world, so that it remains a vital professional school, is not only crucial to Columbia, but to the broader society.”

Mr. Lemann became the head of the journalism school in 2003 after a search that Mr. Bollinger briefly suspended so that the university could rethink the school's mission and curriculum. In his tenure there, Mr. Lemann was involved with bringing in 20 new staff members and introducing a second more specialized masters program.

He also helped elevate the school's fund-raising program, which lagged behind Columbia's other professional schools. Mr. Lemann has helped raise $167 million for the school to finance a new student center, pay for scholarships and restore parts of its existing building.

Mr. Lemann said that he still plans to teach at Columbia's journalism school and write for The New Yorker. He said that when he takes sabbatical next year, he hopes to make progress on a new book. He emphasized that he was not leaving because he was unhappy, but because his job is measured in five-year appointments and he was not ready to serve a third term.

“I decided to stop at 10 years rather than try to serve 15 years,” said Mr. Lemann. “That seems like a nice note to leave on.”

Mr. Bollinger said that he expects Mr. Lemann's replacement to have an appreciation for digital media, but he predicts the next dean will not come from purely a new media background.

“I think we all know the way to create serious journalism is now more open to the uses of images and means of communication other than the printed word,” he said. “At the end of the day, in all honesty, it will probably favor the written word.”

In New York, Another Setback for Rock Radio

By BEN SISARIO

Once again, rock radio has been dealt a blow in New York.

The news that CBS Radio is buying the 101.9 FM frequency for a simulcast of WFAN, its popular AM sports station, means that the last commercial station playing contemporary rock in New York will disappear. WFAN-FM is to take the place of WEMP later this fall.

There is still classic rock, on WAXQ (known as Q104.3). A handful of rock stations in neighboring areas, like WHDA in New Jersey, reach parts of the city. Noncommercial stations like WFUV also play some rock in addition to other music. But with the loss of WEMP, the city will have no rock station, as defined by the ratings service Arbitron - which includes playing new songs.

Not that rock had been holding much of a healthy place in New York, anyway. Until last summer, 101.9 FM was WRXP, an alternative rock station that had struggled to establish a local identity. In August 2011, after a sale to Merlin M edia, the frequency switched over - or “flipped,” as they say in radio - to news, but by July 2012 it had come back to rock. The latest change will be the station's third format flip in about 15 months.

Rock stations around the country have been suffering for a decade, a symptom of rock's fading popularity as well as the rise of a more dance-oriented sound on the Top 40 (Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna).

In the mid-2000s, a clutch of rock stations around the country changed. Recently rock stations in Atlanta and Boston have flipped to formats that play a variety of pop and rock hits - a sound that is sometimes called adult hits, and has been likened to an iPod on shuffle.

The Movement to Put Utility Payments on Credit Reports

By ANN CARRNS

It sounds like a good way to help consumers who lack full credit reports, or any credit report at all: Report their utility payments to credit bureaus, to help them develop credit files.

Currently, most gas and electric utilities don't report most consumer payments to credit bureaue. They typically report only extremely delinquent accounts that they have written off as uncollectable, rather than those that are merely late or those that are paid on time.

But proponents of full utility reporting argue that giving consumers credit for on-time payments can help them develop a credit file and a credit score, which can be key to economic advancement. Supporters include United States Representative Jim Renacci, who has co-sponsored a bill (H.R. 6363) that he says promotes reporting of on-time utility payments. “Those who have yet to gain credit should be able to use all of the tools available to them to establish their credit worthiness,” he said in a statement announcing the measure.

The problem, a group of consumer advocates say, is that broader reporting of utility payments to credit bureaus may actually hurt the records of lower-income consumers, who are more likely to pay bills like those for gas and electric service late as they struggle to make ends meet. The advocates, led by the National Consumer Law Center, outlined their concerns recently in testimony before Congress and in a letter to Mr. Renacci.

The concern, says John Howat, a lawyer with the consumer law center, is that there is a gap between the number of accounts that are just in arrears, but that are likely to eventually be paid, and those that are written off as not collectible. If those accounts that are simply late were to be reported too, they would likely have a negative effect on the consumer's credit.

“The number of accounts that are written off and stay disconnected is t iny, compared to the number where they're a little bit late,” he said, citing in part an analysis of publicly available utility data from the state of Iowa.

(While proponents of the bill argue that it gives credit for on-time payments, Mr. Howat says the bill's language, which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, doesn't restrict the additional reporting to “positive” payments, but would allow reporting of late payments, too.)

Lower-income people, especially those in areas where bills fluctuate greatly from season to season, are more likely to get behind on their bills, Mr. Howat said. Most states have restrictions preventing utility shutoff for bills that are in arrears.

People in the Northeast, for instance, may fall behind in the winter, but then they catch up on payments when the weather warms and their monthly bills drop. “Particularly in households where there isn't enough income, for a whole range of reasons, to pay for necessities, the y may be a little bit late but they do ultimately catch up,” he said.

The center wouldn't oppose offering full utility reporting on an optional basis, he said. “If the objective is really to build credit histories for people who have no file, or thin files, let them opt in,” he said.

Would you opt-in to having all of your utility payments reported to credit bureaus? Do you think it would help or hurt your credit score?

\'SpongeBob\' and Others Come to Hulu

By BRIAN STELTER

Nickelodeon shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “iCarly” are coming to Hulu, the streaming TV Web site, for the first time.

In a pact announced Tuesday by Nickelodeon's owner, Viacom, episodes of selected shows will be accessible to subscribers of Hulu's paid service, Hulu Plus. The episodes will show up online three weeks after they first appear on television.

The Nickelodeon shows are an addition to a pre-existing distribution deal between Viacom and Hulu. The deal, announced early last year, instituted the same three-week delay for shows like MTV's “Jersey Shore” and TV Land's “Hot in Cleveland.” Since then, though, some shows have been removed from Hulu Plus completely. Searches for “Jersey Shore,” for instance, now refer users to MTV's own site, where episodes are still available.

In making their announcement on Tuesday, the two companies acknowledged the changes by saying, “The avai lability of Viacom content on Hulu Plus varies on a show-by-show basis.”

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” remain the two shows that are available on Hulu free the day after their premieres on television.

Viacom said the streaming Nickelodeon shows will include, along with “SpongeBob” and “iCarly,” “Big Time Rush,” “Victorious,” “How to Rock” and “Supah Ninjas.” Five episodes of each will be available to Hulu Plus subscribers on a delayed basis.

Nickelodeon has suffered some TV ratings weakness in the past years. Some Viacom analysts have wondered whether the weakness was attributable, in part, to the online availability of Nickelodeon shows. But Viacom executives (and other analysts) have played down that possibility.

Online streams, when delayed by three weeks, might instead be a promotional platform for the TV premieres, thus increasing ratings: Viacom and Hulu said Tuesday that the new Nickelodeon page on Hulu Plus would “feature tune-in information and promotional elements to drive viewership of Nickelodeon's on-air lineup.”

The Nickelodeon episodes are available on Hulu Plus right away. Down the road the service will also add episodes of shows from Viacom's bilingual cable channel for Latinos, Tr3s. The two companies declined to comment on the financial terms of the pact.

Jack Welch Will Stop Writing for Fortune

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

Even corporate titans have feelings too.

Jack Welch, the former chief executive of General Electric, said Tuesday he said he would no longer write for Fortune Magazine, after Fortune produced coverage that was critical of his comments last Friday about the monthly jobs report. The report showed the unemployment rate dipping below 8 percent for the first time since January 2009, and Mr. Welch suggested on Twitter that the Obama administration had manipulated the numbers to help the president's re-election campaign.

“Unbelievable jobs numbers. these Chicago guys will do anything. can't debate so change numbers,” Mr. Welch tweeted.

Those comments managed to gain some traction on the Web among some conservatives, but also came under widespread attack and even ridicule from economists and the financial media, some of whom argued that Mr. Welch's comments were just plain wrong. And the critics included Fortun e, its managing editor, Andy Serwer, and CNN Money, which shares content with Fortune.com.

In a story that Fortune posted online this afternoon, Stephen Gandel wrote that on Monday morning Mr. Serwer went on “Morning Joe” and disputed Mr. Welch's contention about job manipulation. Early on Tuesday morning, Fortune.com posted a story highlighting the fact that General Electric shed some 100,000 jobs during Mr. Welch's two-decade leadership.

By breakfast time, Mr. Welch had had enough. In an e-mail Mr. Welch sent to Mr. Serwer, as well as Steve Adler of Reuters, and that Fortune posted on its Web site, Mr. Welch said he and his wife Suzy would no longer contribute to Fortune or Reuters. He said that on Wednesday he would have an article in The Wall Street Journal instead.

“It's just a better platform for us than Reuters or Fortune,” he wrote. “So effective today, we're terminating our contract.”

In a Fire Sale, Penske Media Buys Variety

By BROOKS BARNES

LOS ANGELES â€" In a show of new media force, the owner of a collection of entertainment news blogs said on Tuesday that it had completed a deal to buy the venerable Variety for about $25 million.

Penske Media, which owns sites like Deadline.com, a ferocious breaker of movie and television news, teamed with the hedge fund Third Point to make the purchase from Variety's British owner, Reed Elsevier.

The deal was essentially a fire sale. Peter Bart, who remade Variety as its editor and remains a vice- resident and editorial director, noted that the paper at one point “was doing so well that Reed turned down a couple of offers of between $300 million and $350 million.”

This time around, bidders included the billionaire Ron Burkle and Avenue Capital, which controls the National Enquirer.

Penske intends to continue to operate Variety, which has a staff of about 120, and Deadline, with fewer than a dozen, as distinct publications, although some staff members, including the Deadline founder Nikki Finke, may contribute to both. Variety has about 28,000 daily subscribers, according to the research firm BPA Worldwide.

Variety.com has about 320,000 monthly unique visitors, according to ComScore; Deadline has about 2.4 million.

Variety, with its tongue-twister headlines and florid green masthead, was once Hollywood's bible, a must read every morning for the lowliest of agency assistants and the mightiest of moguls. Studios, campaigning for Oscars or Emmys, spent lavishly on ads. For generations, Variety's critics had a clout that far outweighed their number of readers, providing early readings on films and Broadway shows to powerful industry insiders.

But the trade newspaper has been dying a slow death for at least a decade, bleeding from layoffs, vanishing advertisers and sharply diminished relevance in a media hierarchy now dominated b y Deadline and a rejuvenated Hollywood Reporter. Variety still lands scoops, but even some major producers no longer subscribe to the newspaper's daily print edition. Variety.com operates behind a pay wall known for infuriating log-in glitches.

To some degree, Variety's problems are the same as any newspaper these days: digital delivery is becoming more vital but doesn't generate enough money to pay the bills. But Variety has deeper problems. Movie and television companies - making fewer films, battling a sharp decline in DVD sales, watching digital video recorders erode ad sales - have been slashing trade ads.

Moreover, there is a nettlesome big picture question: Does Variety's style of classic trade publishing still serve a need? The newspaper's bread-and-butter news (casting decisions, ratings and box office analysis, agent comings and goings) has become ubiquitous and free across the Web, offered by sites like Deadline, Hollywood.com, TMZ.com, theWrap.com and IndieWire.com.

Variety has also retained a benign quality in its coverage - it is reliant on studios for its livelihood, after all - that Web rivals have exploited.

The Hollywood Reporter, once an also-ran competitor, almost vanished a few years ago but found a way to survive by transforming itself into a glossy weekly magazine. The revamped Reporter, owned by e5 Global Media and edited by Janice Min, is a hit with readers and not only because it looks pretty. Ms. Min has delivered a more relevant, provocative style of journalism, albeit one heavily reliant on anonymous sources.

Variety, founded 107 years ago, has been owned by Reed Elsevier, a Dutch and British conglomerate, since 1987. Reed previously sought to sell Variety and a cluster of other trade publications in 2008, but was unable to find a buyer, in part because of that year's financial crisis.

Neil Stiles, Variety's president, has successfully buttressed the newspaper with side businesses like databases and conferences. But Mr. Stiles, a British import, has also made questionable decisions that were unpopular in Hollywood and resulted in a deeply demoralized staff, like the 2010 cost-cutting move to lay off two of Variety's most prominent critics. Both started writing for Ms. Min in short order.

Mr. Stiles, who oversaw the sale, will leave the paper.

NBC News Names New \'Rock Center\' Producer

October 9, 2012, 12:18 pm

By BRIAN STELTER

NBC News on Tuesday named a new producer of “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” its one-year-old newsmagazine, and promoted several other executives in a restructuring of sorts.

The founding executive producer of “Rock Center,” Rome Hartman, will be replaced by Alex Wallace, the top deputy of Steve Capus, the NBC News president.

Rumors of an impending change have swirled for several weeks. On Tuesday, Mr. Capus indicated in an internal memo that Mr. Hartman would not be leaving the network: “In the short term, I've asked Rome to work with Mark Lukasiewicz and the NBC News Special unit on Decision 2012. In the long term, I will be turning to Rome to contribute to a number of key NBC News str ategic initiatives.”

Along with day-to-day responsibility for “Rock Center,” Ms. Wallace will oversee Ann Curry's new production unit and the news division's health initiatives.

“Alex has helped me guide this News division through countless challenges with a positive energy, creative approach and dedication,” Mr. Capus wrote. “She will do great work along with Brian Williams, David Corvo and the talented Rock Center team.”

Mr. Capus will have a new top deputy, Antoine Sanfuentes, who has been the news division's Washington bureau chief since last year. Mr. Sanfuentes will move to New York and oversee “NBC Nightly News,” investigative reporting, and partnerships with other parts of the company. He'll continue to oversee the Washington bureau, though Ken Strickland will become the bureau chief.

Visualizing the Impact of C.D. Laddering

October 9, 2012, 11:50 am

By ANN CARRNS

With interest rates on savings accounts still anemic, considering a so-called ladder of certificate of deposits might make sense. Ally Bank has started an online tool with interactive graphics that helps savers visualize the laddering process and its potential financial benefits.

Say you have a lump of cash that you've saved, perhaps $50,000 for an emergency fund, and you want to keep it in a low-risk, F.D.I.C. insured account. But you also want to maximize your interest rate, and you don't want to risk having to pay a fat penalty if you need some of your money.

Instead of putting the entire amount in a one-year C.D., you might divide the amount into five equal pots of $10,000 each and put it into sepa rate, progressively longer-term certificates. The first pot goes into a one year C.D., the second into a two-year C.D., the third into a three-year and so on. (Longer-term certificates generally carry higher interest rates.)

When the one-year C.D. comes due, you roll it into a five-year C.D. (or whatever the longest term is that you've bought already). After five years, all the C.D.s will be for the same term, but you'll have access to at least part of your money every 12 months.

With Ally's tool, you enter the amount you have to deposit, and the tool walks you through the process of laddering. One drawback is that the tool uses Ally's current (albeit competitive) interest rates (1.04 percent annual percentage yield on a one-year C.D and 1.69 percent A.P.Y. on a five-year C.D.). You can't plug in rates you find elsewhere. But the tool does help you to clearly see the impact of laddering. You could print out your example and go compari son shopping.

For example, the tool calculates that if you have $50,000 to deposit over five years, using the bank's current rates, you'll come out an estimated $1,600 ahead by laddering than if you simply put the money in a one-year C.D. and renew it annually. (The example assumes, however, that the rates on the C.D.'s stay the same as you renew). The impact is less striking over a shorter period, because the rates on the C.D.'s are lower; the difference for a three-year laddering plan using $30,000, for instance, is an estimated $610.

Do you think laddering C.D.'s makes sense?

NPR Appoints Executive from \'Morning Edition\' to Oversee All News Coverage

October 9, 2012, 11:10 am

By BRIAN STELTER

NPR on Tuesday promoted Madhulika Sikka, the executive producer of “Morning Edition” for the last six years, to a position overseeing all news coverage for the organization.

Ms. Sikka will be executive editor of the newsroom, a position held until last year by Dick Meyer, who is now the head of BBC News America. The appointment was announced by Margaret Low Smith, the senior vice president of NPR News, who was named to that post earlier this year.

With the promotion on Tuesday, “NPR has now filled each of the top leadership posts that opened in the past two years,” the news organization noted in a blog post.

Ms. Sikka, who joined NPR in 2006 from the ABC News program “Nightline,” r evitalized “Morning Edition,” the widest-reaching news program on public radio. She'll start the transition to her new job this fall and formally take over in January.

Tracy Wahl, a supervising producer, will be the morning show's acting executive producer while NPR conducts a search for Ms. Sikka's permanent replacement.

Ms. Smith also named a business editor for NPR News on Tuesday, Neal Carruth. He currently runs the news organization's election coverage and will take over the business desk in December.

The Breakfast Meeting: Dunham Book Deal and Girls Who Like Steak

By THE EDITORS

Lena Dunham, the creator of “Tiny Furniture” and “Girls,” has signed a book deal worth at least $3.5 million with Random House, where executives are clearly hoping to have another “Bossypants” on their hands. The tentative title is “Not That Kind of Girl.”

A new marketing campaign is aimed at perhaps a different kind of girl â€" the one who could really use a good steak. Ruth's Chris Steak House, the Florida-based restaurant chain is trying to lure women in its dark-paneled environs with a series of ads and sponsored meetings in collaboration with Marie Claire magazine. “It's like learning golf,” said Joanna Coles, Marie Claire's former editor in chief. “Every now and then you have to suck it up and be where the boys are.”

The Baton Rouge Advocate, which announced a New Orleans edition to capitalize on the reduced schedule of The Times-Picayune, is having trouble keeping up with demand. The paper already has 10,000 subscribers and The Advocate is struggling to deliver to many of those on time.

NBC has announced it will indefinitely delay the premiere of its cult-favorite, “Community,” which was scheduled to begin on Oct. 19. The decision leaves fans with nothing to do until the “Arrested Development” movie is released.

Nearly 400 Newspaper Guild employees of The New York Times held a brief walkout in New York Monday with about 20 doing likewise at the paper's Washington bureau. The guild has been in protracted negotiations with management over a new contract but the two sides are still far apart on wages and benefits. The talks resume Tuesday.

Tuesday Reading: Some Doctors Text Their Teenage Patients

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.