Entries Tagged 'Media' ↓

Police in New York City are investigating whether a car bomb found last night Times Square was targeted toward the makers of the South Park animated T.V. show over a controversial depiction of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed.

The device, which did not detonate, was found next to a Viacom media office. Viacom airs the cartoon series in the United Stats.

Last month, postings were found on an Islamic website that warned the creators of South Park - Matthew Stone and Trey Parker - that they could face violent actions after an episode of the show showed Mohammed in a bear suit.

The explosive device was found inside a green Nissan Pathfinder SUV, left with its engine on and hazard lights blinking at the intersection of 45th Street and Broadway.

A street vendor, who was a Vietnam veteran himself, told police about the car, because he saw smoke coming out of it.

U.S. newspaper publisher McClatchy, owner of the Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee and Anchorage Daily News, said today that it will be handing out 1,600 pink slips, affecting 15% of its workforce, in an attempt to deal with the stumbling economy and a drop in newspaper advertising revenues.

McClatchy has been under intense pressure to meet heavy debt payments from purchasing the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain back in 2006.

Job cuts will be realized through a severance program, attrition and outsourcing business functions, the company said in a statement.

The McClatchy publishing company, the nation’s third-largest newspaper corporation, will lay off 10% of its work force due to a downturn in the economy, according to The Wall Street Journal reports.

McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt called the cuts “painful” and said that “We’re taking this action to help ensure a healthy future for our company.”

The layoffs will effect about 1,400 employees and cut $70 million from its annual budget.

The announcement came after news that McClatchy’s advertising revenues fell 17% in May, leading to a company-wide revenue decline of 15%.