Trump, however, has since shot down that rumor, telling Talk1300 that he’s not actually allowed to announce such a thing during the show and he doesn’t know from where rumors to the contrary came.

That said, we’re pretty sure the public isn’t exactly wondering whether or not Trump will run:

There’s no doubt in my mind I want to run as a Republican. I’ve always felt that. Really, never wavered.

When shown poll results indicating Barack Obama’s huge numbers among the black community, Trump pointed out that, you know. He totally has black friends:

I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks. But unfortunately, it seems that, you know, the numbers you cite are very, very frightening numbers.

Interesting enough, we learned this from The Observer – which is owned by Jared Kushner, who happens to be married to The Donald’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.

h/t The Observer

NPR, for instance, noted that “The president’s struggle to quit has been a source of fascination to some since before he was elected.” To some? To everyone!

The Observer, meanwhile, issued a gentle wink, nudge to its readers by writing “This is breaking news.”

This, then, is the very essence of blogging about pop culture / politics / the media: Presenting news people don’t admit they want to read while pretending not to want to write about it. But, look at you: Not only do you now know that Obama hasn’t smoked in a year (ALLEGEDLY), but you also know how people in the media feel about having to write about it.

Don’t smoke, kids.

The news broke, fittingly, on The Observer website under “The Editors” byline:

“I am very excited to be working with Elizabeth to further build on the great progress we have made over the past few years. She will be instrumental in taking our print and online products to the next level,” said Observer owner Jared Kushner.

Spiers is the founder of Dead Horse Media, which created highly successful blog properties such as Dealbreaker, Above the Law and Fashionista. She has also served as founding editor of Gawker.com and editor in chief of mediabistro.com. On the print side she has been an editor at New York Magazine and a columnist with Fortune.

The paper’s outgoing editor in chief, Kyle Pope, will remain until the end of March, taking on a more advisory role.

Pareene is the latest in a succession of departures from Gawker in the past few months which began with now former Editor in Chief Gabriel Snyder being essentially fired when he decided not to accept another position to allow incoming Editor in Chief, Remy Stern to take his post. Nick Denton acquired Stern’s “Cityfile” at the same time he was anointed atop of the masthead of Gawker.com. Soon afterwards, weekend editor Foster Kamer followed Snyder out the door to take a position on the “Running Scared” blog for The Village Voice and later John Cook, who brought a solid investigative journalism angle to Gawker that it had been lacking for some time, left for a position as senior national reporter/blogger at Yahoo News.

What has caused the perceived exodus from Gawker? It seems like there is a lack of job security based on the fact that Snyder was let go despite impressive results during his tenure, increasing page views and uniques at a healthy clip. If Snyder could be fired even after doing everything asked of him, morale was sure to dip and perhaps caused others to seek more solid ground elsewhere. It doesn’t seem like a money play, as Gawker actually pays their contributors rather well, as I can attest myself as a one-time contributor. I can’t speak for those who left but I’m guessing this wasn’t the case, but could have been a factor.

A New York Magazine article detailing the arrival of Remy Stern alluded to the tension lingering around the Gawker office after Snyder’s dismissal.

“Nick’s lack of loyalty to those who build his sites and make him even richer is troubling, for those inside and outside the company,” said one Gawker Media editor. Another fretted about a consistent sentiment among the staff that even the strongest team members could be fired at any time.

Denton has always been a hands on boss, and getting too involved with the day to day operations could have caused some friction. Gawker is his baby and he has every right and duty to make sure it is being led in the direction he deems most appropriate, and in the past has proven he’s right when everyone else is scratching their heads. He sold off a number of Gawker properties in 2008 and streamlined his operations to prepare for a downswing in advertising business and was able to keep Gawker well into the black during a recession.

As we noted before the footprint of former Gawker staff in the NY media landscape is impressive, absurdly so when one also considers the scale of their influence. Staff turnover is nothing new in a business as itinerant as blogging, particularly at Gawker. And if this sudden change of staff is to be considered a storm, it’s certainly one that Denton has weathered before and come out stronger.

This article has been updated since initial publication.

Of course, we have no guarantees of what the future holds. But, anxiety-fed gossip nothwithstanding, there is no further newsroom staff cut planned or foreseen, no “next round” on the agenda. It is my fervent hope that we will never endure another month like this one. Indeed, while the business climate remains cloudy, there are some hopeful signs — in the heft of the paper, in the display ads on the website — that we are over the worst of the economic upheaval. The company is hard at work on some promising ways to boost revenues and get back on a path to growth. More to come.

The problem is, last year had a similar eulogy, as noted by NYT Picker:

No, I do not see another round of newsroom staff reductions on the horizon. In fact, we are entering into the budget discussions for 2009 with a determination — shared by Arthur and Scott — to protect the journalistic team that is the engine of our long-term success….What [the recession] will NOT mean, I most fervently hope, is a surrender to the short-sighted, serial staff cuts that have hollowed out some of the nation’s great news organizations.

Clearly, the economic downturn and subsequent business maneuvers are ultimately out of Keller’s control, but that doesn’t make being a Times employee any less stressful in these turbulent times. You can read the rest of Keller’s memo from this year here.

Keller: There Is ‘No Next Round’ of Layoffs [The Observer]

Sound Familiar? Executive Editor Bill Keller Says No More Newsroom Cuts “Planned Or Foreseen.” Just Like He Said Last Year. [NYT Picker]

Today, the day of reckoning is upon us as Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. have announced their plan to save the world, anti-trust laws be damned. (Let’s just assume their lawyers are better than ours.)

Here’s the prescription: all of the old white men from all of the companies will work together to “develop open standards” for a “digital storefront” — that is, or sounds like, the much ballyhooed iTunes for Magazines. Then comes the development of technology that will allow readers to “enjoy their favorite media content” on portable devices including phones, e-readers and laptops. From today’s press release:

The goal of this digital initiative is fourfold, to create: a highly featured common reading application capable of rendering the distinctive look and feel of each publication; a robust publishing platform optimized for multiple devices, operating systems and screen sizes; a consumer storefront offering an extensive selection of reading options; and a rich array of innovative advertising opportunities.

It’s as ambitious as ever, but when every competitor with money is all in, the risk is either enormous or nonexistent, depending on how you look at it. From a business standpoint, no company will likely be outdone by another because of the teamwork aspect. But if it fails, are we kissing magazines goodbye for good?

The project, as previously noted, will be headed by an interim leader, Time Inc.’s John Squires, who notes that “Once purchased, this content will be ‘unlocked’ for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime, on any platform.” It’s only the purchasing that sounds problematic, considering magazine websites can already be accessed “anywhere, anytime” on cell phones, computers, readers and even mp3 players. For free. But hopefully, the technological firepower this group will have at its disposal will work to improve on the current e-iterations we have. If it’s out there, this supergroup plans to perfect it.

And what of the money?

Advertisers will be able to utilize innovative formats that benefit from the highly engaging, interactive nature of this new medium. In addition to entirely new magazine and newspaper reading experiences, content selections may ultimately include books, comic books, blogs and other media.

Enjoy the free blogs while they last.

The full release is below:

LEADING PUBLISHERS FORM VENTURE TO OFFER CONSUMERS
NEW DIGITAL STOREFRONT AND PORTABLE READING EXPERIENCE

Initiative Will also Offer Marketers Rich Array of Innovative Advertising Opportunities

New York, NY, December 8, 2009 – Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. today jointly announced that they have entered into an independent venture to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and related technology that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite media content on portable digital devices.

The goal of this digital initiative is fourfold, to create: a highly featured common reading application capable of rendering the distinctive look and feel of each publication; a robust publishing platform optimized for multiple devices, operating systems and screen sizes; a consumer storefront offering an extensive selection of reading options; and a rich array of innovative advertising opportunities.

Beyond the publications of the equity partners, the venture will welcome other publishers to offer their content via this new digital platform. Publishers will derive revenue from content and advertising sales, as well as from print subscriptions.

“For the consumer, this digital initiative will provide access to an extraordinary selection of engaging content products, all customized for easy download on the device of their choice, including smartphones, e-readers and laptops,” explained John Squires, the venture’s interim managing director. “Once purchased, this content will be ‘unlocked’ for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime, on any platform.”

For publishers and advertisers, the venture will offer an attractive, cost-efficient, consumer-focused environment. Advertisers will be able to utilize innovative formats that benefit from the highly engaging, interactive nature of this new medium. In addition to entirely new magazine and newspaper reading experiences, content selections may ultimately include books, comic books, blogs and other media.

For the hardware, software and retail industries, the initiative will provide dynamic new business opportunities by organizing a library of quality content with a common format and technical specifications. The venture partners represent an unduplicated audience of 144.6 million according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI). By the end of 2010, Forrester Research estimates that 10 million e-readers will be sold in the U.S., and according to m:Metrics (comScore), there will be over 50 million smartphones in the U.S. by the end of 2010.

Some of the biggest rivals in magazine publishing are close to a deal that would combine their forces in an effort to resuscitate a dying print industry. Titans of the media world — including Condé Nast, Heart and Time Inc. — are working to form an alliance that would recreate magazines for a digital age, in a plan that includes new mobile iterations sold in an iTunes-like store, as well as print magazines, according a report in The Observer. It’s like a publisher’s version of Voltron.

That means most of the country’s largest, most influential magazines — People, Time, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker — all in one place, so desperate to survive this Great Print Depression that one group no longer believes they can provide the fix that will put them ahead of their peers. The only way we’ll get out of this, they seem to be saying, is if we all pour every resource into the reinvention of a medium. Together.

Leaked Time Inc. memos hinted at such a supergroup back in September, revealing the consideration of an alliance to compete with devices like Amazon’s Kindle. “Handwritten notes indicate Time Inc. executives have discussed the new venture with other magazine publishers, including Conde Nast, Meredith, and Hearst,” reported one source.

Now, the deal is “imminent.” In his piece, Observer media maven John Koblin reveals Time Inc.’s John Squires as the interim chief of the project, charged with “generating interest” and insisting publishers “pull together.” The anonymous sources Koblin uses to bolster his case seem optimistic, but cautious and vague:

“The really, really hard part is that you’ve got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want.”

And though Squires refused to comment for the piece, Koblin added relevant quotes past interviews with the Time Inc. digital futurist:

“With magazines, the form has to change,” [Squires] continued. “All I’m saying is that there are ways to design magazines differently for that kind of experience that’ll be attractive and will feel different to a consumer.”

It smells too big to fail, but is the innovation there? If the names being tossed around are a proper indication, money won’t be an issue, but as a consumer, you’re left waiting, hoping the ideas will follow.

• A funny take on a party we missed last night (thrown by my old co-worker). For advertising and drinking fans alike (SK).

• Inside the decision-making process Arthur Ochs LOLzberger, Jr.’s uses to build the front page on NYTimes.com (AC).

• Recession-busting Utah caveman chic is sooo in right now (JB).

• NYT Magazine feature about Obama ‘consigliere’ Valerie Jarrett: “If you want him to do something … there are two people he’s not going to say no to: Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama” (ZT).

• Pultizer-winning White House photographer Edmonds, who got shots of Reagan assassination attempt, to retire: “I have been lucky enough to win a couple of small awards for my work. But perhaps one of the most rewarding still was when my daughter Ashley came home from elementary school one day and announced that she was so proud, because that day she was able to raise her hand and tell the teacher that the picture on the front of her Weekly Reader was taken by her dad.”