Superman is currently atop the statue of George Washington in Union Square. And it appears that he needs a man bun. Twitter users and our handy police blotter note that a large crowd has gathered around Superman, who may or may not be shouting something about freeing humanity. Oh get a job, Superman! We know print media's in a tough spot right now but if you send your resume to BuzzFeed Ben he may bite. more ›

After a CBS Sports college football blog reported that Penn State coaching legend was dead, many believed that the 85-year-old, who is battling lung cancer from a hospital room, had passed. But his family said, actually, no, JoePa is alive. His son Scott Paterno Tweeted, "CBS report is wrong - Dad is alive but in serious condition. We continue to ask for your prayers and privacy during this time." more ›

Was the New York Times' precious email list of subscribers just hacked? Are you and your children safe from "hackers" who will try to "hack" away at your "cyber limbs" until you bleed binary code? When will we finally stop trusting the Times and just succumb to the warm, hermetic embrace of News Corp? An email that lots of important people received today from "nytimes@email.newyorktimes.com" told them they had cancelled their home delivery subscription, even if they hadn't, and urged them to reconsider. Via Twitter, the New York Times denies sending it, and calls it a "spam message." Can you win a Pulitzer for "Most Polite, Grammatically Correct Spam email?" more ›

After over a hundred Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in the atrium of the World Financial Center, the NYPD ordered them to disperse, and arrested 17 of them for failing to comply. A video of the incident also shows Robert Stolarik, a credentialed photographer working for the New York Times, having his shot blocked repeatedly by NYPD officers. Now, another video has surfaced showing the NYPD arresting a man who appears to be protester Justin Wedes as he passively stands and films the police ordering protesters to leave. more ›

The "godfather" of modern newspaper design, Louis Silverstein, died yesterday at 92. Among his accomplishments: Introducing white space, using allegorical and metaphorical art, and changing the Times from eight columns to six. more ›

Journalists widely reported being kept from last week's NYPD raid of Zuccotti Park. 10 reporters have been arrested in New York since the protests began, and several have claimed that they were injured by NYPD officers while on the job. In response, New York Times Company Vice President and Assistant General Counsel George Freeman has written a letter to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne condemning the actions of the police and requesting an "immediate meeting" with Browne and Commissioner Ray Kelly. It is signed by representatives from the New York Post, the Daily News, NBC, the Associated Press, and Dow Jones among others. more ›

Stupid "best of" listicles: they're the bread and butter of the blog world, especially in NYC, where we have so much best of everything. And every blogger knows that just tossing the word "Best" into a headline is guaranteed to make it rain page views. (cf. 10 Best "Sasha Grey Reads To Kids" Twitter Jokes.) But the SEO gravy train could be grinding to a halt if the Village Voice prevails in a lawsuit against Time Out, over the magazine's "Best of NYC" issue. more ›

Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio "The Knight" Berlusconi has resigned shortly following the passage of a budget designed to pull the country from the brink of financial disaster. According to Reuters, demonstrators have gathered at President Giorgio Napolitano's residence in Rome and are loudly heckling him with shouts of "resign" and "clowns"—one reporter on the scene notes that she has "never seen anything like this." more ›

Here's an amusing parody about how different media outlets come up with new headlines for the myriad Occupy Wall Street articles that must be churned out on a daily basis. Our favorite is probably the NY Post newsroom's process, which involves a lot of gibberish, rhyming and alliteration. Oh, and the Huffington Post, where an editor asks what the New York Times went with, and decides, "Yeah, just go with that but with a bigger font." more ›

After an initial period of indifference, the media—both professional and amateur—have swarmed Zuccotti Park to cover the Occupy Wall Street protests. Most are sincere, while a few show up with the goal of poking fun at the demonstrators. But yesterday two men brandishing a video camera and a microphone approached attendees in the park for interviews, telling them they were with The New York Daily News. A Daily News employee snapped their photo and confronted the impostors. more ›

Willow the cat continued her media tour of adorableness by speaking to additional media outlets after her Today Show appearance yesterday. The feline, who went missing from her Colorado home five years ago only to be dropped off at a Manhattan animal shelter last week (it's believed Willow was chilling in Brooklyn these past years), was reunited with her Colorado humans, thanks to the microchip the Squires family placed in her. more ›

After the NY Post compared the stock market's volatility to a hooker's panties on its front page, the Daily News is now wading into the muck. Literally, with a photograph of the Bowling Green bull statue's butt next to a worker sweeping the ground and the word "CRAPS!" underneath. Well, the Dow did fall 519 points yesterday... but couldn't the News have just Photoshopped the bull's balls blue? more ›

While nothing has been officially announced, conventional wisdom—or at least media gossip—says that the Rev. Al Sharpton will be hosting the 6 p.m. hour of MSNBC. Which now means donations that Comcast (which owns NBC, MSNBC) made to Sharpton's organization, National Action Network, and his lobbying on behalf of the cable provider look at least a little interesting. more ›

When Joel "Numbnuts" Klein left his position as New York City's school chancellor last fall to become a senior VP at News Corp's reeducation eduction division, he "seemed happier than ever before." According to the Times, Klein received $4.5 million in compensation this year, gets a monthly car allowance of $1,200, and Rupert Murdoch promised to spend up to $1 billion on the newly formed educational wing of News Corp to fund Klein's visions. But thanks to the phone-hacking scandal that is tearing through Murdoch's media empire, Klein is charged with conducting an internal investigation of News Corp. "I am trying to get as far away from this as I can," he reportedly told a friend. more ›

No stranger to controversy, the Reverend Al Sharpton looks he'll be like the newest member of MSNBC's left-leaning talk show crew. Last week, TV Newser reported that Sharpton, filling in for usual 6 p.m. host Cenk Uygur, had higher ratings in a key demographic and now the NY Times says, "Mr. Sharpton’s imminent hiring, which was acknowledged by three people at the channel on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed, is significant in part because MSNBC and other news channels have been criticized for a paucity of minority hosts in prominent time slots." more ›

Former News of the World reporter and News Corp whistleblower Sean Hoare was found dead at his home earlier today. In an investigation last year of the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corp, Hoare told the New York Times that Prime Minister David Cameron's aide and former editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, "was fully aware of the hacking" that was going on at the tabloid. The Guardian reports that the police are stating that Hoare's death is "being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious." more ›

Rebekah Brooks, who resigned leading from News Corp's British newspaper division on Friday, was arrested today over her role in the company's growing phone-hacking scandal. And the British authorities arrested her "by appointment" at a London police station. more ›

Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News Corp.'s British newspaper division, resigned today as the phone hacking scandal fallout continues to boil in the United Kingdom and has started to simmer in the U.S. The departure of Brooks, who was once the editor of now-closed tabloid The News of the World whose reporters allegedly hacked the phones of celebrities, politicians, murder victims, dead soldiers, and, possibly, 9/11 victims, as well as bribed police, is called a "another stunning blow to [Rupert] Murdoch’s once all-powerful empire" by the NY Times. And Times competitor, the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal, reports, "Ms. Brooks's resignation is the latest development in what has been a dramatic series of events." more ›

The increasingly sensational scandal enveloping media mogul Rupert Murdoch just made it all the way to the F.B.I. The AP reports, and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal confirms, that the feds have launched an investigation into whether The News of the World tried to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims. The probe was launched this morning, a day after Rep. Peter King joined Democrats in calling for an investigation. Jim McCaffrey, a firefighter who lost his brother-in-law Orio Palmer, also a firefighter, on 9/11, told The Guardian, "If these claims are found to be true I think it's a terrible revelation and very, very upsetting to 9/11 family members." more ›

News Corp.'s British phone hacking scandal, which has revolted Britain and the world with revelations that tabloid reporters hacked the phones of murder victims, and possibly 9/11 victims, as well as politicians and celebrities, is now at the government "contempt" stage: Because chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, who heads the conglomerate's British newspaper division, have refused to come before Parliament to answer lawmakers' questions, the media executives have now been issued summons to appear or else they will be held in contempt. And now American lawmakers, including Republican Congressman Peter King, wants the FBI to investigate! more ›

A phone hacking scandal—which has mushroomed from hacking celebrities' cell phones to revelations that murder victims' and dead soliders' phone were also hacked and cops were paid off—at a Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid, News of the World, has proven so troubling that the weekly will shut down after Sunday. News International announced the impending closure today, and chairman James Murdoch, Rupert's son, said the proceeds from the final issue would go to good causes. more ›

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy is friends with Dominique Strauss-Kahn. When Strauss-Kahn was arrested in May, Lévy complained about his treatment, "I resent the New York tabloid press, a disgrace to the profession, that, without the least precaution and before having effected the least verification, has depicted Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a sicko, a pervert, borderlining on serial killer, a psychiatrist’s dream" and also got the Daily Show treatment. And now, with Strauss-Kahn's release, Lévy has some thoughts about the latest turn of events. more ›

The unionized staff at the Village Voice won't be striking, after all. Earlier this week, we reported that staffers were poised to strike over a contract dispute, with employee health benefits being one of the largest issues. Today there's word from both sides that an agreement has almost been reached. more ›

Time magazine's editor-at-large and political analyst Mark Halperin appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe, where he called President Obama a "dick." And now he feels bad! Halperin Tweeted, "I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President and the viewers of Morning Joe.My remark was not funny.I deeply regret it." Ahh, the lamestream media. more ›

Union staff members at The Village Voice are ready and prepared to strike as their contract nears its deadline on June 30th. Today, staffers announced an alternative site, The Real Voice, where they plan to continue writing without management from Village Voice Media. We spoke to a Voice staffer and strike organizer about the situation. more ›