Tag Archives: economy

Central Park’s Tavern On The Green, the nation’s highest grossing and arguably most famous restaurant, will close tomorrow after 75 years in business. The former sheepfold at the edge of Central Park, now ringed by twinkling lights and fake topiary animals, is preparing for New Year’s Eve, when it will serve its last meal. Just three years ago, it was …

The woes of queer print media appear unending. Staffers of the long-running LGBT paper Chicago Free Press have quit because their salaries weren’t being paid. The art director, graphic designer and most of the writers at the Chicago Free Press left the gay publication Monday after the company stopped paying its employees, according to Matt Simonette, who also left his …

Citadel Broadcasting, the massive national radio network of over 200 stations, has filed for bankruptcy. Citadel syndicates wingnut Don Imus and some of its stations, such as flagship New York City-based WABC, are home to Rush Limbaugh. Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations, including KABC-AM in Los Angeles, WLS-AM in Chicago, WABC-AM and WPLJ-FM in New York and KGO-AM …

Via Los Angeles Times: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine today for leading the “most-powerful, least-understood government force shaping our lives,” Managing Editor Richard Stengel said. Bernanke, 56, was picked for his efforts to shepherd the U.S. out of the biggest economic slump since the Great Depression, Stengel said while announcing the …

The national ACLU organization has lost a quarter of its annual funding after a long-time anonymous donor withdrew his $20M yearly pledge due to financial difficulties. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the A.C.L.U., acknowledged in a written statement that a “family” had told the organization in September that it could not make its annual gifts, at least for next …

Greece is perilously close to defaulting on its debts, putting the solvency of the euro at risk as well. If no buyers can be found for its securities, Greece will have no choice but to declare insolvency — just as Mexico, Ecuador, Russia and Argentina have done in past decades. This puts Brussels in a predicament. European Union rules preclude …

Today Nielsen Business Media announced the sales of Billboard Magazine, Adweek, Brandweek, The Hollywood Reporter, and four other titles as well as their film industry conventions business. The new owner is a just formed media company called e5 Global Media Holdings. Not surviving the sale was the 125 year-old Editor & Publisher, the seemingly eternal watchdog of print journalism. From …

The wingnut/Moonie mouthpiece Washington Times is closing up shop as a “traditional” newspaper to reinvent itself as an opinion publication. Via Eric Boehlert at HuffPo: You’d think that somebody with a direct line to the Almighty, and tapped by Jesus to save mankind on Earth, would be able to come up with a better business plan for running a daily …

…on recruits with tattoos on their saluting arm. A ban that only lived for one week. Military chiefs have scrapped a ban on tattoos decorating the saluting arm of recruits joining the US air force, following a backlash among heavily inked young Americans signing up for duty. The air force recruiting service instituted a policy on 25 November prohibiting tattoos …

Sigh. Yet another LGBT bookstore bites the dust. Lambda Rising, a bookstore serving the LGBT community in the nation’s capital for 35 years, is closing its D.C. store in Dupont Circle and its remaining out-of-town store in Rehoboth Beach, Del., in January. The closings, announced Friday, mark the end of the city’s only exclusively LGBT bookstore and becomes another in …

The glittering city-state of Dubai, home to uncountable brand new skyscrapers and whimsical artificial islands, has asked for a six month reprieve on its $60B debt, sending the world’s markets into something of a tumble. Wall Street turned sharply lower at the open on Friday, as traders scrambled to play catch-up after sharp downturns in Asian and European markets over …

Here’s a grim indicator for Michigan. The Pontiac Silverdome, which when built was the largest NFL venue in the nation, has sold for 1% of its construction cost. In a stunning sign of the imploding economy, Detroit is selling its $56 million sports dome for a bargain basement $580,000. The 80,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome, once home to the Detroit Lions, went …

But they wouldn’t pay very much. Among regular Internet users in the United States, 48 percent said in the survey, conducted in October, that they would pay to read news online, including on mobile devices. That result tied with Britain for the lowest figure among nine countries where Boston Consulting commissioned surveys. In several Western European countries, more than 60 …

This weekend I noticed that the websites of the Washington Blade, Southern Voice, and several other titles published by Window Media had not been updated in a few days. Just now, Southern Voice posted this message to their Facebook fan page: With deepest regret, as editor of SoVo, I have to tell you that we arrived at the office to …

According to the 14th annual survey by the LGBT-focused Community Marketing, Inc, New York City remains the top choice for LGBT tourists. The reports notes that the poor economy has affected gay travel to most destinations in the last year. The top five: 1) New York2) Las Vegas3) San Francisco4) Los Angeles / West Hollywood5) Chicago Overall trends included:1) Due …

Beginning in February, Citibank will begin charging customers $7.50 each time their checking account balance dips below $1500. But they say that’s a reward, not a punishment. Penny-pinching Citibank will put the squeeze on small-fry customers, charging them up to $90 a year by demanding a fee every time their average monthly checking account balance sinks below $1,500. Starting in …

After a week of internet rumors and quasi-denials, Here Media CEO Paul Colichman has confirmed that The Advocate will now be shipped only in combination with sister publication Out Magazine, ending after 40+ years the stand-alone status of the nation’s most highly regarded LGBT news source. From Colichman’s letter published at Advocate.com yesterday: The recent closures of Gourmet, Portfolio, Genre, …

Jolt Cola, the 24 year-old product credited/blamed for creating the multi-billion dollar energy drink market, is going out of business. Pittsford-based Jolt Co. Inc. now seems likely to close, according to an attorney for the company, after a contentious attempt at reorganizing fell apart earlier this week. “The name will show up someplace else, but just that,” said William I. …