Employees at the Delaware County Daily Times and other JRC newspapers were mailed warning letters this week in conjunction with the pending asset sale of its parent company, Journal Register Co. Additionally, newsroom employees at the Daily Times received an additional letter by email Sunday instructing them they will need to reapply for their positions starting March 1. The Daily Times and six other JRC papers are Guild-represented.

The Canadian Media Guild is reaching out to freelancers to help them organize in the face of demands from Transcontinental Media, publisher of magazines that include Elle Canada and The Hockey News, as well as dozens of community newspapers. The company essentially wants freelancers to hand over all rights to their work product, as full-time employees and highly paid contractors do. But the catch is that freelancers would still be paid much lower rates.

Ruling against New York City officials, who wanted access to unreleased footage from "Central Park Five," a U.S. District Court judge has upheld the filmmakers' argument that the movie was constructed as independent, investigative journalism. "“It’s a marvelous decision for documentary filmmakers and point-of-view journalists,” said Ken Burns’ lawyer, John Siegal. “And it’s an important victory for the media industry generally.”

Romenesko reports on a jaw-dropping email a reporter received Monday from a PR man who made this pitch: “I would like to propose engaging in a relationship where once in a while I supply you with fully developed stories (completed articles) that you can publish under your byline, with or without editing, at no fee.”