As has been speculated for about month, The New York Times Company has severly cut its dividend—the pool of money it hands out to its shareholders, including about $25 million to the Sulzberger-Ochs clan—from $.23 -per-share to $.06-per-share. That's about a 75-percent cut for what serves as one of the biggest sources of income for the entire family.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision that will provide us with greater financial flexibility in these uncertain economic times," said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., Chairman of the Company, in a statement.

The trustees of the Ochs-Sulzbergers sent out a statement supporting the decision and said that while it will be "very difficult" for its shareholders, the decision "serves the best interests" of the Company.  read more »

We were able to get into a screening for Twilight on Tuesday night. Anticipation for this film, based on the blockbuster series by Stephanie Meyer, has reached a frenzy that words really can’t quite convey. On Tuesday there was a line that wound round the block, and women who seemed, um, older than we would have expected were begging for extra tickets over at the press line. The movie – about a young and clumsy girl named Bella (Kristen Stewart) who falls hard for a vampire named Edward (Rob Pattinson) – is incredibly faithful to the book. We’d guess that a good chunk of the screening audience knew exactly what was coming next, but it didn’t stop various whistles and cheers as favorite characters appeared onscreen, and when Mr.  read more »

ALBANY—Another part of David Paterson's budget-bridging plan was enacted this week: a tuition hike at the state's public universities.  read more »

So much for that narrative! Counter to the stories upon stories of an economy in freefall, people are still working; at least they are according to October jobs statistics released today by the New York State Department of Labor.

Unemployment actually fell, albeit marginally, in New York State, dropping from 5.6 percent in September to 5.5 percent in October, while it remained unchanged in New York City at 5.7 percent (the national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent). The point is, it’s not climbing, and that seems weird, considering all that’s happened in the past month and a half.  read more »

At around 1 o'clock Thursday morning, Morgan Entrekin decided it was time to extract himself from the dance floor at Socialista and head home. "I'm having an excellent time!" he said, half empty beer in hand. "I wish I were 20 years younger! I could dance all night."

The reason he couldn't: "I have a 3-year-old! I'm tired, man. I'm old."

Mr. Entrekin used to party. Hasn't in a while. Mostly focused now on running his publishing house, Grove/Atlantic, and hanging with the wife and their little boy.

He seems genuinely fulfilled, a fact he was forced to forget last night when his colleagues in the publishing industry turned to him to reinvigorate the annual dinner known as the National Book Awards and make it fun again.  read more »

The FeedBag's Josh Ozersky is reporting that Gael Greene has been let go by New York Magazine. Ms. Greene, a fixture at the magazine since its founding—she contributed a story to the magazine's 40th anniversary issue that chronicled her quest for The Single Best Meal I Ever Had In 18,814 tries and the magazine ran an excerpt from her memoir in 2006—sent out a release in which said, "I describe it as cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Mr. Ozersky writes

From our point of view, there’s no shame in any of this for either Gael or New York. Greene had a long and unforgettable run at the magazine, but Adam Platt is the chief restaurant critic now, and there’s no sense in trying to have two critics.

Ms. Greene continues to blog about food at Insatiable Critic.

Avon has signed former Mademoiselle editor Mandi Norwood to write the Michelle Obama Style Guide for next spring. [P6]

There were rumors that Anna Wintour might leave Vogue for a "cultural" position in Barack Obama's administration, but Ms. Wintour's rep says it's totally not true. [MSNBC via Gawker]

Gwyneth Paltrow graciously approached PETA vice president Dan Matthews at the Fontainebleau Hotel opening in Miami and apologized for wearing fur in her ad for Tod's. [Us Weekly]  read more »

Something happened around 2001 that split off a large portion of Scottish band Belle and Sebastian's estimable fan base, which is a shame, because they've done great work since. A lot of fans had latched on to the band's infectious, bookish pop soon after its 1996 debut, Tigermilk, and five years on had simply grown out of the breezily strummed ditties and cute/wounded lyricism. Of course, the band had grown out of that, too, but cast off more listeners who grew disappointed as the band's sound roamed further and further afield, sounding more like Steely Dan or Fleetwood Mac than the apotheosis of '80s-'90s British indie-pop.  read more »

ALBANY—State Senator George Winner, an Elmira Republican, just brought up an interesting scenario in the still-unresolved fight to be the chamber's majority leader.  read more »

2666
By Roberto Bolaño
Farrar Straus and Giroux,
898 pages, $30

Roberto Bolaño meant 2666 to be his masterpiece. It was the tome he toiled away at in the rush before his death in 2003, sick with liver disease at the age of 50. At 900 pages, it groans with ambition, knitting together five different novellas in a sprawling story spanning decades, continents and styles. Mysterious and full of dread, 2666 is cluttered with hundreds of characters introduced by name—hungry writers, hapless detectives, hustlers and hookers, journalists and pugilists. It conveys, with literal heft, what’s glorious about art and what’s terrifying about death. There’s much to explore and revisit, to ruminate on and be haunted by.  read more »