Journalism Watchdog Suffering from Distemper?

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Cyndi Stivers,  the one-time managing editor of  EW.com, has stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of Columbia Journalism Review, a post she held since November 2011, to become editor-in-chief of AOL.com, capitalnewyork.com reported last week.

Stivers' departure comes amid severe ax-wielding at CJR that includes the planned June layoffs of Executive Editor Mike Hoyt, who has served in that capacity for a decade, and Editor-at-Large Justin Peters, as well as an ultimatum to staffers Curtis Brainard and Dean Starkman to accept half-time employment or be laid off, according to the capitalnewyork.com article.

The newsroom shake-up at CJR, a bimonthly periodical that has covered the journalism industry since 1961, coincides with Steve Coll becoming Dean at Columbia Journalism School, replacing Nick Lemann. The school publishes CJR, which is funded through advertising, subscriptions, foundation funding and grants.

According to the capitalnewyork post, the industry-wide malaise in advertising revenue and circulation is attributed to CJR's anticipated shortfall in meeting its fund-raising goals. CJR reimburses the amount of its annual budget that is advanced by the journalism school. Neither CJR nor the school responded to the capitalnewyork.com piece.