We were hit with a nasty new WordPress virus last week and have been in recovery mode for several days. The virus informs the visitor that the site presents a security threat and offers to download antivirus protection which you should never, ever do.

If you see this warning, don’t click anything except the “close window” button and get out of there. We would also appreciate it if you would drop us an e-mail if you see this threat. The site appears to be stable now but we want to be sure. Thanks.

We’ve been hit by the WordPress bug that’s been going around lately. The Death Watch will temporarily be redirected to this new location while we recover.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

A chance meeting with a reader this morning reminded us of this 2004 video by the Museum of Media History, which we realize not everyone has seen. It’s a futuristic look back from the year 2015 at Google’s successful march to aggregate and customize the world’s information. Although dated, it’s startlingly accurate in some respects. It’s kind of cool till you get near the end. Then, well, you decide.

Editor & Publisher reports that the Los Angeles Times will cut 300 positions, including 70 editorial staff, or about 11% of the newsroom. The site has a memo from Editor Russ Stanton outlining plans to restructure the daily into four sections. LA Observed (via Edward Padgett) says casualties include the California section and Stanton’s memo appears to confirm that information. The paper has cut about 300 jobs from the newsroom alone since last summer in three rounds of layoffs.