In Week-old News, I look at the biggest news from the past week involving social media and newspapers.

Get your e-reader here!

Wow … If you love e-readers and happened to make it to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, then good for you. The list of e-readers introduced at the show is huge, but the ones that caught my eye  were the Skiff Reader, the Plastic Logic Que proReader and MSI’s dualscreen gem, although Engadget calls it netbook.

The MSI has two 10-inch screens, in color, so you could use one as a virtual keyboard and look at something at the other screen. That’s pretty cool. No pricing has been released.

The Que has a 10.7 inch screen and is powered by Barnes and Noble, with data via Wifi and/or AT&T 3G, depending on the model. The e-reader looks good in the Engadget video. But the prices ($649 or $799) may make you wish for a backpack full of heavy books.

The Skiff Reader looks similar to a magazine with its 11.5-inch screen and being only a quarter-inch thick. The Hearst device shows a newspaper front page in Engadget’s hands-on here.

No price has been set, but Sprint will provide the connectivity.

Although these devices look pretty good and will be useful, I think the prices, and black and white screens on most of the e-readers will leave the door open for consumers to jump to tablet computers and even projector phones to be able to read books and news content. See my ideas here.

Star Tribune lays off  about 30 people

The paper covering Minneapolis and surrounding areas said it was going to layoff  about 30 people while telling staffers that the news coverage would remain the same. See a blog from MinnPost.com here for the complete story.

The blog reported the paper is offering a buyout plan, but said layoffs would likely also occur, mostly among copy editors and photographers.

In a statement, senior editors at the paper would require some changes including:

“Reporters cannot turn in stories without running a basic spell check. Editors should have reporters read over every story they have edited. Photographers must turn in accurate cutlines that adhere to AP style.”

Editors also said “more stories will get fewer reads.”

Producing the same news content with fewer people is always difficult and often problematic. Good luck to those affected.

The Associated Press expands more into social media

The Associated Press announced the hiring of Lauren McCullough as manager of social networks and news engagement. McCullough will help reporters follow up on stories using social media as well as set standards for reporters using the tools.

This is a good move by the AP. Since many stories come to light in or are shaped by social media, more reporters using the medium will lead to more accurate accounts of daily news.

LA Times announces shutdown of press, layoffs of 80 people.

The Los Angeles Times will shutter its Orange County printing operations and add “LATExtra,” which will add late-breaking news to the paper.

The publisher said about 80 people will lose their jobs when the press closes.

Sharon Waxman reported here the paper sold the late-night press run to the Wall Street Journal, so that the deadline for the Times’ front page will be 6 p.m., leaving the later news for the new section, which debuts next month. Other sections will also have earlier deadlines.

Waxman reports some newsroom staff are upset about the lack of late-night coverage on the front page, which could mean the WSJ and New York Times have more updated news on their covers.

If the 6 p.m. deadline is true for the Times, that is radically early for A1.

Even looking at just sports, almost no Dodgers or Lakers home game will be able to be on the front page. The Lakers, one of the NBA’s best teams, should go deep into the playoffs, most games of which are held in primetime.

What news caught your eye this past week?

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Fly on the news

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