Thursday media miscellany

--First, I've got a new Phoenix piece looking at the Times Co.'s plans for the Globe and why the Guild caved on lifetime-job guarantees earlier this week.

--Former Globe contributor Michael Jonas, who's now at Commonwealth magazine, has made a pretty strong case that the Globe is taking too much credit for its "scoops" on MA pension abuse. I'm reminded here of the Globe's Pulitzer-winning coverage of sex abuse in the Catholic Church, which was outstanding, but also built on fine reporting previously done by my former Phoenix colleague Kristen Lombardi--not that you'd ever know that from the Globe. As I've argued before, it would be nice to see more major media outlets acknowledge their colleagues/competitors who paved the way on important stories.

--Speaking of the Globe's priest-sex-abuse coverage, Michael Paulson, the Globe's fine religion reporter, is absolutely right:  to suggest, as Paulson's former colleague David Warsh does, that the Globe's work on this subject was mere prize bait--and might somehow be responsible for the Globe's current financial woes--is just ridiculous.

--Feeling frustrated by the public's lack of control when it comes to shaping the future of the media? Well, here's your chance: PBS and the Knight Commission are taking your online comments on this subject. You'll need to act fast, though, because the comment window closes in less than 24 hours. 

--Finally, take the Herald's report of "rage" inside the Boston Newspaper Guild with a grain of salt.  Reporter Jessica Heslam is right: there's frustration within the Guild at union leadership's failure to communicate the details of its agreement with the Times Co. in a timely way. Of course, there was also frustration within the Guild at union leadership's failure to communicate the Times Co.'s threat to close the Globe entirely back in April. And whatever intra-union strife currently exists pales in comparison to what you'd see if the Guild had refused to back down on lifetime-job guarantees.