Boston.com reports that boundary-pushing WTKK-FM host Jay Severin has been suspended for some deragatory commentary involving Mexicans and the swine flu. But the story doesn't say what those comments were.

Don't blame reporter David Abel. I tried contacting Heidi Raphael, the spokeswoman for Greater Media, WTKK's parent company.

In an email sent this morning--the day before the Times Co.'s May 1 concede-or-close deadline--Globe publisher Steve Ainsley talked up recent sacrifices by Globe management; expressed empathy for the paper's union members and the sacrifices they're being asked to make; and spoke with what seems like guarded optimism about the course of management-labor negotiations.

The team released the following statement today:

Neither John Henry, Tom Werner, nor any affiliates of the Boston Red Sox are involved in any sales discussions or negotiations with regard to the acquisition of the Boston Globe.

Remember, just a few days ago, Henry struck a very different tone in an email to the Herald:

In today's Herald, Christine McConville reports on dissension in the ranks of the Boston Newspaper Guild as possible closure by the New York Times Co. looms--a subject I've been interested in for quite a while, and that I'll be examining further in a story that'll be online later today.

In a previous post on this subject, I intimated that Guild head Dan Totten had jumped the gun in ruling out certain concessions before tabulating the results of a survey distributed to union members the day before.

What's the line-up of today's Save-the-Globe fete at Faneuil Hall, you ask? Here it is (remember, the procedings start at noon):

Brian Mooney, Boston Globe reporter
Bella English, Boston Globe reporter
Mike Ross, Boston City Council President
David Jackson, Nieman Fellow and Pulitzer Prize winning reporter from the Chicago Tribune

As the Phoenix’s media writer, I spend a lot of time writing about the struggles of other news outlets--in particular, the woes of the Boston Globe, whose very existence is currently in question. And I’m periodically asked by other journalists: “So, how are things at the Phoenix?” My response tends to be vague, and to reflect my (intentional) lack of knowledge about my employer’s finances: Like every other print publication, I think we’re hurting a bit--but so far we haven’t had any layoffs, knock on wood.

The Globe publisher's plan for the paper (and Boston.com) was described in an email sent to staffers earlier today.

Much of what's discussed is familiar (e.g., the union negotiations and the Yahoo partnership). However, this is the first I've heard of the Globe seeking new digital revenue sources that don't compromise advertising.

This step was announced in two emails today, one from Times Co. vice chairman Michael Golden and one from Globe publisher Steve Ainsley. Here they are; note the possible implications of the move for Boston's nonprofit community:

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Dear Colleagues,
It is with sadness that I write to tell you that The New York Times Company Foundation is suspending grant making and the matching gifts program.

Earlier tonight, Dan Totten--head of the Boston Newspaper Guild, the paper's biggest union--emailed his membership regarding Friday's "Save the Globe" rally at Faneuil Hall. The email follows; note, in particular, the emphasis on getting Globe journalists to the event.

As I've previously written, the divide between the Guild's newsroom and non-newsroom members is one of the more interesting subplots of the current Globe crisis.

Over at Slate, Fred Kaplan makes an excellent case that conservative ire over Barack Obama's visit with Hugo Chavez is misplaced. Here's the core of Kaplan's argument:

The shockwaves over the handshake might best be explained as a hangover from the long years of George W. Bush's presidency, when dealings with those who disliked us were expressly forbidden, out of a vague fear that such contact might debilitate us or legitimize them.

You can stop racking your brain over why Philip Markoff--an MD-to-be with a hot fiancee--would commit the heinous crimes Markoff allegedly did. As the Herald reports today, deep down, Markoff is really just a big dork. (The Globe explores his nerdiness, too, but not with the Herald's laser-like focus or lip-smacking relish.

As you may have heard, the front of the April 27 New Yorker stars Bo, the new White House dog.

When this fact was brought to my attention, my first thought was: Damn, the New Yorker loves their Obama covers! And so they do. In the span of fourteen months, we've had Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in bed together, reaching for the red phone (March 17 '08); Barack and Michelle Obama giving each other the terrorist fist jab (July 21 '08); Barack and Joe Biden brawling with John McCain and Sarah Palin (October 27 '08); the post-election "O" over the Lincoln Memorial (November 17 '08); Barack as George Washington (January 26 '09); a solitary Obama walking toward the White House between (symbolically represented) Red and Blue America (January 19 '09) and Michelle as the star of fashion week (March 16 '09).