Dean Singleton, head of MediaNews Group, a newspaper chain whose flagship paper is the Denver Post, seems to have changed his views about outsourcing. In an October speech, he said he was exploring having one news desk for all of the MediaNews newspapers, possible offshore. But now he says that while doing pre-press work in India for the last two years has worked out well, that's as far as it may go. "We've explored outsourcing copy editing and page makeup in India, too, but we probably won't do that," he says. Sibling newspapers can consolidate those functions locally …

Media agency Maxus has established a major presence in the U.K. for the first time with the rebranding of sister shop BJK&E in London as a Maxus office. The London office will serve as the U.K. base for the WPP-owned Maxus network. The move follows the appointment of Kelly Clark in October as global CEO of the agency network, a new post. Under Clark, WPP plans a major expansion of Maxus, the smallest of the holding company's global media networks. (The others are Mindshare, Mediaedge:cia and MediaCom.) Other new offices in European markets will join the Maxus network …

SeeSaw Networks, an aggregator of inventory across more than 40 digital out-of-home networks, is adding four new network affiliates. In New York, SeeSaw has added three transit networks: Showcase Media Group, the Affinity Ferry Network and City 24/7. The networks target professionals in taxis, ferry terminals and train stations in more than 1,000 locations. SeeSaw is also adding Virgin Network's TV channel, a network of more than 400 digital displays, operated by eVision Networks, in 10 Virgin Megastores in New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix and Dallas. Virgin targets young, affluent consumers. The aggregator organizes …

The Traffic Audit Bureau, the leading out-of-home media-measurement organization, will finally release its next generation metrics in early March 2009. After four years of development and a year's worth of false starts, the organization expects to have the "Eyes On" data available in all 200 of its audited markets. Eyes On will measure the exact number of people who see a specific outdoor ad, whether it's a billboard, a sign on a bus shelter or a video screen in a mall. The currency will use a combination of traffic counts, consumer-travel surveys, circulation data and a new eye-tracking …

Times are tight, and "American Idol" is becoming less charitable. The show's annual "Idol Gives Back" episode has been canceled, according to an internal memo. In the past, the "Idol Gives Back" charity was a stand alone episode that featured major recording stars and raised money for poor families around the world. The memo notes other changes in the works. In the Hollywood round, the number of contestants will increase from 24 to 36. A couple two-hour shows are also planned for this season and the upcoming promotions for the show will focus on "fewer bad singers and …

National Public Radio will pare back its once-flourishing operations, instituting its first organization-wide layoffs in 25 years. It will also ax two daily programs: "Day to Day," aimed at younger listeners, and "News & Notes," an interview show designed for African Americans. All four of NPR's major funding sources have taken hits, especially underwriting, which is the public broadcasting equivalent of advertising. Underwriting accounts for about one-third of NPR's budget. The layoffs affect about 7% of the workforce, including reporters, producers, researchers and digital employees. Until very recently, NPR seemed immune to the shrinking economy. It finished …