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One of the first questions I asked Jim Brady when he went public with his Allbritton local news startup was when would Erik Wemple be joining? The answer is now. Wemple, the high-profile editor of alt-weekly Washington City Paper for the last eight years, will be the new enterprise’s editor, reporting to Brady, president of digital strategy for Allbritton Communications. Brady promises to announce the name of the new outlet in early March.

Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS) wants to buy the 50 percent stake it doesn’t currently have in personal finance mag SmartMoney from Hearst, the WSJ reports, citing unidentified sources. No word on what price DJ is offering for the magazine, though a deal could be hammered out by next week. The two companies have shared ownership of the monthly title since 1991. Being the sole owner would allow DJ to combine the editorial staffs of the WSJ and SmartMoney. While it doesn’t appear that any edit staff will be laid off if the two can work out a deal, it is likely that a number of jobs on the business side could be cut.

As MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) ad execs begin meeting with marketers and media buyers for this year’s upfront, the Viacom unit is putting some finishing touches on reshaping its digital team. Later this morning, MTVN will announce that Suzanne McDonnell (image, left) will lead the Digital Fusion unit, while Heather Hopkins will add SVP of marketing and sales development to her existing role as GM of the Tribes vertical ad network. Both McDonnell and Hopkins will report to Kevin Arrix, who was promoted to EVP of Digital Advertising Sales just three months ago.

Considering that unemployment is still up double digits and the unemployment classifieds ad revenue continues to plummet, it’s not all that ironic to learn that even recruitment site Monster Worldwide is laying off 200 staffers. The cuts represent about 3.5 of Monster’s global workforce, which is now roughly 5,600. The layoffs, reported by Boston Business Journal, come about two weeks after Monster bought rival Hot Jobs from Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) for $225 million. A Monster rep told the Biz Journal that the layoffs were not related to the Hot Jobs deal but reflect the strategy Monster has been pursuing for the past two years to “restructure, reorganize and reinvest.”

The NYTimes.com’s latest community news site is centered in the East Village, a few miles downtown from its own midtown headquarters. The East Village site will be part of The Local,  the hyperlocal project it started last year. The project will be run by New York University’s journalism faculty and students through its Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. The collaboration is similar to the one the NYT has with Buzzmachine’s Jeff Jarvis through his citizen journalism initiative at The City University of New York. CUNY has been involved with The Local since its inception and it was recently handed oversight for two Brooklyn sites. The East Village outpost is expected to launch in the fall with NYT reporter Richard Jones serving as the site’s editor.