Mediagazer: Publisher Experiments With ‘Free’ And Sees Book Sales Increase 20x (Mike Masnick/Techdirt)

Twitter and News and Media Websites — A couple of weeks ago, I did a follow up post on my blog entry, “Facebook Largest News Reader?”. The entry illustrated that Facebook users prefer Broadcast Media while Google News readers prefer Print Media. Several readers requested that I add Twitter to the mix.

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, The Now/ledge, 901am, Fast Company, Web Analytics World and Silicon Alley Insider

Discussion: GigaOM

Mike Fleming / Deadline.com:

Conan O'Brien Plots A Movie Maneuver — EXCLUSIVE: Here's the latest twist to the Conan O'Brien odyssey. Getting shoved out of his TV dream job as Tonight Show host is going to make him a movie star. I'm told that early talks are underway to give documentary feature treatment …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, NY Daily News, Company Town, MTV Movies Blog, /Film, The Playlist, TV Tattle and New York Magazine

Jay Yarow / Silicon Alley Insider:

AOL Says It Never Expected To Interview All 2,000 SXSW Bands (AOL) — How is AOL's big music writing experiment in SXSW going? According to AOL's Saul Hansell, “great,” but he admits AOL won't be interviewing all 2,000 bands as hoped. — In an email to us, Saul tries moving the goal posts:

Discussion: WebNewser

Discussion: Ex-Spectator, Romenesko, FishBowlLA and Silicon Alley Insider

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

Local TV news doesn't share the public interest — A study says L.A. news broadcasts devote only 22 seconds per 30 minutes to local government coverage. Is it likely to get better? — The Federal Communications Commission says that, in exchange for the right to use the airwaves we all own …

Discussion: Views of the News, Free Press and Boing Boing

Brian Steinberg / AdAge:

NBC, Dr Pepper Manage to Blur Commerce, Content Even More — ‘30 Rock’ Commercial Points to New Direction in TV Advertising — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The day when commercials are indistinguishable from the programs they support finally arrived — just before 10 p.m. Eastern last Thursday night.

Discussion: Gawker

Jack Shafer / Slate:

What's Wrong With the Post Op-Ed Page? … - Health Care Update: The Terrifying Specter of the “Vote-a-Rama” Phase- How Walker, Texas Ranger Saved My Childhood- Which Online Tax-Prep Service Is Easiest To Use? - Who Is Allowed To Buy an Apartment in the Israeli Settlements?

Discussion: Romenesko, Journalism.co.uk, CJR and Michael Calderone's Blog

Nielsen Wire:

Facebook, Google and Yahoo! are Top Sites While Watching Big TV Events — Americans are getting into the habit of going online while watching television, with 10% or more of viewers visiting social networks, searching the web and browsing content during major TV events.

Discussion: MediaMemo, Fast Company, MediaPost and B&C

Ryan Sholin / MediaShift Idea Lab:

How Mark Luckie Created 'The Digital Journalist's Handbook' — It's an increasingly common story in the news business: Young journalist roars out of graduate school at Berkeley, gets a great job at a magazine in New York, works like mad, gets laid off when the economy tanks …

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

If Amanpour Goes to ABC News, Will ‘This Week’ Leave Washington? — As FishbowlDC first reported yesterday, Christiane Amanpour has been offered the job of hosting ABC's Sunday morning public affairs show, “This Week.” And while Amanpour and her husband, the diplomat Jamie Rubin …

Discussion: B&C

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Publisher Experiments With ‘Free’ And Sees Book Sales Increase 20x — We've pointed to numerous studies, at this point, that have all found that, when done right, free ebooks can greatly increase the sales of physical books (and, in some cases, even of ebooks). Here's another empirical example of that in action.

Alex Pham / Los Angeles Times:

YouTube sets its sights on independent musicians — The video website is expected to announce plans to entice musicians by offering to share ad revenues. — YouTube wants to rock MySpace. — The Google-owned video site is expected to announce Wednesday a new program, dubbed Musicians Wanted …

Discussion: Epicenter and YouTube Blog

Felix Gillette / New York Observer:

Former Bookforum Editor Chris Lehmann Joins Yahoo News — In mid-January, Yahoo News blogging editor Andrew Golis posted a notice on his personal Web site, announcing that he was looking to hire a deputy editor and five bloggers. “As many of you know, I was recently hired by Yahoo News …

Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider and bookforum.com

John Koblin / New York Observer:

Times' National Desk in ‘Head-Snapping’ Revamp — In recent weeks, The New York Times' national desk has undergone quite a face-lift. There's a new editor, Rick Berke. There is a new deputy editor in Adam Bryant. And there will be a new Los Angeles bureau chief in Adam Nagourney.

Marie Bénilde / New York Times:

The End of Newspapers? — Journalists are now in the same situation as steel workers in the 1970s: They are destined to disappear, but they don't know it. — That was the assessment of a banker from BNP-Paribas at the French national press federation's conference in Strasbourg in 2006.

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

UK Publishers Expect Even Slower Online Revenue Growth — The days of web sales nearly doubling each year are long gone. UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP) members - who forecast 31 percent higher online income in 2008 and 16 percent in 2009 - now expect 2010 growth of just 10 percent.

Discussion: Romenesko, ukaop.org.uk and Guardian

Laura Oliver / Journalism.co.uk:

BBC Global News staff face cuts in management shake-up — Senior management roles will be cut as part of an extensive management restructure within the BBC's Global News division, Journalism.co.uk has learned. — Nine senior management posts will close as part of the changes, which will create a saving of £600,000.

Discussion: Guardian, Editors Weblog and paidContent

Todd Shields / Bloomberg:

FCC Broadband Plan Raises Broadcasters' Alarm, Wireless Cheer — The U.S. plan to expand high-speed Internet service might come at a cost to broadcasters and that may signal a fight when lawmakers are asked to help turn television airwaves over to wireless competitors.

Discussion: Washington Post and Online NewsHour

Erik Heinrich / Time:

Cisco CRS-3 Router Speeds Streaming, Worries Film Execs — The Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System, a next-generation Internet router, can handle 12 times the Internet traffic of the nearest competing product — Steve Wisbauer / Photodisc / Getty Images — Cisco's CRS-3 router made a bit …

Discussion: Beyond The Beyond and fierceonlinevideo.com …

Eve Conant / The Gaggle:

How Will Conservative Bloggers Attack the Mainstream Media Once the Networks Start Hiring Them? — Prominent Redstate.com commentator Erick Erickson will join CNN, the network announced Tuesday, welcoming the “self-described ‘obsessive news junkie’ ” to their team.

Discussion: Media on HuffingtonPost.com, Salon, The Caucus, The Politico, Runnin' Scared, The Atlantic Wire, Gawker, The Impolitic, Mediaite and Washington Monthly