Mediagazer: Blogging in the new decade — As Xark approaches its fifth anniversary … (Dan/Xark!)

Richard Perez-Pena / Media Decoder:

It's Official: 2009 Was Worst Year for the Newpaper Business in Decades — It's no surprise that 2009 was the worst year the newspaper business has had in decades, but the scale of the damage, shown in figures released Wednesday by the Newspaper Association of America, is stunning.

Discussion: paidContent and Silicon Alley Insider

“Velocity of ad decline is moderating,” NAA chief says of Q4 losses — The Newspaper Association of America has quietly updated the “trends and numbers” section of its site with 4th quarter 2009 revenue, showing a 14th consecutive quarter of overall revenue loss and only a few indications of slowdown or reversal in the downtrend.

Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:

Advertisers Show Interest in iPad — Advertisers initially approached new media as if they were going duck hunting, tiptoeing cautiously into the waters of mobile phones and the Internet. — With the iPad, it's big-game season. — Getting ready for the April 3 iPad introduction …

Discussion: CyberJournalist.net and paidContent

Discussion: BRANDING UNBOUND

Alexander Vaughn / App Advice:

Exclusive: iPad iBooks Pricing Revealed - Matches The Kindle — The launch of the iPad has caused a veritable war over eBook pricing between Apple and Amazon. To promote the Kindle and expand its market share, Amazon sells kindle editions of newly released and best selling books at a loss.

Discussion: TeleRead, Financial Times, Kindle Review, 901am, eBookNewser, Silicon Alley Insider, GalleyCat, Gizmodo, Online, Bits and Electronista

Foster Kamer / Runnin' Scared:

Breaking: Clusterstock Editor John Carney Fired by Business Insider — Gawker Media owner Nick Denton Tweeted earlier this evening, asking if the rumors he'd heard about Business Insider editor John Carney's firing were true. Well, Nick, here's your answer: John Carney …

Discussion: Felix Salmon and Rise If You Must

Dave Winer / Scripting News:

How big is a nugget-of-news? — I finally did a little project I've had on my to-do list for a long time. — The question is this. If Twitter is a news-delivery service, and I believe it is, what are the real dimensions of a nugget of news? — We've been living with the limit imposed …

Colin Gibbs / GigaOM:

Fox Mobile Offers Hulu-like Subscription Service for Smartphones — Fox Mobile is hoping it can convince consumers to shell out to watch TV on their smartphones. The News Corp. subsidiary this morning unveiled Bitbop, a subscription service for smartphone owners that will deliver both streaming …

Discussion: PR Newswire, Company Town, Silicon Alley Insider, MediaPost, Online, Media Buyer Planner, paidContent, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Gizmodo and Electronista

Brooks Barnes / Media Decoder:

‘Fred: The Movie’ Lands on Nickelodeon — Fred is headed to television. — In a first-of-its-kind deal for the children's entertainment business, Nickelodeon is betting that a Web phenomenon - a tantrum-throwing 6-year-old named Fred Figglehorn - could blossom into a franchise.

Discussion: Variety

Ryan Tate / Gawker:

Arianna Huffington Ditched by Coveted ‘Investigations Editor’ — The Huffington Post has a way of squandering its own victories over the establishment press, and it's happened again: Larry Roberts, the investigations editor triumphantly lured from the Washington Post, has resigned.

Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider, FishBowlNY, Romenesko, Michael Calderone's Blog and Talking Biz News

Jennifer Saba / Editor and Publisher:

Boston.com Launches New Video Series — NEW YORK The Boston Globe on Wednesday launched a new video series on Boston.com to air during peak traffic hours on weekdays. Globe Today is a minute and a half take on the day's top stories and weather similar to a broadcast news segment.

Greg Ferenstein / Mashable!:

The Future Newsroom: Lean, Open and Social Media-Savvy — On the campus of Penn State University, a rivalry between a rogue campus blog and the official newspaper has become a fascinating mirror of the strife between old and new media. In only a matter of months, the unofficial campus blog Onward State …

Discussion: College Media Matters, The Huffington Post, InTech@McDaniel and Media Gleaner

Stuart Elliott / Media Decoder:

2 JWT Executives to Open Their Own Agency — Two longtime senior executives at JWT in New York, part of the WPP Group, are leaving to start their own agency in a departure that comes as a huge surprise. — The executives are Ty Montague and Rosemarie Ryan, who had been co-presidents for the North American operations of JWT.

Discussion: Adweek, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost and AgencySpy

Dan / Xark!:

Blogging in the new decade — As Xark approaches its fifth anniversary (I began building it in June 2005, but its conceptual roots reached back to earlier that spring), I find myself increasingly drawn to understanding not only what it has become, but what shaped it.

Mike Shields / Mediaweek:

Web Video Audience OK With More Ads, Report — Hulu is leaving some serious money on the table. — While its parents companies NBC Universal, News Corp. and Disney wrestle with the possibility of imposing a subscription fee on Hulu to offset what they perceive as lost ad revenue from TV …

Discussion: MediaPost

Phil Rosenthal / Chicago Tribune:

Fox News' Ailes not afraid of taking sides — So, Roger Ailes, how are things? — “With Fox News, great,” Ailes said by phone Tuesday. “With my job and my life, pretty good. With America, not quite as good.” As the chairman and chief executive of Fox News Channel gave a rare interview …

Discussion: TVNewser, Mediaite, Inside Cable News and Chickaboomer

Hollywoodreporter / The Live Feed | THR:

Long-running review show ‘At the Movies’ canceled — The balcony is closed. — This is the last season of “At the Movies,” the long-running syndicated review show made into a hit in the 1980s by dueling Chicago critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. — The show's roots go back to 1975's “Sneak Previews.”

Discussion: The Wrap, Tower Ticker, ArtsBeat and New York Magazine

David Kaplan / paidContent:

SEC Watch: Washington Post's Graham's Compensation Cut In Half Last Year; Weymouth Gets Big Bonus — In contrast to senior executives at the NYTCo (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI), who took home more money in '09 than the year before, Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) chairman …

Ellen McGirt / Fast Company:

How Adam Carolla Became a Podcast Superstar — Adam Carolla is a master builder who created this glass office. His next project? Building his podcast network to profitability. Photographs by Jeff Minton — Radio-and-TV personality Adam Carolla stumbled into podcasting and immediately became its No. 1 star.

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

Playing hardball with Chris Matthews — There seems to be a misconception among some of Chris Matthews' guests. Because they have been invited on “Hardball” and put in front of a microphone, they think they will not only be asked questions, but also get a chance to answer them.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog, Inside Cable News and Tuned In

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Brian Rooney, Laura Marquez, Lisa Fletcher Among the ABC News Correspondents Cut — ABC News correspondents Brian Rooney, Laura Marquez and Lisa Fletcher (right) are among the ABC reporters whose contracts will not be renewed as the network looks to shed anywhere from 300-400 jobs by the end of the year.

Discussion: The Enterprise Report, Collective Talent and LA Observed

The Center for Public Integrity:

Center's First Journalist-in-Residence Brings Experience from AP, Washington Post — Award-winning investigative journalist John Solomon was named journalist-in-residence at the Center for Public Integrity, which houses one of the country's largest newsrooms dedicated to investigative journalism.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

AOL Launches Charitable Organization Patch.org To Fund Hyperlocal News Sites — We recently learned that AOL is pouring money ($50 million to be exact) into Patch, a hyperlocal news platform that operates local news sites for 41 small towns and communities in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California.

Discussion: Business Wire, Fast Company and WebNewser

Jim Barnett / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Len Downie: For-profit news orgs won't create enough journalism — By any measure, former Washington Post executive editor Len Downie epitomized success in the traditional, subscription-and-advertising model of newspaper journalism: With a staff that once topped 900 and an annual budget of $100 million …

Discussion: Editors Weblog and WebNewser

Seth Abramovitch / Movieline:

David Mamet's Master Class Memo to the Writers of The Unit — CBS's drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced online.

Discussion: New York Magazine, MetaFilter, Macleans.ca, /Film and The Cajun Boy