Mediagazer: US newspaper circulation down 8.7 percent (Associated Press)

Matthew Flamm / Crain's New York Business:

NY's paper tigers — Journal takes on Times in its own backyard. Some call it ‘the last great newspaper war’ — The newspaper business is struggling across the country. You wouldn't know it in New York. — The Wall Street Journal launches its long awaited New York edition today …

Discussion: The Awl, The Wire, paidContent, Guardian, Romenesko, Mediaite, Editors Weblog, Agence France Presse and Associated Press

Gillian Reagan / The Wire:

New York Times Executives Belittle Murdoch's Wall Street Journal To Advertisers In Staff Memo (NYT) — As the Wall Street Journal paper-bombs the city with their new New York section, New York Times' top executives publisher Arthur Sulzberger and CEO Janet Robinson send out a message to their staffers.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, New York Observer and The Awl

Chris Rovzar / New York Magazine:
So What's in the New Journal New York Section, Debuting Today?

Discussion: Gawker, Wall Street Journal, Gothamist and City Room

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

The Revolution Will Be Commercialized — Sarah Palin is already president of right-wing America—and it's a position with a very big salary. — On the morning of July 3, 2009, a national holiday, Sarah Palin placed a call to her communications director and told her that she wanted to hold …

Discussion: Mediaite, Right Now, The Caucus, NewsBusters.org and The Atlantic Online

David Carr / New York Times:

The Media Equation: How Gizmodo Monetized an iPhone Spectacle — We all know that advertisers need to pay for clicks to keep the Web spinning. But what does it mean when publishers start paying for them as well? — I'm not talking about some seedy click-mills in the Far East …

Discussion: Media Decoder and Glass House

Teddy Wayne / New York Times:

Drilling Down: Internet Eclipses Magazines in Ad Revenue in 2009 — For the first time, marketers spent more in 2009 on Internet advertising than in magazines, according to a report from ZenithOptimedia, which said online ad spending would rapidly close ground on newspapers.

Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:

Bloomberg and Businessweek Mesh Gingerly — When Bloomberg L.P. bought Businessweek in December, a group of the magazine's writers, who were being transferred to the Bloomberg newswire, attended a two-week training session. They learned that the terminals, costing about $20,000 a year …

Discussion: The Wire and Romenesko

Jacqueline Reis / Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

T&G plans paid website — Print subscribers read free — WORCESTER — The Telegram & Gazette will begin charging some online readers for locally produced news content on its website, telegram.com, starting this summer. — Newspaper subscribers will continue to be able to access all content at no charge.

Discussion: The Wire, Romenesko, eMedia Vitals and Strange Attractor

Mike Shields / Mediaweek:

Yahoo's Identity Heft — Web publisher to tap more journos to help find its ‘voice’ — Yahoo is on the verge of hiring more traditional journalists as it plans to aggressively beef up original content for its top verticals, including news, business and entertainment.

Discussion: TVWeek.com

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

The Tribune Company Finds An Audience For Homegrown Hyperlocal News Site ChicagoNow — As AOL pours $50 million into its hyperlocal news site Patch.com to expand its sites around the country, smaller competitors are maintaining confidence that their platforms can survive AOL's aggressive content strategy.

Rafat Ali / paidContent:

TheWrap Raises $2 Million in Second Round, From Maveron, Others — TheWrap.com, the Hollywood business focused blog started by former NYT Hollywood correspondent Sharon Waxman, has closed a $2 million second round of funding, she tells us. The round was led by Maveron …

Discussion: The Wire

James Hibberd / Hollywood Reporter:

'America's Got Talent' pacts with YouTube — Acts can submit videos to be voted on; 12 to perform on show — NBC and the producers of “America's Got Talent” are partnering with YouTube to put the show's audition process online. — Starting Monday, acts can upload their videos onto …

Motoko Rich / New York Times:

Random House Cedes Some E-Rights to Styron Clan — After publicly staking a claim to the right to publish electronic versions of books that already have a long history in print, Random House appears to be letting go of digital rights to several works by one prominent author without a fight …

Discussion: TeleRead and Media Decoder