Mediagazer: First look: ‘Iron Man 2’ soars with $134-million opening (Ben Fritz/Company Town)

3:31 AM ET, May 10, 2010

Top News:

The Media Equation: Reuters Insider, Like YouTube for Traders — For half an hour last Thursday afternoon, CNBC was the most exciting place on television. Watching Erin Burnett and Jim Cramer try not to freak out — they acquitted themselves nicely — while the market tumbled like a drunken rag doll …

Discussion: paidContent

Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:

Thomson Reuters to Add Videos — Thomson Reuters Corp. this week will launch a financial video service, the latest of a growing number of news organizations aggressively adding Web-based programming to fill needs they say are unmet by cable news. — The product, called Reuters Insider …

Frank Rich / New York Times:

They Don't Report. You Don't Have to Decide. — “DESPITE the major environmental disaster unfolding in the Gulf and the attempted terror attack on New York's Times Square, President Obama spent his Saturday night laughing it up at the White House Correspondents Dinner,” griped Sean Hannity of Fox News last week.

Discussion: TVNewser, Mediaite and On The Media

Bill Gorman / TVbytheNumbers:

Betty White Scores! Saturday Night Live Sees Best Overnight Ratings In 18 Months — Betty White ratings doubters, look away! Her preliminary 5.1 adults 18-49 rating topped even Sir Charles Barkley's episode that followed the Dallas/Philadelphia NFL Wildcard Game, which was this season's top so far.

Discussion: ArtsBeat, The Wrap, New York Magazine, MediaMemo and Movieline

Asylum:

An Open Letter to Magazines (From the Internet) — Apparently magazine guys are all hurt at how the super-amazing Internet is f**king DESTROYING them with its awesomeness and unicorns with bacon wings and Selleck Waterfall Sandwiches. And what do they have? Another interview with Jennifer Aniston?

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Profitable Long Form Journalism — Over the last month, I've been stuffing my iPad with books purchased online, long PDF files and other documents for later reading sessions. I'm waiting for the mind-blowing media applications, they're still in the making. Several prototypes of French newspapers I have seen are quite promising.

Ben Fritz / Company Town:

First look: ‘Iron Man 2’ soars with $134-million opening — Hollywood kicked off its most important time of the year, summer-event movie season, with an explosive start for “Iron Man 2,” which sold an estimated $133.6 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada.

Discussion: The Wire, The Daily Beast, Speakeasy, Daggle, The Wrap and Variety

Foster Kamer / Runnin' Scared:

Media Moves: Gawker's Newest Hire Poached from The Daily Beast — The Gawker masthead's been pretty busy in the last few months, and they haven't even had any of their doors kicked in! It's about to see a little more action, though, as they've now added another name to their editorial team.

Marc Parry / Chronicle of Higher Education:

Library of Congress, Facing Privacy Concerns, Clarifies Twitter Archive Plan — If you don't want that tipsy 3 a.m. Twitter post preserved for posterity, then start deleting. Now. — Faced with privacy concerns, the Library of Congress is clarifying its plans to archive …

TechCrunch:

Why Media Companies Should Become More Like Merchants — Editor's note: Should media sites become group buying sites as well? Guest author Dave Chase thinks so. He was a marketing executive and general manager at Microsoft in the 90's including starting Microsoft's healthcare business.

Steven Zeitchik / Los Angeles Times:

Short films can be a shortcut to Hollywood success — More and more, big-name directors and producers are thinking small. — ‘Alma’: Top producers are interested in expanding the animated short. (Rodrigo Blaas) — When Barbara and Andres Muschietti, two television-commercial veterans …

The Wrap:

NBCU to Sell KWHY-TV as Comcast Deal Advances — NBCU has agreed to sell one of its three Los Angeles TV stations before going ahead with its deal with Comcast. — Besides owning KNBC-TV, NBCU owns independent KWHY-TV and Telemundo station KVEA-TV. It is the independent station, KWHY-TV that will be sold.