Mediagazer: Away From Prime Time, CNN Thrives (Erin McPike/National Journal Online)

11:25 PM ET, May 21, 2010

Top News:

FTC Closes its Investigation of Google AdMob Deal — After Thorough Review, Agency Finds Transaction Not Likely to Harm Competition — The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation of Google's proposed acquisition of mobile advertising network company AdMob after thoroughly reviewing …

Omar / The Life and Times of AdMob:
Working with Google to move mobile advertising forward

Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider, VentureBeat and paidContent

Thomas Catan / Wall Street Journal:
Bloggers Aim Posts at Regulators

Discussion: mediabistro.com

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Exclusive: PaidContent Founder Ali to Depart Pioneering Digital News Site — PaidContent's Rafat Ali, who turned a one-man Web site into a must-read hub for digital media news, is leaving the company he founded eight years ago. — Sources said Ali has told co-workers he will leave the company …

Discussion: Gawker, MinOnline, paidContent, Silicon Alley Insider, Romenesko, FishbowlNY, Guardian and LA Observed

Rafat Ali / paidContent:

On To Life 2.0 — In the end, all things do come to an end. The good and bad part is, it is never a definite marker, but all part of a process. And so it has been for me. After pouring exactly eight years of my life and a lifetime into this, I am leaving ContentNext and paidContent in early July.

Discussion: Folio

Ben Fritz / Company Town:

Weinsteins' deal to reclaim Miramax falls apart [updated] — Bob and Harvey Weinstein's long-in-the-works deal to reclaim independent movie label Miramax Films from the Walt Disney Co. has fallen apart after several weeks of intense negotiations, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Media Decoder, The Daily Beast, /Film, The Wire, Thompson on Hollywood, Gawker, DealBook, New York Magazine and Movieline

Henry Blodget / The Wire:

Newsweek Has 6 Employees In “Dining Services” — Rafat Ali at paidContent scored a copy of Allen & Co's preliminary marketing book for Newsweek. The book provided some helpful financial detail. — As expected, Newsweek is losing a boatload of money—$56 million last year. — Why?

Rafat Ali / paidContent:
Newsweek Sale Book: First Bids Due By June 2; Complete Financials

Discussion: FishbowlNY, New York Observer and eMedia Vitals

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Happy Hour Is Over: Fox Business Network Cancels Dayside Business Program (UPDATE) — Earlier today Mediate first reported that Fox Business had canceled Fox Business Happy Hour, the 5:00 pm show on the relatively nascent financial news channel. Mediaite has confirmed with Fox Business …

Discussion: TVNewser, Inside Cable News, Dealbreaker, News On News and New York Magazine

Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:

Rachel Maddow's Rand Paul Interview on MSNBC.com Gets Half a Million Online Views — Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy — Rachel Maddow's Wednesday night, news-making interview with Rand Paul - Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Kentucky …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Richard Prince's Journal-isms, Right Now, Mediaite, Change of Subject and Think Progress

Megan Garber / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The programmer majored in English: A fascinating study of the NYT's Interactive News unit — At the University of Texas's International Symposium on Online Journalism conference last month, a series of academics presented papers on the future of news. There's great stuff, including …

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

E-Books Rewrite Bookselling — NEW YORK—In the massive new Barnes & Noble superstore on Manhattan's Upper East Side, generous display space is devoted to baby blankets, Art Deco flight clocks, stationery and adult games like Risk and Stratego. — The eclectic merchandise …

New York Observer:

Meet Vinnie Rotondaro, The J-School Grad Who Scored a Prokhorov Exclusive — Russian billionaire and new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov was in extremely high demand among reporters on his tour through New York this week. At a press conference on Wednesday, which lasted almost an hour …

Discussion: The Brooklyn Ink, ProBasketballTalk, City Room, FishbowlNY, Runnin' Scared and Curbed NY

David Kravets / Threat Level:

Pennsylvania AG Dropping Twitter Subpoena — Pennsylvania prosecutors are dropping their grand jury subpoena to Twitter demanding the identity of two account holders who used the microblogging service to criticize Attorney General Tom Corbett, a spokesman said Friday.

Discussion: New York Times, CasablancaPA and TPMMuckraker

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Sky News ditches weather presenters — Long-serving forecaster Francis Wilson among those to go, with news presenters asked to deliver ‘headline forecasts’ — Francis Wilson, the long-serving weather presenter who has spent the past 17 years at Sky News, is understood to be leaving …

Erin McPike / National Journal Online:

Away From Prime Time, CNN Thrives — CNN STICKS TO ITS GUNS ON NEWS WITHOUT OPINION, EXCEPT ON THE HLN CHANNEL. — Smack in the middle of the worst economic decline since the Great Depression, when businesses everywhere are hemorrhaging money and news organizations are suffering through …

Edmund Lee / AdAge:

Yahoo Aims to Double Original Content in Ambitious Publishing Strategy — Plan Includes Snapping up Journalists, Buying Associated Content — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Despite Yahoo's well-publicized strategy to corner a broad array of online businesses from advertising to search to content …

Steve Buttry / Pursuing the Complete Community …:

Some tips on landing your next job in digital journalism — I have recently gained experience from both sides in job-hunting in digital journalism. — First I spent nine months looking for my next gig, landing at TBD as Director of Community Engagement. So I studied the issue from the hunter perspective.

Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:

MARC CUBAN COMPANY SUES PARAMOUNT FOR MILLIONS — EXCLUSIVE: Paramount has been sued for tens of millions of dollars by the Mark Cuban-backed entity that represents money behind 25 movies released in the 1990s. — Content Partners, the Cuban-affiliated company that manages Hollywood profit …

Discussion: Company Town

Jimmy Orr / Top of the Ticket:

Robert Gibbs turns into Wonder Woman; successfully deflects 13 questions in a row — It was almost like White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs turned into Wonder Woman and was using her magical silver bracelets to deflect the onslaught of questions from two reporters Thursday afternoon.

Discussion: Romenesko

Shira Ovide / Digits:

With 3-D in Newspapers, Is This Tech Trend Overdone? — Is 3-D at risk of jumping the shark? — Already flooded with 3-D movies, 3-D televised sporting events and 3-D scantily clad women, the world now will have a 3-D newspaper section. — The Philadelphia Inquirer said today …

Brent Lang / The Wrap:

EXCLUSIVE: Bob Kerrey Tapped to Head MPAA — By Ira Teinowitz & Sharon Waxman — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey has been tapped to be the next chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, TheWrap has learned. — Kerrey has won approval from the heads of the movie companies …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Media Decoder, TVWeek.com, Variety and Company Town

Joe Pompeo / Silicon Alley Insider:

Meet Andrew Golis, The 26-Year-Old Behind Yahoo's Newsiest 57 Million Page Views (YHOO) — Ever since Yahoo! News started putting together an all-star team of journalists earlier this year, we've been curious about its plans. — For the first time, Yahoo! News actually has full-time beat writers …

Discussion: Romenesko