Mediagazer: Knight Foundation Strengthens Focus on Assessment and Impact (Marc Fest/Knight Foundation)

9:05 AM ET, May 28, 2010

Top News:

David W. Martin / Mac|Life:

Apple Reveals New Service for Authors to Sell Their Books Directly in the iBookstore — Are you a budding author? The next Stephen King? Or an author currently looking to cut out the middle man as you rollout your own books? It looks like your time has come — Apple has released information on self-publishing for the iBookstore!

Discussion: Fast Company, Podcasting News, Kindle Review and MacRumors

David Kaplan / paidContent:

New Newsweek.com Emphasizes Minimalism; Paid iPad App Next Week — As the Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) tries to find a buyer for its struggling Newsweek, the magazine has revamped its website with a somewhat lighter look. In a note to users, Mark Miller, Newsweek Digital's editor …

Discussion: Mediaweek, mediabistro.com, Silicon Alley Insider, Romenesko and FishbowlNY

Mark Miller / Newsweek:
Welcome to the New Newsweek.com

Discussion: New York Observer, Lost Remote, FishbowlNY, New York Magazine and The Wire

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Slap for Apple — Adobe's Flash video software has become a flashpoint in negotiations between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Big Media. — On a day when Apple execs probably cheered the fact the company had surpassed Microsoft as the world's most valuable tech company, Jobs was grappling …

Discussion: Shelly Palmer, Engadget, Mashable!, WebNewser, Media Buyer Planner, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo and MacRumors

Laura Sydell / NPR:

Website Editors Strive To Rein In Nasty Comments … It's easy to lose your temper on the Internet. Anyone who reads — or writes — comments on blogs and news sites knows that the conversation can quickly stray from civil discourse to scathing personal attacks.

Michael Miner / Chicago Reader:

The Pitfalls of “Cooperative” News — San Francisco's new Bay Citizen pitches a controversial plan. Plus: what it can learn from the Chicago News Co-op. — The Bay Citizen opens for business this week in San Francisco, and there are two big reasons the news industry is paying attention.

Discussion: MEDIA BEESWAX

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

When Local News Goes Awry: Reporter And PR Person Battle Over Touching — Dan Noyes is not only a local reporter for the ABC Bay Area affiliate, KGO-TV, but his tenacious style of local journalism is about to make him a rising star in the world of viral video.

Discussion: Gawker, Breitbart.tv and The Huffington Post

Emily Smoucha / Columbia Missourian:

MU School of Journalism to change curriculum this fall — COLUMBIA — The MU School of Journalism is about to revamp its undergraduate program. — Faculty members of the school's curriculum committee have completely restructured the program to tailor classes to students' specific interests.

Marc Fest / Knight Foundation:

Knight Foundation Strengthens Focus on Assessment and Impact — Director of Strategic Assessment and Assistant to the President — MIAMI - The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has promoted Mayur Patel to serve as assistant to the foundation's president, Alberto Ibargüen.

Discussion: KnightBlog

Nielsen Wire:

“Glee” and the Rolling Stones Lead Surge of Digital and Indie Retail Music Sales — Following its season premier in April, the music-themed TV show “Glee” saw track downloads from its four compilations jump from 50-350K in the first week. The show's latest “Showstoppers” …

Discussion: Mashable! and MediaPost

Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:

Yahoo Builds Pullover Ad Unit For Macy's, Garners Higher CPM — Macy's tapped Yahoo this week to recreate its offline Memorial Day sales circular into a Smart Ad-powered pullover ad unit in Yahoo Mail, becoming the first retailer to run the advertisement. — Yahoo worked with Pointroll …

Aaron Bradley / Search Engine Land:

Q & A With Brent D. Payne, In-House SEO Director, Tribune Company — Brent D. Payne is the SEO Director at Tribune Company, whose properties include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Baltimore Sun. In one form or another, Brent has been engaged in search engine marketing for over a decade.

Bloomberg:

Yahoo, Facebook, EBay Urge End to Viacom YouTube Suit — Yahoo! Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp, EBay Inc. and Facebook Inc. urged a judge to dismiss Viacom Inc.'s copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google Inc.'s YouTube video-sharing website. — The four Internet companies filed friend …

Discussion: Media Maverick, Digital Daily, Digits, paidContent, VentureBeat and MediaPost

John Koblin / New York Observer:

Lynn Hirschberg's Response to M.I.A. Tweet: ‘Fairly Unethical’ and ‘Infuriating’ — This morning, M.I.A. tweeted out writer Lynn Hirschberg's phone number in response to a piece in this weekend's Times Magazine. The tweet seemed to suggest that M.I.A. wasn't much of a fan of the piece.

Discussion: Romenesko, Sound of the City, The Wrap, Gawker, The Awl, Gothamist, PopEater, Flavorwire, Jezebel, New York Magazine, Speakeasy, The Stranger … and Vanity Fair

Washington Examiner:

Former Gawker editor comes to D.C., disses Denton — She has worked for one of New York's most controversial media figures, but is airing out her opinion about it in D.C. — Former Gawker.com editor Emily Gould told Yeas and Nays that she doesn't miss the gossip scene or her old boss, Nick Denton, former owner of Wonkette.

Newsweek:

BP's Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill — Photographers say BP and government officials are preventing them from documenting the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. — As BP makes its latest attempt to plug its gushing oil well, news photographers are complaining that their efforts …