Mediagazer: As technology advances, deep reading suffers (Nicholas Carr/San Francisco Chronicle)

11:35 AM ET, June 20, 2010

Top News:

Nicholas Carr / San Francisco Chronicle:

As technology advances, deep reading suffers — Look closely at what you're reading right now. See those little spaces between the words? They may look unimportant, but the invention of word spaces, back in the Middle Ages, changed the course of culture.

Evelyn Rusli / TechCrunch:

Scribd's Decision To Dump Flash Pays Off, User Engagement Triples — You could call it the perfect storm. — Over the last few months, user engagement on Scribd has surged, according to CEO Trip Adler, thanks to its transition to HTML5, the introduction of the iPad, and Scribd's Facebook integration.

Discussion: GigaOM

JD Lasica / MediaShift:

6 Takeaways from ‘TechDirt Saves Journalism’ Event at Google — What will the journalism landscape look like five to 10 years from now? The megatrend of unbundled, specialty-focused niche sources of online information likely spells doom for many of today's lumbering media giants.

NPR's On the Media:

Information Wants to Be Expensive (On The Media: Friday, 18 June 2010) — Information Wants to Be Expensive — The idea that “information wants to be free,” says Michael Hirschorn in the current issue of the Atlantic, has been the most powerful meme of the past 25 years.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Why Newspapers Aren't Investigating Honor Killings in America — Honor killings are horrific. — As I noted in my initial post on the matter, I admire and share Mark Steyn's staunch opposition to them, and I am glad that he is drawing more attention to the subject, even if he does hate my work.

Discussion: The Daily Dish

Laura McGann / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Knight News Challenge: Is a wiki site coming to your city? Local Wiki will build software to make it simple — Residents of Davis, Calif., have pulled off a feat that new media enthusiasts would love to replicate across the country. Since 2004, a local site has emerged as the go-to place …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and The Windy Citizen Full Feed

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Can Anyone Replace the Local Beat Reporter? — I'd like to repeat a story I sometimes tell about the importance of local journalism. It begins in 2003, when I worked as the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's beat reporter for Rancho Cucamonga (population 150,000), an affluent commuter suburb about an hour east of downtown Los Angeles.

the nytpicker:

NYT Columnist David Pogue Declares: “I Could Not Name You An Under-25 Year Old Who Subscribes To A Print Newspaper.” — Is David Pogue right? Has an entire generation abandoned print completely, and forever? — The NYT's popular personal-technology columnist offered that deeply discouraging assessment …

EditorandPublisher.com:

2010 EPpy Winners Announced at Interactive Conference — NEW YORK — This year's winners of the EPpy Award, the premier award for media-affiliated Websites and blogs, were announced today by Editor & Publisher at the concluding luncheon of its Interactive Media Conference in Las Vegas.

Discussion: USA Today

MediaPost:

Mobile Search Ads Will Follow Queries — Mobile search has long been considered a can't-miss proposition because search is a natural fit with on-the-go users looking for information. With its Android mobile operating system, the launch of its own smartphone and other mobile services, Google is clearly betting big on mobile search.

Discussion: CyberJournalist.net

Martin Naylor / Media Week:

Telegraph Media Group appoints first director of mobile — Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has appointed former Associated executive Mark Challinor as its first director of mobile. — Mark Challinor: joins TMG as director of mobile — From July, Challinor will work across the company …

Discussion: paidContent:UK

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Lebedev to kick off editors' conference with lecture — Alexander Lebedev is to kick off the Society of Editors (SoE) conference in Glasgow in November by delivering the annual lecture. — The owner of the London Evening Standard and the two Independent titles is likely to choose press freedom as his theme.

Discussion: Society Of Editors, Journalism.co.uk, Jon Slattery and Press Gazette