Mediagazer: You've got friends — Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg … (Claire Atkinson/New York Post)

3:25 PM ET, August 11, 2010

Top News:

Sheelah Kolhatkar / The Atlantic Online:

The News Merchant — Interested in booking Joran van der Sloot's ex-girlfriend for the morning news? Want an exclusive? Got a little cash to spend? Larry Garrison's the person to call, though most news networks won't admit they call him. The inside story of how tabloid TV news is made …

Discussion: New York Observer, CJR, TVNewser and Inside Cable News

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Confirmed: HOPA Dry Erase Girl Is A Hoax, Identity Revealed — “Girl quits her job on dry erase board, emails entire office (33 Photos)” is indeed a hoax, say its creators John and Leo Resig. — I'd love to pull out some well-worn meta-media analysis about how memes are increasingly …

Discussion: The New Republic, The First Post, The Consumerist, Gizmodo and PE Hub Blog, more at Techmeme »

Ryan Tate / Gawker: The Quitting Tale That Suckered the Whole Internet

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Meet the Prankster Brothers Behind “Jenny,” …

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

You've got friends — Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and AOL CEO Tim Armstrong are quietly discussing a strategic alliance aimed at boosting their online ad businesses, The Post has learned. — The two companies have been talking for several months about a partnership …

Discussion: GigaOM, MediaPost, New York Observer and CMO.com, more at Techmeme »

Mike Steib / Inside AdWords:

DIRECTV partners with Google TV Ads — Cross-posted from the Google TV Ads Blog — Today, we're announcing a strategic partnership with DIRECTV through which Google TV Ads will offer inventory on a broad selection of television networks available on DIRECTV.

Discussion: paidContent, MediaPost, TechCrunch, PC Magazine, Fortune, 901am and L.A. Times Tech Blog, more at Techmeme »

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Newsweek's editor exodus — Pressure is mounting to find a new editor-in-chief of Newsweek, as the staff defections continue in the wake of the sale two weeks ago to stereo mogul Sidney Harman. — Jon Meacham, the current editor-in-chief, is telling staffers he hopes to pack it in by Labor Day.

Discussion: Yahoo! News

Guardian:

Desmond wields axe at Channel Five — • Desmond plans to invest £1.5bn over five years — • Up to 80 jobs to go in £20m cost-cutting drive — • Five may return to Project Canvas — Channel Five is to lose seven of its nine executive board directors …

Discussion: Variety, The First Post and Media Week

Tanzina Vega / New York Times:

A Weekly Magazine Meant for Mobile — A small group of former magazine journalists and editors, including the former president of Newsweek, plan to launch a weekly digital magazine this fall that they hope will capitalize on the idea of creating content specifically for mobile technology.

Discussion: New York Observer, Poynter Online, eMedia Vitals, Silicon Alley Insider, Venture Capital Dispatch, Brooks in Beta, Media Buyer Planner, AdPulp, On Media's Blog and Romenesko

Adrianne Jeffries / ReadWriteWeb:

Tribune Co. Hopes Anchorless TV Newscast Will Be Just Like Surfing the Web — From the department of You Just Don't Get It, Do You: Tribune Co. is planning to blow the traditional TV newscast apart in an attempt to imitate the experience of Web browsing on TV.

Discussion: TV / Radio

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:

Johnny Carson's Online Presence Gets a Boost — In one of his last “Tonight Show” monologues, in 1992, Johnny Carson informed his audience that a virus had struck the program's computers, wiping out “29 years of our writers' material.” — “Three of the best jokes you've ever heard in your life,” he said.

Discussion: WebNewser, Company Town, TVWeek.com, Variety, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, Movieline and TV Tattle

Zeke Turner / New York Observer:

Stefano Shows Off His Very Own Vanity Project … “I think we should have our salad and then we will go fast through the magazine,” said Stefano Tonchi, the editor of W. It was Tuesday afternoon on the fourth floor of 4 Times Square and Mr. Tonchi was wearing a two-button gray suit and an open-collared white shirt.

Discussion: Gawker, New York Magazine and Romenesko

Wall Street Journal:

H-P Board Surprised Hurd Didn't Go Quietly — Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board got caught off guard by the public relations campaign waged on behalf of its ousted chief executive, Mark Hurd, to defend his reputation in the wake of his departure. — H-P's directors “hoped he would move on,” …

Discussion: Deal Journal, DailyFinance and Digits

Journalism.co.uk:

[TNTJ] Blogging: The skill that begets all others — If you're a young journalist sitting around wondering what you can do right now to make yourself more attractive to potential employers, here it is: blog. Blogging is very much the basis for all web communication and by blogging regularly …

Jeff Rivera / mediabistro.com:

So What Do You Do, Hugh Hefner, Founder of Playboy Enterprises? — ‘The future is bright because of the power of the brand’ — Call him a genius, call him a heretic, but don't call him a pornographer. From first bringing bodacious bods to newsstands across America in the conservative 1950s …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, UnBeige and mediabistro.com

Janko Roettgers / NewTeeVee:

Did Netflix Pay Too Much for Epix Content? — The news that Netflix is teaming up with Epix to bolster its online catalog has generally gotten good reception today, with Netflix stock up 8 percent and analysts like J.P. Morgan's Imran Khan giving the deal a thumbs up.

Discussion: Online Video News, Company Town, Moneywood, Light Reading, Cinematical and The Wrap