Mediagazer: TPR v. The New Yorker: The Softball Diaries (Christopher Cox/The Paris Review)

9:35 AM ET, August 15, 2010

Top News:

Katie Roiphe / New York Times:

The Language of Fakebook — I HAVE a feeling that if Andy Warhol were alive he would be spending the summer writing a novel that takes place in real time on Facebook. In that spirit, Lauren Mechling and Laura Moser have been writing a clever serialized novel on Slate called “My Darklyng.”

Discussion: New York Observer

Josef Adalian / New York Magazine:

Starz Plans Party Down's Digital Afterlife — Party Down is very much dead, but if the folks responsible for axing it have their way, TV's greatest-ever catering comedy will soon morph into a mighty zombie show far more popular than the TV version that aired on Starz for two seasons.

Discussion: TVWeek.com and Movieline

Robin Wilson / Chronicle of Higher Education:

What Killed Kevin Morrissey? — How the death of an editor threatens the future of the University of Virginia's prestigious literary review — When Kevin Morrissey walked to the old coaling tower near the University of Virginia campus late last month and shot himself in the head …

Discussion: Gawker and Romenesko

Randee Dawn / Los Angeles Times:

Blogs move from monitors to TV and movie screens — Projects that prove hits online can become hot commodities in Hollywood but don't always click there. Sometimes you get ‘Julie & Julia,’ sometimes ‘I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.’ — Sometimes the next big thing comes in a small package.

Christopher Cox / The Paris Review:

TPR v. The New Yorker: The Softball Diaries — After the jump, a recap of Tuesday night's softball game against The New Yorker. — Pregame: It's a tense start to the annual Paris Review v. New Yorker softball game. By staff size alone, the Small Fry (apparently it's a rule …

Kevin Kelleher / DailyFinance:

Demand Media's Bad Week: Accusations of Malware, Lies and Plunging Traffic — Has it only been a week since Demand Media filed for an initial public offering? For Demand Media, it's been a long week, and certainly not a felicitous one for its plans to go public.

Discussion: BoomTown

Felix Salmon:

The huge obstacles facing Murdoch's new tablet newspaper — Rupert Murdoch is launching a new national newspaper, which will be “distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple's iPad and mobile phones”. — The interesting thing here is the “paid content” part …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Engadget, The Atlantic Online and Big Think, more at Techmeme »

Joe Pompeo / Silicon Alley Insider:
Meet The Print Guy Who Will Lead Rupert Murdoch's Digital Newspaper

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Company Town and mediabistro.com

Andrea Pitzer / Nieman Storyboard:

Richard Morgan on payback, freelancing and the myth of the “made man” — Richard Morgan recently found a new measure of fame writing about writing, with his funny/terrifying piece “Seven Years as a Freelance Writer, or, How to Make Vitamin Soup.” Though Morgan's work has appeared …

Tom Scott / Tom Scott's updates:

CONTENTS NOT VERIFIED — It seems a bit strange to me that the media carefully warn about and label any content that involves sex, violence or strong language — but there's no similar labelling system for, say, sloppy journalism and other questionable content. — I figured it was time to fix that, so I made some stickers.

Discussion: WHAT'S NEXT, TechCrunch, Romenesko, Techdirt, Common Sense Journalism, CJR, Boing Boing, New York Magazine and Jon Slattery

Ron Mwangaguhunga / eMedia Vitals:

Why now is a good time to go hyperlocal — We are experiencing something of a hyperlocal renaissance right now. The Long Island daily Newsday is on a hiring binge, looking for thirty-four hyperlocal beat reporters. If by the second half of last year the hyperlocal space was heating up …

Devon Glenn / FishbowlNY:

Digital Media Startup Bootstrapped, but Otherwise ‘Stoked’ — The art of online publishing isn't so much about novelty as it is about having a clear focus and the right packaging for your content. In our inbox yesterday was a link to a newly-launched online magazine and e-newsletter called …

Joe Pompeo / The Wire:

More Jobs Up In The Air At A&E Television Networks 9 Months After Mass Layoffs — We got a tip yesterday that layoffs had come down at A&E Television Networks (AETN), which is jointly owned by Hearst, Disney and NBC Universal. — Some quick background: A year ago, A&E merged with Lifetime …