Mediagazer: Charges Settled Over Fake Reviews on iTunes (Miguel Helft/New York Times)

3:35 PM ET, August 27, 2010

Top News:

Michael Liedtke / Associated Press:

USA Today shaking up staff in ‘radical’ overhaul — SAN FRANCISCO — USA Today, the nation's second largest newspaper, is making the most dramatic overhaul of its staff in its 28-year history as it de-emphasizes its print edition and ramps up its effort to reach more readers and advertisers on mobile devices.

Discussion: PR Newswire, FishbowlNY, CJR, Cision, Gannett Blog, Jon Slattery, Electronista, The Wrap, Mobile Media, NetNewsCheck Latest, Garcia Media, The Wire, Editors Weblog, Gawker, New York Observer, On Media's Blog and readingarefun.wordpress.com

David Kaplan / paidContent:

USAT Starts ‘Radical’ Shakeup: 130 Layoffs; News Tailored To Mobile, Ads — USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke is embarking on the biggest change in the Gannett (NYSE: GCI) flagship's 28-year history as he shifts away from print and towards mobile. The newsroom is being restructured around content rings instead …

Discussion: rbr.com, Media Decoder, 5 Blogs Before Lunch and Newspaper Death Watch

Ben Fritz / Company Town:

Blockbuster tells Hollywood studios it's preparing for mid-September bankruptcy — After dominating the home video rental business for more than a decade and struggling to survive in recent years against upstarts Netflix and Redbox, Blockbuster Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy next month …

New York Post:

Three more leave listing Newsweek — Newsweek continues to hemorrhage talent following the magazine's sale to 91-year-old audio-equipment tycoon Sidney Harmon, with as many as three top editors heading for the exits this week, The Post has learned. — In the latest high-profile departure …

Discussion: WWD Media Headlines and The Wire

Mike Taylor / FishbowlNY:

Source: Tina Brown Gunning for Editor-in-Chief Spot at Newsweek — A source tells FishbowlNY that Tina Brown, editor of The Daily Beast, has thrown her hat into the ring for the editor-in-chief job at Newsweek. — This is interesting, since we hear Brown is still under contract with The Daily Beast.

Discussion: The Wrap, mediabistro.com, The Wire, Romenesko, New York Observer and On Media's Blog

Miguel Helft / New York Times:

Charges Settled Over Fake Reviews on iTunes — SAN FRANCISCO — Savvy Internet users know that glowing online reviews of things like books or restaurants can't always be trusted. But federal regulators are giving notice that if you stand to gain financially from the review you are writing, you should be up front about it.

Discussion: Hit & Run, New York Observer, Federal Trade Commission, Technology & …, Techdirt, Inc.com, Andy Beard, DailyFinance, eMedia Vitals and hypebot, more at Techmeme »

Mark Briggs / Poynter Online:

Why News Startups Should Think Collaboration, not Competition, with Big Media — How will new media replace old media? The rise of independent journalism startups, combined with the shrinking of mainstream news organizations, provokes the question. And for some media pundits, the question is when - not if.

Cory Bergman / Lost Remote: A look at Miami Herald's hyperlocal approach

Dan Gillmor / Salon:

Who's a journalist? Does that matter? — What should we call the people who are creating valuable new information in the new-media ecosystem? — If you're a creator of media, and most of us are these days in one way or another, what should I call you? — Why do I ask?

Discussion: Gawker

New York Post:

Larry King back to radio via Ryan Seacrest — Larry King always wanted Ryan Seacrest to be his replacement on CNN. — But now King may be going to work for Seacrest — on the radio show. — King, who will step down late this year according to current plans, and the “American Idol” …

Discussion: TVWeek.com, The Wire and Hollywood Reporter

James Hibberd / The Hollywood Reporter:

‘Modern Family’ creator: Why I took on Hulu — Exclu: Ever since “Modern Family” creator Steve Levitan told THR about his efforts to remove his Emmy-nominated comedy hit from ABC.com last month, the showrunner has been stirring up cyberspace with his take on Modern Viewing.

Discussion: Movieline, Company Town and TVbytheNumbers

Emily Wood / The Official Google Blog:

Find out what's hot on search with the Google Beat — Every day, there are more than a billion searches for information on Google. Have you ever wondered what those searches are about—or whether what you're searching for also happens to be on the minds of millions of others across the country?

Discussion: NewTeeVee, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, Pocket-lint and BlueGlass, more at Techmeme »

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Marc Ambinder says he would've outed Ken Mehlman earlier if he'd had proof — Marc Ambinder, the political junkie who writes for the Atlantic, says he suspected, like everyone else in town, that Ken Mehlman was gay. — In fact, years before the former Republican Party chairman acknowledged …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Politico and Mediaite

Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:
How Ken Mehlman's ‘open secret’ stayed hidden

Discussion: Latest Open Salon Blog, The New Yorker Blog, The Daily Beast, On Media's Blog, Romenesko and LA Observed

Joe Pompeo / The Wire:

After Getting Screwed By CBS, Longshot Magazine (Formerly 48 HR) Launches Its Second Issue — Not to state the obvious, but it ain't easy launching a magazine these days. Especially when you're a small group of friends with limited resources trying to create something new and experimental …

Discussion: Longshot!

Jeff Bercovici / DailyFinance:

The Most and Least Honest Pundits (Hint: Don't Believe Glenn Beck) — More and more, the “news” consists of commentators telling you what to think about the issues of the day. Now, thanks to PolitiFact, its possible to see which of them root their assertions in reality and which are talking …

Richard Huff / NY Daily News:

In LIRR mess, local TV had a chance to be relvant, but failed even to be userful — So many times, local TV news has a chance to be a vital tool to the viewers and so many times, the operations blow it by sending viewers to the Internet. — That's just dumb.

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

YouTube UK launches free movie service — Video site signs deals with US studios including Sony Pictures and UK service Blinkbox — YouTube is to launch a free movie service after striking deals with US studios including Sony Pictures and UK service Blinkbox.

Discussion: Telegraph, TechCrunch, paidContent, TechCrunch Europe, NewTeeVee, Pocket-lint, Fast Company, The Next Web and WatchingTV Online, more at Techmeme »

Cate T. Corcoran / WWD:

Marketing's New Rage: Brands Sponsoring Influential Bloggers — Forget about just display ads. Increasingly, the future of advertising online seems to be through sponsorships, contests, giveaways, product placement, widgets and games — often with bloggers.

Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:

Washington Post WH reporter heads to NY Times — The White House press corps may look a bit different when President Obama returns from Martha's Vineyard, with a couple of changes in the past two days. — Michael Shear, a White House reporter for the Washington Post, is joining the New York Times …

Discussion: The Caucus, Romenesko and New York Observer

Eric Kohn / Speakeasy:

Heeb Magazine Suspends Print Edition, Goes On-Line Only … This morning, “Heeb” publisher and editor-in-chief Josh Neuman announced on the magazine's website that the snarky Jewish publication has ceased production of its print edition. This should come as no surprise to anyone following …

Discussion: Romenesko and FishbowlNY