Mediagazer: FT Launching Seventh Niche Paid Site To Reduce Advertising Reliance (Robert Andrews/paidContent:UK)

8:05 AM ET, September 7, 2010

Top News:

ABC News Chief Is Said to Be Resigning — David Westin, the longtime president of ABC News, is said to have told several top staff members that he will resign on Tuesday. — The decision, one of the staff members said on Monday night, relates to a long-running conflict between Mr. Westin …

Discussion: The Wrap, TVNewser, Hollywood Reporter, Company Town, Broadcasting & Cable, Deadline.com, Howard Kurtz, Gawker, Mediaite, LA Observed, blogs.tampabay.com, New York Post, CNBC, FishbowlDC and New York Magazine

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent: Westin Out At ABC News Just Months After Massive Job Cuts; The E-Mails

Michael Wolff / Newser:

What Did Rupert Murdoch (and Son James) Know, and When Did They Know It? — Follow him on Twitter @MichaelWolffNYC — Don Van Natta Jr., the lead reporter on the New York Times' Sunday Magazine story about the phone hacking scandal that's engulfed some of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers in London, is a Times enforcer.

Discussion: The First Post and Guardian

Chester Stern / Guardian:

The News of the World's special relationship with the police — The phone-hacking scandal shows how the NoW is in a unique position to push the boundaries of legality in pursuing a scoop — Is there some kind of a mutual love-in going on between Scotland Yard and the News of the World …

New York Times:
In Britain, Labour Politicians Call for New Look at Scandal

Discussion: Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BBC, The Daily Beast, Journalism.co.uk, Press Gazette, The Reality-Based Community, Inforrm's Blog, Liberal Conspiracy and Telegraph

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Links: Not Just the Currency of the Web, but the Soul — Author Nicholas Carr wrote a controversial post recently about the use of hyperlinks in online content, in which he argued that links were a distraction for readers, and were likely to lead to less comprehension rather than more.

Michael Learmonth / AdAge:

What Big Brands Are Spending on Google — From BP's Boost in June to AT&T's Massive IPhone Outlay, Internal Doc Reveals What Marketers Drop on Search — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Before BP could stem the oil gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, it unleashed $100 million in ad spending …

Discussion: AppleInsider, Mashable!, Jonathan Mendez's Blog, Fast Company, AdExchanger.com, Fortune, Silicon Alley Insider, Search Engine Land and the Econsultancy blog, more at Techmeme »

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

The Atlantic Will Follow Paid iPad Edition With New ‘Atlantic Premium’ — The Atlantic is the latest to mine for gold in the iPad App Store with single issues for sale at $4.99—but that's just one part of a grander digital scheme. In coming weeks, the magazine publisher plans …

Ian Shapira / Washington Post:

Washington Times struggles amid divisions of family, ideology, finances — Last fall in South Korea, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, presided over a mass wedding in the tens of thousands, blessing marriages he had personally arranged — all couples in white gowns, kimonos and black suits.

Steven Kurutz / Speakeasy:

William Gibson On the Future of Publishing: Made to Order Books … It's no surprise that William Gibson is a prolific user of Twitter. The author of science-fiction classics like “Neuromancer” and “Spook Country” has long been interested in emerging technology.

Discussion: TeleRead

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

How readers consume their news online is changing journalism, but it's not just about the clicks — I can no longer file a story in our computer system without filling out a box, a small gray square that may well determine the future of serious journalism. — The box is supposed …

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

The Attack Of Branded Content: Who Will Control TV On The Web? (TCTV) — I've got to admit, the concept of “branded content” on the Web makes me cringe. It is generally used to refer to Web videos created and packaged specifically for an advertiser. Maybe I am old-fashioned …

Robert Andrews / paidContent:UK:

FT Launching Seventh Niche Paid Site To Reduce Advertising Reliance — The Financial Times is increasingly launching specialist spin-off sites targeted at niche audiences of financial professionals. — The latest is SchemeXpert.com, a news and analysis site covering the pensions sector.

Discussion: MinOnline and the Econsultancy blog

Jemima Kiss / Guardian:

Random House and Stardoll co-launch online story project — Mortal Kiss will be a serialised paranormal romance targeted at teenage girls — The publisher Random House is exploiting the trend for vampire romance through an interactive story project in partnership with Stardoll, the social gaming site for teenage girls.