Mediagazer: Was Mark Twain the 'World's First Blogger'? (Adrian Chen/Gawker)

5:10 AM ET, October 18, 2010

Top News:

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Traffic Bait Doesn't Bring Ad Clicks — Sure, articles about Lindsay Lohan's repeat trips to rehabilitation and Brett Favre's purported sexual peccadilloes generate loads of reader traffic, but do they actually make decent money for the Web sites that publish them? — According to a new analysis, no.

Discussion: AdAge

Perfect Market Blog:
Perfect Market: Vault Index Summer 2010

Discussion: Search Engine Land

Peter Preston / Guardian:

We thought the internet was killing print. But it isn't — There is no clear correlation between a rise in internet traffic and a fall in newspaper circulation. Some papers are growing in both formats, others are succeeding in neither, according to new research — The woe, as usual, is more or less unconfined.

Discussion: TechCrunch and Kirk LaPointe's …

Amir Efrati / Wall Street Journal:

Yahoo to Offer Media Links — Yahoo Inc. plans to mimic a strategy used by rival Facebook Inc. to help drive traffic to its site, people familiar with the matter said. — The Sunnyvale, Calif., company soon will roll out a feature called Y Connect to allow media publishers …

more at Techmeme »

Jeremy Porter / Journalistics:

The Top 25 U.S. Newspapers According to Google — Clicks is one thing, credibility is another. When it comes to online credibility, Google PageRank rules over all. Few metrics illustrate true authority on the Web more than Google's PageRank. PageRank is the accepted standard for authority on the Web.

Brian Steinberg / AdAge:

Simon Who? ‘Idol’ Spots Still Priciest in Prime Time — Ad Age's Exclusive Annual Survey of Broadcast TV Ad Costs Has Fox Sitting Pretty With Five of Top 10 Shows — What a spot costs — Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Richard Mauer / Anchorage Daily News:

Miller security guards handcuff editor — The editor of the Alaska Dispatch website was arrested by U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's private security guards Sunday as the editor attempted to interview Miller on camera at the end of a public event in an Anchorage school.

Discussion: BAGnewsNotes, The Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo

Simon Dumenco / AdAge:

Why Do So Many New-Media Startups Ultimately Commit Suicide? — Life in the Fast Lane With VC-Enabled ‘Geniuses’ Who Do Themselves in With Not-So-Genius Moves — It's become accepted wisdom that many old-media companies are doomed; they're led by, the thinking goes, out-of-touch numbskulls.

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Fox Shutdown in Second Day for Cablevision Subscribers — Fox network in Cablevision homes is into its second day, with negotiations set to pick up again at noon. Whether or not viewers will be able to watch the Giants football game on Sunday afternoon is still in the air.

Discussion: Gothamist

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
News Corp. Shuts Off Hulu Access To Cablevision Customers …

Discussion: Media Decoder, A VC, NewTeeVee, VentureBeat, Multichannel, Broadcasting & Cable, Zatz Not Funny!, paidContent, Capital Tonight, Runnin' Scared, Engadget, NYConvergence.com, CNN, Gizmodo and Mediaite

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Zenith Media Merges Print, Digital Divisions — Magazine Chief Begins Reporting to Digital Head — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Zenith Media is merging its magazine division with its digital division, training members of each group to work fluently in the other medium and assigning …

Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:

HTML5 Video is Not Ready for the Web, W3C's Le Hegaret — CAMBRIDGE, Mass — Despite the growing demand for HTML5, and its deployment by many big online players, its commercial introduction is premature as there is no standard for the new technology, says Philippe Le Hegaret …

Adrian Chen / Gawker:

Was Mark Twain the 'World's First Blogger'? — The Autobiography of Mark Twain just became the number one best-seller on Amazon. This means people have to come up with something new to say about Mark Twain 100 years after his death. Like: was Mark Twain a blogger?

Discussion: CBS News and EW.com

John Koblin / WWD:

Condé Nast Banks On Scott Dadich — CUTTING THE WIRE: Condé Nast “It” boy Scott Dadich has resigned as creative director at Wired to focus full time on his other gig as the company's executive director of digital-magazine development. Dadich got his corporate job back in July …

David Carr / New York Times:

When Salacious Is Irresistible — In the last week, I've gotten a very clear view of two things — the male physique purported to belong to Brett Favre and the inner workings of modern media. I wish I could un-see both. — First, an instant replay for nonsports fans: back in February …