Mediagazer: Yahoo's Big Video Plans: New Business Show, Scripted Entertainment … (Andy Plesser/Beet.TV)

10:10 AM ET, December 5, 2010

Top News:

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Like It or Not, WikiLeaks is a Media Entity — The past week has seen plenty of ink spilled — virtual and otherwise — about WikiLeaks and its mercurial front-man, Julian Assange, and the pressure they have come under from the U.S. government and companies such as Amazon and PayPal …

Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg, Jay Rosen, New York Times, Salon, FP Passport, Scripting News and broadstuff, more at Techmeme », Thanks:hblodget

Arthur S. Brisbane / New York Times:

What if the Secrets Stayed Secret? — I READ the Monday New York Times with what can only be described as a sinking feeling. — Here on display, based on yet another WikiLeaks release, was the breathtaking disclosure of American diplomats' highly sensitive internal communications about friends and enemies.

Discussion: CJR and CNBC

Misha Glenny / T Magazine:

The Gift of Information — Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been jettisoned to fame or notoriety (choose your noun, please) not because of a passing political battle but for reasons much deeper: the desire to possess, distribute and devour information. Ever since the release in July …

Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:

Yahoo's Big Video Plans: New Business Show, Scripted Entertainment and News Verticals — NEW YORK — Yahoo will significantly increase its original video offering in 2011 with a new business show on Yahoo Finance, scripted entertainment programming and with news video in a number of vertical areas …

Discussion: AdPulp

Matt Rosoff / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider: Yahoo IS Focused: “We're A Content Company”

Peter Preston / Guardian:

Richard Branson's Project app launched without a lifeboat — The Virgin boss says his iPad magazine will have to sink or swim on its own merits - at a time when some venerable web publications are sinking — Richard Branson is a master of publicity (including self-publicity).

Alan English / The Augusta Chronicle:

Chronicle is launching subscriptions for digital access — Free for a limited time. — Digital access to The Augusta Chronicle's news stories - also available in a nifty iPad format in the coming weeks - is moving from being completely free to a subscription-based model.

Discussion: paidContent and WebNewser

Will Richmond / VideoNuze:

With Widevine Acquisition, Google is Poised to Go Hollywood — Just as the week is wrapping up, Google has announced its acquisition of Widevine, a provider of digital content protection and video optimization technologies. Widevine was a private company that had raised over $50 million to date.

Discussion: MediaPost and TechCrunch

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

On the Media: Is Perez Hilton's conversion for real? — Only time will tell if the snarky blogger, who built a career by being mean-spirited, is a changed man. — There he was on national television, the self-styled “Queen of Mean.” Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton sat bolt upright in an almost-conservative jacket and tie.

Discussion: The Big Picture

Rick Edmonds / Poynter Online:

Mary Meeker's math: Old media captures $50 billion in advertising that should go to Internet — Besides Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving and Black Friday, I mark November as the occasion for analyst Mary Meeker's voluminous and always provocative report on the state of the Internet.

Beet.TV:

Roku Readies Pay-Per-View System for Small Publishers — While Netflix, the MLB.com and Amazon have sophisticated payment systems in place on the Roku platform, smaller publishers have few options to generate subscription or pay-per-view payments. — Beginning early next year …

Discussion: GigaOM

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Apple, Publishers Still Miles Apart on iTunes Subscriptions — Magazine publishers used to salivate over the iPad. Now they're a lot more reserved. They make hopeful noises about Google's Android tablets instead. — That's because Apple and the publishing industry haven't been able …