Mediagazer: Guardian memo: 54,000 a month behind Times paywall (Dominic Ponsford/Press Gazette)

8:50 AM ET, December 9, 2010

Top News:

To Trend or Not to Trend... Since Twitter first introduced the Trends feature in the summer of 2008, one frequently asked question has been “Why isn't X trending?” This question has come up around a variety of subjects, from #justinbieber and #adamlambert to #flotilla, #iranelection and #demo2010.

Discussion: Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Guardian, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Social Medium, ResourceShelf and SAI, more at Techmeme »

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Pulitzer board announces changes for 2011 competition — Romenesko Misc. — The rules for 12 of the 14 categories now state explicitly that entries may use any available journalistic tool, including text reporting, videos, databases, multimedia or interactive presentations or any combination of those formats.

Santa Rosa Press-Democrat:

Sonoma Index-Tribune drops paywall on news website — The Sonoma Index-Tribune has ended its three-month-long practice of charging readers to view online content, even as another news website begins operation in the community. — In September, the twice-weekly Index-Tribune started charging viewers $5 …

Discussion: paidContent, mediabistro.com and WebNewser

Yahoo / Yodel Anecdotal:

Yahoo! Gets Hyper-Local — Here at Yahoo! we are constantly redefining how people experience and interact with content on the Web. Users today want to go beyond words presented on the screen. They want videos. They want social activity. They want it anywhere and anytime.

Discussion: Y! Mobile Blog, NetNewsCheck Latest, paidContent, SAI, Search Engine Land, Bits and GigaOM, more at Techmeme »

NPR:

NYT Reporter Defends Publishing WikiLeaks Cables … Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has suggested that The New York Times should be investigated for publishing classified diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. — “To me The New York Times has committed …

Discussion: Techdirt, American Journalism Review and The Huffington Post

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Guardian memo: 54,000 a month behind Times paywall — New research from Experian Hitwise has been used by The Guardian to suggests that 54,000 people a month are accessing content behind the paywall of The Times and Sunday Times. — The research was commissioned by Guardian News and Media …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, Editors Weblog and Media Money

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:

New York Post Political Editor Quits After Fight With Tyrant Boss — Gregg Birnbaum was the well-liked political editor of the New York Post, a 17-year veteran of the paper. Until yesterday, when he left abruptly. The reason, we hear: he got sick of NYP chief Col Allan's obnoxious behavior.

Discussion: Poynter

Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:

Netflix signs new Disney-ABC deal, shows up doubters — Disney apparently doesn't think Netflix is a threat. The company has struck a deal to offer content via Netflix's streaming service. — Netflix has signed a new licensing agreement with one of the biggest Hollywood studios …

Discussion: New York Post, PR Newswire, The Digital Home, Mashable!, MediaMemo and The Wrap

David Kaplan / paidContent:
Correction: Netflix And Disney Agree On 15-Day Window For Some Streaming

Discussion: The Official Netflix Blog, MediaPost, Company Town, NetNewsCheck Latest, Multichannel, MediaPost, Fast Company, rbr.com, GigaOM and Broadcasting & Cable

Amy Garmer / KnightComm:

Rethinking Public Media: More Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive — At a time when government funding for public broadcasting is hotly debated, Rethinking Public Media: More Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive, a new policy paper by Barbara Cochran, offers five broad strategies …

Patricia Cohen / Media Decoder:

Foer Steps Down at The New Republic — The New Republic is getting a new editor in the new year. Richard Just, currently the executive editor, is taking over Jan. 1 from Franklin Foer, who is stepping down after a five-year stint. — Mr. Foer, 36, who closed his last issue of the magazine on Tuesday …

Discussion: New York Observer, Yahoo! News, Poynter, The Huffington Post and bookforum.com

Jessica E. Vascellaro / Speakeasy:

Departing NBCU Chief Zucker Considers Private Equity, Other Options … Departing NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker has added to his list of possible next acts one more item: joining a private-equity firm. — Zucker has been approached by several, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

News Corp. COO: Please Don't Associate Us With Our Newspapers — Rupert Murdoch may have printer's ink flowing through his veins, as is often said of the News Corp. chairman, but for his No. 2, president and COO Chase Carey, newspapers are more like an albatross around the neck.

Discussion: rbr.com and Multichannel

David Folkenflik / NPR:

TV Network Expands Bloomberg News' Horizon … Just last year, Margaret Brennan walked away from the nation's leading financial cable news channel to a rival with such small ratings that its executives currently do not pay to find out how many people are watching. — “Yeah, it was a gamble,” Brennan concedes.

Discussion: Inside Cable News

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

At CNN, Talk Show Tensions — In one sweeping move, the 8 p.m. political talk show “Parker Spitzer” could have turned around CNN's flailing prime-time ratings, publicly rehabilitated the fallen New York governor Eliot Spitzer, and turned his co-host Kathleen Parker into a television star.