Mediagazer: (Ad) Apocalypse Soon (Katy Bachman/Mediaweek)

8:40 AM ET, December 20, 2010

Top News:

Dylan Stableford / The Wrap:

Newspapers in 2010: Another Bad Year, But the Bleeding Slows — The newspaper industry, devastated during the recession, had another bad year in 2010. — Overall, circulation for newspapers in the U.S. declined 5 percent during the six months ended Sept. 30, according to the Audit Bureau …

Thomas E. Weber / The Daily Beast:

Cracking the New York Times Popularity Code — Just how many people does it take to propel a story onto the Times' influential most-emailed list? And can it be gamed? Thomas E. Weber finds the answers. — The most-emailed articles list on the New York Times website …

Chris Rovzar / New York Magazine:

The New York Times Paywall: A Goodwill Membership? — The New York Times paywall will go up in early 2011, possibly as early as January. Last week, Slate.com asked readers how much they thought the Times would charge per month, with choices between $5 and $25.

New York Times:

Google TV Faces Delays Amid Poor Reviews — Google TV has just enacted its first programming cancellation. — The Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas was meant to be the great coming-out party for Google's new software for televisions, which adds Web video and other computer smarts to TV sets.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Digital Trends, Guardian, ConceivablyTech, CNET News, Examiner, SlashGear, Electronista, VentureBeat, Daring Fireball, Engadget, SAI, MediaMemo and Technologizer, more at Techmeme »

Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:

Online Ads Pull Ahead of Newspapers — This year, for the first time, advertisers will have spent more on Internet ads than on print newspaper ads, according to new estimates from eMarketer. — The digital-marketing research firm says U.S. spending on online ads will hit $25.8 billion …

Discussion: VentureBeat

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:

CNN's New Chief Dives In — As Network Loses Ground, Ken Jautz Moves to Inject ‘Passion and Personality’ — Ken Jautz, the new head of CNN's U.S. network, is getting his hands dirty. — Since taking over in late September, Mr. Jautz has started shuffling programming and personnel …

Katy Bachman / Mediaweek:

(Ad) Apocalypse Soon — The Federal Trade Commission wants to take out the mashers and grifters it sees lurking in online ads, but in the process it might slaughter that business in its crib. — Evoking the Do Not Call telemarketing program, the FTC's Do Not Track concept has goosed Congress …

Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:

Blip.tv Readies HTML5 as its Standard Player, Replacing Flash — While most of the the major video sites and online video services providers are providing HTML5 support, primarily for Apple iOS devices, Blip.tv is going to adopt HTML5 as its standard player for the Web and other platforms …

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Rebooting Web Publishing Design — Let's start by reviewing the basic ingredients of a successful online publishing operation: — 1 / Quick load. — 2 / Ease of operation and update — 3 / Consistent visual identity — 4 / Platform independence — 5 / Open to the rest of the web

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Hollywood dreams take digital direction — Talks between Google and Miramax over a digital-rights deal has some Hollywood insiders seeing green for funding-starved independent studios. — Emile Sherman, one of the producers of “The King's Speech,” an Oscar-worthy movie made for $39 million in 39 days …

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

A Hollywood Brawl: How Soon Is Too Soon for Video on Demand? — LOS ANGELES — Perhaps the biggest fight on Hollywood's horizon involves where and when consumers can watch movies. — Studios want to offer new movies on video-on-demand systems in living rooms about 45 days after the movies arrive in theaters.

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Afghan War Just a Slice of U.S. Coverage — As the Obama administration conducted an Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy review this month, the news media did too, and the coverage came peppered with question marks. — The same week that ABC News scheduled a series of segments titled “Afghanistan …