Mediagazer: In an age of free-flowing information, there's still a role … (Michael Morisy/Nieman Journalism Lab)

CBS, Couric Said to Discuss Lower Pay, Wider Role for Anchor as CNN Waits — CBS Corp. began preliminary talks on a new contract for Katie Couric, looking to cut the evening news anchor's $15 million salary and possibly expand her role amid falling viewership, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Wire, The Huffington Post and TVNewser

Clark Fredricksen / eMarketer and Blog Posts:

The Web Passes Newspapers in Ad Spending For First Time — Advertisers will spend more on internet ads in 2010 than newspaper ads for the first time, according to new estimates by eMarketer. — Online ad spending will grow 13.9% to $25.8 billion for the full year in 2010 …

Discussion: Bloomberg, MediaMemo, SocialTimes.com, The Rural Blog, MediaFile, MarketingVOX and Top Digital Journal News

Discussion: AdAge, Gawker and VentureBeat

Wall Street Journal:

Hulu Mulls More Pay Plans, Not an IPO — Online Video Site Considers Broadening Menu of Offerings for Viewers Who Pay — Online video site Hulu LLC has taken off the table the idea of going public, at least for now, and may consider other financing options, people familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: SAI and Company Town

Elizabeth Weingarten / The Atlantic:

Forget Journalism School and Enroll in Groupon Academy — It's a Friday afternoon and Jane Flotte is getting a little tired of spa treatments. “Today I've written a lot of salon deals,” the Groupon employee said. “And I'm getting kind of sick of talking about facials.”

Discussion: GigaOM and broadstuff

Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:

Targeted TV Ads Set for Takeoff — DirecTV to Pioneer Commercials Keyed to Each Household; Concerns About Privacy, Technology Linger — After years of promises and false starts, TV commercials targeted at individual homes may finally be ready for prime time.

Discussion: MediaPost, Multichannel, the Econsultancy blog, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Fast Company, Media Buyer Planner and paidContent

Andrew Wallenstein / paidContent:

Google Poaches Paramount Executive For Content Role — Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has turned to Hollywood to fill out its content team, hiring Malik Ducard, who is currently senior vice president of digital distribution at Viacom-owned film studio Paramount, according to sources.

Discussion: GigaOM, Fortune, Electronista and MediaPost Raw

Michael Morisy / Nieman Journalism Lab:

In an age of free-flowing information, there's still a role for journalists to provide context — The Washington Post's venerable national security reporter Walter Pincus wants to make one thing clear: He isn't just hopping on the WikiLeaks bandwagon. — “I used WikiLeaks before [it] …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Vadim Lavrusik / Mashable:

10 Predictions for the News Media in 2011 — In many ways, 2010 was finally the year of mobile for news media, and especially so if you consider the iPad a mobile device. Many news organizations like The Washington Post and CNN included heavy social media integrations into their apps, opening the devices beyond news consumption.

Discussion: Soup

Longreads:

Mallary Tenore: My Top 5 Media Longreads of 2010 — Mallary Tenore covers media news for the Poynter Institute's Poynter.org. — Timothy Lavin: The Listener, The Atlantic, Jan/Feb 2010 — Refreshing to see well-written stories about lesser-known media phenomena like Coast to Coast AM.

Thanks:markarms

Steven Overly / Washington Post:

SB Nation's sports blogger collective sees bias as a plus — Most sports reporters cover games from the press box. The perch typically provides a view of the entire field of play and quick access to post-game press conferences with coaches and players. — SB Nation bloggers prefer the bleachers.

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The changing of the gatekeeper: Adapting to the new roles for journalists, sources and information — We're continuing our recaps of the Secrecy and Journalism in the New Media Age conference that took place at the Nieman Foundation on Thursday with the second panel discussion — entitled “Whither the Gatekeeper?

Discussion: mediabistro.com

MediaShift Idea Lab:

NPR's Project Argo Creates National Content at the Local Level — Jason and the Argonauts were the mythological Greek heroes who set off on a quest for the Golden Fleece. Like its namesake, NPR's Project Argo is off on another noble quest — to strengthen local journalism, particularly on digital platforms.

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Music Web Sites Dispute Legality of Their Closing — When federal authorities shut down five Web sites last month on suspicion of copyright infringement, they gave no warning and offered no details of their investigation, and they have not filed any criminal charges since.

Discussion: PlagiarismToday, Techdirt and Post Tech, more at Techmeme »

Jack D. Lail / JackLail.com:

Coming down from the mountain with a few ideas for iPad apps — Last weekend I spent an intensive and fascinating weekend at the Snowbird Resort in Utah working on ideas for applications for iPads, other tablets and smart phones. It was one of those events where the positive energy and creativity of the people there fed on itself.

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 …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, ReadWriteWeb, New York Observer, The Huffington Post, Geekosystem and The Atlantic Online

David Kaplan / paidContent:

AP Moves Video Service From thePlatform To News Distribution Network — The Associated Press is switching hosting duties for its Online Video Network to the News Distribution Network from Comcast-backed white label video tech services provider thePlatform. The reason is that NDN …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, Broadcasting & Cable and WebNewser

Lois Beckett / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Maybe not much will change at all: 2011 journalism predictions from Malik, Gillmor, Golis, Grimm, more — Editor's Note: We're wrapping up 2010 by asking some of the smartest people in journalism what the new year will bring. — Below are predictions from Andrew Golis, Dan Gillmor …

Courtney Boyd Myers / The Next Web:

The New York Observer partners with Scoop St., a NYC deals site for the holidays — The New York Observer's Holiday Gift Guide 2010 is a “What To Get The Who's Who of Manhattan,” whether it be a “Player,” “Urban Adventurer,” “Bergdorf Blonde,” “Foodie,” “Yummy Mummy” or “Culture Snob.”

Thanks:daveambrose

Kat Stoeffel / New York Observer:

BREAKING: Hugo Lindgren Poaches Adam Sternbergh From New York — Adam Sternbergh has been hired as a culture editor at The New York Times Magazine, editor Hugo Lindgren told The Observer. — Sternbergh is an editor-at-large at New York magazine, where he and Lindgren worked together …