Mediagazer: CBS, Couric Said to Discuss Lower Pay, Wider Role for Anchor as CNN Waits (Bloomberg)

4:50 PM ET, December 21, 2010

Top News:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

F.C.C. Is Set to Regulate Net Access — The Federal Communications Commission appears poised to pass a controversial set of rules that broadly create two classes of Internet access, one for fixed-line providers and the other for the wireless Net. — The proposed rules of the online road …

Al Franken / The Huffington Post:

The Most Important Free Speech Issue of Our Time — What's Your Reaction: — This Tuesday is an important day in the fight to save the Internet. — As a source of innovation, an engine of our economy, and a forum for our political discourse, the Internet can only work if it's a truly level playing field.

Discussion: CNN, BetaNews, Yahoo! News, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, IntoMobile, Reuters, Business Wire, Techland, Guardian, BBC, The Daily Caller, Hillicon Valley, Free Press, Electronista, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim and Technology Liberation Front, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Wallenstein / paidContent:

The End Of Hulu As We Know It (And Comcast Feels Fine) — What the hell is going on at Hulu? Monday's mysterious story in The Wall Street Journal portends significant changes in 2011 that may just be scratching the surface of what's to come for the service.

Discussion: Stop Big Media News and Company Town

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: NetNewsCheck Latest, Mediaweek, VideoNuze, Techland, GigaOM, Company Town, Digital Trends, Online Video News, Show Me The Money, Digits, DailyFinance, TVbytheNumbers and SAI

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:
No Hulu Plus for Your Cable DVR

Discussion: Ars Technica, SlashGear and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

EditorandPublisher.com:

Editor & Publisher Partners with MediaSpan to Improve Its Website — Visitors to E&P's website (www.editorandpublisher.com) in the coming months will find it much easier to navigate and jam-packed with a database of articles and exclusive content now that the magazine has partnered …

Discussion: Big News Network.com and FishbowlNY

Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:

Rush Limbaugh's TV Nemesis — Ed Schultz was a right-wing radio talk-show host—until he fell in love with a liberal and hit the big time. Howard Kurtz talks to Schultz about his feud with Rush and why he's mad at Obama. — After bashing the president's tax-cut compromise on MSNBC …

Discussion: Mediaite, TVNewser, Chickaboomer and The Huffington Post

Robert Andrews / paidContent:UK:

News Of The World Pricier On iPad Than On Paper — Rupert Murdoch is clearly looking to tablets as a post-print, post-web model for salvation. But, if the new News Of The World iPad edition is anything to go by, he may need several iterations before that happens...

Discussion: News of the World

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

The Myth of Fast-Forwarding Past the Ads — ZOMBIES attacked during a commercial break on the AMC zombie drama “The Walking Dead” last month. The flesh eaters were just about to feast on a man and woman when rescue came in the form of the Toyota Corolla, the subject of the 30-second spot.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Nielsen Wire, TVbytheNumbers and AdPulp

Jim / Gannett Blog:

All shook up: As Newseum's operating costs soared to $250,000 a day, Freedom Forum's finances sank — [This year's Presley exhibit is a stretch for a news museum] — Four months ago, the Freedom Forum journalism foundation issued a late-afternoon press release that nearly begged to be ignored.

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Law Professor Explains How Even When A Site Copies An Entire Article, It May Still Be Fair Use — Berkeley law professor Jason Schultz has filed an excellent amicus brief in one of the many Righthaven lawsuits, pointing out that using an entire article does not preclude fair use (pdf) …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Not a Hobby Anymore: New Apple TV Sales Hit One Million — Apple says sales of its new, cheaper Apple TVs will hit one million this week, less than four months after Steve Jobs introduced the new version. — I don't think that qualifies as a surprise, given that Apple knocked the price of the gadget down to $99.

Discussion: Apple, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Multichannel and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Nieman Journalism Lab:

Jennifer 8. Lee on raw data, APIs, and the growth of “Little Brother” — Editor's Note: We're wrapping up 2010 by asking some of the smartest people in journalism what the new year will bring. — Here, Jennifer 8. Lee gives us predictions, about the growing role of raw data …

Discussion: 10,000 Words

Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:

The ‘Mobisode’ Returns: MTV Planning Original Video Programming for Mobile Devices — NEW YORK — The proliferation of smart wireless devices is creating a need for original content and MTV will be producing original entertainment for the emerging medium says Dermot McCormack …

Discussion: WebNewser

The Smoking Gun:

FBI Probe IDs Conde Nast “Hacker” — Fashion-obsessed student, 22, had Ohio home raided by feds … An FBI investigation has identified a fashion-obsessed Ohio man as the person who last year illegally gained access to a Conde Nast computer system and downloaded photos and pages …

Discussion: The Wrap, New York Observer, Yahoo! News, Fashionista and Jezebel

Josh / Groundswell:

Searching for Sustainable Habits in Journalism — Is the search for a sustainable business model for journalism unsustainable in and of itself? Our media system has gone through a number of fundamental shifts and changes in the last decade alone, but I think to some extent we are still just at the beginning.

Bloomberg:

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.