Mediagazer: Comcast-NBC merger does nothing to enhance the public interest (Michael Hiltzik/Los Angeles Times)

10:25 PM ET, January 2, 2011

Top News:

Why the iPad is Destroying the Future of Journalism — I read a great article in the Economist the other day on my iPad. I tried to share it with my social network on Facebook and Twitter, but I can't do that with old media. — When the iPad came out, I was ready to give big media another chance.

Discussion: MediaPost

Wall Street Journal:

Google Digital Newsstand Aims to Muscle In on Apple — Google Inc. and Apple Inc. have stepped up their battle to win over publishers, as the two companies vie to become the dominant distributor of newspapers and magazines for tablet computers and other mobile devices.

Discussion: SAI and parislemon, more at Techmeme »

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Oprah's Cable Channel Flickers to Life — At precisely 12 o'clock on New Year's Day, Oprah Winfrey welcomed television viewers to OWN, a cable channel that she has said will espouse her “live your best life” mantra. — OWN, short for The Oprah Winfrey Network, flickered to life …

Discussion: ArtsBeat, Gawker and The Independent

Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Shaping a Network With Oprah's View

Discussion: St. Petersburg Times, Denver Post, MIJE.org, Company Town and Guardian

Peter Preston / Guardian:

Joanna Yeates murder case puts media coverage in the spotlight — The attorney general's concern at reporting in the case emphasises how laws on contempt of court are falling into contempt — Meet “Professor Strange”, aka “The Strange Mr Jefferies”, landlord of the murdered Joanna Yeates and a …

John Plunkett / Guardian:
Beware of contempt, AG warns UK press

Discussion: themediablog.typepad.com

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:

Comcast-NBC merger does nothing to enhance the public interest — With his proposed conditions on the deal, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to sugarcoat a terrible regulatory decision that underscores the derelict condition of government regulation in our age.

John Bracken:

Shirky and Bady: 2010′s best Wikileaks coverage — Earlier this month I reprised my annual search for the year's most influential reflections on technology and media. I was particularly curious to learn who was provoking thinking for one of the year's biggest stories, Wikileaks.

Discussion: SteveOuting.com

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

iPad publishing: time to switch to v2.0 — There is no way around this fact: the first batch of magazines adapted to the iPad failed to deliver. Six months after the initial excitement, the mood has turned turned sour. See the figures below, they show the downturn in circulation …

Mike Reynolds / Multichannel:

Time Warner Cable: We Hold Big 4 Programming Cards In Sinclair Retrans Dispute — Negotiations Continue As Midnight Deadline Nears — As a midnight deadline nears, Time Warner Cable, armed with Big 4 programming, says it is continuing to negotiate a retransmission-consent renewal deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Discussion: rbr.com, Broadcasting & Cable and The Wrap

Elinor Comlay / Reuters: Time Warner Cable, Sinclair yet to reach deal

Keach Hagey / The Politico:

Anxieties provoke quick media responses in 2010 — If 2010 had a single lesson for high-profile media figures, it was that freedom of the press may be protected — but your job definitely isn't when you say something controversial. — From Helen Thomas to Juan Williams to Rick Sanchez to Octavia Nasr …

Associated Press:

Ohio judge drops newspaper website comments suit — CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio judge taken off a high-profile murder trial has dropped her $50 million lawsuit against a Cleveland newspaper and reached an undisclosed financial settlement with an affiliated company that runs the publication's website, an attorney said Friday.

David Kaplan / paidContent:

Petsky Prunier: In 2010, Media M&As Rose Nearly 50 Percent — As the advertising recovery took hold in the latter half of 2009, acquisitions activity in the media space were expected to pick up markedly this year. Media investment bank Petsky Prunier took note of it in its year-end tally …

Reporters Sans Frontières:

JOURNALISTS IN 2010 TARGETS AND BARGAINING CHIPS — Figures in 2010 — 57 journalists killed (25% fewer than in 2009) — 62 countries affected by Internet censorship — Fewer killed in war zones — Fifty-seven journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2010, 25% fewer than in 2009, when the total was 76.