Mediagazer: TBD's course raises questions about failure and success on the way to journalism's future (Mallary Jean Tenore/Poynter)

7:35 AM ET, February 25, 2011

Top News:

Google Forecloses On Content Farms With “Farmer” Algorithm Update — In January, Google promised that it would take action against content farms that were gaining top listings with “shallow” or “low-quality” content. Now the company is delivering, announcing a change to its ranking algorithm designed take out such material.

more at Techmeme »

The Official Google Blog:

Finding more high-quality sites in search — Our goal is simple: to give people the most relevant answers to their queries as quickly as possible. This requires constant tuning of our algorithms, as new content—both good and bad—comes online all the time.

Discussion: TechCrunch, BoomTown, ReadWriteWeb, SAI, Faster Forward, paidContent, Guardian, MarketingVOX, Mark Evans Tech, Bits, Search Engine Marketing News, NewsGrange, Gizmodo and GigaOM, more at Techmeme »

Demand Media:

A Statement About Search Engine Algorithm Changes — How our content reaches the consumer - whether it's through direct visits, social media referrals, apps or search - has always been important to and monitored closely by us. We also recognize that major search engines like Google have and will continue to make frequent changes.

Discussion: BoomTown, paidContent, TechCrunch and SAI, more at Techmeme »

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

TBD's course raises questions about failure and success on the way to journalism's future — Many journalists in traditional newsrooms have left their jobs in recent years to work for online news startups and help shape the future of journalism. The sacrifices they've made, though, haven't always worked out as planned.

Discussion: Digital Man and The Buttry Diary

Newsosaur / Reflections of a Newsosaur:

Hyperlocals like TBD: More hype than hope — The rapid implosion of the high-profile TBD news site is further evidence that hyperlocal journalism is more hype than hope for the news business. — Launched with considerable fanfare and generous funding only six months ago by Allbritton Communications …

Discussion: Digital First, Poynter, The Politico and On Media's Blog

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Six business lessons from TBD's early demise

Discussion: LocalNewser, Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog, eMedia Vitals and Editors Weblog

Russ Buettner / New York Times:

Affidavits Say Fox News Chief Told Employee to Lie — It was an incendiary allegation — and a mystery of great intrigue in the media world: After the publishing powerhouse Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins in 2006, she claimed that a senior executive at its parent company, News Corporation …

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker: Roger Ailes Caught on Tape Urging Ex-Employee to Lie to Federal Investigators

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Pre-HuffPo Merger Changes At AOL; Eun Leaving, Brod To Be Arianna's COO — Regulatory approval of AOL's $315 million acquisition of the Huffington Post is still pending but CEO Tim Armstrong already has a new structure for the evolving company. The changes were set off by the plan …

Discussion: TechCrunch, SAI, Epicenter, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, @rafat, SAI, AdAge, SAI, Mixed Media, NetNewsCheck Latest and The Wrap

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
AOL Exec David Eun Out - Here's His Email To Staff

Discussion: Mediaite, WebNewser, GigaOM, @rafat, MediaFile, Digital Trends and SAI

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Post-Huffpo, an AOL Reorg; Here's the Internal Memo

Discussion: SAI, Editors Weblog and Adotas

Edmund Lee / AdAge:
AOL's First Big Change for Huffington Post: Bigger Ads

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, Poynter, Adotas, SAI and NetNewsCheck Latest

Breaking News:

Libyan gov't: Unauthorized journalists are considered to be al-Qaeda collaborators — WASHINGTON, D.C./TRIPOLI (BNO NEWS) — Libyan government officials have warned U.S. diplomats that journalists who have entered the country illegally to cover anti-government protests are being considered …

Discussion: The Independent and Guardian, Thanks:joshhalliday

Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:
Libyan government likens journalists to Al Qaida

Discussion: Agence France Presse and MIJE.org

Eric Spiegelman / The Awl:

How to Watch Al Jazeera on Your Television — Al Jazeera is putting every American news channel to shame with its amazing coverage of the revolutions across the Middle East. But most cable systems in this country won't carry it! If you live in Toledo, Ohio, or Burlington, Vermont, or Washington D.C., you might have it.

Discussion: The Next Web

Mark Joyella / Mediaite:
Pushing For U.S. Cable, Al Jazeera English Exec Claims They Are ‘Anti-Nothing And Pro-Nothing’

Discussion: Media Buyer Planner

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

You Can't Play a New Media Game By Old Media Rules — If there's one aspect of the media business that has been disrupted more completely than any other, it's the whole idea of “breaking news.” Just as television devalued the old front-page newspaper scoop, the web has turned breaking news …

Thanks:mathewi

Joe Mullin / paidContent:
‘Hot News’ Has MMC Steaming At TheWrap In Cease-And-Desist Letter

Discussion: The Wire, Mediaweek, Mediaite, Deadline.com and LA Observed

Om Malik / GigaOM: Old Media Is Being Unbundled, Just Like Telecom Was

ESPN MediaZone:

The Poynter Review Project to Launch With ESPN — ESPN and The Poynter Institute today announced a new step in media transparency—The Poynter Review Project—in which a panel of Poynter faculty will review ESPN content across all platforms and publicly comment on ESPN's efforts.

Discussion: The Wire, Company Town, The Wrap, New York Times, Poynter and Broadcasting & Cable

David Kaplan / paidContent:

National Magazine Awards To Include Magazine Apps This Year — It's an honor just to be nominated, the saying goes, and less than a year after major publishers rolled out magazine apps, tablet-based periodicals are among the finalists for the second annual National Magazine Awards for Digital Media—aka the “Digital Ellies”—this year.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, MPA, MediaPost and FishbowlNY

Bob Tedeschi / New York Times:

Enjoying the Oscar Awards on Several Small Screens — Sports fans make high art of the multiscreen experience, with TV broadcasts, laptop news feeds and a wide range of mobile apps for trivia, fantasy contests and kitchen runs. — For others, though, the biggest spectator sport comes with the Academy Awards.

Discussion: CNET News, SocialTimes.com and MinOnline

Megan Garber / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Rockville Central: set to become a Facebook-only outlet — Say you run a community news site. In your spare time. And Patch has moved into your neighborhood. How do you, with limited resources but a desire to keep contributing to your community, stay competitive?

Discussion: Rockville Patch, The Huffington Post, WebNewser, Rockville Central and Brad Rourke's Blog

Henry Blodget / SAI:

Glam Media Is Picking Bankers For An IPO — Glam Media is listening to the sales pitches of about 14 Wall Street banks in preparation for an IPO, a source familiar with the situation says. — Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and others are vying for the coveted “book-running” lead position.