Mediagazer: Confessions of a Recovering Op-Ed Columnist (Frank Rich/New York Times)

8:20 PM ET, March 13, 2011

Top News:

Bill Keller / The 6th Floor:

Postscript: Aggregation Aggro — Nothing sucks the joy out of a column like explaining it. And judging from the reaction to my little poke at the self-obsession of the media tribe, most readers needed no explanation. They got it. But for those who may have been misled by some of the more clueless commentary:

Frank Rich / New York Times:

Confessions of a Recovering Op-Ed Columnist — THE first political columnist I ever encountered, after a fashion, was Walter Lippmann. It happened on a snowy afternoon when I was a kid of 11 or 12 growing up in Washington during the J.F.K. years. My wallet had somehow slipped out of my pocket …

Discussion: The Wire

Matt Thompson / Snarkmarket:

Snark by Snarkwest: Bloggers v. Journalists — I'm flying my journalism colors for a little bit, liveblogging Jay Rosen's solo presentation: “Bloggers vs. Journalists: It's a Psychological Thing.” If you haven't yet, read Jay's introductory post: “Why Bloggers v. Journalists Is Still With Us.”

Discussion: Rebooting The News

Jay Rosen / Pressthink:

The Twisted Psychology of Bloggers vs. Journalists: My Talk at South By Southwest — This is what I said at South by Southwest in Austin, March 12, 2011. It went well. … There's an old rule among sportswriters: no cheering in the press box. In fact, a few weeks ago a young journalist lost …

Discussion: Guardian and OWNI.eu

Arthur S. Brisbane / New York Times:

A Cocktail Party With Readers — EARLY adopters at The Times boldly went there four years ago. I made the move only in the last few weeks — to Twitter, that is, that curiously named domain where Middle Eastern revolutions erupt and Charlie Sheen, too. — I haven't been tweeting long enough to judge its merits.

Discussion: @palafo

Steve Myers / Poynter:

What James O'Keefe knows about media (and you should too) — It's a credit to James O'Keefe that amid the diverse vocabulary in the English language, so many terms inadequately describe him and what he does. — Is he a provocateur, a prankster, an activist, a muckraker, a citizen journalist, an investigative journalist?

Discussion: NPR, Tuned In and Big Journalism

Aljazeera:

Al Jazeera staffer killed in Libya — Cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber was returning to eastern city of Benghazi from filing report when he was shot and killed. — An Al Jazeera cameraman has been killed in what appears to have been an ambush near the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya.

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, The Wire, Global Voices in English, Mediaite and Boing Boing

Martin Moore / MediaShift Idea Lab:

Churnalism.com Reveals Press Release Copy in News Stories — Editors' Note: Martin Moore is the director of the Media Standards Trust, which recently launched Churnalism.com — a website that helps the public distinguish journalism from “churnalism,” a news article that is published as journalism …

Jemima Kiss / Guardian:

Flipboard: game-changer or just a fad? — The founder of the social magazine application, Mike McCue, on its relationship with publishers, its funding, and his love of Apple — A great interviewer makes so much difference to a panel, as proven by Kara Swisher of AllThingsD interviewing Flipboard founder Mike McCue.

Kara Swisher / BoomTown:

Exclusive: Engadget's Top Editors Topolsky and Patel Exit From AOL's Giant Tech Site — Josh Topolsky, the editor-in-chief of Engadget, is leaving the AOL-owned property, one of the largest tech news sites on the Web. — Also departing is Managing Editor Nilay Patel, said sources.

Discussion: Guardian, SAI, Engadget, Digital Trends, VentureBeat and Gawker, more at Techmeme »

Walter Hamilton / Los Angeles Times:

Newspaper publishers may merge with regional rivals to survive — The possible sale of Freedom Communications, parent of the Orange County Register, could signal the start of wave of consolidation. — The possible sale of the Orange County Register's parent company could mark the start …

Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:

Is Government-Funded Media a Good Idea? Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Others Weigh in. Plus, a True Tale of “Monkey Bras” — On Friday, Reason's Matt Welch wrote about why NPR, PBS, and CPB should not receive taxpayer subsidies: … And because Welch is what he is, he included a gratuitous Sting lyric …