Mediagazer: Call it the new Iron Curtain: Slovak media erect a nationwide paywall (Andrew Phelps/Nieman Journalism Lab)

2:40 PM ET, April 16, 2011

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Call it the new Iron Curtain: Slovak media erect a nationwide paywall — It's become a cliché in discussions about the future of news: Most readers won't pay for news online because they can find it elsewhere for free. — But what if consumers had no free alternatives?

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Sarah Kessler / Mashable!:

Startup Aims To Build Billboards That Target You, Personally — Digital billboards that display different ads depending on who is looking at them were once only found in Minority Report. But a recently launched startup aims to make targeted billboard advertising as ubiquitous as targeted online advertising.

David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:

E-book sales triple from a year ago, now top-selling book format — E-books sales are piling up fast. — In February, a couple of months after huge numbers of readers got electronic reading devices for the holidays, sales of e-books reached $90 million — more than tripling the number from a year earlier …

Discussion: The Association …, GeekWire, Electronista, Digital Trends, Kindle Review, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, CrunchGear and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Eric D. Snider / VentureBeat:

Leaving in a Huff: or how AOL killed a beloved movie blog — One thing you may not know about me is that I am a writer. More specifically, I'm a freelance writer. This means I can have several clients at once, work from home in my underwear, and set my own hours.

Ujala Sehgal / FishbowlNY:

Michael Wolff on the Upcoming Changes at Adweek — Michael Wolff, Editorial Director of Adweek, sent an email to subscribers about the news that Brandweek and Mediaweek have published their final print versions, and are being folded into Adweek. — The new Adweek, to be unveiled April 18th …

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:

Four Phone-Hacking Cases to Be Tests for Further Claims, Judge Says — LONDON — Confronted with the prospect that dozens more potential phone-hacking victims might emerge and sue the News of the World tabloid, a High Court judge said on Friday that he would proceed with four of the current cases …

Howard Gertler / paidContent:

The Future of Distribution: Thoughts From a Platform Agnostic — The Future of Film Blog, launched as part of the Tribeca (Online) Film Festival, features filmmakers and other experts in the film industry sharing their thoughts on film, technology and the future of media.

Damon Kiesow / Poynter:

LA Times, TechCrunch introduce Facebook comments, but it's not for everyone — Facebook added some features to its commenting system this week, but for publishers the tool is still a work in progress. — Launched in March, the system lets readers use their Facebook logins to comment on other websites.

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Requiem for the Flip cam, newsroom video in a box — When I think back to when I did a day of Flip cam training at my old newspaper, I remember feeling a bit like Billy Mays or Ron Popeil when trying to answer questions from my fellow reporters: What about shooting multiple angles?

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Daily News Owner Spars With Trump Over Claims That He ‘Saved’ The Paper — NEW YORK — Real estate mogul Donald Trump swung back Friday at Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman for refuting his claim that he once prevented the New York City newspaper from going under.

Discussion: The Wire