Mediagazer: Jill Abramson: 'I'm a battle-scarred veteran' (Ed Pilkington/Guardian)

3:05 PM ET, June 8, 2011

Top News:

Ed Pilkington / Guardian:

Jill Abramson: 'I'm a battle-scarred veteran' — The first woman editor of the New York Times tells why she got the job, how she'll handle the crucial transition to digital - and why her tattoo is so important to her — Jill Abramson is congratulated by staff, including outgoing editor Bill Keller (centre).

Discussion: CJR, LA Observed, The Atlantic Wire and Media Research Center

Anna Peele / Esquire:

Times Director Saw Keller ‘About to Throw in the Towel’ — When Andrew Rossi began quietly documenting the New York Times in 2010, he had no idea the Iraq war would end, Wikileaks would expose government secrets, and the Times would roll out a new paywall, effectively symbolizing the marriage of old and new media.

Henry Blodget / SAI:

AOL's Newsroom Is Now Bigger Than The New York Times's — Here's a startling statistic about the enormous bet AOL is making on content: — AOL's newsroom is now bigger than the New York Times'. — Come again? — AOL's news and content operation now has three main parts: Huffington Post …

Adweek:

In Two Years Nearly All TV Content Will Be Online On mobile too, predict network execs By D.M. Levine — Executives from Disney, Turner, and Comcast were in unanimous agreement that we are only two years away from 75 percent of TV content being available online and on mobile devices.

Discussion: National Review and The Wire

Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:

FCC Backs Away From Aiding Media — WASHINGTON—Two years ago, the FCC and FTC launched reviews of the media industry with an eye toward changes in laws or tax code that could help struggling traditional media companies. Since then, the federal government's interest in helping the newspaper industry appears to be waning.

Discussion: The New York Observer, News for Digital Journalists and Tech Daily Dose

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Familiar TV Anchors Move On, Hoping to Profit on Their Own — It's enough breaking news to make even an anchorman's head spin. — Television is undergoing a sea change this season as a dozen famous television anchors and celebrities — whose shows are watched by more than 40 million viewers every day …

Discussion: Company Town, Chickaboomer and Media Buyer Planner

John Sellers / The Wrap:

Bill Simmons on Grantland Launch: 'We're Not Going to Chase Page Views' — On Wednesday at precisely noon ET, longtime ESPN columnist and crazy successful podcaster Bill Simmons will throw the switch on Grantland.com, a hotly anticipated and already controversial new website he's built for his Bristol overlords.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, The Wire, Grantland and The New York Observer

Will Leitch / New York Magazine:
Tommy Craggs, Tom Scocca Talk Deadspin, Grantland, and Pink Gorillas

Discussion: Deadspin

The Lede:

After Report of Disappearance, Questions About Syrian-American Blogger — 7:17 p.m. Update: After this post about the author of the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus was published, Andy Carvin, an NPR journalist and expert at debunking Internet rumors, pointed out that none of the reports of the arrest …

Joe Flint / Company Town:

News Corp. general counsel Lon Jacobs to leave media giant [Updated] — Lawrence “Lon” Jacobs, the general counsel of media giant News Corp. and a close confidant to Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is leaving the company. — Jacobs, 56, has been with News Corp. for 15 years …

Discussion: TVWeek.com

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

Genachowski Plans to Delete Fairness Doctrine From Code of Federal Regs — FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has told Congress he supports striking the so-called ‘fairness doctrine’ and a couple of its corollaries from the Code of Federal Regulations. — That came in a letter responding …

Discussion: TVNewser and Free Press

MediaShift:

Solving the App Development Conundrum for Small Magazines — Even a small magazine can make a powerful impression with a well-designed mobile presence. In some ways, digital platforms can level the playing field for small publishers wanting to attract readers' attention with innovative content and presentations.

Washington Post:

New York Post columnist spares none when politicians fall from grace — A warning to any and all New York politicians considering an extramarital dalliance, virtual or otherwise. When you eventually hold your de rigueur regret session at a packed Manhattan news conference …

Discussion: mediabistro.com and The Awl

Foster Kamer / The New York Observer:

Rogue Pogue: Times Gadget Guru Has Magic Staying Power — In a May 26 video for the New York Times, David Pogue, the paper's unmistakably cherub-cheeked, middle-aged tech writer—one of the most widely read in the country, if not the world—rushed into a room wearing a doctor's uniform …

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

On the Media: Applying the brakes on KNBC's California Nonstop — The new channel focusing on L.A. and regional happenings suffers from the realities of today's media: not enough time, staff and money. — The logo for “NBC California Nonstop.” — KNBC-TV has a new 24-hour news and feature station called California Nonstop.

Om Malik / GigaOM:

Five years of GigaOM: The story of us [Video] — On May 30, 2006, after nearly five years as my personal blog, we incorporated GigaOM, the company. Just 24 hours later, our investors, True Ventures, wired me the seed money to get going. They also presented me with a check in an envelope that had three simple words: Live the dream.

Discussion: Om.Is.Me and AdPulp

Andrew Crook / Crikey:

Kohler quits CEO gig to focus on journalism — Business Spectator and Eureka Report figurehead Alan Kohler has stepped down as CEO to focus on journalism and strategy, as the websites' controlling company hires fresh blood to expand its burgeoning finance news empire.

New York Times:

New TV Hit Hums Along Online, Too — LOS ANGELES — At home here on Saturday afternoon, Paul Telegdy, who heads up reality programming for NBC, directed his Web browser to a real-time search engine of Twitter messages and checked in on “The Voice,” the Tuesday night singing competition …

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

House Hunters, data edition: Meet Curbwise, the Omaha World-Herald's real-estate news app — The Omaha World-Herald wasn't looking for blockbuster traffic and wave upon wave of pageviews with the launch of Curbwise. Rather, they were looking for a sustained audience, which would justify …

Nick Davies / Guardian:

Middleton and Blair named in hacking inquiry — MP calls for expanded investigation as list grows of those allegedly hacked by Jonathan Rees for News International — Pressure is building on the Metropolitan police to expand their phone-hacking inquiry to include a notorious private investigator …