Mediagazer: The Economist Hits Highest North American Circulation in Its History (Stefanie Botelho/Folio)

11:40 AM ET, August 19, 2011

Top News:

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

News sites using Facebook Comments see higher quality discussion, more referrals — News organizations that have turned to Facebook to power their website comments say they are seeing a higher quality of discussion and a significant increase in referral traffic.

Discussion: Adweek, NetNewsCheck Latest, GigaOM, Future of Journalism and Media Nation

Nick Bilton / Bits:

Ashton Kutcher Could Face Questions About Disclosure — Ashton Kutcher may not have much of a future in journalism. When he served as guest editor of an online-only version of Details magazine, he failed to fully disclose his investments in Internet companies profiled in the issue.

Discussion: Mixed Media, The Wire, Betabeat, FishbowlNY, Gawker, The First Post, digiday:DAILY, VatorNews, New York Magazine, FishbowlLA, Future of Journalism, Techland, Adweek and PSFK, more at Techmeme »

Jack Shafer / Slate:

Will Rupert Murdoch's editorialists at the Wall Street Journal revisit the phone-hacking scandal? — Unless you're an ombudsman, it's dang difficult to write about the publication or the company that employees you. First, you've got to worry about getting fired if you write too critically about your boss …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Peter Lauria / Reuters:

News Corp executives mull chance James Murdoch may leave — (Reuters) - News Corp's senior management is starting to think about what the company might do if James Murdoch stepped aside, sources inside and close to the global media empire said. — With Rupert Murdoch's younger son under …

Discussion: Poynter, Reuters, Free Press, Company Town, The Awl, New York Magazine, Gawker, The Huffington Post, SAI and On Media's Blog

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Glenn Mulcaire ordered to reveal who told him to hack phones — Steve Coogan leads battle to reveal whether News of the World ordered hacking of Elle MacPherson and five other public figures — Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking …

Discussion: Adweek, The New York Observer, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal and Media Law Prof Blog

Om Malik / GigaOM:

The truth about scoops — In the wake of Motorola-Google deal, Felix Salmon, one of the finest bloggers in New York, penned a piece, Whither the M&A Scoop? Felix points out that “scoops are the most basic currency of business journalism” and they are what helped folks like Andrew Ross Sorkin become media …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Reuters:

News Corp reporter at centre of Pitt/Jolie lawsuit — (Reuters) - James Desborough, a News Corp reporter arrested on Thursday in a spreading phone hacking scandal, was no stranger to controversy when he led News of the World's Hollywood bureau. — Police said they had arrested a 38-year-old man …

Lindsay Fortado / Bloomberg:
Ex-Investigator Mulcaire Said to Sue News Corp. Over Legal Fees

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:
Reporter Known for Scoops Is Held in Hacking Inquiry

Discussion: The Informer and paidContent

Dan Archer / Poynter:

An introduction to comics journalism, in the form of comics journalism — To some, the only connection between comics and newspapers is in the funny pages, or a single panel editorial cartoon. However, a new breed of journalist is emerging: one that is as comfortable conducting interviews …

Discussion: One Man & His Blog

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Western Europe Sees Huge Shift Toward E-Books — Europe has lagged behind the U.S. in widespread adoption of e-books, but a new report suggests that they are finally taking off. The e-book market in Western Europe grew by 400 percent in 2010, a new report finds.

Stefanie Botelho / Folio:

The Economist Hits Highest North American Circulation in Its History — First half 2011's increase marks pub's 60th consecutive rise in ABC figures. — Weekly international news publication The Economist continued to see growth in circulation for the first half of 2011 …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Kristen Daum / INFORUM:

Valley City editor uses newspaper to blast owners — Slips in scathing column about concerns before resigning — VALLEY CITY, N.D. - Concerned about corporate greed and a lack of journalism ethics, the top editor of the Valley City Times-Record opted for full disclosure with his readers before resigning this week.

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Reader's Digest Subscriptions Come To The iPad — As part of its ongoing efforts to adapt its 89-year-old flagship to the digital age, Reader's Digest subscriptions are now available through the magazine's iPad app, for $1.99 per month or $14.99 per year. — Print subscribers can read …

Discussion: GigaOM and Medacity

Steve Smith / MinOnline:

Kiplinger.com Fortunes Rise as Markets Decline — It used to be common to see traffic at financial news sites slump during rough market periods. Conventional wisdom among publishers held that people didn't like checking on their financial status and portfolios when values declined …

Bloomberg:

Guardian Loses Fight for Web Readers Even After Taking Out Murdoch Tabloid — The U.K.'s Guardian took down Britain's best-selling Sunday newspaper by exposing that the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid hacked a murder victim's voicemail. It may still lose an intensifying battle for British readers.

Daniel D'Addario / The New York Observer:

Christine O'Donnell On Her Piers Morgan Walk-Out: ‘It was fun.’ — After walking out of her interview with Piers Morgan, Christine O'Donnell addressed the Women's National Republican Club on West 51st Street, starting about forty-five minutes late, just before seven.

Discussion: Reuters, Salon, Gothamist, Broadcasting & Cable and On Media's Blog