Mediagazer: Tribune Co. asks bankruptcy judge to OK $42.5 million incentive plan (Jim Romenesko/Poynter)

8:55 AM ET, September 1, 2011

Top News:

Sean Connolly / ONA11:

Finalists announced for the 2011 Online Journalism Awards — WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 30, 2011 — Finalists for the 2011 Online Journalism Awards, many pushing the envelope of innovation and excellence in digital storytelling and distribution, were announced today by the Online News Association …

Discussion: California Watch and News for Digital Journalists

Max Read / Gawker:

Wikileaks Freaks Out at Newspaper Over Its Own Dumbassery — Wikileaks has always had a healthy sense of self-importance—one that seems, at least in part, well-deserved. But there's something uniquely hubristic about accusing a major newspaper (and former collaborator) of …

Discussion: Guardian, The Huffington Post, Press Gazette, BBC and Crikey, more at Techmeme »

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Hulu Japan Launches WIth Movies, TV From CBS, Sony, Fox & More But No Ads — Hulu's first offering outside the U.S. is live: Hulu Japan, a subscription service with “hundreds” of films and thousands of hours of TV. For ¥1,480 a month or roughly $18.50, Japanese subscribers can watch across …

Discussion: Hulu Blog, Business Wire, FT Tech Hub, AllThingsD, 9to5Mac and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Tribune Co. asks bankruptcy judge to OK $42.5 million incentive plan — The bonuses would go to 640 management employees. Under the plan, Tribune will pay $16.4 million if it achieves “threshold” performance of its planned consolidated operating cash flow, $32.4 million for “target” …

Discussion: LA Observed, Reuters and NetNewsCheck Latest

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Twitter Ramps Up Its Ad Plan Again, With Ads You Haven't Asked To See — Coming to some of you, in about a month: Ads in your Tweetstream, from Twitter accounts you don't follow. — In an incremental but important step for Twitter's ad business, Dick Costolo's company …

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, T3.com News, MediaNama, Gizmodo and The Next Web, more at Techmeme »

Regina McCombs / Poynter:

How 6 news organizations are using QR codes to drive traffic to news content — Walk past a bus shelter, check product packaging, visit a home improvement store and you'll see Quick Response (QR) codes. They have gone mainstream, as 14 million people scanned a QR code in June …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and NetNewsCheck Latest

Darrell Etherington / GigaOM:

Can HTML5 replace an iPad app? Financial Times to find out — While it may be an oversimplification to talk about HTML5 as a direct competitor to native apps, one company is about to find out how the two compete in a very real sense. The Financial Times, which in June introduced a tablet …

Discussion: AllThingsD, Editors Weblog, MediaPost, MediaPost, ReadWriteWeb, eMedia Vitals, mediabistro.com and The Business Insider

Lauren Indvik / Mashable!:
Why CNN Acquired Zite [INTERVIEW]

Discussion: Editors Weblog and eMedia Vitals

Robert Andrews / paidContent:UK:
Financial Times Apps Finally Pulled From iOS

Discussion: Reuters, NetNewsCheck Latest, Pocket-lint, Poynter, mocoNews, AppleInsider, Folio, WebProNews, Between the Lines Blog, Media Week, Guardian, New Media Age, 9to5Mac and Future of Journalism

Jeremy W. Peters / Media Decoder:

Scientology Strikes Back at The New Yorker — The Church of Scientology is certainly no withering violet when it comes to defending itself. — “The New Yorker: What A Load of Balderdash,” reads the cover headline on the church's in-house magazine Freedom, which was being handed out for free …

Discussion: The New York Observer, Mediaite and Future of Journalism

Megan Garber / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Amazon's new @author feature launches, and changes (just a bit) what a book is all about — Back in May, Amazon asked what seemed to be a rhetorical question: “How can authors more easily connect with their readers?” — Well, rhetorical no longer. Last night, Amazon announced its answer …

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, GigaOM and MarketingVox News & Trends

Jason Kirk / Kindle Post US:
@author: Connecting Readers and Writers

Discussion: Future of Journalism, The Digital Reader and GeekWire, Thanks:dangaba

Terry Heaton / Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog:

Court redefines “The Press” — This was inevitable. — A few weeks ago, I wrote of the coming clash between police and everyday people with cameras. The issue advanced significantly on Friday with a stunning Federal Appeals Court ruling affirming the First Amendment right of citizens …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Daniel D'Addario / The New York Observer:

Meet the Mollys! Social Network Sweeties Tumbl Upwards — What makes a Molly? — Three well-known Internet writers-Molly Young, Molly Lambert, and Molly McAleer-share more than a name. The three have long attracted attention for their similar methods of self-promotion on the blogging platforms Tumblr and Twitter.

John Gapper / Financial Times:

It is right to curtail web anonymity — One of the founding principles of the web - not only the technology but the culture that has grown up with it - is that, as the New Yorker cartoon once put it: “On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.” — The policy that people are free …

Daniel de Vise / Washington Post:

Why is Northwestern University teaching journalism in Qatar? — Two students at Northwestern University Qatar. (NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY) Three years ago, Northwestern University opened a satellite campus for journalism and communications in Qatar. — It might have seemed an odd choice …

Mark Walsh / MediaPost:

Gannett, Yahoo Widen Ad Alliance — Gannett Co. and Yahoo are expanding a local advertising partnership under which the media company's newspapers and TV stations sell Yahoo inventory as part of their digital ad offerings. The companies will extend the year-old deal from nine to all of Gannett's 19 broadcast markets nationwide.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Ki Mae Heussner / Adweek:
Yahoo, Gannett Expand Local Ad Tie-In

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, rbr.com and Broadcasting & Cable

Nigel Hollis / The Atlantic Online:

Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn't) — From Best Buy to Old Spice, these 11 great spots show why Madison Avenue is still a $70 billion business — I was having dinner with friends the other evening, and one of the guests made a familiar statement.

Discussion: AdPulp

Vanity Fair:

Vanity Fair Exclusive: Conrad Black on Life in Prison, Maintaining His Innocence, and Why He Blames Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. for His Legal Woes — “The myth is that the price war put so much pressure on our profits that I was forced to steal money to maintain my opulent lifestyle,” Conrad Black tells Vanity Fair's Bryan Burrough.

Discussion: The Corsair, The First Post and Jon Slattery

Hollywood Reporter:

Former Funny or Die Executive Launches Social Movie Website … Former COO of Funny or Die Mitch Galbraith has launched a new website, Flickme, a social streaming movie service. — Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution are the first to ink license agreements …

Rem Rieder / American Journalism Review:

Stepping Back — Even in—or maybe particularly in—our rapid-fire news environment, there are times when it's important for journalists and audiences alike to take the long view. Tues. August 30, 2011 — Rem Rieder (rrieder@ajr.umd.edu) is AJR's editor and senior vice president.