Mediagazer: Ex-News Corp. executives aim to shift blame in testimony (Robert Hutton/Vancouver Sun)

9:00 AM ET, September 5, 2011

Top News:

A Tech Blogger Who Leaps Over the Line — When Michael Arrington, the editor of the popular Web site TechCrunch, told his bosses at AOL that he was forming a venture capital company to finance some of the technology start-ups that his site wrote about, they did not fire him or ask for his resignation.

Discussion: The New York Observer

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:

But is it journalism? (Damnit) — Four incidents of late challenge the very notion of journalism. Michael Arrington, Henry Blodget, Wikileaks, and TV's Irene coverage each in their own way raise the question: What is journalism? And does it matter? — When Michael Arrington announced …

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
CrunchFund? Unethical Ventures? Pig Pile Partners? …

Discussion: New York Times, mediabistro.com and Scripting News

The Atlantic Online:

Social Media's Slow Slog Into the Ivory Towers of Academia — Underpinning a disdain for social media in higher education is the assumption that incoming students have an inherent aptitude for new technologies — “If you took a soldier from a thousand years ago and put them on a battlefield …

Robert Hutton / Vancouver Sun:

Ex-News Corp. executives aim to shift blame in testimony — A screen grab image taken from television on shows News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, giving evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee on the phone hacking scandal, as Rupert Murdoch's wife Wendi Deng (centre) looks on.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

TV In The Cloud — TV is moving to the cloud. It is inevitable, just as other kinds of media from books to music are increasingly delivered over the Internet. Netflix, Hulu, and even Apple TV are making inroads when it comes to distributing traditional TV shows and movies to Internet-connected screens.

Discussion: Future of Journalism and ZDNet

Jon Henley / Guardian:

When live television goes wrong ... TV host Ortis Deley was dropped this week as Channel 4's main presenter of its world athletics coverage after an excruciating series of blunders. Jon Henley talks to other broadcasting veterans about the thrill, the adrenaline - and the nightmare of going live

Discussion: Gawker, Mediaite and The Daily What

Erik Wemple:

Jack Shafer on ‘reproducible’ journalism — On this “web extra” of Howard Kurtz's CNN show, “Reliable Sources,” Jack Shafer calls the host “a slow-moving target that bleeds profusely when hit.” — That was a joke, of course, but the session yields a couple of quotable moments.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Politico's Way — To cover American politics, Politico deploys an editorial staff of 150. This is more than any news organization in the United States for the same beat. It all started five years ago: a niche website launched by three seasoned political reporters who sharpened their claws in mainstream medias.

Discussion: Guardian and The Politico

Steve Buttry / The Buttry Diary:

I applaud Washington Post conversations about social media and digital publishing — Update: I'm going to re-use (and expand) on a line I used today in a private email exchange about the Washington Post Digital Publishing Guidelines: The Post's 2009 social media policy was like a red light to Post journalists using social media.

Discussion: Washington Post

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Reliable Sources Panel Debates Whether Sarah Palin Is Getting Too Much Media Attention — There are currently about... seven thousand Republicans officially in the presidential race so far, and yet many in the media cannot take their eyes off Sarah Palin. Whenever the former Alaska governor appears …

Peter Preston / Guardian:

Newspaper magazines still matter; they deliver women readers — As the Observer magazine reaches 45, there's life - and money - in supplements in the digital age — The actual birthday - 45 years of the Observer Magazine - falls on Tuesday (though a “Not to be Sold Separately” exhibition celebrated it weeks ago).

Alex Sherman / Bloomberg:

Dish Said to Plan Blockbuster Rival to Netflix — Dish Network Corp. (DISH), the second largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, will introduce a Blockbuster streaming-movie service to compete with Netflix Inc. (NFLX) next month, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, Financial Times and The Wrap

James Ball / Guardian:

Why I felt I had to turn my back on WikiLeaks — Former staffer tells how dismay mounted during his three months with the whistleblowing group — I joined WikiLeaks last November as a staffer for a three-month stint. Culture shock came just a few days in, when Julian Assange gathered core staff …

Discussion: Hot Air, Future of Journalism, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Tom Watson