Mediagazer: Huffpo's Brand Is Worth Way More Than AOL's, Study Shows (Jeff Bercovici/Forbes)

8:00 PM ET, October 31, 2011

Top News:

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

A Year of Tina Brown and Newsweek Still Needs a Savior — When the merger between Newsweek and The Daily Beast was announced almost a year ago, it seemed like it might, at least, have the makings of a good story: charming nonagenarian audio tycoon teams up with a media mogul and celebrity editor …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Wrap and Poynter

James Robinson / Guardian:

Phone hacking: Milly Dowler police investigation may have been targeted — Lawyer for Surrey police tells Leveson inquiry there is evidence officers' phones were hacked — Several police officers who investigated the disappearance and murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler in 2002 …

Discussion: Media & Entertainment

Katherine Rushton / Telegraph:

James Murdoch gets pay rise despite News Corp row — Fury over James Murdoch's chairmanship of BSkyB did not stop him accepting a £1,300 pay rise as the broadcaster took a £16m hit for its aborted takeover by News Corporation, where he is deputy chief operating officer.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

New website builds dossiers on journalists, hopes transparency will lead to trust — Ira Stoll is 38. He has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. His phone number is (718) 499-2199 and his email is ira@futureofcapitalism.com. He went to college at Harvard, has worked at the Los Angeles Times …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Future Journalism Project

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

New Site to Help You Find Out Who's Behind Your News — If you've ever read a news article and thought to yourself, “This writer seems like he's full of it/has an axe to grind/is just log-rolling for his cronies,” you might be interested in a new site launching this week.

Discussion: Poynter and The Future of Capitalism

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:

Injunctions furore has calmed, editors tell select committee — UK newspaper, magazine and news wire editors tell the joint committee on privacy and injunctions that the industry did face a ‘spate of injunctions’ but that the situation has since calmed — The issue of privacy …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:
Editors due to give evidence on privacy and injunctions

Discussion: Editors Weblog

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

DirecTV and News Corp. Avert Channel Blackout — 6:30 p.m. | Updated | Representatives for DirecTV and News Corporation said Monday evening that they had averted a looming blackout of regional sports networks, FX and other Fox-owned cable channels. — After warring in public for a week …

Discussion: Multichannel, Broadcasting & Cable and Company Town

Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Cable Is Holding Web TV at Bay, Earnings Show

Discussion: Adweek

Tim Molloy / The Wrap:

NBC-Owned Stations Enhancing News Coverage, Hiring 130 People — NBCUniversal plans to enhance local news at its 10 owned television stations, hiring more than 130 people to cover more local news. — The company is making a “major investment” to ensure that its stations have …

Discussion: rbr.com, Lost Remote and Media & Entertainment

Jeremy Bloom / Red, Green and Blue:

Reporter videos his own arrest at Occupy Nashville — Back in the good ol' days, you could arrest someone and charge them with disorderly conduct or resisting arrest, maybe even charge them with being drunk in public. And you were the police - it was your word against theirs.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, Poynter, The Huffington Post and Red, Green, and Blue

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Huffpo's Brand Is Worth Way More Than AOL's, Study Shows — After AOL acquired the Huffington Post in February, CEO Tim Armstrong had some tough decisions to make regarding which of his company's brands to keep and which to discard in favor of the Huffpo versions.

Discussion: Future Journalism Project and Nieman Journalism Lab

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Disney Double Dips: Renews Netflix Deal for ABC Shows, Adds Amazon — Another example of why the Web video boom is (currently) a great boon to Big TV: Disney has announced not one but two deals to sell digital copies of its reruns. — Disney has re-upped a two-year-old deal with Netflix …

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

How Google is quietly experimenting in new ways for readers to access publishers' content — Google appears to be experimenting with a new paywall-esque content roadblock for publishers, and it's not One Pass. For lack of a better name, let's call it a “survey wall,” because instead …

Discussion: The Next Web and NetNewsCheck Latest

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Hearst Hires Former Conde Nast COO, Promotes Digital Exec — David Carey, President of Hearst Magazines, announced two executive hires on Monday in the company's U.S. magazine division, bringing on Debi Chirichella as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Grant Whitmore as Vice President, Digital Media.

Discussion: MediaPost and MediaPost

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Former Myspace Music Head Holt Lands as COO at Maker (Plus Cool Video!) — Courtney Holt, who stepped down as president of Myspace Music early this year, is taking a new job as COO of Maker Studios. — Holt has been an adviser to the Venice, Calif., new-generation production company …

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Something New From Nook, Coming in a Week — Barnes & Noble will be announcing ... something at a New York City press conference in a week. — About what? The oblique invitation I just got in my inbox doesn't say a word, other than promising that it will be a “very special announcement.”

Discussion: Digits and Softpedia News, more at Techmeme »

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Rachael Ray Magazine Counts One Issue as Two — The November issue of Every Day With Rachael Ray is a bounty of Thanksgiving goodness: 322 ideas, 121 recipes and 40-plus bonus pages. — But in one sense the publisher was a bit stingy. — Waiting inside the polyurethane wrapping …

Discussion: Publishing Executive News, Gothamist, Adweek and Gawker

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

US home entertainment spending growth defies slump — Spend on e-commerce services such as Netflix and Amazon soars more than 50% in Q3, helped by Blu-ray sales rise — A surge of more than 50% in spending on e-commerce services such as Netflix and Amazon - helped by booming sales …

Discussion: PC Magazine and Home Media Magazine

Benjamin Gottlieb / Neon Tommy:

LA Weekly Owner Names Ex-Girlfriend As Editor-in-Chief — The alternative weekly juggernaut Village Voice Media is notorious for promoting journalists from within its own network to the upper echelons of its editorial cadre. — But appointing an editor-in-chief who used to date …