Mediagazer: The sideways numbers you'll see in today's newspaper circulation report (Rick Edmonds/Poynter)

8:45 PM ET, November 1, 2011

Top News:

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Law firm documents add to heat on James Murdoch — (Reuters) - A law firm which represented Rupert Murdoch's London tabloids has turned over to the British parliament documents which could embarrass his son James when he returns to testify before a committee investigating a phone-hacking scandal.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Phone hacking: QC warned of ‘culture of illegal information access’ at NoW — • QC told NI ‘there is a powerful case that there is ... a culture of illegal information access’ — • NoW lawyer warned editor of ‘damning email’ in 2008 — • Met had evidence that ‘at least three’ reporters involved

Discussion: Media & Entertainment, Press Gazette, Digital Spy and Future of Journalism

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:
Phone hacking: Internal News International documents published

Discussion: Guardian

Press Association: Blair aide's phone ‘hacked by NotW’

Jason Deans / Guardian: NoW lawyer warned editor of ‘damning email’ in 2008

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times top latest circulation report — ABC has released circulation figures for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2011. This is the second reporting period in which ABC is counting circulation differently, so you can't compare current figures to previous periods.

Discussion: Capital New York and Future of Journalism

David Kaplan / paidContent:

Fas-Fax: Major Newspapers' Total Digital Editions Rise 63 Percent — Digital editions of the top 25 newspapers rose 63 percent to 2,169,843 for the six months ending in September, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations' Fas-Fax tally. For the most part, the numbers reflect newspapers …

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

The sideways numbers you'll see in today's newspaper circulation report — The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures will be released this morning, and I can confidently predict totals for individual newspaper organizations and for the industry will be neither up nor down. They will be sideways.

Discussion: MediaPost, LA Observed, WWD and NewsBulletin Connection

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:
More Proof That Paywalls Work From...Newsday?

Discussion: Adweek, On Media's Blog, Media Decoder, New York Magazine and The Wrap

Tim Molloy / The Wrap:

Ratings: ‘Rock Center’ Off to Bad Start as Halloween Cuts Into Ratings All Around — “Rock Center with Brian Williams” is off to a bad start, debuting 38 percent lower than the premiere of “The Playboy Club,” the now-canceled drama it replaced in the Mondays-at-10 timeslot.

Discussion: TVNewser and rbr.com

Hollywood Reporter:

Brian Williams' ‘Rock Center’ Premiere: What the Viewers Are Saying — The new newsmagazine, which debuted Monday night, included a segment where the host riffed on the trick-or-treating habits of upper-class New Yorkers with Jon Stewart. — Brian Williams, left, and Harry Smith

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Washington Post and Chickaboomer

Bill Carter / New York Times:
‘60 Minutes’ Draws Viewers With the Madoffs

Discussion: TVNewser and GalleyCat

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Gawker network three times more valuable than Drudge Report, according to survey — The financial news site 24/7 Wall St. has come up with a list of the 25 most valuable blogs (perhaps more aptly, aggregators and news sites) based on revenue, profits, market differentiation and “founder risk …

Mike Sauter / 24/7 Wall St.:

The Twenty-Five Most Valuable Blogs In America - 2011 — After years in the shadows of major media sites, blogs have come into their own. They now compete directly with the most well-funded online content sites, many of which are owned by the largest media companies.

Discussion: Future of Journalism and The Atlantic Online

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

Major Book Publisher Files Mass-BitTorrent Lawsuit — Since early 2010 more than 200,000 people have been sued in the U.S. for sharing copyrighted works via BitTorrent. Thus far these lawsuits have been the exclusive territory of independent and adult film studios, but today they are joined …

Discussion: the Econsultancy blog, TeleRead, Softpedia News, Free Press, The Digital Reader and ReadWriteWeb

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Our relationship with e-books: It's too complicated

Discussion: TeleRead and The Next Web

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

Limbaugh Denounces Herman Cain Story — Rush Limbaugh tore into Politico on his Monday show, denouncing the web site for what he called a “hit job” on Herman Cain. Limbaugh said that the story was an “unconscionable, racially stereotypical attack” on Cain. — Politico posted an explosive story about Cain on Sunday.

Discussion: Slate, New York Times, Washington Post and The Week

Frances Martel / Mediaite:
Politico's Ken Vogel Refuses To Confirm Or Deny Cain Story Came From Rival Camp

Discussion: Guardian, CJR and Erik Wemple

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline.com:

CNN's ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’ Gets Beat In The Ratings By A 3 AM Fox News Show — CNN's 9 PM anchor Piers Morgan Tonight is regularly pummeled in the ratings by its Fox News primetime counterparts. But in October, it also got beat by Fox News' overnight program Red Eye, which airs at 3 AM.

Discussion: TVNewser

Dan Walker Smith / Adweek:

Engadget Alumni Launch The Verge — Former Engadget editor Josh Topolsky has unveiled The Verge, a new site dedicated to tech. The site launched early on Nov. 1. — Topolsky says the new site will not just be “a stagnant, fixed entity, but an evolving, growing piece of technology.”

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, Business Insider, The Verge and NYConvergence.com, more at Techmeme »

Dee Gill / paidContent:

Why Is Reed Hastings Selling So Much Netflix Stock? — As the bloodbath for Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) (NFLX) investors carries on, perhaps the CEO could boost a little confidence in the company if he would stop selling his own shares. — CEO Reed Hastings has exercised buy options …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

Time Warner Trims Its Excesses — The sprawling taupe-colored offices of Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Time Warner's chairman and chief executive, overlook Central Park from the 11th floor of one of Manhattan's most plum pieces of commercial real estate. Mr. Bewkes cannot wait to move out.

Discussion: Company Town, Deal Journal, Guardian, On Media's Blog and The New York Observer

Anna Sanders / The New York Observer:

John Swansburg Leaves the New Yorker After Only 2 Months, Returns to Slate — Early this morning, Slate editor-in-chief and chairman Jacob Weisberg tweeted that former colleague and culture editor John Swansburg was “back!” A New Yorker spokesman confirmed that Mr. Swansburg's …

Thanks:megan