Mediagazer: A publisher bets on The Onion to save his business — for real (Andrew Phelps/Nieman Journalism Lab)

1:10 AM ET, November 7, 2011

Top News:

Andy Rooney dead at 92 — Andy Rooney, the “60 Minutes” commentator known to generations for his wry, humorous and contentious television essays - a unique genre he is credited with inventing - died Friday night in a hospital in New York City of complications following minor surgery.

Julie Moos / Poynter:

‘60 Minutes’ mainstay Andy Rooney dies at 92, a month after retirement — Andrew Aitken Rooney started working at CBS in 1949 as a writer. He left the network briefly in the early 1970s but returned in '73. He first appeared on “60 Minutes” in 1977 and became a regular in 1978 …

Discussion: TVNewser, Mixed Media, The Wrap, mnilive.com, TVNewser, rbr.com, Speakeasy, Forbes, Mediaite, Kempton, Multichannel, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable, Gawker, TVSpy and Mediaite

David Carr / New York Times:

Is the WikiLeaks Movement Fading? — IT appears all the more likely that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, will be extradited to Sweden to be questioned on allegations of sexual misconduct from two women. A British court's ruling last Wednesday that he could be extradited …

more at Techmeme »

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

The Rules of Succession — Among the many repercussions of the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, the most mysterious has been its effect on Rupert Murdoch's children. Their 80-year-old father's double-edged dream of dynasty has dominated the lives of three of the six: the Australia-based Lachlan …

Discussion: Forbes

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
Elisabeth of the Murdochs — With her husband and privy counselor …

Discussion: Guardian and Business Insider

Jillian C. York / Al Jazeera:

Internet freedom initiative mere lip service? — The US and EU decry Syria's actions, but remain silent on the threats faced by bloggers in other Middle Eastern nations. — For years, the Middle East has led the world in online repression. Over the course of the past year …

Discussion: @jeffjarvis

Steve Yelvington / yelvington.com:

Gateways in the Chinese wall — In business, a Chinese wall is an information barrier that separates one part of the company from another. In newspapers, there's a Chinese wall between the journalism part (the newsroom) and the business part (advertising), and usually also the opinion part (the editorial page).

Discussion: Future of Journalism and 10,000 Words

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Wait a Minute. Does Google Really Want to Be a Cable Guy? — Google, which is launching a broadband service in Kansas City, has been thinking about adding cable TV to its offering there, The Wall Street Journal reports. The search giant has been talking to the likes of Time Warner …

Discussion: Epicenter and Company Town

Will Richmond / VideoNuze: Google To Go Over-the-Top and Compete With Pay-TV Operators? Don't Bet On Success.

Tom Fiedler / CommonWealth Magazine:

What happens when a community loses its newspaper? — In Holyoke, residents still mourn the loss of the T-T nearly 20 years later — Holyoke City Hall, looking up Dwight Street — FOR DAYS, HUNDREDS of callers speaking in the hushed tones more commonly reserved for funeral parlors …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Daniel Boffey / Guardian:

Murdoch gave loyal lieutenant Rebekah Brooks £1.7m pay-off, car and office — News International chairman may face questions in Commons over generous severance deal despite phone-hacking scandal — Rebekah Brooks, the former News of the World editor who resigned as chief executive …

Discussion: Deadline.com, Gawker, The Wrap and Digital Spy

Arthur Sulzberger / Charlie Beckett:

The continuing digital transformation of the New York Times — The chairman of the New York Times Arthur Sulzberger gave a talk at Polis LSE on the continuing digital transformation of the New York Times on November 1st. — Here is the text. — New York Times' interactivity — Good afternoon everyone.

Discussion: The Evolving Newsroom, Talking Biz News and Future of Journalism

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Wales: ‘Journalists all use Wikipedia’ — During a visit to Qatar for an education summit, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales told Foreign Policy that he considers the collaborative encyclopedia to be social media, but not a social network. With millions of people relying on Wikipedia …

Discussion: Forbes and Foreign Policy

Andrew Phelps / Nieman Journalism Lab:

A publisher bets on The Onion to save his business — for real — The career of Frank Mauran, owner of small Gaspee Publishing in Providence, R.I., is a parable of publishing's hard times. — In the 1990s, he started up the Printing Equipment Guide, a biweekly publication for the publishing trade.

Discussion: Poynter