Mediagazer: Brian Williams' newscast outdraws NBC prime time (David Bauder/Associated Press)

11:55 AM ET, November 23, 2011

Top News:

Gideon Spanier / London Evening Standard:

James Murdoch quits the boards of Sun and Times — James Murdoch has dramatically resigned as a director of the companies that publish The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. — The surprise move, which has seen Rupert Murdoch's son quit a string of directorships at News International …

Discussion: The Wrap, Telegraph, Mediaite, Gawker, Guardian, The New York Observer, paidContent, FishbowlNY, @chrisspyrou, mediabistro.com, The Staggers, Deadline.com, The Huffington Post, The Next Web and Business Insider

Nicholas Wapshott / The Daily Beast:

Why James Murdoch Might Never Take Over Rupert's Media Empire — Rupert Murdoch sees James as his last hope of keeping News Corp. under family control, but the younger man may not be able to withstand attacks from shareholders, investors, and members of Parliament, who accuse him of running a mafia racket.

Discussion: rbr.com and Telegraph

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Penguin Restores Library Lending To Kindle, But Not For New E-Books — Penguin is once again making its e-books available to libraries through Kindle, OverDrive reports. New Penguin e-books, however, remain unavailable to libraries on any platform. — OverDrive's statement:

Discussion: The Digital Shift

The Independent:

Editor ‘berated’ Madeleine McCann's parents — The News of the World's editor “verbally beat into submission” missing child Madeleine McCann's parents after they gave an interview to another publication, they said today.

Joel Gunter / Journalism.co.uk:

NI refutes lawyer's claim over ‘hacking lesson’ journalist — Lawyer's written statement removed from Leveson inquiry website after claim about News International executive challenged by the publisher — Evidence given by Mark Lewis, pictured arriving at the Leveson inquiry today …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

The Irish Independent:
Phone hacking was much more widespread than just NOTW - victims'lawyer

Discussion: Guardian, Press Association and Independent.ie

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Mail Online Readers Say They Will Pay, But They Won't Be Forced To — “We've done qualitative research in the UK that did tend to indicate users of Mail Online would pay something for certain aspects of the content,” DMGT CEO Martin Morgan told City analysts.

Discussion: Daily Mail

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:

Daily Mail publisher records operating profit drop of £13m — Results for the past year report that Associated Newspapers' operating profit fell from £89 million in 2010 to £76 million in 2011 — Operating profit for Associated Newspapers fell by £13 million in the past year …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

Robert Andrews / paidContent: Mail Online Won't Be Profitable Until 2013, As U.S. Investment Drags

Dylan Welch / Sydney Morning Herald:

Investigation of political favours against News Ltd — FEDERAL police are investigating allegations that News Ltd offered a then-serving federal senator a “special relationship” involving favourable coverage if he crossed the floor on a vote of financial interest to the company.

Discussion: Guardian and Media Matters for America

Enda Curran / Wall Street Journal: News Ltd. Denies Australian Senator's Claims

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Dear Dish Network: Your Spam Makes Me Sad. Please Stop. — I don't know how to say this any other way, so I'll be direct: Please stop with the spam. — I'm talking about crud like this, which you left in the comments of one of my stories: … Now, this pitch, written by “Andrew_K_Anderson …

Los Angeles Times:

L.A. Times Media Group makes exec changes to focus on new media — Los Angeles Times Media Group tasks four executives with increasing advertising and other revenue from digital and emerging media. — Andrea Nunn, formerly of HBO, takes on the new position of vice president of media …

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Brian Williams' newscast outdraws NBC prime time — Some weeks NBC must wish it could start prime time a couple of hours earlier.

Erika Fry / CJR:

Zuccotti Park's Airspace Was Never Closed — Did the New York's police close airspace to prevent news helicopters from getting footage of police action against Occupy Wall Street protesters? — That is certainly the story—it has been widely reported by outlets including The New York Times …

Discussion: Future of Journalism, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist and Capital New York

Adrian Chen / Gawker:
NYPD ‘Loses’ the Occupy Wall Street Wikileaks Truck

Discussion: Media Matters for America, New York Magazine and Mashable!

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Lovefilm Gets Its Defence In Early: Buys Netflix's Ad Slots — Amazon's Lovefilm has bought up adverts under its rival's business name, as Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) prepares to launch on Lovefilm's home turf early next year. — Lovefilm has bought search keyword ads against searches for the keyword …

Michael Oneal / Chicago Tribune:

Tribune Co. to pay former CEO Randy Michaels $675K in settlement — Tribune Co. agreed to pay former chief executive Randy Michaels $675,000 in a settlement stemming from his abrupt resignation from the company on Oct. 22, 2010. — The company will also cover $50,000 in Michaels' legal fees …

Discussion: Media Decoder