Mediagazer: Ratings: ABC/Yahoo News Republican debate drew biggest audience of 2012 race so far (Dylan Stableford/Yahoo! News)

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

BuzzFeed Adds Politico Writer — BuzzFeed, a site where the editors and algorithms sift the Web in search of viral articles elsewhere, has decided that it needs articles of its own. — In a move that is sure to surprise the political and journalistic classes, the site is hiring Ben Smith …

Discussion: Mediaite, FishbowlDC, Gawker, The Awl, New York Magazine, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @peretti, @benpolitico and Future of Journalism

Politico's Ben Smith becomes BuzzFeed editor — Ben Smith says at BuzzFeed, “I'll be trying to help build the first true social news organization - that is, an outfit built on the understanding that readers increasingly get and share their news on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms.”

Guardian:

Thurlbeck: kiss-and-tell stories are dead — • Former News of the World investigations editor Mazher Mahmood says he was not aware of phone hacking — • He says ‘all the fingers were pointing towards the [NoW] news desk’ over hacking after Clive Goodman was arrested

Discussion: Press Gazette, Journalism.co.uk, The Independent and Telegraph

Guardian:

Phone hacking: full text of statement issued by Dowler family lawyer — Mark Lewis of Taylor Hampton Solicitors has issued a statement on behalf of Bob and Sally Dowler — It has been reported that contrary to what the Metropolitan police had said to the Dowler family earlier this year …

Discussion: The Independent, Press Gazette, Daily Mail, Journalism.co.uk and Deadline.com

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Evidence suggests NoW did not delete Dowler messages — New evidence has emerged suggesting that News of the World journalists were not responsible for the deletion of mobile phone messages which gave Milly Dowler's family false hope she was alive. — The News of the World is not believed …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

Lisa O'Carroll / @lisaocarroll: Audioboo: Nick Davies debates with @theboylatch and Mark Lewis over Milly Dowler voicemail deletions http://t.co/UScMJhsa #leveson

David Carr / New York Times:

When Truth Survives Free Speech — Last week, a story came across my desk that seemed to suggest that a blogger had been unfairly nailed with a $2.5 million defamation award after a judge refused to give her standing as a journalist. A businessman who was the target of the blogger's inquiries brought the suit.

Discussion: Media Nation, Poynter and Future of Journalism

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Huffington Post to launch a version in Spain, to be called El Huffington Post — The Huffington Post has just signed a deal with Spanish newspaper El Pais to produce a new version of the caffeinated news brand Arianna Huffington has made famous in the United States.

Discussion: The Awl, paidContent and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:

Ratings: ABC/Yahoo News Republican debate drew biggest audience of 2012 race so far — The ABC News/Yahoo News Republican presidential debate drew 7.58 million total viewers on Saturday night, making it the most-watched GOP debate of the 2012 campaign season so far.

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Geraldo Rivera Gets Talk Deal on WABC Radio — Geraldo Rivera's been called a lot of names in his life. Here's a new one: radio talk show host. — In a deal to be announced Monday, Mr. Rivera will host the 10 and 11 a.m. hours on WABC in Manhattan, one of the nation's biggest stations.

Discussion: TVNewser and Inside Cable News

Andrew Critchlow / Wall Street Journal:

Chief Operating Officer Peter Macourt To Leave News Ltd — News Corp.'s Australian unit said Monday that its long-serving Chief Operating Officer Peter Macourt will leave the company at the end of the year. Macourt's exit follows a reshuffle of the division's top management in November …

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Pearson to sell FTSE stake for £450m — Financial Times and Penguin owner Pearson to sell 50% stake in FTSE International group in shift from financial data — Pearson is to sell its 50% stake in the FTSE International group to the London Stock Exchange for £450m in cash.

Discussion: Media Week

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Time Warner Revises $1.3 Billion Bid for Endemol to All-Cash Offer … NEW YORK - Time Warner revised its 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) bid for Dutch reality TV powerhouse Endemol, the producer of Big Brother, Deal or No Deal and others to an all-cash offer, the New York Post reported.