Mediagazer: Marilyn Thompson leaves WP for Reuters (Jim Romenesko)

1:30 PM ET, December 16, 2011

Top News:

Juli Weiner / Vanity Fair:

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir …

Christopher Buckley / The New Yorker Blog:

Postscript: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 — We were friends for more than thirty years, which is a long time but, now that he is gone, seems not nearly long enough. I was rather nervous when I first met him, one night in London in 1977, along with his great friend Martin Amis.

Discussion: Forbes, The Wrap, Speakeasy, Business Insider, Slate, New York Magazine, BBC, entertainment.time.com, Guardian, FishbowlDC, LA Observed and FleetStreetBlues

Julie Moos / Poynter:

New York Times did not need to stop the presses for Hitchens obit — New York Times Communications Director Danielle Rhoades Ha reports the paper did not need to stop the presses to include a story about Christopher Hitchens' death of cancer Thursday; “The story broke and was confirmed …

Discussion: Capital New York, J-School Buzz, Adweek, Slate, The Atlantic Online, The Huffington Post, The New York Observer, @palafo, @joepompeo and Poynter

Jim Romenesko:

Newspaper Guild of New York blasts Robinson's $4.5M consulting fee — The Times contract expired on March 30, “and we have not had serious negotiations for months now. Our last official bargaining session was in June.” — The union chief adds that subcommittees have been meeting with the Times …

Discussion: Gawker, FishbowlNY, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Poynter and Business Insider

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:
Janet Robinson, Chief Executive of Times Co., to Step Down

Julie Moos / Poynter:
Next New York Times CEO could come from the tech sector

Discussion: GalleyCat, AllThingsD and AdAge

Henry Blodget / Business Insider: NYT NEWSROOM CHATTER: Andrew Ross Sorkin In Running To Become CEO

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock — Cheap new e-readers are expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. But new owners of Kindles and Nooks may be in for sticker shock on Christmas morning: The price gap between the print and e-versions of some top sellers has now narrowed …

Discussion: paidContent, Digital Book World, GigaOM, msnbc.com, The Consumerist, eBookNewser and GalleyCat

Declan McCullagh / CNET News:

SOPA votes derailed by politician's ‘offensive’ tweet — A marathon debate today in the House of Representatives on the Stop Online Piracy Act wasn't derailed by procedural questions, even though not one hearing had been held on how the law would actually work.

Discussion: @stevekingia, Techdirt, Betabeat, WebProNews, Deadline.com and WatchingTV Online, more at Techmeme »

Grant Gross / Computerworld:
House committee appears headed toward approving SOPA

Discussion: Threat Level and Techdirt, more at Techmeme »

Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Meet SOPA author Lamar Smith, Hollywood's favorite Republican

Discussion: Fox News, Technology Liberation Front, Fortune, Electronic Frontier Foundation and paidContent

Jack Shafer:

Are you reading the best magazine in America? — My original commitment to Bloomberg BusinessWeek was so small it was almost negative. — About this time last year, US Airways, Delta, or some other crappy airline notified me that my soon-to-expire frequent flyer miles could be exchanged …

Discussion: Media Nation and CJR

Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:

More Digital-First Downsizing: The Guardian's Print Edition Shrinks Again — We've been covering already how the Guardian's digital-first strategy has resulted in some sections of the printed newspaper shrinking. Today brings a fresh wave of downsizing moves, with the sports and film …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and Guardian

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:

UMG claims “right to block or remove” YouTube videos it doesn't own — Universal Music Group has responded to Megaupload's request for a temporary restraining order barring the music giant from further interference with the distribution of its “Mega Song.” UMG insists that it had a right …

Discussion: Techland, Techdirt, Electronista, Policy Blog, CNET News, Fast Company, Boing Boing, TeleRead and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Patrick Gavin / The Politico:

No debate: Fox gets glowing reviews — Given that some of those dastardly “mainstream media” reporters within the Beltway have been known to rib Fox News' journalism from time to time, it's been notable to see a clear trend emerge from the Republican debates in 2011: The faceoffs hosted …

Discussion: TVNewser and Erik Wemple

Andrew Phelps / Nieman Journalism Lab:

NPR stations see big growth for Argo blogs as the pilot winds down — How much of an impact can one blogger make? — A little more than a year ago, 12 public radio stations set a goal: Hire a reporter, teach him or her how to blog, and create the most authoritative local source of news on a single topic — a vertical.

Tom Parfitt / Guardian:

Newspaper chief's murder in Dagestan adds to toll of Russian journalists — Hundreds attend funeral of Khadzhimurad Kamalov, who was shot dead outside Chernovik's offices in the North Caucasus — The prominent founder of an independent newspaper in the volatile Dagestan republic has been shot dead …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, BBC, New York Times and VOA

Somini Sengupta / New York Times:

Judge Dismisses Twitter Stalking Case — SAN FRANCISCO — In a case with potentially far-reaching consequences for freedom of expression on the Internet, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a criminal case against a man accused of stalking a religious leader on Twitter …

Discussion: PC Magazine, Hillicon Valley, Digits, Mashable!, Electronic Frontier Foundation and CNET News, more at Techmeme »

Jon Slattery:

How Lord Hunt wants to tame bloggers and online — Online publications and blogs would be regulated under radical proposals by the new chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, according to the Exaro website — Lord Hunt, PCC chairman since October, told Exaro in an interview with David Hencke …

Dorothy Pomerantz / Forbes:

Why Howard Stern is a Terrible Choice for NBC — Click for full photo gallery: Howard Stern - The Celebrity 100 — NBC announced today that Howard Stern is taking over from Piers Morgan as a judge on the show America's Got Talent. To accommodate Stern (who will continue to do his Sirius/XM radio show) …

Discussion: The Wrap, EW.com, Company Town and TVbytheNumbers

Ed Pilkington / Guardian:

Bradley Manning hearing - updates — Continuing coverage from Fort Meade, Maryland, where a pre-trial hearing is taking place for the Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning — At Forte Meade: Ed Pilkington (EP) and Matt Williams (MW) — At the Guardian in New York: Matt Wells

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Guardian and Threat Level

Maurice Chammah / The Huffington Post:

The Springborg Affair: A Censorship Debacle Reflects Egypt's Future — It began on Monday, December 5th, when English newspaper readers in Cairo learned that a new paper, the Egypt Independent, had disappeared from newsstands. They learned about the disappearance from the British press …

Discussion: Guardian

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

ProPublica.org goes responsive to better serve mobile readers — In what some like to think of an age of apps — smartphone, tablet, or otherwise — it might seem hard to get worked up over a mobile redesign. But last week ProPublica rolled out a new look for small screens that's pliable …

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Knight funds collaborative reporting center in Georgia — The Knight Foundation is launching a new program at Mercer University designed to prepare journalists, both aspiring and employed, how to perform their craft in an increasingly interdependent industry.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, Knight Foundation, NYConvergence.com, Macon Telegraph and Poynter

Guardian:

Julian Assange can appeal against extradition, supreme court rules — The supreme court says the WikiLeaks founder's appeal raises questions of general public importance on extradition law — The highest court in the land has granted permission for Julian Assange to appeal against his extradition …

Discussion: Rolling Stone