Mediagazer: Critics of HuffPo news “theft” are missing the point (Mathew Ingram/GigaOM)

4:50 PM ET, December 22, 2011

Top News:

Ginger Thompson / New York Times:

Hearing in Soldier's WikiLeaks Case Ends — FORT MEADE, Md. — The military hearing against Pfc. Bradley Manning closed on Thursday, with lawyers and onlookers alternately portraying him as a premeditated traitor or an accidental hero with emotional troubles.

Discussion: Threat Level, Guardian and Associated Press

Rainey Reitman / The Nation: Government Blocks Access to Bradley Manning's Hearing

Philly.com:

Years of silent fear: 6th person accuses Conlin — LINDA STELLA said that she was just a girl when Bill Conlin pulled her onto his lap and began “flexing his leg muscles” during a family birthday party at his house in South Jersey. She leaped off his lap and looked back.

Discussion: Slate and Deadspin

Victor Fiorillo / The Philly Post:
Bill Conlin Is Innocent

Discussion: Philly.com, Future of Journalism and Deadspin

A.J. Daulerio / Deadspin:
A Conversation With Bill Conlin The Day Before The Inquirer Dropped Its Molestation Story

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Patriot-News, Media Decoder, New York Times, CBS Philly, Future of Journalism, Bleacher Report and Philly.com

Foster Kamer / The New York Observer:

TechCrunch Writer, Blogging on TechCrunch: 'I'm Beginning to Feel Stupid for Still Being Here' — Ms. Tsotsis, Freedom Fighter (or something like it). — Alexia Tsotsis was a well-liked and popular tech blogger before she was at TechCrunch, back when she was at SF Weekly.

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Aol Shareholders Freak Out Over Exec Departures — As They Should

Discussion: paidContent:UK, Street Fight and Business Insider

Chicago Tribune:

Sun-Times sold to local investor group — Deal with Wrapports LLC valued at more than $20 million, expected to close by end of the year — The deal to acquire Chicago's No. 2 newspaper is done. — Sun-Times Media Chairman Jeremy Halbreich confirmed Wednesday evening that a new company led …

Discussion: CJR, Media Decoder and Associated Press

Bill Cooke / Random Pixels:

Is Huffington Post Miami guilty of theft? — Arianna Huffington is most famous for launching a website that posts thousands of stories a week, most of them written by people who don't get a dime for their work. — Much of what appears on HuffPost is written by bloggers who write for no pay.

Discussion: Random Pixels and Loose Talk, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Future of Journalism

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Critics of HuffPo news “theft” are missing the point

Discussion: Riptide 2.0

Dave Itzkoff / ArtsBeat:

Online Sales of Louis C. K. Special Cross $1 Million Mark — Though the comedian Louis C. K. may not seem like the kind of guy who derives much joy from the holiday season - let alone anything else - Santa Claus has brought him an early Christmas gift. In an interview on Wednesday's broadcast of …

Discussion: VentureBeat, Techdirt, CNNMoney.com, Rolling Stone, kottke.org and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Jim Hopkins / Gannett Blog:

GCI buys ‘thousands’ of iPhones and other devices, memo says, in ramp-up of mobile newsroom tech — Following is a memo U.S. newspapers division President Bob Dickey sent to employees today. I'm posting this from my iPhone (!), with limited Web access. — Dec. 21, 2011

Discussion: CNET News, The Next Web, Fortune, Poynter and Electronista

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Leveson inquiry receives more than 200 submissions from outside media — Inquiry says it has been sent 411 submissions of evidence in total, including 93 from those claiming to be victims of the press — The Leveson inquiry into phone hacking and media ethics has received more than 200 submissions …

Guardian: Daily Express editor was ‘obsessed’ with Madeleine McCann story, inquiry hears

BBC:
Leveson Inquiry: Summary of week six

Discussion: Business Insider

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

The Most-Read Newspaper Websites In Europe — We often see national and international breakdowns of newspaper website popularity, but rarely by continent. — Here is comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) Media Metrix's chart of the most-read newspaper sites in Europe (June 2011), as features …

Josh Halliday / Guardian: Mail Online tops 80m monthly online browsers

Arif Durrani / Media Week:

The Sunday Times prepares iPad and Android editions for Christmas Day — The Sunday Times will be published on Christmas Day this year for the first time in its 190-year history, thanks to its new digital versions. — The Sunday Times: readies digital versions

Discussion: paidContent:UK

Wall Street Journal:

Cable Chief Fires Back at MSG Sports Network — As Dispute Escalates, TWC CEO Touts Model That Would Shift Programming to Separate Tier — Facing a heated battle with MSG sports network over rising rates, Time Warner Cable Inc. Chief Executive Glenn Britt said sports channels …

Discussion: Media Decoder

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Verizon To Launch a Home Media Server In 2012, Plans To Eliminate Set-Top Box — Verizon will be rolling out a new Media Server product for its FiOS customers later next year, which will be a single hardware device that will eventually eliminate the need for a set-top box altogether.

Discussion: Electronista

Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:

Amazon Stops Hiding Competitors' E-Reading Apps On The Kindle Fire — Amazon has stopped pretending that a group of e-reading apps it allowed onto its Android Appstore weren't available on the Kindle Fire. For whatever reason, the company was effectively hiding e-reading apps from companies like Wattpad …

Discussion: Softpedia News, Forbes, Wattpad Blog, ZDNet, The Digital Reader, WebProNews and TeleRead, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

PEJ Year in Review: On Cable News, Clearly Differentiated Priorities Among Channels — The Project for Excellence in Journalism released its annual report looking back on the year in media. Among the findings: while Fox News and MSNBC spent a good deal of time covering politics and domestic issues …

Discussion: Journalism.org, MediaShift, 10,000 Words, FishbowlNY and TVSpy

Jenna Russell / The Boston Globe:

Professor at BU faces charge in fatal crash — PLYMOUTH - A well-known Boston University journalism professor and former longtime ABC News correspondent will be charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an October accident that killed a 26-year-old Plymouth man.

Bill Mickey / Folio:

The Atlantic Has Second Profitable Year in a Row — The brand posts gains across all three platforms—print, digital and events. — The Atlantic has some milestones to celebrate as it heads into the holiday season. The brand is reporting gains across all of its platforms—print …