Mediagazer: News Corp. in Talks to Hire Gerson Zweifach as General Counsel (Russell Adams/Wall Street Journal)

11:20 AM ET, December 23, 2011

Top News:

Journalists complain the White House press office has become overly combative — The White House's relationship with the reporters who cover it has blown hot and cold throughout history. And this year, some reporters say, things have taken a decidedly frosty turn.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and @poynter

Bill Adair / PolitiFact:

Fact-checking in the Echo Chamber Nation — At a Republican campaign rally a few years ago, I asked one of the attendees how he got his news. — “I listen to Rush and read NewsMax,” he said. “And to make sure I'm getting a balanced view, I watch Fox.” — My liberal friends …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Pressthink, Paul Krugman, The Huffington Post and Washington Post

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.

Discussion: Globe and Mail

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

Discussion: Street Fight, Future of Journalism and paidContent:UK

The Huffington Post:

Piers Morgan's Phone Hacking Testimony Has Little Impact — CNN's Piers Morgan was in the position few television interviewers like to be this week: on the other side of the microphone. He testified by video link about his past life as a London tabloid editor before a British panel looking into media ethics.

Rainey Reitman / The Nation:

Government Blocks Access to Bradley Manning's Hearing — The WikiLeaks saga is centered on issues of government transparency and accountability, but the public is being strategically denied access to the Manning hearing, one of the most important court cases in our lifetime.

Ginger Thompson / New York Times:
Hearing in Soldier's WikiLeaks Case Ends

Discussion: Threat Level, Guardian and Future of Journalism

David Dishneau / Associated Press: Defense says Manning victim of military overreach

Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:

News Corp. in Talks to Hire Gerson Zweifach as General Counsel — News Corp. is expected to name veteran Washington attorney Gerson Zweifach as its next general counsel, filling what is likely to be a sensitive role as the media conglomerate deals with the fallout of the phone-hacking scandal that erupted this summer.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Bloomberg and Law Blog

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

How Amazon is helping to sustain long-form journalism — Amazon has been taking a beating recently for what some see as its attempt to cut in on the business of independent booksellers, and for its ongoing disruption of the e-book market via its Kindle lending library and other moves.

Discussion: Poynter, The FJP and Forbes

Michael Warren / Associated Press:

Argentine government wins control of newsprint — BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The paper used to produce newspapers came under government control in Argentina on Thursday, in a long-sought victory for President Cristina Fernandez in her dispute with the country's opposition media.

Curtis Tate / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

AP opens North Korea news bureau, but celebration will wait — AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service — WASHINGTON — The Associated Press was ready to formally dedicate a new bureau in North Korea's capital this week, giving AP the first permanent bureau operated …

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

Meet Circa, The Stealthy ‘News Experience’ Startup From Ben Huh And SimpleGeo Founder Matt Galligan — As we heard in August, SimpleGeo founder Matt Galligan left the company to pursue other interests. SimpleGeo was then bought by UrbanAirship in November, and fellow co-founder Joe Stump left …

Dylan Stableford / Associated Press:

Why the media insists on publishing year-end lists before the year's end — Barbara Walters' choice of the Kardashian clan as one of her “10 Most Fascinating People of 2011” drew extended ridicule when her annual primetime television special aired on ABC on Dec. 14.

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

More Picture-Takers Are Phoning It In — No big surprises here. The single-purpose camera is in decline, the smartphone camera on the rise. — New research from NPD finds that smartphones are now responsible for more than a quarter of the photos and videos people take in the U.S …

Discussion: MediaPost, SlashGear, CNET News and Future of Journalism, more at Techmeme »

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:

Fox News zings CNN and MSNBC on holiday card, just like last year — In what's becoming an annual media tradition, Fox News used its holiday card to wish friends and family well this holiday season—and take a swipe at CNN and MSNBC. — The front of Fox News' 2011 card …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter