Mediagazer: It Costs a Fortune for The New York Times to Cut Costs (Adam Clark Estes/The Atlantic Wire)

4:25 PM ET, December 23, 2011

Top News:

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Over 40 Internet Companies Come Out Publicly Against SOPA (Including Us) — Since the list of 120 or so SOPA supporting companies hit the Internet yesterday, the lines have been drawn; People are publicly promising to pull thousands of domains from domain registrar Godaddy after it appeared on the list as a supporter.

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Prominent Rightwing Blogger Promises To Work Hard To Defeat Any Rightwing SOPA Supporters In Congress — One of the more interesting things about the whole SOPA/PIPA debate (and, as I've pointed out for many years, about any of the intellectual property policy fights) is how non-partisan they are.

Discussion: Hit & Run

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, NetNewsCheck Latest, PC Magazine, TeleRead, Bits, Joho the Blog, The FJP and Forbes

Jason Del Rey / AdAge:

Former TechCrunch Staffer Sarah Lacy Set to Close Funding Round for PandoDaily — Netscape Co-Founder Marc Andreessen Joins Michael Arrington and Other Investors In Tech News Site — Former TechCrunch Senior Editor Sarah Lacy is expected to close a round of funding in the next two weeks …

Discussion: Future of Journalism and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:

It Costs a Fortune for The New York Times to Cut Costs — The New York Times is finishing up a new round of buyout packages for veteran employees, but with the report that the paper is paying $15.4 million to remove former chief executive Janet Robinson and a look at how much the paper …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, New York Post, Hot Air and CJR

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

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

Julie Moos / Poynter:

WUSA removes story from website after discovering parts of it came from the Washington Post — WUSA President and General Manager Allan Horlick says the station has removed a story from its website after learning that portions of it were taken from a Washington Post piece on the same subject.

Discussion: Gannett Blog, Fairfax News, @mathewi and Washington Post

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Maybe Apple's Newsstand Really Was a Present for Publishers — When Apple launched its Newsstand feature in iTunes this fall, the idea was that giving newspaper and magazine publishers their own dedicated shelf space — for those who signed on to Apple's subscription program - would boost sales.

Discussion: @pkafka, MacRumors, Electronista and Business Insider

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 …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

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.

Discussion: Guardian and The Independent

Jesse Solomon / CNN:

New York Times files lawsuit seeking info on targeted killings — NEW YORK (CNN) — The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice charging that the government failed to release information under the Freedom of Information Act on records surrounding questions …

Chicago Tribune:

Sun-Times' new owners envision highly digital delivery, products — Chicago technology entrepreneur Michael Ferro and former Newsday Publisher and CEO Timothy Knight lead the group. Knight says flagship tabloid newspaper will remain an integral part of the portfolio.