Mediagazer: The Hole In FON Theory (Dean Starkman/CJR)

12:05 AM ET, December 25, 2011

Top News:

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Caseby's squalid note to The Guardian editor shows News International's true face — I was surprised when I switched on Newsnight last week to hear that Nick Davies had refused to take part in a discussion with The Sun's managing editor, Richard Caseby. — I've known Davies for more than 35 years …

The Independent:

For Leveson, the ‘what ifs’ that must follow The Guardian's clarification are legion — The last day of the Leveson Inquiry before the Christmas recess threw up two developments with the potential to be game-changers. First, on the basis that he overheard show-business journalists talking …

Discussion: Future of Journalism, Guardian, Jon Slattery and The Huffington Post

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Times Co. Calls Union Back to Negotiate — New York Times Co. (NYT) contacted union leaders about restarting contract negotiations a day after the publisher announced last week the retirement of Chief Executive Officer Janet Robinson, according to the local Newspaper Guild.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

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

Discussion: Future of Journalism and New York Post

Dan Kennedy / Nieman Journalism Lab:

2012 will bring “the great retrenchment” among newspaper publishers — Editor's Note: We're wrapping up 2011 by asking some of the smartest people in journalism what the new year will bring. — Next up is Boston-based media commenter Dan Kennedy, an assistant professor of journalism …

Dean Starkman / CJR:

The Hole In FON Theory — Continuing the discussion about the future of news with Clay Shirky — I thank Clay Shirky and other posters for their responses to “Confidence Game: the limited vision of the news gurus.” Since Clay and I are going to differ on a few things …

Erik Wemple:

How Politico reacted to its plagiarism outbreak — Over the next couple of weeks, the Erik Wemple Blog will be looking back at the stories we've covered over our first half-year in existence. We're calling it the Look-Back Fortnight. — Politico handled the Kendra Marr situation …

Steve Green / VEGAS INC:

Dismantling of Righthaven appears under way with loss of website — The court-authorized dismantling of Las Vegas copyright company Righthaven LLC appeared to be under way Thursday, with the company losing control of its website to a receiver. — As noted by the Righthaven Victims website critical …

Discussion: Boing Boing

Paul Tassi / Forbes:

The Great SOPA Conspiracy Theory — It's not a stretch to imagine that the reason big media companies want SOPA to pass goes beyond just hampering piracy. Rather, it would give them massive amounts of control over the internet, as they can deem which sites are harmful to their brand …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Techdirt and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Prominent Rightwing Blogger Promises To Work Hard To Defeat Any Rightwing SOPA Supporters In Congress

Discussion: Erick's blog and Hit & Run

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Over 40 Internet Companies Come Out Publicly Against SOPA (Including Us)

Edward Schumacher-Matos / NPR Ombudsman:

Is NPR Doing Too Many Stories About Catholicism? — Pope Benedict XVI during his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 14, 2011. — When the Catholic Church changed its liturgy in late November, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Morning Edition, and Tell Me More, covered the story.

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:

Google tries to kick Authors Guild out of court in book case — It's as if the last four years hadn't happened. In 2007, Google's legal dispute with a coalition of authors and publishers over Google Books was put on hold while the parties hashed out a settlement agreement.

Discussion: The Digital Shift, Electronista and TeleRead

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Former NBC vet Marc Graboff set to run 'American Idol's' parent company — After a six-month search, “American Idol” owner CKX is close to naming a new boss, The Post has learned. — The entertainment company, which also owns the “So You Think You Can Dance” TV brand …

Discussion: The Wrap and TVWeek.com

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

How Ron Paul's Newsletters Got Back In The News — NEW YORK — On Thursday night Reuters reported on a solicitation for Ron Paul's political and investment newsletters from the 1980's and 90's; the direct-mail ad warned of a “coming race war” and included incendiary rants about blacks …

Discussion: The New Republic, Big Journalism and Reuters

Bloomberg:

FCC Plan to Ease Cross-Ownership Rules Points to Consolidation — Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Communications Commission agreed to propose easing limits on one owner holding a television station and newspaper in a top 20 U.S. market. — The FCC plan keeps existing caps on TV and radio station ownership.