Mediagazer: SOPA is the end of us, say bloggers (Tim Mak/Politico)

11:20 AM ET, December 28, 2011

Top News:

Times Co. Agrees to Sell Regional Newspaper Group — Updated The New York Times Company announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to sell the company's Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings, of Daytona Beach, Fla., for $143 million in cash.

Discussion: MediaPost, NetNewsCheck Latest, The New York Observer, The New York Times Company, Reuters, The Boston Globe and Beyond Search

Jim Romenesko:
FAQ for NYT Regional Media Group employees

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

Was WaPo's Flock Forced on Vacation? — Like some reporters, WaPo's Elizabeth Flock was off last week — conceivably for the holidays. — But FishbowlDC sources are insisting that Flock was suspended last week for writing that post on GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's using a KKK slogan in his speeches.

Rebecca Shapiro / The Huffington Post:

CNN Under Fire After Uncut Version Of Ron Paul Interview Surfaces — An uncut version of Ron Paul's seemingly testy interview with CNN surfaced on Sunday, and has raised questions about whether or not the network may have unfairly edited the interview. — Paul was interviewed by CNN's Gloria Borger last week.

Steve Kornacki / Salon:
How the media made Ron Paul

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite and Forbes

Yahoo! News:

Yahoo News hires Steve Chaggaris as executive producer, elections — In the latest move to bolster Yahoo's original coverage of the 2012 presidential election, Yahoo News has hired Steve Chaggaris, the former Political Director of CBS News, as Executive Producer, Elections. Chaggaris will start on January 3, 2012.

NPR:

Bahrain To Host Saudi Prince's News Network — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain has been picked to host the headquarters for Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's new international Arabic news network despite months of unrest, according to the tiny Gulf kingdom's media oversight authority.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Kevin Lincoln / Business Insider:

After Hiring Gawker Founding Editor Elizabeth Spiers, The New York Observer Is Finally Profitable — Observer Media Group President Christopher Barnes says that the New York Observer and its associated products, after many years in the red, will finally turn a small profit in 2011, the New York Post reports.

Discussion: New York Post

Shiv Malik / Guardian:

Pandagate! Anger as BBC chooses Tian Tian as December woman 2011 — Choice of Edinburgh zoo panda for BBC magazine's faces of the year follows sports personality award furore — The BBC has caused outrage by choosing a panda as one of its 12 women of 2011.

Discussion: Softpedia News and BBC

Chris Isidore / CNNMoney:

Netflix big customer satisfaction loser in '11 — The customer satisfaction gap between online retailer Amazon and video service Netflix is widening and may pose a significant threat to Netflix's outlook going forward, according to survey results released Wednesday.

Discussion: AllThingsD, more at Techmeme »

Jeremiah Owyang / Web Strategy:

End of an Era: The Golden Age of Tech Blogging is Over — That's right. We're at the end of an important period. The tech blogosphere as we know it, is over. — Four Trends Show the End of this Era: — Like the film industry, the Golden Era is the emergence period, when fresh innovation in a new medium is born.

Discussion: Brian Solis and SarahLacy.com

Ryan Lawler / GigaOM:

How Hulu's ‘Steamboat’ ads recommend new shows to users — Hulu, like all video services, has long been focused on growing its viewership, but also on keeping those viewers watching more and more shows. While it's mostly been building that audience by featuring popular new programming …

Ethan Bronner / New York Times:

Struggle of Israel's Channel 10 Tied to Political Wars — JERUSALEM — An Israeli television station reported last spring on numerous trips Benjamin Netanyahu had taken as an elected official to Paris, London and New York before becoming prime minister in 2009.

Discussion: Media Decoder

Alex Kantrowitz / Kantrowitz:

What BuzzFeed Is Trying To Do — Earlier this month, BuzzFeed shocked the media world by hiring Politico's Ben Smith as its editor in chief. Smith, recruited hard by BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti, was a star Politico columnist and figured to have an important role in Politico's 2012 election coverage.

Discussion: Forbes

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

New York Times Staffers Express ‘Profound Dismay’ With Management — NEW YORK — New York Times staffers unhappy with management are letting publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. know it. In recent days, more than 270 current and former Times employees have signed an open letter expressing their …