Mediagazer: Pandagate! Anger as BBC chooses Tian Tian as December woman 2011 (Shiv Malik/Guardian)

4:35 PM ET, December 28, 2011

Top News:

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

The Times E-Mails Millions by Mistake to Say Subscriptions Were Canceled — Home-delivery subscribers to The New York Times and others received a mass e-mail notice on Wednesday erroneously saying that their delivery had been cancelled. — The e-mail, which the Times's spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha …

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Ben Popper / Betabeat:

We Got the New York Times Email Spam. Feeling Special — Holiday Mischief? — UPDATE: The email was from the NYT, but went to the wrong list, according to Times staffers. — We just got the email which the New York Times PR is saying “looks like spam.” It arrived from the succinct address: nytimes@email.newyorktimes.com

Discussion: NYConvergence.com

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.

Julian Sanchez:

The New York Times on Ron Paul's Newsletters — With Ron Paul's now-infamous newsletters once again making headlines, I mulled whether I ought to revisit the issue, but ultimately decided that there wasn't much to add to the long piece Dave Weigel and I wrote for Reason back in 2008 …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Forbes, The Daily Caller and The Huffington Post

Dylan Byers / Politico:
NY Times challenges ‘lazy rewrite’ accusation

Discussion: PolitickerNY and CBS News

Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:

After Sale, New York Times Regional Employees Brace for Layoffs — ‘Layoff’ is an understandably dirty word around The New York Times newsroom(s) these days. As the company prepares to finalize the sale of its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings this week, both The New York Times Company …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Thanks:adamclarkestes

Jim Romenesko:
FAQ for NYT Regional Media Group employees

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, The Snitch and FishbowlNY

Tanzina Vega / Media Decoder:
Times Co. Agrees to Sell Regional Newspaper Group

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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 …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

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 and FishbowlNY

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.

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: msnbc.com, BBC and Softpedia News

Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:

Research: Internet Is UK's No. 2 News Source, But Only 3.8 Percent Pay — Online may be challenging TV to be UK consumers' primary news source - but only 3.8 percent pay for it, new research says. — In an annual media habits survey by the Oliver & Ohlbaum consultancy …

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

Why writers tweet about death, illness, rape — When Rocky Mountain News reporter Berny Morson tweeted from a child's funeral in 2008, journalists called the incident “repulsive” and “tasteless.” Now, it seems, nothing is off-limits when it comes to Twitter.

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

What's Coming In 2012: Book Publishing — This is the second in a series of posts over the next week that will highlight key people, companies and trends to watch in 2012 in the sectors we cover most, from publishing to legal, and from mobile to advertising.

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.