Mediagazer: Iowa Media Plays On National Stage As Caucus Nears (Michael Calderone/The Huffington Post)

Backpage.com says 22 more websites are linked to dead Detroit women — Backpage.com, a classified advertising website, said today that computer and forensic evidence shows at least 70 different escort ads on 22 websites are linked to the investigation involving four women whose bodies …

Discussion: Detroit Free Press

Mark Guarino / Christian Science Monitor:

After deaths in Detroit, Backpage.com advertising comes under scrutiny — Four women in Detroit were found dead in two car trunks Sunday. Their connection to a website offering escort services is reviving an ongoing debate about the right of online media outlets to host advertising that many say enables criminal activity.

WXYZ-TV: Police investigate more than a dozen websites in women's murders

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Despite kingmaking expectations, Fox News seems neutral among GOP field — Even before the first Republican presidential candidates declared they were running, pundits and political operatives alike were debating the Fox News Channel's potential influence on the GOP race.

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Iowa Media Plays On National Stage As Caucus Nears — NEW YORK — When Craig Robinson launched The Iowa Republican in March 2009, he hoped to bring his decade's worth of Republican campaign and fundraising experience into the coverage of state politics. And Robinson's been successful …

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Ahmed Al Omran / NPR:

Basil Al-Sayed, Who Chronicled The Syrian Uprising, Is Dead — This was the last thing Basil al-Sayed, a citizen journalist in Syria, filmed before he was shot in the head by security forces: — According to activist Rami Jarrah, yesterday, al-Sayed succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in the restive city of Homs.

Discussion: The FJP and New York Magazine

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

An Election Year Dawns Without Keith Olbermann — Keith Olbermann, who came to Current TV this year to remake the channel and compete against his old home, MSNBC, is sitting out the biggest political nights of the season. — Despite being the biggest star on the fledging channel …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Erik Wemple, The Huffington Post, @brianstelter, TVNewser, Inside Cable News and New York Times

Dylan Byers / The Politico:

MSNBC now disclosing Bain Capital connection — Starting on last night's Ed Show with Ed Schultz, MSNBC anchors are now disclosing their parent company's ties to Bain Capital, the buyout firm co-founded by Mitt Romney. — In July 2008, NBC Universal, Bain Capital and Blackstone Group bought …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Media Decoder and Chickaboomer

Eric Deggans / St. Petersburg Times:

Columnist Ernest Hooper to become Brandon Bureau Chief for Tampa Bay Times — It's a season of change at the soon-to-be Tampa Bay Times, as longtime columnist Ernest Hooper becomes chief of the newspaper's Brandon bureau full-time. Hooper will still write columns, only not as often …

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

ID's ‘On the Case’ Hires Letterman Extortionist, Former CBS News Producer Joe Halderman — TVNewser has learned that Investigation Discovery's “On the Case with Paula Zahn” has hired Joe Halderman, the CBS News producer who attempted to blackmail David Letterman in 2009.

Discussion: NY Daily News, Deadline.com, The Wrap, Mediaite, Gawker, The Huffington Post and Media Decoder

Paul Hitlin / PEJ:

Bloggers Argue Over The 2011 “Lie of the Year” — When a Pulitzer Prize winning fact-checking site announced its “Lie of the Year” for 2011, it set off a partisan firestorm in the blogosphere triggered by liberal critics of that choice. — According to PolitiFact.com …

Discussion: Poynter

Chicago Tribune:

Tribune Co. bankruptcy case on hold until May — Tribune Co.'s long-running sojourn in bankruptcy shows no sign of ending soon. — A federal judge said in a ruling Thursday that he won't hold a confirmation hearing on plans to end the three-year bankruptcy until May at the earliest.

Economist:

Blogs are blamed for cheapening debate in some fields. Yet they have enriched economics — Blogs are blamed for cheapening debate in some fields. Yet they have enriched economics — from the print edition — “LET Truth and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse …

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

News Corp investors face risk of patriarch ‘not being in charge’ — The Financial Times's Lex column argues that the cost to News Corp of the phone hacking scandal is its “most overlooked consequence.” — It scuppered the company's £7.5bn bid to buy the 61% of BSkyB it doesn't already own …

The Independent: Murdoch's £100m plan to settle hacking cases before they get to court

Alexandra Topping / Guardian: Leveson inquiry should address media sexism, women's groups demand

The Huffington Post:

CNN's New Morning Show Gets Name And Debut Date — Update: CNN announced the names of its new morning shows. The 5-7 a.m. show will be called “Early Start.” Soledad O'Brien's 7-9 a.m. program will be titled “Starting Point.” — CNN will debut its new morning show led by host Soledad O'Brien on January 2, 2012.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Chickaboomer, TVNewser and Broadcasting & Cable

Lens:

From North Korea, an Altered Procession — The funeral of Kim Jong-il on Wednesday called to mind the best stage-managed Communist state productions: the falling snow, the wailing mourners, the perfectly spaced limousines and rows of chest-beating men. — So perhaps it was because the scene …

Discussion: PetaPixel, Gawker, iMediaEthics, Mediaite and Poynter