Mediagazer: News Corporation Hires New General Counsel (Amy Chozick/Media Decoder)

12:45 PM ET, January 9, 2012

Top News:

The Media Equation: At Current TV, Keith Olbermann Is Trapped Inside His Show — When I saw the story last week about Keith Olbermann and Current TV lawyering up, I couldn't help thinking, My, that was quick. — It was just six months ago that I wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine …

Discussion: TVNewser, The Huffington Post, Inside TV, The New York Observer and Chickaboomer

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

Keith Olbermann Agrees to Anchor Current Election Coverage (Exclusive) — “I am pleased that I'll be running the election coverage on Current, following this Tuesday's New Hampshire primary,” said Olbermann in a statement on Sunday. “However, I don't think those participating in the New Hampshire primary will share my satisfaction.”

Discussion: Company Town, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Inside Cable News

Ned Simons / The Huffington Post UK:

Kelvin MacKenzie: Guardian Was Protected By ‘Broadsheet Snobbery’ Over Milly Dowler Mistake — The Sun newspaper could have been shut down if it had got the facts wrong about the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone wrong in the same way the Guardian did, the tabloid's former editor has claimed.

Discussion: Guardian, ITN, @benfenton, @dansabbagh, @benfenton and Poynter

Guardian:

Kelvin MacKenzie: News International should be fined for ‘lying’ to PCC — Former Sun editor tells Leveson inquiry NoW publisher should pay ‘penalty’ for misleading watchdog over phone hacking — Kelvin MacKenzie, the former Sun editor, has told the Leveson inquiry that News International …

Discussion: Press Gazette and Guardian

Ben Popper / Betabeat:

BuzzFeed Raises $15.5 M Series C and Reunites HuffPo Dream Team — Cute, LOL, Fail...Politics? — Just a few weeks after poaching star political reporter Ben Smith from Politico and scooping CNN at the Repulican Primaries, Buzzfeed announced a big new round of funding to build out their operation.

Discussion: VentureBeat, AllThingsD, FishbowlNY, TechCrunch and The Awl, more at Techmeme »

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

News Corporation Hires New General Counsel — News Corporation has hired a new general counsel, filling a permanent position that has been vacant since June. — Gerson Zweifach, a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP with experience litigating media and first-amendment cases …

Discussion: Media & Entertainment and Broadcasting & Cable

Eric Deggans / Tampa Bay Times:

New CBS This Morning offers brisk, substantive and businesslike debut — Is it a bad sign when your new morning anchor looks like he could use a few more hours sleep on the first day? — As the newly-retooled CBS This Morning debuted today, noting anchor Charlie Rose's seemingly red-rimmed eyes might not be entirely fair.

Discussion: TVNewser

Erin Carlson / Hollywood Reporter:
‘CBS This Morning’ Premiere Draws Mixed Reactions From Media Critics

Discussion: entertainment.time.com

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Big Three Newscasts Are Changing the State of Play — There was a time when each of the Big Three nightly newscasts on American television tended to open with the same story — the latest campaign speech, a new government study or perhaps a big snowstorm. That time is gone.

Discussion: Media Decoder

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

WaPost digital ME: ‘I actually wish it were true that we have too much innovation’ — In his most recent column, Washington Post ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton wondered whether “there's just a bit too much innovation, too fast” at the paper. He cited two reader emails to suggest at least some readers feel the same way.

Discussion: GigaOM, Washington Post, currybetdotnet, Strange Attractor, Washington Post, Future of Journalism, @jimbradysp and @mathewi

John Robinson / Media, disrupted:
The importance/irrelevance of news ombudsmen

Discussion: Melanie Sill and Future of Journalism

The Daily Beast:

NBC News and Newsweek / Daily Beast Team Up on 2012 Election Campaign Coverage — NBC News and Newsweek & The Daily Beast today announced a joint digital initiative that will focus on 2012 election campaign coverage. Under the agreement, the magazine and Web site will have access …

Benno Muchler / New York Times:

In a Fledgling Country, Perils for the Press — In a thatched hut in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, about 10 young men and women sat on lawn chairs made of brown plastic. They loudly typed on the computer keyboards on the tables in front of them. Two fans were blowing heavily.

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

BSkyB Buys Stake In Social TV Start-Up Zeebox — News Corp-controlled pay-TV firm BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) is buying itself a foothold in the looming social TV field by acquiring 10 percent of the startup Zeebox for a sum that is “double-digit millions” in both pounds and dollars.

Discussion: Lost Remote and Guardian