Mediagazer: Mirror hacking jibe ‘purely a joke’, Mohan tells Leveson inquiry (Joel Gunter/Journalism.co.uk)

3:05 PM ET, January 9, 2012

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

Joel Gunter / Journalism.co.uk:

Mirror hacking jibe ‘purely a joke’, Mohan tells Leveson inquiry — Sun editor admits that 2002 comment in which he thanked 'Vodafone's lack of security' for the Mirror's showbusiness coverage was about hacking, but claims it was just a joke — Dominic Mohan, the editor of the Sun …

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Guardian:
Kelvin MacKenzie: News International should be fined for ‘lying’ to PCC

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Ben Popper / Betabeat:

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Kevin Lincoln / Business Insider: BuzzFeed's Jonah Peretti: We Raised A Whopping $15 Million To Build A ‘Pure Social Site’

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

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

David Carr / New York Times:

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, Chickaboomer and Inside TV

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

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 …

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab and TVNewser

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

Katherine Rushton / Telegraph:

Netflix launch in UK starts price war — Netflix, the American online film and television streaming giant, has finally made its way across the Atlantic - immediately sparking a price war among its UK rivals. — Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, was unruffled by Lovefilm's price drop …

Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Netflix officially announces UK, Ireland launch

Discussion: The Official Netflix Blog, PC Magazine, TechCrunch and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »

Steve Myers / Poynter:

NY Times offers unpaid internships after reporting on their questionable legality — After Times staff tweeted about about the upcoming deadline for its unpaid social media internship, Pamela Drew responded, “Shame on NYTimes & every deep pocket corporation looking for UNPAID interns, experience shouldn't be free labor.”

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.

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: The Corsair and Media Decoder

Al Tompkins / Poynter:

As journalists file fewer lawsuits, citizens fight for open records — On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in what could be a pivotal First Amendment case: the FCC v. Fox. What the Court decides will affect what we see on TV and hear on radio for years to come.