Mediagazer: NYT limited layoffs to 200 employees in sale to Halifax (Julie Moos/Poynter)

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

PBS ‘Frontline’ Planning News Corp. Exposé? — Fox News Channel's Geraldo Rivera was out to dinner with his old friend and colleague from ABC News, Lowell Bergman, when things turned quite sour. Bergman is an esteemed journalist, having produced the now-infamous exposé of the tobacco companies for “60 Minutes.”

Discussion: Online Video News

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

Rupert Murdoch's Wedding Singer Sues News Corp. Over Phone Hacking — The British pop star who sang at News Corp. (NWSA) Chairman Rupert Murdoch's wedding in 1999, when she was 13 years old, sued the company over claims its News of the World tabloid later hacked into her voice mails to get stories.

Discussion: Guardian and Bloomberg

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Journalists' campaign-trail secrets revealed — NASHUA, N.H. — I've long suspected that if editors knew how little journalism occurs on the campaign trail, they would never pay our expenses. — Forget door-knocking. In reality, it's more trainspotting.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

PEJ: Presidential Campaign Already Getting Too Much Coverage — But Result Mirrors Responses During Previous Campaign Primary Blitzes — According to the latest Project for Excellence in Journalism New Interest Index, 37% of respondents say there has already been too much coverage …

Discussion: Pew Research Center

John Cassidy / The New Yorker:

In Defense of Political Journalists — If there's one thing most people can agree on these days it's that political reporting has gone to the dogs. Even some of my colleagues subscribe to this view. In a Daily Comment last week, George Packer had a rip at the reporters covering the Republican primaries …

Discussion: Poynter

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:

Private investigator Steve Whittamore used by MoS after arrest — Mail on Sunday editor Peter Wright first became aware of the newspaper's use of the private investigator in ‘early 2004’, who he said was used until September that year — Peter Wright, the editor of the Mail on Sunday …

Discussion: Guardian, Press Gazette, Journalism.co.uk, Press Gazette, @benfenton, Neville Thurlbeck, @iburrell and @dansabbagh

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Paul Dacre had hand in accusing Hugh Grant of smears, Leveson inquiry hears — Dacre was involved in drafting statement following Grant's claim that Mail on Sunday could have hacked his phone — Paul Dacre, the Associated Newspapers editor-in-chief, had a hand in the drafting …

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BSkyB axes Al Gore's Current TV from its pay-TV lineup — Sky makes ‘commercial decision’ to let go of documentary channel that has struggled for ratings — Al Gore's Current TV channel in the UK is facing closure after BSkyB - part owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - axed it from its pay-TV lineup.

Discussion: National Review and @iburrell

Julie Moos / Poynter:

NYT limited layoffs to 200 employees in sale to Halifax — In its deal to sell 16 regional papers to Halifax Media, The New York Times Co. limited layoffs to 10 percent of employees, according to an SEC filing from Dec. 27, 2011. Since the New York Times Regional Group employed about 2,000 people …

Jim Romenesko: Letter to Romenesko: ‘Out came the non-competes’

Julie Moos / Poynter:
Confirmed: Halifax noncompete will not apply to New York Times Regional employees

Discussion: American Journalism Review

Jim Romenesko:
Halifax waives non-compete clause for NYT Regional Media Group employees

Discussion: St. Petersburg Times

Julie Moos / Poynter:
Lawyer: Where's the journalist who leaves Halifax supposed to get a job?

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Justices Weigh Relevance of TV Indecency Laws — WASHINGTON — In a rollicking Supreme Court argument that was equal parts cultural criticism and First Amendment doctrine, the justices on Tuesday considered whether the government still had good reason to regulate cursing and nudity on broadcast television.

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, Los Angeles Times, Company Town, Media Decoder, Broadcasting & Cable and Reason

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Did The Daily Launch Too Early? — News Corp.'s The Daily may have launched a year too early, but the company's perfectly okay with that. — Speaking on a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, David Brinker, The Daily's Senior VP of Business Development and Operations …

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, PR Newswire and paidContent

Steven Church / Businessweek:

Dodgers End Bankruptcy Fight With Fox Over Media Rights — Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — The bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers ended their court fight with News Corp.'s Fox Sports over future television rights, removing the last major barrier to a sale of the Major League Baseball team.

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

‘CBS This Morning’ Premiere Posts Modest Ratings Gains — The revamped morning program with Charlie Rose and Gayle King is watched by 2.68 million viewers. — The revamped CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose and Gayle King joining Erica Hill, was watched by 2.68 million viewers for its debut on Monday …

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:

Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof Building His Own FarmVille — New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is building a humanitarian Facebook game, according to a Q&A with Fast Company. The game is pegged to the release of the TV documentary version of Half the Sky (the book he co-authored with his wife),

Noah Davis / Street Fight:

Gray Lady Takes the Local: Inside the NYT's Hyperlocal Efforts — Like many major media companies that have tried to go hyperlocal, the New York Times' efforts at small-scale online journalism have been notably mixed. Its main initiative in recent years, The Local, (several small blogs focused …

Discussion: New York Times and NetNewsCheck Latest

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Why media outlets team up in an election year — We've reached the point in journalism where we barely bat an eye when two news organizations say they're joining forces. Anything less than a merger is just not an earth mover these days, when egos, brands, unique audiences — all of the guarded …

Discussion: Editors Weblog and Future of Journalism

Yinka Adegoke / Reuters:

Exclusive: Microsoft Web TV subscription plan on hold — (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has put its talks with media companies about an online subscription service for TV shows and movies on hold, according to people familiar with the discussions. — The technology giant had been in intense talks …

Discussion: Electronista, The Verge, Business Insider and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Government loses bid to ban BBC terror interview — The BBC has won a High Court battle over the Government's refusal to allow it to film and broadcast an interview with a terror suspect who has been detained in the UK for more than seven years without trial.

Jay Yarow / Business Insider:

Here's How Amazon Is Telling Apple To Take Its 30% Cut Of eBook Sales And Stuff It — A year after Apple changed its rules about digital content sales for iOS applications, Amazon is striking back with its own work around for Kindle eBook sales on the iPad.