Mediagazer: Color of Change claims another scalp: MSNBC indefinitely suspends Pat Buchanan (Steven Nelson/The Daily Caller)

8:35 AM ET, January 11, 2012

Top News:

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: @iburrell

Ian Burrell / @iburrell:

UK news-based TV channel Current, part of network set up by Al Gore, is facing closure because BSkyB is withdrawing funding, Current says

Guardian:

Leveson inquiry: Peter Wright, Liz Hartley - live — Full coverage as the Mail on Sunday editor and legal chief appear at the inquiry into media standards and phone hacking — 10.26am: Silva says there have been “a handful” of complaints by celebrities over the past few years.

Discussion: Press Gazette, @benfenton, @iburrell and @dansabbagh

Jim Romenesko:

Halifax waives non-compete clause for NYT Regional Media Group employees — A tipster tells me: Following a 45-minute meeting this afternoon between Michael Redding, chief executive officer of Halifax Media Group, and Sarasota Herald Tribune staffers, publisher Diane McFarlin announced …

Discussion: St. Petersburg Times

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Confirmed: Halifax noncompete will not apply to New York Times Regional employees — At a staff meeting at the Lakeland Ledger Tuesday afternoon, employees were told to tear up the controversial noncompete agreement because it would not apply to them. The Florida paper's publisher told …

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

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Steven Nelson / The Daily Caller:

Color of Change claims another scalp: MSNBC indefinitely suspends Pat Buchanan — The liberal activist group Color of Change announced Tuesday evening that it received confirmation from MSNBC that the left-leaning cable news network has indefinitely suspended conservative commentator Pat Buchanan.

Discussion: ColorofChange and Inside Cable News

James Crugnale / Mediaite:

Pat Buchanan Denies Being Suspended By MSNBC, Says He's On Medical Leave — Pat Buchanan is disputing reports he was suspended from MSNBC and contends that he was instead on medical leave. “Well, you know I've had some medical issues at the end of the year which were pretty problematic …

Discussion: Inside Cable News, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller and The Week

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Huffington Post Losing Key Editor and Top Tech Wizard — It's a familiar story: Hot company gets acquired; then, one by one, many of the talented people who made it hot start drifting away, one by one, bonus checks in hand. A version of that is playing out at AOL's Huffington Post Media Group now.

Discussion: paidContent, AllThingsD and Business Insider

Ben Popper / Betabeat:
Former HuffPo CTO Paul Berry Building New Startup and Incubator With Lerer Ventures

Discussion: Future of Journalism and Business Insider

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
Nico Pitney to leave The Huffington Post

Discussion: Gawker, FishbowlDC, @dylanbyers, Business Insider, FishbowlNY and Future of Journalism

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: Future of Journalism

Adam Sherk:

News Organizations on Google+: Which Pages Get the Most Engagement? — News organizations (along with businesses of all kinds) have been able to create official Google+ pages for a couple months now so I thought I'd check in and see how their pages are doing.

Discussion: Mashable!, eMedia Vitals, Future of Journalism, WebProNews and Poynter

Wall Street Journal:

Sale Explored for New Republic — The owners of the New Republic, a fixture of political journalism, are exploring a possible sale of the magazine and have hired a financial adviser, people familiar with the matter said. — Adviser Blackstone Group is expected to reach out to various media companies …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Gawker and Business Insider

David D. Burstein / Fast Company:

The New York Times's Nick Kristof On Journalism In A Digital World And The Age Of Activism — Nicholas Kristof has been writing for The New York Times for more than a quarter century and has appeared on that paper's op-ed page since 2001, often penning articles about the struggles of people in distant parts of the world.

Discussion: Journalism.org

Press Gazette:

Former Met officer arrested in phone-hack leaks probe — A former Scotland Yard officer was arrested today over allegations of unauthorised leaks to a journalist. The 52-year-old man is being questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office after being detained at his Berkshire home …

Discussion: Guardian

Thomas Penny / Bloomberg:
Cameron Will Be Questioned at Media Ethics Inquiry, Times Says

Discussion: Bloomberg, @skynewsbreak, Guardian and Guardian

Suzanna Andrews / Vanity Fair:

The Mystery Woman Behind the Murdoch Mess — Rebekah Brooks was running the News of the World at 31, and Rupert Murdoch's entire British newspaper empire at 41. A virtual member of the Murdoch family, close to Prime Ministers Blair, Brown, and Cameron, she relished her power—until the phone-hacking scandal took her down.

Discussion: Business Insider

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

The Economist Tries A Flipboard-Like Election App All In HTML — The Economist has given HTML web apps another shot in the arm by packaging its U.S. presidential election material in to a new Flipboard-like tablet content offering that works entirely in the web browser.

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, Adweek, TechCrunch, Future of Journalism and MediaPost

Mark Katches / California Watch:

Media partners pool resources to fund bullet train trip — When Fresno Bee business reporter Tim Sheehan boarded a plane for Spain in November, his trip signaled a new chapter of collaboration for a growing group of California news organizations. — Sheehan spent eight days abroad …

Discussion: LA Observed

Merrill Knox / TVNewser:

Bloomberg TV's Trish Regan: ‘Unprecedented’ Level Of Interest In Business News — On her second day at Bloomberg TV, anchor Trish Regan already has a vision for “Street Smart.” — Regan sees the two-hour show — which airs from 3pm-5pmET, encompassing the daily closing bell — as a …

Discussion: News on News

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

Even on smartphones, your news is more likely to be found through social media — The average person looking at a smartphone screen right now is more likely to come across news from your organization through a Facebook or Twitter app than through your own news app.