Mediagazer: Summing Up Andy Rooney, Who Long Had the Last Word (Brian Stelter/Media Decoder)

11:05 PM ET, January 12, 2012

Top News:

Arthur S. Brisbane / New York Times:

Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante? — I'm looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about. — One example mentioned recently by a reader: As cited in an Adam Liptak article on the Supreme Court …

Arthur S. Brisbane / The Public Editor's Journal:

Update to my Previous Post on Truth Vigilantes — I have appended a note statement from Jill Abramson, the executive editor, responding to this post. — First, though, I must lament that “truth vigilante” generated way more heat than light. A large majority of respondents weighed in with …

Discussion: The New York Observer

Jim Romenesko:

NYT public editor on reaction to Truth Vigilante post — What I was trying to ask was whether reporters should always rebut dubious facts in the body of the stories they are writing. I was hoping for diverse and even nuanced responses to what I think is a difficult question.

Discussion: Poynter, FishbowlNY and The Huffington Post

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Keller: 'I wonder if Art hasn't confused matters a bit' — It's ironic that one of the examples New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane used in asking whether reporters should be “truth vigilantes” has already been fact-checked. — In March 2010 PolitiFact ruled that it's not true …

Jay Rosen / Pressthink:

So whaddaya think: should we put truthtelling back up there at number one? — Somewhere along the way, telling truth from falsehood was surpassed by other priorities to which the press felt a stronger duty. Arthur Brisbane, public editor of the New York Times, was unaware of this history …

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

Journalists incredulous as Times public editor asks: ‘Should the Times be a Truth Vigilante?’ — New York Times Public Editor Arthur S. Brisbane is attracting attention and derision for his latest blog post, “Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?” — “I'm looking for reader input on whether …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Bloomberg:

News Corp. Tells Judge About Tabloid Editor's $1,150 Bribe to Prison Guard — News Corp. (NWSA) for the first time publicly detailed bribery by a journalist at its now-defunct News of the World, telling a court that a former editor agreed to pay a prison guard to get a story about a child killer.

Discussion: @lisaocarroll, mediabistro.com, FishbowlNY and The Huffington Post

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
‘Daily Express right to quit PCC because it failed to stop McCann libels’

Discussion: themediablog.typepad.com and Press Gazette

Andrew Pugh / Press Gazette:
Express continued to use convicted PI Whittamore

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

Press Association:
Why I published Madeleine stories

Discussion: Guardian

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Newsweek Reviving Its 1960s Design for ‘Mad Men’ Issue, Down to the Ads — Effort Marks Season-Five Premiere of AMC Show — Newsweek is planning an issue marking the return of “Mad Men” this March by adopting the magazine's 1960s design throughout — all the way, it hopes, to the ads.

Discussion: PopWatch, FishbowlNY, Gothamist and Newsweek

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Homeland Security watches Twitter, social media — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

Discussion: Techland, Big Journalism, The Atlantic Wire, The Volokh Conspiracy, MediaFile and WebProNews

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Jodi Kantor gets a grilling from Upper West Side Barnes & Noble Patrons about her book, ‘The Obamas’ — It's been a busy, rough week for Jodi Kantor, the New York Times reporter whose new book about the first family, The Obamas, entered the world on Tuesday to mixed reviews and controversy …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Politico, Globe and Mail, Politico, Erik Wemple, The Huffington Post, CBS News and Associated Press

Erik Wemple:
How did the Tennessean scoop the White House press corps on the Johnny Depp Halloween party?

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest and Future of Journalism, Thanks:erikwemple

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Chris Hughes, Facebook Co-Founder, Interested In Buying The New Republic — NEW YORK — Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is a candidate to buy the New Republic, according to sources familiar with the matter. A deal has not yet been reached. While Hughes has made his fortune in the tech world …

Discussion: Washington Post

Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

James O'Keefe's Weak New Hampshire Exposé Could Get Him Arrested — The Alfred E. Newman of investigative journalism, James O'Keefe, staged his latest undercover video at the New Hampshire primary, where members of his team attempted to expose voter fraud by obtaining ballots for dead people.

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Summing Up Andy Rooney, Who Long Had the Last Word — “He actually thought death did not apply to him,” said Andy Rooney's son, Brian, “which is a great way to go.” — So began a memorial service on Thursday morning for Andy Rooney, the CBS News commentator who died Nov. 4 at the age of 92.

Discussion: TVNewser

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

Amazon Kindle Owners Are “Borrowing” Nearly 300,000 Electronic Books A Month — Amazon is releasing new data on its Kindle Lending Library, which the e-commerce site says now has over 75,000 books. The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own …