Mediagazer: SnagFilms Grabs $7 Million to Share Indie Movies Online (Peter Kafka/AllThingsD)

10:15 PM ET, January 30, 2012

Top News:

Nick Davies / Guardian:

Mysteries of Data Pool 3 give Rupert Murdoch a whole new headache — The arrest of four Sun journalists threatens to open a fresh phase of the scandal surrounding News International — On Saturday morning, the police arrested four journalists who have worked for Rupert Murdoch.

Discussion: CJR, Times of India and Business Insider

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:
Sun arrests show that News Corp is now at war with itself

Discussion: Guardian

Business Wire:
Teri Everett to Exit as News Corporation's Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communications

Discussion: @brianstelter, Bloomberg, Variety, FishbowlNY, @michaelwolffnyc, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, The New York Observer and Media Decoder

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Former Cosmo editor gives $30 million to establish media innovation center at Stanford, Columbia — Stanford's engineering school and Columbia's journalism school will use the $30 million gift to establish the bi-coastal David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation.

Kelly McBride / Poynter:

Yale Daily News, New York Times both make wrong call on Patrick Witt sexual assault complaint coverage — As the story of Yale University quarterback Patrick Witt (and his Rhodes scholarship that wasn't) got more convoluted last week, both The New York Times and the Yale Daily News came under …

Discussion: SBNation.com, Yale Daily News, National Review and NESN.com

John McQuaid / Forbes:
The Yale Rhodes Scholarship Quarterback Story Is Not About Sexual Assault

Discussion: National Review

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

BuzzFeed Bulks Up Again, With a Tech Section Run by Gizmodo's Matt Buchanan — Do we need more Web sites writing about tech? Yes, yes we do. — Which is good, because here's another one: BuzzFeed, the online publishing start-up that's the toast of people who like to write …

more at Techmeme »

Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:

Three Founders Are Out At Demand Media — Demand Media is known for churning lots of content through its sites, but today it's notable for another churn, of the executive kind: three of the people who helped found and build up the company are leaving. — Larry Fitzgibbon, Joe Perez …

Discussion: Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:UK:
All Change At Content Farm Demand Media: Three Of The Founders Are Out

Discussion: The Wrap

Mike Armstrong / Philly.com:

Inquirer, Daily News could be headed for sale — A minority shareholder of the parent company of The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News is looking to sell its 30 percent stake, according to a story in the New York Post. — Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that holds interests …

Discussion: New York Post and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jim Romenesko:
Philly newspapers boss responds to NYP story

Discussion: Poynter

Jim Romenesko:

Tribune bankruptcy bill hits $231 million — Tribune's financial results appear to be improving. The monthly operating report filed on Jan. 24 shows the Chicago-based company increased its cash balance to $2.05 billion as of Dec. 25 from $1.78 billion a year earlier.

Discussion: LA Observed

Tanzina Vega / New York Times:

Online Ambitions, and a Dash of Real Estate, Drive Newspaper Deals — IF the future of media is digital, who would want to buy a newspaper? Many people, it turns out. — Investors acquired the newspapers in several major American cities in the second half of 2011, including The San Diego Union-Tribune …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM and The Newspaper Guild

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:

As Anonymous protests, Internet drowns in inaccurate anti-ACTA arguments — After the Internet's decisive victory over the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this month, online activists have been looking for their next target, and a growing number of them have chosen the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement …

Discussion: Policy Blog, GigaOM, ZDNet and WatchingTV Online, more at Techmeme »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Newt's promise: No reporters as moderators — Newt Gingrich lashed out at the media today during a rally in Pensacola, Florida, suggesting that all reporters are in the tank for President Obama: “As your nominee, I will not accept debates in the fall in which the reporters are the moderators …

Discussion: Poynter, msnbc.com and The Huffington Post

Anita Singh / Telegraph:

Jonathan Franzen: e-books are damaging society — Jonathan Franzen has launched a passionate defence of the printed book, warning that our desire for the instant gratification of e-books is damaging for society. — Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom, is being hailed as one of America's greatest novelists

Discussion: Guardian, The Vook Blog, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, CNET, Slate, The Daily Weekly, Mashable!, Runnin' Scared, Jacket Copy, GalleyCat and eBookNewser

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

SnagFilms Grabs $7 Million to Share Indie Movies Online — It's easy to find blockbusters like “Transformers” online. What about movies like “Casino Jack and the United States of Money”? — That's where SnagFilms comes in. The start-up has distribution rights to more than 3,000 indie movies …

Discussion: paidContent, VentureBeat and TVexchanger.com, more at Techmeme »

Julie Bosman / Media Decoder:

For ProPublica, More E-Books — ProPublica, the nonprofit news organization known for its investigative journalism, is about to expand its e-book efforts. — Following in the digital footsteps of The New Yorker, The New York Times, Politico, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan …

Discussion: paidContent and eMedia Vitals

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Is it good for journalism when sources go direct? — In a piece in the New York Times on the weekend, media writer David Carr took a look at News Corp. billionaire Rupert Murdoch's use of Twitter, and how the media mogul has used it as both a bully pulpit and a soapbox.

Discussion: Forbes, The Verge, Media Decoder, Boing Boing and New York Times, Thanks:@ak2webd3

Jeff Roberts / paidContent:

Gannett Misses Earnings Targets On Special Charges, Digital Revenue Up — Gannett (NYSE: GCI) Co. posted lower than expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 after incurring special charges related to workforce restructuring and asset write-downs. A report also showed …

Discussion: PR Newswire, rbr.com, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, MarketWatch, fnno.com, The CFO Report, Forbes, Broadcasting & Cable and MediaPost

Jeremy Greenfield / Digital Book World:

Publishers Sour on Tablet as Reading Platform, Survey Says — By Jeremy Greenfield, Editorial Director, Digital Book World, @JDGsaid — As tablet sales surge and put downward pressure on dedicated e-reader ownership growth, publishers are pessimistic that tablets will provide readers with an enticing reading platform.

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:

Citing Concerns About Backpage.com, Film Forum Pulls Advertising from Village Voice — The independent Manhattan movie house Film Forum has decided to pull its advertising from the Village Voice, citing concerns about Backpage.com, the classifieds site owned by Voice parent company Village Voice Media.

Michael Brendan Dougherty / Business Insider:

Drudge Fights Back Against The Charge He Is In Romney's Pocket — On the top right corner of the Drudge Report, the master of the news-cycle links to a story from Politico in which former Senator Fred Thompson alleges Drudge is in Romney's pocket. — And just below that link …

Discussion: WebProNews and FishbowlDC