Mediagazer: Yahoo steals NY Times' Virginia Heffernan (Dylan Byers/Politico)

5:20 PM ET, February 2, 2012

Top News:

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Arianna Huffington says traffic is up, announces HuffPost Streaming Network — A year after AOL bought The Huffington Post for $315 million, Arianna Huffington has released figures showing how the site has performed in the last year. Monthly unique visits were at 36.2 million in December …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Adweek, NetNewsCheck Latest, The Huffington Post, Media Decoder and Mixed Media

The Onion:

‘Huffington Post’ Employee Sucked Into Aggregation Turbine — Horrified Workers Watch As Colleague Torn Apart By Powerful Content-Gathering Engine — NEW YORK—Shocked and saddened witnesses at the Huffington Post's news-aggregation facility have confirmed that employee Henry Evers, 25 …

Discussion: Deadspin

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

Quarterly Profit Falls 12.2% at Times Co. — The New York Times Company reported on Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit declined 12.2 percent as rising subscription and digital advertising revenue at its largest newspapers could not offset the continued drop-off in print advertising.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Future of Journalism, @nytprguy, Media Decoder, Poynter, Newsonomics, @brianstelter, New York Magazine and The Huffington Post

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Fourth quarter earnings report shows New York Times Co. sites have 406,000 digital subscribers — Nearly one year after introducing a new digital subscription plan, The New York Times Co. websites have about 406,000 paid subscribers. That's 390,000 for the Times and the International Herald Tribune …

Discussion: The New York Times Company, The Awl, MediaPost, @joepompeo, mediabistro.com, JIMROMENESKO.COM, paidContent, AllThingsD and Nieman Journalism Lab

Jeff Roberts / paidContent: New York Times Co To Expand Health Coverage Online

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: Times Company search for new C.E.O. still in ‘early stages,’ according to Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Tumblr Hires Writers to Cover Itself — The popular social blogging site Tumblr is hiring writers and editors to cover the world of Tumblr. — Chris Mohney, a senior vice president for content at BlackBook Media, will be the site's editor in chief. Jessica Bennett, a senior writer …

Discussion: The New York Observer, Techland, FishbowlNY, The Next Web, the Econsultancy blog, PC Magazine, Fast Company, hypebot, Marketing Pilgrim, NYConvergence.com, The FJP, eMedia Vitals and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Bill Carter / New York Times:

Networks Resort to Trickery in an Attempt to Lift Ratings — Viewers who tuned into ABC's “Good Morning America” during the last week of 2011 would have found the same mix of news, gossip and soft features at the usual time of the morning. — But as far as Nielsen ratings were concerned …

Discussion: Company Town, TVNewser, TVWeek.com, Media Buyer Planner and Chickaboomer

Martin Evans / Telegraph:

Police investigating allegations of email hacking at The Times — The Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations of email hacking at the Times Newspaper, sources have revealed. — It is understood the investigation relates to claims that a former reporter at the Murdoch owned newspaper hacked …

Discussion: New York Times, @tom_watson, @jayrosen_nyu, Guardian and Daily Mail

Reuters: INSIGHT-Inside Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper clean-up operation

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Phone hacking: mobile networks took almost six years to tell customers

Discussion: The Next Web

Guardian:
Times editor faces Leveson inquiry recall over NightJack hacking claim

Discussion: paidContent:UK and Tom Watson MP

Alex Leo / Reuters:

Introducing Reuters Social Pulse — Today we launched Social Pulse, our new social media hub on Reuters.com designed to show you the most talked-about news, companies and influencers across the Web. — The first thing you'll see on the page is the news most popular in Reuters social network.

Discussion: 10,000 Words, AdAge, Future of Journalism, paidContent, Between the Lines Blog, ReadWriteWeb, The FJP and Soup, more at Techmeme »

Estelle Shirbon / Reuters:

Precedent warning as Assange extradition case ends — (Reuters) - Britain's Supreme Court risks jeopardising extraditions to many neighbouring countries if it stops WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being sent to Sweden for questioning over sex crimes, a lawyer for Swedish prosecutors argued on Thursday.

Drew Olanoff / The Next Web:

Remember that Gawker redesign? A year's worth of data says it worked — On Feburary 7th, 2011, the entire Gawker Media style changed from a typical one you'd see on a blog to a hipper more programmed feel. The design focused on a top story and then listed out others along the side in a static bar.

Discussion: Business Insider and Poynter

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Yahoo steals NY Times' Virginia Heffernan — In its most high-profile move since announcing the expansion of its political coverage, Yahoo News has hired former New York Times columnist Virginia Heffernan as its National Correspondent. — Heffernan, who wrote The Medium column …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, MediaPost and The New York Observer

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

Facebook and Don Graham Have Been Very Good to Each Other — Don Graham. Image by Getty Images via @daylife — We already knew that Washington Post Co. chairman Don Graham and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were very special friends. Now, thanks to the social networking giant's IPO filing, we know just how special.

Discussion: Forbes, Deal Journal and The Not-So Private Parts

Wired.com:
Facebook's $5 Billion IPO: The Next Google? Or The Next Groupon?

Discussion: PC Magazine and Guardian

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Facebook wants to rewire the way the world works

David Benoit / Deal Journal:
Netflix & Wash Post Bought $8M Combined In Facebook Ads Last Year

Discussion: Poynter and Guardian

Jeanine Poggi / AdAge:

Is Netflix Kids' Streaming Part of Nickelodeon's Ratings Drop? — Netflix Users Streamed 2 Billion Hours in the Fourth Quarter — Netflix is adamant that its streaming service will not cannibalize the cable industry, but Nickelodeon's recent ratings decline may provide the first suggestion …

Discussion: Company Town, Bloomberg, Media Decoder, paidContent, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Viacom Says Netflix Isn't Hurting Nickelodeon Ratings

Discussion: AdAge

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Axel Springer Takes A Slice Of Airbnb In Exposure Deal — Apartment-letting site Airbnb will get investment, endorsement and distribution from the publisher of Europe's most-read newspaper. — Axel Springer, which publishes Bild and is led by CEO Mathias Döpfner, says it has made a “minor investment” in the site.

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Are investors choosing Journal Register over Philadelphia's Inquirer, Daily News? — I was as puzzled as the next guy when I learned Sunday that the Philadelphia Media Network, publisher of the city's two dailies, is on the auction block. This comes a mere 17 months since a group …

Nils Pratley / Guardian:

Is Trinity Mirror boss Sly Bailey the UK's most overpaid chief executive? — Sly Bailey has pocketed £12.4m during her nine years at the helm - while the share price has plunged 87% — Who is the most overpaid chief executive of a UK quoted company?

Discussion: Jon Slattery and Financial Times

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Mirror redundancies: Journalists call for Sly Bailey to go

Discussion: Guardian and Press Gazette

Dan Reimold / MediaShift:

Romenesko Gets His Mojo Back After Leaving Poynter — Jim Romenesko is having a good time. Lately, the “journalism evangelist,” “KING of the blogosphere,” and “go-to source for news about the news” has been waking up earlier, posting more often, and featuring content he had not felt free to publish for more than a decade.

Discussion: Poynter, Thanks:@beet_tv