Mediagazer: A Guardian hotel? Publisher says it is ‘exploring options’ (Paul McNally/journalism.co.uk)

4:00 PM ET, February 21, 2012

Top News:

Ryan Lawler / GigaOM:

Comcast gives subscribers one more reason to quit Netflix — Comcast is rolling out a new streaming on-demand offering called Xfinity Streampix, which will bring more library content to subscribers that pay for its high-end double- and triple-play packages.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Adweek, CNET, Variety, Multichannel, PC Magazine and Epicenter, more at Techmeme »

Ben Fenton / Financial Times:

Church ready to settle phone-hacking case — Charlotte Church, the singer, is on the verge of settling her phone-hacking case against the News of the World, raising the prospect that Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group will face no High Court trial over the scandal, it emerged on Tuesday.

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Billionaire Romney donor uses threats to silence critics — Frank VanderSloot, Romney finance co-chair, suppresses scrutiny by threatening reporters and bloggers — Frank VanderSloot is an Idaho billionaire and the CEO of Melaleuca, Inc., a controversial billion-dollar-a-year company …

Gordon MacMillan / Brand Republic:

Sun insider claims Sun On Sunday is “desperately seeking advertisers” for first issue — A Twitter account belonging to someone who purporting to be an ex-News of the World journalist claims there is little enthusiasm for The Sun on Sunday internally and that dummies of the paper have not been well received.

Discussion: @sundayinsider

Mark Sweney / Guardian: Sun on Sunday ad campaign to launch at Brit Awards

Sarah Fitzmaurice / Daily Mail:

The Colbert Report returns as Stephen honours sick mother, 91, on screen — With a nod of tribute to his ailing mother, Stephen Colbert returned to present The Colbert Report last night. — The political satirist was back at the helm of his show after he cancelled taping last week …

Discussion: Huffington Post

Jason Boog / GalleyCat:
Stephen Colbert Lands Deal for Children's Book

Discussion: MediaJobsDaily and eBookNewser

Paul McNally / journalism.co.uk:

A Guardian hotel? Publisher says it is ‘exploring options’ — Guardian News and Media says it is “currently researching and exploring a range of options”, amid claims that it is thinking of developing a new hotel concept. — A post on the Washington-based Harry's Place blog quoted …

Discussion: Big News Network.com and Harry's Place

Tim Carmody / Epicenter:

Barnes & Noble Delivers New 8GB Tablet, Disappointing Earnings — Barnes & Noble released a new model of its Nook Tablet on Tuesday at the same cost and with nearly identical specs as Amazon's Kindle Fire: 8GB of storage for $199. — The current 16GB tablet stays at $249 …

Discussion: Barnes & Noble, Inc., VatorNews and Publishers Lunch, more at Techmeme »

Matt Brian / The Next Web:

Barnes & Noble launches 8GB Nook Tablet for $199, goes toe-to-toe with Amazon — It was rumoured to be on its way but today popular US bookstore chain Barnes & Noble announced that it has released an 8GB version of its Nook Tablet, aligning itself to go toe-to-toe with Amazon and its Kindle Fire device.

Discussion: Engadget, TechCrunch and paidContent, more at Techmeme »

David Gambacorta / Philly.com:

Rendell's silence lasts all of 2 days — ED RENDELL'S vow of silence was officially laid to rest yesterday. — It lasted about as long as most people expected. — The former governor, who told the Daily News on Saturday that he would no longer talk publicly about his pursuit …

Discussion: The700Level.com

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

Coming Soon From Amazon: Kindle Towering Inferno — Here's another report to add to the chorus of predictions that Amazon is gearing up to launch a larger version of its Kindle Fire tablet. The occasionally reliable Digitimes claims that Foxconn has won the contract for a new 10-inch Fire …

Discussion: ITProPortal, eBookNewser, BGR and Electronista, more at Techmeme »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Rachel Maddow attacks PolitiFact, again — For the third time in four weeks, Rachel Maddow has lashed out at the fact-checking organization PolitiFact for issuing rulings that seem to defy its own research. — In January, Maddow called PolitiFact “a mess” and “an embarrassment”; last week, she called it “a disaster.”

Discussion: The Raw Story and Mediaite