Mediagazer: NYC Newspapers Defend Spying On Muslims (Michael Calderone/The Huffington Post)

2:25 PM ET, February 29, 2012

Top News:

James Murdoch Steps Down as Executive Chairman, News International to Focus on Expanding International TV Businesses — NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—News Corporation today announced that, following his relocation to the Company's headquarters in New York, James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer …

Robert Peston / BBC:

Murdochs: Exit James, enter Rupert — James Murdoch will remain chairman of BSkyB — “You don't need more than one Murdoch in charge”. — That is what a senior News Corporation executive said to me in explanation for why James Murdoch has quit as chairman of News International, the UK operations of the Murdochs' News Corporation.

Paul Sonne / Wall Street Journal:

James Murdoch Steps Down as Executive Chair of News International — LONDON—News Corp. said Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch is stepping down as executive chairman of the company's beleaguered U.K. newspaper unit, a move that comes as he relocates to New York in the role of deputy chief operating officer.

Discussion: Company Town

Steve Myers / Poynter:
James Murdoch resignation revives News Corp. succession parlor game

Discussion: New York Times and Mixed Media

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

News Corp. Executives Weighed Spinoff of Newspaper Publishing, Carey Says — News Corp. (NWSA), facing inquiries by authorities over hacking and bribery at its U.K. newspapers, has discussed spinning off its publishing business, according to Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey.

Discussion: paidContent, Guardian, paidContent:UK, Capital New York, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Noted and @dansabbagh

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Brooks ‘had her phone hacked twice a week’

Discussion: @megan

Matthew Holehouse / Telegraph:
Leveson Inquiry: phone hacking police identified 418 potential victims in 2006

Discussion: Guardian

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
News of the World ‘may have paid £850,000’ to Glenn Mulcaire

Discussion: The Independent, The Independent and Guardian

Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:

Helpful Tips For Keeping Your Job As Editor Of TechCrunch — I rarely get writers block, but I've aborted multiple attempts to write about the leadership change at TechCrunch yesterday. So I'm going to keep it simple. — I'm exceptionally bummed that so many people have left TechCrunch.

Discussion: Marketing Pilgrim and Erick Schonfeld

Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
As Staff Flees, TechCrunch's Traffic Plummets

Discussion: TPM Idea Lab, TechCrunch, Guardian, Gawker, VentureBeat and Boing Boing

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Facebook Pitches Advertisers on a New Ad Model — Facebook sold $3 billion worth of ads last year, but it's still feeling its way around the ad business. — And the ad business still isn't sure what to make of Facebook: Grand new marketing paradigm, or a collection of 800 million people …

Discussion: Forbes, PC Magazine, Betabeat, WebProNews, eMedia Vitals and Noted

Seth Godin / paidContent:

Who Decides What Gets Sold In The Bookstore? — We can probably agree that the local supermarket has no moral or ethical or business obligation to sell cherry-flavored Cap'n Crunch. If the owner doesn't like cherries, she doesn't have to sell them. — And the cereal maker shouldn't work under …

Discussion: TechCrunch, WebProNews, TeleRead, GeekWire, Joho the Blog, Melville House Books and The Domino Project

Steve Myers / Poynter:

IRS delays make it hard for nonprofit news sites to build their businesses — Anyone with a cursory knowledge of the nonprofit news field knows the big players: VoiceofSanDiego.org, Texas Tribune, MinnPost, ProPublica, et. al. — You probably haven't heard of the Arlington Mercury or the San Diego Newsroom.

Discussion: J-Lab

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:

Scoop: Less than 1M Google TV devices in use — It's widely known Google TV hasn't exactly been a success story. Early CE partner Logitech lost millions on the device, and consumer feedback was mostly negative after the first devices reached the market in late 2010.

Discussion: Online Video News, the Econsultancy blog, BGR, SlashGear, Softpedia News, Electronista and Business Insider

Stan Diel / Business News from The Birmingham News:

Birmingham Weekly to be published every 10 days — BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Birmingham Weekly, the alternative newspaper, will publish every 10 days rather than every seven, beginning immediately, owner Stephen Humphreys said today. — There are no plans to change the name of the publication …

Discussion: AAN

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

How The New York Times' corrections tracker improves accuracy — How do you handle a reporter who's making more mistakes than usual? — The New York Times recently confronted this issue with a regular freelancer whose corrections total was spiking. — Greg Brock, the Times senior editor …

Discussion: Editors Weblog

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:

No Tabloid For Old Men: Laid Off Photographers Take Daily News to Court — Two longtime Daily News staff photographers laid off in November are suing the tabloid for unlawful termination, citing age and gender discrimination. They seek compensatory and punitive damages, including legal costs.

Discussion: @romenesko