Mediagazer: Amazon Extends Kindle Lending Library (Dianna Dilworth/eBookNewser)

1:20 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: New York Times and Company Town

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: 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:
Leveson inquiry: banning unofficial police interviews would ‘help abuse’

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, The Independent, This Is London and Guardian

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

Discussion: The Independent

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

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

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, Melville House Books, Joho the Blog and The Domino Project

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: PC Magazine, Betabeat, eMedia Vitals and Noted

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

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

Peter Beaumont / Guardian:

Syrian activists killed in Paul Conroy rescue mission — Up to 13 activists died smuggling the Sunday Times photographer out of the country, it has emerged — Paul Conroy, the Sunday Times photographer wounded in the leg in an attack in the besieged city of Homs, has been smuggled …