Mediagazer: Pearson Has Capacity to Make $1.6 Billion in Acquisitions as Digital Grows (Amy Thomson/Bloomberg)

2:48 AM ET, March 2, 2012

Top News:

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) — With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart. — Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles. — We have lost a husband, a father, a son …

Simone Wilson / The Informer:

Andrew Breitbart Was Planning Huge New Web Project on Eve of Sudden Death — Forty-three-year-old Andrew Breitbart's shocking death in Westwood last night came just days before he was set to unveil a mysterious new project — one he hoped would mark “a transition into a different kind of journalism …

Discussion: Mediaite, BuzzFeed, L.A. NOW and Guy Fawkes' blog

Jack Shafer:

Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) — You're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, a rule I always ignore when somebody famous or newsworthy dies. If we shouldn't be overly sentimental about death because we all die anyway, what better time to assess a life than when it ends …

Discussion: Poynter, Washington Monthly, This Just In, MarketWatch and The Atlantic Wire

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Andrew Breitbart built Internet empire by combining new media, partisan slant — Andrew Breitbart, a conservative media pioneer who died unexpectedly early Thursday, had a knack for showmanship and an appetite for a fight. A digital-age provocateur who didn't own a magazine or have a talk show …

Media Decoder:

Andrew Breitbart, Conservative Blogger, Dies at 43 — Updated Andrew Breitbart, a conservative blogger and activist who became well-known for publishing undercover videos and revealing photographs aimed at liberals and Democrats, died Thursday morning. He was 43.

Discussion: Mixed Media, Mediaite, Erik Wemple, paidContent, Klein Online, Multichannel, Speakeasy, The New Yorker Blog, Capital New York, Cision, Broadcasting & Cable, The FJP, Guardian and Omnivoracious

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
Conservative media colleagues Tucker Carlson, Matt Drudge, Chris Ruddy, Glenn Beck remember Breitbart

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Mail Online, The Daily Beast, Rush Limbaugh, American Spectator, Truthdig, Mediaite, Caleb's blog and National Review

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Yates wined and dined with NoW staff — Officer who decided against reopening investigation in 2009 says he was ‘good friend’ of News of the World's Neil Wallis — The Scotland Yard officer who decided against reopening the phone-hacking investigation in 2009 was a “good friend” …

Reuters:
Leveson Inquiry Preparing To Call Rupert Murdoch

Discussion: Deadline.com and New York Magazine

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:
Met arrests 32-year-old Sun reporter

Discussion: Reuters, @dansabbagh, Press Gazette, Journalism.co.uk, Guardian, Bloomberg and Telegraph

Jeff Roberts / paidContent:

Broadcasters Sue To Stop $12 Streaming Service Aereo — Well, that was quick. Two weeks ago, media mogul Barry Diller announced an ambitious cloud-based TV service that streams over-the-air channels to internet devices for $12 a month. This week, broadcasters offered their opinion …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Digital Media Wire, Mashable!, Multichannel, PC Magazine, Engadget, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Media Decoder and VentureBeat

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

Pearson Has Capacity to Make $1.6 Billion in Acquisitions as Digital Grows — Pearson Plc (PSON), the publisher of the Financial Times newspaper, has headroom for 1 billion pounds of acquisitions ($1.6 billion) as e-books and digital publishing drive revenue growth.

Sky News:

Injured French Journalist Escapes Syria — French journalist Edith Bouvier suffered serious leg injuries — The journalists Edith Bouvier and William Daniels have left Syria and are now safely in Lebanon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. — The pair, who were both working …

Discussion: msnbc.com and Reuters

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Guardian says open journalism is the only way forward — If there's one newspaper that has stood apart from the crowd in terms of its eagerness to embrace a digital-media world, it is The Guardian in Britain. The paper was one of the first to make user-generated content — and crowdsourcing …

Discussion: Data Miner UK, Guardian and Blogposts, Thanks:@mathewi

Paul Bradshaw / Online Journalism Blog:
How journalism has changed - Guardian ‘3 pigs’ video says it better than anything

Discussion: Editors Weblog, Guardian, stuffjournalistslike.com, AndyDickinson.net, The Huffington Post, Guardian and Adweek

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

‘New York Post’ loses its web editor, who goes to work for a former ‘Post’ editor — The New York Post has lost a high-ranking editor to one of its former high-ranking editors. — Erle Norton, the editor of the newspaper's website, has resigned after four-and-a-half years at the helm of nypost.com, Capital has learned.

Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:

‘Fox & Friends’ Expanding by an Hour (Exclusive) — Buoyed by ratings growth, Fox News Channel increases its morning flagship's airtime to four hours. — Starting Monday, Fox & Friends will be one-hour friendlier. — The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusivity that the Fox News Channel …

Discussion: Inside Cable News, Media Decoder, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Chickaboomer and TVNewser

Greg Sandoval / CNET:

Kim DotCom: Why didn't MPAA sue me? — The MegaUpload founder says his attorneys told him his service was legal. In 7 years, he never got so much as a cease-and-desist letter from any major copyright owner. — MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom from his interview with New Zealand's 3 News.com.

Discussion: TorrentFreak, WebProNews and The Next Web

Hunter Walker / Politicker:

Council Members Ask Village Voice To End Relationship With Sex Trafficking Site — Councilman Brad Lander and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito introduced a resolution today asking Village Voice Media to shut down the controversial “adult” section of its classified ad site Backpage.com.

Discussion: NYConvergence.com and Capital New York