Mediagazer: After years of cutbacks, some publications add book coverage (Andrew Beaujon/Poynter)

3:45 PM ET, March 2, 2012

Top News:

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: Erik Wemple, Forbes, Forbes, BuzzFeed, Wonkette, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Capital New York, L.A. NOW, Big Journalism, paidContent 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: Business Insider, Politico, Poynter, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly, The Week, The Informer, Mediaite, Erik Wemple, MarketWatch and The Atlantic Wire

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:
Breitbart Friend Reveals To Hannity: Obama Harvard Tapes Will Be Out ‘In A Week Or Two’

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, The Week and Hot Air

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Andrew Breitbart built Internet empire by combining new media, partisan slant

Discussion: Erik Wemple, New York Times and Daily Mail

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

Slate to Begin a Monthly Review of Books — Slate will introduce a monthly book review on Friday, the latest expansion of literary criticism online as stand-alone book review sections in newspapers have dwindled. — The section will nearly triple the number of book-related articles that Slate publishes …

Discussion: Slate, The New York Observer, Media Decoder, FishbowlNY, paidContent, GalleyCat and bookforum.com

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

After years of cutbacks, some publications add book coverage — Dan Kois will edit the Slate Book Review, which bows Saturday. He tells The New York Times that despite newspapers fleeing book coverage, he thinks there's an appetite for writing about books.

Discussion: The Awl

Brad Stone / Business Week:

Twitter, the Startup That Wouldn't Die — Life inside successful Web startups—especially the really successful ones—can be nasty, brutish, and short. As companies grow exponentially, egos clash, investors jockey for control, and business complexities rapidly exceed the managerial abilities of the founders.

Discussion: NewsCred Blog, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and AllThingsD

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Martha Stewart Turns To iPad Editions, Video As Revenues Fall — As revenues fall, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) plans to focus on some digital initiatives at its magazines, including releasing iPad editions of Whole Living and Martha Stewart Weddings by the end of the year.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, Thomson IR and Folio

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Amazon Will Sell Some E-Books Beyond The Kindle Store — Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) hasn't made many friends in the traditional publishing world. Until now it's sold Amazon Publishing e-books exclusively in the Kindle Store, and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and other chains have said they'll refuse …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly and Media Decoder

John Plunkett / Guardian:

Ryan Giggs loses battle for Sun damages — High court throws out Giggs' claim for payout and injunction, following paper's article on alleged affair with Imogen Thomas — Ryan Giggs has failed in a high court bid for damages and a permanent injunction against the Sun …

Discussion: Press Gazette and The Independent

Katherine Fung / The Huffington Post:

NYT Editors Respond To Staffers' Protest — On Thursday, the top editors of the New York Times responded to their staffers' open protest of ongoing contract negotiations. — Members of the New York Newspaper Guild lined the hallway outside the Page One meeting room in protest as editors entered a 4 p.m. meeting on Wednesday.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM and Poynter

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Guardian says open journalism is the only way forward — If there is 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: Editors Weblog, Data Miner UK, Adweek and Online Journalism Blog, Thanks:@mathewi

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Mitt Romney's Drudge Report Connection Pays Off — WASHINGTON — As Ann Romney took the stage in Michigan on Tuesday night, gleefully ginning up the crowd that had gathered to celebrate her husband's victory in the state's primary, her thoughts turned to those deserving thanks.

Associated Press:

French Journalists Edith Bouvier And William Daniels Return Home From Syria … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Syria, Marie Colvin, Marie Colvin Dead, Syria Violence, Ap, Edith Bouvier, Edith Bouvier France, Edith Bouvier Syria, Edith Bouvier William Daniels, Homs, Syria Uprisings, Media News

Discussion: Sky News and Reuters

John Plunkett / Guardian:

Google wins libel case over Blogger comments — Man took action after comments were written about him on the London Muslim section of Google's Blogger.com website — A former Tory local council candidate has failed in his libel action against Google over comments posted about him on a blog.

Discussion: The Next Web and State of the Fourth Estate