Mediagazer: Challenge to Murdoch grip on BSkyB (Financial Times)

3:40 PM ET, March 8, 2012

Top News:

U.S. Warns Apple, Publishers — Justice Department Threatens Lawsuits, Alleging Collusion Over E-Book Pricing — The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jeff Roberts / paidContent: Apple Downplays Role Of “Kindle Threat” In Alleged e-Book Conspiracy

Jeff Roberts / paidContent: The U.S. Threat To Sue Apple And Publishers: What It Means

Financial Times:

Challenge to Murdoch grip on BSkyB — Rupert Murdoch is facing a fresh challenge to his UK media business as it emerged that Britain's communications regulator has escalated its probe into whether British Sky Broadcasting is a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting licence.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

PCC to close in wake of hacking scandal — Media watchdog will be replaced by transitional body until replacement is set up after Leveson inquiry — The Press Complaints Commission is to be shut down after 21 years, closing one of the most controversial chapters in the history of self regulation of the UK newspaper industry.

Discussion: Deadline.com, @wikileaks, Poynter and The Independent

Stephen Parkinson / Telegraph:

Phone hacking: can these journalists really get a fair trial?

Discussion: Guardian

Josh Halliday / Guardian: Sun and NoW publisher had ‘enthusiastic involvement’ with police

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian: Trinity Mirror staff may be hack victims

Paul Sawers / The Next Web: WikiLeaks claims it submitted a 100-page dossier to UK Leveson Inquiry on media corruption

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Inquirer: Rendell relinquishes lead in Philly papers purchase, as his group gets exclusive consideration — The group of local leaders interested in buying the Philadelphia papers is now being led by H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, who was asked to take over by former governor Ed Rendell, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Discussion: Philly.com

Dave Davies / newsworks: Would the Philadelphia Daily News show cartoonist Signe Wilkinson the door?

Jim Romenesko:
Why Tony Auth is leaving the Philadelphia Inquirer

Discussion: Washington Post and NewsWorks

Don Kaplan / New York Post:

Simmons' $5M salary, ‘antics’ led to WNBC ditching her: sources — There were 5 million reasons to oust Sue Simmons — and they were all in her paycheck. — WNBC/Channel 4 refused to renew the nightly news anchor's contract because she makes a whopping $5 million annual salary …

Discussion: NY Daily News, New York Times, Chickaboomer, Poynter, Gothamist and New York Post

Foster Kamer / The New York Observer:
Save Sue Simmons: The Internet Campaign Begins

Discussion: PopWatch, The Awl and The Huffington Post

Andrew Phelps / Nieman Journalism Lab:

PRX hires Silicon Valley journopreneur Corey Ford to run the Public Media Accelerator — Corey Ford, a former Frontline documentarian who left public media to reinvent it in Silicon Valley, has been named director of the Public Media Accelerator, a $2.5 million incubator launched by PRX and funded by the Knight Foundation.

Discussion: TechCrunch and blogs.ft.com

Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY:

Time Names Editor-At-Large — Time has named Bobby Ghosh an Editor-at-Large. Ghosh has been with Time since 1997, and most recently served as Deputy International Editor. Prior to that Ghosh was Time's Baghdad Bureau Chief for five years. — As an Editor-at-Large Ghosh will be a …

Discussion: GalleyCat, @amywicks01 and @amywicks01

Alyson Raletz / Kansas City Business Journal:

Missouri approves Google's request to set up video services in Kansas City … has the go-ahead to provide video services in Kansas City. — The Missouri Public Service Commission has granted Google Fiber Missouri LLC the authority to build a video service network along public rights of way, according to a March 1 order.

Discussion: WebProNews and fiercecable.com/news/frontpage

Vivienne Walt / Time:

Out of Syria's Carnage: A Survivor's Testimony of Bab Amr's Last Stand — Late on Feb. 21 a message arrived at TIME's Photo department in New York. It was from French photographer William Daniels, saying he had smuggled himself into the epicenter of Syria's yearlong revolt — the besieged neighborhood of Bab Amr, in the city of Homs.

Discussion: Poynter

Verne Gay / Newsday:

Matt Lauer getting $25 million to stay on ‘Today,’ source says — Matt Lauer getting $25 million to stay on ‘Today,’ source says — I am reliably told that NBC and Matt Lauer are closing in on a deal that will pay him an estimated $25 million per year over the course of a multiyear deal …

Discussion: Mediaite and TVNewser

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:

How Al Jazeera wants to bring Twitter to the world — Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera launched an educational campaign this month that aims to teach viewers in Turkey, Bosnia and elsewhere in the world with how to use Twitter and Facebook. The videos are being distributed on a new …

Julie Moos / Poynter:

BreakingNews adds verticals on Twitter, website — BreakingNews is expanding this week with a new Twitter vertical on politics, while BreakingNews.com is also adding topical navigation. @Breakingpol joins @breakingstorm (started during Hurricane Irene) and a UK feed to become …

Discussion: Inside

Heather Murphy / Slate:

In Defense of Instagram: Why News Photography Goes Well With Vintage-Filtered Cat Pics — The left half of this photo has been placed through an Instagram filter. The right half has not. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. — If its critics are to be believed, Instagram is one of the best deals in the world.

Discussion: Poynter

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

BBC Plans iTunes Competitor With Download Fees For New And Old Shows — The BBC is developing a radical scheme under which UK viewers would pay to download new and old BBC TV shows from a service it hopes will compete with iTunes. — paidContent has learned the BBC executive wants …

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:

Copy Cats: The Secret Art Cabal Inside The New York Times — There's an early scene in CQ/CX—a new off-Broadway play about The New York Times that does not pretend any character's resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental—in which the guy based on Jayson Blair encounters …

Discussion: Poynter and The Newspaper Guild