Mediagazer: Encyclopedias are like journalism: It's better when they are open (Mathew Ingram/GigaOM)

6:35 AM ET, March 15, 2012

Top News:

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Encyclopedias are like journalism: It's better when they are open — Anyone who grew up with the Encyclopedia Britannica could be forgiven for getting a little misty-eyed about the legendary publication doing away with its printed version after more than two centuries, even if the move seems unsurprising (and more than a little late).

Discussion: Digital Spy, CNN, Guardian, Culture, Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog, Jacket Copy and ZDNet

Britannica Blog:

Change: It's Okay. Really. — That big print set will pass into history, but the future it gives way to will be bright. — For 244 years, the thick volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica have stood on the shelves of homes, libraries, and businesses everywhere, a source of enlightenment …

Discussion: PandoDaily, Wired, Techland, Softpedia News, Media Decoder, Bigmouthmedia Search …, paidContent:UK, GalleyCat, Daggle, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Mashable!, the Econsultancy blog, CNNMoney.com and TeleRead

Jim Romenesko:
A former Britannica editor on the print edition's demise

Discussion: New York Times, AllThingsD, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, WebProNews, ReadWriteWeb, Poynter and Media Decoder

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

Charlie Rose and the Truth About Unpaid Media Interns — A lawsuit filed today against PBS host Charlie Rose and his production company hinges on a few simple questions: Are college-age interns in publishing and broadcasting unpaid employees or students? Are they rendering valuable services …

Steven Greenhouse / Media Decoder:
Former Intern at ‘Charlie Rose’ Sues, Alleging Wage Law Violations

Discussion: Deadline.com and The Huffington Post

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Neville Thurlbeck, former News of the World chief reporter, arrested — Operation Weeting officers re-arrest former NoW chief reporter, this time on suspicion of intimidation of a witness — Neville Thurlbeck, the former chief reporter of the News of the World, has been arrested on suspicion of intimidation of a witness.

Discussion: Neville Thurlbeck, @fleetstreetfox and Journalism.co.uk

London Evening Standard: Murdoch and son get ready to face Leveson

Press Gazette: Guardian crime reporter warns of police ‘over-reaction’

Reuters:
Murdoch UK paper editor “told me to bribe police”

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and Press Gazette

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
James Murdoch writes to MPs expressing regret over phone hacking

Discussion: Financial Times, Guardian, @edmundlee, @lisaocarroll, @hughes_mark, @skymartinbrunt, The Huffington Post, Erik Wemple, Media Decoder, Poynter and Capital New York

Christopher Hope / Telegraph: Horsegate: Questions about whether Rebekah Brooks, not Charlie, is David Cameron's real friend

Jim Hopkins / Gannett Blog:

Memo: Gannett establishing national news desk — USA Today Executive Editor Susan Weiss forwarded the following memo to staff yesterday. It came a day before many U.S. journalists were to participate in a Web conference on the future of wire news. My question: Does this spell the beginning …

Discussion: @romenesko and @mattderienzo

Lewis DVorkin / Forbes:

Inside Forbes: Quality + Quantity + Variety = 30 Million Users — I was chatting the other day with FORBES staff reporter Deborah Jacobs about all we've accomplished over the last 20 months. Deborah, who joined us last summer, is an estate planning expert, an author, a great reporter …

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Magazines' Newsstand Slide Smaller in Canada — But That May Be Good News for U.S. Publishers — Magazines have long blamed their continuing newsstand declines on everything from gas prices to store layouts — everything but demand for magazines themselves.

Dylan Byers / Politico:

NBC pulls Ron Paul's last embed — A couple weeks back I noted that Ron Paul, the lonely delegate hunter, had only one full-time, embedded reporter on his trail: Anthony Terrell of NBC News. Other reporters have provided some coverage of the candidate, but for the last few weeks Terrell was the only proverbial boy on the bus.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Runnin' Scared and Mediaite

Greg Sandoval / CNET:

Web TV service Aereo lives—no injunctions in sight — The streaming service that delivers over-the-air TV broadcasts went live today, though ABC, CBS, NBC, and other networks sued to try to stop the launch. — One of Aereo's tiny antennas. — New Yorkers can watch live broadcast TV via the Web, starting today.

Discussion: Media Money …, Wired and Shelly Palmer Digital Living

Ben Popper / VentureBeat:
As legal battle with TV networks escalates, Aereo launches in New York. …

Discussion: SlashGear, paidContent, Multichannel and Broadcasting & Cable

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

The Daily Has an Angry Birds App — And the Start of a Custom Publishing Business — Hey! You like Angry Birds, right? Of course you do. So you'll enjoy reading about Angry Birds, via a new, free iOS app about the newest iteration of the game, produced by The Daily. (An Android version is in the works.)

Discussion: Softpedia News and ZDNet

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC boss confirms TV download pay service — Mark Thompson says Project Barcelona will allow viewers to purchase programmes permanently just after they are broadcast — BBC director general Mark Thompson has confirmed plans for an iTunes-style download service that will allow viewers …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, BBC, The Next Web, The Wall Blog and Engadget

Steve Smith / minonline.com:

Will The New iPad Display Put Digital Mags On A Crash Diet? — For magazine publishers the next-gen iPad's “Retina Display” raises an interesting math problem. The doubling of resolution and pixel density opens up worlds of opportunity for crafting even more luscious visual experiences.

Discussion: The Verge, MinOnline, Nxtblog and newsplexer

Jeffrey Goldfarb / Reuters:

New York Times pay structure isn't fit to print — The New York Times Co's pay structure isn't fit to print. The venerable U.S. newspaper group revealed a bonus structure that rewards bosses with 175 percent of their target payouts for achieving a mere 2.5 percent return on invested capital.

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: ‘New York Times’ names SmartMoney.com founder Marc Frons its chief information officer

BBC:

Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran's involvement — The BBC is not providing detail of the timing or nature of the cyber-attack — A “sophisticated cyber-attack” on the BBC has been linked to Iran's efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

Discussion: CNET, ReadWriteWeb, WebProNews, BBC College of Journalism Blog, The FJP, Reuters and Media News

John Cook / GeekWire:

Anatomy of a news story: How Bing and Google performed when Steve Jobs resigned — A new study out today from Seattle-based Optify attempts to get behind the scenes on how Bing and Google operate when big news breaks. Obviously, that's an interesting topic for news hounds like us.

Chris Velazco / TechCrunch:

Sports Illustrated App Hits iPhone, Celebrates With Augmented Reality Magazine Cover — I'm no athlete, but I've found that a passing knowledge of sports comes in handy when conversations take a turn for the awkward. The question then is where do sports fans (and wannabes like me) go to get the skinny?

Discussion: mediabistro.com

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Assad Emails Reveal ABC News Correspondence, CNN Deception — In an impressive scoop, The Guardian has acquired a cache of emails from embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. While many emails shed a light on Assad's personal life or the crackdown of his people, they also shine a light on his dealings with Western media outlets.

Discussion: Guardian, Broadcasting & Cable, Guardian and Guardian