Mediagazer: Philly Newspapers Shedding 40 Workers This Month (Maryclaire Dale/Associated Press)

4:30 PM ET, March 16, 2012

Top News:

Retracting “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory” — Ira writes: — I have difficult news. We've learned that Mike Daisey's story about Apple in China - which we broadcast in January - contained significant fabrications. We're retracting the story because we can't vouch for its truth.

Rob Schmitz / Marketplace:

An acclaimed Apple critic made up the details — Apple got a lot of attention recently over conditions in the Chinese factories that make its iPhones and iPads. The public radio show “This American Life” aired an electrifying account of one man's visit to several factories.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, GigaOM, New York Magazine, 9to5Mac and Gizmodo

Jay Yarow / Business Insider:

This American Life Retracts Its Damning Episode About Apple And Foxconn — This American Life has retracted its episode on Apple and Foxconn. The episode detailed life at Foxconn and painted a damaging picture of life for employees. It was led by a performer named Mike Daisey who went …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Atlantic Wire, @joshuatopolsky, The Verge, The Next Web, @davidfolkenflik and @davidfolkenflik

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

How ‘This American Life’ Let Itself Get Burned By An Apple Fabulist — You can't say nobody warned the producers of “This American Life” that Mike Daisey's epic story about Apple's Foxconn factory in China might be the work of an untrustworthy individual. Someone did, in fact …

Discussion: The Wrap, TUAW and Mashable!

Steve Myers / Poynter:

New York Times could look outside journalism for next social media editor — How hard will it be for The New York Times to replace Liz Heron, who is leaving her job as social media editor to become director of social media and engagement for The Wall Street Journal?

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, Capital New York and The New York Observer

Steve Myers / Poynter:
Heron: WSJ pay wall will be an ‘interesting challenge’ for social media efforts

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Scripps Howard Awards announced — Editorial writer Jamie Lucke of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Sara Ganim of The Patriot-News, and Danny Hakim and Russell Buettner of The New York Times are among the winners of this year's Scripps Howard Awards, which were announced this morning.

Discussion: The Wrap, The E.W. Scripps Company, Columbia University … and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

CNN Takes Social Media Crown in Cable ... But Where Are the Ratings? — CNN accounted for almost 13 percent of all social media mentions in February, making it the most social network of all cable for the month, according to social media analytics firm Trendrr.

Discussion: Forbes, Erik Wemple and Inside Cable News

Tim Carmody / Wired:

Wikipedia Didn't Kill Britannica. Windows Did — First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Photo: Courtesy Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. — I have never owned a print edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. After the Britannica company's announcement that …

Discussion: Slate, O'Reilly Radar, Fast Company, @penenberg, InvestorPlace and The Week

Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:

L.A. Weatherman Sues CBS Stations For Hiring Young, Attractive Women — Kyle Hunter has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against CBS Broadcasting and its stations KCBS and KCAL. — A Los Angeles weatherman has filed a lawsuit claiming he was passed over for jobs at two prominent stations …

Discussion: LA Observed, FishbowlLA, TVWeek.com and TVSpy

Bill Carter / Media Decoder:

NBC News Stays on Top, While Its Newsmagazine Struggles — NBC News celebrated its status as the top news division in television with a presentation for advertisers Thursday in New York, led by Brian Williams, the anchor of its top-rated evening newscast. — But NBC News and Mr. Williams …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Capital New York, TVNewser and Mediaite

Guardian:

@fieldproducer quits Sky News | Media Monkey — The social media wunderkind Neal Mann, better known as @fieldproducer, has walked out on Sky News just weeks after bosses told journalists to curb their Twittering. Monkey hears that the new top-down guidelines - which have been widely lampooned …

Discussion: @dansabbagh and @fieldproducer

Willamette Week:

The Oregonian Fires Editor Who Provided False Information About the Death of Bob Caldwell, the Paper's Editorial Page Editor — An editor at The Oregonian says she was fired Thursday after she misled the newspaper about the death of the O's long-time editorial page chief, Bob Caldwell.

Discussion: Erik Wemple, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Poynter, Felix, Gawker, Oregonian, The Huffington Post and The Oregonian Editors

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Corrected: Murdoch internal watchdog seeks improved security — (Reuters) - A senior member of the unit Rupert Murdoch created to clean up reporting practices at his British newspapers has consulted a private firm about improving the security system at his home, a spokesman for the official said.