Mediagazer: NBC News Stays on Top, While Its Newsmagazine Struggles (Bill Carter/Media Decoder)

2:30 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.

Discussion: Poynter, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Media Decoder, Mediaite, VentureBeat, AllThingsD, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, @borowitzreport, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @jonathanshainin, @scottros, MacRumors, SlashGear, @rob_schmitz, GeekWire and kottke.org

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: Mike Daisey, This American Life Updates, The Atlantic Wire, @joshuatopolsky, The Verge, The Next Web, @davidfolkenflik and @davidfolkenflik

Rob Schmitz / Marketplace from American Public Media:

An acclaimed Apple critic made up the details — The monologist Mike Daisey's account of Chinese factory conditions in “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” made people think differently about their iPhones and iPads. But after an adaptation aired on This American Life, reaching China …

Discussion: GigaOM

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: Poynter

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:
Wall Street Journal Poaches New York Times Social Media Editor Liz Heron

Discussion: Capital New York, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @rajunarisetti, @bobbymacreports, Talking Biz News, @chanders, FishbowlNY and @lheron

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: PR Newswire, The Wrap and JIMROMENESKO.COM

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

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

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

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: Erik Wemple and Inside Cable News

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, TVWeek.com, FishbowlLA and TVSpy

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

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Two Years Into Tablet Editions, Conde Nast Begins Regular Readership Reports — Additional Information for Premium Advertisers — Almost two years after Conde Nast started putting its magazines on the Apple iPad, its advertisers are finally getting one of the promised benefits …

Discussion: Media Buyer Planner, the Econsultancy blog, Folio, TeleRead, paidContent, Mashable! and eMedia Vitals

Fortune:

Meet Magic Johnson, the media mogul — The ex-NBA star has long had an interest in business. But with magazines and a cable channel in the works, he may be building something even more significant. — By Alex Konrad and Sierra Jiminez, reporters — FORTUNE — Earvin “Magic” …

Discussion: Company Town

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Bin Laden's media adviser hates Fox News — The Washington Post's David Ignatius landed a big scoop today with an exclusive look at recently declassified documents taken from Osama bin Laden's compound on the night he was killed. — The majority of Ignatius's review focuses …

Discussion: Washington Post and Mediaite

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.

Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:

Philly Newspapers Shedding 40 Workers This Month — Philadelphia's two largest newspapers will lose 40 more newsroom employees this month, prompting union leaders Thursday to accuse management of bungling a tablet computer launch, censoring stories and deriding print newspapers as “legacy products.”

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Washington Post, Philly.com and Poynter