Mediagazer: Murdoch met Thatcher before Times takeover (Alan Travis/Guardian)

10:20 AM ET, March 19, 2012

Top News:

Theater, Disguised as Real Journalism — Is it O.K. to lie on the way to telling a greater truth? The short answer is also the right one. — No. — It's worth examining that question now that we have learned about the lies perforating the excerpt of Mike Daisey's one-man show …

Discussion: Capital New York, Fortune, CNN, Chickaboomer, AllThingsD, ReadWriteWeb, @jayrosen_nyu, BetaNews, Forbes, ZDNet, The Huffington Post, bookforum.com, Newscat, Poynter, TechCrunch, Speakeasy, VentureBeat and Grist

Felix Salmon:

Fabulous journalism — Blaine Harden's astonishing account of the life of Shin In Geun — a man born into a North Korean prison camp, who has lived pretty much the worst life imaginable — has received significantly less attention than the fact that This American Life has retracted its story …

Discussion: New York Times, Fast Company, Ezra Klein, BetaNews, The New Yorker Blog, Quote and Comment, Change of Subject, Fresser, Boing Boing, Gothamist, Poynter and Jack Shafer

Craig Silverman / Poynter:
4 important truths about Mike Daisey's lies & the way ‘This American Life’ told them

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, CNET and Techland

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

C-Span Founder, Brian Lamb, to Step Down as C.E.O. — Brian Lamb, who created the revolutionary nonprofit cable television network C-Span in the late 1970s and has been its public face ever since, is handing it over to two lieutenants, Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain.

Discussion: Reason, Deadline.com, Associated Press, Politico, New York Magazine and FishbowlDC

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Pew: Twitter, Facebook Aren't Moving As Much News As You Think — We've heard that social media is a great source of traffic for news outlets so often that it's close to textbook. Yes, Facebook, Twitter and the rest are important, according the 2012 State of the News Media report …

Discussion: PewResearch.org, eMedia Vitals, Betabeat and AllThingsD

John Cook / GeekWire:

Newspapers take it on the chin as online ad revenue falls into the hands of a few tech giants — Americans are spending more time consuming news, using devices such as smartphones and tablets to track events on the go. But even as news consumption rises, the traditional media companies …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

stateofthemedia.org:

What Facebook and Twitter Mean for News — Perhaps no topic in technology attracted more attention in 2011 than the rise of social media and its potential impact on news. “If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, Poynter, Broadcasting & Cable, Adweek, Media Decoder and MediaPost

Daily Mail:

FBI threaten to step in on Met's investigation into Rupert Murdoch's empire in case Scotland Yard ‘drops the ball’ — The FBI has vowed to step in if the Met Police ‘drop the ball’ in its investigation into illegal activity within the Murdoch empire, it has been revealed.

Alan Travis / Guardian:

Murdoch met Thatcher before Times takeover — The media mogul requested a meeting at Chequers to personally lobby the PM, and explicitly briefed her on his bid - something long denied by both sides — • Read the original documents here — A secret meeting between Rupert Murdoch …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, The Independent and Guardian

Natalie Peck / Hacking inquiry:
News of the World jeopardised Ipswich murders investigation, claims former police investigator

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

John Plunkett / Guardian:

Mark Thompson to step down in autumn — UK's top TV executive confirms he is to leave after the Olympics — BBC director general Mark Thompson has confirmed he will step down from the role in the autumn following the London Olympics. — Thompson, who has been in the job since 2004 …

Discussion: Press Gazette and Journalism.co.uk

Jeff Roberts / paidContent:

Newspapers And Video: Slow And Steady Or Flood The Zone? — The Wall Street Journal (NSDQ: NWS) has embraced video with gusto. The venerable paper is pumping out hours of live news clips and splashing them onto everything from the iPhone to the X-Box. — According to Alisa Bowen …

Discussion: Beet.TV, NetNewsCheck Latest and eMedia Vitals, Thanks:@jeffjohnroberts

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:

Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods — I WENT on a walk in Manhattan the other day with a young woman who once had to work these streets, hired out by eight pimps while she was just 16 and 17. She pointed out a McDonald's where pimps sit while monitoring the girls outside …

Discussion: Via Meadia and New York Times

Pandora Young / FishbowlLA:
Former Underage Prostitute Sold on Backpage.com: ‘Like Going Back to Slave Times’

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Michael Learmonth / AdAge:

YouTube Plans More Investment in Original ‘Channels’ — Site Will Fund and Launch New Content Plays, May Increase Backing of Existing Ones — YouTube's $100 million investment in new premium “channels”? Consider it a down payment. — YouTube content chief Robert Kyncl says it's …