Mediagazer: Introducing Travelreads: The Best Storytelling for the Best Places in the World, Presented by Virgin Atlantic (Longreads)

4:05 PM ET, March 21, 2012

Top News:

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

Brooks Said to Be Quizzed by Police on Defense Official Payment — Rebekah Brooks, the former Chief Executive Officer of News Corp. (NWSA)'s U.K. publishing unit, was questioned by police about payments made to a source at the Ministry of Defence, a person familiar with the investigation said.

Discussion: Guardian

Martin Brunt / @skymartinbrunt:
#policebungs Ex-News Int chief exec Rebekah Brooks rebailed over illegal payments to public officials. Bailed until May.

Discussion: Milton Keynes Citizen

@skynewsbreak: PA sources: Former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks questioned about alleged payments to MoD officials

Tim Walker / Telegraph: Rupert Murdoch makes Roman Abramovich ‘an offer’ to buy his newspaper titles

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Los Angeles Times Cuts Staff Again (Exclusive) — The Los Angeles Times let go more than a dozen staffers on Tuesday as part of another round of layoffs and buyouts primarily hitting the editorial side of the paper, TheWrap has learned. — TheWrap previously reported that this round …

Discussion: LA Observed

Paul McNally / Journalism.co.uk:

Tributes paid to Los Angeles Times' first woman reporter — Dorothy Townsend, who has died at the age of 88, was a pioneer and a lone female reporter in a team of men — The Los Angeles Times has paid tribute to its first-ever female news reporter - a lone woman in a team of male journalists at the title in the mid-1950s and 1960s.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and LA Observed

Kevin Roderick / LA Observed:
LA Times posts reporter opening - the day before layoffs *

Discussion: The Wrap and Talking Biz News

Sarah Marshall / journalism.co.uk:

BSkyB CEO confirms he pulled Sky News story on F1 — Jeremy Darroch, the chief executive of British Sky Broadcasting, has confirmed that he asked Sky News to pull a story on Formula 1, ahead of the launch of a Sky F1 HD channel. — The Financial Times yesterday reported that Darroch …

Discussion: Digital Spy

Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
BSkyB announces Now TV, offering pay-as-you-go Internet TV to the masses

Discussion: Guardian and The Verge

Mark Sweney / Guardian: BSkyB denies pulled F1 story undermines Sky News's independence

Andrew Phelps / Nieman Journalism Lab:

I can't stop reading this analysis of Gawker's editorial strategy — In January, newly minted Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio announced an experiment: Each day for two weeks, a single staff writer would be assigned “traffic-whoring duty.” [Language alert.]

Discussion: Gawker and Online Journalism Blog

Village Voice:

What Nick Kristof Got Wrong: Village Voice Media Responds — Nicholas D. Kristof was wrong about the most devastating ‘fact’ in his Sunday, March 18th, column in The New York Times regarding Backpage.com. — He wrote about an underage victim of human trafficking: “Alissa says pimps routinely peddled her on Backpage.”

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Erik Wemple and Runnin' Scared

Nicholas Kristof / On The Ground:

Responding to Village Voice on Sex Trafficking — After my Sunday column criticizing Village Voice Media for providing a forum for sex traffickers on its Backpage.com websites, Village Voice has struck back. It has just gone on line with an article “What Nick Kristof got wrong”: — The article begins:

Discussion: FrontBurner, WebProNews and Forbes

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

Former Roll Call Editor Spills Beans About Questionable Racial Hiring Practices — Roll Call's former Features Editor Debra Bruno (a.k.a. Bebbie Druno) is bound to burn a few bridges today with a story in the Opinion Pages of The Christian Science Monitor about hiring practices at CQ Roll Call.

Debra Bruno / Christian Science Monitor:

Facebook stalking in the name of affirmative action — Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on affirmative action, I recall how at Roll Call newspaper, I was told that one of our three interns had to be from a racial minority. Diversity is important, but giving someone an advantage beyond …

Rebecca J. Rosen / The Atlantic Online:

Mike Daisey's First Public Talk After the ‘This American Life’ Retraction — The performer continued to mix apologies with defenses of his fact-based but not factual work. — Last night, at a long-scheduled appearance at Georgetown University, Mike Daisey gave his first public talk since …

Discussion: The Stranger … and Jack Shafer, Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Adam Martin / The Atlantic Wire:
Mike Daisey Blames Other Reporters for Perpetuating His Lies

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Daring Fireball

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

The inside story of the other Milly Dowler scoop — Daily Mirror reporter David Collins yesterday beat The Guardian's Nick Davies to the title of reporter of the year at The Press Awards. — Whereas Davies revealed the illegal hacking of Milly Dowler's phone, it was the journalism of Collins …

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:
Daily Mail is named Newspaper of the Year

Discussion: BBC, Journalism.co.uk, Guardian, Press Gazette, Guardian, Telegraph, @ingridlunden and @emilybell

Press Gazette:
Press Awards: The full list of winners

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk, Guardian and FleetStreetBlues

Jim Romenesko:

CNN's Chapin named NPR Senior Foreign Editor — Edith Chapin is leaving CNN to become NPR News Senior Foreign Editor. Since 2007, she's been the cable news network's vice president and deputy bureau chief in Washington, D.C. NPR says “she brings a critical constellation of skills to this job …

Discussion: mediabistro.com and FishbowlDC

Lauren Effron / ABC News:

Tina Brown Says Newsweek/Daily Beast Isn't ‘Making Money Yet’ — There were many skeptics when the 79-year-old news magazine “Newsweek” merged with the upstart website The Daily Beast in 2010 under the leadership of Tina Brown. Could two media outlets, both loosing money, be combined into a financially sound operation?

Discussion: FishbowlNY and ABCNEWS

Erik Wemple:

Jason Mattera interviews someone — is it Bono? — Jason Mattera, editor at large at Human Events, is famous for rough-and-tumble journalism. Last year he created a sensation when he pulled something of a fast one on Vice President Biden. He distracted the veep by pretending he wanted to pose for a picture with him.

Discussion: Gawker, Media Matters for America, TheBlaze.com, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Business Insider and Distriction

Longreads:

Introducing Travelreads: The Best Storytelling for the Best Places in the World, Presented by Virgin Atlantic — One of the coolest things about Longreads is when someone tweets: … This got us thinking: What if we started gathering the best #longreads for every destination in the world?

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Adweek and AdAge

Andrew Pugh / Press Gazette:

FT industrial action cancelled after improved pay offer — Threatened industrial action by journalists at the Financial Times appears to have been called off after members accepted an improved offer from management. — Around 250 NUJ members planned to down tools for a second time on Thursday …

Discussion: Guardian and Journalism.co.uk