Mediagazer: Lessons learned from a period of intense newspaper turmoil (Amanda Bennett/Nieman Watchdog)

7:45 AM ET, March 22, 2012

Top News:

John Cook / Gawker:

There Is No Such Thing as a ‘Larger Truth’: This American Life's Rich History of Embellishment — Mike Daisey has been roundly and justly castigated for selling his bulls**t stories about visiting the Foxconn complex in Shenzhen, China, to This American Life.

Discussion: Slate, PopWatch, The Huffington Post and JIMROMENESKO.COM

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

Discussion: CNN and The Huffington Post

Rebecca J. Rosen / The Atlantic Online:
Mike Daisey's First Public Talk After the ‘This American Life’ Retraction

Discussion: The Stranger …, Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Felix Salmon:

When journalists take money from Wall Street — Many thanks to Paul Starobin for getting to the bottom of the question of journalists being paid by Wall Street to give speeches. This is one of those issues, a bit like the exact meaning of “off the record”, where everybody thinks …

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: eMedia Vitals, Gawker, Online Journalism Blog, CJR and News for Digital Journalists

Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee:

McClatchy President Gary Pruitt leaving for AP — McClatchy President Gary B. Pruitt, who has led the company that owns The Sacramento Bee and 29 other newspapers for 16 years, is leaving to take the top post at the Associated Press. — McClatchy's chief financial officer, Patrick J. Talamantes, was named president and executive.

Discussion: Associated Press, Poynter, ap.org and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Emma Bazilian / Adweek:

Will the Kindle Fire Be an iPad Killer? — When Amazon released the Kindle Fire last November, it was heralded as the first tablet with a shot at loosening Apple's stronghold on the market. But with Apple still dominating the tablet game—according to eMarketer, 83 percent of tablet owners have an iPad …

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 and Telegraph

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

Sarah Marshall / journalism.co.uk:

Social predicted to overtake search as Guardian traffic driver — The Guardian's Facebook app has been downloaded eight million times since it was launched six months ago, seeing around 40,000 downloads a day. — Speaking at the Guardian Changing Media Summit, Tanya Cordrey …

Discussion: @antderosa and Guardian

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: Hit & Run, WebProNews and FrontBurner

Village Voice:
What Nick Kristof Got Wrong: Village Voice Media Responds

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

Amanda Bennett / Nieman Watchdog:

Lessons learned from a period of intense newspaper turmoil — Between September 2001 and November 2006, I was editor of two Knight Ridder papers, first the Lexington Herald-Leader and then The Philadelphia Inquirer. It was a period of intense turmoil. Today Knight Ridder no longer exists.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, Nieman Journalism Lab, paidContent, JIMROMENESKO.COM and The Newspaper Guild

Alan Jacobs / The Atlantic Online:

Will Kindle's Free Samples Change the Structures of Plots? — Search-engine optimization reshaped the craft of a good headline. Will Amazon's book promotions have a similar effect on novels? — We all know that people who run websites have a hatful of little tricks intended to give their sites more prominence in searches.

Andy Fixmer / Bloomberg:

Discovery Oprah Network to Lose $143 Million, SNL Kagan Says — Oprah Winfrey Network, the cable- television venture between Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA) and the talk-show host, may lose $142.9 million in 2012 as it struggles to gain viewers, according to researcher SNL Kagan.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap

Daniel Frankel / paidContent:

The Good And Bad News From The Latest Pay TV Subscriber Figures — The good news for the traditional subscription TV industry: subscriber counts across the cable/satellite/telco television services industry grew by 380,000 in 2011. The bad news? Growth of satellite and telco subscriptions …

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: New York Magazine, The Lede, Media Matters for America, The Atlantic Wire, Business Insider, Mediaite, Gawker, Rolling Stone, The Stranger … and TheBlaze.com

Peter Osnos / The Atlantic Online:

Toasting the Columbia Journalism Review at 50 — Looking back at a half century of conversation and criticism at a publication that believes journalism matters — The Columbia Journalism Review is in the midst of its 50th anniversary year, a considerable achievement.

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

Former Roll Call Editor Spills Beans About Questionable Racial Hiring Practices — UPDATE: Roll Call Editorial Director Mike Mills Responds. — 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 …

Discussion: FishbowlNY