Mediagazer: New media gurus launch Upworthy - their ‘super basic’ internet start-up (Ed Pilkington/Guardian)

12:25 PM ET, March 26, 2012

Top News:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

For Martin's Case, a Long Route to National Attention — Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was fatally shot on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. The next day his death was a top story on the Fox-affiliated television station in Orlando, the closest big city to Sanford.

Discussion: Media Decoder, The Informer, Mediaite and Chickaboomer

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

ESPN drops ban on staff posting pics in hoodies — Richard Prince reports that ESPN has reversed its initial stand against staffers posting pictures of themselves in hoodies to show solidarity with Trayvon Martin. After Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera suggested that the 17-year-old's choice …

Discussion: The Maynard Institute

Rebecca Shapiro / The Huffington Post: CNN's Howard Kurtz Goes After Al Sharpton, MSNBC Over Trayvon Martin Coverage (VIDEO)

Dave Davies / newsworks:

More layoffs coming at Philly papers? — I really, really don't want to write this. But I've learned from a credible source that the management of Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, envisions dumping another 35 people from the payroll over the next six months.

Jim Romenesko:

Philly.com 'doesn't much like news' — Former Philadelphia Inquirer metro columnist Tom Ferrick calls Philly.com “an anomaly among the newspaper-related web sites in America in that it doesn't much like news.” The people behind the site know they can't get millions of unique visitors with news stories …

Discussion: Metropolis and @davidfolkenflik

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Santorum ‘ready to take on the NY Times’ — My colleague Maggie Haberman reports late Sunday night: Rick Santorum's line earlier in his speech in Wisconsin tonight - about Mitt Romney being the “worst” Republican in the country to put up against President Obama - is a version he's used …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, FishbowlNY, KBOI, The Jane Dough and Gothamist

Juana Summers / Politico:
Rick Santorum lashes out at New York Times reporter

Discussion: Politico, @jeffzeleny, The Caucus, @mlcalderone, Guardian, @nytjim, ThinkProgress, @jaketapper, Capital Tonight and Reuters

Patrick B. Pexton / Washington Post:

Is a paywall coming to The Washington Post? — Will you soon have to start paying to use The Post's Web site? No, not in the short term, and maybe never, if I read the tea leaves correctly. Paying for online or digital content (called a “paywall” in media jargon) is much in the news right …

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Daily Telegraph publisher's chief attended Downing Street dinner — Murdoch MacLennan went to ‘thank-you dinner for major donors’ two months after 2010 general election — Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of the publisher behind the Daily Telegraph, attended a previously undisclosed …

Discussion: Press Gazette

Donna Bowater / Telegraph:
Cash for access: Rupert Murdoch calls for independent inquiry into lobbying row

Discussion: @lisaocarroll, Guardian and @dansabbagh

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

The “Sharing” Mirage — This week's most stunning statistic: In February, Facebook drove more traffic to the Guardian web site than Google did. This fact was proffered (I couldn't bring myself to write shared) at the Changing Medias Summit Conference by Tanya Corduroy …

Discussion: Guardian

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Yahoo Appoints Three New Directors in a Smack to Activist Shareholder (Like I Said!) — Updated: 3:59 p.m. with comments from Third Point. — Yahoo said it had appointed three new directors today, a move that is a direct strike back at activist shareholder Dan Loeb of Third Point and his alternate slate of directors.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Broadcasting & Cable, Yahoo! Pressroom Home, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, CNET, TechCrunch, Business Insider and DealBook

Lauren Collins / New Yorker:

How the Daily Mail conquered England. — On Thursday, January 19th, the front page of the Daily Mail carried a story about Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland. During Goodwin's tenure, from 2000 to 2008, R.B.S. quadrupled its assets …

Discussion: Poynter, JIMROMENESKO.COM and @lisaocarroll

Mike Daisey:

Some Thoughts After The Storm — Here is an excerpt from an interview I gave to Seattle radio host Luke Burbank about a year ago: … Thanks to Chris Hayes for finding this exchange. I'm putting it out here because I think it very succinctly sums up the rules I have for myself …

Discussion: Boing Boing, @mdaisey, @zinoman, New York Magazine, @davidfolkenflik, @jayrosen_nyu and Gothamist

Mark Hughes / Telegraph:

BBC to make fresh claims of Rupert Murdoch firm law-breaking — Rupert Murdoch is braced for further damaging allegations against his News Corporation empire in a BBC documentary that alleges one of his companies broke the law to “bring down” a commercial rival.

Discussion: Media Decoder