Mediagazer: Barnes & Noble Incorporates In Germany, Closest Sign Yet Of European Nook Launch (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

10:45 AM ET, March 29, 2012

Top News:

Federal police join News probe — The Australian Federal Police has revealed it is working with UK police investigating the News Corporation phone hacking scandal in a statement hours after The Australian Financial Review exposed News's role in high-tech piracy that sabotaged its pay TV rivals …

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik and Digital Spy

Sandra Laville / Guardian:

Dick Fedorcio resigns after Met opens disciplinary action — Scotland Yard's head of communications, Dick Fedorcio, has resigned immediately after the force opened disciplinary proceedings against him. An inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into Fedorcio's award …

Discussion: @dvnjr and @dvnjr

Dina Rickman / Huffington Post UK:

Leveson Inquiry: Kit Malthouse Reveals £40m Cost Of Phone Hacking Probe — The deputy mayor of London has defended his questioning of police spending on phone hacking, saying Scotland Yard already struggles to fund its fight against serious crime and spends less money per year tackling child abuse.

Ben Dowell / Guardian:

Rupert Murdoch blasts ‘lies and libels’ — Rupert Murdoch has launched a fightback on Twitter against what he described as “lies and libels” against News Corporation, attacking “enemies” including “old toffs and rightwingers”. The media mogul tweeted three times in the early hours …

Discussion: The New York Observer and Guardian

Guardian:
Daily Mail made 1,728 potentially illegal requests to private detective

Discussion: Press Gazette

Mike Shields / Adweek:

Google Unveils New Revenue Option for Web Publishers — Google has long been accused of being a content stealer, and/or a value-destroyer in certain publishing circles. Mark Cuban, the outspoken head of HD Network and the Dallas Mavericks, has referred to Google derisively as a “vampire” …

Discussion: paidContent

Dylan Byers / Politico:

WaPo names John Temple managing editor — The Washington Post has named John Temple, former editor and publisher of Rocky Mountain News, as managing editor, confirming Keach Hagey's report here yesterday. — From the Post's press release:

Discussion: Poynter and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Bloomberg:

News Corp. Said to Plan U.S. Sports Network to Rival ESPN — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWSA) is taking steps to start a national U.S. sports network on cable television aimed at challenging Walt Disney Co. (DIS)'s ESPN, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, New York Times, Company Town, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Deadline.com, The Atlantic Wire, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, @pkafka, PBS, Politico, AllThingsD, Guardian and msnbc.com

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Barnes & Noble Incorporates In Germany, Closest Sign Yet Of European Nook Launch — Just as Amazon is launching a new Kindle (but not the Fire tablet, yet) in Europe, one of its big competitors is taking one more step in its bid to enter the European market: Barnes & Noble has incorporated a new company …

Discussion: Betabeat, Softpedia News and Engadget

The Daily Texan:

Apology from The Daily Texan Editorial Board — Update: The cartoon was taken down from The Daily Texan website. On Tuesday, a cartoon ran on the Opinion page of The Daily Texan that offended many readers, and we sincerely apologize for our decision to run it.

Discussion: Gawker

George Winslow / Broadcasting & Cable:

Arne Rees to Head ESPN Intl. Digital Efforts — Will work to expand digital media operations around the world — As part of an effort to expand the international reach of its digital media operations, ESPN has named Arne Rees as vice president, international digital media.

Lee Gardner / Baltimore City Paper:

What Is an Alt-Weekly? — We've been trying to figure that out for 35 years — Someone asked me that question recently, and I opened my mouth and started to talk. It's a question that comes up enough that I have a couple of standard answers I can riff on.

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

The News at NBC — Ratings pinch gives Lauer power. — On March 15, NBC News hosted its annual upfront presentation, at which its executives make their pitches to ad buyers for the coming year. NBC News has won its ratings races for more than a decade, so they didn't bother with a hard sell.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Mediaite