Mediagazer: Verizon Pitches Mobile Video (Anton Troianovski/Wall Street Journal)

2:55 PM ET, March 30, 2012

Top News:

Philadelphia Newspapers Set to Be Sold to Local Leaders — A consortium of local business and political leaders is poised to purchase the Philadelphia Media Network, publisher of The Inquirer, The Daily News and Philly.com, according to several people familiar with the negotiations.

Discussion: mediabistro.com and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:
Philly newspapers may trade hands Monday

Discussion: Philly.com

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Maxim Minimized. Big Layoffs Hit Men's Mag Web and Editorial Staff — The Internet killed the magazine star. There's been a major round of layoffs at Maxim magazine. Senior Editor Seth Porges is at least one employee who got the axe, according to our sources and confirmed by a recent update …

Discussion: Adweek, FishbowlNY, Media Buyer Planner, MediaPost, The Verge, Canadian Magazines, eMedia Vitals and JIMROMENESKO.COM, Thanks:@joshconstine

Alicia Shepard / Poynter:

The iconic photos of Trayvon Martin & George Zimmerman & why you may not see the others — Since the shooting of Trayvon Martin became national news, two photos have come to define the emotionally and racially charged narrative. — News organizations initially had just a few photos of Martin …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, MarketWatch and Orlando Sentinel

Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Bloggers Cherry-Pick From Social Media to Cast Trayvon Martin as a Menace

Discussion: Mediaite, BAGnewsNotes, Christian Science Monitor, Journalism.org, Poynter, Gawker and The Huffington Post

Anton Troianovski / Wall Street Journal:

Verizon Pitches Mobile Video — Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Executive Lowell C. McAdam said the company could have a wireless video service by year-end that lets pay-TV subscribers see some content on their mobile devices if regulators approve a proposed cable partnership.

Discussion: PC Magazine, GigaOM, CNET, Hillicon Valley, SeekingAlpha.com, The Verge, Engadget and NetNewsCheck Latest

Jeff Roberts / paidContent:

Paywall Promos: How Far Should Newspapers Open The Door? — As newspapers lock content behind paywalls, marketers are opening that same content right back up again through campaigns that provide readers with temporary access for free. The idea seems a good one but newspapers are still experimenting with when and how to do it.

Discussion: PC Magazine, the Econsultancy blog, BtoB Magazine and ZDNet

DigiDave:
The Future of Paywalls, Memberships and Advertising - Writing on the Wall is Starting to Appear

Discussion: Mashable! and Poynter

Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY:

Ex Goldman Sachs Exec Greg Smith Gets $1.5 Million Book Deal — Sorry to start your Friday out like this, but we've got to tell you: The rich do, in fact, get richer. Greg Smith, the former Goldman Sachs executive who quit with a hilarious New York Times Op-Ed, is getting $1.5 million to write a memoir.

Discussion: New York Post, The Wrap, The Awl, GalleyCat, Media Decoder, Fox Business and @benfritz

Jason Del Rey / AdAge:

March Madness Digital Viewing Generates $60 Million in Ad Sales for Turner, CBS — Total Doesn't Include Subscriptions for Mobile Access — It's not a revenue number that's going to convince many that a long-awaited reallocation of TV dollars to digital has arrived.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, Thanks:@delrey

Alexa Kravitz / American Journalism Review:

Many political talk shows are hosted by non-journalists. Is there a problem with that? — Should journalism experience be a requirement for hosting a political talk show? MSNBC President Phil Griffin certainly doesn't think so. His hires on the liberal-leaning network include non …

Discussion: The FJP

Bill Mickey / Folio:

The Economist Reaches 1 Million Facebook Fans — Plus, how the brand optimizes its page for maximum interaction and engagement. — The Economist announced Wednesday that its Facebook page has surpassed the 1 million fan milestone. Nick Blunden, global publisher of digital editions for The Economist …

Discussion: WWD Media Headlines, Press Gazette, Talking Biz News, The Wall Blog, Garcia Media and TechCrunch

Martin Dunn / Guardian:

New York's uneasy tabloid truce — When I edited the Daily News, a day hardly passed without a gloves-off scrap with our rival, the Post. So what changed? — In the sad, cost-cutting world of New York City newspapers, the “war of words” has become the “bore of words”.

Discussion: The New York Observer, Capital New York, Gawker, New York Magazine and The New York Observer

Jim Romenesko:

City of Sanford backs off on threat to arrest reporters — On Wednesday, the City of Sanford issued a press release asking the media to “refrain from approaching, phoning or emailing city employees when they are in their roles as private citizens” and warning that “law enforcement officials …

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, Orlando Sentinel, TVSpy and The Raw Story

Stuart Kemp / Hollywood Reporter:

BBC Fights Back in Spat With Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. — The U.K. public broadcaster stands by its “Panorama” TV show's findings into alleged computer hacking following critical tweets by Murdoch and News Corp. statements. — LONDON - The BBC has issued a terse and combative statement defending itself …

Discussion: Guardian and New York Magazine