Mediagazer: E-Books Are Easier to Borrow, Just Be Prepared to Wait (Alan Finder/New York Times)

5:55 PM ET, April 15, 2012

Top News:

Charlie Stross / Charlie's Diary:

What Amazon's ebook strategy means — It seems to me that a lot of folks in the previous discussion don't really understand quite what makes Amazon so interesting—and threatening, for that matter—to the publishing industry. — So I'm going to take a stab at explaining.

Discussion: Beyond Search, Jeff Jarvis, Forbes, Wired and TechCrunch

David Carr / New York Times:

The Life and Death of Andrew Breitbart — ON the last night of February, Arthur Sando was having a drink at the Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge in Los Angeles when a bearded silver-haired man took a seat next to him, ordered a glass of pinot noir and began typing into his BlackBerry.

Discussion: @antderosa and @romenesko

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

The News Cycle, From Fireworks to Fizzle — I DON'T remember how old I was when I first climbed up to the roof of my family's home in suburban Maryland. Eleven, maybe? Twelve? But I do remember what I saw up there. It was the night of the Fourth of July, and it was turning dark enough for the fireworks.

Discussion: @jonathanwald, @chanders, @chanders and Forbes

Alan Finder / New York Times:

E-Books Are Easier to Borrow, Just Be Prepared to Wait — As a technical matter, it's remarkably easy to borrow an e-book from your local library. But not if you want to take out the best-selling biography of Steven P. Jobs, the hero of the Internet age who helped lure tens of millions …

Discussion: @mathewi

Andrew Goldman / New York Times:

Mika Brzezinski Refuses to Perk It Up — When I told my wife I was interviewing you, she said, “I like Mika because she's ornery, and all the other women on TV in the morning are so damn chipper.” — I proudly own that. I spent 20 years trying to be perky like the beauty queens on TV, and none of it ever worked.

Discussion: Mediaite

Hamish McKenzie / PandoDaily:

It's Time to Stop Talking About the Death of Big Media — Last week one of our guest writers, Francisco Dao, published a post entitled “What Happens After We Kill Big Media?” In it, he breezily surmised that big media's “downfall is inevitable” and proceeded to grieve for its demise.

Matt Buchanan / Buzzfeed:

The Origin Of #Long Things — Lately, we like reading long things that are not books. A lot, it seems. There are apps for reading them: Instapaper, Read It Later, Readability. Platforms for publishing them: Kindle Singles, The Atavist. And sites dedicated entirely to discovering …

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

How journalists train to stay safe while covering hostile environments — Before he ever stepped foot in Iraq, Washington Post reporter Ed O'Keefe had already navigated his way through landmines, used a tourniquet to help an injured person, and been ambushed.

David Pogue / New York Times:

Reviewing the Next Issue App, a Buffet of Magazines — Few words fire up the happiness transmitters in your brain more than “free.” But “flat-fee unlimited” comes close. — Unlimited movies (Netflix). Unlimited music (Spotify). Unlimited train travel (Europass). Unlimited seafood buffet (Red Lobster).

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of small things — If the news business were sexy enough (it's not) to fuel Hollywood or Bollywood filmmaking, we might envision this wake-me-from-the-dead screenplay: A publisher (I'm thinking Tom Hanks, now almost old enough to look sufficiently weary) …

Discussion: GigaOM

Noam Cohen / Media Decoder:

New Republic Cancels Lottery to Attend Washington Dinner — The New Republic has quickly canceled its plan to send one lucky subscriber to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner this month after being told that it would be violating the association's rules.

Discussion: Media Decoder