Mediagazer: Washington Post newspaper revenue drops 8% in 1st quarter (Andrew Beaujon/Poynter)

11:35 AM ET, May 4, 2012

Top News:

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

David Cameron wins advance access to Leveson inquiry witness statements — David Cameron and seven other cabinet ministers will be given advance sight of witness statements to the Leveson inquiry, including those submitted by the former Downing Street spin doctor Andy Coulson and ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks.

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and Press Gazette

Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:
Leveson Inquiry: Government makes ‘controversial’ last-minute bid for advance sight of Andy Coulson's evidence

Discussion: Huffington Post UK and Guardian

Amy Wicks / WWD:

ASME Announces Award Winners — ASME'S BIG NIGHT: The newsweekly is dead! Long live the newsweekly! The format may be struggling in ad sales and on the newsstand, but in the close-knit magazine world, it seems to still reign supreme. During the American Society of Magazine Editors' annual gala …

Discussion: The Wrap, Adweek, Poynter, MinOnline, LA Observed, CJR and AdAge

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

At the often stodgy National Magazine Awards, best disruptor of decorum goes to a tall guy from Dallas — “I feel like when we win, everybody wins,” said Time managing editor Rick Stengel in a ballroom at the New York Marriott Marquis Thursday night, accepting a National Magazine Award for magazine of the year, the evening's top honor.

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Announcing the 75th class of Nieman Fellows — This morning, the Nieman Foundation announced our incoming class of Nieman Fellows, which will be our 75th. (The Nieman Fellowships allow a group of accomplished journalists — half American, half international — to come to Harvard for a year of study on the subjects of their choice.)

Discussion: Nieman Foundation News, @niemanlab, @niemanlab and @jeffjarvis

Jim Romenesko:

New York Times confirms non-newsroom layoffs — I received multiple tips late Thursday about layoffs at the New York Times, including this report: … Another tipster says of Freeman: He was “one of the two go-to guys on news-department legal matters, from story vetting to fighting First Amendment cases.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Washington Post newspaper revenue drops 8% in 1st quarter — The Washington Post Company reported net earnings of $31 million in the first quarter of 2012 on Friday. Last year, the Post reported earnings of $15.2 million in the first quarter; the report attributes the gain to the sale …

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Arianna Huffington's Role at AOL Narrowed to Focus on Huffington Post — She originally had editorial oversight of all AOL properties when the online company acquired her site, but she shoots down rumors that she could leave AOL. Arianna Huffington said Thursday that her role at AOL …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Poynter

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

The ‘falling bear’ is dead, immortalized in Colorado student photo — Two cars on Thursday struck and killed the Colorado bear who was photographed in mid-air. The black bear was wandering on a highway near Boulder, Colo., where it achieved fame via a viral photograph by University of Colorado student Andy Duann last week.

Discussion: Daily Camera, Gawker and The Awl

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

It doesn't matter what e-books cost to make — Book publishers are trying hard to defend the pricing of e-books — perhaps in part because they've been accused by the Justice Department of rigging prices to keep them artificially high — by arguing that it costs a lot more than most people …

Discussion: Techdirt, The FJP and TERRIBLEMINDS, Thanks:@mathewi

John Cook / Gawker:

A Low Six-Figure Book Deal for the Fox Mole — Congratulations to Joe Muto, formerly known as the Fox Mole, for selling a book about his experiences inside Fox News Channel to Dutton, an imprint of Penguin. — The book—tentatively titled An Atheist in the Foxhole—will be a …

Discussion: Erik Wemple, mediabistro.com, TVWeek.com and Hollywood Reporter

Reid Pillifant / Capital New York:

Gillibrand signs Senate resolution asking Village Voice Media to drop adult-services ads from Backpage.com — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has joined several colleagues to cosponsor a resolution asking Village Voice Media, owners of the online classifieds site Backpage.com, to shut down the adult-services section of the site.

Associated Press:

AP Apologizes For Firing Reporter Over World War II Scoop — 67 Years Later — NEW YORK (AP) — In World War II's final moments in Europe, Associated Press correspondent Edward Kennedy gave his news agency perhaps the biggest scoop in its history. He reported, a full day ahead of the competition …

John Koblin / Deadspin:

Meet Nilesh Prasad, Sarah Phillips's Scamming Partner And Supposed “Puppetmaster” — Here, at last, are some photos of former ESPN columnist Sarah Phillips and her partner, Nilesh Prasad, the low-rent Bonnie and Clyde of social-media ripoffs. The reader who sent the one above said it was taken in April 2010 during a trip to Cancun.

Discussion: Forbes and The Huffington Post