Mediagazer: Washington Times columnist: Originality deficit? (Erik Wemple)

1:00 PM ET, May 17, 2012

Top News:

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Media General to sell most of its newspapers to Warren Buffett's group — When Warren Buffett said last week that his Berkshire Hathaway might be buying more newspapers, he meant: right now. Media General announced this morning that it would be selling all of its newspapers, except its Tampa properties, to Berkshire Hathaway.

Discussion: Poynter, Guardian, Washington Post, MarketWatch, Bloomberg, NetNewsCheck Latest, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable, mediabistro.com and @romenesko

Eric Deggans / Tampa Bay Times:

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to purchase all Media General newspapers except Tampa Tribune for $142 million — The Tampa Tribune and its area print products have been excluded from a $142-million deal in which Richmond Va.-based Media General will sell 63 daily and weekly newspapers …

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

Obama Campaign Keeps Press Away From Biden — MARTINS FERRY, Ohio — Staff members for Vice President Joe Biden prevented reporters from asking him a question after a campaign event here, as Biden greeted supporters on a rope line. Four reporters approached Biden as he was shaking hands …

Jack Shafer:
Candidate-press relations are, well, about as ‘sour’ as usual

Discussion: Politico

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Reporters Blocked At Romney Event

Discussion: TVNewser, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Politico and Politico

John Biggs / TechCrunch:

Netflix's Former Customers Are Returning After Rebranding Fiasco — At a J.P. Morgan conference held in Boston on Wednesday, Netflix CFO David Wells said that the company was looking up and, more importantly, customers who cancelled the service because of the Qwikster rebranding, plan repricing …

Discussion: Techland

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:
Netflix launches sexy new web-based video player

Discussion: Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, CNET, BuzzFeed, The Verge, PC Magazine, Hillicon Valley and VentureBeat

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

NPR sees sharp downturn in advertising revenue, leading to talk of cuts — NPR's new chief executive is signaling that there may be some static ahead for the radio and digital news organization. Halfway through its fiscal year — and six months into Gary Knell's tenure as chief executive …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM and Poynter

Telegraph:

Tom Cruise says his phone may have been hacked — Tom Cruise has indicated in an interview that his phone may have been hacked by journalists. — Tom Cruise appearing in the film Jerry Maguire — The Hollywood actor's disclosure during a magazine interview make him potentially …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and Press Gazette

Huffington Post UK: David Cameron ‘Was Briefed By News International’ On How To Treat Murdoch

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

CNN Hits Lowest Primetime Demo Rating at 9 PM In 15 Years — Last night was a typical, boring Tuesday, with little earth-shattering news to drive TV viewers to cable news. It was also May sweeps, with the season finale of “NCIS: LA,” “America's Got Talent” on NBC and “Dancing With the Stars” …

Discussion: Deadline.com and All Things CNN

Tom McGeveran / Capital New York:

With an anti-Obama attack plan, DNAinfo owner Joe Ricketts comes out of his shell — One thing not mentioned in today's bombshell article in The New York Times about billionaire Joe Ricketts, the man behind a Super PAC campaign to revive the issue of pastor Jeremiah Wright in the 2012 election cycle?

Discussion: New York Times and The New Yorker Blog

Erik Wemple:

Washington Times columnist: Originality deficit? — Arnaud de Borchgrave has a career of distinction to go with journalism's coolest name. He is a former top editor of the Washington Times (1985-1991), and his work overseas dates to 1947, when he became United Press International's Brussels bureau chief at the age of 21.

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Washington Times, csis.org and DC Porcupine

Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:

WikiLeaks: No, Media “Morons,” We Didn't Help Iran Execute An Israeli Spy — Since WikiLeaks first released its flood of classified State Department memos in December of 2010, the secret-spilling site's critics have been searching for evidence that Julian Assange's disregard for official secrecy …

Discussion: ZDNet, Daily Mail and WebProNews

Ryan Chittum / CJR:

What's the right price for ebooks? — Author Chuck Windig, GigaOm's Mathew Ingram, and TechDirt's Mike Masnick all took on the question of ebook pricing recently, arguing that production costs (you know, minor details like advances, editors, etc.) don't or shouldn't factor into the end price.

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Jann Wenner: Why We're Putting Us Weekly on the IPad — Magazine Enters Game Despite Wenner's Previously Pronounced Lack of Expectations for the Device — Almost exactly a year after Jann Wenner said magazines were rushing to the iPad out of “insanity and insecurity and fear,” …

Discussion: eMedia Vitals