Mediagazer: In a memo, Ricketts tells his news staff his politics have ‘absolutely no impact’ on their work (Tom McGeveran/Capital New York)

11:15 AM ET, May 18, 2012

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Dan Conover / Xark!:

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Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:

Why Warren Buffett is buying newspapers — The Oracle of Omaha acquired his hometown newspaper in January and just snapped up dozens more in a $142 million deal. This is supposed to be the fastest declining industry in America. What is Warren Buffett up to? — Here's why the deal makes a lot more sense than it appears:

Discussion: Omaha World-Herald, Poynter, Erik Wemple, Newsonomics, Gawker, Wall Street Journal, Tampa Bay Times and Poynter

Tom McGeveran / Capital New York:

In a memo, Ricketts tells his news staff his politics have ‘absolutely no impact’ on their work — The ‘Ricketts’ playbook obtained by the ‘Times.’ — Late this afternoon, Joe Ricketts, the founder of AmeriTrade who was the subject of a front-page article in today's New York Times …

Discussion: Media Nation, Media Decoder, Chicago Business, The Daily Beast, Politico, The Caucus, Washington Post, Townhall.com, Politicker, New York Times, The Caucus, The Daily Beast, Media Matters for America and Capital New York

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

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Discussion: Poynter, LA Observed, The Informer, @jayrosen_nyu, @michelemclellan, @ckrewson, @ckrewson, Politico and @jayrosen_nyu

Jason Del Rey / AdAge:

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Discussion: VentureBeat, paidContent, TechnoBuffalo, Android Phone Fans and CNET

Steve Buttry / The Buttry Diary:

Aggregation guidelines: Link, attribute, add value — Aggregation has become a dirty word in much of journalism today. — Bill Keller, former editor of the New York Times, last year wrote: “There's often a thin line between aggregation and theft.” — Patrick Pexton, Washington Post ombudsman …

Discussion: Poynter

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Survey: 52% of media professionals abandon websites when they hit a paywall — A new survey found that more than half of media professionals polled immediately leave a website after encountering a paywall. One-quarter said they were unlikely to return to the site, and 63 percent …

Discussion: DigiCareers, eMarketer, WebProNews and MediaPost

Josh Stearns / MediaShift:

The First Amendment Should Protect Everyone's Right to Record — Since September, police have arrested dozens of journalists and activists around the country for the “crime” of trying to document political protests in public spaces. People using smartphones and mobile devices are changing the way we record and share breaking news.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Facebook's biggest problem is that it's a media company — There's been a lot of attention paid to Facebook's business model recently, especially with the news that General Motors has killed a $10-million advertising campaign devoted to the giant social network — not exactly a great sign …

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Philip Elliott / Associated Press:

Mitt Romney Tries To Win Over Reporters With Cookies And Conversation — PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney is on a charm offensive. — He took reporters' questions after Thursday's campaign rally instead of keeping them at bay. He brought them warm chocolate chip cookies for the flight …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

After 7 Years, No End in Sight to Phone Hacking Scandal — LONDON — The phone hacking scandal that shook Rupert Murdoch's global media empire and hit the heart of the British government began quietly on a Monday in 2005, when aides to the British royal family gathered in a palace office appointed …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and Free Press

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:
Sir Harold: ‘Fatal miscalcuation’ over Murdoch's 1981 bid

Discussion: Press Gazette, Guardian and Telegraph

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

They'll do it live: Inside Boston Sports Live, The Boston Globe's new noon sports show — “Where's Gasper? We might need him.” — There's an empty chair where Christopher Gasper should be. It's at a news desk set against a green screen in the studio where Boston Sports Live will go on the air at noon in about 15 minutes.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

DealBook:

Spotify's Financing Is Said to Lift Value to $4 Billion — Spotify is in the process of raising a new round of financing that would value the popular online music service at up to $4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in the latest eye-popping Internet company valuation.

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, VentureBeat, The Verge, Forbes and WebProNews