Mediagazer: Rupert Murdoch denies claims that News Corp may sell UK newspapers (Guardian)

12:30 PM ET, May 19, 2012

Top News:

So Warren Buffett likes newspapers again? — Just because Warren Buffett blew $142 million in cash on 63 daily and weekly Media General newspaper titles yesterday doesn't mean that newspapers are back. All it means is that an old cow that's still a milker has been moved to a neighboring farm's pasture …

Discussion: Newsonomics

Omaha World-Herald:
Deal shows Buffett's faith in community newspapers

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Dan Conover / Xark!:
What if we give it away? (w/apologies to REM)

Discussion: The Buttry Diary, @jayrosen_nyu and @stevebuttry

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Facebook IPO may force journalists to consider their role in the social network's growth — Facebook's IPO just created a lot of billionaires. Probably not that many of them work in journalism. But journalists, Kristie Lu Stout argues, create part of Facebook's value.

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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 …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, DealBook, The Firewall, Bits, ReadWriteWeb, Adweek, Business Week, AllThingsD, @brianstelter, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Kernel, Hillicon Valley, Media Decoder and PR Newswire

Erik Wemple:

CSIS to investigate Arnaud de Borchgrave's writings — The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said this afternoon that it will investigate the work of Arnaud de Borchgrave, one of the think tank's program directors and a columnist for the Washington Times and United Press International.

Mariah Blake / Salon:
Coverup at Washington Times

Discussion: Erik Wemple

Guardian:

Rupert Murdoch denies claims that News Corp may sell UK newspapers — Mogul says News Corporation is ‘firmly committed’ to its papers including the Sun, Times and Sunday Times — Rupert Murdoch has denied reports that News Corp is considering spinning off its British newspapers to protect …

Discussion: Financial Times, Financial Times, Telegraph, CJR, Future of Journalism and Jon Slattery

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Exclusive: Did White House “spin” tip a covert op? — (Reuters) - White House efforts to soft-pedal the danger from a new “underwear bomb” plot emanating from Yemen may have inadvertently broken the news they needed most to contain. — At about 5:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 7 …

Erik Maza / WWD:

Ad Pages Slip Further at New York Times' Magazines — NO UPTURN: Sally Singer opened the most recent issue of T The New York Times Magazine with a tribute to leisurely evolutions. “You realize that even when taste is a given, patience is a virtue,” she wrote.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Michael Hastings / BuzzFeed:

Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban — Propaganda that was supposed to target foreigners could now be aimed at us. “Disconcerting and dangerous,” says Shank. — An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned.

Discussion: Mediaite and @adrianchen

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

News Corp. Sued Over Hacking by Victim of 2005 London Bombings — News Corp. (NWSA) (NWSA)'s U.K. unit and the private investigator it hired to hack voice mail was sued by a professor who was seated next to a suicide bomber in the 2005 terror attacks on London's trains and buses.

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

A kinder, gentler DRM? — With Harry Potter fan site and e-bookstore Pottermore.com now using watermarking instead of heavyweight DRM on all the Harry Potter e-books, anti-DRM arguments are growing louder. Now the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), the organization that oversees …

Discussion: International Digital …, TeleRead and The Verge

Alex Pareene / Salon:

The National Review's fake plagiarism scoop — Updated: After falsely accusing Elizabeth Warren of plagiarism, the conservative magazine apologizes — The National Review says Elizabeth Warren is guilty of the gravest crime a writer can commit: Plagiarism.

Discussion: National Review, Politicker and Media Decoder

The Huffington Post:

'Reporter's Privilege' Under Fire From Obama Administration Amid Broader War On Leaks — RICHMOND, Va. — The Obama administration Friday morning continued its headlong attack on the right of reporters to protect their confidential sources in leak investigations.

Discussion: @mikeriggs and Capital New York