Mediagazer: Broadcasters sue over political ad rule (Brendan Sasso/Hillicon Valley)

6:30 PM ET, May 22, 2012

Top News:

AOL'S Patch to Trim Staff — AOL's Patch.com, the online local-news network whose high costs have made it a lightning rod for criticism of AOL's strategy, is laying off about 20 people as part of a broader restructuring. — Patch will consolidate its four geographic zones into three …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, Washington Post, Poynter and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

AOL's Patch Gets a Haircut in Push For Profitability — The days of AOL treating Patch like a garbage disposal for money are officially over. — The network of local news sites for suburban towns laid off around 20 employees in a reorganization meant to eliminate an inefficient layer of management.

Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY:

Patch Cuts 20 Managers, Restructures — AOL's Patch is cutting 20 managers as it folds its South “zone” into its East zone. The Wall Street Journal reports that the restructuring will allow the hyperlocal news network to dump those staffers, yet keep every one of its 850-plus sites up and running.

Discussion: TVNewser

Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:

Ailes Regrets ‘Scum’ Attack on NYT — Fox News chairman backs off harsh language in a college speech — Roger Ailes, who loves to bash the liberal media, used some extraordinarily harsh language the other day—and now realizes it. — In a speech Monday night at Ohio University …

Discussion: Erik Wemple, Mediaite, JIMROMENESKO.COM, FishbowlNY, The Huffington Post, Inside Cable News, Chickaboomer, @carr2n and The Daily Beast

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:
Roger Ailes Talks Negotiations With ‘Non-Neutral’ AP, His ‘Fluke’ Career

Discussion: Poynter, @producermatthew and FishbowlNY

Lynne Marek / Chicago Business:

Tribune prepares to spin off business units — Tribune Co. is streamlining its corporate structure for the possible sale of publishing and broadcast units after its exit from bankruptcy. The Chicago-based company recently filed a document with the Delaware court handling the bankruptcy …

Discussion: Poynter and CJR

Saul Daniels / Northridge-Chatsworth Patch:

Tribune Restructures to Spin Off the Los Angeles Times — Tribune Co., the corporate parent of the Los Angeles Times, is streamlining its corporate structure for the possible sale of newspaper and broadcast units, according to ChicagoBusiness.com. For years the company operated …

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

OMG! BuzzFeed to Open D.C. Bureau — The buzz around BuzzFeed opening a Washington bureau is true. Political Editor Ben Smith confirms to FishbowlDC that the LOL-laden site is shooting to bring on new blood by summer to get the cat pic operation up and running.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Fast Company and AppNewser

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Arnaud de Borchgrave takes leave from Washington Times — The Washington Times has broken its silence on the case of Arnaud de Borchgrave, the columnist whom this blog last week cited for some dicey literary borrowing. In a story that hit the Washington Times Web site late last night …

Discussion: Washington Post

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC: Attorney Plots to Get WaPo's Wemple Fired

Felix Salmon:

How Gawker wants to monetize comments — Back in November, I grappled with the fact that online display ads in general, and banner ads in particular, are clearly not working very well; my suggested alternative was for brand advertisers to embrace the power of the external link.

Discussion: TechCrunch

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:

New Twist in Lawsuit Over Huffington Post's Origins; ‘Cover-Up’ Alleged — Two Democratic consultants who claim they supplied Arianna Huffington and Ken Lerer with the idea for the Huffington Post have filed an amended version of their lawsuit, saying emails and other documents …

Discussion: mediabistro.com, Poynter, FishbowlNY, Forbes, paidContent and Capital New York

Daniel Frankel / paidContent:

Netflix promotes two key content VPs — With TV repeats and original series emerging as important drivers of Netflix's content mix, the company has made two key executive moves intended to bolster those areas. — Netflix announced Tuesday that Cindy Holland will step into the newly created role of VP of original content.

Discussion: Home Media Magazine and The Daily Beast

Brendan Sasso / Hillicon Valley:

Broadcasters sue over political ad rule — The National Association of Broadcasters sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday to block the commission's order requiring TV stations to put political advertising data online. — In their filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Sunlight Foundation …, Adweek and MediaPost

Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:

CNN's Primetime Ratings Sink to 20-Year Low — Final numbers give the network's Monday-Friday showing, between 8 and 11 p.m., its smallest take among total viewers in two decades. — CNN's ratings woes continue to get worse. Following last week's news of a 15-year primetime low during Piers Morgan …

Discussion: Media Decoder, Politico, Deadline.com and The Huffington Post

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

5 qualifications The New York Times should require of its next public editor — The New York Times is in the market for a new public editor. — Erik Wemple broke the news yesterday that current public editor Arthur Brisbane will end his term this fall after two years.

Discussion: Capital New York, Media Decoder, Erik Wemple and FishbowlNY

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Why the Waterstones/Amazon deal could hurt Waterstones — UK bookstore chain Waterstones announced today that it's partnering with Amazon to sell the Kindle in its 294 stores starting this fall. — The deal is bad news for Barnes & Noble, which was rumored to be working with Waterstones on a deal of its own.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Shatzkin Files and Melville House Books