Mediagazer: UK minister leaked information in Sky deal

1:25 PM ET, May 24, 2012

Top News:

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Times-Picayune to publish three days a week, cut staff — A memo from Times-Picayune publisher Ashton Phelps Jr. confirms that the newspaper will cease daily publication, moving to three days a week in the fall: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The memo also confirms staff cuts, though it doesn't say how large they will be.

Discussion: CJR, Erik Wemple, Save the News, Forbes, The Awl, NetNewsCheck Latest, Guardian and The Newspaper Guild

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

New Orleans Times-Picayunes Faces Deep Cuts, Will End Daily Publication — The New Orleans Times-Picayune, the paper that became internationally famous for its courageous reporting during Hurricane Katrina, is facing steep cuts and will end its 175-year history of daily publication, the paper announced Thursday.

Discussion: New Orleans Times-Picayune, Forbes, The Gambit, Media Decoder, @davidfolkenflik, @the_gambit, @the_gambit, @the_gambit, @toffleresque, @elgray, @lizzieohreally, @ryanchittum and @bmccarthytp

Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:

Leveson Inquiry: Jeremy Hunt memo shows he backed News Corp bid for BSkyB before taking charge of decision — The Culture Secretary told the Prime Minister it would be “totally wrong” for the Government to “cave in” to News Corp's opponents and instead allow it to help the UK “lead the way” in the media industry.

Discussion: @skynewsbreak, @jamesro47, @arusbridger, Guido Fawkes, @tomjharper, @rosschawkins and London Evening Standard

Reuters:

UK minister leaked information in Sky deal - News Corp — The UK minister in charge of approving News Corp's bid for BSkyB passed on information about the process to Murdoch's media empire through his aide, a News Corp lobbyist insisted, brushing off denials by the government.

Discussion: Telegraph

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox News Slams Professors Who Claimed Its Viewers Were Ill-Informed — The cable channel was mum the first time around, but now that Fairleigh Dickinson University has released a follow-up study that disparages its audience, FNC is striking back with some observations of its own.

Discussion: TVNewser, TVWeek.com, Mediaite and mediabistro.com

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Survey: NPR's listeners best-informed, Fox viewers worst-informed

Discussion: The Media Machine, Erik Wemple, Mediaite, Hit & Run and The Huffington Post

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Amazon bans Kindle Store spam (finally) — Amazon is finally banning some of the junkier content in the Kindle Store, including “content that is freely available on the web unless you are the copyright owner of that content.” — The company is making new rules on public domain and “other non-exclusive content.”

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, WebProNews and The Domino Project

Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY:

Warren Buffett Won't Stop Buying Newspapers Until He's Dead — Warren Buffett is going to buy more newspapers. Yes, in addition to the 63 his Berkshire Hathaway Media Group scooped up last week. In a letter sent to the editors and publishers of those publications, Buffett says he …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Why rich people are investing in newspapers, again — In March, Chris Hughes paid around $5 million for a majority share of The New Republic. On Sunday The New York Times reported he'd be doubling the magazine's staff and hiring former editor Franklin Foer to edit the magazine once again.

Discussion: Capital New York and Publishing Executive …

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

Time and Newsweek Magazine Covers Catch Eyes and Clicks — Who knew there could be so much controversy left in the subject of breast-feeding? — The recent Time magazine cover featuring an attractive 26-year-old mother suckled by her 3-year-old son — with the headline “Are You Mom Enough?”

Discussion: FishbowlNY and magCulture.com/blog

Bobbie Johnson / paidContent:

New ‘radically simplified’ WordPress is on the way — Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress and Automattic (see disclosure) says that the service is preparing for a significant change of direction — by releasing a much simpler version designed to work on mobile.

Discussion: The Next Web

Julie Bosman / Media Decoder:

Esquire to Publish E-Books Devoted to Men's Fiction — That creaky label “women's fiction” tends to conjure up images of novels about family, career or relationships. But men's fiction? — Esquire magazine will try to define it in June with a new push into publishing fiction …

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Huffington Post

David Kravets / Wired:

New York Legislation Would Ban Anonymous Online Speech — Did you hear the one about the New York state lawmakers who forgot about the First Amendment in the name of combating cyberbullying and “baseless political attacks”? — Proposed legislation in both chambers would require New York-based websites …