Mediagazer: Colombian rebels release video of captured French reporter they say will soon be free (Associated Press)

7:55 PM ET, May 28, 2012

Top News:

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Woman arrested over alleged money laundering — A 42-year-old woman has been arrested by police investigating phone hacking on suspicion of money-laundering offences. The woman was arrested by appointment at a south-west London police station on Monday morning by Metropolitan police detectives from Operation Weeting.

Discussion: @joshhalliday and Press Gazette

Guardian:

Leveson inquiry: Blair says newspapers used as ‘instruments of political power’ — Tony Blair has told the Leveson inquiry that Rupert Murdoch and other proprietors use their newspapers “as instruments of political power”, with the Sun and Daily Mail being the two most powerful.

Discussion: Press Gazette, @hackinginquiry and @tomjharper

Daily Mail:

Going Viral: No 10 press chief berates BBC man — As the Leveson Inquiry investigates the relationship between politicians and the media, a video emerges which shows the tensions between Downing Street and the BBC over the latter's coverage of...the Leveson Inquiry.

Guardian:
Tony Blair accused of war crimes by protester at Leveson inquiry

Discussion: Associated Press, @skynewsbreak, @skynewsbreak and The Independent

Frank Appleyard / Huffington Post Canada:

Postmedia Cuts: Layoffs Expected As Sunday Editions Nixed, National Post Reduces Publication — Postmedia Network, the owner of Canada's largest newspaper chain, has announced drastic cutbacks that will see three major city dailies lose their Sunday editions amid an expected wave of layoffs.

Discussion: ottawa.openfile.ca, Poynter, Steve Ladurantaye and @syladurantaye

David Carr / New York Times:

A Doomed Romance With a New Orleans Newspaper — If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break — “When the Levee Breaks,” Led Zeppelin — Newsprint sentimentalists are part of a shrinking club. Plenty of people care about news, but the fetishists who want it to be imprisoned on paper?

Discussion: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit, paidContent and Gannett Blog

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:

The (not so) daily news — I have more conflicts than a Louisiana politician when it comes to the news of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reducing its frequency from seven to three days a week: I was in charge of digital content in the parent-company division that started its sister site …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Strange Attractor and JIMROMENESKO.COM

John Robinson / Media, disrupted:

Newspaper paywalls: using a Band-Aid on a bullet wound — As more newspapers move to paywalls, it comes clearer to me that publishers are attempting to use a Band-Aid to cover a bullet hole. I share an anecdote: — I asked my class of 20-year-old Elon University students how many were on Facebook.

Discussion: One Man & His Blog

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

BBC mistakenly uses image of Iraq in Syrian massacre story — A 2003 photo taken in Iraq was mistakenly used by the BBC website to illustrate a report about the recent massacre in Houla, Syria. The Daily Telegraph reports that the image of a child jumping over body bags was removed from the story after the BBC realized its error.

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

The real reason for the firing of the New York Times chief executive — The Guardian reported in December that the New York Times's chief executive, Janet Robinson, was to step down. There were no clues as to why she was going. But, if a New York magazine article is to be believed …

Joe Hagan / New York Magazine:
A New York Times Whodunit

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, Capital New York, Business Insider, Poynter, Gawker, Boston Globe, @moorehn and @romenesko

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

NUJ to cut jobs — The National Union of Journalists is to cut jobs and reduce costs in order to stave off an impending financial crisis. The NUJ executive council said it had been forced to take the action to counter issues including a fall in union income, rising costs and a “challenging industrial environment”.

Associated Press:

Colombian rebels release video of captured French reporter they say will soon be free — BOGOTA, Colombia — The Venezuelan TV network Telesur broadcast Monday the first video images of a French journalist captured a month ago by Colombian rebels, who say they plan to release him on Wednesday.

Reporters Without Borders:
Reviving hopes, FARC rebels say they will free French journalist on 30 May

Discussion: Colombia Reports, Bloomberg, Fox News and Wall Street Journal

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Slovakia's news payment system going large in July — Piano Media, the joint web news payment system operating in Slovakia and Slovenia, is preparing to launch in a third, larger market this summer, after recently taking funding for globalisation. … Piano claimed first-month sales of €40,000 …

Richard Jones / Guardian:

Local newspapers' crisis: my hyperlocal site was fine, but it didn't pay — I set up Saddleworth News for two main reasons. The first was pure selfishness. I didn't want to leave journalism for ever, and... I also thought my brain would appreciate something to think about every …

Discussion: Guardian

Thomas Larson / CounterPunch:

Book Critic Censored by San Diego Newspaper — Buy a newspaper and censor its content. This seems to be the policy of San Diego developer and multimillionaire Doug Manchester, who last November purchased the city's largest newspaper and rechristened it, the UT-San Diego.

Discussion: @romenesko