Mediagazer: Newspaper Guild blasts Reuters' Performance Improvement Plans (Jim Romenesko)

1:55 PM ET, May 31, 2012

Top News:

To GOP, blatant bias in vetting — On the front page of its Sunday edition, the New York Times gave a big spread to Ann Romney spending lots of time and tons of money on an exotic genre of horse-riding. The clear implication: The Romneys are silly rich, move in rarefied and exotic circles, and are perhaps a tad shady.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Erik Wemple, New York Magazine, Poynter, NewsBusters.org blogs and Weekly Standard

Devin Gordon / GQ:

Five Points About Politico's Hatchet Job On NYT and WaPo — Here's the piece, published this morning. The upshot: The political coverage of The New York Times and The Washington Post is “blatantly biased” in their vetting of Romney versus Obama. (Guess which way they supposedly lean.)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Mike Daisey: Perhaps tech writers 'aren't actually journalists either?' — KQED | Mike Daisey, back with more media criticism, casts a steely eye at AllThingsD's D10 (or is that DX?) conference, currently teching it up in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Daisey thought AllThingsD's co-executive …

Discussion: Mike Daisey, KQED News Fix, CNET, Softpedia News, Media Decoder and Wired

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Letters to the DOJ: Public speaks out on e-book pricing case — As the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Apple and five big publishers for allegedly colluding to fix e-book prices moves forward, the public has the chance to respond with their take on the allegations.

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:
Penguin, Macmillan respond to DOJ in e-book price fixing suit

Discussion: paidContent

Steve Myers / Poynter:

Will other Advance newspapers face cuts like Times-Picayune, Alabama papers? — Advance Publications' decision to cut staff and reduce printing to three days a week at its papers in New Orleans and Alabama has worried journalists at its other newspapers. Cleveland Scene's Kyle Swenson reported …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, JIMROMENESKO.COM and New York Post

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Google, Facebook vie for stake in Vevo — Vevo — a joint venture of Universal Music Group and Sony Music along with the Abu Dhabi Media Co. — is valued at about $1 billion on revenue of $150 million, according to industry sources. Vevo licenses its content to a number of partners …

Discussion: CNET, VentureBeat and The Next Web

London Evening Standard:

Jeremy Hunt on the rack over BSkyB text to James Murdoch — Jeremy Hunt sent a congratulatory text message to James Murdoch the day Vince Cable was removed from presiding over News Corp's controversial £8 billion BSkyB bid, it was revealed today.

Discussion: Guardian, Huffington Post UK, Telegraph, Guardian, @benfenton, Guido Fawkes, Associated Press, New York Times, @arusbridger, Guardian, @tomjharper, @tomjharper, BBC and Press Gazette

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Obama Video on Fox News Criticized as Attack Ad — The “Fox and Friends” video. — The Fox News Channel came under withering criticism on Wednesday for a four-minute video, broadcast on its morning show “Fox & Friends” that portrayed President Obama's tenure as a series of failed promises.

Discussion: Mediaite, LA Observed, The Huffington Post, Media Matters for America, The Week, Media Matters for America, New York Magazine, Erik Wemple, TVNewser, Hot Air, Baltimore Sun, entertainment.time.com, NewsBusters.org blogs, AdAge, The Daily Beast, Chickaboomer, ABCNEWS and Guardian

Jim Romenesko:

Newspaper Guild blasts Reuters' Performance Improvement Plans — From A REUTERS JOURNALIST who asks not to be named: Reuters management has launched a push to supposedly help selected reporters improve their job performance through a legalistic process known as a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).

Kat Stoeffel / The New York Observer:

Gawker Goes Colonial with New Commenting System — Gawker Media is eyeing an international expansion to harvest licensing revenue from its shiny, new commenting system, according to an internal memo sent out by proprietor Nick Denton Wednesday afternoon. — “Our international efforts …

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Sorkin On ‘The Newsroom’: ‘None of the characters are inspired by real people, not even a little bit’ — TV and film writer Aaron Sorkin appeared at the All Things D conference, where he talked about writing the Steve Jobs biopic, and of course “The Newsroom,” his upcoming cable news-centric show on HBO.

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Dish Network wins first ruling against networks in ad-skipping case — The menu for Dish Network's AutoHop commercial-skipping feature. — Dish Networks landed the first punch in its fight against broadcasters ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC over whether its new ad-skipping feature called AutoHop is legal.