Mediagazer: What the future of news looks like in Alabama after Advance cuts staff by 400 (Steve Myers/Poynter)

11:45 PM ET, June 15, 2012

Top News:

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Apple Gives Podcasts a Gentle Push Out of iTunes — Podcasts were supposed to be a big deal several years ago, but that boom never happened. Now there's at least anecdotal evidence that the format is actually picking up steam, as creators, listeners and advertisers warm to the format.

Discussion: VentureBeat, MacRumors, Podcasting News, The Verge, @tcarmody, MacStories, Macgasm, The Next Web, WebProNews, Engadget, 9to5Mac, App Advice and TUAW

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang: Why We Changed Our Minds About the iPad — Need to Sell iPad Subscriptions ‘Was Obvious for Me,’ New CEO Says — Time Inc. on Thursday ended its long refusal to sell iPad subscriptions in the App Store, deciding that earlier concerns over Apple's power and policies weren't worth the missed opportunity.

Discussion: @carr2n and Business Insider

Media Decoder:

Sports Illustrated to Cut Editorial Staff — Weeks before the Olympics and the start of N.F.L. Training Camp, Sports Illustrated is cutting editorial staff through buyouts and possible layoffs. — Terry McDonell, editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group, has asked reporters and editors to volunteer for buyout packages by June 21.

Discussion: Bloomberg and WWD Media Headlines

John Hudson / The Atlantic Wire:

The Secret to ‘Ailing’ CNN's Success — Vanilla cable news channel CNN is ceaselessly derided for its rock-bottom primetime ratings and gimmicky presentation but the middle-of-the-road network is actually a profit-generating behemoth. Still, you wouldn't get that from the latest …

Michael Massing / CJR:
How far can CNN sink?

Discussion: Mediaite

BBC:

NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne school dinner photo ban lifted — Martha's NeverSeconds blog started as a writing project with her dad — A council has lifted its controversial ban on a nine-year-old girl taking photographs of her school meals. — Martha Payne, from Argyll …

Discussion: Wired, Argyll and Bute Council, CNET, PC Magazine, Business Insider, Techdirt, Forbes, Boing Boing, neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk, Gawker, Daily Dot, Telegraph, The Verge, ZDNet, Guardian and The Next Web

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

Microsoft Is Doing Its Own Tablet. How Do You Like Them Apples? — Tired of losing ground to the iPad, Microsoft is poised to serve up its own entry in the suddenly booming tablet market. — After signaling for months that it would attack the market only through its traditional hardware partners …

Discussion: ZDNet, Forbes, PC Magazine, ReadWriteWeb, Wired, CNET, 9to5Mac, GigaOM, Mashable!, Light Reading, TUAW, Macgasm, VR-Zone, Business Insider, Softpedia News, GeekWire, The Verge, dailywireless.org, VentureBeat, Fast Company, The Wrap, Techland, CNET, Engadget and CNNMoney Tech Tumblr

Michael Hastings / BuzzFeed:

War Correspondent Gina Chon Defends Herself: “I've Never Felt So Vulnerable” — In an heartfelt email to friends, former Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon defends herself, and her husband, Brett McGurk, after their private emails leak. McGurk is the nominee to be next ambassador to Iraq.

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post and Gawker

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

‘Daily News America’ to launch by end of June — The latest Daily News digital editor, Ted Young, arrived in the paper's newsroom this week, and he already appears to have made a splash. — Readers of dailynews.com today may have noticed a design feature that's not all that common on the homepage …

Discussion: NYConvergence.com

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Warren Buffett's Buffalo News to erect paywall — “Trusted, credible and enterprising news gathering by 140 professional journalists doesn't come cheap, nor should it,” Buffalo News Editor Margaret Sullivan writes in announcing a digital subscription plan coming this fall.

Steve Myers / Poynter:

What the future of news looks like in Alabama after Advance cuts staff by 400 — To people who've never been to Alabama, it's a single place, synonymous with the Deep South and whatever that means to you. — Those who live in Alabama know it's a long way — physically, mentally and culturally …

Discussion: CJR, Second Front and Justin Fox, Thanks:@myersnews

Susan Johnston / Ebyline Blog:

By the Numbers: Average Writer and Reporter Wages by State — This week's news that the median net worth for American families had fallen to the same level as the early 1990′s got us thinking about how journalists and writers are faring in this economy.

Discussion: Poynter and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Ethiopian Government Bans Skype, Google Talk And All Other VoIP Services — The Ethiopian government, Al Jazeera reports, has criminalized the use of Skype and other VoIP services like Google Talk. Using VoIP services is now punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Discussion: BGR, PC Magazine, BetaNews, Betabeat, VentureBeat and TechCentral

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Can somebody please tell Brett Anderson's replacement he's no longer laid off? — Food critic Brett Anderson has been un-laid off following some ouchy press (1, 2) for his current and perhaps future employer, The Times-Picayune. Anderson said Tuesday that he had been told he was out of a job because he had a Nieman fellowship.