Mediagazer: President spurns MSNBC for CNN: Obama, Romney sit for pre-convention docs (Dylan Byers/Politico)

11:35 AM ET, August 22, 2012

Top News:

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Tina Brown stands by Niall Ferguson — Newsweek editor Tina Brown is standing by Niall Ferguson following his controversial cover story about President Obama's handling of the economy, even as she said that she did not agree with many of the opinions he voiced in the article.

Discussion: Mediaite and FishbowlNY

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

Newsweek ditched its fact-checkers in 1996, then made a major error — “We, like other news organisations today, rely on our writers to submit factually accurate material,” Newsweek spokesman Andrew Kirk told Politico's Dylan Byers. — Byers had asked whether Newsweek has fact-checkers.

Discussion: bookforum.com, The Week, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Guardian and The Maddow Blog

Paul Krugman:
Kinds Of Wrong — Looking at the comments on my Niall Ferguson …

Discussion: CJR, GigaOM, The Atlantic Wire, SECONDED, @juliemmoos, FAIR Blog, The Huffington Post, Pressing Issues and The Atlantic Online

Tom McGeveran / Capital New York:
Is Tina Brown serious about Newsweek anymore?

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day, The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Politico

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Niall Ferguson ducks, nitpicks, vilifies

Discussion: @evgenymorozov, @jonathanshainin, Bloomberg, Capital New York, The Daily Beast, The New Yorker Blog and CJR

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Newsweek: Niall Ferguson story ‘opinion’

Discussion: The Big Picture, The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post

Rob Wong / Hulu Blog:

Launching a New Hulu: A Fresh Look for the Shows You Love — In 1992, the great comedian Phil Hartman threw on his Arkansas sweatshirt and walked into a McDonald's. He was on the set of “Saturday Night Live” and doing his best Bill Clinton impression, continuing the show's grand tradition of Presidential lampoons.

Discussion: VentureBeat, CNET, Fast Company, Neowin, Digital Media Wire, WebProNews, GigaOM, The Verge, The Next Web and 9to5Mac

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Media General President & CEO Morton to retire — Marshall N. Morton will step down as CEO of Media General at the end of 2012, the company announced Wednesday. George L. Mahoney will replace him. Mahoney, the company's release says, “has been responsible for Media General's digital media …

Discussion: Tampa Bay Times, NetNewsCheck Latest, Broadcasting & Cable and Reuters

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

‘Nightline’ gets stay of execution, but for how long? — ABC “Nightline” anchor Terry Moran. — ABC News executives are breathing a sigh of relief that “Nightline” wasn't canceled outright even though the network is moving Jimmy Kimmel into its time slot

Discussion: Change of Subject, Poynter and Media Decoder

Bill Carter / Media Decoder:
Jimmy Kimmel to Move to 11:30 in January, ABC Announces

Discussion: TVNewser, USA Today, The Week, Splitsider, Tampa Bay Times, BuzzFeed, LA Observed, Speakeasy, Radio & Television …, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, ExtraTV.com, AdAge, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable and Poynter

Dylan Byers / Politico:

President spurns MSNBC for CNN: Obama, Romney sit for pre-convention docs — Later today, CNN will announce plans to air 90-minute documentaries on Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama prior to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions — and unlike MSNBC, which is airing similar …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

The Daily Telegraph:

Husband of Japanese journalist killed in Syria speaks of attack — The husband and work partner of a Japanese journalist shot dead in Aleppo has described the gunfight between Syrian forces and rebels that led to his wife being shot. Kazutaka Sato said he was standing a little ahead …

Guardian:
Syria: footage released of journalist Mika Yamamoto's final hours - video

Discussion: Reuters

Reuters:

Exclusive: Barry Diller's IAC offers $300 million for About.com — (Reuters) - Barry Diller's IAC/Interactivecorp submitted an offer in excess of $300 million to buy the About.com information website from the New York Times Co, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, NYConvergence.com, The New York Observer, AllThingsD, Media Decoder, The Wrap, CNET, Deadline.com, New York Magazine and Forbes

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

David Catanese, Politico Reporter, Apologizes For Todd Akin Tweets — NEW YORK — Politico reporter David Catanese apologized Tuesday night for tweeting in defense of Republican Rep. Todd Akin two days earlier, following the Missouri Congressman's controversial comment about “legitimate rape.”

Laurie Penny / The Independent:

If you really believe in WikiLeaks, you must want Assange to face up to justice — Which would you rather have - women's rights or freedom of speech? Standing outside the Ecuadorian Embassy on Sunday, listening to various venerable activists give rousing speeches, that's the choice that seemed …

Discussion: @pennyred, @pennyred and @pennyred

Jeff John Roberts / GigaOM:

Aereo sues to squash copycat BarryDriller — Broadcasters and Barry Diller are locked in lawsuits over Aereo, a service that lets subscribers watch TV on Apple products like the iPhone or iPad. The two sides appear to have found common ground, however , in their desire to shut down an Aereo competitor.

Hazel Sheffield / CJR:

Local news sites form new trade association — “We are the future” says LION chairman Dylan Smith — Next month, at the annual Block by Block conference for local news sites, around 100 independent publishers will celebrate the launch of a new nonprofit trade group that will offer support for the growing hyperlocal news industry.

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest and Street Fight

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Xbox Live Adds NBC News, Bringing Rachel Maddow, Hardball, And Meet The Press To The Game Console — Microsoft continues to add content partners for Xbox, pushing the game console into the center of the living room as more of a digital entertainment hub. The latest update, which goes live today …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, PC Magazine and WebProNews

Heather Ford / MediaShift Idea Lab:

How Wikipedia Manages Sources for Breaking News — Almost a year ago, I was hired by Ushahidi to work as an ethnographic researcher on a project to understand how Wikipedians managed sources during breaking news events. — Ushahidi cares a great deal about this kind of work …

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

ABC News wants to talk to Tony Scott's family before deciding about retraction — ABC is waiting to hear back from Tony Scott's family or a family representative before determining whether its initial report about Scott was incorrect, a network spokesperson told Poynter.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Slate and The Daily Beast

Craig Silverman / Poynter:
After Tony Scott error, will news orgs now think twice about following ABC News scoops?

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Business Insider, newsfeed.time.com and Media Decoder

Charlie Warzel / Adweek:

‘Newsweek’ Tumblr Adds to Publication's Woes — As if Newsweek needed another headache this week. — Already mired in a controversy over this week's Niall Ferguson cover story, Newsweek is receiving even more backlash this afternoon over a decision on the magazine's Tumblr account.