Mediagazer: How long-form journalism is getting ‘a new lease of life’ in the digital world (Rachel McAthy/Journalism.co.uk)

4:25 PM 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: Forbes, Slate, Mediaite, FishbowlNY, The Week, FAIR Blog and Capital New York

Craig Silverman / Poynter:
Newsweek ditched its fact-checkers in 1996, then made a major error

Discussion: Erik Wemple, @juliemmoos, @craigsilverman, bookforum.com, Daily Dot, Mediaite, The Atlantic Wire, GigaOM, New York Magazine and Politico

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 …

Discussion: The Lede and Reporters Without Borders

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

Discussion: Reuters 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: CNET, Broadcasting & Cable, Mashable!, Neowin, Digital Media Wire, GigaOM, Fast Company, WebProNews, The Verge, The Next Web, 9to5Mac and VentureBeat

Eduardo Garcia / Reuters:

Ecuador's leader says open to talks with Britain on Assange — (Reuters) - Ecuador is ready to negotiate over the fate of Julian Assange if Britain withdraws a threat to raid its embassy in London where the WikiLeaks founder has sought refuge, President Rafael Correa said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Guardian and Gawker

Laurie Penny / The Independent:
If you really believe in WikiLeaks, you must want Assange to face up to justice

Discussion: @pennyred, @pennyred and @pennyred

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:

How long-form journalism is getting ‘a new lease of life’ in the digital world — An in-depth look at in-depth journalism and some of the latest journalism and non-fiction platforms with long-form narrative at their core — Copyright: Digitzedchaos on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Second board member resigns from Red & Black — Charles Russell resigned from the board of University of Georgia student paper The Red & Black Tuesday, following the resignation of board member Ed Stamper. Russell released a statement (I have never covered a story that involved …

Discussion: Athens Daily News, Grady Newsource and JIMROMENESKO.COM

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

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Mike Sallah joins Washington Post as first hire with Ford Foundation money — Michael Sallah will join The Washington Post as an investigative reporter and editor. Post honchos say in a memo to staff that his hiring is the paper's first using money from a grant the Ford Foundation made to the paper.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

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.”

Discussion: FishbowlNY and Mediaite

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.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, NetNewsCheck Latest and Radio & Television …

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

ABC News, Univision, Al Jazeera Among Partners In YouTube ‘Election Hub’ — YouTube is launching a 2012 “Election Hub” that will feature the latest political highlights, breaking news and videos. To fill the hub with content, YouTube has partnered with a slew of media companies …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, YouTube Blog, Multichannel, Engadget, VentureBeat, PC Magazine, ABCNEWS and Hillicon Valley

Martin Hickman / The Independent:

Names of up to 600 victims of phone hacking to be revealed — Hundreds of alleged phone-hacking victims are about to be named for the first time, substantially raising the pressure on Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire. Alleged victims of voicemail interception, such as Wayne Rooney …

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, The Daily Beast, The New Yorker Blog and Deadline.com

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

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

Donations by Media Companies Tilt Heavily to Obama — Wall Street may lean Republican this presidential election cycle, but the New York media world is staunchly Democratic. — All the major media companies, driven largely by their Hollywood film and television businesses …

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider, New York Times and New York Magazine