Mediagazer: Microsoft's Election 2012 hub on Xbox Live heralds the interactive TV future (Samit Sarkar/The Verge)

2:30 PM ET, August 24, 2012

Top News:

Andrew Gill / WBEZ:

Empire State Building shooting leads to social media payday for one Instagrammer — As the world tries to figure out the motives of the Empire State Building shooter, one random Instagram photo provides a window into the dirty underbelly of photo licensing for wire services.

Discussion: @romenesko

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Yesterday, The Onion Wrote About The Lack Of Deadly Shootings. Today They Wrote An Update: ‘Never Mind’

Discussion: Mediaite, Gawker, New York Post, The Onion, Splitsider, TVNewser, Chicago Tribune and Gawker

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

Voters still tuned in to traditional news media, poll finds — The bulk of voters who follow current events daily turn to traditional sources, especially local TV news, the USC Annenberg/Los Angeles Times Poll on Politics and the Press finds. Trust in various sources tends to depend on age and politics.

Discussion: LA Observed, Poynter, JIMROMENESKO.COM, gqrr.com, mediabistro.com, The Newspaper Guild and TVSpy

Alexandra Kimball / Random House of Canada:

How to Succeed in Journalism when You Can't Afford an Internship — Who gets to be a journalist? I do, now, and the fact stuns me. For five years, I worked at a series of marketing companies and non-profits: jobs I wasn't crazy about, but took because they allowed me to withstand …

Discussion: Poynter, @anandwrites and @jeffjarvis

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Magazine Publisher Bonnier Creates Accelerator Program for Media Startups — Four Startups to Receive Seed Funding, Services and Consultation in 14-Week Program — Bonnier Corp., the publisher of magazines including Field & Stream and Popular Science, is beginning an effort …

Discussion: Transworld Business, MediaPost and Folio

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Missing reporter: 'Coming here to Syria is the greatest thing I've ever done' — In late July freelance reporter Austin Tice posted a message to his Facebook page explaining “why I'm doing this crazy thing.” He was in Syria, covering the war there for McClatchy, The Washington Post …

Discussion: The News Tribune, Committee to Protect …, Washington Post, JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Newspaper Guild and The FJP

Hannah Allam / McClatchy Washington Bureau: Whereabouts of journalist Austin Tice, McClatchy contributor, unknown in Syria

Bobbie Johnson / paidContent:

Prince Harry's brush with radical transparency: you can't stop the web — On the internet, just like everywhere else, time only moves in one direction: forward. But that doesn't stop people trying to turn the clock back. — Take Britain's royal family, who contacted the editors …

Discussion: visitlasvegas.com, The Sun, Guardian, World Now, dailyrecord, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast and Guardian

Jeanine Poggi / AdAge:

Current TV to Turn Half the Screen Over to Twitter During Conventions — Networks Have Shown Tweets Before, But Current is Going Bigger — Current TV is handing over half its screen to Twitter during the conventions. — The cable news network, co-founded by former vice president Al Gore in 2005 …

Discussion: TVNewser, The Wall Blog, NetNewsCheck Latest, mediabistro.com and Lost Remote

David Frum / CNN:

The challenge for cable news — David Frum says for breaking news, cable competes with social media. It needs to find new ways to capture viewers for news. … (CNN) — Like many people in the media and political world, I first heard from Twitter the news that Mitt Romney had chosen Paul Ryan as his running mate.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and TVNewser

Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:

Wall Street Journal offers free Wi-Fi in NYC and San Francisco — Newspapers have been trying all sorts of gimmicks, from paywall promos to “open houses,” to get readers to discover their websites. The latest by the Wall Street Journal is clever: thousands of free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout New York City and San Francisco.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Betabeat, MediaShift and GigaOM

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:

Elisabeth Murdoch: James should have stepped back in phone-hacking crisis — Rupert Murdoch's second daughter also confirms she asked for Rebekah Brooks to resign as NI chief executive last year — James Murdoch should have taken a “step back” from his number three job at News Corporation …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:
Elisabeth Murdoch turns on her father and brother in MacTaggart lecture

Discussion: The New Yorker Blog, AdAge, Reuters, Media Week, Guardian, Firedoglake, @peterlauria3, The Daily Telegraph and Guardian

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Time is of the essence for digital overhaul — After operating profit tumbled more than 40 percent in the most recent quarter, there's a new sense of urgency surrounding Time Inc. and its push to capture digital dollars. — Following a three-month study by management consultant Bain & Co. …

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

Debates Denied, Univision Turns to Candidate Forums — Univision's request for an official presidential debate may have been rejected, but the Spanish language network has succeeded in securing both candidates' attendance at “Meet the Candidate” forums, the network said late Thursday afternoon.

Discussion: Multichannel, The Wrap and TVNewser

Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:

MOG's Music-Focused Ad Network Sold To Townsquare Media — Before it was a music streaming service that was acquired by Beats, MOG was a music blog network. It launched in 2008 as the MOG Music Network, an ad network to monetize that content. Townsquare Media has acquired that last part of MOG.

Discussion: Radio & Television …, MediaPost, GigaOM and Media Decoder

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Exit Interview: Jon Miller On Transforming News Corp., Launching The Daily And What Comes Next — After three years as chief digital officer of News Corp. Jon Miller is leaving. It was an eventful few years, encompassing the sale of MySpace, the launch of The Daily, Hulu's addition of a subscription tier …

Discussion: Reuters