Mediagazer: Vanity Fair Snags a Silicon Valley Scoopmonger (Ryan Tate/Wired)

3:05 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 and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

How the media handled graphic images of Empire State Building shooting — When today's deadly shooting occurred in the heart of Manhattan, thousands of witnesses were nearby and many used cameras to quickly document the scene. Some of the images posted to Twitter, Instagram and Flickr included graphic photos of the shooting victims.

Discussion: New York Magazine, New York Post and Mediaite

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:

Yesterday, The Onion Wrote About The Lack Of Deadly Shootings. Today They Wrote An Update: ‘Never Mind’ — The sad thing is that it seems just like the kind of dark joke that The Onion would normally write. There's the perfect set up and punch line. The only problem is that the punch line …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Onion, The Huffington Post, Gawker, TVNewser, Splitsider, Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker Blog, The Daily Beast 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, The Newspaper Guild, The FJP and JIMROMENESKO.COM

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, The New Yorker Blog, Guardian, World Now, dailyrecord, The Daily Beast and Guardian

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, NetNewsCheck Latest, Betabeat, MediaShift and GigaOM

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: The Wall Blog, TVNewser, 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

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. …

Ryan Tate / Wired:

Vanity Fair Snags a Silicon Valley Scoopmonger — Well-connected Silicon Valley journalist Kara Swisher will write for Vanity Fair. Photo: Via Kara Swisher — If you need more evidence that geeks are chic, keep an eye on the bylines in Vanity Fair, where articles from Kara Swisher …

Discussion: Betabeat