Mediagazer: Newspaper investor Randy Smith breaks silence to speak up for Gannett (Rick Edmonds/Poynter)

12:55 AM ET, August 26, 2012

Top News:

Arthur S. Brisbane / New York Times:

Success and Risk as The Times Transforms — “WHY on earth would you want this job?” — Two years ago, I set out to answer this question in my inaugural public editor column — if only because so many people at The New York Times had asked it. Now, as I complete my term and hand the baton …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @jeffjarvis, @nycsouthpaw, @moorehn, Mediaite, Politico and Pressing Issues

Dylan Byers / Politico:

NYT's Abramson rebuts Brisbane charge — The executive editor of the New York Times is disputing an accusation of liberal bias made by her very own public editor, Arthur Brisbane. — In his final column for the Times, Brisbane wrote that his fellow staffers “share a kind of political …

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Tampa prepares for 15,000 journalists covering the RNC — While local broadcasters in Tampa Bay prepare to cover the Republican National Convention next week, the area is preparing for the 15-16,000 journalists who will arrive Sunday and stay for five days.

Discussion: The Wrap

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:

Reporters: Why are you in Tampa? — I challenge every journalist in Tampa for the Republican convention — every one of the 15-16,000 of you — to answer this: — * Why are you there? — * What will we learn from you? — * What actual reporting can you possibly do that delivers anything …

Discussion: @dangillmor, @pkafka, @hernanri and Poynter

Bernie Bernstein / On The Media:

The Story of the Times' Gory Empire State Shooting Photo — If you went on the New York Times' site this morning to read about news of the Empire State building shooting, you might have seen this haunting photo of one of the victims of the shooting, Steve Ercolino.

Discussion: Guardian and The Huffington Post

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:
How the media handled graphic images of Empire State Building shooting

Discussion: Gawker, Associated Press, New York Post, nbcnewyork.com, New York Times, New Yorker, New York Magazine, Guardian, Featured stories, Gothamist, Betabeat and Mediaite

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
New York Times explains graphic photo from Empire State Building shooting

Discussion: Gawker, The Atlantic Wire, The Huffington Post, Branch, Mediaite, The Onion and @carr2n

Pete Williams / Open Channel:

Ex-Navy SEAL faces legal jeopardy for writing about bin Laden raid — A senior military official tells NBC News the special operations community feels betrayed by the former SEAL who published a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

Discussion: Hero Complex, Associated Press and The Daily Beast

John Hudson / The Atlantic Wire:
Jihadist Websites Target Navy SEAL Author

Discussion: Open Channel, The Raw Story and Mediaite

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Blink: The 21-minute news cycle — The whole story — from gaffe to attack to defense — was shorter than a sitcom episode. — Friday, at 12:23 p.m. EST in Commerce, Mich., Mitt Romney made a crack about President Barack Obama's birth certificate, and reporters at the event immediately recognized a landmine.

Sharon Waxman / The Wrap:

Whoops! NBC News Reports Death of Astronaut Neil ... Young — NBC News was one of the first to learn of the death of astronaut Neil Armstrong on Saturday, but instead announced the death of astronaut Neil ... Young. — “Astronaut Neil Young, first man to walk on moon, dies at age 82,” …

Discussion: Mediaite, About.com Journalism, TVNewser, Gawker, CNET, TechCrunch and Speakeasy

Richard MacManus / ReadWriteWeb:

Why Topic Pages Haven't Worked For News Websites Yet — Yesterday we outlined why topic pages are becoming increasingly popular on the Web, as a way to organize social or news content. As daily consumers of such content, we're used to the chronological (and often real-time) ordering of updates from Facebook, Twitter, blogs and more.

Discussion: CJR and New York Times

BuzzFeed:

Guardian Splits With Conservative Writer Over Malaysia Ties — The liberal British newspaper The Guardian recently drew criticism from its typical allies for signing up a founder of RedState.com and a down-the-line Israel supporter as a conservative columnist for its burgeoning U.S. online effort.

Discussion: Democratic Underground, The Electronic Intifada, The Commentator and Politico

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Newspaper investor Randy Smith breaks silence to speak up for Gannett — Alden Global Capital clearly likes something about the newspaper industry as evidenced by its controlling interest in two companies — Journal Register and MediaNews — and substantial investment in half a dozen more …

Elinor Mills / CNET:

Court affirms $675,000 penalty in music-downloading case — Joel Tenenbaum, penalized $675,000 for illegally downloading 31 songs online, looks on as court upholds the size of the damages fee. The fee had been lowered once; then reinstated. — A federal court in Massachusetts today upheld …

Discussion: Techdirt, Gizmodo, Digital Spy, Softpedia News and BBC

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

Australian politician wants media fined or suspended for ‘publishing blatant untruths’ — Much like the Leveson Inquiry in Britain, Australia recently held its own independent review of that country's news media. — Led by former Federal Court justice Ray Finkelstein …