Mediagazer: High Country News raises bar for clever mobile promotions (Jeff Sonderman/Poynter)

10:05 AM ET, August 27, 2012

Top News:

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

IAC Buys About.com From NY Times Co. For $300 Million — “Invest in the Times” is the watchword at The New York Times Co. these days. Now the publisher has another $300 million to invest in its core brand, thanks to internet mogul Barry Diller. Diller's IAC has completed a deal to buy …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest and New York Times

Jim Edwards / Business Insider:

Here's How Much Money The New York Times Was Losing On About.com — IAC has agreed to buy About.com from the New York Times for $300 million in cash, according to Bloomberg, and no wonder—the encyclopedia site was losing barrowloads of cash. But the sale won't fix NYT's overall digital problems …

Liana B. Baker / Reuters:

Fox asks court to ban Dish's ad-skipping features — (Reuters) - Fox Broadcasting Company is asking a court to put a stop to two features on Dish's new digital video recorder that let consumers skip commercials because it is hurting the TV networks' business.

Joe Schneider / Bloomberg:

Fox Seeks Ban on Dish's Ad-Skip Feature Pending U.S. Trial — Fox Broadcasting Co., a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWSA), sought a preliminary court ban against Dish Network Corp.'s feature that let consumers skip commercials, saying it would lose revenue otherwise.

Discussion: @alanmairson

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Star Correspondents Bolt Tampa For NOLA, As Isaac Approaches — Two TV news correspondents who made their marks covering Hurricane Katrina seven years ago are returning to New Orleans as another hurricane approaches. — Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith and CNN's Anderson Cooper …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Globe and Mail, Yahoo! News and @andersoncooper

David Carr / New York Times:
Political Conventions Can Learn From Reality Shows

Discussion: Politico and Media Decoder

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
Reporters: Why are you in Tampa? — I challenge every journalist …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, @chucktodd, @moorehn, @hernanri, @pkafka and @dangillmor

Julie Moos / Poynter:
Tampa prepares for 15,000 journalists covering the RNC

Discussion: The Wrap

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

CNN Looks for a Boost From HBO Shows — In a bit of corporate synergy, Time Warner is planning to dip into one of its strongest cable channels, HBO, to help revive the fortunes of one of its weakest, CNN. — As part of Time Warner's attempt to reinvigorate its 24-hour cable news channel …

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Book Reviewers for Hire Meet a Demand for Online Raves — TODD RUTHERFORD was 7 years old when he first understood the nature of supply and demand. He was with a bunch of other boys, one of whom showed off a copy of Playboy to giggles and intense interest.

Discussion: Betabeat, Page-Turner, Business Insider, bookforum.com and The Big Picture

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

High Country News raises bar for clever mobile promotions — High Country News is earning a reputation for nontraditional marketing of its new digital products. — Last December, the nonprofit news magazine about the American West sent an unusually honest press release about its new digital subscription plan and iPhone app.

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

‘Slate’ Gets a New Publisher — Online magazine Slate recently created a dedicated sales force to capitalize on its traffic growth, and now it's getting a new publisher to lead it. Matt Turck, the vp of sales and marketing who built up the new team, will start in the new role Sept. 10.

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

No, metered-content walls won't save journalism — Paywalls of all kinds have been popping up at newspapers across North America like mushrooms after a rainstorm, thanks in large part to the adoption of a metered paywall at the New York Times last year. The latest to join the cavalcade …

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Two moves that tell you everything you need to know about Twitter's future — We've been writing a lot lately about the transformation that Twitter is going through — one that has seen it shift from being a kind of real-time information utility to being a global media entity …

The Independent:

Angry Murdoch used Harry photos to defy Leveson — An angry Rupert Murdoch ordered The Sun to publish pictures of a naked Prince Harry against the wishes of the Royal Family because he wanted to send a warning shot to Lord Justice Leveson, sources said yesterday.

Discussion: Reuters, Gawker, Digital Spy, Guardian and BBC