Mediagazer: Distrust in U.S. media hits a new high (Jim Romenesko)

3:40 PM ET, September 21, 2012

Top News:

Greg Beato / Reason:

Welcome to the Golden Age of Fact-Checking — What the Jonah Lehrer debacle reveals about the state of journalism today — For the last several years, the universe has been kicking journalists. In 2012, they started kicking themselves. There was Jonah Lehrer and his fake Dylan quotes.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Writer finds more plagiarism, problems in Jonah Lehrer's books — Greg Beato's “Welcome to the Golden Age of Fact-Checking” is an excellent meditation on the technological and cultural changes that have contributed to our ever-more-transparent society. — But screw it, let's get to the parts where he nails Jonah Lehrer.

Discussion: FishbowlNY and Hit & Run

Jim Epstein / Reason:

David Simon Accuses Reason of Producing a “Shanked” Interview With Him. Decide for Yourself. — Yesterday, we released a 21-minute-long interview with David Simon (video and a transcript here), the creative force behind much great television, including The Wire and Treme, which starts its third season on HBO this Sunday.

Discussion: Reason, CJR, Hit & Run and Gambit New Orleans News …

Guardian:

EMI chief executive Roger Faxon's email to staff — Music labels will have to be sold off to enable Universal's takeover to go ahead — It has been almost eleven months since Citi reached an agreement to sell EMI Music to Universal Music Group. From that moment to this …

Discussion: Guardian, The Wrap, Globe and Mail, Hillicon Valley and Music Ally

Ben Sisario / Media Decoder:
Joaquín Almunia on Europe's Tough Terms for Approving Universal-EMI Deal

Discussion: Guardian

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

James Murdoch ‘set for top Fox Networks job’ — Rupert Murdoch's second son is being lined up to run News Corp's Fox TV businesses in the US, according to a report — James Murdoch is reportedly being lined up to run News Corporation's Fox TV business in the US despite being sharply criticised …

Discussion: Reuters, Prof Chris Daly's Blog, Bloomberg, BBC and Financial Times

Dominic Rushe / Guardian:

James Murdoch as Fox TV head would be a ‘slap in the face’ to shareholders — News that Rupert Murdoch's son could soon lead Fox Networks met with shock and anger from News Corp shareholders — News Corp shareholders have reacted angrily to news that James Murdoch could soon run the media giant's flagship Fox TV channel.

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Sam Kirkland / Poynter:

New USA Today website ‘very, very influenced by iPad design’ — When “the nation's newspaper” decided to redesign its website alongside its print product for its 30th anniversary, it chose an international team of Web designers based in the U.S. and abroad.

Discussion: Garcia Media

Kirsten Acuna / Business Insider:
Check Out These USA Today Homepage Design Concepts That Didn't Make The Cut

Discussion: HyperVocal and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Andrew Phelps / Nieman Journalism Lab:

NPR's Todd Mundt says public radio needs to innovate or die — NPR has become a poster child for legacy news organizations' ability to reinvent themselves for the digital age: Its website and mobile apps are used by millions of people, NPR Music is a runaway hit, office hack days are a model …

Jim Romenesko:

Distrust in U.S. media hits a new high — Highlights from the just-released poll: — * This year's decline in media trust is driven by independents and Republicans. — * Republicans express the least trust in the media, while Democrats express the most.

Discussion: Mediaite, TVNewser, Gallup, The Huffington Post, Guardian, @michaelroston, Reuters and Poynter

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Aereo Says New Content Deals Coming for Web TV — Aereo, the start-up that lets users watch broadcast TV over the Web, is branching out. — CEO Chet Kanojia says his IAC-backed company will soon start offering programming that doesn't come from local TV stations, which he'll sell for an additional fee.

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Maxim Cuts Circulation 20% — Publisher Drops Rate Base From 2.5 Million to 2 Million and Eyes Growth Elsewhere — Maxim magazine is cutting the paid circulation it guarantees advertisers from 2.5 million to 2 million next year, a 20% drop, and reducing its publishing frequency to 10 issues next year from 11 this year.

Discussion: mediabistro.com and Adweek

Bob Cohn / The Atlantic Online:

Hiring in the Digital Age — Even for twentysomethings, the job description is clear: Everyone is an editor in chief. — Not so long ago, magazine and newspaper editors knew exactly what they were looking for when hiring young journalists. Certain jobs called for certain skills …

Discussion: Poynter and B2B Memes

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:

The Self Delusion of BROADCAST news and the danger of ‘quiet’ bias — I just watched Ted Koppel on NBC with Brian Williams on NBC. The theme of their show? Cable new anchors are biased and network news anchors - especially those of yesteryear - are not or if they are, they don't show it. Really?

Discussion: Poynter and TVNewser

Scott Soshnick / Bloomberg:

NFL Said to Have Deal With Time Warner for NFL Network, RedZone — The National Football League reached agreement with Time Warner (TWC) Cable Inc. to carry the league-owned NFL Network and RedZone Channel, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said.

Discussion: Deadline.com and Engadget

Tracie Powell / Poynter:

New Comedy Central ads: ‘You can trust us’ for political coverage — “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” are back, after being on hiatus following coverage of both national political conventions. In the next few weeks, viewers can look forward to seeing more unadulterated political coverage …

Discussion: Media Decoder

Ted Hesson / ABCNEWS:

Jose Antonio Vargas Challenges NYT and AP To Drop ‘Illegal Immigrant’ — Starting today, a non-profit founded by Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist, activist, and undocumented immigrant, will begin monitoring the use of the phrase “illegal immigrant” in the media, with the goal of shifting the conversation around the issue.

Brett Sokol / The Awl:

One Town, Two Newspapers: Will the Real Digital Innovators Please Stand Up? — Another day, another newspaper bankruptcy. This time it was the Journal Register national chain, home to eighteen small dailies including the New Haven Register, and now operating under the seemingly sexier-sounding name of Digital First Media.

Discussion: Poynter

Jim Romenesko:

Jeff Cohen resigns as Houston Chronicle editor, moves to editorial page — After 10 years as Houston Chronicle editor, Jeff Cohen becomes executive editor of the Hearst-owned paper's editorial pages. — “Ten years is a good run on the front line at a media institution of this size,” he writes in a memo to his staff.

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:

In New Policy, The Times Forbids After-the-Fact ‘Quote Approval’ — The New York Times is drawing “a clear line” against the practice of news sources being allowed to approve quotations in stories after the fact. — The practice, known as quote approval, “puts so much control over the content …