Mediagazer: New USA Today website ‘very, very influenced by iPad design’ (Sam Kirkland/Poynter)

9:10 AM ET, September 21, 2012

Top News:

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 …

Discussion: Media Decoder, Politico, Poynter, The New York Observer, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @juliebosman, @sulliview, The Huffington Post, Kirk LaPointe's …, Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media, @jbflint, Guardian, New York Magazine, @hblodget, Prof Chris Daly's Blog and Pressing Issues

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

New York Times bans quote approval, kind of — The New York Times has banned quote approval, the disturbing trend in which reporters allow flacks to adjust and sign off on quotes prior to publication. Here's the memo … Fantastically productive new public editor Margaret Sullivan applauds the move …

Discussion: @kegill and @moorehn

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, Poynter, BBC and Financial Times

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian: NI chief tries to boost Sun morale

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
BSkyB: Ofcom's ruling in depth

Discussion: New York Times and Broadcasting & Cable

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 …

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 — USA Today unveiled its massive redesign last week, changing not only its paper format, but extending the makeover to both its website and well-known logo. — The transition marks the 30-year anniversary …

Discussion: HyperVocal, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Charles Apple

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: NetNewsCheck Latest and Poynter

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Time Warner CEO Explains Why He Doesn't Care About Selling HBO To Cord-Cutters (Or Old Folks) — If cord-cutters were a political party, the first plank of their platform would be the right to subscribe to HBO directly over the internet without signing up for cable or satellite TV service.

Discussion: Deadline.com, Cable Television News, Media & Entertainment and Home Media Magazine

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:
HBO CEO Bill Nelson retiring, Richard Plepler to succeed him

Discussion: The Wrap and Media Decoder

Jessica Wohl / Reuters:

Exclusive: Wal-Mart stops selling Amazon Kindles — (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer sell Amazon.com Inc's Kindle products, making it the second major chain to stop selling Amazon's devices, as the world's largest retailer makes a bet that consumers are more interested in other gadgets.

Discussion: TechCrunch, GeekWire, PandoDaily, VatorNews, PC Magazine, Kindle Review, AllThingsD, WebProNews, Wired, iDownloadBlog.com, 24/7 Wall St., App Advice, Mashable!, Engadget, GalleyCat, The Verge, Forbes, CNET, GigaOM and AppNewser

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: B2B Memes

Nieman Journalism Lab:

Four reasons why an open-source newsroom is harder than it looks: Lessons from Al Jazeera — Editor's Note: Nikki Usher and Seth C. Lewis are academic researchers studying the intersection of journalists and technologists, or “hacks and hackers.” The latest part of their work included Usher's …

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Universal wins EU approval for EMI buy, must sell assets — (Reuters) - Vivendi's Universal Music Group clinched EU regulatory approval on Friday to buy EMI's recorded music unit for $1.9 billion after agreeing to sell record labels that bring in nearly a third of the British company's revenues.

Discussion: paidContent, Guardian, New York Times, EU Press Room, Bloomberg and BBC

Serene Assir / Agence France Presse:

Citizen journalist killed in Syria ‘Bermuda Triangle’ — BEIRUT — A citizen journalist who used the name Abu Hassan to report from the central Syrian city of Hama was burnt to death after regime forces targeted his home in an assault, an activist told AFP on Thursday.

Discussion: Guardian

Ryan Kim / GigaOM:

ESPN builds a Twitter-style firehose for sports news — ESPN is giving sports fans a way to hook up to its firehose of content with a new Twitter-style stream called SportsCenter Feed. The sports cable and online network is amassing almost every bit of content it pushes out over ESPN.com …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Mashable!

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

‘Daily News’ rolling out a local digital-media consultancy for small businesses — Mort Zuckerman's Daily News is on the verge of rolling out a major business-development initiative that management has come to view as crucial to the future of the company. — Monday marks the launch …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

News Corp. President Signals Coming Fight Over Fox News Fees — Chase Carey tells the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference about highlights from the company's TV channels units, including Fox News retrans negotiations, Latin America and sports. — News Corp. president and COO Chase Carey …

eMarketer:

Google to Become US Display Ad Leader — Strong growth for Facebook and Google expected as others see shares shrink — Google will earn more US display advertising revenues than any other company this year, topping the market with a 15.4% share, according to new estimates by eMarketer.

Discussion: mnilive.com, PC Magazine, Mashable!, Marketing Pilgrim, Softpedia News, GigaOM and AdExchanger

Stefan Simons / Spiegel Online:

‘A Drawing Has Never Killed Anyone’ — The editor in chief of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo insists that their publication of Muhammad caricatures was no provocation, but a signal that free speech is alive and well in the country. Come what may, the magazine won't stop criticizing whatever it wants, he says.

Discussion: Reuters

New Orleans Times-Picayune:

NOLA Media Group will open Baton Rouge office, expand reporting and sales staffs — Baton Rouge will have a new source for digital and print news this fall as NOLA Media Group will open a new bureau in downtown Baton Rouge, the company announced Thursday. With this move, NOLA Media Group seeks …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jim Romenesko:

Groupon loses managing editor to Sun-Times parent Wrapports — Brandon Copple, who left Crain's to join Groupon as managing editor in 2010, has been hired by Sun-Times owner Wrapports to oversee a new venture that will create sports and business media products.

Discussion: AllThingsD