Mediagazer: Afghan media claim small victory in fight for press freedom (Miriam Arghandiwal/Reuters)

6:30 PM ET, October 1, 2012

Top News:

Washington Post Co. buys hospice firm Celtic Healthcare — The Washington Post Co. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Celtic Healthcare, a provider of skilled home health-care and hospice services in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions.

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Wrap, Gawker, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @jeffsonderman, @jcstearns, The New York Observer, @jeffjarvis, @scottrcrawford and The Newspaper Guild

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Washington Post buys hospice company — Talk about a dying industry. The Washington Post Co. risked becoming the punch line of an obvious joke this morning with the announcement that it has acquired a majority stake in a hospice company. — Hospice? Not as strange as it sounds if you know the company's ways.

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

For 2012 Presidential Debates, Campaigns Speed Up The Spin — NEW YORK — When President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney leave the debate stage at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, many of the 3,000 journalists churning out stories in the University of Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium will head to the spin room …

Discussion: TVNewser

John Cook / Gawker:

Yes, Mitt Romney Is Getting a Raw Deal From the Press — First off—there is no such thing as “the media.” The people and entities who shape our political coverage represent a fractured, disaggregated, chaotic mass of divergent agendas and interests. While they often display pack behavior …

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post and Mediaite

David Carr / New York Times:
Tired Cries of Bias Don’t Help Romney

Discussion: Reuters, TVNewser, Washington Post, Capital New York, Los Angeles Times, The Week, Chickaboomer, @carr2n, Media Decoder, National Review, @jayrosen_nyu, Guardian, The Caucus, Politico and Politico

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

More Mobile News Consumers Choosing Web Over Apps — Mobile apps were supposed to be the reset button for the news industry. The last fifteen years have shown how hard it is to get consumers to pay for content on websites or pay attention to ads there. In the app environment, all that was going to be different.

Discussion: Free Press, Poynter, Nieman Journalism Lab, TechCrunch, Poynter, VatorNews, MediaPost, Journalism.org, Techland, SocialTimes, Change of Subject and PC Magazine

Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:
More mobile devices equals more news consumption, says study

Discussion: Poynter

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Penn State student journalist suspended for fabrication, plagiarism — Penn State's student newspaper has suspended a writer who fabricated and plagiarized quotes by Sue Paterno in a story about the opening of a center on campus named for her. Paterno is the widow of former coach Joe Paterno …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

James Ball / Washington Post:

Video emerges of Austin Tice, U.S. journalist who disappeared in Syria — Video footage has emerged showing U.S. freelance journalist Austin Tice being held by a group of masked men toting assault rifles in the first direct evidence of his condition since his disappearance in mid-August.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Business Insider, Boing Boing and @blakehounshell

Eric Hananoki / Media Matters for America:

Following Criticism, WSJ Identifies Writer Max Boot As A Romney Adviser — Following criticism of its disclosure practices, The Wall Street Journal identified frequent writer Max Boot as an adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign in a recent book review he wrote for the paper.

Discussion: Politico

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

The Guardian and Tumblr will ‘live-GIF’ first presidential debate — The animated GIF will be further enshrined as a reporting tool during the first presidential debate Wednesday, when “four GIF-making all-stars,” as a press-release puts it, will join Guardian reporter Adam Gabbatt to live-blog …

Discussion: Tumblr Staff, @michaelroston, The Verge, AllThingsD and The Atlantic Wire

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

YouTube Partners With ABC News To Offer Its First-Ever Live Stream Of The U.S. Presidential Debates — For the first time ever, YouTube will offer a live video stream of the U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates this year. To do this, YouTube has partnered with ABC News and the debates …

Discussion: Media & Entertainment, Forbes, YouTube Blog, Fast Company, The Next Web and CNET

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:

Al-Jazeera's political independence questioned amid Qatar intervention — Al-Jazeera's editorial independence has been called into question after its director of news stepped in to ensure a speech made by Qatar's emir to the UN led its English channel's coverage of the debate on Syrian intervention.

Discussion: TVNewser, @syrianews and @pragmatic_d

Jim Romenesko:

Report: Over 100 layoffs at Syracuse Post-Standard … (Michael Benny is a Syracuse TV news anchor.) — The Syracuse Press Club's reaction: … * Post-Standard to announce layoffs as the paper prepares to cut its publishing schedule (ynn.com) — * Dick Case's columns (syracuse.com)

Discussion: Poynter

Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:

Counter-terrorism officer appears in court over ‘leaks to News of the World’ — One of Scotland Yard's most senior counter-terrorism officers appeared in court charged with misconduct in public office after allegedly offering to provide information to the News of the World.

Discussion: Guardian