Mediagazer: New York Times suspends paywall for Hurricane Sandy (Julie Moos/Poynter)

7:45 AM ET, October 29, 2012

Top News:

Julie Moos / Poynter:

New York Times suspends paywall for Hurricane Sandy — New York Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy confirmed by email that the news organization is suspending its paywall starting this afternoon, so that readers can get information about Hurricane Sandy. — “The gateway has been removed from the entire site and all apps.

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
CNN bans ‘Frankenstorm’ term for Hurricane Sandy

Discussion: Mediaite, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Media Decoder:

Times Reaches Tentative Deal With Newspaper Guild — The New York Times said Sunday night that it had reached a tentative agreement with the Newspaper Guild, setting the stage for a new labor contract after more than 18 months of negotiations. — In a message to the staff, the executive editor …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Poynter, New York Magazine and Politico

Jim Romenesko:

New York Times and union reach ‘conceptual agreement’ on 5-year contract — Newspaper Guild of New York president Bill O'Meara sends this email: The Guild and The Times have reached conceptual agreement on a new five-year contract. The tentative compromise reached late today with the aid …

The Week:

Murdoch snubbed as Penguin Random House deal is struck — PENGUIN and Random House are facing up to the threat of bookselling colossus Amazon by forming a joint publishing venture that will account for a quarter of the US and UK markets. After days of speculation, a deal was announced …

Discussion: The New York Observer, paidContent, Hollywood Reporter and CNNMoney.com

Jessica Hodgson / Wall Street Journal:

Penguin, Random House Ink Deal — LONDON—Pearson PLC and Bertelsmann A.G., two of the world's biggest media groups, agreed Monday on a plan to combine their book-publishing operations, Random House and Penguin. — German media giant Bertelsmann said Monday that it plans to create …

Discussion: Fast Company, Telegraph, Pearson, Telegraph, BBC, Guardian, Metro.co.uk, Financial Times, Business Insider, New York Times, This is Money, MarketBeat, Quartz and The Verge

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

An Opinion to Consider Before You Vote — WHEN Jill Abramson, the executive editor, answered questions from readers this month on the Times Web site, she gave an unequivocal answer to a question about Times editorials. — “As executive editor, I have no involvement with editorials,” she said.

Discussion: Poynter, The Daily Caller and Pressing Issues

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
New York Times endorses Obama ‘enthusiastically’

Discussion: New York Times, @jcstearns, The Raw Story, @jayrosen_nyu, @palafo, Pressing Issues and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Paul Krugman:

The War on Objectivity — Brad DeLong points me to this National Review attack on Nate Silver, which I think of as illustrating an important aspect of what's really happening in America. — For those new to this, Nate is a sports statistician turned political statistician …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, @carr2n and @dangillmor

Todd Cunningham / The Wrap:

NBC Sports Acquires U.S. Rights to Premier League Soccer — NBCUniversal, via the NBC Sports Group, has acquired the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Premier League — the world's top soccer league — through a multi-year agreement that begins with the 2013-14 season, both parties announced Sunday.

Discussion: Deadline.com and Broadcasting & Cable

Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:

The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality — The new Google FieldTrip app probes the question: What digital information do you want to see overlaid on the physical world? — It is The Future. You wake up at dawn and fumble on the bedstand for your (Google) Glass.

Discussion: GigaOM, Wired and @alexismadrigal

Nicholas Kulish / New York Times:

Arrest of '70s Rock Star Widens Sexual Abuse Case Tied to BBC — LONDON — The sexual abuse scandal surrounding the late television host Jimmy Savile widened Sunday after the British police arrested a former pop star in connection with the case. — Metropolitan Police arrested Paul Gadd …

Discussion: BBC, BBC, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine

Evgeny Morozov / Slate:

Disintermediation: We aren't seeing fewer gatekeepers. We're seeing more. — Intermediaries online are more powerful, and more subtle, than ever before. — “Disintermediation” is often heralded as the defining feature of the digital age. Thanks to innovative new technologies …

Ron Rosenbaum / Arts & Culture:

Lewis Lapham's Antidote to the Age of BuzzFeed — With his erudite Quarterly, the legendary Harper's editor aims for an antidote to digital-age ignorance — Lewis Lapham, the legendary former editor of Harper's, who, beginning in the 1970s, helped change the face of American nonfiction …