Mediagazer: Halifax Media sells California publications (Press-Democrat)

5:10 PM ET, November 1, 2012

Top News:

Nat Ives / AdAge:

NBC Universal, News Corp. Set Plans to Help Hurricane Sandy Relief — One-Hour Telethon Friday Night to Feature Bruce Springsteen and Others — Major media companies are beginning to set plans to support relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy, which has been blamed for more than 70 deaths in the U.S. …

Discussion: Cable Television News, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable, Forbes, @brianstelter, Agence France Presse, TVNewser, Mediaite, Radio & Television …, TechCrunch, The Wrap and @jbflint

CBS Los Angeles:

Walt Disney Co. To Donate $2M To Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts — BURBANK (CBSLA.com) — The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday it will donate $2 million to relief efforts from Hurricane Sandy. — The company split the donation into two parts — $1 million for immediate relief efforts …

Discussion: PopWatch and The Walt Disney Company …

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Telegraph launches limited paywall — New York Times-style metered system will charge non-UK users £1.99 a month to visit the site after 20 free page views — The Telegraph website has launched its long-awaited digital paywall with a metered system, charging non-UK users £1.99 …

Discussion: Telegraph, NetNewsCheck Latest, Journalism.co.uk, paidContent, PressGazette and The Next Web

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Online paid-content market poses threat to traditional advertising — The rise of tablets and smartphones will help grow the online paid-content market 65% to £8bn a year by 2017, with consumer spending on digital news rocketing 77% to almost £250m, according to a report.

Discussion: paidContent

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:
How to get your readers to love paywalls

Discussion: IU News Room, NetNewsCheck Latest, online.liebertpub.com and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Christine Haughney / Media Decoder:

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to Lay Off Staff and Reduce Magazines — Dragged down by advertising and circulation declines, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is cutting back the publication of two of its magazines and laying off about 70 employees, about 12 percent of the nearly 600-person company.

Discussion: Folio

Julie Moos / Poynter:

On Twitter, book titles rewritten as New York Times headlines — If books titles were written like New York Times headlines, here is how your shelves would read, courtesy of the Twitter meme #nytbooks — We have made it easy to comment on posts, however we require civility and encourage full names …

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Netflix Responds to Carl Icahn Investment — Yesterday, Carl Icahn announced that he was buying a big stake in Netflix, in the hope that someone would buy the streaming video company. — Here's the Netflix response, relayed by spokesman Jonathan Friedland: “We have many shareholders …

Discussion: Adweek, MediaPost, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Home Media Magazine, CNBC and TechCrunch

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Universal Pictures Makes Across-the-Board Layoffs (Exclusive) — Universal Pictures has imposed a 1.5 percent, across-the-board layoff, with 25 employees getting pink slips, the company told TheWrap. — “Like any business, Universal Pictures is constantly adjusting our workforce to meet …

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

James Murdoch reappointed as BSkyB director with 95% shareholder backing — James Murdoch has been reappointed as a director of BSkyB with the support of 95% of shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. Barring one investor labelling him as “toxic”, Thursday's BSkyB AGM …

Discussion: Media Week

Press-Democrat:

Halifax Media sells California publications — The Santa Rosa Press Democrat and two affiliated publications in Sonoma County are being sold by Florida-based Halifax Media Group, the owner of the Herald-Tribune, to a partnership that includes a group of California investors, the principals in the deal announced Thursday.

Discussion: Santa Rosa Press-Democrat

Naomi Tajitsu / Reuters:

Mega, Kim Dotcom's New Megaupload Sequel, Sticks It To U.S. Authorities — WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Like a good Hollywood sequel, Megaupload is back. Kim Dotcom, the founder of the shuttered file-sharing site that housed everything from family photos to blockbuster films …

Discussion: Softpedia News and CNET

Michael Cieply / New York Times:

Movies Try to Escape Cultural Irrelevance — LOS ANGELES — On Feb. 24 Hollywood will turn out for the Oscars. — But it's starting to feel as if it might be “The Last Picture Show.” — Next year's Academy Awards ceremony — the 85th since 1929 — will be landing in a pool of angst …