Mediagazer: Mark Shapiro is candidate for top job at CNN (Joe Flint/Los Angeles Times)

11:45 AM ET, November 16, 2012

Top News:

Matthew Purdy / New York Times:

Letter Raises Questions About When BBC Ex-Chief Learned of Abuse Cases — A legal letter sent on behalf of Mark Thompson, the former director general of the BBC, raises questions about his assertions that he learned of accusations of sexual abuse against its longtime host Jimmy Savile only after leaving the corporation's top job.

Discussion: Media Decoder, FishbowlNY, JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Huffington Post, Deadline.com, @edmundlee and New York Magazine

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Mark Thompson says he didn't see letter about BBC allegations sent on his behalf — Mark Thompson says he was not aware of the details in a letter he authorized threatening London paper The Sunday Times with “defamation proceedings” over an article it was preparing about BBC program “Newsnight” …

Sky News:
Lord McAlpine And BBC Reach Settlement

Discussion: Poynter, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Daily Mail

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

HuffPo is not for sale, except maybe at the right price — Within months of AOL acquiring Arianna Huffington's blog and news network in 2011, reports surfaced claiming it could quickly off-load the property. — Speaking to me at Monaco Media Forum, AOL Huffington Post Media Group international SVP Jimmy Maymann said:

Clay Shirky:

Napster, Udacity, and the Academy — Fifteen years ago, a research group called The Fraunhofer Institute announced a new digital format for compressing movie files. This wasn't a terribly momentous invention, but it did have one interesting side effect: Fraunhofer also had to figure out how to compress the soundtrack.

Keach Hagey / Digits:

Esquire To Make Print Magazine Interactive Through Netpage App — Magazines' future might be digital, but — Newsweek-style forced marches aside — that future is also years away. In the interim, magazines must figure out how to exist as print objects in an increasingly digital world.

Discussion: Publishing Executive …

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

Mark Shapiro is candidate for top job at CNN — Former Dick Clark Productions Chief Executive Mark Shapiro has emerged as a candidate for the top job at the cable news channel CNN, according to people familiar with the matter. — Shapiro, who prior to running Dick Clark Productions …

Discussion: TVNewser and TVWeek.com

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Virginia Moseley Leaves ABC After 18 Years, Joins CNN as VP/Deputy Bureau Chief in Washington — Veteran ABC News producer Virginia Moseley is jumping to CNN, TVNewser has learned. Moseley will be VP and Deputy Bureau Chief of the DC bureau, reporting to Sam Feist.

Discussion: Politico, Broadcasting & Cable and FishbowlNY

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Roger Ailes on Election Night: ‘Rove was wrong. He backed down. Our guys were right.’ — On election night, Fox News co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes watched election coverage in the News Corp. Sports Suite, down the hall from his second floor office.

Discussion: Mediaite and ABCNEWS

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Viacom CEO Signals No Interest in Acquisition of Major Studio — Asked if the company could bid if a studio like Sony Pictures became available, Philippe Dauman said “I continue to not see any large-scale acquisition.” — Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said Thursday that he continues to expect …

Discussion: The Wrap

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:
Viacom Profit Increases, but Movie Division Hurts Revenues

Discussion: Home Media Magazine and Radio & Television …

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Keith Olbermann To Guest-Host On MLB Network — Former MSNBC and Current TV host Keith Olbermann is returning to the host's chair, this time on MLB Network. — Olbermann will be a guest-host on MLB Network's “Hot Stove” next Tuesday and Wednesday, from 9-11 AM ET.

Ben Fritz / Los Angeles Times:

Variety lays off staff, plans to reduce frequency of publication — Variety has laid off nearly 20 staffers and will cut back on its print frequency. (Variety) — The new owner of Variety is laying off nearly 20 employees at the Hollywood trade paper while preparing to cut back on the number of times it prints each week.

Discussion: Business Insider, Hollywood Reporter, LA Observed and Deadline.com

Wall Street Journal:

All Eyes on NBCU News Chairman — Fili-Krushel Makes Presence Known With Recent Shake-Up at ‘Today’ Show — When NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke named Pat Fili-Krushel to oversee the company's news operations in July, the appointment caught many by surprise.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Drew Olanoff / TechCrunch:

Ev Williams Takes To Medium To Discuss The True Purpose Of His New Publishing Tool — You might have heard a few things about Ev Williams and crew's new product, Medium. To some, it seems like “just another blogging platform,” but if you think about where Ev and Biz Stone come from …

Discussion: Medium and WebProNews

Wall Street Journal:

Google, Dish Held Talks to Launch Wireless Service — Google Inc. has held talks with satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. in recent weeks to partner on a new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Discussion: The Verge, iDownloadBlog.com, Deadline.com and Engadget

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Laughable Daily Mail ‘investigation’ smears Leveson inquiry assessor — I have been worried about the Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, for some time. After seeing today's issue of his paper, I really think it's time for the men in white coats to visit its Kensington offices as soon as possible.

Discussion: Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Mail, Daily Mail, TheAustralian and theweek.co.uk

Kathy Bergen / Chicago Tribune:

Editor: Inspector general investigating recording of Tribune journalists — Mayor dismisses incidents as ‘much ado about nothing’ — A Chicago Tribune report Monday that city officials had improperly recorded Tribune journalists has prompted the start of an investigation by the city's inspector general.

Matt Brian / The Next Web:

Kobo's Arc Android tablet goes on sale in the UK and Canada, launching in France on November 19 — Perhaps often forgotten thanks to Amazon's dominance of the e-reader market, Kobo is attempting to make its mark on the Android tablet market, today launching its Kobo Arc device in the UK and Canada.

Discussion: Canada NewsWire Group and EBOOK MAGAZINE

Jessica Roy / Betabeat:

Social Media Companies Have Absolutely No Idea How to Handle the Gaza Conflict — After announcing their intention to attack Hamas on Twitter, the Israeli Defense Force began military operations in Gaza yesterday. The Alqassam Brigades, Hamas's military arm, also has a Twitter account …