Mediagazer: Apple Television Launch Probably Not Imminent (John Paczkowski/AllThingsD)

1:50 PM 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: Politico, Capital New York, Media Decoder, JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, FishbowlNY, @edmundlee, Deadline.com 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” …

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: JIMROMENESKO.COM, New York Magazine, Mediaite, ABCNEWS and The Huffington Post

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Did Roger Ailes Consider Joining CNN? — Over the summer Roger Ailes was sitting on his terrace at his home along the Hudson River, reading a book on the Civil War, when he decided his fight wasn't finished. Last month Ailes, 72, who created Fox News 16 years ago, signed on for another four years as CEO.

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:

Discussion: New York Magazine

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

Altered Tweets: What Happened to the Ahmed Jabari Assassination Video? — Since early Wednesday morning, all eyes have been on the developing digital landscape of the Middle East. Israel Defense Forces have launched a full-scale social media assault on Hamas in conjunction with a tactical military campaign.

Discussion: Daily Download, The Daily, The Daily Beast and The Verge

Jessica Roy / Betabeat:
Social Media Companies Have Absolutely No Idea How to Handle the Gaza Conflict

Discussion: Business Week, Fast Company, Gawker, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, Allvoices.com, Reuters, Wired, ReadWrite, Red Alert Politics, Mother Jones, BAGnewsNotes, WorldViews and Daily Dot

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 …

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

Apple Television Launch Probably Not Imminent — Now that the iPad mini has successfully transitioned from rumor to reality, Apple-watchers are turning their attention back to another of the company's mythical products — the Apple Television. According to a new report out of Jefferies …

Discussion: PC Magazine, iDownloadBlog.com, Business Insider, MacRumors, Tech Trader Daily and 9to5Mac

Christine Haughney / Media Decoder:

Former Creative Director at Wired Is Named Its New Editor — Wired announced Friday afternoon that Scott Dadich, the magazine's former creative director, would become its next editor in chief. — Mr. Dadich replaces Chris Anderson, the magazine's editor since 2001, who stepped down this month …

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.

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

bizjournals:

American City Business Journals acquires Streetwise Media — American City Business Journals (ACBJ), the nation's largest print and online publisher of local business news, said Friday it has acquired Streetwise Media, a fast-growing digital media company catering to young business people in Boston and Washington, D.C.

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: Cable Television News, Politico and FishbowlNY

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.

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire

Will Sommer / City Desk:

New Post Editor Addresses the Newsroom for First Time, Talks Budget — Incoming Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron won't take over the newsroom until Jan 2., but his era seems to have started today, with Baron addressing the newsroom for the first time today.

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Windows 8 Lands on 14 Conde Nast Covers — Cover Attachments Called ‘Nonpaid Elements’ of ‘Multifaceted Paid Program’ for Microsoft — Microsoft's massive ad campaign promoting Windows 8 has arrived in magazines from publishers including Hearst, Time Inc. and Conde Nast.

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:

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

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