Mediagazer: Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson charges set new context for Leveson (Dan Sabbagh/Guardian)

8:15 AM ET, November 20, 2012

Top News:

Former Murdoch Aides to Be Charged With Bribery — LONDON — In a dramatic new turn in the scandals swirling around Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper outpost, prosecutors said on Tuesday that two former top executives — Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks — will be charged with making corrupt payments …

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson charges set new context for Leveson — The Crown Prosecution Service's decision to bring charges has ramifications for the inquiry as well as Downing Street — It is less than two weeks before Lord Justice Leveson is expected to deliver his final report …

Kate Holton / Reuters:

Ex-Cameron aide charged over royal family details — (Reuters) - British prosecutors said on Tuesday they would charge Prime Minister David Cameron's former media chief Andy Coulson with conspiring to pay public officials to secure the contact details of members of the Royal family.

Discussion: BBC, Guardian, New Statesman, Metro.co.uk, Telegraph, Sky News, The Independent and Channel 4

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Yahoo Is Among Those Mulling a TVGuide.com Bid for About $20 Million — According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo is among the companies taking a serious gander at TVGuide.com, the online entertainment listings, video and news site and mobile app. — Earlier today …

Discussion: Business Insider

David Lieberman / Deadline.com:

Lionsgate In Advanced Negotiations To Sell TVGuide.com — EXCLUSIVE. The online TV navigation site could go for about $20M — possibly as much as $25M I'm told — and would enable Lionsgate to cash in on a property that's considered peripheral to its main production and TV networks businesses.

Discussion: C21Media

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

BSkyB Raises $800 Million, Analysts See Potential for Acquisitions — The U.K. pay TV giant, in which Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns a 39 percent stake, has made some technology investments. — LONDON - U.K. pay TV giant BSkyB said Tuesday that it has raised $800 million in a debt deal …

Discussion: Fox Business

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

Emerging From Scandal, News Corporation Looks at Potential Acquisitions — News Corporation is starting to look like its old self again. — The media conglomerate, which had been on its heels for more than a year because of the phone hacking scandal in Britain, is looking to make acquisitions again.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post and Poynter

The Hollywood Reporter:

The Hollywood Reporter, After 65 Years, Addresses Role in Blacklist — Billy Wilkerson was nervous. it was July 1946, and The Hollywood Reporter owner, editor and publisher was preparing to embark on a landmark campaign that would expose communists working in Hollywood.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, LA Observed, Guardian, The Wrap, Daily Download and Pressing Issues

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

GetGlue + Viggle Is a Big Bet Based on Small Numbers — Viggle, which pays users to “check in” to TV shows, says it will shell out more than $70 million for GetGlue, which lets users “check in” to TV shows, but doesn't pay them. — The combined company, according to a Viggle press release …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Lost Remote

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: Viggle's Deal To Buy GetGlue Hinges On $60M Of Financing ‘From 2 Strategic Investors’, Expected To Close In Next 30 Days

Tim Molloy / The Wrap:
GetGlue Acquired by Viggle for $25M, Stock

Discussion: Business Wire, mediabistro.com, Forbes, CNET, App Advice, Lost Remote, Multichannel.com, Mashable!, Hollywood Reporter, GigaOM, AdAge, TechCrunch and VentureBeat

David Pierce / The Verge:

Why TV news matters in the age of information overload — “And that's the way it is.” — For two decades, whenever Walter Cronkite said those words to end his nightly CBS newscast, people believed him. Cronkite was the most trusted man in America, the person we tasked with telling us …

Journalism.org:

The Final Days of the Media Campaign 2012: Final Weeks in the Mainstream Press — Throughout most of the general campaign period, President Obama received slightly better coverage in the mainstream press than Governor Romney did. An earlier PEJ report showed that from August 27 to October 21 …

Discussion: Journalism.org, Poynter and TVNewser

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:
Fox & MSNBC Became More Extreme As Election Day Neared, Reports Pew

Discussion: Cable Television News and Mother Jones

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

iTunes-like Disney Movies Online service shuttered because there weren't enough users — Disney has shut down its Disney Movies Online service that streamed movies for purchase and rental, reports Deadline. The service allowed users to rent or purchase movies on its site and watch those via streaming.

Discussion: Deadline.com

Nicholas Carlson / Business Insider:

LEAKED: MySpace's Master Plan To Raise $50 Million And Relaunch As A Spotify Killer — The parent company of MySpace is trying to raise $50 million in order to re-launch MySpace as a direct competitor to Spotify and Pandora in 2013. — This is according to documents obtained by Business Insider, which we have included in this post.

Discussion: PandoDaily, VatorNews, CNET, The Daily Caller, hypebot, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and The Next Web

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

Mark Regev, Israeli Spokesman, Spars With Al Jazeera Over Strikes On Media Buildings (VIDEO) — An Al Jazeera host had an extremely contentious conversation with a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister over a series of attacks on a media building in Gaza over the past two days.

Discussion: Mediaite and Reuters

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Lord McAlpine and ITV near settlement over Phillip Schofield blunder — Former Tory party treasurer understood to be negotiating six-figure sum with broadcaster following child abuse allegations — Lord McAlpine was on Monday night close to reaching a six-figure settlement with ITV …