Mediagazer: Piers Morgan claims over phone hacking branded ‘utterly unpersuasive’ (Mark Sweney/Guardian)

10:40 AM ET, November 30, 2012

Top News:

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

News Corp. Evidence Points to Cover-Up, Leveson Reports — News Corp. (NWSA)'s testimony about how a phone-hacking scandal was handled points to a possible cover-up at multiple levels within the organization, according to the findings of an inquiry into media ethics.

Guardian:

David Cameron accused of dismissing Leveson report too quickly — Madeleine McCann's father expresses concern over PM's reaction to judge's recommendations — David Cameron is facing accusations of being too quick to dismiss the Leveson inquiry's proposals after the culture secretary confirmed …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Quartz, Reuters, TheMediaBriefing, Telegraph and Guido Fawkes

Guardian:

Leveson report: government prepares draft bill - live coverage — Coalition to produce draft bill based on Leveson's proposals - seemingly so that Tories can prove they would not work — Sort by: — Leveson's proposals could mean jail terms for journalists

Discussion: Telegraph, The Independent and LSE Media Policy Project

Inside Cable News:

Reading Jeff Zucker and Phil Kent's Tea Leaves... There's a lot of tea leaves to look at from today's teleconference with Jeff Zucker and Phil Kent so let's get at it... Teal Leaf #1: … Those out there, myself included, who were looking for a sign that CNN's news brand will stay intact …

Discussion: Media Decoder, NY Daily News, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Chickaboomer and AdAge

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:
Make CNN The Google Of News: Radical Unsolicited Advice For Jeff Zucker

Discussion: TVNewser

Carla Caldwell / Atlanta Business Journal:
Head of Atlanta-based CNN to be based in New York for first time

Discussion: SaportaReport

Rebecca Dana / The New Republic:
Jeff Zucker Is Just What CNN Needs: A Theatrical Tyrant

Discussion: TVNewser, Washington Post and National Review

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:
New CNN chief Jeff Zucker wants more passion, vitality from network

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter and Politico

Leslie Kaufman / Media Decoder:

Esquire in New Venture With Digital Publisher — Esquire magazine announced on Friday a partnership with Byliner, a digital publishing start-up, that will have three distinct components accessible to readers through e-books: collections of short fiction by undiscovered authors …

USA Today:

Cleveland paper braces for change — Ohio's largest newspaper, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, could soon face the end of its 170-year run as a daily print publication. But employees and community leaders aren't about to let it happen without protests. The “Save The Plain Dealer” campaign …

Angie Schmitt / Rust Wire: “Saving” the Plain Dealer

Michael Wolff / GQ.COM:

How Leveson failed — Oh, for God's sake seems to me the fairest response to the Leveson report. — After nine months of hearings, the inquiry calls for a goopy, bureaucratic, obfuscating oversight board, which could be perilous to the freedom of the press or as likely toothless.

Discussion: New York Times, Jack Shafer, NetNewsCheck Latest, BBC, Guardian and The Huffington Post

Guardian:
Leveson report: the speed read

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, Telegraph, The Independent and Guardian

Reed Albergotti / Wall Street Journal:

Editor Is Snared in Trading Probe — When Michael Baron's buddies passed on a hot stock tip at a basketball game last year, the senior editor for financial-news website TheStreet.com gave it little thought. — A year later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation came knocking and told …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Julie Moos / Poynter:

Response to Leveson report fills UK front pages — Sixteen months in the making, the report and recommendations from Lord Leveson's inquiry into the British press released Thursday were met with resistance from England's Prime Minister and rejected by many media watchers.

Discussion: Guardian, The Conversation and The Independent

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Piers Morgan claims over phone hacking branded ‘utterly unpersuasive’ — Ex-Daily Mirror editor told Leveson inquiry that illegal access to data did not happen while he was in charge of the paper — Lord Justice Leveson has described former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan's assertion …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Jonathan Cooper / Digital First Media:

Journal Register Company Signs Purchase Agreement — Digital First Media, which operates MediaNews Group, Journal Register Company and Digital First Ventures, today announced Journal Register Company has signed a “stalking horse” purchase agreement with 21st CMH Acquisition Co. …

Discussion: Poynter

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Coming in 2013 - targeted TV ads — Just like with static display ads online, we have become used to seeing targeted video ads on the web, mobiles and tablets. — Now video ad targeting will come to the living room, when the UK's two big pay-TV operators will soon start showing targeted ads …

Dave Lee / BBC:

Music industry group BPI demands pirate proxy closure — Loz Kaye said he intended to respond to the BPI's request by 6 December — The UK's music industry body is demanding that a service offering a workaround to access banned site The Pirate Bay is shut down by its owner.

Discussion: Inquirer, PC Pro, ZDNet, TorrentFreak and Boing Boing

Christopher S. Stewart / Wall Street Journal:

King of TV for Now, CBS Girds for Digital Battle — When Showtime executives wanted to recast a female role in their blockbuster thriller “Homeland” early last year, they went to Leslie Moonves for his blessing. The chief executive of CBS Corp., which owns the cable network …

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Philly papers' owners sue former landlord to get security deposit back — The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com moved out of the “Tower of Truth” in July. And now they'd like their security deposit back. — Developer Bart Blatstein tried to buy the papers but was spurned by its previous owners.

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Leveson: Social media and blogs aren't popular enough to carry proper news — The UK's big inquiry in to the culture, practice and ethics of the “press” has recommended a new body to better self-regulate news media — but has overlooked blogs and social networks because they are neither popular nor newsy enough.

Discussion: Guardian