Mediagazer: Newsweek Layoffs Expected Today, Tina Brown Confirms [UPDATED] (Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke/The New York …)

7:40 PM ET, December 6, 2012

Top News:

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

Newsweek Layoffs Expected Today, Tina Brown Confirms [UPDATED] — Newsweek's print edition is ending in a matter of weeks, and the anticipated staff changes have already begun. Layoffs are expected to be announced this afternoon, a tipster tells us. Meanwhile, we hear that a few editors are proactively jumping ship.

Discussion: Adweek, Capital New York, NetNewsCheck Latest, The Wrap, Business Insider, New York Magazine, @katedailey and SPJ

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

As Newsbeast layoffs begin, some are quitting on their own — Earlier this morning, Tina Brown announced the names of three editors who will top the masthead of the Newsweek-Daily Beast company after it replaces Newsweek's print edition with the digital-only title Newsweek Global in another few weeks.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Daily Beast Considers Charging for Website — Newsweek/Daily Beast Co., the media company founded by Tina Brown and backed by billionaire Barry Diller, is considering charging readers for access to its Daily Beast website for the first time. — The New York-based company …

Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter: Layoff season is under way as Newsweek begins notifying staff

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer: How Newsweek Predicted Its Own Demise

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico: Tina Brown promotes three at Newsweek Daily Beast Company

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

Washington Post Considers a Paywall — The Washington Post, one of the last holdouts against the trend of charging readers for online access to newspaper articles, is likely to reverse that decision in 2013, according to people familiar with the matter. — While details are being finished …

Discussion: CJR, The Huffington Post, City Desk, @michaelroston, @thematthewkeys, @clinthendler, Talking Biz News, Boing Boing and Venture Capital Dispatch

John Robinson / Media, disrupted: Erecting a paywall? Make sure everything behind it is better than before

Julie Moos / Poynter:

George Zimmerman sues NBC over editing of 911 tape after Trayvon Martin shooting — Lawyers for George Zimmerman, who has been charged in the murder of Trayvon Martin, announced Thursday that he has sued NBC for its editing of a 911 call that was made after the shooting.

Discussion: Media Decoder, TVNewser, The Wrap and Erik Wemple

TMZ.com:
Trayvon Martin Shooter George Zimmerman Sues NBC Over 911 Tape

Discussion: gzvnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Business Insider and @brianstelter

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Spotify pays out more than $500m in royalties since its 2008 launch — Sean Parker and Lars Ulrich settle differences, with Metallica agreeing to put their whole back catalogue on streaming service — Streaming music service Spotify has now paid out more than $500m (£311m) …

Discussion: paidContent, AdAge, TechCrunch and Rolling Stone

Ben Sisario / Media Decoder:
Spotify Event Tries to Bury the Old Feuds Between Artists and Napster

Discussion: paidContent

Jim Romenesko:

The National staffers launch Facebook campaign to oust their editor — Some journalists at The National in Abu Dhabi have launched a Facebook campaign to force the resignation of editor-in-chief Hassan Fattah, who they contend has “led the paper into oblivion” and “forced a near wholesale turnover of the staff.”

Charlie Warzel / Adweek:

Huffington Post Media Group Names Jimmy Maymann CEO — AOL continued its moving and shaking today with the news that former AOL svp of International Jimmy Maymann will move into a new role as CEO of the Huffington Post Media Group. — As CEO, Maymann will focus on the development and growth …

Discussion: AllThingsD, Media Decoder, Politico, paidContent, NetNewsCheck Latest and FishbowlNY

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Jimmy Savile scandal: Pollard inquiry to report in week of 17 December — Former Sky boss Nick Pollard has investigated the BBC's handling of its aborted Newsnight documentary — The Pollard inquiry into BBC executives' handling of the axed BBC Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile is to be published in the week of 17 December.

Michael Holden / Reuters:
Top UK publicist arrested in BBC sex abuse inquiry

Discussion: BBC, Guardian, @timescrime, The Independent, Sky News, PressGazette, Guido Fawkes, @richpeppiatt, Telegraph, Channel 4, Guido Fawkes and Associated Press

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Netflix Being Investigated By The SEC For CEO Reed Hastings' Public Facebook Posts — As if Netflix didn't have enough problems: The company announced today that it is being investigated by the SEC for a post that CEO Reed Hastings had made on his public Facebook page in June.

Discussion: AllThingsD, DealBook and Forbes

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

Victim's family 'couldn't sleep' after seeing ‘traumatic’ NY Post subway photo — The family of Ki-Suck Han, the man immortalized in a front-page New York Post photo of his impending death on a subway track, spoke publicly on Wednesday about the impact of the image. — The New York Times reports:

Discussion: New York Times, Softpedia News, TIME, PetaPixel and Jack Shafer

Michael Moynihan / The Daily Beast:

Why Did The Daily Die? The View From Inside the Collapse — The Daily is no more, but six former staffers tell Michael Moynihan that the cause of death is more complicated than News Corp. wants you to believe. — As staffers of the scuppered iPad “newspaper” The Daily emptied their desks …

Discussion: Poynter and NetNewsCheck Latest

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Nominated For Grammy Award — The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences revealed on Wednesday evening that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has been nominated for a Grammy Award. — For her audiobook recording of Drift: The Unmooring Of American Military Power …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Chickaboomer, TVNewser and Softpedia News

Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:

Tim Cook hints that Apple plans to redefine the television set — Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has poured gasoline on the growing fire of speculation that his company plans to build a full-fledged television set in the near future, with comments disparaging current television sets as outdated pieces of technology.

Discussion: Business Week, Guardian, CNET, asymco, ABCNEWS, The Verge, FishbowlNY and Globe and Mail

Katherine Rushton / Telegraph:

Guardian steps up pressure for staff to volunteer for redundancy — The publisher of the Guardian and Observer newspapers has stepped up pressure on staff to come forward for redundancy, by telling them where the axe is likely to fall if they do not volunteer.

Discussion: @jamesro47 and @jamesro47