Mediagazer: Netflix Being Investigated By The SEC For CEO Reed Hastings' Public Facebook Posts (Ryan Lawler/TechCrunch)

12:55 AM ET, December 7, 2012

Top News:

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

Layoff season is under way as Newsweek begins notifying staff — Newsweek is about to begin laying off staff, a move expected since the publisher scheduled its print magazine to shutter at the end of the year. — A memo from Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown and CEO Baba Shetty informs staff …

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

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

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 New York Observer, Capital New York, @katedailey and The Huffington Post

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

How Newsweek Predicted Its Own Demise — As we wait for final details of the Newsbeast staff cuts, we came across an impassioned case against layoffs that ran in the pages of Newsweek almost three years ago. The article, which was published before Tina Brown took over the paper and merged …

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, CNET, @michaelroston, PandoDaily, @thematthewkeys, @clinthendler, City Desk, The Huffington Post, 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, Mediaite, CNN, Chickaboomer, TVNewser, The Wrap, Erik Wemple and The Daily Caller

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: TechCrunch, paidContent, Rolling Stone and AdAge

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

Discussion: paidContent

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: Cable Television News, AllThingsD, Home Media Magazine, VentureBeat and Forbes

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.”

Leslie Kaufman / Media Decoder:

At Random House, Employees Will Enjoy 5,000 Shades of Green — Random House had its corporate Christmas party on Wednesday night in New York, and word is that Santa likes bondage. A lot. — Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Random House, promised employees — from top editors to warehouse workers …

Discussion: bookforum.com, PAPERMAG, The New York Observer and Gawker

Andrew Pugh / Press Gazette:

Met bans blogger from using Twitter over whistleblowing book — New Scotland Yard. Picture: Reuters — A Met officer has been banned from blogging and using Twitter after using the internet to blow the whistle on funding cuts at the force. — The move has been seen in some quarters …

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

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: The Wrap, AllThingsD, Politico, Media Decoder, paidContent 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, Guido Fawkes, @richpeppiatt, @timescrime, Telegraph, Channel 4, Sky News, The Independent, PressGazette, Guido Fawkes, Guardian and Associated Press

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

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

How do you pack your bag for a seven-year, 22,000-mile international reporting assignment? — Every reporter has a checklist of things to grab or arrange before heading out on an assignment. Paul Salopek's is longer. Beyond a laptop and video camera, Salopek's list includes a satellite phone …

Discussion: Nieman Foundation News, Melville House Books, Knight Foundation and The FJP