Mediagazer: New York Times Launches E-Book Programs (PublishersWeekly.com)

3:10 PM ET, December 13, 2012

Top News:

Ryan Chittum / CJR:

Paywall illogic — Steve Buttry distorts our arguments—and the evidence — Followers of the hot 'n heavy paywall debate—all seven of you—may find it hard to believe, but there's plenty of room for consensus on whether digital subscriptions are good, bad, or indifferent for news.

Steve Buttry / The Buttry Diary:

I am so tired of the paywall argument — I truly meant it more than three years ago when I said in this blog that I wanted to move on from the paywall argument. This issue and the attention it commands are perhaps the most consistent sign I see that the newspaper industry is stuck in the past.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Times-Picayune says circulation is up since it cut staff, print frequency — WWNO — On the New Orleans radio show “Out to Lunch” Monday, Nola.com business manager David Francis said The Times-Picayune's print circulation has gone up since it cut print frequency.

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:

BBC boss unaware of Newsnight's McAlpine report problems for 24 hours — Former director general George Entwistle contacted BBC Trust chair Lord Patten the day after Guardian article was published — Former BBC director general George Entwistle told the BBC Trust at the critical meeting …

Mark Sweney / Guardian: Entwistle resignation meeting minutes barely mention plan to pay £450,000

PublishersWeekly.com:

New York Times Launches E-Book Programs — The New York Times today announced the launch of two publishing programs—New York Times short e-books co-published with the digital startup Byliner, and TimesFiles with Vook. — In collaboration with Byliner, The Times will co-publish up to a dozen …

Discussion: The Wrap, paidContent and GalleyCat

Press Gazette:

Amid ‘dismay’ from Times journalists over Harding exit - News Corp mulls seven-day operation — News International is understood to have taken legal advice about merging The Times and Sunday Times into a seven-day operation. — The Times reports the development today in a report …

Discussion: George Brock, The Daily Beast and Deadline.com

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian: James Harding pulls out of BBC Question Time after quitting as editor

Kira Bindrim / Reuters:

The New York Times and print pressures — In a moment of dubious etiquette, venture capitalist and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen said at a New York Times conference this week that the company should dismantle its print operations not in ten years, or five, but “as soon as possible.”

Discussion: Reuters

Alison Langley / CJR:

Europe's newspapers are dying too — The implosion of the newspaper industry, long a dreaded topic in the US, has finally hit the continent — The staff of Financial Times Deutschland appeared on the back page of the newspaper on Friday, in a deep bow. Below the photo was an apology, translated here from German:

David Meyer / ZDNet:

Google reaches deal with Belgian publishers, avoids paying ‘link tax’ — Summary: The finer details of the arrangement are yet to emerge, but it appears as though Google has routed its opponents here. The litigation is over, and the company will not need to pay any ancillary copyright fees …

Discussion: paidContent, Bloomberg and Google Europe Blog

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

The future of television has arrived: it's called the iPad — Why owning the second screen is Apple's game to lose — The future of the television is the iPad. — That was the overwhelming message at the TV of Tomorrow conference in New York, which saw executives and decision makers …

Melanie Lee / Reuters:

Amazon launches Kindle store in China, could pave way for Kindle — (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has launched a Kindle store for China, the company said on Thursday, selling Chinese electronic books for the mobile Kindle application, in a move that could soon see the device launched in China.

Discussion: CNET, The Next Web, GigaOM, The Verge and Bookseller news

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Interview: Google expands mobile mag products amid web threat — Google launched its Play Magazines storefront for UK Android devices on Thursday and relaunched its Currents Flipboard app competitor, and more magazine announcements are due in a couple of weeks.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Official Android Blog, Softpedia News and The Next Web

Jim Romenesko:

AP intern Armando Montano's death still under investigation — Today's Metro Weekly piece on Associated Press intern Armando Montano, whose body was found in an elevator shaft in Mexico City nearly six months ago, had me wondering about the status of the death investigation.

Discussion: Metro Weekly

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Amazon wins EU e-book pricing battle with Apple — (Reuters) - European Union regulators ended an antitrust probe into e-book prices on Thursday, accepting an offer by Apple and four publishers to ease pricing restrictions on Amazon and other retailers. — The decision hands online retailer Amazon …

Discussion: TechCrunch, SlashGear, Digital Book World, Agence France Presse, The Next Web, Engadget, paidContent, ZDNet and standard.co.uk

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Last.fm to move desktop radio service behind paywall in UK, US and Germany — CBS-owned music service, which has struggled in downturn, is also scrapping radio streaming offering in most countries — CBS-owned Last.fm is to put part of its music service behind a paywall in countries including …