Mediagazer: Guardian kills its Facebook social reader, regains control over its content (Mathew Ingram/GigaOM)

7:50 AM ET, December 14, 2012

Top News:

Sam Kennedy / Morning Call:

Warren Buffett eyeing Allentown Morning Call? — Ownership of Lehigh Valley newspaper in question, and one of the world's richest men has something to say about it. Tribune Co.'s imminent emergence from an epic bankruptcy has fueled a flurry of speculation about the future …

Discussion: Guardian, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Poynter

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Buffett Is Latest Billionaire to Struggle With Newspaper Revival — Warren Buffett, the investor famous for betting on aging industries like railroads and insurance, is now trying to pull off something other billionaires have tried and failed to do: save the newspaper business.

Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Martin Belam / currybetdotnet:

The rise and #fail of the Guardian Facebook app — This week the Guardian has announced they are changing the way that they integrate with Facebook, by closing the app that I helped design and launch. It is the perfect moment to reflect on what did and didn't work, and why the app was designed as it was.

Discussion: Guardian, Journalism.co.uk, neurope.eu, sbs.com.au and The Verge

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Guardian kills its Facebook social reader, regains control over its content — A little over a year ago, a big topic of discussion in the newspaper business — apart from the ongoing cataclysmic decline in print advertising revenue, of course — was how to leverage Facebook as a platform for content …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:

DealBook Conference Was Impressive, Lucrative and Chummy — There was a lot happening at the inaugural DealBook conference on Wednesday — and much of it was undeniably impressive. — Here is what the invitation-only conference had going for it: Big Wall Street names, flashy graphics …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, @pkedrosky, @davewiner, @fmanjoo, @brianstorms, @romenesko and Pressing Issues

Rebecca Theim / Cleveland Scene:

8 Things Cleveland Can Expect from The Plain Dealer's “Press-Ageddon” — When former journalists and alumni of the New Orleans Times-Picayune heard the news about the imminent changes at The Plain Dealer, our hearts broke for Cleveland. — Both newspapers are owned by New York-based Advanced Publications …

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Times-Picayune says circulation is up since it cut staff, print frequency

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

BBC:

Phone-hacking: 22 victims ‘reach court settlement’ — Twenty-two civil damages cases brought over the News of the World (NoW) phone hacking scandal have been settled, London's High Court has heard. — They include DJ Jamie Theakston, the ex-wife of golfer Colin Montgomerie - Eimear Cook …

Discussion: Financial Times and news.msn.co.nz

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Bloom is off the rose for Time Inc. CEO Lang — The honeymoon appears to be over for Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang. — As employees await a new round of cuts that seems all but certain to shake the nation's largest publisher in mid-January, morale is plunging.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Who will be the next editor of the Times? Our runners and riders — Sunday Times editor John Witherow is tipped to take the hot seat but some other names are emerging — John Witherow, the long-standing Sunday Times editor, is being touted as contender to take over as editor …

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

“Mobile Video” Means “Video You Watch at Home” — Yes, you can use your iPhone to watch movie clips and music videos while you're in a car or on your way to work. — But you're probably using it watch stuff when you're sitting on your couch or in your bed.

Discussion: VentureBeat

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.

Ryan Chittum / CJR:
Paywall illogic — Steve Buttry distorts our arguments—and the evidence

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

NY Times Describes ‘Torture’ More Under Obama — The New York Times, which tied itself in linguistic knots during the Bush years to avoid describing waterboarding as torture, splashed this headline on Thursday's front page: “Portrayal of C.I.A. Torture in Bin Laden Film Reopens a Debate.”

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

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