Mediagazer: DuPont awards bring focus to dangers of reporting from war-torn Syria (Joe Pompeo/Capital New York)

4:30 PM ET, December 19, 2012

Top News:

Pollard inquiry: BBC ‘incapable’ of dealing with Jimmy Savile affair — • Newsnight editor Peter Rippon, his deputy Liz Gibbons and 5 Live boss Adrian Van Klaveren to move to new BBC jobs — • Deputy director of news Stephen Mitchell retires amid criticism and is to leave BBC after 38 years

Discussion: bbc.co.uk, AdAge, @joshhalliday, @breakingnewsuk, Telegraph, @journalismnews, Telegraph, @gordonrayner, @gordonrayner, Telegraph, Journalism.co.uk, NetNewsCheck Latest and Kirk LaPointe's …

New York Times:

BBC Inquiry Blames Rigid Management for Mishandling Sex Abuse Scandal — LONDON — A report into the sexual abuse crisis that has shaken the British Broadcasting Corporation was strongly critical on Wednesday of the editorial and management decisions that led to the cancellation of a broadcast …

Josh Halliday / Guardian: Pollard report uncovers culture of distrust at BBC

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
NYT CEO Thompson spared in BBC inquiry

Discussion: Guardian

Adam Sherwin / The Independent:
Pollard report: Former BBC Director-General George Entwistle ignored warnings of Jimmy Savile's ‘dark side’

Discussion: Guardian, Guardian, @skynewsbreak and @dansabbagh

Guido Fawkes: Full Tim Davie Email to BBC Staff

Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:

New York Times tells us to take down screenshot of its interactive graphic (that we praised) — Updated at 12:22 p.m. ET with latest Times statement. — The New York Times Co. has demanded that we take down a screenshot of an interactive graphic that the Times produced for the recent US presidential election.

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Techdirt, @smalera, @jackshafer, @pkafka, @digiphile and @jbenton

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter: NYT says it was ‘simply asking for proper attribution’ from Quartz

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Pakastani teen blogger Malala Yousafzai is Time's runner-up for Person of the Year — The Taliban “wanted to silence” Malala Yousafzai when they shot her and several classmates on Oct. 9, Aryn Baker writes. “Instead, they amplified her voice.” — The Pakistani teenager was targeted …

Discussion: TIME, PolicyMic, Chickaboomer and Gothamist

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

President Barack Obama Is Time's Person of the Year, By Default — Barack Obama survived a presidential election against a weak opponent despite an underwhelming legislative record and his own failure to define the choice in positive terms. In 2012, that's good enough to earn you a Person of the Year nod from Time.

Discussion: TIME, TIME, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Globe and Mail, Mediaite, Capital New York and Real-Time News from Birmingham

Christopher Zara / International Business Times:

Is Time Magazine's Person Of The Year Still Relevant? — When Time magazine named Charles Lindbergh its first Man of the Year in 1927, superlative journalism was still a fresh concept. The Oscars weren't born yet. And the notion of “Best Of” still promised to serve an untapped niche.

Discussion: Daily Download, Adweek and ComPost

Ben Sisario / Media Decoder:

At News Conference, Reporters Skip Past Gun Control and Face Instant Criticism — President Obama, joined by the vice president, spoke with reporters on Wednesday afternoon. — The harshest judges of those in news media are often others in the news media, and, with the benefit of Twitter …

Discussion: Erik Wemple, Mediaite, Lynn Sweet, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Ben Walsh / MediaFile:

In a crisis, Twitter morphs into cable news — Twitter calls itself a “real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting.” That network is defined by its personalization: The person who assembles her feed is the person who reads it.

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

DuPont awards bring focus to dangers of reporting from war-torn Syria — Two reported series about the war in Syria will receive Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards during a ceremony at Columbia University's Low Memorial Library next month. — CBS News is the winner of a 2013 duPont Award …

Discussion: Columbia News, NetNewsCheck Latest, Broadcasting & Cable and The Wrap

Ken Layne / The Awl:

Are Newspaper People Really Still Wondering If Journalism Can Exist Without Newsprint? — Decades of often awkward interaction with America's “print media” professionals has proven (to me) that writers who talk about their medium are bores, and also bad writers.

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

ABC News Reporter Sam Donaldson Arrested For DUI — Veteran ABC News reporter and former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson was reportedly arrested earlier this month in Delaware on charges of driving under the influence. — City of Lewes Police Chief Jeffrey Horvath told Delaware 105.9 radio …

Discussion: TMZ.com, The Wrap and Delaware 105.9, Lewes, DE

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Final NBC News Crew Member Escapes Syria — The final member of the NBC News production team that had been kidnapped in Syria has escaped the country, NBC News says. In the firefight that resulted in NBC News correspondent Richard Engel and his team being freed, technician Ian Rivers was separated from his colleagues.

Discussion: FishbowlDC

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Jacob Weisberg: ‘The confusion about paywalls is bad for sites like ours’ — Jacob Weisberg reacted so swiftly to Forbes reporter Jeff Bercovici's suggestion Friday that Slate might put in some sort of pay model because “the confusion about paywalls is bad for sites like ours,” …

Alistair Barr / Reuters:

Owner of OpenTV slaps Netflix with patent lawsuit — (Reuters) - The owner of interactive television pioneer OpenTV sued Netflix Inc on Wednesday, alleging the company infringed on patents that cover technology underpinning the fast-growing Internet video sector.