Mediagazer: The music industry dropped DRM years ago. So why does it persist on e-books? (Cyrus Farivar/Ars Technica)

2:48 AM ET, December 28, 2012

Top News:

Gun owner: Newspaper ‘put me on the same level as a sex offender’ — Veronica Hash resides on an eight-acre spread in Dutchess County, N.Y. She is a registered to own a handgun — something that visitors to the Web site of the Journal News could ascertain with little trouble.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Daily Mail, Gannett Blog, Prison Planet.com and Pressing Issues

Al Tompkins / Poynter:

Where The Journal News went wrong in publishing names, addresses of gun owners — In the days since The Journal News published and mapped the names and addresses of local citizens who hold gun permits, outraged critics have published the names and addresses of journalists at the paper.

Discussion: Talk of the Sound, GigaOM, The Wrap, Gannett Blog, Media Nation, Kirk LaPointe's …, The Huffington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Hit & Run

Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker:

In Retaliation for Map of Gun Permit Holders, Blogger Lists Names and Addresses of Newspaper Staff — In response to the controversy surrounding the interactive map of local gun permit holders published by a Lower Hudson Valley newspaper, one blogger decided to punish the paper's staff members …

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite and Yahoo! News

Jim Romenesko:

More than 3.5 million page views for New York Times' ‘Snow Fall’ feature — New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson tells her staff that the paper's “Snow Fall” interactive feature received around 2.9 million visits for more than 3.5 million page views.

Discussion: LA Observed, The Public Editor's Journal, The Atlantic Wire, Boing Boing and FishbowlNY

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

In Boost to U.S. Plans, BBC World Service Is Added to Time Warner Cable — In a sign of progress for its push to get on cable and satellite systems across the United States, the BBC World News channel is now available in about 10 million homes that subscribe to Time Warner Cable.

Howard Kurtz / Daily Download:

Why David Gregory Shouldn't Be Behind Bars — David Gregory will not be moderating Meet the Press this Sunday. — He must be on the lam! — The Twitterverse has exploded over the news that Washington's Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the NBC newsman for brandishing …

Discussion: National Review, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gretawire, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters.org and TVNewser

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
White House Petition To Arrest David Gregory Nears 10,000 Signatures

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Gawker and TMZ.com

Cyrus Farivar / Ars Technica:

The music industry dropped DRM years ago. So why does it persist on e-books? — Experts say it may have to do with the size of the two markets, for one thing. — The American e-book market is about 100 times smaller than the digital music market. — shiftstigma

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
One In Four Americans Owns A Tablet, Overtaking E-Readers, As Printed Book Consumption Continues To Decline: Pew

Discussion: Pew Internet, AllThingsD, Gawker, The Verge, ZDNet and CNET

Jim Romenesko:

Patch partners with Starbucks on ‘Come Together’ initiative — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced Wednesday that baristas in his D.C.-area stores will write “Come Together” on cups to encourage compromise “to solve the tremendously important, time-sensitive issue to fix the national debt.”

Discussion: Gawker, FixtheDebt, Business Insider and The Week

Mat Honan / Wired:

No One Uses Smart TV Internet Because It Sucks — People aren't using their Internet-connected smart TVs for anything beyond, well, watching TV. It turns out, nobody wants to tweet from their TV. Or read books. Or do whatever it is people do on LinkedIn.

Discussion: Business Insider, CNET and PC Magazine

Anne Allmeling / Deutsche Welle:

Suliman: ‘Al Jazeera plays the piper, but Qatar calls the tune’ — The long-time Berlin correspondent for Al Jazeera, Aktham Suliman, recently resigned from his post. The journalist tells DW that the Qatari government is exercising undue influence on Al Jazeera's reporting.

Discussion: Guardian

Carl Marcucci / Radio & Television Business Report:

Dial Soap sues News Corp. over computer hacking — News Corp.'s latest hacking scandal doesn't involve breaking into voicemail in the U.K. to get story fodder, but this time a lawsuit from Dial Soaps alleges the corporation used computer hacking to gain a marketing edge in 40,000 retail stores in the U.S.

Discussion: Courthouse News Service and Business Insider