Mediagazer: Belgian media planning shared digital content passport (Robert Andrews/paidContent)

2012: The year Irish newspapers tried to destroy the web — This is not a joke. I have started with that clarification, because as you read this you will find yourself asking “Is this some kind of a joke?” I thought I would be helpful and put the answer right up at the start, so you can refer back to it as often as you require.

Discussion: Media Nation, Guardian and @georgeprof

Myles Tanzer / Gawker:

The Newspaper That Published Personal Information of Local Gun Owners Now Has Armed Guards — The saga of the Journal News' decision to publish the names and addresses of gun owners in Rockland County now has another chapter. — Earlier this week, the competing Rockland Timeswent ahead …

Discussion: The Rockland County Times, Poynter, mediabistro.com, Daily Mail, NetNewsCheck Latest, Politico and Gannett Blog

‘Journal News’ advertisers face boycott over gun map — The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association is calling for a nationwide boycott of the advertisers of the suburban New York newspaper that published online maps revealing names and addresses of people with pistol permits.

Discussion: Gannett Blog and The Huffington Post

New York Times:

Times Reporter in China Is Forced to Leave Over Visa Issue — BEIJING — A correspondent for The New York Times was forced to leave mainland China on Monday after the authorities declined to issue him a visa for 2013 by year's end. — Chris Buckley, a 45-year-old Australian who has worked …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, Epoch Times, Guardian and The Huffington Post

John Garnaut / Sydney Morning Herald:

China expels journalist after Wen revelations — AN AUSTRALIAN journalist with The New York Times has been expelled from China in an apparent act of retaliation for a news report about the family wealth of the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao. After 15 years in China, including 12 as a reporter …

Discussion: Guardian and Business Insider

Reuters:

Tribune, out of Chapter 11, set to begin makeover as TV company — (Reuters) - Tribune Co, which started by publishing the Chicago Tribune on a hand press in 1847, sees a future in broadcasting, one not likely to include the major newspapers that made it a force in the news business.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, NPR and Associated Press

Discussion: Politico, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and LA Observed

Bill Maurer / Seeking Alpha:

Netflix Gives Reed Hastings Huge Raise: Why? — After the bell on Friday, Netflix (NFLX) announced that it was giving CEO Reed Hastings a huge raise. Mr. Hastings will get a $2 million salary along with $2 million of compensation through stock options, the ultimate value of which depends on how Netflix's shares perform.

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

Apple's iBookstore Headed to Japan This Year — Apple is preparing to take a serious run at the Japanese e-book market. The company is negotiating deals with a handful of Japanese publishers to supply a local version of its iBookstore with their e-book catalogs.

Discussion: The Verge, App Advice and Bookseller news

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

Belgian media planning shared digital content passport — Fresh from apparently wrangling online content fees from Google last month, Belgian newspaper websites will, in 2013, launch an industry-wide platform to take back their readers. — Major Flemish- and French-language newspaper publishers …

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press:

Orange County Register Owner Aaron Kushner Defies Trend To Shrink Costs — SANTA ANA, Calif. — New and expanded sections to cover business, automobiles and food. A nearly five-fold increase in community news pages and more investigative reporting. Even daily color comics.

Jon Evans / TechCrunch:

All Journalism Is Tech Journalism Now — I am about to commit an act of meta-journalism. I'm sorry. I hate meta-journalism. I unfollowed GigaOm's Mathew Ingram (a fine writer) on Twitter some time ago because I could not muster any more interest in articles about articles and blog posts about blogging.

Michael Wolff / Guardian:

Rupert Murdoch's make-or-break venture: the new News Corp — As the octogenarian mogul marshals his ailing newspaper group, he faces the sternest test of his business acumen to date — In my world, one of the great sports of the New Year is going to be watching Rupert Murdoch de-hitch his newspapers from his entertainment companies.

Discussion: @tom_watson

Patricia Sauthoff / Mediagazer News:

Mediagazer's biggest stories of 2012 — It's always fun for journos to argue about which news story was the story of the year. Of course, everyone has different criteria and therefore a different answer. At Mediagazer we decided to look at the data and choose visually.