Mediagazer: Fleet Street editors call for charitable trust to oversee new independent newspaper watchdog (Ian Burrell/The Independent)

11:25 AM ET, January 11, 2013

Top News:

New York Times Dismantles Its Environment Desk — Times says demise of the nine-person team, created in 2009, won't affect climate coverage. — The New York Times will close its environment desk in the next few weeks and assign its seven reporters and two editors to other departments.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and FishbowlNY

John Herrman / BuzzFeed:

Every Tech Journalist's Worst Nightmare — At 4:05 PM on Wednesday, Dish Networks notified its Twitter followers that it had been chosen as a finalist for CNET's “Best of CES” awards for its new DVR product. This was not a surprise — the Hopper was given a best-of award by nearly every publication …

Discussion: paidContent, CNET, Betabeat, New York Magazine, Trust But Verify, Talking Biz News and The Loop

Digits:
Dish Recorder Snubbed for CNET Award Over CBS Legal Scuffle

Discussion: The Verge, Bloomberg Tech Blog, Dish, TECHGEEK.com.au, Forbes, AllThingsD and Reuters

Guardian:

Times editor not expected to be appointed until next week at earliest — Meeting this week between paper's independent directors and John Witherow did not result in his immediate confirmation — A new editor of the Times is not expected to be announced until next week at the earliest …

Josh Sternberg / Digiday:

The New York Times' Plan to Save the Banner Ad — Like many publications, The New York Times has a banner ad problem. The problem is this: the Web is littered with banners and new computer-driven methods of buying discrete audiences is putting even further pressure on the display ad market.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, Thanks:@steverubel

Tim Carmody / The Verge:

Better than Nielsen: Twitter breaks down TV behavior by demographics, device, and genre — UK statistics show that tweeting about ‘Homeland’ is not like tweeting about ‘Downton Abbey’ or ‘X Factor’ — Twitter has released a twenty-page booklet for advertisers on trends in television viewing and Twitter use in the UK.

Discussion: BuzzFeed

Ian Burrell / The Independent:

Fleet Street editors call for charitable trust to oversee new independent newspaper watchdog — Fleet Street editors are calling for a special charitable trust to be set up to oversee the new independent newspaper watchdog demanded by Lord Justice Leveson. The proposal has been advanced …

Cyndi Stivers / CJR:

Huey, Luce, and the news — At year-end, Time Inc. editor in chief John Huey quietly announced plans to head to a fellowship at Harvard after an 11-year run (six in the top job) on the Mount Olympus of magazine journalism. On his way up, he ran Fortune, coauthored Sam Walton's autobiography …

Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

A.J. Daulerio Out As Gawker Editor; John Cook to Step Up — Gawker editor-in-chief A.J. Daulerio will no longer run the site after a year on the job, Daily Intelligencer has learned. Daulerio jumped across the Gawker Media network from Deadspin and took over for Remy Stern at the start of 2012.

Discussion: The New York Observer, Media Decoder, Adweek, Twitchy, The Wrap and FishbowlNY

Guardian:

Guardian, Telegraph and FT post modest sales rises in December — Newspapers perform resiliently, with i reporting biggest decline of 3.66% month on month - but year-on-year sales up 31% — The Financial Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph where the only daily national newspapers to see month-on-month sales increases in December.

Discussion: pressgazette.co.uk and Media Week

Sara Morrison / CJR:

Maura Johnston's new song — The former Village Voice music editor is back with a magazine app — After Maura Johnston was let go from the Village Voice in September, she decided that, after six years as a full-time writer, it was time to “prove myself on a grand scale.”

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Nadja Brandt / Bloomberg:

Condos Replace Newsrooms as U.S. Papers Sell Real Estate — Newspaper owners, struggling with plunging demand and advertising spending at a six-decade low, are squeezing money out of the assets they do have with rising value: buildings and land. — A.H. Belo Corp. (AHC) …

Lauren Indvik / Mashable!:

Why Amazon Won't Give You Free Digital Copies of Your Movies and Books — Amazon announced Thursday morning that any customer who purchases a CD will receive a free digital copy of that album. The offer is valid not only on present and future purchases, but on any one of 50,000 CDs purchased from the retailer since 1998.

Discussion: paidContent