Mediagazer: Aaron Swartz, Precocious Programmer and Internet Activist, Dies at 26 (John Schwartz/New York Times)

12:10 AM ET, January 13, 2013

Top News:

John Schwartz / New York Times:

Aaron Swartz, Precocious Programmer and Internet Activist, Dies at 26 — Aaron Swartz, a wizardly programmer who as a teenager helped to develop a computer code that provided a format for delivering regularly changing Web content and in later life became an unwavering crusader …

Alex Stamos / Unhandled Exception:

The Truth about Aaron Swartz's “Crime” — I did not know Aaron Swartz, unless you count having copies of a person's entire digital life on your forensics server as knowing him. I did once meet his father, an intelligent and dedicated man who was clearly pouring his life into defending his son.

Discussion: BuzzMachine, CNET, Hit & Run, ABC News, Business Insider, The Loop and Joho the Blog

Taylor Berman / Gawker:

Reddit Cofounder, Digital Activist Aaron Swartz Dead From Suicide at 26 (UPDATE) — Aaron Swartz, a programmer and Internet activist who co-founded a company that would eventually grow into Reddit, committed suicide Friday in New York City, according to The Tech and Boing Boing.

Discussion: Boing Boing, SocialTimes, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Guardian, AllThingsD and @gaberivera

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of the digital-only paywall parade — Folly. Gigantic mistake. Rearview-mirror strategy. — Paywalls have taken their share of abuse since The New York Times reopened the digital circulation debate three years ago. But in those three years, my, how things have changed.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals

Mathew Ingram / paidContent:

This is why WikiLeaks is important, and why the NYT should be defending it — Ever since WikiLeaks first emerged on the scene in 2010, there has been a debate about whether the organization should qualify as a media entity, and if so what duty we owe it. Many journalists have preferred …

Discussion: The Week

Matt Williams / Guardian:
Key witness in Bradley Manning WikiLeaks trial defends Reddit webchat

Discussion: SocialTimes

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:

Keeping Environmental Reporting Strong Won't Be Easy — Those who care deeply about environmental issues were understandably concerned Friday after learning that The Times was dismantling its special team - or “pod” - of seven reporters and two editors. — Beth Parke, executive director …

Discussion: Capital New York, The Politics of Poverty and The Huffington Post

Andrew C. Revkin / Dot Earth:

The Changing Newsroom Environment — There's been a flurry of blog, Facebook and Twitter shock and anger following Katherine Bagley's exclusive report for Inside Climate News on the decision by The New York Times to shut down its standalone environment “pod” and redistribute that able team …

Discussion: Guardian, kottke.org, FishbowlNY and InsideClimate News

David Griner / Poynter:

How KKK rally image found new life 20 years after it was published — Buried on Page B1, alongside the hum-drum headline “KKK march calm,” a powerful image of race relations in the southern United States was nearly lost. In fact, it almost wasn't published at all.

Discussion: BAGnewsNotes

Liz Alderman / New York Times:

Greek Police Search for Culprits in Bombings at Journalists' Homes — The Greek police on Saturday were looking for the people responsible for detonating makeshift bombs at the homes of five journalists in Athens, the latest in a series of actions taken against reporters in Greece …

Will Sommer / City Desk:

D.C. Won't Prosecute David Gregory Over Gun Magazine — Looks like NBC's David Gregory won't have to turn to the life of a fugitive, after all. Despite waving around a 30-round magazine that's illegal under District law on a Dec. 23 Meet the Press broadcast, Gregory won't be prosecuted …

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, TVNewser, Broadcasting & Cable and Erik Wemple

Rafat Ali / Skift:

Wikipedia's travel site's official launch coming soon; what to expect and not expect — [UPDATE: The Wikimedia Foundation is tentatively slated to launch Wikivoyage next week, on January 15, Skift has learned.] — Wikipedia's next big push is a travel wiki, and the official launch …

Discussion: Wired, the Econsultancy blog, SocialTimes and CNET

Joe Hagan / New York Magazine:

Major Shakeout Looms for Top New York Times Editors — The next two weeks are going to get tense inside the headquarters of the New York Times. — Last month, executive editor Jill Abramson told the staff she'd have to cut 30 positions from the news division to buffer against financial losses …