Mediagazer: Rupert Murdoch says Los Angeles Times purchase not a sure thing (Los Angeles Times)

10:50 AM ET, January 15, 2013

Top News:

Jessica Roy / Betabeat:

IBM Exec Husband of Aaron Swartz Prosecutor Takes to Twitter to Defend His Wife — In the wake of the suicide of hacker hero Aaron Swartz, his friends and family released a statement placing the onus for his death on “a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach.”

Discussion: Boston Globe, nbcnews.com and Business Insider

The Huffington Post:

Aaron Swartz's Lawyer: Prosecutor Stephen Heymann Wanted ‘Juicy’ Case For Publicity — WASHINGTON — The federal prosecutor who reportedly insisted on jail time for the late Aaron Swartz was “very, very difficult to deal with,” Swartz's lawyer told The Huffington Post.

Discussion: New Yorker, Fast Company, The Daily Beast and The Verge

Brendan Sasso / Hillicon Valley:
Justice drops charges against Swartz after activist kills himself

Discussion: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Crikey, ReadWrite, Fast Company, Associated Press, WebProNews, AllThingsD, Softpedia News, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and Betabeat

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed: Iranian Government Promotes Aaron Swartz Conspiracy Theories

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Bill Press on future of Current TV hosts — As Current TV vanishes, the progressive media talking heads that called the network home are left with one major question: What's next? — What's next for each host professionally once Al Jazeera America takes the place of Current in millions of homes across the country?

Dylan Byers / Politico: Al Jazeera America: Will they watch?

Taylor Berman / Gawker:

The Atlantic Is Now Publishing Bizarre, Blatant Scientology Propaganda as ‘Sponsored Content’ (UPDATE) — The Atlantic — the one time publisher of Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edith Wharton — is now publishing Scientology propaganda. The “sponsored content”</a …

Discussion: Mediaite, Business Insider, Erik Wemple, @alexismadrigal, The Huffington Post, @jamesfallows, @monikabauerlein, The Daily Caller, Pressing Issues and @jaredbkeller

Jon Russell / The Next Web:

The Atlantic backtracks and removes controversial Scientology advertorial — The Atlantic has U-turned on its controversial paid-for feature article from the Church of Scientology. The publication had sparked a debate on media ethics and business models after allowing the advertorial …

Los Angeles Times:

Rupert Murdoch says Los Angeles Times purchase not a sure thing — Now that Rupert Murdoch is spinning off News Corp.'s publishing properties into a separate company, media observers have identified the Los Angeles Times as a likely target for acquisition. Murdoch isn't one of them.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian: John Witherow could be confirmed as Times editor this week

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Guardian News & Media to launch digital Australia edition — Katharine Viner, the Guardian's deputy editor, to lead digital venture which is backed by internet entrepreneur Graeme Wood — The Guardian is to launch a digital edition in Australia, backed by internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Graeme Wood.

Discussion: Lean Back 2.0, Journalism.co.uk and @iburrell

Chicago Tribune:

Tribune Co. bankruptcy: Warning signs before the buyout — As pressure built to make a deal, an army of bankers and Tribune Co.'s top executives saw red flags but forged ahead — with huge fees and other payments as incentives — When Bank of America credit officer Dan Petrik and his team sat …

Chicago Tribune: Tribune Co. bankruptcy: Sam Zell's big gamble

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Journal News deploys Fifth Avenue firm to reject interview requests — Last week, the Erik Wemple Blog pressed Kathy Moore, an editor at the Journal News, for an interview regarding the newspaper's very controversial maps of gun-permit holders in Rockland and Westchester counties.

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
‘No pattern’ of crime related to Journal News maps, says police official

Discussion: New York Times and The Daily Caller

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Lance Armstrong Interview Could Be Worth Millions to Oprah Winfrey Network — Considerable as it may be, Oprah Winfrey's personal celebrity isn't enough to build a cable network on, as the early struggles of OWN showed. Her unmatched ability to get other celebrities to open up to her?

Discussion: CBS News and The Daily Beast

David Carr / Media Decoder:
Armstrong and Winfrey: Familiar Names in a Time-Honored Ritual

Discussion: The Week, BBC, bigstory.ap.org and Yahoo! News

Buzz Bissinger / The Daily Beast:
I Was Deluded to Believe Lance Armstrong When He Denied Doping

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Globe and Mail, Softpedia News, Yahoo! News, Guardian, New York Times and Deadspin

Lindsey Turrentine / CNET:

The 2013 Best of CES Awards: CNET's story — The true story of what happened before last week's Best of CES Awards unveiling — Last week, about 40 members of the CNET editorial staff met in the CNET trailer in the parking lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center to vote on our official Best of CES winner.

Discussion: mediabistro.com, CJR, PandoDaily, Hollywood Reporter, Hillicon Valley, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Home Media Magazine, Media Decoder, BetaNews, TVNewser, Adweek, @megan, NetNewsCheck Latest and Betabeat

John Herman / BuzzFeed:
Star CNET Reporter Resigns Over CBS Controversy

Discussion: @sandocnet, @sandocnet, Talking Biz News, @alexweprin, @ryanlawler, @ryan, Poynter, @sandocnet, JIMROMENESKO.COM and @sandocnet

John Biggs / TechCrunch:
What's Next For CNET After The Dish Debacle?

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Verge, Electronista, Capital New York and The Verge

Press Gazette:

As MEP is jailed thanks to Sunday Times Insight sting - police investigate intimidation claim — Austrian police are investigating an attempt to intimidate two British journalists from giving evidence in an anti-corruption trial after a fake fax was sent to a lawyer representing the pair alleging …

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Jim Impoco to leave Reuters as the company readies new digital strategy — Reuters Digital boss Chrystia Freeland issued a memo this morning announcing the leadership structure of Reuters Next, the company's new consumer-facing online strategy and soon to be re-launched website.

Hollywood Reporter:

Hollywood Reporter Parent Company Names Ross Levinsohn CEO — The former Yahoo and Fox Interactive Media executive will lead Guggenheim Digital Media, a new umbrella company that includes THR, Billboard and other brands - with an eye toward growth. — The Hollywood Reporter's parent company …

Discussion: Business Insider

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

54% of U.S. kids have never read an ebook: New report — Scholastic, the world's largest children's publisher, released its biannual report on children and reading Monday morning. The study, conducted in partnership with the Harrison Group in fall 2012, surveyed 1,048 U.S. children ages 6 …

Discussion: Scholastic Media Room and nbcnews.com

Leslie Kaufman / Media Decoder:
Digital Reading on the Rise for Children (With a Qualifier)

Discussion: PublishersWeekly.com

Dylan Byers / Politico:

N.Y. Times shakeup: Rick Berke to leave masthead, head new video effort — New York Times assistant managing editor Rick Berke will be leaving the masthead to take on a leadership role in video content, POLITICO has learned. — Berke, a former Washington editor, will join video …

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:
Joyce Wadler Takes NY Times Buyout

Discussion: The Awl, WWD Media Headlines, Politico and FishbowlNY

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

WSJ to Bow New Magazine — Whether it's taking stock of one's own wealth or gawking at others,' people's interest in money seems limitless. So says The Wall Street Journal, which is giving personal finance the glossy treatment with a new magazine insert, WSJ. … Money is a spinoff of WSJ.