Mediagazer: The Atlantic Is Now Publishing Bizarre, Blatant Scientology Propaganda as ‘Sponsored Content’ (UPDATE) (Taylor Berman/Gawker)

1:25 PM ET, January 15, 2013

Top News:

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 …

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 …

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

The Atlantic On That Scientology Advertorial: ‘We Screwed Up’ — Advertising's easy when the world loves you. When the pitchforks are out — when you're BP after the Deepwater Horizon spill, say, or Coca-Cola amid the sugary drinks backlash - that's where it gets tricky.

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, The Daily Beast, Fast Company and The Verge

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: MediaShift, Boston Globe, nbcnews.com and Mashable!

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

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

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

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: Journalism.co.uk, @revdancatt and @iburrell

Andrew Miller / Lean Back 2.0:

Why the Guardian is launching a digital edition in Australia — The launch of the Guardian's digital edition in Australia is a milestone in the development of our global ambitions. It also illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing a newspaper industry that is undergoing a period …

Discussion: pressgazette.co.uk

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Former Yahoo Boss Ross Levinsohn Has a New Gig, and a Digital M&A War Chest — Ross Levinsohn, who wanted to run Yahoo but didn't get the gig, has a new perch. He's heading up a new digital media company backed by Guggenheim Partners. — Guggenheim already controlled several media trade titles …

Discussion: Folio, The Wrap and AdAge

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: Adweek, VentureBeat, Business Insider and DealBook

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?

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.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
James O'Keefe tries to get reporters to advertise their gun-free homes

Discussion: Twitchy

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

Discussion: Gannett Blog, New York Times and The Daily Caller

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.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

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

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

CBS's Censorship Of CNET May Undermine A Different CBS Lawsuit — Last week, after the news came out that CBS had censored its subsidiary CNET, barring reporters there from reviewing Dish products (or any product of any company in litigation with CBS) or from awarding them the “best of CES” …

Lindsey Turrentine / CNET:
The 2013 Best of CES Awards: CNET's story

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

Jim Romenesko:

Dick Stevenson is named New York Times chief Washington correspondent — A Times memo says: “Starting immediately, Dick [Stevenson] becomes Chief Washington Correspondent, joining David Sanger in that role. Given their respective backgrounds, Dick will likely spend more time writing …

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

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 …

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: Speakeasy, Mediaite, AdAge, Broadcasting & Cable, CBS News and The Daily Beast

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

Discussion: BBC, bigstory.ap.org, The Week and The Daily Caller

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