Mediagazer: Guardian News & Media to launch digital Australia edition (Mark Sweney/Guardian)

4:35 PM ET, January 15, 2013

Top News:

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.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals, The Wrap, Media Decoder, Guardian, The Onion, Erik Wemple and @jackmirkinson

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 …

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, Sydney Morning Herald, Radio New Zealand, The Drum, mUmBRELLA, @revdancatt and @iburrell

Andrew Miller / Lean Back 2.0:
Why the Guardian is launching a digital edition in Australia

Discussion: pressgazette.co.uk

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

Discussion: MediaShift, Wired, nbcnews.com, New York Magazine, Daily Dot, The Daily Beast and Hillicon Valley

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

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, AdAge, bizjournals and The Wrap

Hollywood Reporter:
Hollywood Reporter Parent Company Names Ross Levinsohn CEO

Discussion: Adweek, Business Insider, VentureBeat 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.

Discussion: Washington Post

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

Discussion: Twitchy

Deadspin:

Hot Stove: Deadspin, Gawker Swap Managing Editors — Deadspin has traded managing editor Tom Scocca to Gawker for managing editor Emma Carmichael. The sign-and-trade deal makes Scocca the deputy editor at Gawker, second in command to new editor John Cook, and it returns Carmichael …

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Layoffs occurring at Reuters — An undetermined number of Reuters employees are currently being laid off, a company representative confirmed to Talking Biz News. — Those layoffs include editorial staffers. — “Yes, I can confirm there have been layoffs across Thomson Reuters today …

Discussion: 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.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Vadim Lavrusik / Facebook:

How Journalists Can Use Facebook Graph Search for Reporting — Today we're announcing Graph Search, a new way for people to navigate their connections to people and content on Facebook. It launches today with a limited beta. To sign up for the waiting list, see the bottom of the Graph Search about page.

Discussion: AllThingsD, VentureBeat, Poynter, Facebook Newsroom, NetNewsCheck Latest, The Verge, Washington Post, TechRadar.com, The Verge, Daily Dot, BBC and Pocket-lint

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

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.

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC boosts Britain's economy by £8bn, new report claims — Study commissioned by the corporation shows that broadcaster gave back nearly twice its licence fee spend — The BBC boosted the UK economy by more than £8bn - nearly twice its licence fee spend …

Discussion: About the BBC

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Howie Kurtz accused of interfering with story to protect Anderson Cooper's sexuality — CNN media critic Howard Kurtz is being accused of pressuring an editor at the Daily Beast, where he is a columnist, to kill a story that would have outed CNN's Anderson Cooper as gay — an accusation Kurtz strongly dismisses.

Discussion: TVNewser, Capital New York and Chickaboomer