Mediagazer: The long, slow decline of alt-weeklies (Jack Shafer)

11:10 PM ET, March 16, 2013

Top News:

The long, slow decline of alt-weeklies — Alternative weekly colossus Boston Phoenix cracked and fell yesterday, ceasing publication after 47 years. According to a Phoenix executive quoted in the obituary in today's Boston Globe, the alternative weekly was losing more than $1 million a year …

Discussion: @susie_c, @edmundlee and @mjfuhlhage

Susan Orlean / New Yorker:

Memories of the Phoenix — I attended the University of Michigan, but I got my real education at alternative newsweeklies. That's where I learned to write, to report, and to think of myself as a journalist; that's where I grew up. Even now, many years out from my last newsweekly job …

Discussion: Gawker and NetNewsCheck Latest

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:
The Boston Phoenix closing is another sign that glossing up print doesn't work miracles

Discussion: ESPN.com - null, Slate, Phlog, Navel Gazing, Columbia Journalism Review and The Wrap

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of a news company of the future — What will news companies look like in 2018? How will they operate differently? — That future is coming into focus. While many publishers' vision is still quite blurry, it's the Financial Times that is clearest-eyed about its roadmap and its future.

Discussion: ftresponse.blog.com

The Huffington Post:

Matthew Keys Was An Undercover Journalist, Attorney Says — Matthew Keys, the Reuters deputy social media editor charged with helping Anonymous attack the website of his former employer, acted as an “undercover” journalist when he communicated with members of the hacker group, his attorneys told The Huffington Post Friday.

Discussion: The Next Web, The Atlantic Wire, Softpedia News, Politico, Gawker, Betabeat, BuzzFeed, TVSpy, Reuters, matthewkeys.tumblr.com and The Week

Felix Gillette / Businessweek:

Meredith, the Publishing Company That Beat the Internet — On the eve of Valentine's Day, news of a surprising courtship roiled the magazine industry. Meredith (MDP), the demure Iowa-based publisher of upbeat women's service magazines (including Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal …

Guardian:

Phone hacking: Rupert Murdoch hit by 600 fresh claims — Suspect turned informant gives new evidence to Met before parliament vote on newspaper regulation — Detectives are examining an estimated 600 fresh allegations of phone-hacking incidents at Rupert Murdoch's now closed News of the World …

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, BBC, New York Magazine, Daily Mail, News RSS, The Daily Beast, TheJournal.ie and Globe and Mail

Ben Dowell / Guardian:

What next for BBC's head of Vision Roger Mosey? Not director of TV — Corporation stalwart has not applied for director of television or director of news, but may take a new role devised by Lord Hall — Roger Mosey, the BBC's acting head of Vision, has not applied for the senior posts …

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

BuzzFeed to Launch Business Section — BuzzFeed, the news and entertainment website known for its mix of animal lists and political scoops designed to be shared on social networks, is launching a business section. — The move, which Buzzfeed plans to formally announce Monday …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, BuzzFeed, @dylanbyers and FishbowlNY

Don Kaplan / NY Daily News:

Time Warner Cable makes move to rename NY1 so viewers know it's an exclusive news channel — Market research has shown that viewers are not aware that NY1 is owned and only broadcast on Time Warner Cable, says TWC spokeswoman Amy Summers. The move to rename the channel will reinforce …

Discussion: City Room, NY Daily News, FishbowlNY, Radio & Television …, The Awl, The New York Observer, New York Magazine, TVSpy, Gothamist and NewscastStudio

Tom McGeveran / Capital New York:
Pat Kiernan calms us down about the NY1 name change

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

News organizations can now see how their content performs on Pinterest — The image-sharing network Pinterest released a new analytics tool this week that serves up lots of data about how its users engage with your website's content. — Here are some of the questions you can now answer pretty easily.

Christine Haughney / Media Decoder:

Maxim Magazine Exploring a Sale — Maxim, the lad mag that doles out advice and ribald humor that is especially appreciated in military circles, is on the market. — The magazine's parent company, Alpha Media Group, announced Friday that its board of directors had decided to sell or find …

Discussion: Forbes, Media & Entertainment, FishbowlNY, Adweek and New York Magazine

Felix Salmon:

The many flavors of native content — A story about smartphone use in emerging markets appeared on Quartz Wednesday morning. The byline at the top is that of Donald Fitzmaurice, the CEO of Brandtone, who wrote the introduction and the conclusion. The rest of the piece comprises short country reports …