Mediagazer: Web-based productions are taking off in L.A. (Los Angeles Times)

9:40 AM ET, March 28, 2013

Top News:

Chief Who Led Expansion at Hearst Will Step Down — After nearly 30 years of running the Hearst Corporation, the privately held media company, Frank A. Bennack Jr. has announced that he is stepping down. — Mr. Bennack, the 80-year-old chief executive of Hearst, used profits from titles …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

Steve Swartz to succeed Frank Bennack as CEO of Hearst Corp. — One of the longest-serving chief executives in the media industry is stepping down. — Frank A. Bennack Jr., chief executive of Hearst Corp. since 1979, will give up that title in June. Steven Swartz, currently president and chief operating officer, will become CEO.

Discussion: WWD Media Headlines, HEARST Corporation, Wall Street Journal, Variety and Adweek

Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:

As Newspapers Experiment With Sponsored Content, Google Says Keep It Out Of Google News — Newspapers and news publications having “sponsored” content deals are on the rise, and Google's apparently concerned enough that it's issued a warning today that publishers should keep such content out of Google News.

Discussion: Google News Blog, @it_andrewc, @aaronwall and @helenbranswell

Patrick Smith / TheMediaBriefing:

Behind the business model of MailOnline, the biggest newspaper site in the world — There is much talk of paywalls at the moment, but don't forget the other side of the payfence: there is a huge opportunity in ad-supported free media and MailOnline is showing the way forward.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, Thanks:@mediabrief

Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:

A Driving Force Behind Wikipedia Will Step Down — Sue Gardner, who oversaw a period of rapid growth and evolution at Wikipedia, said Wednesday that she would step down as executive director of the nonprofit organization that runs the free encyclopedia. — In an interview with The Times on Wednesday …

Discussion: Business Insider, AllThingsD, @xor and Wikimedia blog

John Jannarone / Wall Street Journal:

Data Don't Add Up for Thomson Reuters — When Thomson Corp. and Reuters Group merged, employees from the two sides suffered a typical culture clash. Nearly five years later, it is investors in the combined company who may feel most out of place. — Shares of Thomson Reuters remain 13% below …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Erik Grimm / INMA:

Digital newspaper: same advertising impact and so much more — New research reveals advertising impact is just as powerful on tablets as it is in print, especially if the online edition carries over the look and feel of the news brand. — Dutch news media have invested heavily in editions …

Alison Langley / Columbia Journalism Review:

French antipiracy efforts unsuccessful — The French government started cracking down on illegal downloading, so users switched to illegal streaming — Hadopi—a wildly unpopular French antipiracy agency charged with seeking out illegal downloaders for prosecution—may be reorganized …

Marco Arment / Marco.org:

The power of the RSS reader — With the decreasing use of RSS readers over the last few years, which will probably be accelerated by Google Reader's shutdown in July, many are bidding good riddance to a medium that they never used well. — RSS is easy to abuse. In 2011, I wrote Sane RSS usage:

Felix Salmon:

Paywalls rise — It's paywall season right now: the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Telegraph, the Sun — all have recently announced plans to erect paywalls in an attempt to extract subscription revenues from their most loyal online readers.

Discussion: Electronista, @bobbygrasberger, @paulxharris, PandoDaily, PandoDaily, TechRadar.com, the Econsultancy blog, Globe and Mail and CMU

Reuters:

Portugal media demands Google pays for news — (Reuters) - Portuguese media companies, struggling through the worst recession since the 1970s, are pressing Google to pay for content on its news search engine, echoing similar demands elsewhere in Europe. — Alberico Fernandes …

Discussion: Techdirt, CNET and The Loop

Charlotte Woolard / BtoB Online:

Forbes.com strategy helps grow revenue, unique visitors — Forbes.com grew its revenue last year, building a digital sales number that for the first time matched what the print side generated, said Meredith Levien, chief revenue officer at Forbes Media. — “The exciting news is that it's not because print is shrinking,” Levien said.

Thanks:@steverubel

Andrea Morabito / Broadcasting & Cable:

Upfronts 2013: Participant Media's Cable Network Named ‘Pivot’ — Channel targeting viewers 18-34 will offer broadband-only subscription — New York — Participant Media on Wednesday announced the name of its upcoming cable network targeting millennials: pivot. The network will launch in 40 million households on Aug. 1.

Discussion: Lost Remote, The Wrap, Variety and Deadline.com