Mediagazer: Warren Buffett's media group to buy Roanoke, Va., newspaper (Steve Jordon/Omaha World-Herald)

5:20 PM ET, May 30, 2013

Top News:

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

New York Times Is Said to Consider More Sponsored Stories — New York Times Co. (NYT), looking to imitate the business models used by startups such as BuzzFeed Inc., is considering letting advertisers sponsor more stories on its website, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Discussion: @timmcguire, @peretti, Adweek and paidContent

Jeff Jarvis / Medium: In the End Was the Word and the Word Was the Sponsor's

Richard Edelman / Edelman:
Show Me (a Little of) the Money

Thanks:@steverubel

RT:

US media execs rebuff Holder's closed-door wiretap scandal meeting — Several significant US news organizations reject the Department of Justice's proposal to discuss off-the-record ‘new guidelines’ in light of the reporter wiretapping scandal. Last week President Obama urged the DOJ to search a consensus with the media.

Discussion: Poynter, Politico, Mediaite, Business Insider, Fox News, @dylanbyers, @princeeditor, Los Angeles Times, @rubinreport, @nycjim, @mweinger and @mlcalderone

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Which Media Outlets Will Be At DOJ's Off-The-Record Meeting? — Media executives and editors are divided over whether to attend an off-the-record meeting this week with Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss guidelines for dealing with journalists in leak investigations …

Discussion: Bloomberg, TVNewser, Mediaite, Human Events, Politico and The Hill

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

7 Reasons Why the Media Shouldn't Keep Eric Holder's Secrets — What “off the record” means and why it matters to you. — The dustup over whether journalists should meet privately with Attorney General Eric Holder is a forest-for-the-trees flap. — The existential issue still tangling Washington …

Discussion: Erik Wemple, BuzzFeed and FishbowlNY

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Sun-Times lays off its photo staff — The Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photography staff, and plans to use freelance photographers going forward, the newspaper said. About 20 full-times staffers received the news Thursday morning, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Discussion: Chicago Business, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Gawker, NPPA, The Wrap, Forbes, @jvansack, @mattwaite, @anicabutler, @dancow, @nppalawyer, Mashable, @gailpennington, PetaPixel, Poynter, The Huffington Post and Change of Subject

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

Social media editor role is ‘more about an evolution than a contraction’ — Is the role of the social media editor really “dead”? Rob Fishman thinks so. In a widely circulated BuzzFeed piece published Wednesday, Fishman argues that newsrooms don't need social media editors like they used to.

Discussion: Soup, paidContent and @antderosa

BuzzFeed:
The Social Media Editor is Dead

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Zombie Journalism, ReadWrite, @lheron, @ivanlajara, @fieldproducer, @lheron, @fieldproducer, Nieman Reports and @boyreporter

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Spin lets its editor-in-chief go — Spin has parted ways with Editor-in-Chief Caryn Ganz. Jeff Leeds, the editorial boss of parent company SpinMedia, gave the news to staffers in a meeting Wednesday night in Spin's New York office. — Reached by phone, Ganz confirmed her departure …

Discussion: @chrisdeville, @katieaprincess, @evanryt, @jaysonrodriguez, FishbowlNY and @mehpatrol

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Netflix boss: BBC is holding back UK children's shows — Ted Sarandos says corporation restricts UK licensing for up to five years, forcing streaming service to buy US shows instead — Ted Sarandos, Netflix's content chief, has accused the BBC of stifling the potential of homegrown children's shows …

Discussion: Home Media Magazine, Variety, paidContent and Hollywood Reporter

Mark Sweney / Guardian:
BBC accused of acting like a ‘thug’ towards local papers

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …

Josh Sternberg / Digiday:

Is Quartz the Very Model of a Modern Publisher? — Eight months ago, Atlantic Media placed a bet that a digital-first, mobile-oriented publication geared to business executives on the go would be a hit. The results, so far, point to a publication on the rise.

Discussion: @zseward, @joshsternberg and eMedia Vitals

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Jeff Zucker on Cable News Rivals: ‘CNN Gets Held to a Higher Standard’ — The new head of CNN also defends the network against the charge that anchors didn't correct a mistaken Boston Marathon report quickly enough. — Jeff Zucker inferred Wednesday that he might be willing to cede …

Discussion: TVNewser, Deadline.com, AllThingsD and Inside Cable News

Terry Heaton / Street Fight:

Report: Pureplays Using Legacy Media as a Farm System for Sales Staff — Local media companies need to do something to protect their digital sales assets or run the risk of losing them to pureplay* web companies. That's just one of the findings of a new study being released tomorrow by Borrell Associates …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, NetNewsCheck Latest and Radio Ink Magazine

Steve Jordon / Omaha World-Herald:

Warren Buffett's media group to buy Roanoke, Va., newspaper — The Roanoke (Va.) Times will become part of Warren Buffett's newspaper group. — BH Media Group, an Omaha-based division of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said Thursday that it would purchase The Times from Landmark Media Enterprises of Norfolk, Va., for an undisclosed price.