Mediagazer: For the sake of science — PopSci's ‘scientific’ justification … (Alexis Sobel Fitts/Columbia Journalism …)

5:30 PM ET, September 28, 2013

Top News:

Memo: ‘Regretfully, a number of Patches will have to be closed’ — Bud Rosenthal, the new CEO of AOL's Patch, told employees in a memo sent at 6:14 p.m. ET Friday that “we have believed strongly in the value of a connected local community. However this commitment has not translated …

Discussion: @dangillmor

Paul Carr / PandoDaily:

NSFWCORP CEO announces success in public appeal for funds following loosened SEC rules — NSFWCORP's race to survive... The results are in — On Monday, I wrote about my “Brewster's Millions"-style struggle to close NSFWCORP's latest round of funding before we were forced into a unwanted “pivot.”

Discussion: @fried, @bgoldberg, @jason_pontin, @voraciousbrain, @sarahcuda, @markcenicola, @olivianuzzi and @rafat

Sarah Marshall / Journalism.co.uk:

The Economist rethinks ‘lean forward, lean back’ model — The rise in popularity of touch-screen devices means publishers should be ‘touch first and mobile second’, Neelay Patel from The Economist Group tells conference — Until recently The Economist's model was lean forward, lean back publishing.

Discussion: @marklittlenews

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A: Andrew Kueneman and Steve Duenes, NYT graphic and Web designers — Behind the scenes of “Tomato Can Blues,” the Times' latest multimedia project — The New York Times celebrated its 162nd birthday in style last week with the launch of “Tomato Can Blues,” a longform multimedia piece …

Andrew Roth / The Lede:

Russian News Sites Protest Detention of Journalists With Greenpeace Activists — A Russian court on Thursday ordered that 22 members of the Greenpeace team that protested Arctic drilling by trying to scale a state-run oil rig may spend up to two months in detention in a Murmansk jail …

Discussion: @cobbing, Global Voices and Committee to Protect …

Nico Hines / The Daily Beast:
Kieron Bryan: British Journalist Held Without Trial in Russia

Discussion: @greenpeaceuk

RT:
Russian media protests detention of Greenpeace freelance photographer

Discussion: The Moscow Times and Associated Press

Cale Guthrie Weissman / PandoDaily:

Chris Hughes: The separation of business and editorial is outdated — Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder, Obama campaigner, and current owner and editor-in-chief of the New Republic, says he would repeat the most controversial move he's made since the publication's January re-launch.

Discussion: @profjeffjarvis, @samgustin, @paulxharris, @seth_fletcher, @justinjm1, @gregpinelo and @mathewi

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

What makes the Texas Tribune's event business so successful? — When The Texas Tribune launched in 2009, Evan Smith says the nonprofit news site was in a “proof by assertion” stage. The assertion, in this case, was that there was an audience hungry for intensely focused-coverage of Texas politics …

Discussion: @simonowens, @niemanlab, Reuters and Knight Foundation

Alexis Sobel Fitts / Columbia Journalism Review:

For the sake of science — PopSci's ‘scientific’ justification for shutting down comments conveys the research poorly — The internet has largely weighed in on Popular Science's sudden decision to shut off its comments section earlier this week. The responses have been, for the most part …

Rachel Bartlett / Journalism.co.uk:

The Forbes contributor model: Technology, feedback and incentives — A look at Forbes's approach to content production by a technology and data-driven newsroom, and wide network of contributors — Read more — Other top stories — Also on Journalism.co.uk...

Discussion: @jasonmoriber and @jayrosen_nyu

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Lee Thornton, First African American Woman to Cover the White House for TV, Has Died — Lee Thornton, a former CNN and CBS correspondent, has died. — Thornton, who died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer, was the first African American woman to cover a regular White House beat for one of the big three broadcast networks, at CBS News.

Discussion: FishbowlDC

George Brock / New Statesman:

Journalism is going to survive this era of creative destruction — Here's why. — Creative destruction is no fun if it is your livelihood or beloved newspaper that is being destroyed. But my researches have convinced me that journalism is being adapted, rethought and reconstructed …

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's … and @annnyberg

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Feds: DOJ press guidelines don't raise bar for leak case — New guidelines Attorney General Eric Holder issued recently for investigations involving journalists don't undercut legal arguments made in an ongoing leak prosecution, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.

Discussion: @joshgerstein and @kgosztola

Jim Romenesko:

GateHouse Media: Our bankruptcy filing ‘is not a reflection of any operational problem’ — GateHouse Media has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. CEO Michael Reed says in a memo that “with the challenges facing our industry and the impending maturity of our secured debt next year …

Discussion: St. Louis Business Journal and Poynter