Mediagazer: In Syria, Advocates Step In to Sift for Truth (Celestine Bohlen/New York Times)

5:55 AM ET, October 2, 2013

Top News:

Reporting on government shutdown has failed democracy … American news reports are largely blaming the government shutdown on the inability of both political parties to come to terms. It is supposedly the result of a “bitterly divided” Congress that “failed to reach agreement” (Washington Post) …

Discussion: @binkytoes, @manish_vij, @dustinslaughter, @johnmcquaid, @dangillmor and Vanity Fair, Thanks:@jaredbkeller

John Hudson / Foreign Policy:

In Shutdown, Government-Funded News Declared ‘Essential to National Security’ — Despite a wave of disruptive furloughs at the Pentagon, CIA, NASA and other federal agencies, Uncle Sam will continue pumping out thousands of hours of government-funded news programs to foreign audiences during the shutdown.

Discussion: Bangor Daily News

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Is the government shut down? Quartz will tell you (and drive a little traffic in the process)

Discussion: @zseward

Alexander Abad-Santos / The Atlantic Wire:
Ranking the Best Newspaper Front Pages on the Government Shutdown

Discussion: Poynter, TVNewser, Capital New York, @ohnorosco, @bob_ortega and The Huffington Post

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

The Washington Post closes sale to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos formally took over as the owner of The Washington Post on Tuesday, officially ending 80 years of local control of the newspaper by the Graham family.

Discussion: Poynter, @jfdulac, @jfdulac, MinOnline, @washingtonpost, AppNewser and Politico

Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:

The future of the Washington Post Co. without its flagship newspaper — The sale of the Washington Post newspaper Tuesday marked an emotional milestone for its former parent company, whose future long ago stopped revolving around its flagship publication. — What comes next is as much a mystery …

Discussion: @romenesko

Michael Carney / PandoDaily:

Intel exec Erik Huggers throws his hat into the (surprisingly crowded) Hulu CEO ring — Early this year, it seemed like no one associated with Hulu wanted to claim ownership of it. In January, the company's CEO and CTO both announced their resignation, moves that were followed by multiple high level executive departures.

Discussion: Digital Trends

Tim Peterson / AdAge:
Hulu Ad Chief JP Colaco Is Latest to Depart Video Service

Discussion: Hulu Blog, Variety and AllThingsD

Wall Street Journal:

Thomson Reuters to Review Business Units — Thomson Reuters Inc. plans a fresh review of the company's business units, in the latest sign the data provider is looking for ways to respond to weak demand from its financial services clients. — In a video emailed to staff on Tuesday …

Discussion: @joepompeo, @keachhagey, @peterlauria3, Talking Biz News and Digits

Greg Mitchell / The Nation:

‘NYT’ Fingers McClatchy for ‘Terror’ Leak—and Now McClatchy Hits Back — Yesterday morning the top story at the New York Times site reported on US analysts feeling that the early-August leak to the media on how Al Qaeda communicates had done more to harm our anti-terrorism effort than anything revealed by Edward Snowden.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

McClatchy DC:
Did leaks alert al Qaida leaders they were being monitored?

Discussion: @jonathanlanday, @markseibel, @jimasher and The Huffington Post

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

The Inside Story Of One Website's Defense Of Assad — A small Minnesota news outlet caused a storm when it ran a story claiming Syria's rebels carried out a chemical attack near Damascus in August. A look inside the murky world of Mint Press News. — As Mnar Muhawesh prepared to publish …

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …, @tomgara, @rosiegray and @buzzfeedben

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Daily Beast's John Avlon rallies troops as roughly 20 colleagues lose their jobs — On the first day of its new life without Newsweek, Daily Beast executive editor John Avlon rallied the troops with an afternoon memo full of good news, like a 36-percent year-over-year traffic gain and a nomination to Adweek's annual “Hot List” poll.

Discussion: @daveweigel, Gawker and New York Magazine

Celestine Bohlen / New York Times:

In Syria, Advocates Step In to Sift for Truth — PARIS — What to believe? That's a key question in the diplomatic duel over Syria, as Russia continues to dispute evidence in a United Nations inspectors' report that points to the Syrian government's complicity in the Aug. 21 chemical attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

Bill Carter / New York Times:

George Will to Leave ABC News for Fox News — George Will, who has been a conservative presence on ABC News for more than three decades, is leaving for the Fox News Channel, the cable news network announced on Tuesday. — The news of Mr. Will's hiring was first reported by the conservative news site The Daily Caller.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, TVNewser, Fox News, Mediaite, Hollywood Reporter, @davewiner, The Wrap, Variety and The Huffington Post

Mattderienzo / Connecticut Newsroom:

Journalism's problem may not be the Internet, indeed — Earlier this week, a Connecticut newspaper editor set out to explain “the problem with journalism these days.” The result was a staggering case for more diversity and digital literacy in the leadership of traditional newsrooms.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, @jayrosen_nyu, @mattderienzo, Techdirt and The Raw Story

AdAge:

BtoB Magazine to Become Part of Advertising Age — BtoB Magazine, the leading publication for business-to-business marketers, will become part of Advertising Age, its sister publication on the consumer marketing side, Crain Communications announced Tuesday.

Thanks:@steverubel