Media News

Reporters at a Facebook news conference in Seattle were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to reports coming from local news outlets. Did the company go too far? Read the full story at 10,000 Words.

@mskerryd Happens at SF tech events too. I just say No.

@j_nb The irony: Company that wants users to share everything doesn't want to share with reporters

@mtwelves I like Google more.

@coldfusion11 Seems Odd. 'open' Privacy (free press) is good for everyone except FB? I do agree about the 'spam' part.

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Bill O'Reilly Defends MSNBC's Right To Fire Pat Buchanan (Mediaite)
Thursday night, The Factor's Bill O'Reilly reported on how "the very liberal MSNBC network" has taken Pat Buchanan off the air because of opinions espoused of his book, Suicide of a Superpower, particularly where the issues of religion and immigration are concerned. Buchanan had previously denied being suspended from the network, explaining his absence as a medical leave.

Aggregation Is Deep In Journalism's DNA (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Below are a few quotes. Can you guess when each was written, and to what they refer? "Just what I want to read and just what I have time to read." "It enables one to keep abreast of the times without wasting a lot of time reading a whole column to obtain a single fact." Sounds a bit like an online aggregator, doesn't it, pulling a few salient points from much longer work? One more: "Your magazine is concise and to the point. It represents five good magazines in one." These are, in fact, a series of subscriber comments sent to Time magazine in the weeks following its launch March 3, 1923.

The Economist Adds 'China' Section, First Single-Country Addition In 70 Years (FishbowlNY)
The Economist has added a section dedicated to China, the first new department dedicated to a single country since 1943, when the magazine added the United States.

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Crowds Make Noise During, And Before, CNN Debate (TVNewser)
There was plenty of noise at the start of Thursday night's CNN debate, and before it. Erin Burnett hosted her show from the campus of the University of North Florida, with a loud crowd behind her. HuffPost: Following the debate, moderator Wolf Blitzer discussed how he stood his ground when challenged by GOP candidate Newt Gingrich. Gingrich had a fiery response in store for Blitzer after the moderator asked the candidate if he was "satisfied…with the level of transparency as far as [Mitt Romney's] personal finances?" Blitzer was referring to Romney's recent release of his tax records. Gingrich called Blitzer's question "nonsense," which caused the audience to erupt with applause. He then proposed that the four candidates "agree for the rest of the evening to only talk about issues that relate to governing America." Mediaite: Romney tried to play coy when asked about an ad that accuses Gingrich of calling Spanish a ghetto language, telling Blitzer, "I haven't seen the ad, so I'm sorry, I don't get to see all the TV ads," and later added, "I doubt that's my ad." Several minutes later, Blitzer circled back and said that CNN had verified that the ad was Romney's (not a SuperPAC's), and asked him to explain, again. NYT / The Caucus: Furious conservatives took to blogs and Twitter Thursday to vent their ire against what they allege is a conspiratorial dumping of twisted and manipulated negative attacks on Gingrich. The target of their fury: The Drudge Report. THR: The resurrection of Gingrich -- who pummeled heretofore front-runner Romney in the Jan. 21 South Carolina Republican primary -- already is directing millions of dollars in local television advertising to Florida, the next GOP battleground Jan. 31. Adweek: Romney and Romney PACs outspent Gingrich in South Carolina in TV advertising nearly 2-1, but it wasn't enough, according to a TVB analysis of spending in the state. paidContent: Ron Paul's campaign suffered a setback this week in its effort to identify who uploaded videos that appear to show the presidential candidate bashing a former rival's ties to China. A federal judge Wednesday refused the campaign's request for an order that would have forced YouTube and Twitter to disclose details about "NHLiberty4Paul." CJR / The Swing States Project: They're coming. And the press in Ohio is starting to gear up. Ohio's March 6 primary is just under six weeks away, and, in light of recent developments in the Republican race, it's suddenly looming as more consequential -- which means it's likely to be hard-fought by the GOP contenders. CJR / The Swing States Project: Who is Sheldon Adelson, and why does he matter to the presidential campaign? If you are a Florida voter and rely on your local newspaper for your information, you likely have no clue. Yet Adelson is likely to be -- along with his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson -- one of the most important figures in determining who will win the Jan. 31 Florida Republican primary.

Morgan Stanley CEO Wants Off-The-Record Sit-Down With Teasing Fox Business Host (Yahoo! News / The Cutline)
Like many financial world executives, Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman is in Davos, Switzerland, this week for the World Economic Forum. But Gorman is eager to get back to the States, where he's planning to have a private dinner with one of his company's harshest media critics.

Univision Scoops ABC, Snags First Post-SOTU Interview With President Obama (TVNewser)
ABC News' Diane Sawyer was slated to have the first post-State of the Union interview with President Barack Obama, but it appears as though Spanish-language broadcaster Univision beat her to the punch. AllFacebook: More than 321 posts from members of the Senate and House of Representatives were shared on Facebook during the annual State of the Union address.

Mary Junck Of Lee Enterprises Named New AP Board Chairman (AP)
The Associated Press board of directors announced Thursday that Mary Junck, chairman and CEO of Lee Enterprises, will become its new chairman. Junck succeeds William Dean Singleton, chairman of MediaNews Group, who has completed a five-year term as chairman of the AP board, which oversees the not-for-profit cooperative of U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. She will take over after the AP annual meeting, in April.

NBC Taps Chuck LaBella As VP Of Talent Development, Alternative Programming (B&C)
NBC has tapped Chuck LaBella as vice president of talent development, alternative programming for the network. LaBella, a seasoned and Emmy Award-nominated producer and talent and development executive, has had a hand in the creation and production of many successful series for both network and cable television. THR: In making the announcement, NBC stressed LaBella's expertise in bringing key talent to series and specials, ticking off past accomplishments such as talent producing for Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect and booking musical guests for Craig Kilborn's late-night show.

Geraldine Baum, The LA Times' NY Bureau Chief, Steps Down After 23 Years (FishbowlNY)
Geraldine Baum, the Los Angeles Times' New York bureau chief since 1989, is stepping down Friday. According to a memo Baum sent out to colleagues, she has decided to move on because she wants to take her life in a new direction. FishbowlLA: Baum gives her reasons for leaving the LA Times simply as, "It's time for Geraldine 2.0."

CBS News Hires Tillman As Deputy Bureau Chief (FishbowlDC)
CBS News announced that Thomas Tillman will be its new deputy bureau chief in Washington, D.C. He has been filling in for Jim McGlinchy for the past seven months.

Oprah Insider Lisa Erspamer Out At OWN (Deadline.com)
The revolving door at the struggling OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network continues without slowing, and even without warning or public announcement. This time, it has claimed one of Winfrey's closest and most trusted executives, Lisa Erspamer. B&C: Erspamer joined OWN in January 2010 from The Oprah Winfrey Show to oversee production and development of daytime and primetime programming for the Discovery-backed network. NYT / Media Decoder: Erspamer, a co-executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show who was sent to OWN to bring Winfrey's personal touch to her cable channel, has unceremoniously exited the channel. TheWrap.com: Rita Mullin, senior vice president of content strategy for Discovery Fit & Health, will step into Erspamer's position in the interim. In addition to Discovery, Mullin has also served as VP of development at TLC, where she developed such hits as Jon & Kate Plus 8 and 18 Kids and Counting.

Facebook Just Hired A Bloomberg Journalist To Be Its Managing Editor (Business Insider / Silicon Alley Insider)
In what could be a sign of things to come, Facebook has hired Dan Fletcher, former social media director at Bloomberg, to be its managing editor. Forbes: It's not immediately clear what this means. Facebook doesn't have an editorial department, per se, although it did hire Vadim Lavrusik away from Mashable last year to lead its "journalist program."

Ad Pages Up For Fashion Magazines' Important March Issues (AdAge / MediaWorks)
Most fashion magazines increased ad pages in their important March issues again this year, showing some strength in an uncertain economy. Adweek: March is looking like a promising month for fashion titles and to some extent for the magazine industry in general, with nearly all major fashion books reporting ad page increases for their bellwether spring issues.

Bloomberg To Launch Luxury Lifestyle Magazine (WWD / Memo Pad)
Users of the Bloomberg Terminal are among the richest demographic in the world, and advertisers will soon be able to reach them via a new luxury lifestyle magazine.

Twitter To Block Tweets Locally, Not Globally (CNET / InSecurity Complex)
Twitter said Thursday that it will withhold tweets from a country when there are local restrictions, rather than having to block them globally. TechCrunch: There are two ways of looking at this new "ability," one optimistic and one pessimistic. One is that Twitter is now more able to effectively tailor itself to the needs of certain countries. The other is that Twitter is now more able to effectively tailor itself to the needs of certain countries. ReadWriteWeb: Twitter said it has not yet used the ability, which is outlined on its help page, but when it does, it will try to retroactively notify the sender. The company also announced an expanded agreement with Chilling Effects, a blog monitoring Internet legal activity and censorship, to increase Twitter's transparency on free expression issues. GigaOM: No matter how Twitter phrases it, this news is going to concentrate attention on one thing: that a corporate entity, however well-meaning, controls which tweets are seen or not seen. NYT / Bits: Within hours of the announcement, people had figured out ways to subvert Twitter's blocking.

What Anheuser-Busch Has Planned For The Super Bowl (AdAge / Super Bowl)
How much are spirits marketers getting under the skin of big beer brands? So much that the nation's biggest brewer is using a big chunk of its expensive Super Bowl ad time to fight back. AdAge / Super Bowl: In a twist on Super Bowl marketing, Coca-Cola has prepared two versions of a 60-second spot slated to run during the second quarter. It won't decide which to actually run until it sees whether the New York Giants or New England Patriots have the upper hand. AdAge / Super Bowl: Audi Thursday released its Super Bowl spots from Venables, Bell & Partners, San Francisco. In it, the car's signature headlights kill a bunch of camping vampires. Forbes: The car shown is the 2013 Audi S7. The soundtrack is "The Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen. Business Insider / Advertising: This teaser makes it seem like Matthew Broderick will be starring as Ferris Bueller once again, this time in a Super Bowl spot. Adweek / AdFreak: Says the YouTube blurb: "We hate to be such a tease, but on a day like today, we just have to. Stick it out until the Super Bowl, or take a 'day off' on Monday and catch the big reveal."

NYSE, Nasdaq Battle For Facebook Listing (NY Post)
Bitter rivals Duncan Niederauer's New York Stock Exchange and Robert Greifeld's Nasdaq are locked in a heated battle for Facebook's listing when the privately held social-networking giant attempts to raise an eye-popping $10 billion in stock in the coming weeks. LA Times: Wall Street is about to get Facebook fever. The social networking giant with nearly 1 billion users is expected to file papers any day now to sell stock to the public.

Don't Cry For Me, El Diario (NY Post / Media Ink)
An Argentinian newspaper is negotiating to take over ImpreMedia, the owner of El Diario/La Prensa, the nation's oldest Spanish-language daily, as well as six other Spanish-language newspapers, including La Opinion in Los Angeles.

@mediabistro #mbchats What's the best advice for a job interview?

@Baird_S Understand the job you are applying for. Don't come in and ask questions about the job that are on the description.

@ZimmEd Be confident in yourself--your resume and cover letter brought you in, now we're looking at your personality

@DaveThackeray be the boss, not the interviewee.

@debbieparhar Be prepared. Know the company, its industry, its challenges/opportunities, etc. Share your story in relation to this info.

@netwhy BE YOU! the best results I've had in job interviews was for being me...

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