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Reporters In North Korea Learn About Missile Launch From News Desks In New York And Washington (TVNewser)
Forty minutes into a five-day window, North Korea launched a rocket from a facility in the northwestern part of the country. The launch, at 7:39 a.m. local time, was first reported on U.S. cable news 14 minutes later by CNN's John King. The news was followed minutes later on Fox News, CNBC World, Fox Business, and, at 7:13 p.m., on MSNBC.

Trayvon Martin, TheGrio, And 'New Guards' Of Black Media (paidContent)
African-American news site theGrio.com has helped drive NBC's coverage of the Trayvon Martin tragedy. Since its first piece March 8, theGrio has published more than 250 stories on Martin, and many of its videos have landed on shows like Today and NBC Nightly News.

Fox News Lawyers To Joe Muto: 'Your Admissions Are Admissions Of Likely Criminal And Civil Wrongdoing' (TVNewser)
TVNewser has obtained a letter sent to Joe Muto, the former O'Reilly Factor associate producer revealed to be a mole working for Gawker. The letter is from a law firm representing Fox News, saying his actions thus far are "likely criminal." Yahoo! News / The Cutline In a letter sent to Muto Thursday and obtained by Yahoo! News, New York-based law firm Epstein Becker & Green P.C. advised Muto "that your admissions are admissions of likely criminal and civil wrongdoing on both your and Gawker's part, which will be the subject of further extensive investigation. You should immediately stop providing information and videos to Gawker that you unlawfully obtained while employed at Fox News, and return them to Fox News. You should immediately stop writing columns based on information that you unlawfully obtained while employed at Fox News." Forbes What's the going rate for inducing someone to commit career suicide? Apparently, you can do it for five grand, as long as that person has a sufficiently large ax to grind against his employer. Gawker's John Cook tells me the gossip website paid Muto $5,000 for his contributions as "The Fox Mole." Gawker Hey, look what just came in through the Gawker mailbag from the good people at Epstein Becker & Green P.C.: "Gawker should immediately stop publishing information and videos that have been unlawfully obtained by or from Joe Muto, and return them to Fox News." I'm pretty sure they're referring to this, this, this, and this. Or at the very least, they're talking about this photo of Bill O'Reilly frolicking with his bros and some half-naked lady. We'll explain where it came from later.

Apple Fires Back At The Feds, Amazon (AllThingsD)
Nearly two days after the Department of Justice filed antitrust charges against Apple and major book publishers, Apple is responding. Here's a comment from Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr: "The DOJ's accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Since then, customers have benefited from eBooks that are more interactive and engaging. Just as we've allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore."

Most Adults Follow Local News Closely, Relying On Local Newspapers And Other Sources (Pew Internet)
Nearly three quarters (72 percent) of adults are quite attached to following local news and information, and local newspapers are by far the source they rely on for much of the local information they need.

Report: Disappointing First Quarter For The Magazine Industry (Folio:)
The magazine industry has not shaken its advertising slump quite yet.

Lauer, O'Reilly, Walters, Couric, And More Feted At Media Bigs Party (TVNewser)
New York media turned out for a Hollywood Reporter party Wednesday night.

Hilary Rosen Apologizes For Ann Romney Comments (TVNewser)
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen has apologized to Ann Romney over comments she made on CNN's AC360 Wednesday night. Rosen said that Romney had "never worked a day in her life," prompting outrage from political pundits. Ann Romney responded to the comments herself on Fox News Thursday morning, and a question about the incident was even asked at the White House daily briefing. HuffPost Rush Limbaugh accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of launching "a war on motherhood," in response to Rosen's comments about Ann Romney. HuffPost Fox News' Greta Van Susteren defended Rosen in a blog post Thursday. Real Clear Politics During a meeting with 18 Delaware Tea Party leaders in Dover, Del. Wednesday, Newt Gingrich lambasted Fox News Channel, accusing the cable network of having been in the tank for Mitt Romney from the beginning of the Republican presidential fight. An employee himself of the news outlet as recently as last year, he also cited former colleagues for attacking him out of what he characterized as personal jealousy. Yahoo! News / The Ticket In what some might consider an act of GOP political suicide, Gingrich slammed Fox News earlier this week, saying that the cable news channel has favored Mitt Romney throughout the 2012 Republican race -- and that CNN has been the more "fair and balanced" network this cycle. B&C A federal appeals court has ruled that noncommercial broadcasters can accept paid issue and political ads, but not commercial, for-profit spots. AdAge / Campaign Trail Will your children be accosted by ads from Mitt Romney and Obama while watching Sesame Street? A court ruling Thursday makes it a possibility (even if not a strong one). NYT / Media Decoder The ruling could prompt some noncommercial stations to start including ads from candidates and political-action committees on their broadcasts, just as commercial stations do. Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be spent on advertising in the prelude to the elections this fall. AllFacebook The battle between Obama and Mitt Romney began on Facebook this week as the campaign shifted to the general election.

Weather Channel Hires Another Ad And Tech Pro: VivaKi's Curt Hecht (AdAge / MediaWorks)
Less than three months after The Weather Channel named VivaKi founding partner David Kenny as its CEO, the media company has hired another VivaKi executive, Curt Hecht, to fill the newly created role of chief global revenue officer. Adweek The Weather Channel Cos. has appointed Publicis vet Hecht its new chief global revenue officer, with Kurt Unkel taking over Hecht's position as president of the VivaKi Nerve Center. Hecht was also previously chief digital officer for the company's mega-agency, Starcom MediaVest. Multichannel News Hecht will oversee the strategic definition and management of the company's international business, as well as leading revenue generation for digital and cable ad sales. Hecht will report to Kenny, who was named CEO of The Weather Channel Cos. in January. paidContent Hecht created the VivaKi Nerve Center, a 300-person start-up inside Publicis Groupe, and played a critical role in the acquisition of top digital specialty shops including Razorfish. He also had oversight of VivaKi Ventures and worked with the start-up community.

Christiane Amanpour Returns To CNN Monday (TVNewser)
CNN announced that Christiane Amanpour's new show will debut Monday at 3 p.m. ET.

Khristopher Brooks, Young Reporter Fired Over A Press Release (Loop 21)
While George Zimmerman was being charged in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a young, plugged-in journalist, Khristopher Brooks, had to divide his attention. Brooks was packing up his apartment and getting ready to begin a new job, as the enterprise reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. He had also written a press release, which he posted to his personal Tumblr blog April 9, announcing his career move and quoting from his job-offer letter. Wrong move, he soon found out. The newspaper called Brooks Wednesday evening and rescinded its job offer, citing "illegal" use of the company's logo and unauthorized use of the contents of the offer letter. He was offered the job March 23, he said. HuffPost Brooks: "Phil Freedman, The News Journal's local editor, called and said the newspaper is rescinding its job offer. I was being fired for using the company's logo on my personal blog and quoting the executive editor from my job offer letter. I was at a loss for words. When I finally spoke, I said, 'Well, can I just take it down? I know [Jim] Romenesko's cell number. I can have him take it down, I'll take mine down, this never happened.' Freedman said the decision was out of his hands and that the final ax came from the publisher, HR, and corporate. To me, that says there was an internal conversation about this, a conversation that I wasn't invited to join. Had I been brought in, I could have said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't know this was bad. I'll take it down. End of story.'" 10,000 Words Here's what got Brooks fired, and then, here's my been-there-done-that advice on how to not get fired for your personal journalism blog.

NatGeo Today Dazzles On iPad By Not Being A Magazine (minOnline)
The digital edition of National Geographic's monthly magazine is among the top sellers and top grossing apps in the news category of the iPad store. But the legendary brand has so much more to offer the tablet than its magazine in games and special issues that it has been publishing at a hearty pace for a while. But what about all of that lovely digital material from its website, archives, and various online properties? Rather than let iPad users merely browse to the tablet-friendly NationalGeographic.com in the Safari browser, the publisher has come up with an elegant and absorbing way to bring the best of NatGeo to the tablet every day.

NESN, WBZ Combine Forces For Boston Sports And Weather Coverage (TVSpy)
NESN is teaming up with WBZ, the CBS owned-and-operated station in Boston, to share content and coverage of Boston sports and weather.

T.J. Holmes To Host Comedic News Show On BET (HuffPost)
Former CNN weekend anchor T.J. Holmes will host a late-night comedic news show on BET. TVNewser Somewhat surprisingly, Holmes is not hosting a straightforward newscast, but a news/comedy hybrid that has more in common with Comedy Central's The Daily Show than CNN Newsroom.

Will Someone Please Buy The Village Voice Back From Phoenix? (Capital New York)
The Village Voice is not for sale. But somebody needs to save it, and that means somebody needs to find a way to buy it.