Media News

Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Morning Media Newsfeed via email.

FCC's New Political Ad Disclosure Plan Has Broadcasters Concerned (AdAge / MediaWorks)
Just as a banner season for political advertising is starting, the Obama administration has thrown broadcasters a curveball -- and broadcasters are hustling to figure out what it might mean in terms of costs and implications.

The Top 25 U.S. Newspapers From September 2011 FAS-FAX (Audit Bureau Of Circulations)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations released the semiannual newspaper FAS-FAX and Audience-FAX report Tuesday. This FAS-FAX report includes top-line circulation data for all newspaper members for the six months ending Sept. 30. Newspapers participating in Audience-FAX have additional print and online readership and website activity data included in the report. Poynter / Romenesko: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times top the list of top 25 daily newspapers. The San Jose Mercury News, The Dallas Morning News, and the Chicago Sun-Times all rank high due to the inclusion of "branded" copies -- editions with a different nameplate and some distinct content. HuffPost: Some newspapers, such as The New York Times, saw boosts to their circulations due to their digital paywalls, which boosted subscription numbers. FishbowlLA: The Los Angeles Times is now the fifth-largest newspaper in the country. NYT / Media Decoder: Some of the nation's largest newspapers are recording gains in digital circulation as print circulation continues to weaken -- a trend that is helping to ease what has become a relentless overall decline in recent years.

Phone-Hacking Documents Suggest James Murdoch Was Made Aware Of Wider Criminality (HuffPost)
A series of internal News International memos could contradict one of James Murdoch's central claims about his knowledge of the phone-hacking scandal. WSJ: Newly released documents show that an outside lawyer for News Corp. in 2008 warned of a "culture of illegal information access" at the company's News of the World newspaper, raising new questions about News Corp.'s longtime assertion that it was unaware of how widespread phone hacking was at the now-closed tabloid. Daily Beast: The parliamentary committee tasked with the phone-hacking affair has published a series of notes and emails that cast further doubt on Murdoch's claim, while showing that top officials in the company were well aware of the growing scandal in their midst.

DirecTV, Belo Stations Reach Last-Minute Deal (B&C)
Hours before a deadline, DirecTV said it reached a long-term retransmission-consent agreement that avoids a blackout of the Belo TV stations.

60 Minutes, With Madoff Interviews, Is No. 5 Show Of The Week (TVNewser)
Sunday's 60 Minutes finished as the fifth-most-watched primetime show of the week, with 18.56 million total viewers -- its largest audience in nearly one year and the best adults 25-54 and 18-49 performance in nearly three years. TVNewser: As predicted by Brian Williams and NBC News president Steve Capus, the debut of NBC's Rock Center Monday night failed to light up the ratings needle. HuffPost: NBC News says it is happy with Monday night's debut of its new newsmagazine, Rock Center with Brian Williams, despite the expected lackluster ratings.

Harper's Bazaar Gears Up For Revamp (WWD)
After a decade as editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Glenda Bailey is plotting big changes for the magazine, and WWD has learned that she's hired Robin Derrick of Spring Studios to help her make them.

For Its 110th Year, Popular Mechanics Will Embrace YouTube (FishbowlLA)
When the announcement was made a few days ago that Hearst magazines is creating a pair of 2012 YouTube channels, FishbowlLA couldn't help but notice the name Popular Mechanics. Founded in 1902, the publication will provide content for an automotive-themed channel alongside Hearst mates Car and Driver and Road & Track.

Wired Bringing Advertisers And Its Blogs Closer Together (Adweek)
It may have taken nontraditional publishers like Federated Media to pave the way for "conversational media," in which advertisers mix more directly with the blogging community. But now premium content brands want to get in on the act.

The Observer's Next Target: Chinese Tourists (Adweek)
Since Jared Kushner bought Observer Media Group in 2006, the business has focused heavily on its advertorial supplements, which make up a large part of its revenues -- from NYO Magazine, NYO Home, and NYO Tennis to Luxury Rentals, Observer Philanthropy, and The Observer's Hamptons. Now, The New York Observer is targeting the high-end Chinese tourist market.

WikiLeaks Founder Can Be Extradited To Sweden In Sex Abuse Case (NYT)
A London court ruled Wednesday that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, can be extradited to Sweden for questioning over allegations of sexual abuse there last year. Guardian: Lord Justice Thomas and Mr. Justice Ouseley Wednesday handed down their judgment in the 40-year-old Australian's appeal against a European arrest warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors after rape and sexual assault accusations made by two Swedish women following his visit to Stockholm in August 2010.

So Far No Economic Slowdown For Discovery, With Gains In Subscription, Ad Sales (AdAge / MediaWorks)
Discovery Communications is bullish on the content business -- because it owns its own content, CEO David Zaslav told investors as the company announced solid third-quarter results, topping analysts' sales estimates and boosting its forecast for the year as subscription revenue increased. B&C: Discovery Communications reported higher profits in the third quarter thanks to higher advertising revenue and $77 million from its recent deal with Netflix. NY Post: Discovery Communications spent an additional $12 million on its joint venture, Oprah's OWN cable network, in the third quarter. However, the "live your best life" channel is still a money loser.

Three Lessons News Sites Can Take From The Launch Of The Verge (Nieman Journalism Lab)
The Verge's launch Tuesday was one of the most anticipated in the online news space in some time.

Indestructible Chucky Now No. 2 At Daily News (NY Post / Media Ink)
Arthur "Chucky" Browne moved back into the New York Daily News newsroom this week as the deputy editor. Officially, that makes him the No. 2 man, behind just editor-in-chief Kevin Convey, the Boston Herald import who has been at the helm for just over a year now.

NBC Gives Doug Vaughn Oversight Of Most Late-Night Programming (B&C)
NBC has reupped Doug Vaughn's contract, expanding the program executive's role to add responsibility for most of the network's late-night programs.

Yahoo! News Hires David Chalian As Washington Bureau Chief (Yahoo! News / The Cutline)
David Chalian, currently the political editor at PBS NewsHour, will become the Washington bureau chief of Yahoo! News later this month.