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Apple's iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month (AllThingsDigital)
Would you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes? That's the pitch Apple has been making to TV networks in recent weeks. The company is trying to round up support for a monthly subscription service that would deliver TV programs via its multimedia software, according to multiple sources.
Tribune Co. Newspapers Won't Use AP Next Week (Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Tribune and other Tribune Co. newspapers plan to utilize as little content from The Associated Press as practical during the week of Nov. 8. The goal is to see whether severing ties with the news cooperative next fall is a viable option, the media company confirmed Monday.
Punches Thrown in WaPo Newsroom! (FishbowlDC)
The Washington Post's Henry Allen threw a punch at Manuel Roig-Franzia in the newsroom last Friday. That punch landed on Franzia's face, and executive editor Marcus Brauchli was forced to intervene.
Viacom's Profit Rises 15 Percent (WSJ)
Viacom Inc.'s third-quarter profit climbed 15 percent as the company benefited from cost-saving efforts and its filmed-entertainment segment swung to the black. The media company, which owns cable-TV channels such as MTV and Comedy Central, has seen its business hurt by declining advertising sales.
Scripps Nearing Deal for Travel Channel (NYT/Media Decoder)
Scripps Networks, the operator of the Food Network and HGTV, is close to adding the Travel Channel to its stable of lifestyle cable channels. Scripps appeared on Monday to be the leading bidder after the News Corporation balked at the escalating price for the channel.
Sue Simmons Admits To Drinking On The Job (FishbowlNY)
Sue Simmons, the WNBC-4 anchor, confessed that in the '80s it wasn't unusual for her to show up to work a little bit tipsy. According to Simmons, "...that stopped in the mid '80s, late '80s, because I looked in the mirror before -- when I was about ready to go on the air -- and my eyes were red."
New Owners Relaunch Vibe With Chris Brown Cover (AdAge)
As they try to bring Vibe magazine back from the dead, its new owners and editor have chosen a provocative subject for the new incarnation's first cover: Chris Brown, who could use a little resuscitation himself.
Nonprofit News Outlets Draw Fire From For-Profit Media (Forbes)
Noncommercial news ventures sprouting around the country are feeling some blowback from their for-profit cousins, who don't seem inspired by the new journalism paternalism. The newest nonprofit news outfit to launch, the Texas Tribune, debuts Tuesday.
Oprah to Narrate Nature Series on the Discovery Channel (NYT)
For an ambitious new nature miniseries, the Discovery Channel has signed up one of the most recognizable voices on television, Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey will narrate the 11-part series. Life, a production of the BBC, is intended as a follow-up to Planet Earth, the breathtaking 2007 miniseries.
Time to Go for Shah (WWD)
Time Inc. employees are hours away from learning more about division-wide restructuring and layoffs, but Vivek Shah, group president of digital, Time Inc. News Group, removed himself from the equation on Monday, confirming he will leave the company at the end of the year.
The Onion Staff Devotes First Two Days of Week to Headlines (NYT)
Headlines in the satirical weekly newspaper The Onion tend to function both as punch line and setup, in that order. They are the heart of the paper, and not only the first thing anybody reads, but also, unlike headlines in real newspapers all over the world, the first things to be written.
NY1 Political Reporter Carter Benched (B&C)
Cable news channel NY1 will have to cover today's mayoral election in New York without ace political reporter Dominic Carter. Carter is taking an indefinite leave of absence following his assault trial, during which his wife Marilyn testified that she was beaten by her husband.
How I Unmasked @FakeAPStylebook (Wired/Epicenter)
Callie Kimball: If Twitter is an information-based economy, inside scoop is its currency. How I came to know the real identity of @FakeAPStylebook is one of those only-on-Twitter stories, a choice accident of happenstance.
Will Paywalls Save Newspapers? (BayNewser)
Do you think paywalls will save newspapers? Some in the journalism business think newspapers won't be able to survive unless they start charging readers to read their stories on the Web. Others think it'll be the beginning of the end, as readers flee to free sources of news -- with advertisers close behind.
What it Means When a City Loses its Paper (Splice Today)
Frank DeFillippo: When the printed media is gone, and the freelance loonies, citizen reporters, bloggers, pranksters and YouTube crazies take over, who's going to be watching the scalawags and the government apparatchiks?