Traffic to newspaper websites is up 20 percent since last year. Page views and time spent is also up. [via Fishbowl NY]

The media is predicting that Rupert Murdoch and his sons will have a tough time at this year’s shareholders meeting. They’re pretty much guaranteed continued spots on the board, but they should expect an earful from the folks gathering in L.A. today. The New York Times outlines a few things to watch out for. The Guardian is live-tweeting the meeting.

USA Today has begun offering commercial access to its data and content, which is useful for developers building apps. [via Nieman Lab]

Lisa Simeone, host of radio program World of Opera, will be allowed to keep her show, though it’s unclear whether the show will be distributed by NPR. Simeone was dismissed initially for breaking with the NPR ethics code prohibiting contributors from participating in rallies that the company is covering. World of Opera is produced by a member station. [via AP, Poynter]

Click through for more changes in the media world.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have made it to the World Series. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Current and former athletes are the hottest tickets for sports media outlets. Sports stars’ extracurricular activities, such as competing on Dancing with the Stars, are sought after stories, along with business news like endorsement deals. And if they are big enough names, these sports celebs can also use the media exposure to promote the many causes they support.

These were a few of the tips from a sports media panel held earlier this week by the PRSA’s New York chapter. The participants also offered their take on the competition, including social media, as well as a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their jobs.

Apparently it’s not all fun and games on their side of the field… or is it?

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Here are this week’s media highlights from Mediabistro’s Revolving Door Newsletter:

Richard Blakeley has been named managing editor of strategy & content at Thrillist. He had been editor-in-chief at Gawker.TV. (release)

Ting Wang has been named manager, corporate events at AOL Inc. She had been manager, event marketing at Fairchild Fashion Group (Conde Nast). (mb)

James Murdoch has been named deputy chief operating officer and chairman and CEO, International at News Corp. He had been chief executive and chairman of the international there. (FBNY)

David Lieberman has been named executive editor at Deadline.com. He had been business reporter at USA Today. (FBLA)

Alexandra Kotur has been named creative director at Town & Country. She had been style director at Vogue. (mb)

Click here to receive mediabistro.com’s Revolving Door Newsletter via email.

The Wall Street Journal will be available to guests upon request at the 3,700 Choice Hotels in North America starting January 1, 2011. Rather than distributing a newspaper to every guest, Choice Hotels gives guests the option to take a paper.

USA Today has been the “preferred paper” of Choice Hotels, and will continue to be an option in 2011, a spokesperson told Reuters. The WSJ overtook USA Today as the largest paper in the U.S. in 2009.

USA Today recently announced more than 100 layoffs and a series of changes in an effort to adapt to the changing media landscape.

Recently, USA Today announced big changes – a massive round of layoffs (130 staff members) and a bigger focus on digital including content for the iPad.

USA Today has always been a top target for media relations outreach because of its large nationwide audience and the wide range of topics covered in its pages. But as the world has gone digital and audiences fragment, the newspaper has seen its circulation numbers drop.

PRNewser asked a couple of PR pros for their thoughts on the planned changes. More after the jump. Read more

Dow Jones, parent company of The Wall Street Journal, sent out a release today announcing WSJ circulation gains, rising to 2,024,269 (Sept. 2009) from 2,011,999 (Sept. 2008). Paid circulation grew 0.78% to 1,437,853. The growth accounts to total circulation revenue of 10.1% for The Journal year-over-year. It also means that The Journal has passed USA Today as the largest U.S. newspaper.

Of course, there is still debate. “USA Today and many advertisers want to talk about paid print circulation that excludes those electronic-only subscribers The Journal includes in its total, top-line paid circulation figure. The Journal, on the other hand, has previously questioned the value of the many USA Today copies that hotel guests receive at no extra cost but still count as “paid” under Audit Bureau of Circulations rules,” writes Advertising Age‘s Nat Ives.