Good morning. Have the fridge stocked for the holiday weekend?
- MailOnline sees growth slow
“You’ve got to go and shout at the bastards or they won’t respect you,” MailOnline publisher Martin Clarke allegedly once said of his management style. (The Independent) That dictum might also describe a heralded (and reviled by some) online push into the U.S. But a product tagged “journalism crack” has seen an apparent sharp decline in growth. The venture by the best-read English-language newspaper site has sputtered financially. (Financial Times)
- The power of editing: Brian Williams vanishes on awards show he hosted
The suspended NBC News anchor hosted a military awards show taped before his suspension. It airs Friday on PBS, but the New York Daily News, where I’m a contributing editor, discloses he agreed to be edited out so as not to cause a distraction. If it’s voluntary, fine. If not, it’s something out of the old Soviet Cold War handbook on rigging history. Or maybe the NCAA disappearing entire championships. A taped introduction from Michelle Obama will be used instead. (New York Daily News)
- Chris Christie calls New Jersey’s biggest paper ‘refuge for drunks’ (for charity, no less)
Profane, bombastic New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie topped even himself at the New Jersey Legislative Correspondents Club Show Wednesday. His “curse-filled speech Wednesday night was unexpectedly unplugged, unfiltered and uncensored.” (The New York Times)
- Tele-surprise: BBC, radio’s gold standard, has more TV viewers
Generations worldwide, especially in Great Britain and far-off locales, were addicted to and richly informed by the BBC World Service. Now, for the first time, the reach of its TV arm exceeds radio. The BBC’s total weekly audience is now over 300 million. But regardless of the medium, quality is still winning out. (The Guardian)
- Good evening, New York Times fans
On Thursday, it unveiled a possible commuter special, namely an evening digest of the day’s events. Short, very visual, a good inaugural. (The New York Times)
- A critic critiques what he deems lousy reporting on his bailiwick
New York Times film critic A.O. Scott wasn’t too happy with a Variety piece on supposed changes in the paper’s review practices. (Variety) So he took to Twitter to respond and answer queries. (@aoscott)
- Univision buys the Root
The Spanish-language network on Thursday bought the African-American outlet co-founded by Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Donald Graham in 2008. It was a part of The Slate Group, now part of Graham’s post-Washington Post Graham Holdings, and had five million unique visitors last month, says comScore. The price of the deal wasn’t disclosed. (Adweek)
- Hillary Clinton’s massive buckraking
The disclosure of Hillary Clinton’s massive speech and appearance fees include a $280,000 appearance last year before A&E Television Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Corporation and Disney–ABC Television Group. (Business Insider) In all, she was paid $12 million for corporate gigs in her post-Secretary of State days.
- Front page of the day, curated by Kristen Hare
The (Greensboro, North Carolina) News & Record leads Friday with questions about allowing gay Boy Scout leaders. (Courtesy the Newseum)
- Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Doug Sutton is now general manager of WUPV in Richmond, Virginia. Previously, he was general manager of WHDF Huntsville, Alabama. (TVNewsCheck) | Cristine Couldridge is now general manager of WXTX in Columbus, Georgia. Previously, Couldridge was general sales manager at KWES in Midland, Texas. (TVNewsCheck) | Russ Newton will be president and chief operating officer for The San Diego Union-Tribune. He is senior vice president for operations at the Los Angeles Times. (The San Diego Union-Tribune) | Job of the day: Planet Money is looking for a correspondent. Get your résumés in! (NPR) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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