Indianapolis Star
Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan's plan to take the company private was ruined when a key financier, Alden Global Capital, backed out of a buyout deal. Emmis, which owns radio stations and magazines, had spent five months trying to go private in a deal that would have been financed by Alden.

paidContent.org
James Ledbetter will move to Reuters in October. He edited Slate's Big Money site until it folded in July.

Baltimore Sun | New York Times
"We do not cover every flag burning that happens in this country. We don't run every hostage tape," Fox News senior veep Michael Clemente tells David Zurawik. "If we tried to cover everyone who wants us to stick a camera in front of them, we'd run out of cameras pretty fast each day. But this is really about just using some judgment." || Other networks' plans.

Wordyard.com | Nieman Journalism Lab
"I just don't like the idea of my information diet being regulated by any company, let alone a company as tightly wound as Apple," writes Scott Rosenberg. "Now Apple has made my unease explicit" with the release of its app development rules. || Joshua Benton: What the app rules mean for news organizations.

The Upshot
Lally Weymouth -- mother of Post publisher Katharine Weymouth -- will join the paper as a senior associate editor later this month.

Press release

PBS NewsHour Launches New Politics Page

PBS NEWSHOUR POLITICS, to Provide One-Stop Shop for the Best of NewsHours Political Reporting and Analysis

PBS NewsHour announces the launch of "PBS NewsHour Politics", a one-stop web destination for national political news. The site goes live Thursday, September 9, just in time for the 2010 midterm election season, and features the considerable talents of the PBS NewsHour political team: senior correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff; political analysts David Brooks and Mark Shields; and PBS NewsHour political editor and analyst David Chalian, among others.

The new page offers users timely and insightful reporting, video and analysis on daily political developments in Washington and around the country, all with the depth and intelligence NewsHour viewers have come to expect. Key features include:

The daily Morning Line blog, written by David Chalian and the NewsHour politics team, offering the latest recap of political news and pointers on expected daily developments. Sign up for the Morning Line e-mail and get it delivered to your inbox every morning.

The weekly Political Checklist, a web-only video feature with David Chalian, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, appearing every Monday, in which they discuss the major political news of the week.

Web-only interviews with the newsmakers most closely involved in plotting their partys midterm election strategies, such as a recent interview with Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who currently chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (http://to.pbs.org/d5e6KX).

An interactive calendar for tracking key political events in Washington and beyond. Follow President Obamas midterm campaign schedule and the Republicans already traveling to Iowa and New Hampshire with their sights on taking his job.

The analysis of Shields and Brooks, including both their video segments from the PBS NewsHour television broadcasts and their Web-only video chats with NewsHour correspondent Hari Sreenivasan.

The top 25 political twitter feeds to follow. Weve made it easy for you to scroll through the best of the twitterverse so you will have all the latest developments at your fingertips.

Maps, data and analysis from our partners at Patchwork Nation, a collaboration with the Christian Science Monitor, WYNC, Politico and others that explores developments in the United States through the lens of 12 community types based on demographic characteristics such as income level, racial composition, employment and religion.

Memo sent to AP staff

From: Kent, Tom
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 11:53 AM
Subject: Standards Center guidance: Planned Sept. 11 Quran burning

Colleagues,

As you know, a group known as the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., has announced that it intends to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11.

In the runup to this event, we've seen a rush of stories, photos and video from points around the world. Let's keep our coverage in proportion. Although many are speculating on the effect the Quran burning could conceivably have, at the moment it's a proposal by a tiny group that may or may not happen.

We plan ONE main spot story on this issue a day. The News Center will coordinate where this story will originate from. Routine spot news -- for instance, comments about the plan by political or other public figures -- should be funneled to the point handling the main story. We should avoid a profusion of separates beyond what any newspaper, website or broadcaster would actually use. This includes stories, photos, audio and video that repeatedly make the same point, for or against the burning. Consult the News Center if you have questions on this.

The concept of this planned event is offensive to many Muslims worldwide. National leaders and spokesmen for other religious denominations have also found the plan repugnant.

Should the event happen on Saturday, the AP will not distribute images or audio that specifically show Qurans being burned, and will not provide detailed text descriptions of the burning. With the exception of these specific images and descriptions, we expect to cover the Gainesville event, in all media, placing the actions of this group of about 50 people in a clear and balanced context.

AP policy is not to provide coverage of events that are gratuitously manufactured to provoke and offend. In the past, AP has declined to provide images of cartoons mocking Islam and Jews. AP has often declined to provide images, audio or detailed descriptions of particularly bloody or grisly scenes, such as the sounds and moments of beheadings and shootings, displays of severed heads on pikes and images of hostages who are displayed by hostage-holders in an effort to intimidate their adversaries and advance their cause. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

From time to time, a member or customer will insist that we distribute offensive material to them so they can make the decision about whether or not to publish it. Weve had to make clear that a decision to distribute, for us, is the same as a decision to publish for them. We must adhere to our own standards.

Tom

Newsonomics
Ken Doctor asks that question after a frustrating experience of trying to get the paper delivered to his home. "It's just a little driveway story, but we can connect it directly to the digital age." || The latest from Poynter Online's Mobile Media.

Orlando Sentinel
"If a sad little man burns some Qurans in the woods, and the media aren't there to film it, is it news?" asks Mike Thomas. "Of course not. We created the Rev. Terry Jones from dust. And in two weeks, to dust he shall return. Then we'll move on to the guys who plan to run over the Quran at their monster-truck pull. Whatever it takes to keep your attention."
> Rev. Jones made front pages of 50+ papers on Wednesday
> How to report on Quran burning and other hate speech

Politico | Fishbowl DC
Ceci Connolly tells colleagues that "after 13 great years on the National staff of the Washington Post I've decided to take on a new adventure, serving as a senior adviser at McKinsey & Co. (Sixth column item.) Frank Ahrens, who was with the Post for 18 years, is headed to South Korea do to PR for Hyundai Motor Co.

USAToday.com
"Nothing goes untouched or un-talked about," Brett Favre said on Sirius NFL Radio. "I quietly -- I thought quietly -- this offseason tried to make my decision [about returning to the Vikings]. I had surgery. Of course, once we got months before camp the media started camping out at the gate. I never asked them to come. I never asked them to talk about it."

Jackson Free Press | Mississippi Public Broadcasting release
Mississippi Public Broadcasting's statement touts the operation's success over the last year, but gives no details on why Judith Lewis (left) resigned. She dropped "Fresh Air" in July over a Louis C.K. interview, then brought it back -- but at a much later hour -- after being widely criticized.

New York Observer
The book review will be inserted in one of the newly created sections for The Weekend Journal that will launch later this month, reports John Koblin. The section will be edited by Robert Messenger.

Press release

MARILYNN MARCHIONE OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WINS VICTOR COHN PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL SCIENCE REPORTING

Marilynn Marchione, a medical writer at the Associated Press, has been awarded the 2010 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Journalism for her compelling and enterprising reporting for a worldwide audience.

Marchione's wide-ranging daily and in-depth consumer health coverage has sought to bring medical science findings to readers in a way that is relevant to their own health choices. She was recognized for her insight and narrative skills as reflected in stories on the overuse of diagnostic radiation, the hazards of alternative medicine, the plight of severely wounded U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq, a preview of the world's first face transplants, and the dangers of soda increasing obesity.

The Victor Cohn prize, for a body of work published or broadcast within the last five years, was established by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, a not-for-profit organization of journalists and scientists committed to improving the quality of science news reaching the public.

Marchione will receive a $3,000 check and a certificate in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday, November 7, at an awards ceremony to be held in conjunction with ScienceWriters2010, a joint meeting of CASW and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW). The annual gathering includes NASW's professional training workshops and CASWs 48th annual New Horizons in Science briefing for reporters at Yale University and the Yale School of Medicine.

The judges of the Cohn prize were impressed by Marchione's authoritative approach to timely medical issues and her ability to juggle the demands of day-to-day wire service coverage with in-depth reporting that is rich in human interest.

AP health and science editor Kit Frieden's nominating letter said that Marchione "has been at the front of the pack in reporting whats essential, compelling and useful to ordinary people trying to make sense of it all." Former AP medical editor Daniel Q. Haney, a 2002 Cohn award winner, noted that with the decline of newspaper medical coverage and the shortening attention span of the news business, her stories rise far above the clutter. They are clear, nuanced, graceful and dead-on accurate. She helps steer the AP way from miracle cures in mice, the statistically weak clinical trials and the other flotsam that can underpin medical coverage."

Marchione, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, joined AP as a senior medical writer in 2004 and, in September 2005, was the first to report that doctor and patients were trapped in flooded hospitals in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She came to AP after having spent 28 years as a reporter and editor at metropolitan daily newspapers, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press Managing Editors Association as well as health and medical organizations. She earned a degree in journalism from Kent State University.

This year's entries were judged by Ron Winslow, deputy bureau chief for health and science and medical writer at the Wall Street Journal; CASW president Cristine Russell, a freelance writer and senior fellow at Harvards School of Government; and Ben Patrusky, CASWs executive director.

This marks the 11th presentation of the Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Journalism. The inaugural award in 2000 was shared by Laurie Garrett of Newsday and Lawrence K. Altman of The New York Times. Subsequent recipients, in addition to Haney, were Jon Palfreman, a public television documentarian; Shannon Brownlee, a widely published magazine and newspaper journalist; Michelle Trudeau of National Public Radio; Rick Weiss of the Washington Post; Jerome Groopman of The New Yorker; Geeta Anand of the Wall Street Journal; Joe Palca of NPR; and Denise Grady of The New York Times.

The award honors the late Washington Post medical writer and health columnist Victor Cohn, who distinguished himself by the clarity, honesty and effectiveness of his reporting during a 50-year career. He was also a co-founder in 1959 of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

Washington Post
If an agreement is reached, Pacifica would become the biggest American broadcaster to air Al Jazeera, reports Paul Farhi.

New York Times | Politico.com
Politico never had opinion columns "because we are so focused on breaking news and providing reported analysis," says executive editor Jim VandeHei, "but the chance to get two exceptionally smart thinkers with reputations for fairness and thoughtfulness was irresistible." Joe Scarborough will remain with MSNBC, while Michael Kinsley will leave the Atlantic. || Politico story and memo.