These are some of the things that have caught my attention lately. It’s a more eclectic mix than just the news business, but then so’s life:

• Lauren Rich Fine: Saving Newspapers By Pushing Readers Online | paidContent.org – "Some powerful national brands are trying to push consumers online. If the goal is to preserve quality journalism, diversity of views, investigative reporting and the like, something radical has to happen. Eliminating distribution, production and paper costs virtually reduces the costs to what is essential, the voice. However, while traffic is up at most news sites and newspapers can claim their fare share, something is still getting lost in the translation. The amount of time spent on these sites is well below the time believed to have been spent in the print counterpart."
• Feature films coming to YouTube | CNET News – For months, Google, YouTube's parent company, has been talking to the major film companies about launching an ad-supported, streaming movie service, two execs with knowledge of the negotiations told CNET News. "It's not imminent," said one of the executives. "But it's going to happen. I would say you can expect to see it, if all goes well, sometime within the next 30 to 90 days."
• Should MPs interview new supreme court judges? | Times Online – “We live in an age where democracy is regarded with almost religious reverence and the more activist the judges, the more pressure there will be for them to have democratic legitimacy and accountability.”
• Al Jazeera English election coverage: Another missed opportunity | Arab Media & Society – Larry Pintak reviews AJE Election night: "At times, it all had the feel of a Jerry Lewis Telethon. The low point came when Foster urged viewers to email their friends in the U.S. to tell them to watch online. Memo to staff: Don’t beg."
• State aid: Commission consults on revised rules for state funding of public service broadcasting | EU – "The European Commission has published, for public consultation, a draft Communication laying down the rules that it intends to apply to state funding of public service broadcasting. Member States and stakeholders now have the opportunity to submit their views on the proposed text. Comments should be submitted by 15 January 2009. Key issues for discussion include more flexibility for public broadcasters to meet the challenges of the new media environment, the principles underpinning the definition of the public service remit by the Member States as well as supervision of public service activities at national level. On the basis of the comments received, the Commission could adopt a modernised Broadcasting Communication in the first half of 2009."
• Hard News Journalism | One Man and His Blog – Journalists. Don't drink and talk.