"Apple's bold foray into the world of digital publishing could make it the online gatekeeper for newspaper and magazine content, just as it is for music," writes Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury News.May analyzes Apple's strategy, giving plenty of ink to criticism from publishers ("in a world of pain" according to one source, because Apple could monopolize their digital subscribers) and analysts.

This just in: the less-than-surprising news that the mini-series "The Kennedys," which premiered last night on the ReelzChannel, set a ratings record of 1.9 million total viewers for the previously little-known network, according to Hollywood Reporter. The mini-series got a ton of publicity when it was bounced from the History Channel and given a new life on Reelz.Meanwhile, in a Mediaweek feature on Reelz, its owner, Stan Hubbard, talks about how he thinks the controversial show will build the struggling brand. "I don't think there has been a TV series this interesting in decades or ever," he tells the …

Hearst is considering charging for online content for its San Francisco Chronicle and developing a for-fee tablet app, according to unnamed employees at the paper, who were reportedly told of the plan last month. The paywall would likely be a "hard" deal, with subscribers paying one fee and probably little to no unpaid access, unlike the New York Times' metered system. This news was reported by what's presumably one of the Chronicle's online competitors: the Bay Citizen, which was founded in 2010 as a "nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to fact-based, independent reporting on civic and community issues in …

Time Warner Cable pulled 11 channels -- including Animal Planet, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon -- off its iPad app after those channels complained they hadn't agreed to be streamed on that platform. But, as Gigaom's Ryan Lawler contends, "Those programmers may have won the latest battle over how users are able to access their content, but by doing so, they're losing the war for the hearts, minds and attention spans of their viewers....Users will still use the app - they'll just find something else to watch."

In a piece that lays out the stakes for the upfronts for cable networks targeting kids, Adweek's Anthony Crupi predicts a "record windfall, with early commitments piling up beyond the $1 billion mark." The rebound, after the recession and a crackdown on food marketing, is due to a growth in three ad categories key to this market: toys, movie studios and food, he writes.

We just heard that Matthew Weiner decided to take into account blogosphere theorizing that if a "Mad Men" character has to be downsized, it should definitely be the lovely, misguided Betty Draper, because the writers don't know what to do with her: "In the last season, Betty's malevolence, irrationality and general lack of appeal became almost cartoonish," writes Sadie Stein on Jezebel. Just April Fooling. You may have heard already, but: "Mad Men" has been renewed for three more seasons, according to Reuters. Matt Weiner will be firmly in charge, with "no specific mandate to eliminate cast …

Steve Hall rants about why, with the New York Times' Stuart Elliott "the last major ad critic standing," the erosion of impartial ad commentary hurts the business."The industry needs to be kept on its toes. It needs to be admonished and given a pat on the back," he writes. As part of his argument, Hall quotes Ad Age's former critic Bob Garfield: "I also think billions of client dollars every year are being squandered by narcissists, con men, naifs and a number of blithering morons."

Interesting. Writing in the L.A. Times, Michael Walker says the Huffington Post's argument for not paying its non-staff writers -- that those writers gain valuable exposure to "the largest possible audience," according to a HuffPo spokesperson -- is similar to the rationale given by "Mitzi Shore, the owner of L.A.'s Comedy Store, for not paying the comedians whose performances filled her club night after night," 32 years ago. In the latter case, though, the fledgling comics formed Comedians for Compensation, picketed the club, and won the dispute. Not sure it's happening this time, though, guys.