New Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin has filed for a patent of the term "Linsanity" to brand "goods such as bags, cups, clothing, toys and beverages," according to Mason Levinson and Scott Soshnick. Lin is competing with others who have likewise made patent filings -- but of course he has a headstart.  While Lin could own his brand, he has less control over how he's portrayed in the media -- though the folks at the Asian American Journalists Association are trying to help.  After "several examples of racially insensitive coverage of Lin," the AAJA "has issued a set of guidelines for …

Gannett is rolling out a metered paywall similar to that of the New York Times for all its publications except USA Today (half of whose circulation comes from papers distributed free at such locations as hotels and airports). By the end of the year, Gannett's 80 community newspapers will allow non-subscribers complimentary access to between five and 15 articles (depending on the pub), after which those users will have to pay up. The company projects this move should boost earnings by $100 million per year. Still, "there are a few wildcards here" in assessing how effective this strategy will be …

Newspapers were the most trusted source of news for most respondents to a survey commissioned by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. Still, only 22% overall called newspapers “very credible” sources of info on politics and elections. Cable and network news were a close second, cited as "very credible" by 21% of respondents. Interestingly, "only 6% of respondents said being first to report a story was very important to them in choosing a news source, a finding that supports caution in reporting breaking news before it’s confirmed," writes Andrew Beaujon.

All's relatively quiet on the Oscar newsfront -- at least quieter than last year, when the media was eagerly anticipating (and just as quick to crucify) new hosting duo Franco-Hathaway. We've also heard that, unlike the usual promotionalooza, the producers are keeping "mum" on show details,  The closest thing to a controversy right now is the hoopla surrounding Sacha Baron Cohen, who reportedly wants to appear on camera dressed as the title character from his latest movie, "The Dictator." Academy bigshots are worried, since "the Academy is careful to exclude studio-specific film promotion from its annual Oscars telecast (it …

Did Comcast's announcement yesterday of four new independent channels headed by the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs and “Desperado” director Robert Rodrigue, signal "a true commitment" to more diversity in programming? Brent Lang analyzes this question, garnering mixed responses from various sources -- and noting that "in order  to land NBCUniversal, the cable giant was required to commit to minority targeted programming."

Vanity Fair, which added 44.09 ad pages in its March issue (up from 2011), led the pack of hefty spring editions, the only general interest/celeb pub among four fashion magazines with the largest ad page gains: in descending order, Marie Claire (which added almost a third more pages from last year's March edition); W (its spring fashion issue);  InStyle; and Harper's Bazaar. Though other reports put celeb mags on a downward trend, Vanity Fair's winning March issue was the one focused on Hollywood stars. Seems  the difference here is VF's more upscale feel than the typical celeb gossip pub. In …

Conde Nast, among the first publishers to move its mags onto the iPad, is rethinking its tablet strategy in the wake of so many different new devices and formats. The company's goal, Content Innovation VP Scott Dadich told a briefing with London ad buyers,  is "to have ultimate flexibility [so] we’re able to take a piece of content and put it on 15 different screens and still have a very consistent look and feel. Print considerations are really being heavily influenced by design conventions in tablet.”

Is it ethical to summarize and repackage a story online? How can  traditional print newspapers maximize their digital strategy?  These were some of the issues raised by the post "How Forbes Stole A New York Times Article And Got All The Traffic," which Jim Romenesko revisits here. Romensko gets telling quotes from the three people involved in the controversy.  "I took a great piece by an excellent reporter and created a version of it that was better for an online audience," says Forbes reporter Kashmir Hill."This is a big part of what …

In the wake of a "diss from the boss" -- NBCU CEO Steve Burke, who was caught characterizing "Smash" as "problematic" in a moment he thought was off-camera -- and decreasing ratings, NBC's most-hyped, great-white-hope of a show still "holds promise," writes Anthony Crupi. One favorable factor is its audience, which tends to skew younger and more female than that of its competition, . Crupi also gets some positive quotes from a TV buyer and a research guy. Meanwhile, the critics weigh in on the latest episode, which they call the weakest of those they've screened. In fact, one …

News Corp.'s launch of a Sunday edition of The Sun this weeked will make it the first seven-day version  of major U.K. newspapers, though the revenue it is expected to bring will be "insignificant," analysts told the Financial Times. Still, the new edition should quell the concern of Sun staffers who, facing the arrests of colleagues and watching the company close The News Of The World, "were beginning to question whether News Corp was still committed to owning UK newspapers."