"Is it something in the air? Because it’s another day, another journalist making stuff up," writes Chris O'Shea on the two (count 'em) stories this week of reporters fired for fabricating quotes and sources. The latest instance takes place at the Wall Street Journal, which just fired the fiction-writing intern (well, at least we can assume she wasn't getting paid for her crappy work, right?), who had  been at the paper for less than three weeks. "Here’s hoping this is the last lying journalist story we have to cover this week," writes O'Shea. …

We've always appreciated the witty, insightful work of author, screenwriter and director Nora Ephron. So we read of her death with real sadness. (If you don't know anything else about her, you probably know the most famous movie scene she ever wrote: the fake orgasm, "I'll have what she's having" deli scene in "When Harry Met Sally.") The New York Times did a wonderful job of reporting Ephron's death, with fond quotes from such luminaries as Meryl Streep and Mike Nichols, a sharp analysis and appreciation of her writing and filmmaking,  and anecdotes that provide a vivid sense of …

Gannett's digital subscription strategy for its 80 newspapers is proceeding on track to hit a target of $100 million in incremental earnings projected last year. GCI CEO Gracia Martore "said the company expects subscription revenue to increase by 25 percent by 2013," according to News & Tech. Almost half of the company's 80 papers have metered paywalls, with 17 launched in May.

Eight former staffers of Good magazine, most victims of recent layoffs, have launched a fundraising effort to launch a single-issue pub, Tomorrow. They've already raised more than $10,000 of their $15,000 goal.

Chairman Rupert Murdoch appears to be warming toward the idea of splitting News Corp. into two distinct factions: the newspaper/publishing business "that once formed the heart of the company" prior to the phone-hacking scandal, versus the larger, now more profitable entertainment arm encompassing Fox movie studio and television networks, writes Michael J. De La Merced. The move, "which may take the form of a corporate spinoff," would probably still leave the Murdoch family in charge of both divisions, according to De La Merced.

Google TV made a slow, somewhat ineffective start. But now versions of its new, reportedly improved iteration  are being introduced by Sony and Vizio. Vizio's Co-Star, available for preorder next month, comes with a universal remote and "connects to your existing cable or satellite box, which Vizio says allows you to toggle easily between live TV and Web apps," writes Lauren Goode.Sony's NSZ-GS7, "a set-top box that runs Google TV and includes apps like Netflix and Hulu Plus, plus access to a Web browser," will be on sale in late July, according to Goode.

Up to 16 editorial staffers could be laid off from Sports Illustrated, "depending on the salaries of the volunteers who take [a] buyout," writes Amy Wicks. "So far, it appears that SI’s photographers could be hardest hit by the cutbacks."

While, as we noted in another item today, The New York Times just made a deal with Flipboard to distribute all of the newspaper's digital content, other pubs are scaling back on their Flipboard action. Conde Nast's The New Yorker and Wired mags are both "replacing their robust Flipboard feeds next month with spartan versions that summon their own websites if readers want whole articles," writes Nat Ives. Why? "Sales have been uneven," writes Ives. And "some magazines have begun to wonder whether it's a good idea to encourage consumers to read their content elsewhere …

From selling ad space on rescue helicopters to fire trucks to subway turnstiles, "dozens of... financially struggling cities, transit systems and school districts around the country... are trying to weather the economic downturn by selling advertisements, naming rights and sponsorships to raise money," writes Michael Cooper. Such deals can also help marketers "try to reach consumers who have grown more adept at tuning out commercials, whether with remote controls or digital video recorders," according to Cooper. Of course there's still opposition to such creeping commercialization. As John Balloni, a chief in the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office  in Syracuse,N.Y., …

In a first for NBA, ABC and Ford, a Spanish-language ad (with English subtitles) aired for Ford's Escape 2013 during game four and five of the NBA finals on ABC. "Isabella Sánchez, VP of Media Integration for Zubi Advertising, the firm that created the ad, cautiously believes airing Spanish language ads during English language programming could begin to be a trend but there are risks," writes Brian Lienas. “It’s a gamble,” Sánchez told Lienas. “You don’t want to offend people and you want to make sure that you don’t waste impressions."