Here’s this week’s digital first news for the week ending 07/27/12. This update on digital, social and mobile includes a story on Partners In Print: How Newspapers And Retailers Form Successful Relationships . See this and more in this week’s update.

Google+ Now Lets You Merge Your Personal, Work Profiles                                            Google announced on Thursday that Google+ users with a profile attached to a regular Gmail account and a work-related Google apps account can now blend the two together.

Newspapers’ Next Move In Expanding The Reach Of Digital Ads                                           As a newspaper executive, what do you do when advertising revenues are tied to declining circulations and undermined by the impact of the Internet and social media?

Study Finds That Daily Deals Might Actually Be a ‘Sustainable’ Model                              With Groupon’s stock in the gutter, the deals space received some much needed positive news last week, when a study released by Rice University found that daily deal performance has increased over the past year.

Partners In Print: How Newspapers And Retailers Form Successful Relationships             As the newspaper industry adapts to an evolving landscape, creating beneficial partnerships is key to finding success. For many newspapers, their relationships with retailers have helped them stay one step ahead

Despite Its Reputation for Referring Traffic, Pinterest Is Blocking All Sorts of Links           In its short life as a top-tier Web site, Pinterest has earned much acclaim for sending gobs of good traffic to other sites. People see pretty pictures on Pinterest, and they click to buy things on other sites. 

Buffett Poised to Add Newspapers as Publishers Face Slump                                         Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said he may increase his journalism bet as publishers seek to get rid of newspapers with falling sales.

Gannett Co., Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results                                                           Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI), a leading international media and marketing solutions company, today reported second quarter financial results. 

Pew Study: YouTube Emerging as a ‘Major Platform for News’                                                A new kind of visual journalism is developing on the video-sharing site YouTube, one in which citizens are sharing in content creation with news organizations, a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism finds.

Johnston Press Cancels All Staff Salary Reviews for 2012                                              Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press has cancelled all staff salary reviews for this year, instead offering an additional day leave. 

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Lays Off 12, Including Managing Editor                                  Word on the street is that the Star-Telegram laid off 12 yesterday, including nine in news. Managing editor Lois Norder, a first-rate editor, is among the casualties. 

QR Codes Aren’t Giving Consumers What They Want                                                     Gaining access to discounts is the primary reason consumers want to scan QR codes

Marketers Continue to Expand Digital Budgets, but Growth Is Slowing                             Web development, online advertising gain prominence in the digital realm

Teens Still Like Talking Face to Face, but Texting Catching Up                                        Teens report spending 13.5% of their online time on their smartphone

July edition of Ideas Magazine now available to INMA members                                         The July edition of Ideas Magazine is now available to INMA members. Those who seek a model for reinvention and repositioning will want to turn right to the cover story: When the CEO of Schibsted talks, people listen.

Tablet Paid Search Will Pass Phone Search                                                                               The popularity of tablets has caught the attention of marketers, with the share of paid search spend on iPad and tablet devices increasing 40 percent, according to a new report from Marin Software.

Reflections of a Newsosaur: Why ‘future of journalism’ confabs fail                                    After recently attending the latest in the never-ending series of “future of journalism” conferences, I finally realized why they all fail:  They don’t include the right people. 

Gannett beats on profit, but ad sales still weak                                                                  Gannett Co, publisher of USA today, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Monday, sending its shares up 3 percent in morning trade.

Lee Enterprise Newspaper Revs Sink                                                                                        The second quarter of 2012 brought another round of revenue declines for the newspaper business, with the latest discouraging results coming from Lee Enterprises.

Tribune May Use LA Times to Lure Bidders for Other Papers                                             The new owners of Tribune Co. may dangle the Los Angeles Times as bait to lure bidders for its other papers when it exits bankruptcy, expected within weeks, The Post has learned.

Business Insider Survey: How People Actually Use The iPad                                               How People Actually Use The iPad: Results From Our Exclusive Survey

Cincinnati Enquirer Moving to Online Paywall in the Fall                                                       The Cincinnati Enquirer’s top editor says it will move to a smaller format newspaper printed by the Columbus Dispatch and begin to charge for online content starting in the fall, the newspaper reports.

Thanks for reading!