Mediagazer: My new job at ReadWriteWeb, and what it means for SplatF (Dan Frommer/SplatF)

9:40 PM ET, December 14, 2011

Top News:

Adrianne Jeffries / Betabeat:

ReadWriteWeb's Acquisition, as Seen By a Former Employee [UPDATED] — This morning AdWeek broke the news that ReadWriteWeb had been acquired by SAY Media (which also bought Dogster and Six Apart) and appointed Dan Frommer to the editor seat. The price was not disclosed.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Afterthoughts and WebProNews

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

The Price For ReadWriteWeb Was Around $5 Million — Tech blog ReadWriteWeb was acquired today by SAY Media, as was previously reported. I've found out a few more details. The price SAY paid out was under $5 million, after the assumption of ReadWriteWeb's liabilities, according to a source privy to the details.

Discussion: The Wrap, paidContent, VatorNews, Business Insider, Poynter and Daring Fireball, more at Techmeme »

Dan Frommer / SplatF:

My new job at ReadWriteWeb, and what it means for SplatF — If you follow me on Twitter, or follow tech news in general, you may have seen the announcement this morning that I'll be joining ReadWriteWeb as Editor At Large starting in January. — SAY Media, my business-side partner for SplatF, just acquired RWW.

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, VentureBeat and CNET News, more at Techmeme »

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:
Say Media Eyes IPO, Buys ReadWriteWeb

Discussion: Forbes and TechCrunch

Aaron Gell / The New York Observer:

Peter Braunstein, WWD Writer Turned Tabloid Monster, Still Has Issues — One day in October 2010, Peter Braunstein's monthly subscription copy of W magazine arrived right on time. It was one of the first under the direction of a new editor, Stefano Tonchi, and the cover featured Ryan Gosling …

Discussion: Spiersblr

Joel Gunter / Journalism.co.uk:

Tom Crone denies knowing Webb was private investigator — Former News of the World legal manager claims he does not remember emails between himself and other executives referring to Webb as ‘silent shadow’ — Former News of the World legal manager Tom Crone has denied being aware that Derek Webb …

Discussion: Media Week, Press Gazette and Guardian

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk: Mail: Dowler question was ‘perfectly legitimate inquiry’

David Carr / Media Decoder:
Is James Murdoch Running Out of Denials?

Discussion: CJR, Guardian and Bloomberg

BBC: Leveson Inquiry: Prosecute NoW criminality, ex editor says

David Leigh / Guardian:
Leveson: Milly Dowler case is not the only reason for inquiry

Discussion: Press Gazette

Mark Sweney / Guardian:
What James Murdoch said about the ‘for Neville’ email

Discussion: Guardian and CNN

Andrew Pugh / Press Gazette:
Guardian faces Fleet Street backlash over changing story on Milly Dowler message deletions

Discussion: Daily Mail and The Sun

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

Chuck Todd: NBC's new politics site is for armchair viewers, political junkies — NBC has just launched a new politics site that provides readers with a place to track political news, dig deeper into polls and make their own predictions about the outcome of the 2012 elections.

Discussion: Mashable! and NetNewsCheck Latest

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:
Kristen Welker Named NBC White House Correspondent; Network Sets 2012 Politics Coverage

Discussion: Lost Remote, 10,000 Words, Broadcasting & Cable and FishbowlDC

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:
A web-first politics site for NBC News: Vivian Schiller on the launch of NBCPolitics.com

Discussion: mediabistro.com and Broadcasting & Cable

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

Huffington Post dominates Facebook's most-shared politics stories of 2011 — On Facebook's list of the 40 most-shared political articles of 2011, the most frequently appearing sources are The Huffington Post (10), CNN (7), MSNBC (6) and Fox News (5). The Washington Post had only one story on the list …

Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:

The Top Political Stories On Facebook In 2011 Were Sensationalized, Polarized And Mostly Mainstream — Facebook has released a list of the most popular US political news stories among its users over the past year. It's a pretty depressing read if you're idealistic like me …

Discussion: VentureBeat and L.A. Times Tech Blog

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

$1.5M Knight grant to NPR will fund digital training at 70 local stations — The Knight Foundation is giving NPR $1.5 million to bolster the digital skills of local member stations and fulfill visions of a national-local collaborative news network. — The grant announced today builds upon …

Discussion: Editors Weblog, rbr.com, NetNewsCheck Latest and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Simon Owens / Nieman Journalism Lab:
NPR's StateImpact project explores regional topics through focused, data-driven journalism

Discussion: Bloggasm and StateImpact Pennsylvania

Bloomberg:

Hollywood Said to Court Amazon in Bid for Online Film Sales — Hollywood studios, working to spur purchases of films and TV shows, are in talks to bring Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) back into their online system called UltraViolet, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Deadline.com and Electronista

J. David Goodman / Media Decoder:

Times of London Cancels Comedy Podcast That Mocked Murdoch — BUGLE NEWS ALERT: The Bugle will be leaving Times Online in the near future. We will do everything we can to keep The Bugle going... The Bugle — hellobuglers — The Times of London, the British daily owned …

Discussion: New York Times

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Outbrain Raises $35M In Series D Funding For Content Discovery Platform — Today, content discovery platform Outbrain is announcing it has secured $35 million in Series D funding in a round led by Index Ventures. Existing investors Carmel Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Discussion: Online Video News, AllThingsD, VentureBeat, Business Insider, Fast Company and paidContent

Felix Salmon: The value of finding content to link to

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

What Louis CK knows that most media companies don't — Until recently, comedian Louis CK was known mostly for a hilarious clip about how “everything is amazing but no one is happy,” which lampooned our inability to recognize our own good fortune and led to a TV show.

Discussion: paidContent, Techdirt, Rolling Stone, Business Insider, Forbes, WebProNews, CNET News, AdAge and GalleyCat

Caroline Davies / Guardian:

Judge tells reporters: tweet as you wish — Guidance from lord chief justice means journalists no longer have to make application to tweet, text or email from courts — Journalists no longer have to make an application to tweet, text or email from courts in England and Wales following guidance issued …

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Digital Content Vet David Eun Joins Samsung To Lead Global Media — Samsung makes TVs, tablets, smartphones, music players, even refrigerators with connected displays. Now it wants to have a bigger say about the content that drives the sales and use of consumer electronics and is bringing on former Google …