Mediagazer: Pulitzer Prize-winning photog John Kaplan turns camera on his own battle with cancer (Richard Huff/NY Daily News)

1:05 AM ET, December 15, 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, ReadWriteWeb, 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, Daily Mail, The Sun and Press Gazette

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

Discussion: Guardian and CNN

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: L.A. Times Tech Blog and VentureBeat

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

Simon Owens / Nieman Journalism Lab:

NPR's StateImpact project explores regional topics through focused, data-driven journalism — Scott Detrow heard a rumor, and like any good reporter, he set out to determine whether it was true. Detrow, who has spent several years covering state politics and government …

Discussion: NPR StateImpact

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:
$1.5M Knight grant to NPR will fund digital training at 70 local stations

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

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: Techdirt, Rolling Stone, paidContent, Forbes, /Film, Business Insider, CNET News, GalleyCat and AdAge

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

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

Ben Sisario / Media Decoder:

Live Nation Buys BigChampagne, Analyzer of Consumer Data — In a bid to expand its ability to analyze large amounts of consumer data, Live Nation Entertainment, the music giant that includes Ticketmaster, is buying BigChampagne, a small but influential company that monitors online media consumption.

Discussion: Company Town and hypebot, more at Techmeme »

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: Deadline.com, VentureBeat and Electronista

Ryan Lawler / GigaOM:

Netflix expands international support for iOS, Apple TV — Netflix is giving its subscribers in Latin America new ways to access its library of streaming video titles, by expanding availability of its app on iOS products in that region. Starting Wednesday, Netflix subscribers …

Discussion: The Official Netflix Blog, Home Media Magazine, WebProNews, CNET News and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Discussion: mocoNews, AllThingsD, The Verge, MediaPost, Reuters and TechCrunch

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 …

Fernando Alfonso III / Daily Dot:

@reporter1999 relives the dotcom boom on Twitter — Being a Silicon Valley reporter in 1999 was no small task. Just ask Catherine Giotto, a 5-foot-tall spitfire who covered the cop beat for a small newspaper in the epicenter of Northern California's tech boom.

Discussion: 10,000 Words