Mediagazer: Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says (Declan McCullagh/CNET)

5:15 PM ET, January 26, 2013

Top News:

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

“We Are Supposed To Be Truth Tellers” — A couple of weeks ago CNET was put into an absurd situation - they could not favorably cover a technology product because the company behind that product was in litigation with CNET's parent company, CBS. — I wasn't all that interested in the story at the time.

Discussion: @joshuatopolsky, Beyond Search, @bendreyfuss, @jbrodkin, The Uptake and Techi.com

Tim Carmody / The Verge:

CNET forbidden from reviewing Aereo following CBS-Dish controversy — Editorial policy after CES Awards nightmare leads to fancy footwork by news team — This week, live-TV startup Aereo released an update to its Roku app, adding a new visual interface and enabling full control with the Roku remote.

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, 9to5Mac, Talking Biz News, The Consumerist, CNET, Daring Fireball and @pkafka

Jim Romenesko:

At CNET, ‘morale is plummeting and people are pissed off’ — A disclosure attached to a CNET story posted on Thursday. — There had been hints around CNET that the edict might be overturned. During a meeting last Friday, Reviews editor-in-chief Lindsey Turrentine sounded optimistic.

Discussion: The Verge, Techdirt, TechCrunch, plus.google.com, Boing Boing, CNET, NetNewsCheck Latest, @sdkstl, Poynter and @learmonth

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Why It's Hard for Trump — or Anyone — to Buy the N.Y. Times — Ridicule of Donald Trump has become an almost daily occurrence. This week, the mockery came after he was revealed to be the latest billionaire interested in owning the New York Times. Again, and again, and again.

Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

New York Times Buyout Situation Still Unclear — Although the New York Times buyout deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday has come and gone, the situation remains fluid. Winnie O'Kelley, deputy editor for Business Day, confirmed to The Huffington Post on Friday afternoon that she is still considering whether …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

New York Times' Pilhofer: 'There's a lot of institutional memory walking out the door' — The New York Times' round of buyouts that ended Thursday landed heavily on some of the organization's digital leaders: Jonathan Landman, who took charge of the paper's digital newsroom in 2005 …

Discussion: Politico, Capital New York, @joepompeo, mediabistro.com, ZDNet and Huffington Post

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Fox Says Its 3-Year Relationship With Palin Is Over — “Sarah, where are you?” one of Sarah Palin's 3.4 million Facebook fans wrote on her wall last week. “Has your contract with Fox ended?” another fan asked the day before. — Fox News has indeed parted ways with Ms. Palin …

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Mediaite, Chickaboomer, The Daily Beast, New York Post, Real Clear Politics, ABCNEWS, Adweek, From Inside the Box, The Huffington Post, The Week, Pressing Issues, TVNewser and The Raw Story

Declan McCullagh / CNET:

Swartz didn't face prison until feds took over case, report says — The late Internet activist was facing a stern warning from local prosecutors. But then the U.S. Attorney's office, run by Carmen Ortiz, chose to make an example of Aaron Swartz, a new report says.

Discussion: ij.org, Techdirt, Boston Herald, Daring Fireball and Media Nation

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Rising TV Fees Mean All Viewers Pay to Keep Sports Fans Happy — For a glimpse of how out of control sports bidding wars have become, look no further than your cable television bill. — Time Warner Cable subscribers in Southern California will eventually see their monthly bills increase thanks …

Discussion: Deadspin

Xeni Jardin / Boing Boing:

Twitter suspends account of Somali Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaeda — Two days after a group of Somali islamist militants vowed to execute Kenyan hostages, and tweeted a video of a captive pleading for the Kenyan government to help free them, the Al-Shabaab Twitter account @HSMPress was suspended.

Discussion: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Reuters

New York Business Journal:

American Media teams with USA Today on magazines — American Media Inc., publisher of “National Enquirer” and “Men's Fitness” is joining with newspaper USA Today to publish 12 special magazines using a “Best Of” theme in 2013. Editorial will be developed by both companies with the goal of providing …

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD: Timehop Hooks Up With USA Today to Deliver Stories From the Past

Erik Wemple:

Roger Ailes biography sparks an Internet shopping spree — Gabriel Sherman should be flattered. People seem to believe that the New York Magazine writer's pending, unauthorized biography of Roger Ailes will be a big deal. Look at all the attention that's come his way since he started working on it:

Discussion: Inside Cable News