Mediagazer: Boston Phoenix, down in flames (Justin Peters/Columbia Journalism Review)

7:35 PM ET, March 14, 2013

Top News:

Reuters' Matthew Keys indicted for conspiring with hacker group ‘Anonymous’ — Matthew Keys, a deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters, has been charged in an indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group “Anonymous” to hack into a Tribune Company website, the Justice Department announced today.

The United States Department of Justice:

Former Web Producer Indicted in California for Conspiring with “Anonymous” Members to Attack Internet News Site — A former web producer for a Tribune Company-owned television station in Sacramento, Calif., was charged today in an indictment for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacker group …

Discussion: Media Decoder, matthewkeys.tumblr.com, Ars Technica, Forbes, GigaOM, Big News Network.com, Fast Company, Daily Dot, NetNewsCheck Latest, Hillicon Valley, Guardian, The Raw Story, New York Magazine and Business Insider

Ryan J. Reilly / @ryanjreilly:

Confirmed, @thematthewkeys has been indicted for working with Anonymous to hack into Tribune Company website.

Discussion: Poynter, L.A. NOW, The Verge, Mashable! and @ryanjreilly

Sam Biddle / Gizmodo:
Reuters Employee Exposed as Alleged Anonymous Agent (Updating)

Discussion: Adweek and VentureBeat

Digg Blog:

We're Building A Reader — Like many of you, we were dismayed to learn that Google will be shutting down its much-loved, if under-appreciated, Google Reader on July 1st. Through its many incarnations, Google Reader has remained a solid and reliable tool for those who want to ensure …

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Digg announces plan to build an RSS reader with 'the best of Google Reader's features,' including its API

Discussion: Betabeat, The Atlantic Wire, WebProNews and Business Insider

Jim Romenesko:

Boston Phoenix is folding — Boston's alt-weekly, founded in 1966, is closing. I'm waiting for more information to post.

Discussion: Boston Globe, @bostonphoenix, 10,000 Words, Poynter, The New York Observer, Media Decoder, bizjournals, talkingnewmedia.blogspot.co.uk, @monikabauerlein, @longform, @zseward and @talkingnewmedia

Justin Peters / Columbia Journalism Review:

Boston Phoenix, down in flames — On Thursday afternoon, Boston Phoenix publisher Stephen Mindich announced that the 47-year-old alt-weekly would cease publication effective immediately. The past few years “have been extremely difficult times for our Company,” Mindich said in a statement …

Discussion: Media Nation, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine

Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:

Google Reader's demise is awful for Iranians, who use it to avoid censorship — Google's announcement that it's killing off Google Reader, the company's beloved, if not wildly popular, tool for consuming RSS feeds, was met with outrage from journalists and other, largely American nerds …

Discussion: Wired, The Atlantic Wire, The Verge, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, TechCrunch and ZDNet

Om Malik / GigaOM:

Google Reader lived on borrowed time: creator Chris Wetherell reflects — You would think that Chris Wetherell, an early creator of Google Reader (and part of the team that eventually made it happen) would be feeling sorry for himself — after all Google had decided to euthanize a product he …

Discussion: Slate, Marco.org, Building Feedly, Reuters, Fast Company, TechCrunch, The Verge, NYT Bits, ZDNet, Motherboard, VentureBeat, Forbes, BBC, Dave Winer, GeekWire, The Dish, Softpedia News and Marketing Land

John Herrman / BuzzFeed:
Google Reader Still Drives Far More Traffic Than Google+

Discussion: Mashable!, ZDNet, The Daily Beast and Dave Winer

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:
Google Reader, please don't go — I need you to do my job

Discussion: Inside Flipboard, VentureBeat, GigaOM, pressgazette.co.uk, Rex Hammock's RexBlog.com, The Next Web, Lifehacker, Reuters, @carr2n, @editorialiste, @abbruns, @tcarmody, ReadWrite, @tcarmody and One Man & His Blog

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Chris Hayes to Take Over 8 P.M. Slot on MSNBC — Chris Hayes will take over the 8 p.m. time slot on MSNBC in the next month, the channel is expected to announce on Thursday morning, the day after the current host of that hour, Ed Schultz, said he was moving from the weekdays to the weekends.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Biden's office forces reporter to delete photos, apologizes — A staffer for Vice President Joe Biden demanded that a reporter delete photos he'd taken at an event in Rockville, Md., Tuesday. The vice president's office later apologized to University of Maryland J-school Dean Lucy Dalglish …

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, TechCrunch, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Reuters, @jayrosen_nyu and The Huffington Post

Wall Street Journal:

Facebook Working on Incorporating the Hashtag — Facebook Inc. is getting ready to take on a symbol of rival Twitter: the hashtag. — Facebook is working on incorporating the hashtag, one of Twitter Inc.'s most iconic markers, into its service, said people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: AllThingsD, Lost Remote, TechCrunch, GigaOM, Fast Company, Marketing Land, Daily Dot, CNET, The Verge, Business Insider and Pocket-lint

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

CBS Brings Ad-Sponsored Streaming TV To iPhone And iPad; Social Integration, Android & Windows 8 Support Still To Come — CBS is today introducing a new iOS application for iPad and iPhone, which brings its television programming to mobile devices, offering full episodes for streaming a week after they originally air.

Discussion: paidContent, NetNewsCheck Latest, AllThingsD, Radio & Television …, FierceMobileContent News, Broadcasting & Cable, The Verge, SlashGear, The Next Web, CNET, AppNewser, Fox Business, Home Media Magazine, @ryanlawler, Variety, WebProNews, MacRumors and Adweek

Press Gazette:

Cameron urges Parliament to back Royal Charter: 'There is no point producing a system the press won't take part in' — David Cameron said that press owners would have refused to sign up to the system of press regulation backed by statute called for by Labour and the Lib Dems.

Discussion: Guardian and Jon Slattery

Andrew Woodcock / Press Association:
Leveson press reform proposal discussions break down

Discussion: BBC, Hollywood Reporter, Spectator, Channel 4, politics.co.uk, Telegraph and Guardian

Janko Roettgers / paidContent:

Hulu's content chief Andy Forssell officially takes over as acting CEO — Hulu has officially announced that its SVP of content Andy Forssell is going to become its acting CEO when founding CEO Jason Kilar leaves the company at the end of the month. Kilar made the announcement himself Thursday afternoon on Hulu's blog, writing:

Discussion: Hulu Blog, TechCrunch, Variety and The Next Web

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Sources: Olbermann's inability to get a job cited in Current TV settlement — Keith Olbermann has settled his $50 million lawsuit with Current TV, bringing an end to the almost year-long legal dispute over the outspoken host's dismissal from the liberal news network.

Discussion: Chickaboomer and Forbes

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

Spinoff of Time Inc. Rattles Employees — It was an elite reception at a glittery Manhattan setting: prominent media figures like Gayle King and Lesley Stahl gathered on the 10th floor of the Time Warner Center on Monday night to toast Sheryl Sandberg, the Facebook executive who recently released a book about her life.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Motley Fool, Media Decoder, FishbowlNY and USA Today

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Meet Scott Prouty, the 47 Percent Video Source — For months, he and I shared a big secret and repeatedly discussed whether he should go public or stay hidden. — “Scott Prouty.” — The fellow on the other end of the phone call pronounced his name with hesitation.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Lynn Sweet, msnbc.com, Business Insider, The Week and Pressing Issues

Jordan Zakarin / Hollywood Reporter:

ESPN Suspends Bill Simmons From Twitter After Criticizing Network — One of the sports network's biggest personalities called a segment that aired on “First Take” on Monday “awful and embarrassing,” allegedly drawing his employer's ire. — ESPN has suspended star commentator …

Discussion: USA Today, Daily Dot and Mashable!