Mediagazer: Al Jazeera Hires Ed Pound for U.S. Channel (Keach Hagey/Wall Street Journal)

1:15 PM ET, April 15, 2013

Top News:

Dish Launches $25.5 Billion Bid for Sprint — Satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. is making a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel Corp., an effort to derail the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier's acquisition by Softbank Corp. of Japan. — Dish said Monday it is offering to pay $4.76 in cash …

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:
This Man Wants To Kill Your Cable And Wireless Companies

Discussion: Business Insider

Roy J. Harris Jr / Poynter:

Winners to watch for when the Pulitzers are announced today — About a half-dozen journalism organizations have already weighed in on their versions of 2012's best reporting, commentary and press photography. Today at 3 p.m. ET, it's the Pulitzer Prize Board's turn — for the 97th time …

Discussion: New York Times, NewspaperAlum, PARADE Magazine, Daily Texan, @mlcalderone, @sulliview and The Huffington Post

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Great Long-Form Journalism, Just Clicks Away … In the age of hundreds of cable channels, millions of 140-character bulletins and an untold number of cat videos, a fear has been growing among journalists and readers that long-form storytelling may be getting lost.

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Texas Tribune Scores $1.5 Million Knight Foundation Grant — There's not a lot of good news about the the economics of serious public-interest journalism these days, so pay attention, because this is pretty good. — The Knight Foundation is giving a $1.5 million grant to the Texas Tribune …

Discussion: Knight Foundation and eMedia Vitals

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Jeff Zucker at CNN Hires Michael Bass, a Deputy From His NBC Past — Jeff Zucker, who left Katie Couric's syndicated talk show, “Katie,” at the end of last year to take over CNN Worldwide, is bringing in one of the show's top producers to join him. — Michael Bass, a longtime deputy …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, The Huffington Post, Deadline.com and Chickaboomer

David Carr / New York Times:

More Cracks in Television's Business Model — For the longest time in the media business, the concept of the bundle has been foundational. Ads go with editorial content in print, commercials go with programming on television and the channels you desire are paired with ones you did not in your cable package.

Discussion: Prof Chris Daly's Blog and @cdixon

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Simon & Schuster launches ebook lending pilot with New York City public libraries — Simon & Schuster will finally make its ebooks available to libraries, through a one-year trial with New York City's public libraries. The publisher is making all of its titles available in the trial …

Discussion: PublishersWeekly.com, GalleyCat, FishbowlNY and Mashable

Sara Morrison / Columbia Journalism Review:

New from NYT R&D: Quips — Now you can highlight and mark up an online New York Times article just like you would a book — Those who have walked through the New York Times lobby have no doubt seen Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin's data-art installation “Moveable Type,” a series of small screens …

Guardian:

LSE students on North Korea trip with BBC team ‘have received threats’ — Director of university says he has received complaints and claims there is no written evidence students consented to risk — The director of the London School of Economics has revealed that some of the university's students …

Michael Holden / Reuters:
British university attacks BBC over covert North Korea trip

Discussion: Guardian, New York Times, pressgazette.co.uk, Deadline.com, Reuters, Gawker, Guardian, The Beaver, BBC and The Independent

Lorelei Marfil / WWD:

Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design Opens in London — STYLE SCHOOL: The first students to study at the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design will sit down at their desks today. For 10 weeks, the inaugural intake of 45 students from 23 countries will take part …

Christopher Heine / Adweek:

NBC News Turns Big Flipboard Presence Into Ad Sales — About a year ago, NBC News established an account on Flipboard—the increasingly popular magazine-formatted, social mobile app—and has since grown its presence to a whopping 1.3 million monthly active readers.

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

Al Jazeera Hires Ed Pound for U.S. Channel — Al Jazeera has tapped veteran investigative journalist Ed Pound to lead the 16-person investigative unit at its new American cable channel, Al Jazeera America, the company said Monday. — Mr. Pound, 69 years old, joins Al Jazeera from his current job …

Discussion: Politico