Mediagazer: Why Did Howard Kurtz Take Such Large Role In Obscure Site? (Michael Calderone/The Huffington Post)

5:20 PM ET, May 3, 2013

Top News:

Howard Kurtz Status at CNN Unchanged — The “Reliable Sources” host will address the controversy on Sunday's program. — Howard Kurtz status at CNN remains unchanged, according to the network. — “There has been no status change with Howard Kurtz, he remains the host of Reliable Sources,” said a network spokesperson on Friday.

Discussion: Erik Wemple, American Journalism Review, TVNewser, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Wire, The Daily Beast, WebProNews and Media Law Prof Blog

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Why Did Howard Kurtz Take Such Large Role In Obscure Site? — NEW YORK — Before The Daily Beast fired Howard Kurtz on Thursday, newsroom staffers had been wondering why their Washington bureau chief appeared to be spending so much time working with an obscure media site called Daily Download.

Discussion: Gawker, Politico, Slate, FishbowlNY, @mlcalderone, Salon, Vanity Fair, The Wrap and Pressing Issues

Jennifer Saba / Reuters:

Washington Post profit plunges 85 percent on weak news, education revenues — (Reuters) - Washington Post Co reported an 85 percent drop in first-quarter net income on Friday on weakness in its education and newspaper businesses. — Stronger results from the television and cable operations …

Discussion: Fort Mill Times, RTTNews, The Week and New York Magazine

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

The Washington Post Co. earnings decline; revenue sees slight increase — The Washington Post Co. reported an 85 percent drop in earnings, although after subtracting one-time items, profits from continuing operations fell by 55 percent while revenue inched up slightly.

Discussion: Poynter and paidContent

Peter Gelling / GlobalPost:

American journalist likely held by Syrian government — BOSTON, Mass. — After a five-month investigation inside Syria and the wider Middle East, GlobalPost and the family of missing American journalist James Foley now believe the Syrian government is holding him in a detention center near Damascus.

Discussion: Poynter, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, The Lede and CBS Boston

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Spotify Takes a Page From the Twitter Playbook, Buys Music Discovery App Tunigo — Last fall, Twitter bought We Are Hunted, a “music discovery” startup that made a popular app for Spotify. — Apparently Spotify is paying attention: It just bought Tunigo, another music discovery startup with a popular Spotify app.

Discussion: Radio & Television …, SocialTimes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, CNET, The Next Web, GigaOM, VatorNews, hypebot, WebProNews and AppNewser

Michael Kelley / Library Journal:

OverDrive and Sourcebooks to Launch Ambitious Ebook Data Experiment — OverDrive and Sourcebooks are preparing to launch an innovative and ambitious pilot program whose goal is to clearly demonstrate the impact library ebook lending has on book sales and author recognition.

Discussion: paidContent

Nat Ives / AdAge:

New York Is Magazine of the Year at National Magazine Awards — Pitchfork Wins for General Excellence in Digital — New York magazine was named magazine of the year at the annual National Magazine Awards on Thursday night, taking home a prize only introduced in 2010 to honor brands that excel in both print and digital media.

Discussion: Mashable, LA Observed, New York Times, Slate, mediabistro.com, The Huffington Post, Folio, GalleyCat, The Atlantic Online, New York Post, The Atlantic Online, MinOnline, Capital New York and WWD

Jillian C. York / Mediashift:

Why We Still Need World Press Freedom Day — Eskinder Nega is an Ethiopian journalist and blogger who, in July 2012, was convicted under the country's broad anti-terrorism law and sentenced to 18 years in prison for exercising his right to free expression. Nega's conviction has been roundly condemned …

Discussion: Index on Censorship, Electronic Frontier Foundation, unric.org, Center for Investigative … and english.ahram.org.eg

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC Newsnight journalists nominated for award for axed Jimmy Savile report — Liz Mackean and Meirion Jones shortlisted for scoop of the year by London Press Club, as is Mark Williams-Thomas's ITV film — The two Newsnight journalists responsible for the BBC's aborted Jimmy Savile investigation …

Discussion: pressgazette.co.uk, Guardian and Big News Network.com

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

William Cox Jr., Dow Jones Heir Who Sold Company, Dies at 82 — William C. Cox Jr., the patriarch of the Bancroft clan that controlled Dow Jones & Co. for 105 years and sold it to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in a decision sparking a family feud, has died. He was 82.

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Study Shows Native Ads Outperform Banners...Mostly — There's an awful lot of excitement in the digital publishing world around native advertising and a lot of new marketing dollars being spent on ads that blend seamlessly with or mimic the forms of content.

Discussion: iMediaConnection Blog

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Why we should stop asking Twitter to introduce a correction feature — Every time a breaking news event like the Boston bombings occurs and Twitter becomes a hot mess of real-time news reports, hoaxes, fake accounts and misinformation, there is a great hue and cry for some kind of correction mechanism …

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …