Mediagazer: For Media Moguls, Paydays That Stand Out (David Carr/New York Times)

3:30 PM ET, May 6, 2013

Top News:

Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:

The Knight Foundation's curious funding decisions — Among the odder aspects of Howard Kurtz's very bad week (as reported by Michael Calderone of the Huffington Post) is the revelation that Daily Download, the thoroughly mediocre (at best) website with which Kurtz is more or less associated …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu and Nieman Journalism Lab

Sharon Waxman / The Wrap:

Howard Kurtz's Mea Culpa Isn't Good Enough — Merely repeating an apology and stressing one's sincerity is not a ticket back to play on the journalism field. — I wish I could say that Howard Kurtz's mea culpa on “Reliable Sources” was convincing. But it wasn't.

Discussion: TVNewser, Poynter, Erik Wemple, Politico, Tampabay.com, Variety and Chickaboomer

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Howard Kurtz's Bad Reporting About Jason Collins Cost Him a Lot of Money — Contrary to appearances, Howard Kurtz didn't lose his job at the Daily Beast over his boneheaded reporting about gay basketball star Jason Collins, or over his excessive extracurricular work. What he did lose was money — quite a lot of it.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Howard Kurtz Downplays Role At Daily Download

Discussion: Mediaite, FishbowlNY, Daily Download, BuzzMachine, @jayrosen_nyu and The Huffington Post

Sharon Waxman / The Wrap:

Who Will Run Al-Jazeera America? Who's In, Who's Out, Who Passed (Exclusive) — The scoop on the leading candidates of the biggest new news network to hit cable — One of the biggest jobs in media is a new position and a high-risk opportunity: running Al Jazeera America.

Discussion: USA Today, Capital New York, Politico, The Huffington Post, TVNewser, The Corsair and Chickaboomer

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

Aereo doesn't want to take its legal fight on the road — Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia (Associated Press) — A lawsuit to stop lawsuits? — That's the latest twist in the fight between Aereo, a start-up company that streams broadcast TV signals over the Internet, and the networks trying to put it out of business.

Greg Sandoval / The Verge:
Aereo files suit against CBS to head off second copyright claim from network

Discussion: AllThingsD, TechCrunch, Reuters and Hollywood Reporter

Janko Roettgers / paidContent:

Big Bird, Caillou and Sonic could be part of YouTube's subscription slate — YouTube is reportedly close to launching paid channel subscriptions on its site - and we've found a number of clues that hint at kids content being part of this initiative. — YouTube is getting close to launching …

Discussion: NME and Home Media Magazine

Matt Brian / The Verge:
Google reportedly launching paid YouTube subscriptions this week

Discussion: Financial Times, New York Times, The Atlantic Wire, GMANetwork.com, VentureBeat, CNET, SocialTimes, BGR India, NDTV Gadgets, Engadget, Daily Mail, Pocket-lint and PC Advisor

David Carr / New York Times:

For Media Moguls, Paydays That Stand Out — What's the difference between a media mogul and a chief executive elsewhere in the business world? About $10 million in compensation, give or take. — Leaders in other industries may be well paid, but as the accompanying chart shows, they earn far less than their media counterparts.

Discussion: The Newspaper Guild

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

BuzzFeed Takes Steps to Expand Foreign News — BuzzFeed, the swiftly growing social news site, has decided it is time to move beyond top 10 lists, animal videos and political coverage. It is going foreign. — The site recently posted a hiring notice for a foreign editor that said BuzzFeed wanted …

Discussion: FishbowlNY and @buzzfeedben

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:

Journalists Get Beat Up And Threatened After Going To A Kentucky Town To Report On Guns — Reporters covering a horrific gun death in the small town of Burkesville, Ky., were rejected by the town's residents, some of whom threatened reporters with violence and ended up carrying out those threats.

Discussion: New York Times and Business Insider

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Planet Money's crowdfunded T-shirt project surpasses goal by more than $200,000 — Donors to Planet Money's crowdfunded project to report out the life of a T-shirt have contributed more than five times the amount of cash the program hoped to raise in a Kickstarter campaign. In its pledge, the program says it will:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Behind the Scenes at Fox — A few days before the presidential election last November, Roger Ailes, the chief executive of Fox News, ordered that Geraldo Rivera's microphone be cut off after Mr. Rivera angrily defended the Obama administration against charges levied by others on Fox.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Tucson Citizen, Wonkette, TVNewser, The Raw Story, Inside Cable News, New York Magazine and jdp feed

Seth Abramovitch / Hollywood Reporter:

The Onion's Twitter Feed Hijacked by Pro-Syria Hackers — The Syrian Electronic Army claims responsibility for a series of anti-Israel tweets. — The Onion has been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, a cabal of computer hackers sympathetic to President Bashar al-Assad.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Gawker, Philly.com and Business Insider