Mediagazer: ComScore Wins Clients for Online-Ad Rating System (Suzanne Vranica/Wall Street Journal)

9:10 AM ET, May 17, 2013

Top News:

Mike Shields / Adweek:

Yahoo in Talks to Acquire Tumblr: Deal could reach as high as $1 billion — Is Marissa Mayer about to make a game-changing acquisition? It appears so. — Yahoo is in serious talks with Tumblr to acquire the social blogging site, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

Discussion: The Verge, eMedia Vitals, FishbowlNY, Electronista, @alexgriendling, CNET, @bluechoochoo, @dannysullivan, @strobist, @bluechoochoo, VentureBeat, Pocket-lint and Valleywag

AllThingsD:

Will Yahoo Try to Get Its “Cool Again” by Doing a Deal for Tumblr? — Earlier this week, Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman spoke at JP Morgan's Global Technology conference and underscored the need for the aging Silicon Valley Internet giant to attract more users from the coveted 18-to-24-years-old age bracket.

Discussion: Business Insider, SocialTimes, The Wall Blog, The Next Web, TechCrunch, The Atlantic Wire, Softpedia News and Mashable

Om Malik / GigaOM:

Yahoo wants to buy Tumblr. Will Facebook swoop in at the last minute? — Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer thinks that what Blogger did for Google, Tumblr could do for her aging Internet company — make it relevant and a major player on the modern web. And for that she is willing …

Discussion: Media News and UPROXX

Max Fisher / WorldViews:

North Korea condemns media freedom but praises two U.S. reporters — How does North Korea celebrate World Press Freedom Day? First of all, two weeks late, on May 15 rather than May 3, presumably (and tellingly) because that's how long it took to get around to it.

Reuters:

Pro-Assad hackers attack UK newspaper FT's website, Twitter feed — (Reuters) - The website of British newspaper the Financial Times was hacked on Friday, apparently by the “Syrian Electronic Army”, a group of hackers and on-line activists who say they support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Nitasha Tiku / Gawker:

The Hidden Dossiers Bloomberg Reporters Keep on Powerful Clients — If you are an influential user of a Bloomberg terminal—the $24,000-per-year glorified computers that the company sells to Wall Street trading firms, politicians, and banks—there's a chance the company's news division …

Discussion: The Week, Forbes, Globe and Mail, @nealunger and Wonkblog

The Huffington Post: Bloomberg Scandal Raises Ethics Questions For New Media

Jack Shafer:

Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration — Journalists gasp and growl whenever prosecutors issue lawful subpoenas ordering them to divulge their confidential sources or to turn over potential evidence, such as notes, video outtakes or other records.

Washington Post:
Some question whether AP leak on al-Qaeda plot put U.S. at risk

Discussion: Poynter, The Huffington Post, emptywheel, Salon, Post Politics, New York Post and Politico

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
DOJ Tactics Against AP Raise Concerns For The New York Times

Discussion: NPR, Slate, New York Times and FishbowlNY

Nieman Foundation News:

Nieman Fellows selected for class of 2014 — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Nieman Foundation for Journalism has selected 24 journalists as members of the 76th class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard University. The group includes reporters, editors, columnists, digital media leaders and producers in print …

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab and Associated Press

Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:

ComScore Wins Clients for Online-Ad Rating System — The battle between companies measuring the reach of online ads is heating up. — Ad-buying giants Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia said they have signed on to use comScore Inc.'s online advertising ratings system …

Somini Sengupta / New York Times:

Concerns Arise on U.S. Effort to Allow Internet ‘Wiretaps’ — Surveillance can be a tricky affair in the Internet age. — A federal law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act allows law enforcement officials to tap a traditional phone, as long as they get approval from a judge.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Washington Post Co. shuts Maryland papers — The Washington Post Co. announced Wednesday it would stop publishing the Frederick County, Md., editions of its Gazette newspapers. Post-Newsweek Media CEO Karen Acton said the move “became necessary due to changes in the market conditions in Frederick …

Discussion: Gazette.Net Maryland …

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Sun paywall needs more than 300,000 subscribers to cover outlay, say analysts — Sun+ service predicted to result in drop in online ad revenue with NI also paying £30m-plus for digital Premier League rights — The Sun will need to attract more than 250,000 subscribers …

Sabrina Siddiqui / The Huffington Post:

GOP Splits On Media Shield Bill — WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday he would co-sponsor a media shield bill with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) after the Justice Department secretly seized two months of Associated Press phone records. The two senators penned a letter urging …

Discussion: New York Times

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Campaign to Buy Los Angeles Times Hopes to Crowdfund $660 Million — Nicole Carty, 23, speaks during a meeting for participants of Zuccotti Park's Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York. — Want to buy the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and six other daily newspapers?

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Poynter, WWD Media Headlines, Nieman Journalism Lab and @jayrosen_nyu