Mediagazer: Why Yahoo-Tumblr makes sense (Felix Salmon)

5:35 PM ET, May 20, 2013

Top News:

Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:

A rare peek into a Justice Department leak probe — When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material.

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:

Here's Fox News' Scathing Statement On The Leak Investigation Into One Of Its Reporters — Fox News Executive Vice President Michael Clemente has released a scathing statement on the leak investigation involving Fox News reporter James Rosen. Here's the full statement, provided by a network spokesperson …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Carney: No comment on James Rosen case

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, @huffpostmedia, @matthewteague, @trevortimm, @zekejmiller and @chanders

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Justice Dept. Tracked Fox News Reporter James Rosen's Movements, Obtained His Personal Emails

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Erik Wemple and Politico

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

It's Official: Yahoo Is Buying Tumblr For $1.1B, Vows To Keep It Independent — Yahoo has now officially confirmed that it is buying blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion mostly in cash, after reports on an impending deal first surfaced last week. It says it will keep it as an independent company …

Felix Salmon:

Why Yahoo-Tumblr makes sense — Amidst all the positivity coming out of Yahoo and Tumblr, any self-respecting pundit is going to want to pour cold water on the whole deal. Especially since billion-dollar mergers almost never work out very well. But here's the weird thing …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Betabeat, Forbes, Mediaite and Business Insider

Timothy B. Lee / Washington Post:

Yahoo can't decide if it's a media company or a tech company — Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr for $1.1 billion is a big gamble by Marissa Mayer, the company's recently-hired CEO. The microblogging site is a valuable asset, but media accounts of Mayer's thinking suggest she hasn't come …

Discussion: Guardian, Anil Dash, Business Insider, MediaFile, TechCrunch, GigaOM, AllThingsD and Valleywag

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
WordPress' Mullenweg Claims 72,000 Blog Posts Imported From Tumblr in Just One Hour on Sunday

Discussion: Matt Mullenweg, Forbes, TechCrunch, NYT Bits, ReadWrite, Businessweek, PC Advisor, CNET, The Week, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Verge, Electronista, Plagiarism Today, BGR, Fast Company and VentureBeat

Lauren Indvik / Mashable:
Yahoo May Bring Ads to Tumblr Blogs — With Permission

Discussion: DealBook, TechCrunch, ZDNet, VentureBeat and AllThingsD

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:

Jann Wenner's Kid Is the New Head of RollingStone.com — Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner has a knack for picking talent. So we're sure his online staff will give a hearty welcome to their new boss: Jann Wenner's fresh-out-of-college kid. — Gus Wenner, 22, is an amazing media success story.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, FishbowlNY, @samanthajoleal, @ejjudge, @craigsj, @markhor, @saramorrison, @mobute, @petersterne and @saramorrison

Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:

New York Times CEO calls digital pay model “most successful” decision in years — In a speech to Columbia business school graduates, the CEO of the New York Times described the company's role in media disruption. — In a commencement address to business students at Columbia University …

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

NBC News confirms ITV's Deborah Turness as president — Editor of ITV News will be the first female head of a television network news operation in the United States — Deborah Turness, editor of ITV News, has been appointed president of NBC News in the United States. Photograph: Eamonn Mccabe for the Guardian

Discussion: New York Times, NetNewsCheck Latest, Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, Reuters, Mediaite, Variety, TVNewser, @brianstelter and The Huffington Post

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

How far did PBS go to avoid offending a sponsor? — Last fall, Alex Gibney, a documentary filmmaker who won an Academy Award in 2008 for an exposé of torture at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, completed a film called “Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream.”

Discussion: Gannett Blog, Boing Boing and LA Observed

Tom Harper / London Evening Standard:

The Met gagged Leveson Inquiry over claims that senior police officer sold secrets to the News of the World — The Met “gagged” the Leveson Inquiry from revealing intelligence that a very senior former police officer passed on sensitive information to the News of the World, the Standard reveals today.

Discussion: Guardian, Press Gazette and The Drum

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

BBC told to improve online local news — Review by the BBC Trust says web services have improved, but coverage of regional news is ‘not particularly comprehensive’ — A BBC Trust report has said online services have improved since its last review in 2008, but local coverage needs to be developed.

Deirdre Dlugoleski / Columbia Journalism Review:

‘We are all journalists now’ — 140 Journos and Turkey's “counter-media” movement — In a 2011 court case in Diyarbakr, Turkey, a student is on trial for membership in a terrorist organization. The case is legally open to the public, but no journalists are present in the small, cramped courtroom.

Discussion: The Newspaper Guild