Mediagazer: BBC increases pay offer to lowest earners in bid to head off strikes (Josh Halliday/Guardian)

5:05 AM ET, May 24, 2013

Top News:

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Obama: Leak Investigations Could ‘Chill Investigative Journalism’ — President Obama said Thursday that he is “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable.” — In a major speech on national security …

Discussion: Open Channel, Mediaite, Fox News, @ryanlizza, @howardkurtz, Politico, @ggreenwald, Washington Times, @natives, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, @lheron, @intelligencer, @mirandacgreen, @digiphile and The New Yorker Blog

Leonard Downie Jr / Washington Post:

Leonard Downie: Obama's war on leaks undermines investigative journalism — Leonard Downie Jr. is a vice president at large of The Washington Post, where he served as executive editor from 1991 to 2008. He is the Weil family professor of journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism …

Karen Fratti / 10,000 Words:

The Old Grey Lady: The Times Needs to Get Over ‘Snow Fall’ — Like most people, I have a fear of getting really old. You know how sometimes you see an old, grey lady in the supermarket grumbling about the price of milk and scowling at the clerk who tries to help her? I don't want to be her one day.

Discussion: Capital New York, New York Magazine and FishbowlNY

Ronald Grover / Reuters:

Hulu video site auction attracts four bidders: sources — (Reuters) - Former News Corp president Peter Chernin and private equity fund Guggenheim Digital Media have placed bids for Hulu, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, triggering a tug-of-war for the online video service.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Verge and CNET

Keach Hagey / Digits:

Twitter Cozies Up to Television With New Ad Products — Twitter rolled out two advertising products on Thursday aimed at showing it wants to be television's friend, not foe. — The social networking site, powered by its recent acquisition of social media data company Bluefin Labs …

Discussion: Bloomberg and AllThingsD

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twitter Launches TV Ad Targeting, Twitter Amplify For Real-Time Videos In Stream

Discussion: Twitter Advertising, SocialTimes, Marketing Pilgrim, @robinsloan, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, CNET, Adweek, AdAge, WebProNews, Digiday, Capital New York and Engadget

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Hearst Taps Demand Media's Bradford and Yucaipa's Johnson to “Redefine” the San Francisco Chronicle — Media giant Hearst has hired two senior execs — Demand Media's Joanne Bradford and former Los Angeles Times CEO Jeffrey Johnson — in a significant move to digitally turbocharge and jumpstart …

Discussion: ZDNet, @rajunarisetti and FishbowlLA

Nate Raymond / Reuters:

Judge says leaning toward U.S. in Apple e-books case — (Reuters) - In an unusual move before a trial, a federal judge expressed a tentative view that the U.S. Justice Department will be able to show evidence that Apple Inc engaged in a conspiracy with publishers to increase e-book prices.

Discussion: paidContent, AppleInsider, CNET and The Mac Observer

Leon Lazaroff / TheStreet.com:

Bloomberg's ‘Spygate’ Marks Murdoch's Latest Salvo — NEW YORK (TheStreet) - It's been 13 days since The New York Post's Mark DeCambre broke the news that Bloomberg reporters allegedly used proprietary information from the company's terminals to write about investment bankers, including those at Goldman Sachs (GS).

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News: Bloomberg News hires Boston Globe's ME

John Cook / Gawker:

Rob Ford Crackstarter Update — As of this writing, the Rob Ford Crackstarter—our attempt to crowdfund $200,000 to purchase and publish a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine—has exceeded $145,000. At the rate it's going, we will reach our goal by Saturday, if not sooner.

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

BBC increases pay offer to lowest earners in bid to head off strikes — Bectu general secretary says £50 hike to pay rise for staff earning less than £60,000 a year is an insult — The BBC has attempted to head off a potential summer of strikes by increasing its annual pay offer to its lowest-earning staff.

BuzzFeed:

Old Media Is Not Dead: Why Hedge Funds Have Fallen In Love With CBS — Some of the smartest money on Wall Street is betting that CBS shares can go a lot higher. How the oldest of old-media companies became a hedge fund darling. — Even though shares of CBS have gained an astounding 1,500% …

Josh Sternberg / Digiday:

How Publishers Organize for Social Era — Publishers are seeing social as a big traffic driver across the board, but the question remains how to organize for this. — For some very socially savvy publishers like a Mashable, this can mean a team of five-strong and a detailed strategy …

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Top Politico Reporter Joins The New York Times — Politico's Jonathan Martin, who has been with the publication since its earliest days, is leaving for the New York Times, according to a memo obtained by The Huffington Post. — Martin will become the paper's new national political correspondent …

Discussion: Capital New York, FishbowlDC and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Taylor Miller Thomas / Poynter:

Online campaign raises $15,000 for reporter who was shot in New Orleans — An online fundraising effort for New Orleans freelancer Deborah Cotton met its $15,000 goal within four days. While some of the donations came from her friends and family, others came from people who have never met Cotton.