Mediagazer: Facebook and the very fine line between free speech and hate speech (Eliza Kern/GigaOM)

1:45 PM ET, May 30, 2013

Top News:

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Sun-Times lays off its photo staff — The Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photography staff, and plans to use freelance photographers going forward, the newspaper said. About 20 full-times staffers received the news Thursday morning, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Chicago Business, Forbes, Poynter, @dancow, PetaPixel, @nppalawyer, Mashable, @gailpennington, @mattwaite, @anicabutler, @jvansack and Change of Subject

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

Social media editor role is ‘more about an evolution than a contraction’ — Is the role of the social media editor really “dead”? Rob Fishman thinks so. In a widely circulated BuzzFeed piece published Wednesday, Fishman argues that newsrooms don't need social media editors like they used to.

Discussion: Soup and @antderosa

BuzzFeed:

The Social Media Editor is Dead — By April 19, the manhunt for two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon had been ongoing for four days, and the Twitterati were growing weary. — Brian Ries, of The Daily Beast, confessed he was “so tired.” Huffington Post's Craig Kanalley saw …

Discussion: Zombie Journalism, The Huffington Post, ReadWrite, @lheron, @ivanlajara, @fieldproducer, @lheron, @fieldproducer, Nieman Reports and @boyreporter

Jim Romenesko:
Liz Heron is named Wall Street Journal emerging media editor

Discussion: @antderosa and @lexinyt

RT:

US media execs rebuff Holder's closed-door wiretap scandal meeting — Several significant US news organizations reject the Department of Justice's proposal to discuss off-the-record ‘new guidelines’ in light of the reporter wiretapping scandal. Last week President Obama urged the DOJ to search a consensus with the media.

Discussion: Poynter, Politico, Mediaite, TVNewser, Business Insider, @rubinreport, Associated Press, @mweinger, Los Angeles Times, @nycjim and @mlcalderone

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Which Media Outlets Are Attending Or Not Attending Holder Meeting? — Media executives and editors are divided over whether to attend an off-the-record meeting this week with Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss guidelines for dealing with journalists in leak investigations …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Radio & Television …, Mediaite and BuzzFeed

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

New York Times Is Said to Consider More Sponsored Stories — New York Times Co. (NYT), looking to imitate the business models used by startups such as BuzzFeed Inc., is considering letting advertisers sponsor more stories on its website, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Discussion: Mashable, Adweek, paidContent, Poynter, @peretti and Poynter

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Netflix boss: BBC is holding back UK children's shows — Ted Sarandos says corporation restricts UK licensing for up to five years, forcing streaming service to buy US shows instead — Ted Sarandos, Netflix's content chief, has accused the BBC of stifling the potential of homegrown children's shows …

Discussion: paidContent and Hollywood Reporter

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

BBC accused of acting like a ‘thug’ towards local papers — Corporation criticised by regional newspaper executives for being competitive and refusing to credit local press stories — The BBC has been accused of acting like the “thug at the end of the street” in its dealings with local and regional newspapers.

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …

Josh Sternberg / Digiday:

Is Quartz the Very Model of a Modern Publisher? — Eight months ago, Atlantic Media placed a bet that a digital-first, mobile-oriented publication geared to business executives on the go would be a hit. The results, so far, point to a publication on the rise.

Discussion: @zseward, @joshsternberg and eMedia Vitals

Steve Jordon / Omaha World-Herald:

Warren Buffett's media group to buy Roanoke, Va., newspaper — The Roanoke (Va.) Times will become part of Warren Buffett's newspaper group. — BH Media Group, an Omaha-based division of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said Thursday that it would purchase The Times from Landmark Media Enterprises of Norfolk, Va., for an undisclosed price.

Discussion: The Roanoke Times and Poynter

Alastair Reid / Journalism.co.uk:

How the Guardian built multimedia interactive Firestorm — A look at the process behind creating the narrative and ‘rich article pages’ which make up the Guardian's new interactive feature about Tasmanian bushfires — Firestorm, the Guardian's multimedia interactive centred around …

Terry Heaton / Street Fight:

Report: Pureplays Using Legacy Media as a Farm System for Sales Staff — Local media companies need to do something to protect their digital sales assets or run the risk of losing them to pureplay* web companies. That's just one of the findings of a new study being released tomorrow by Borrell Associates …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest and Radio Ink Magazine