Mediagazer: Zach Braff Kickstarter Success: Will Crowdfunding Transform Showbiz? (Variety)

7:30 PM ET, June 6, 2013

Top News:

Eliott C. McLaughlin / CNN:

Holder: Leaks probes target government officials, not reporters — (CNN) — The Justice Department will never prosecute journalists for doing their jobs, and recent probes into national security leaks targeted government officials, not reporters, Attorney General Eric Holder said in opening remarks to a Senate committee Thursday.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, TVNewser, Yahoo! News and Guardian

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

NBC's Pete Williams: DOJ Will ‘Very Likely’ Investigate Guardian Scoop — NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Justice may try seeking out the source of a bombshell article that revealed National Security Agency surveillance of millions of Americans, according to NBC News Justice correspondent Pete Williams.

Discussion: New York Times, Guardian, The Week, Guardian, Washington Post, Wired, VentureBeat, GigaOM, Guardian, Forbes, BuzzFeed, CNN, Mediaite, Slate, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Online, @ggreenwald, Politico, @trevortimm, Mashable, NationalJournal.com, ABCNEWS, TVNewser and FOI FYI

Eliza Kern / GigaOM:

What Digg's Google Reader replacement can teach us about the future of social news — Nothing rocked technology-oriented news junkies this year quite like the announcement that Google Reader will be shuttering its popular but apparently too-niche-to-continue product in July.

Discussion: Softpedia News

Christina Bonnington / Wired:

Why Google Reader Really Got the Axe — When Google announced its plans to shutter Google Reader in March, the Internet freaked out. Twitter users raised their virtual pitchforks in outrage. Bloggers wept, scrambling to find a suitable replacement by the service's July 1 death date.

Discussion: BGR, iDownloadBlog.com, The Verge, PhoneArena, WebProNews, Business Insider and ParisLemon

Rachel Edidin / Wired:

Why Book Publishers Are Still Dragging Their Heels on Selling You E-Books — “Did you see anyone with bags?” My friend is looking around, increasingly frantic. “We need to find bags, right now.” — We've been at Book Expo America 2013 for an hour, and the stacks of books we're carrying are already beginning to overflow our arms.

Discussion: Statista, Kindle Review and GalleyCat

Nick Summers / The Next Web:

Barnes & Noble unveils NOOK Snaps, a selection of exclusive short reads for its tablets and ereaders — Barnes & Noble is increasing the amount of exclusive content available on its range of NOOK tablets and ereaders today through NOOK Snaps, a new bi-monthly program that offers users a batch of original …

Discussion: Engadget, The Verge, Ubergizmo and Payments RSS

Kate Bulkley / Guardian:

How lucrative are second screen companion apps for TV broadcasters? — As Channel 4 announce the upcoming launch of the ‘4Now’ second screen companion app for iOS, Kate Bulkley examines the commercial models underpinning the move by broadcasters to recapture a distracted TV audience through apps

John Plunkett / Guardian: Channel 4 second-screen app 4Now to allow real-time viewer interaction

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

After His Fall, Jonah Lehrer Shops a Book on the Power of Love — Jonah Lehrer is attempting to re-enter the publishing world with a book that uses his journalistic misconduct as a case study of the mysterious and redeeming power of love. — In a 65-page book proposal obtained by The New York Times …

Discussion: Gothamist, New York Magazine, GalleyCat, Publishers Lunch and FishbowlNY

Maria Sacchetti / The Boston Globe:

Mass. pair sues New York Post over Marathon bombing portrayal — A Massachusetts teenager and his 24-year-old friend filed a defamation lawsuit against the New York Post Wednesday in Boston, accusing the tabloid of falsely portraying them as suspects in the deadly Marathon bombings by plastering …

Discussion: Poynter, canada.com, Bloomberg, Guardian, Erik Wemple, FishbowlNY, The Week, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, The Verge, Mediaite, New York Magazine and Gothamist

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Matt Drudge was right — Say the words “Matt Drudge” to any political junkie and you will get one of two responses. — The first will be strong disdain for Drudge's eponymously-named news site and its tilt toward outrageous headlines and conservative viewpoints.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Greg Sandoval / The Verge:

Apple tries putting Amazon on trial in ebooks antitrust case — The defense wants to show that Amazon was the company to be feared in ebooks — While Apple is the only company on trial this week for allegedly conspiring with six of the country's top publishers to fix ebook and violating antitrust laws …

Discussion: GeekWire

Shara Tibken / CNET:
Focus, criticism shifts to Amazon in Apple e-book trial

Discussion: paidContent, Reuters, Bangkok Post, AllThingsD, The Mac Observer, The Register, IOL, paidContent, New York Times, AppleInsider, The Verge and Los Angeles Times

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

AT&T Discusses Entering Into a Joint Bid for Hulu With Chernin Group — According to sources close to the telecommunications giant, AT&T is in discussions with the Chernin Group about mounting a joint bid to acquire the Hulu premium video site. — It makes sense — in addition to its core phone business …

Discussion: Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, CNET, VentureBeat, BGR, Los Angeles Times, GigaOM, Digital Media Wire, Forbes, Home Media Magazine, VatorNews and TechCrunch

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

On Newsstands, Allure of the Film Actress Fades — Pity the poor Hollywood film stars: they can't open movies the way they used to and now they can't sell magazines. — Even a few years ago, the prize for a magazine editor was in luring an A-list Hollywood star onto the cover.

Discussion: FishbowlNY and Taylor Marsh

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

DIY digital magazine platform Glossi adds new tools, with paid subscriptions coming soon — Digital magazine publishing platform Glossi rolled out new tools Tuesday, designed to let users create and distribute their magazines more easily. — When I was 12 or so, I subscribed to Sassy …

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Press freedom groups condemn Turkish police violence against journalists — At least 14 journalists have been injured, some seriously, since the outbreak of violent protests in Turkey. The offices of media organisations have also come under attack. — The police have been accused …

Discussion: New York Times, Reporters Without Borders, Kirk LaPointe's … and Big News Network.com

Bloomberg:
Penguins Not Protests on Turkish TV Fuel Anger Against Media

Discussion: The Lede, You are what you read and CNET

Variety:

Zach Braff Kickstarter Success: Will Crowdfunding Transform Showbiz? — VIEW GALLERY — Film projects have pocketed $58 million on site over the past four years — Kickstarter has leveled the playing field for artists in need of funding. But the influx of pros like Zach Braff …

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

As Bradley Manning Trial Begins, Press Predictably Misses the Point — Well, the Bradley Manning trial has begun, and for the most part, the government couldn't have scripted the headlines any better. — In the now-defunct Starz series Boss, there's a reporter character named “Sam Miller” …

Discussion: Motherboard

Claire Cain Miller / NYT Bits:

A Feature Film, Starring Google — Coming soon to a theater near you: an advertisement for Google, in the form of a feature film. — “The Internship” is a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two washed-up, laid-off salesmen who get internships at Google.

Richard Horgan / FishbowlLA:

The Orange County Register Goes Back to Its Roots — A pair of very powerful strands of history anchor the Orange County Register's re-launch today of the Santa Ana Register as a weekly community newspaper. — One is the fact this 108-year-old publication, rolled out in the fall of 1905 …

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Saudi prince launches libel action against Forbes magazine over Rich List — Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns London's Savoy hotel, claims US publication undervalued his wealth by $9.6bn — Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's wealthiest businessmen …

Erik Wemple:

Fox News and James Rosen: How much notice did they give the government? — Judging from federal court documents, June 11, 2009, was a busy day for Fox News reporter James Rosen. Phone records suggest that he was hounding Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department security adviser.

Discussion: InTheCapital

Sayantani Ghosh / Reuters:

Media General to merge with privately held New Young Broadcasting — (Reuters) - Media General Inc (MEG.N) and privately held New Young Broadcasting Holding Co Inc said they will combine in an all-stock deal to form a new TV broadcasting company that will be majority controlled by New Young shareholders.

Discussion: MediaPost