Mediagazer: Why Google Reader Really Got the Axe (Christina Bonnington/Wired)

6:00 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: The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, 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, The Week, Guardian, Washington Post, Wired, Forbes, Guardian, Mediaite, Slate, Fast Company, BuzzFeed, CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Online, Politico, ABCNEWS, @trevortimm, @ggreenwald, Mashable, NationalJournal.com, TVNewser and FOI FYI

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, WebProNews, The Verge, PhoneArena, Business Insider and ParisLemon

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.

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

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 …

Greg Sandoval / The Verge:
Apple ebooks trial: Amazon ‘yelled ... and threatened’ when publishers tried to control prices

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and GeekWire

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

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

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

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 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

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: New York Magazine, GalleyCat, Publishers Lunch and FishbowlNY

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

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: Broadcasting & Cable, Home Media Magazine, GigaOM, Forbes, CNET, VentureBeat, BGR, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Digital Media Wire, 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: Reporters Without Borders, New York Times, Kirk LaPointe's …, Big News Network.com and Bloomberg

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

Jon Russell / The Next Web:

Ex-Reuters editor Matthew Keys' new project: A breaking news site to supplement existing media — Matthew Keys, the former deputy social media editor at Reuters who was fired over alleged collaborations with the Anonymous Group, has given a sneak preview of a new project he is working on …

Discussion: TechCrunch

Michael Rondon / FOLIO:

National Geographic Aligns Print, Digital Content Teams — The latest in a line of integrations at Nat Geo. — The magazine has named Chris Johns xecutive vice president and group editorial director, in addition to continuing his role as editor in chief-a position he's held since 2005.

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.