Mediagazer: Dish withdraws bid for Clearwire following Sprint's latest offer (Dante D'Orazio/The Verge)

4:40 PM ET, June 26, 2013

Top News:

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Frank Rich just destroyed David Gregory — Frank Rich, the longtime New York Times columnist now with New York Magazine, has just written an absolutely devastating takedown of NBC Meet The Press host David Gregory, who last Sunday suggested Glenn Greenwald had aided and abetted former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Discussion: New York Magazine

CBS News:

Ecuador: Decision on Edward Snowden asylum could take months — Ecuador's foreign minister said Wednesday his government could take months to decide whether to grant asylum to fugitive U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. — Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino compared Snowden's case …

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Hamilton Nolan / Gawker: Secrecy Is the Problem — Some people say that Edward Snowden …

Harrison Weber / The Next Web:
WikiLeaks and Assange lawyer decides not to represent Snowden, claims his “whereabouts are unknown”

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Gregory Kohs- / Examiner:
Jimmy Wales breaks Wikipedia rules in hunt for Snowden

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CNN:

Crossfire Returns — Newt Gingrich, S.E. Cupp, Stephanie Cutter, Van Jones to Host Debate Program — CNN today announced that Crossfire, previously the longest running political debate program on television, will return to the network this fall. Hosting from the right will be Newt Gingrich …

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Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

CNN Lays Off Some Staff In DC — CNN has quietly laid off a handful of staffers in its Washington DC bureau. — We hear that most of the departures were senior level producers and staff, many on specific beats like the White House, national security and the Department of Justice, and who had been with the channel for a long time.

Discussion: Mediaite and SocialTimes

The Wrap:

Newsday Shuts Down Weschester, NY Branch (Exclusive) — Cablevision, which owns Newsday, shut down its year-old Westchester site effective immediately, an insider with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. No statement from Cablevision yet, but its official Twitter account, @NewsdayNY, and Facebook is already gone.

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Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Washington Post Guild: ‘The Post would like to fire you’ — The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild says a Washington Post proposal for a new agreement with the union “would give managers the power to fire anyone for any reason” and also inserts a “poison pill that would make it even harder …

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

San Francisco Examiner sues San Francisco Chronicle — The San Francisco Newspaper Company, which owns the San Francisco Examiner, says the Hearst-owned San Francisco Chronicle “offered ad space to advertisers for a fraction of its cost on the condition that the advertisers not buy ads in the Examiner.”

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Tom Cheredar / VentureBeat:

Cue the fight music: Pandora responds to Pink Floyd's op-ed on lower royalty rates — Internet radio service Pandora has responded to a strongly worded opinion piece written by the remaining members of legendary rock band Pink Floyd. — In the op-ed piece, Pink Floyd's members argued …

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Greg Sandoval / The Verge:
Pandora and musicians to discuss royalty settlement as war of words heats up

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Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Rupert Murdoch's News International Rebrands as News UK Ahead of Split — The Australian arm of the post-split publishing company that will be the new News Cop also will change its name from News Limited to News Corp Australia. — News International, the U.K. newspaper arm …

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Nic Christensen / mUmBRELLA:
Australia's largest publisher News Limited is to change its name to News Corp Australia.

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Liana B. Baker / Reuters:

Discovery explores Internet subscription service — (Reuters) - Discovery Communications is at work on an Internet streaming service that could charge cable subscribers a small fee to gain access to hours of documentaries and reality shows, executive chairman and founder John Hendricks said on Tuesday.

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Slade Sohmer / HyperVocal:

Cable News Nets Should Be Embarrassed It Missed Wendy Davis's Filibuster — What happened in the Texas Senate on Tuesday night was Must See TV. — Only the Wendy Davis Filibuster wasn't anywhere to be found on your television. The 24-hour cable news networks had more pressing matters.

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, Gawker, The Week and Daily Dot

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Maker Studios Founder Danny Zappin Sues Company Over ‘Ouster’ — Former CEO alleges breach of contract and fraud, after executive chairman Ynon Kreiz took over top role — Maker Studios co-founder Daniel Zappin is suing the YouTube multichannel network provider, alleging breach of contract and fraud in …

Discussion: AllThingsD, TechCrunch and The Wrap

Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:

Dish withdraws bid for Clearwire following Sprint's latest offer — The Sprint, Dish, Clearwire, and SoftBank acquisition saga may be close to over. Dish has withdrawn its offer to purchase Clearwire, according to a press release pushed across the wire this afternoon.

Discussion: AllThingsD