Mediagazer: Data Journalism is improving — fast (Frédéric Filloux/Monday Note)

11:10 AM ET, July 2, 2013

Top News:

Edward Joseph Snowden / WikiLeaks:

Statement from Edward Snowden in Moscow — One week ago I left Hong Kong after it became clear that my freedom and safety were under threat for revealing the truth. My continued liberty has been owed to the efforts of friends new and old, family, and others who I have never met and probably never will.

Wall Street Journal:

Snowden's Asylum Requests Draw Cold Responses — NSA Leaker Blasts U.S. for Revoking Passport, Saying He's Become a ‘Stateless Person’ — Responses to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden's globe-spanning plea for asylum began coming in on Tuesday, as some countries offered outright denials …

Discussion: Gawker, Times of India, Guardian, Riptide 2.0, Agence France Presse, Reuters, ABC News, The Hindu, ibnlive.in.com, New York Magazine, India & World, thehindubusinessline.com and Firstpost

Andrew Osborn / Reuters:

Edward Snowden breaks silence to threaten new U.S. leaks — (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has broken his silence for the first time since he fled to Moscow eight days ago to say he remains free to make new disclosures about U.S. spying activity.

Discussion: CNET, The Raw Story, RT, @ggreenwald, Business Insider, WorldViews, Reuters, The Next Web, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Tom Parfitt / Telegraph:

Edward Snowden cancels bid for asylum in Russia but lists 18 other countries where he's seeking refuge — Edward Snowden has withdrawn his application for political asylum in Russia as escape routes for the fugitive US whistleblower appeared to close. — Vladimir Putin's spokesman …

Discussion: Guardian and Times of India

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Data Journalism is improving — fast — The last Data Journalism Awards announced last week at the Global Editors Network News Summit in Paris established one important fact: The genre is getting better, wider in scope and gaining many creative players. — Data Journalism is thriving.

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:

US military blocks entire Guardian website for troops stationed abroad — Troops deployed to Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East and South Asia have ‘theater-wide block’ to Guardian — For US military personnel in the Middle East and south Asia, the restrictions apply to the entire Guardian website

Discussion: The Huffington Post, pressgazette.co.uk, New York Magazine, Examiner, China.org.cn, The Drum and Naked Security

Christopher Hope / Telegraph:

Police could investigate BBC pay-offs scandal — The police could be called into investigate whether any fraud was committed by BBC managers who allowed one in four of their colleagues to leave with bigger payoffs than they were entitled to, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Discussion: Guy Fawkes' blog

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

News UK chief backs digital paywalls — Mike Darcey says some organisations are sacrificing profits by staying free to view as they attempt to attract users — Mike Darcey, the chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's UK publishing operation, believes free websites may get more readers …

Discussion: Media Week, Hollywood Reporter and The Drum

Nitasha Tiku / Gawker:

New York Times Blogger Demanded Travel and Expenses from Companies — A blogger for The New York Times has been requesting thousands of dollars in “expenses” and travel airfare from a public relations firm trying to get its clients covered in the Times, according to emails obtained by Gawker.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @timamolloy and @lindsaygoldwert

Richard Horgan / FishbowlNY:

Former Newsweek Editor: There Never Was a ‘Golden Age’ of Journalism — As we get ready to celebrate that rarest of American work week wrinkles (an officially sanctioned four-day weekend), FishbowlNY would like to do its civic holiday duty by passing on some feel-good news about journalism.

Discussion: PenBay Pilot

Pip Bulbeck / Hollywood Reporter:

Wikileaks Approved as Political Party in Australia — The founder of the whistleblowing organization, Julian Assange, says he will run for a Senate seat in the upcoming federal election. — SYDNEY - WikiLeaks has been formally approved as a political party and will field candidates …

Tom Watson / Forbes:
Is WikiLeaks Now An International Political Party?

Discussion: ZDNet, Firedoglake and Gawker

Stuart Kemp / Hollywood Reporter:

BBC Editorial Director Announces Departure Less Than Two Months After Promotion — Roger Mosey, who led the U.K. public broadcaster's London 2012 Olympics coverage, will head up a college that is part of the University of Cambridge. — LONDON - Roger Mosey, who was named editorial director …

Discussion: Guardian and BBC

Matt Brian / The Verge:

Twitter's new ‘embedded on these websites’ feature helps users discover the story behind a tweet — Twitter has begun trialling new features that give users a way to learn more about the tweets that they read. As noted by security expert Mikko Hypponen, Twitter has enabled a new …