Mediagazer: Wikileaks Approved as Political Party in Australia (Pip Bulbeck/Hollywood Reporter)

7:55 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.

Times of India:

India turns down Edward Snowden's asylum request — NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday refused to grant political asylum to USA whistleblower Edward Snowden. — “Following careful examination, we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to Snowden's request,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

Discussion: ABC News, Agence France Presse, Reuters, thehindubusinessline.com, Firstpost, ibnlive.in.com, The Hindu and India & World

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Snowden cancels bid for asylum in Russia but lists 18 other countries where he's seeking refuge — Edward Snowden has withdrawn his application for political asylum in Russia as escape routes for the fugitive US whistleblower appeared to close.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: Times of India and Guardian

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

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: @timamolloy and @lindsaygoldwert

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

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: pressgazette.co.uk, Media News, China.org.cn, New York Magazine, The Drum and Naked Security

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.

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

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 …

Discussion: TechCrunch, @cschweitz, CNET, Engadget, Marketing Land and WebProNews

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

Rachel McAthy / Journalism.co.uk:

Why Associated Press is focusing on UGC standards and safety — Social media and UGC editor for international at AP Fergus Bell explains how the news agency is working to focus attention on the ‘standards with which we treat user-generated content’ — Copyright: By Das Fotoimaginarium on Flickr.

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

News Corp. Down, 21st Century Fox Up In First Day Of Trading After Split — Shareholders in the media conglomerate formerly known as News Corporation breathed an all but audible sigh of relief Monday as a split-up plan announced a year ago culminated in the first full day of trading for the stocks of the two offspring companies.

Discussion: Variety, Reuters and Los Angeles Times

Raphael Minder / New York Times:

Crusading Spanish Broadcaster Gives Voice to Ordinary Citizens — In early May, thousands of protesters gathered in Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, to demand a new investigation into a subway crash that killed 43 people in 2006. — The demonstration was inspired by an episode …

Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:

The Independent Dish: Six Months In — We promised to keep you up to date with the new independent Dish's progress - and six months seems like a good time to summarize. The current number of subscribers to the Dish now stands at 27,349. I don't think there's a purely online site …

Discussion: paidContent and eMedia Vitals

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

Tribune CEO says TV deal won't factor into decision on newspapers — Tribune CEO Peter Liguori (Fox Broadcasting) — Tribune Co.'s $2.73-billion purchase of 19 television stations Monday will have no impact on whether the company sells its newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chief Executive Peter Liguori said.

Bill Mickey / Folio:

TechMedia Network Buys Bestofmedia Group — Deal includes Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide and Tom's IT Pro. — TechMedia Network, a group of digital properties for technology and science enthusiasts and professionals, has acquired Bestofmedia Group, publisher of tech and gadget review sites Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide and Tom's IT Pro.

Discussion: Tech Media Network and VentureBeat

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

Leela de Krester Is Leaving DNAinfo — Editorial director and publisher Leela de Krester is leaving DNAinfo.com, founder Joe Ricketts announced today in an email to staff. — “I wanted to let you know about a change at DNAinfo.com. After 4 years of dedicated work helping to establish the company …

Discussion: Capital New York