Mediagazer: AP: Russian news agency quotes lawyer as saying that U.S. fugitive Edward #Snowden has asked for temporary asylum in Russia (@skynewsbreak)

7:50 AM ET, July 16, 2013

Top News:

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC's Lord Patten plans to step down in 2015 — Former cabinet minister, who has been criticised over payoffs, confirms he expects to serve one four-year term as chairman — Lord Patten, the embattled chairman of the BBC Trust, has confirmed he plans to step down from the role in 2015 despite admitting the timing was “not ideal”.

Guardian:

BBC payments to senior managers rise by more than 60% — Payoffs to departing executives nearly £1.5m, with total remuneration coming to £4.13m in year to end of March — The BBC's remuneration payments to top managers leapt by more than 60% to just over £4m in the year …

Discussion: Telegraph and London Evening Standard

Press Gazette:

BBC spent £5m investigating Savile scandal - including £101k on Helen Boaden's legal costs — The BBC has spent around £5 million investigating the Jimmy Savile sex scandal and its aftermath. — Its annual report and accounts reveal the Pollard Review …

Discussion: Guardian, Hollywood Reporter, Sky News, Telegraph, BBC, National Updates, broadcastnow.co.uk, London News, itn.co.uk and The Drum

Jessica Lessin:

Exclusive: Apple Pitches Ad-Skipping for New TV Service — Apple has a new trick up its sleeve as it tries to launch a long-awaited television service: technology that allows viewers to skip commercials and that pays media companies for the skipped views. — For more than a year …

Discussion: App Advice, SlashGear, Electronista, Variety, VentureBeat, GigaOM, Pocket-lint, @brianstelter, Engadget, Softpedia News, CNET, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, The Verge, Digital Spy, MacRumors and Business Insider

@skynewsbreak:

AP: Russian news agency quotes lawyer as saying that U.S. fugitive Edward #Snowden has asked for temporary asylum in Russia

Jillian C. York / Freedom of the Press Foundation:

Media Continues to Focus on Snowden Rather Than the Information He's Revealed … The above words, from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, are revealing: They tell us about a man completely aware of the gravity of his choices, and of the implications of the information he leaked.

Discussion: Spiegel Online, @jeffjarvis, @saletan, @jilliancyork, @gcraig1, @sulliview and @themediaisdying

Al Tompkins / Poynter:

What KTVU-TV did right after its slip-up — It has been great sport all weekend for media critics to excoriate KTVU-TV in San Francisco. There's no denying that KTVU made a big mistake. But when it sorted the mistakes out, the station did a lot that journalists should replicate.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, GigaOM, The Wrap, The Snitch, Bloomberg, msnbc.com and BuzzFeed

KJRH:

Tulsa World announces reorganization plan and layoffs of 50 employees — TULSA - The Tulsa World newspaper announced Monday a reorganization plan that will result in the reduction of about 50 positions over the next several months. — Twelve positions were eliminated immediately.

Discussion: Guardian and KOKI-TV

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Guardian publisher cuts annual losses as digital revenues grow by nearly 30% — • Guardian News & Media increases digital revenues to £55.9m — • Parent company GMG reports profits before tax of £22.7m — Guardian News & Media cut its annual loss by 30% to £30.9m …

Discussion: Guardian Media Group and @charliebeckett

Kevin Collier / Daily Dot:

Yahoo wins court order to release records of its fight against PRISM — Yahoo, initially vilified for being part of the PRISM program, which allows the NSA to tap it and other companies for users' information, is about to be vindicated. A court ruled Monday that the Department …

Discussion: Fast Company, The Next Web, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Softpedia News, VatorNews, CNET, SiliconBeat, TechCrunch, Engadget and GigaOM

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

CNN, ABC Veteran David Doss in Talks with Al Jazeera America (EXCLUSIVE) — Producer negotiating a senior editorial role but not the top CEO post — Veteran news producer David Doss is in talks for a senior editorial position with Al Jazeera America. — Doss is not a contender for the cabler's top job of president-CEO.

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
The last time Al Jazeera had a big American strategy, it was rejected

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's … and Nieman Journalism Lab

John Hudson / Foreign Policy:

U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans — For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government's mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2, that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January.

Discussion: Techdirt, Hit & Run and Firedoglake

Matthew Futterman / Wall Street Journal:

Pay-TV Providers Bid to End Sports Networks' Win Streak — Cable, Satellite-TV Firms Push Back on Rising Cost of Sports Programming — When the Houston Astros and Rockets decided to launch their own cable network last year, their owners hoped to reap a sports-television bonanza.

Discussion: SlashGear, Yahoo! News and The Verge