Mediagazer: The First Thing Jeff Bezos Should Do At The Washington Post Is Fire Some Journalists (Tim Worstall/Forbes)

5:16 PM ET, August 12, 2013

Top News:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

NBC Buying Web Service to Stream Phone Video — When a plane crashes or a protest turns violent, television crews speed to the scene. But they typically do not arrive for minutes or even hours, so these days photos and videos by amateurs — what the news industry calls “user-generated content” — fill the void.

Discussion: The Verge, Marketing Pilgrim, AdExchanger, The Next Web, @philg1, @lavrusik, TVNewser, SlashGear, emptywheel, The Wrap, VatorNews, @jayrosen_nyu, Fast Company, @digiphile, @rimalovski, @brianstelter, The Drum, Engadget, CNET, MWD, @philg1, @vivianschiller, New York Magazine, @rafat, @brianstelter and @dangillmor

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

NBC News Scooping Up Mobile Video Site Stringwire — The notion that anyone with a phone who witnesses news is a potential source for news video has been around for a while. — CNN, for example, has long had its iReport app. Twitter itself has become the go-to source for many kinds …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, AppNewser, SocialTimes and NetNewsCheck Latest

Anthony De Rosa / Soup:
The disconnect between traditional media and UGC

Discussion: @antderosa

Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY:

Michael Bloomberg Won't Buy The New York Times Because He Hates It — When Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post, a popular theory that emerged was Michael Bloomberg purchasing The New York Times (if it ever went up for sale). However, David Remnick, editor-in-chief of The New Yorker, says that's not going to happen.

Discussion: Capital New York, Journalism.co.uk, TVNewser and The Huffington Post

James Ball / Guardian:

If Eric Holder won't prosecute reporters, why did the FBI target me? — It's unnerving to learn my journalism for WikiLeaks led to being named in an FBI probe. Mainstream media need to pay attention — Would you trust a politician if your liberty depended on it?

Discussion: @jamesrbuk, @mlcalderone, @jeffjarvis and @moorehn

USA Today:

Al Jazeera America: Will U.S. viewers buy it? — After Mike Viqueira was hired as White House correspondent for Al Jazeera's new American television venture, the former NBC News veteran braced for a barrage of negative reaction on Twitter. “I expected some comments from people unfamiliar with Al Jazeera,” Viqueira says.

Discussion: LA Observed, @bennettkrejci and @brianstelter

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Al Jazeera America In Discussions With Time Warner Cable

Discussion: TVNewser

Investigative News Network:

Award-Winning Digital Entrepreneur Lisa Williams Joins INN as Director of Digital Engagement — Award-winning digital journalism entrepreneur Lisa Williams has joined the Investigative News Network as Director of Digital Engagement. — “Having someone of Lisa's caliber and experience join us …

Discussion: @aschweig, @janjlab, @jayrosen_nyu, @greglinch, @mtdukes, @digidave, @lisawilliams, @jeffjarvis and @dangillmor

Tim Worstall / Forbes:

The First Thing Jeff Bezos Should Do At The Washington Post Is Fire Some Journalists — As someone peripherally a journalist I'm really not supposed to say such a thing: rather goes against the professional omerta to claim that there should ever, in any manner, be fewer journalists on anyone's payroll.

Discussion: GeekWire, Pressthink and Washington Post

David Goetzl / mediapost.com:

Contour Campaign Taking Shape For Cox — A “Me” generation has emerged in TV. Millions of viewers have an extraordinary sense of entitlement with the thinking: I want it now, I want it easy, I want it everywhere and I want endless choices. It feels like there should be an anthem to capture their intense yearning.

Zee M Kane / The Next Web:

The Daily Mail caught plagiarising an entire article. Surprised? — When you're running a site that publishes as many articles as The Daily Mail does, it's perhaps somewhat understandable that mistakes slip through the cracks. But when it happens, it deserves to be addressed and corrected, particularly when it's as blatant as this.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Cracked, @themediatweets, @aljwhite and @alhannaford

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Politico Ramps Up Long-Form Journalism Effort — Politico announced Monday that Jason Zengerle, a contributing editor at GQ and New York magazine, is joining the publication as a senior staff writer, and Washington magazine's Denise Kersten Wells will come aboard as a senior editor.

Discussion: Politico and FishbowlDC

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Wattpad Launches New Self-Publishing Crowdfunding, First Revenue Model For The Social Network — Wattpad, the Toronto-based social network based on writing and reading, has just announced a new crowdfunding platform called “Fan Funding” which offers authors on its network the chance to leverage …

Discussion: PublishersWeekly.com, GigaOM, The Bookseller and AppNewser

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Ex-PCC director Stephen Abell becomes the Sun's managing editor — Editor David Dinsmore welcomes Stig for his ‘knowledge and experience’ — Stephen Abell, the former director of the Press Complaints Commission, has been appointed as managing editor of the Sun.

Discussion: @stigabell, Hollywood Reporter, BBC, Press Gazette and The Drum