Mediagazer: White House “Copyright Czar” Steps Down (Ted Johnson/Variety)

11:35 AM ET, August 13, 2013

Top News:

How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets — This past January, Laura Poitras received a curious e-mail from an anonymous stranger requesting her public encryption key. For almost two years, Poitras had been working on a documentary about surveillance, and she occasionally received queries from strangers.

Discussion: Poynter, Press Gazette, @tinyrevolution, @tinyrevolution, Business Insider, @davidsirota, @anncurry, @gregorydjohnsen, @jaredbkeller, @ggreenwald, @tnycloseread, @huffpostmedia, @jilliancyork, @sepoy, @kartemquin and @evagolinger

Peter Maass / New York Times:

Q. & A.: Edward Snowden Speaks to Peter Maass — In the course of reporting his profile of Laura Poitras, Peter Maass conducted an encrypted question-and-answer session, for which Poitras served as intermediary, with Edward J. Snowden. Below is a full transcript of that conversation.

Discussion: @jamesrbuk, @jilliancyork, @arusbridger, @catfitz, @jeffjarvis, @antderosa, @jaredbkeller, @ggreenwald, @vehkoo and @froomkin

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

To Stay Afloat, Bookstores Turn to Web Donors — For years, independent bookstores have taken creative steps to fight off challenges from Amazon and the superstores by building in-house espresso bars, hosting members-only lunches with authors and selling birthday cards, toys and trinkets.

Discussion: @spellboundbkshp, @dukepress, @christophclarey, @martina and @emilieeaton

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

Bleacher Report Co-Founder Bryan Goldberg Raises $6.5 Million To Launch A Site For Women, Bustle — Bryan Goldberg co-founded Bleacher Report, a sports media company that was acquired by Turner Media last year for more than $200 million. He's finally ready to announce his new venture, Bustle.

Discussion: @bgoldberg and PandoDaily

The Canadian Press:

Torstar launches Toronto Star paywall — TORONTO - The Toronto Star has begun charging a fee for non-subscribers who access its web site more than 10 times a month. — The Star told staff details of the program on Monday and announced the change to readers in the Tuesday edition of its paper, the biggest-circulation daily in Canada.

Discussion: Toronto Star and Poynter

Chris Reidy / Boston Globe:

Harvard Business Review reports the highest circulation in its 91-year history — Harvard Business Review, or HBR, said Monday that its overall paid circulation was 260,315 at the end of June, the highest paid circulation ever reported in the 91-year history of the magazine.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals and @skgreen, Thanks:@steverubel

William Launder / Wall Street Journal:

Sulzberger Sells Tiny Slice of Times Stock — Deal Follows Family's Declaration That Flagship Newspaper Isn't for Sale — New York Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. sold 50,000 shares in the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission …

Discussion: New York Times, Poynter, Runnin' Scared, Reuters, @dicktofel and New York Magazine

Ted Johnson / Variety:

White House “Copyright Czar” Steps Down — Victoria Espinel, the first White House intellectual property coordinator, has stepped down after almost four years in the post, according to industry sources. — In a position that was dubbed “IP czar” or “copyright czar,” Espinel was responsible …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Hillicon Valley, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com

Hamish McKenzie / PandoDaily:

Epic launches, Politico goes deeper: Why longform is the new necessity — In the last 24 hours, there have been two major updates to the list of media companies investing in longform journalism. Last night, the New York Times' David Carr broke the news that writers Joshuah Bearman …

Discussion: 10,000 Words, @journotopia, @jayrosen_nyu, @hamishmckenzie, Mashable and New York Times

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Politico Ramps Up Long-Form Journalism Effort

Discussion: Politico and FishbowlDC

Nathaniel Mott / PandoDaily:

Is the Pirate Bay a bastion of Internet freedom or just an illegal downloads site? — Pirates aren't particularly well-known for their critical thinking skills, whether you're talking about the parrot-on-the-shoulder variety or the sort that illegally downloads files from the Internet.

Discussion: CNET, @pandodaily, TorrentFreak and Softpedia News

Alec Macgillis / The New Republic:

Hypocrisy for Sale: Craigslist Founder Invests in Journalism Ethics Book — Here's a fun little trip through an era of “disruption” in the media industry: February 2, 2010, Silicon Valley Watcher: Rick Edmonds, over on Poynter Online, notes that the classified ads sector dropped to $6 billion in 2009.

Discussion: @tnr, @mathewi, @blakehounshell, New Republic and @alecmacgillis

Jenny Deam / Los Angeles Times:

Today's news in centuries-old style — The Saguache Crescent might be the last newspaper in America still being put out with 19th century technology. To longtime publisher Dean Coombs, it's only practical. — Dean Coombs, publisher of the Saguache Crescent in Saguache, Colo. …

Discussion: @simonnricketts, @jackshafer and The Newspaper Guild