Mediagazer: Is the Pirate Bay a bastion of Internet freedom or just an illegal downloads site? (Nathaniel Mott/PandoDaily)

9:20 AM ET, August 13, 2013

Top News:

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: @catfitz, @jeffjarvis, @vehkoo, @jaredbkeller, @antderosa, @ggreenwald and @froomkin

Peter Maass / New York Times:

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: @evagolinger, @kartemquin, @huffpostmedia, @jilliancyork and @sepoy

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

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, @hamishmckenzie, @jayrosen_nyu, Mashable, New York Times and @timchester

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

Discussion: Politico and FishbowlDC

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, Runnin' Scared, Reuters, @dicktofel, @rajunarisetti and New York Magazine

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

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: … April 25, 2010, New York Times: … January 24, 2011, New York Daily News: … August 12, 2013, New York Times: … Ethics for journalists!

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

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: TorrentFreak, Softpedia News and ReadWrite

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: Press Gazette, @guardianus, @rj_gallagher, @jamesrbuk, @mlcalderone, @jeffjarvis and @moorehn

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, The Huffington Post and TVNewser

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

Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:

A recipe for news: IFTTT adds New York Times support, more publications coming — ‘What we really want to do is open up IFTTT as a platform and let anyone make a channel.’ — Whether it's having Dropbox back up every Instagram photo you take, getting a text message in the morning …

Discussion: @yayitsrob, @adamklaff, The Atlantic Online, Fast Company, The Next Web and Guardian