Mediagazer: Peter Shih storm puts Medium back on tightrope between publisher and platform (Caleb Garling/The Technology Chronicles)

10:50 PM ET, August 17, 2013

Top News:

Arianna Huffington / LinkedIn:

Bezos, Heraclitus and the Hybrid Future of Journalism — One of the first people who came to mind when I heard the news last week that Jeff Bezos was buying the Washington Post was a fellow countryman, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who around 2,500 years ago said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.”

Discussion: @ashrafengineer

New York Times:

Expecting the Unexpected From Jeff Bezos — EARLY employees of Amazon still remember the day the company took away their aspirin. — It was late 1999. After years of heady excess, the Internet boom was beginning to falter. Amazon, among the most celebrated of the dot-coms, was burdened with debt and spiraling losses.

Discussion: @mathewi and @jayrosen_nyu

Lucy A. Dalglish / City Desk:
The Transparent Trap: Will Jeff Bezos Continue the Graham Family's Fights for Open Government?

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, Gawker, @wcp and @mchertock

Steve Henn / NPR:

Switching To Gmail May Leave Reporters' Sources At Risk — In the digital world, almost everything you do to communicate leaves a trace. Often, emails are stored on servers even after they're deleted. Phone calls create logs detailing which numbers connected, when and for how long.

Discussion: @bradagreenberg, @dangillmor and @antderosa

Tom Harper / The Independent:

Exclusive: Met investigating Rupert Murdoch firm News International as ‘corporate suspect’ over hacking and bribing offences — New twist in hacking scandal threatens global media empire as senior figures were questioned by officers at Scotland Yard — Scotland Yard is investigating News International …

Discussion: Guardian, Deadline.com, Mediaite, @peterjukes, @thomyorke, @therealpbarry and The Huffington Post

Katherine Rushton / Telegraph:
News UK could face corporate charges in Britain

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik and @davidfolkenflik

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:

Ahead of cable channel launch, Al Jazeera starts blocking videos on YouTube — When violence erupted in Cairo this week, Al Jazeera once again became the go-to source for on-the-ground news coverage. The network streamed live from Egypt's capital, and uploaded dozens of videos to its YouTube channel.

Discussion: The Raw Story and The Verge

Alex Weprin / TVNewser:

Al Jazeera America HQ Flooded Shortly After Studio Tour — Al Jazeera America's New York City headquarters was temporarily evacuated and staffers were blocked from entering this afternoon due to flooding in the building. The incident comes just four days before AJAM is scheduled to launch across the country.

Discussion: Mediaite, TVNewser, FishbowlNY and Politico

Katherine Rosman / Wall Street Journal:

Weather Channel Now Also Forecasts What You'll Buy — Company's Data Helps Fine-Tune When and Where Advertisers Should Place Spots — The Weather Channel knows the chance for rain in St. Louis on Friday, what the heat index could reach in Santa Fe on Saturday and how humid Baltimore may get on Sunday.

Discussion: AdExchanger

Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:

21st Century Fox takes stake in ‘gonzo’ Vice — Twenty-First Century Fox has taken a 5 per cent stake in Vice Media, the digital media and publishing group that brought basketball player Dennis Rodman to North Korea, in a deal that values the company at $1.4bn.

Caleb Garling / The Technology Chronicles:

Peter Shih storm puts Medium back on tightrope between publisher and platform — Medium, a new media start-up that publishes commissioned and volunteer stories and editorials, was thrust back in the spotlight this week on the wings of an offensive post. Peter Shih, a former Y Combinator participant …

Discussion: Guardian, @calebgarling, Gawker, New York Magazine and Business Insider

Richard Sandomir / New York Times:

ESPN Challenger Will Try to Punch Above Its Weight — On Saturday at 6 a.m. Eastern, Fox Sports 1 will spring into existence, propelled by a portfolio of major events purchased over the past few years, a gaggle of studio shows and plenty of hype about being the “fun” alternative to ESPN.

Discussion: @brianstelter, Los Angeles Times, Engadget and New York Times

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online: The Global Dominance of ESPN

Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox TV Studios Won't Produce NBC Hillary Clinton Miniseries (Exclusive) — The project has prompted the Republican National Committee to ban the network from hosting 2016 presidential debates. — The tantalizing spectacle of Fox Television Studios producing a Hillary Clinton miniseries …

Discussion: Washington Post, Deadline.com, TVNewser, @jbflint, New York Times, National Enquirer, Inside TV, Politico, @seanspicer, @hellion1111, @logandobson and The Huffington Post

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

New Media Pink Slips Cost Less Than Old Media Pink Slips — One of the many differences between old media companies and new media companies: It's a lot cheaper to fire people at new media companies. — AOL said it will spend between $14 million and $18 million on “cash restructuring charges” …

Discussion: @edmundlee, AdAge, The Wrap and Media & Entertainment