Mediagazer: Mark Zuckerberg: Is Connectivity a Human Right? (Facebook Newsroom)

5:55 AM ET, August 21, 2013

Top News:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Al Jazeera Makes Limited American Debut — There was ample attention in journalistic circles as Al Jazeera America had its premiere on Tuesday — particularly among those who could not watch. — The news channel — which replaced Current TV at 3 p.m. Eastern time — was expected to be carried …

Discussion: Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, @rafat, Associated Press, @brianstelter, Politico, Bloomberg and New York Magazine

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:

Al Jazeera hints at new online programming for cord cutters and cable hold-outs — Al Jazeera launched its U.S. cable network Tuesday, but a significant part of its potential audience couldn't tune in: Viewers used to watching Al Jazeera's international channel online found themselves blocked …

Discussion: Deadline.com, The Wrap, Variety, USA Today, Inside TV and Broadcasting & Cable

Jef Feeley / Bloomberg:
AT&T Sued Over Refusal to Carry Al Jazeera Cable Network

Discussion: @adamgellings, @sherman4949 and @rolandsmartin

Justin D. Martin / Quartz:
One thing Al Jazeera could do to gain credibility: hire an ombudsman

Discussion: @qz, PolicyMic and @digiphile

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Al Jazeera America launches: What you need to know

Discussion: @riy, Al Jazeera English, @anthonyquintano, FP Passport, @yurivictor, @rafat, @anupkaphle, @kirstinestewart, The Huffington Post, New Orleans Times-Picayune, USA Today, TVNewser, BBC and @brianstelter

Alex / digiphile:
Al Jazeera America bets on an American audience for serious journalism

Discussion: The FJP, Thanks:@digiphile

Steven Erlanger / New York Times:

British Newspaper Has Advantages in Battle With Government Over Secrets — LONDON — Alan Rusbridger, the mop-haired, soft-spoken editor of The Guardian newspaper, finds himself in a shadowy battle with the British government over purloined secrets that the government will have a hard time winning in the Internet age.

Discussion: @arusbridger, @richards1052, @ewenmacaskill, @stefanjbecket, @dangillmor and @buzzfeedandrew

Jay Rosen / Pressthink:

Conspiracy to commit journalism — “If sunlight coalitions are to succeed, they won't succeed by outwitting surveillance. Not better technology, but greater legitimacy is their edge.” — The mood toughened just over a month ago, when I received a phone call from the centre of government telling me: “You've had your fun.

Discussion: Guardian, The Technology Chronicles, Memex 1.1, msnbc.com, @tom_watson, Daily Mail, @gsmaverick, @evgenymorozov, Committee to Protect …, @jeremyduns, @jjn1, @dangillmor, @jeffjarvis, The New Yorker Blog, The Huffington Post, WebProNews, CNN and TIME

Julian Borger / Guardian:

NSA files: why the Guardian in London destroyed hard drives of leaked files — A threat of legal action by the government that could have stopped reporting on the files leaked by Edward Snowden led to a symbolic act at the Guardian's offices in London — Guardian editors on Tuesday revealed …

Tim Ross / Telegraph:
David Cameron accused of sanctioning detention of Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda

Discussion: @telegraphnews, @willblackwriter and @davecameroon

Facebook Newsroom:

Mark Zuckerberg: Is Connectivity a Human Right? — For almost ten years, Facebook has been on a mission to make the world more open and connected. Today we connect more than 1.15 billion people each month, but as we started thinking about connecting the next 5 billion, we realized something important …

Discussion: Business Insider, @evelynrusli, @tcarmody, @thestalwart and @margafret

Vindu Goel / New York Times:

Facebook Leads an Effort to Lower Barriers to Internet Access — MENLO PARK, Calif. — About one of every seven people in the world uses Facebook. Now, Mark Zuckerberg, its co-founder and chief executive, wants to make a play for the rest — including the four billion or so who lack Internet access.

Sara Morrison / The Wrap:

Fox Confirms Brian Lewis Fired for ‘Financial Irregularities’ (Updated) — Executive vice president of corporate communications and longtime employee suddenly leaves the company — Brian Lewis, senior advisor to Roger Ailes and Fox's executive vice president of corporate communications …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Gawker and Variety

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

New Revelations Detail How The NSA Scans 75% Of The Internet Through Telco Partnerships — Today the Wall Street Journal reported the existence of several NSA programs that were either previously unknown, or little was known about. Meet Blarney, Fairview, Oakstar, Lithium and Stormbrew.

Rachel Bartlett / Journalism.co.uk:

A look at Storyful's Open Newsroom verification project — A look at the first two months of the project, which involves a Google+ community working together to verify content shared online — A couple of months ago the team at social newswire Storyful took to Google+ with its Open Newsroom initiative …

Discussion: @grove, @niemanlab and Big News Network.com

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Washington Post considered using robot sportswriters — Last year, The Washington Post considered using automated writing to cover the region's many high-school sports, Brook Silva-Braga reports. Currently, the paper has four reporters on that beat, and deputy high school sports editor …

Discussion: @howardkurtz, @nprrussell, @leongettler and @niemanlab

Kevin Roderick / LA Observed:

Andrew Blankstein leaving LA Times for NBC News — Andrew Blankstein has been a go-to reporter on the law enforcement beat for the Los Angeles Times for a long time. In all, he has been with the paper for 23 years (and more than 4,000 bylines of various kinds), per today's unusual …

Discussion: The Wrap, @anblanx, Deadline.com, @lajourno, @kyoshino, @rungomez and @laobserved

Andrew Blankstein / Los Angeles Times:

Coroner, family link Michael Hastings to drug use at time of death — An LAPD officer investigates the scene of a firey crash that killed journalist Michael Hastings. Hastings died when his vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles in June.

Discussion: All documents, Hollywood Reporter, @anblanx, @lauraelizdavis, Speakeasy, @defensebaron, The Raw Story, Slate, LA Observed, The Informer, Talking Points Memo, The Wrap, @kimzetter, @jameshohmann, Gawker and New York Magazine

Erik Maza / WWD:

Hearst Hires Buzzfeed, Fashionista Editors — HEARST HIRES BUZZFEED, FASHIONISTA EDITORS: Early on Tuesday, it seemed as though a housecleaning was underway at Hearst Magazines. — Amina Akhtar, the executive editor of Elle.com, tweeted she'd been laid off, and it was later confirmed Abby Gardner …

Discussion: @amyodell, @erik_maza, @laureni, @hearstcorp, @mcbride_caitlin, @tedr, @womensweardaily, FishbowlNY and Hearst Corporation

Lauren Indvik / Mashable:
Hearst Replaces Top Digital Editors

Discussion: Folio, Adweek, The New York Observer, @laureni, FishbowlNY, The Inquisitr and @nbj914

Carl Franzen / The Verge:

Barnes & Noble clarifies Nook hardware isn't dead: more, lower cost e-readers are coming — Barnes & Noble posted its latest quarterly earnings statement today, and the results were even worse than expected, with the company posting an $87 million cumulative loss compared to a $40 million loss a year ago.

Discussion: GigaOM, AppNewser, Engadget and DealBook

Laura Hazard Owen / GigaOM:
Bad earnings for Barnes & Noble: Nook revenues plunge 20%; Riggio won't take stores private

Discussion: Guardian, Softpedia News, Home Media Magazine, Fast Company, Associated Press, Daily Political, Lastest ITProPortal news, Bloomberg, Associated Press, PC Advisor, Wall Street Journal, PublishersWeekly.com, ZDNet and AllThingsD

Michael Kinsley / The New Republic:

A Q&A With Jill Abramson The Times' top editor on mean bosses, liberal biases, and the demise of the Washington Post — For generations, the publishers of the great American newspapers were accidents of birth—sons and daughters (and assorted other relatives) who inherited their positions atop the masthead.