Mediagazer: The Rise of ‘Hybrid Authors’ Who Have Self-Published and Had Publishers (Jeremy Greenfield/Mediashift)

12:55 PM ET, September 7, 2013

Top News:

ProPublica's Jeff Larson on the NSA crypto story — Yesterday, ProPublica, the New York Times, and the Guardian collaboratively broke the story of the NSA's Bullrun program and its encryption-cracking capabilities. This afternoon, Erin Kissane sat down with ProPublica's Jeff Larson …

Discussion: The Next Web, @albertocairo, @wmhiggins, @macdiva, @kissane, @greglinch, @rachelblevinson, @harrisj, @ericuman, @blakehounshell, @mattwynn, @jimray, @source, @derekwillis, @samuelclay, @dansinker, @jaredbkeller, @opennews and New York Times

Jack Shafer:

The NSA never takes “no” for an answer — At several recent junctures, the U.S. government has publicly sought to expand its power and control over the electronic privacy of its citizens. At each point, the government was roundly foiled by the public and the majority of the political class, which rebuked it.

Discussion: New York Times, BuzzMachine, Mashable, Mother Jones, The Next Web, @davewiner, @zimbalist, @kirabind, Forbes, @_jimnelson_, @carr2n, @jackshafer, msnbc.com, VentureBeat, @amandamarcotte, @rsingel, Memex 1.1, BuzzFeed and VatorNews

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Activists call on N.Y. Times, ProPublica to release unredacted NSA information — Several privacy and tech activists are calling on the New York Times and ProPublica to release unredacted documents in the wake of their report about how the National Security Agency is able to break encryption codes.

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, Daily Dot and Digits

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:
Decision to Publish Against Government Request Was ‘Not a Particularly Anguished One’

Discussion: Fast Company, Guardian, The Verge, @palafo, New York Times, The BLT, @ggreenwald, @frank_rieger, Kirk LaPointe's …, @moorehn, TechPresident, @jayrosen_nyu, @mathewi, kottke.org, The Conversation, ZDNet, VentureBeat and The Huffington Post

Rachel Bartlett / Journalism.co.uk:

7 insights into social strategy at The Economist — As The Economist celebrates its 170th anniversary this month, we look at how it has adapted in the digital and social age — Copyright: By Horia Varlan on Flickr. Some rights reserved. — The Economist is celebrating 170 years since …

Discussion: @suellewellyn

Jeremy Greenfield / Mediashift:

The Rise of ‘Hybrid Authors’ Who Have Self-Published and Had Publishers — SPONSOR MESSAGE: Have you ever thought about writing and publishing your own book? It's fast and easy to create, publish, and distribute your book worldwide with Amazon's free print independent publishing offering - CreateSpace.

Discussion: TeleRead

Guardian:

Former BBC chairman contradicts Thompson in £1m payout row — Sir Michael Lyons says he was not fully briefed on Byford's severance terms, as five current trustees distance themselves from Thompson's claims that they were involved in the payout — Former BBC director general Mark Thompson …

Discussion: @edgecliffe, New York Times, @lisaocarroll and @matthewwells

Josh Halliday / Guardian: BBC ordered to disclose names and details of payoffs to 150 managers

BBC: BBC pay-offs: Trust denies Mark Thompson claims

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

Where Julian Assange Lies in Wait—and What He's Planning Next — Julian Assange hasn't set foot outside Ecuador's London embassy in more than a year—avoiding extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault. But physical confinement seems only to enhance his reach.

Discussion: @sarahlellison and The Verge

Alan D. Mutter / Reflections of a Newsosaur:

The five big decisions facing Bezos at WaPo — When Jeff Bezos takes control of The Washington Post in a few short weeks, the Amazon founder will face five enormous decisions that will shape the future of an iconic newspaper once so powerful that it drove President Richard M. Nixon from office.

Discussion: Home Page Feed

Alexander C. Kaufman / International Business Times:

Who Pays Interns? Few Media Firms Do, But This Tumblr Helps You Find Which Ones That Will — If you want to intern at a magazine, prepare to be unpaid. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri — Four years of Ivy League school. Three unpaid internships in the country's most expensive city to live in.

Discussion: @petersterne and @natrudy

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of big sports money — and news — Our cavalcade of news and sports convergence now seems to be happening by the month. — Last week, it was Los Angeles Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter publicly mulling the possibility of buying his hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times …

Discussion: @kennysmith, @sportsbiz_prof, @warhovert, @mcg5, @robertscraigm and @niemanlab

Globe and Mail:

Torstar to close its digital division — Torstar Corp. is shutting down its Torstar Digital division and shuffling its assets into different parts of its operations as part of a way to cut costs. — The company laid off about 10 senior managers at the digital operations as part of the plan.

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

CEO Mark Thompson gives a few glimpses into the near-term growth strategy of The New York Times — New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson was back in his native U.K. today to give an address at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which is celebrating an anniversary of its fellowship program.