Mediagazer: China Intensifies Social-Media Crackdown (Wall Street Journal)

2:30 PM ET, September 20, 2013

Top News:

How Can You Miss Us if We Won't Go Away? — First things first: We're keeping the Steelcase hot-seat red chairs. Forever. In fact, we own quite a few now. — And we'll still be scooping and reviewing all things digital right here, at this Web address, for a few more months.

Discussion: New York Times, The Wrap, Venture Capital Dispatch, @waltmossberg, @starfire2258, @danielabarbosa, @felixsalmon, @monkbent, WebProNews and Globe and Mail

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Murdoch Said to Object to AllThingsD Terms After 2007 Takeover — News Corp. (NWSA), which is severing ties with AllThingsD founders Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the end of the year, objected to the terms of the journalists' contract soon after the media company took over the operation in 2007 …

Discussion: Talking New Media and Talking Biz News

Kevin J. Delaney / Quartz:

AllThingsD founders are in talks to value their new venture at up to $40 million — Preparing to part ways with News Corp, the founders of All Things Digital are looking for investments to reboot their technology news site and events business under a new name, sources say.

Discussion: CNET, @rafat, PandoDaily, Talking Biz News and Fortune

Quartz:

Walt Mossberg's 22-year mission to make computers easier to use — “Personal computers are just too hard to use, and it isn't your fault,” is how Walt Mossberg began his first column for the Wall Street Journal on October 17, 1991. More than two decades later, computing is certainly easier …

Discussion: @rafat, @zseward, Boing Boing and Digits

Dow Jones:
Dow Jones confirms split with Mossberg and Swisher, plans to launch new tech conference

Elizabeth Mendes / Gallup:

In U.S., Trust in Media Recovers Slightly From All-Time Low — More Americans say media are too liberal than too conservative — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' confidence in the accuracy of the mass media has improved slightly after falling to an all-time low last year.

Discussion: Poynter, TVNewser, TVSpy, Online NewsHour and Erik Wemple

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

New York Times Company to Start Paying Dividend — The New York Times Company announced on Thursday that it would pay a dividend to its shareholders for the first time in five years. — After a meeting of its board, the company said the board had voted to approve a dividend of four cents per share …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, NetNewsCheck Latest, The Wrap, International Business Times, Bloomberg, @edmundlee, Tech Trader Daily, 4-traders.com, Politico, @nycjim and @chcktylr

Ryan Chittum / Columbia Journalism Review: The NYT's new dividend is unwise

Simon Houpt / Globe and Mail:

Gawker's John Cook talks traffic, Rob Ford and ethics — It was a cross-border bombshell: Last May, John Cook, the editor of New York-based Gawker, reported that he had seen a video that appeared to show Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. In the tumult that followed …

Discussion: @simonhoupt, Kirk LaPointe's …, Poynter and FishbowlNY

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

Apple Updates Apple TV With Airplay From iCloud, iTunes Radio — Apple gave its Apple TV set-top box an internal overhaul Friday, issuing a software update that adds a few new features to the device. Arriving two days after AllThingsD predicted it would, the new firmware brings with it a bunch …

Discussion: CNET, 9to5Mac, Pocket-lint and hypebot

Steve Outing / Media Disruptus:

Disaster news coverage will be much better in a few years — Boulder, Colorado, and surrounding towns were hit recently with days of record rainfall, history-making flooding, and epic damage. The destruction covered larger towns like Boulder and Longmont, and was truly horrific in mountain towns like Jamestown and Lyons.

Hadas Gold / Politico:

What really happened to ‘Reuters Next’ — On Wednesday Thompson Reuters' new CEO Andrew Rashbass announced the company was canceling the ambitious new digital news product Reuters Next. — Conversations with several Reuters insiders and people with knowledge of the situation show Rashbass …

Discussion: paidContent, @dylanbyers, @jbenton, Big News Network.com and @kirabind

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:
Reuters Next: Anatomy Of A Multi-Million-Dollar Misfire

Discussion: New York Post, @forbestech, @forbes, Talking Biz News, FishbowlNY and @jeffbercovici

Josh Sternberg / Digiday:

‘Snowfall’ Miss on Ads — On Wednesday evening, the New York Times rolled out a new long-form narrative style on its website, as it explores more ways to engage readers. It managed to be both an innovative piece of journalism - and a failed advertising opportunity.

Discussion: 10,000 Words, Nieman Journalism Lab and eMedia Vitals

Parker Higgins / Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Copyright Industries Pushing for Search Engine “Voluntary Agreements,” Despite Risks to Users — A Congressional hearing and a glossy new paper published yesterday by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) both underscore a major push by the copyright lobby to establish extra-legal …

Discussion: Hillicon Valley

Roger Yu / USA Today:

Sinclair emerges as a major broadcasting player — The low-profile broadcaster owns more TV stations than anyone else. But a change in federal rules could put a cap on its rapid expansion. — CONNECT — During an analyst conference call in August, David Smith, CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group …

George Mills / The Local:

Spain clamps down on ‘rampant’ internet piracy — Tough new rules on internet piracy are one of the key features of Spain's new penal code to be approved in the country's parliament on Friday. — The new rules mean possible sentences of six years in prison for people link to ‘pirated’ material …

Discussion: Plagiarism Today and Tumbit