Mediagazer: ‘Onion’ digital strategy is no laughing matter (Roger Yu/USA Today)

10:40 AM ET, October 4, 2013

Top News:

Twitter's average ad revenue per user was $0.55 in Q2 2013, compared to $1.41 for Facebook — Twitter didn't disclose its average revenue per user, but we've calculated it for you, anyway — Ahead of Twitter's IPO filing, the key figure anticipated by investors was the company's average revenue per user.

Discussion: Wonkblog

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Twitter files to raise $1B, company is not profitable, will trade under ticker TWTR — Twitter had revenue of $253 million in the first six months of 2013 but it was not profitable, according to its S-1 prospectus, which was made public late Thursday. The company filed the official IPO …

Gerry Shih / Reuters:
Twitter reveals rip-roaring growth, big losses ahead of IPO

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's … and @mathewi

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
How Twitter's Ad Business Went From Zero to $500 Million in Less Than Four Years

Discussion: Forbes, Softpedia News, TechCrunch, @pkafka, NYT Bits, ZDNet and @sbermo

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Jim Impoco aims for ‘must-read’ status with new Newsweek — Jim Impoco became the latest editor of Newsweek just three weeks ago, after IBT Media bought the dying digital-only title from Barry Diller's IAC Interactive. In that time he's hired nearly two dozen staffers …

Discussion: The New York Observer, FishbowlNY and @mlcalderone

Kevin Anderson / Strange Attractor:

ProPublica, This American Life and acetaminophen: $750,000 to state the obvious — ProPublica and This American Life, both which I love, are making some waves for a story highlighting the risks of taking too much acetaminophen (known as paracetamol in the UK).

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

Business Insider's Blodget muses about a Buzzfeed merger but rejects it for now — ‘Should Buzzfeed And Business Insider Merge?’ — Someone asked me a question on Quora: — “Should Buzzfeed and Business Insider merge?” — I can't remember my Quora password, so I figured I would just answer the question here.

Discussion: @taylorlorenz

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

In Leaked Video, Egyptian Army Officers Debate How to Sway News Media — CAIRO — A leaked video of senior Egyptian Army officers debating how to influence the news media during the months preceding the military takeover offers a rare glimpse of the anxiety within the institution at the prospect of civilian oversight.

Discussion: @mlcalderone

National Journal:

There's not just a shutdown. There's a blackout, and it makes journalism suffer. — There's not just a shutdown. There's a blackout, and it makes journalism suffer. — Thursday morning's New York Times starts with a blockbuster story on Obamacare: “A sweeping national effort …

Discussion: @carr2n, @citizensnews, @freedomofpress, @jasonleopold, Right Turn and Gawker

Steve Earl / PR Week:

News Corp: a lot of life in print yet — Print media remains utterly viable and a cheap way to reach large audiences. — That might seem like the type of statement which was made in the middle of the last decade, with froth rising about the growth of social media and editorial eyebrows being raised about the rapid shift online.

Discussion: @rajunarisetti and @mathewi

Roger Yu / USA Today:

‘Onion’ digital strategy is no laughing matter — Satirical favorite might provide insight into agile media adapting to changing landscape. — CONNECT — The Onion was going to ignore the twerking exploits of one Miley Cyrus. Making fun of that over-the-top episode was just too easy.

Erik Wemple:

Is Politico's ‘Playbook’ a portable commodity? — Fourth in a multi-part series — Last month, Politico broke some news about itself. It was purchasing Capital New York, a website that covers politics, culture and media in its namesake city. When it came time to announce the decision …

Lance Murray / Dallas Business Journal:

Gannett raises more than planned for $2.2B Belo acquisition — Gannett Co. Inc. raised more than planned in a debt offering to use in the acquisition of Dallas-based Belo Corp. — The Washington Business Journal reported that McLean, Va.-based Gannett sold $1.25 billion in senior notes to institutional investors.

Hayley Ringle / Phoenix Business Journal:

Arizona Republic editors to reporters: Do your work at Starbucks or McDonald's — Starbucks and McDonald's will soon be the new offices for roughly 20 community reporters at The Arizona Republic. — Top Republic editors met with reporters from the Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix community sections Thursday …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Instagram Launches Ads, Promises, 'We'll Start Slow' — The honeymoon's over for Instagram users. The long-promised introduction of advertising to the photo-based social network is upon us. — “In the next couple months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram feed …

Discussion: Business Insider, CNET, PC Magazine, Softpedia News, BGR, Businessweek, Hillicon Valley, BBC, Inside Facebook, TechCrunch and Valleywag

Sharon Bernstein / Reuters:

California governor signs law expanding protections for journalists — (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law on Thursday to give journalists in the state five days' notice before government agencies serve subpoenas on their records held by third parties, such as phone companies and internet service providers.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, blog.sfgate.com and Associated Press

Hamish McKenzie / PandoDaily:

With the new Circa, news follows you — Today, mobile news startup Circa is launching a new version of its iPhone app, expanding to Android, and is subtly shifting course with its strategy. Circa 2. still delivers news stories broken up into snippets, but it is adding a new focus …

Discussion: Wired, AppNewser and Mashable