Mediagazer: The Psychology of Online Comments (Maria Konnikova/The New Yorker Blog)

10:05 PM ET, October 26, 2013

Top News:

DirecTV, Time Warner Cable Said to Consider Aereo-Type Services — DirecTV (DTV), Time Warner Cable (TWC) Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR), taking a page from Aereo Inc., are considering capturing free broadcast signals from TV networks to avoid paying billions of dollars …

Discussion: VentureBeat, SlashGear, Los Angeles Times, Deadline.com, The Verge, Engadget, @pkafka and Business Insider

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter: Aereo Hit With Second Lawsuit in Utah

Lauren Indvik / Mashable:

‘OC Register’ President: It's a Mistake Not to Invest in Print — Over the past eight years, newspapers have seen budgets cut and newsrooms shrink as readers — and more crucially, advertisers — have shifted from print to digital devices. To combat those shifts, publishers have drastically cut costs …

Discussion: @kdoctor

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Is the economic power of star journalists growing or shrinking? Depends on the news organization. — Divorces can be such fun, especially media divorces. — This week, David Pogue and The New York Times split after 13 years. Last month, The Wall Street Journal couldn't renew their vows with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.

Discussion: @fmanjoo and @carr2n

Laura Miller / Salon:

How Amazon and Goodreads could lose their best readers — When Amazon bought Goodreads it got a community of passionate readers, not all of whom want to follow the new rules — With 20 million members (a number some have noted is close to the population of Australia) …

Maria Konnikova / The New Yorker Blog:

The Psychology of Online Comments — Several weeks ago, on September 24th, Popular Science announced that it would banish comments from its Web site. The editors argued that Internet comments, particularly anonymous ones, undermine the integrity of science and lead to a culture of aggression …

Discussion: @guardianjoanna, @newyorker, @silviakillings and @jaredbkeller

Agence France Presse:

Arrested Chinese reporter ‘confesses’ on state TV — Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese journalist arrested over a series of articles criticising a partly state-owned firm appeared on public television Saturday to apologise, with state media saying he admitted the articles were “unverified and false”.

Discussion: GlobalPost, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Reuters, Forbes, BBC and Sinosphere

Amanda Sperber / Motherboard:

Beacon, an Online News Startup, Wants to Put a Face on Paywalls — Banners of author photos on Beacon's site highlight the publication's focus on individual journalists. — It's not subject to much debate that the journalism industry is still struggling with the Internet.

Elspeth Reeve / The Atlantic Wire:

Conservative Reporter Says Feds Took Her Files While Searching Her Home for Guns — Conservative investigative journalist Audrey Hudson says that her reporting notes were taken during a search of her home by the Department of Homeland Security and Maryland police.

Discussion: Washington Times, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, RT and American Thinker

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:

As Europe erupts over US spying, NSA chief says government must stop media — With General Alexander calling for NSA reporting to be halted, US and UK credibility as guardians of press freedom is crushed — The most under-discussed aspect of the NSA story has long been its international scope.

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …, @priscillajudd, @jadomian, @steveklabnik and @trevortimm

Capital New York:

Atlantic Wire to relaunch, with a new(-ish) name: The Wire — Atlantic Media is gearing up for a relaunch of its prodigious news aggregator, The Atlantic Wire, Capital has learned. — As part of the change, which is slated for sometime in November, the site will shed its titular association …

Discussion: @rubinafillion, @kelseyproud and @moorehn

Noah Rayman / TIME:

Pinterest Deal with Getty Helps ID Images Posted to the Site — Pinterest announced a deal Friday with stock photo agency Getty Images that will allow it to identify which of the agency's 80 million photos and illustrations are being used on the digital scrapbooking site.

Discussion: Mashable, CNET and The Verge

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Comcast's latest bundle, Internet Plus, still requires you to pay for TV to receive HBO — Dear Internet: You Still Can't Get HBO Without Paying for Cable — Lots of people who read sites like this site love the idea of paying for HBO without paying for cable.

Discussion: Reuters, CNET, ThinkProgress and Variety