Top News:
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Twitter's stock closes at $44.90 a share, up 73 percent on its first day — A more conservative approach than Facebook could lead to a big first day of gains — Twitter is set to hold its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange this morning. The company has priced its stock at $26 a share.
Discussion:
Businessweek, NetNewsCheck Latest, Forbes, Forbes, Reuters, @corytv, Softpedia News, VentureBeat and @marketwatch
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Kathryn Schulz / New York Magazine:
That Goddamned Blue Bird and Me: How Twitter Hijacked My Mind — I joined Twitter, with very bad grace, on March 5, 2010. I was a few months away from publishing my first book, and my agent, editor, publicist, and assorted other media-savvy types sat me down and informed me that if I cared …
Discussion:
Gigaom, @clairecm, @nytimesbits, bookforum.com, @matthewteller, @bwrighted, @dskok, @edyong209 and @david_dobbs
New York Times:
Accounts Differ to F.B.I. and CBS on Benghazi — Dylan Davies, a security officer hired to help protect the United States Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, told the F.B.I. he did not go there the night terrorists attacked it on Sept. 11, 2012, an account that contradicts a version of events …
Discussion:
Politico, @bungdan, @jayrosen_nyu, @sfpelosi, @josephremib, @blakehounshell, @blakehounshell, @alexweprin, @davidfolkenflik and Mother Jones
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Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:
‘60 Minutes’ Says It Is ‘Reviewing’ Benghazi Piece After New Reports Contradict Key Witness Story — In the possible first sign of a major climbdown, “60 Minutes” announced Thursday night that it is “reviewing” its controversial report on the Benghazi attacks after finding what reports …
Discussion:
CBS News, TVNewser and Capital New York
Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:
Netflix-Marvel deal leaves Hulu without superheroes — Marvel's Jessica Jones is getting a series on Netflix. — When the owners of Hulu — Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox and Comcast Corp. — opted not to sell the online video site, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said …
Discussion:
@efeng
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Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Marvel creating four superhero shows exclusively for Netflix, premiering in 2015
Marvel creating four superhero shows exclusively for Netflix, premiering in 2015
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, App Advice, FilmDrunk, New York Times and Inside TV
Erik Wemple:
WaPo editor: Costa will be Costa for us — The Post this morning broke the in-house news that celebrated National Review reporter Robert Costa will join the paper's politics team on Jan. 6. A memo from three Post editors on the hiring observes, “Bob has become an absolute must-follow …
Discussion:
Poynter, The Huffington Post, FishbowlDC, Talking Points Memo, @jayrosen_nyu, JIMROMENESKO.COM and @gabrielsnyder
Jack Shafer:
Governments worldwide buried in the Snowden avalanche — If the U.S. and British governments could stop the press from publishing stories based on the National Security Agency files leaked by Edward Snowden in June, they probably would have acted by now. Oh, the Guardian was coerced …
Discussion:
SiliconBeat and Forbes
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Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:
Businessweek Editor Josh Tyrangiel Taking a Break to Focus on TV — The buzzy and boyish Josh Tyrangiel, editor of Bloomberg Businessweek, will temporarily “detach” from the magazine for the rest of the year to help grow the company's television presence, according to an internal memo obtained by Daily Intelligencer.
Discussion:
Capital New York, TVNewser, @justinjm1, @jwherrman, FishbowlNY and Talking Biz News
David Lieberman / Deadline.com:
Disney Tops Fiscal Q4 Earnings Estimates With Strong Theme Park Results — The basic numbers look fine but investors may find reasons to be concerned by Disney's unusually complicated report for a quarter that included a writedown for The Lone Ranger and an accounting adjustment that reduced ESPN revenues.
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, New York Times, The Walt Disney Company …, Los Angeles Times, Business Wire, @alexweprin, CNBC, @jboorstin, @jboorstin and @jboorstin
Dan Gillmor / Guardian:
A simple question for new FCC chair Tom Wheeler: which side are you on? — Tom Wheeler is the new head of the agency overseeing US ‘airwaves’. Will he be a reformer or another industry lackey? — Given that most Americans probably can't name both of their US senators …
Discussion:
@dweinberger and Light Reading
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Michael Sebastian / AdAge:
Guns & Ammo Editor Apologizes for Pro-Gun Control Column, Steps Down — Unconditional Apology Follows Reader Outrage in Social Media — Jim Bequette, the editor in chief of Guns & Ammo, issued an abject apology Thursday for the magazine's recent editorial advocating gun regulation …
Darren Boyle / Press Gazette:
Fleet Street editor claims libel fears will force industry to support Government's Royal Charter regulator — Newspapers will sign up to the Government's Royal Charter once they start getting hit for costs in libel courts a leading editor has claimed. — Chris Blackhurst …
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Alex Weprin / Capital New York:
CNN on spending spree to rebuild channel; Zucker gets ‘multi-year’ runway to growth — CNN is planning a substantial investment in new programming, with a heavy emphasis on acquiring unscripted shows by outside producers in the vein of “Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown” and films like “Blackfish.”
Discussion:
B&C and TheBlaze.com
Michael Rondon / Folio:
Leaked memo reveals founders of Press+ are dissatisfied with RR Donnelley, seek new ownership — RR Donnelley, Press+ Exploring Sale — Memo says international expansion, new markets, are priorities. — RR Donnelley's digital paywall platform, Press+, is on the market, according to an internal memo obtained by Folio.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Finance and Nieman Journalism Lab
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
Toronto Star paid $5,000 for latest Ford video — “It's fully transparent,” Toronto Star reporter Kevin Donovan told Poynter on the phone about the paper's new video showing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford swearing and shouting, vacillating between whether he needs 10 or 15 minutes to kill someone.
Discussion:
Toronto Star, The Daily Caller and Gawker
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Startups Pitching A “Netflix For E-Books” May Have A Tough Sell — When it comes to getting consumers to pay for things on a subscription basis, some services fare better than others. A growing number of people seem happy to pay for entertainment-based offerings like Netflix or on-demand streaming music …
Stuart Dredge / Guardian:
YouTube aims to tame the trolls with changes to its comments section — Changes mean video creators will have more power to moderate comments, while making best conversations more prominent for viewers — The comments section below YouTube videos is an infamously troll-ridden Wild West of abuse, ignorance and spam.
Discussion:
toptechnews.com, @laurahiggins_, Digital Spy, CNET, YouTube Blog, WebProNews and TechCrunch
Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:
Apple says FBI spy rules are irrational, supports free speech challenge by Microsoft and Google — America's big tech companies, embroiled in an on-going surveillance scandal, are in a pitched legal fight with the government for the right to disclose how many data demands they receive under the Patriot Act.
Discussion:
App Advice and The Switch
Andrew Beaujon / The New Republic:
Betsy Rothstein, Washington's Strangest Gossip, Does Not Explain Washington — One of Washington's most enduring mysteries deepened Thursday, when Politico reported that former FishbowlDC editor Betsy Rothstein would join The Daily Caller as a blogger. The news interrupted a week …
Discussion:
Politico, @abeaujon, @mikemadden, @hillarykelly, @betsyscribeindc, @michaelroston and FishbowlDC