Mediagazer: The Chernin Group Buys Stake in Anime Site Crunchyroll to Build New Online Video Power (Lucas Shaw/The Wrap)

1:15 AM ET, December 3, 2013

Top News:

Exclusive: Chinese authorities conduct unannounced ‘inspections’ of Bloomberg News bureaus — The unusual visits follow a controversy about an investigative article involving a Chinese billionaire. — FORTUNE — In what appears to be a conspicuous show of displeasure …

Discussion: @danprimack, New York Magazine, emptywheel, @romenesko, Business Insider and Talking Biz News

Jim Waterson / BuzzFeed:
Bloomberg's Robert Hutton excluded from a press conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

Discussion: Guardian

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

After New York Magazine Cuts Frequency, Will Other Weeklies Follow? — New York magazine surprised the media world with its announcement it will go twice-monthly, but the high printing and distribution costs associated with publishing a weekly magazine aren't lost on other titles.

Discussion: Publishing Executive …, The Dish, Gawker and New York Times

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Comcast, Nielsen Unveil Plan to Get More Ad Money From Video On Demand — Placing current ads alongside older episodes could help Big TV recapture some of its eroding audience — More couch potatoes have turned to the TV-watching behavior known as “catch-up viewing.”

Discussion: Associated Press, @jessicalessin and MediaPost

Rafat Ali / LinkedIn Today:

Here Come The Mediata Startups — In the history of the Internet and online media, Politicalbase will remain an obscure footnote, remembered by only five people, three of which were likely the creators of it. It was launched in 2008 by Shelby Bonnie's post-CNET company and was dead soon after.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @wjeffreybrown, @samshankman, @maits, @jeremycaplan, @crovitz, @rafat and @rafat

Charles Davis / VICE:

The exploited laborers of the liberal media — I was 21 years old when I took out my earring, combed my hair, and tried concealing my distaste for power and Washington, DC, in order to ask questions at press conferences. It was the summer of 2006, and I had just left college to go work for a small …

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

The Chernin Group Buys Stake in Anime Site Crunchyroll to Build New Online Video Power — The Chernin Group has acquired a majority stake in Crunchyroll, a popular site for people to watch anime online, the company announced on Monday. TCG will now build Crunchyroll into a leading provider …

Discussion: Variety, AllThingsD, Reuters, Gigaom, TechCrunch and Home Media Magazine

Ben Emmerson / Guardian:

It's outrageous to accuse the Guardian of aiding terrorism by publishing Snowden's revelations — Alan Rusbridger is being grilled by MPs - but he has published nothing that could be a threat to national security — The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, is due to appear before the House …

Discussion: Guardian, The Verge, The Drum, TheHill and Committee to Protect …

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Mobile Trends to Keep In Mind — For publishers, developing an all-out mobile strategy has become both more necessary and more challenging. Today, we look at key data points and trends for such a task. — #1 The Global Picture — 1.7bn mobile phones (feature phones and smartphones) were sold in 2012 alone

Discussion: @leliosimi, @lnrnewsstats, ReadWrite and @raju

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

Turning to Public to Back Investigative Journalism — If you suspect your local town government is corrupt, would you pay a journalist to investigate? — Uncoverage, a website that will be announced on Monday, will test whether the public cares enough about investigative journalism to pay for it.

Discussion: @laurarenamurray, @dicktofel and @digidave, Thanks:@blake

Katy Bachman / Adweek:

IAB Sorts Out Native Ahead of FTC Workshop — Timed to coincide with the Federal Trade Commission's workshop this week on native advertising, the Interactive Advertising Bureau plans to release a prospectus on the industry's hottest ad format. The report is the digital community's first pass …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Thanks:@steverubel

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
An early indicator that the FTC is considering regulating native advertising

Discussion: TheHill, Calendar and @rickedmonds

Darren Boyle / Reuters:

Michael Gillard scoops Journalist of the Year at second annual British Journalism Awards — Sponsored by: — Michael Gillard of The Sunday Times has been awarded the prestigious Journalist of the Year award at the second annual British Journalism Awards.

Discussion: @misterscoop and Guardian

Farhad Manjoo / Wall Street Journal:

How a Gawker Editor Picks the ‘Viral’ Content Readers Can't Resist Sharing — Neetzan Zimmerman doesn't like to be called a machine. That word implies something cold and inhuman about how he works, and Mr. Zimmerman believes that what makes him so good at his job is precisely the opposite sensibility …

Discussion: Wonkblog, Business Insider, PandoDaily, @evgenymorozov, @palantirtech, @karenmcgrane, @ejpfauth, Mediaite, @profjeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @fmanjoo, @jaimestein, @glcarlstrom and @demetria_g

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

Time Warner Cable next to embrace cheap HBO bundle — Time Warner Cable (TWC) is experimenting with cheaper bundles to keep people from cancelling cable: The pay TV provider just introduced a Starter TV with HBO bundle that includes access to 20 channels, including local broadcasters in HD …

Discussion: Light Reading, Consumerist, DSLreports, Radio & Television … and Home Media Magazine

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Dropping the needle: the life and death of Turntable.fm — Meet me in the club, it's going down — Tonight at 10PM EST, the virtual DJs at Turntable.fm will be escorted off the stage for the last time. Two and a half years after founders Billy Chasen and Seth Goldstein captivated music fans …

Discussion: @ashleymayer, @trakkstar and Mashable

Peter Horrocks / BBC:

A BBC bureau for Burma — This weekend I received news I never thought I'd hear. The Myanmar Ministry of Information announced that the BBC, along with three other international news agencies, had been given official permission to open a news bureau in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Jack Marshall / Digiday:

Facebook adjusts newsfeed algorithm; online publishers report increase in referral traffic — A Facebook Tweak Gives Publishers a Traffic Boost — Facebook has altered its newsfeed algorithm, which is turning out to be great news for online publishers: Major sites report more referrals …

Discussion: Facebook, The Next Web, TechCrunch, AdExchanger, @simonowens, The Verge, CNET, @richjm, @digiday and @kevglobal

Alex Litel / The Wire:

A BuzzFeed in a Box: The Person Behind ViralNova — Photo Illustration by Philip Bump / The Wire; Photo by Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr. Boxes by Blacknote via Shutterstock. — ViralNova came out of nowhere. A collection of image-heavy, emotionally manipulating posts unabashedly …

Discussion: Poynter, Business Insider and Digits

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Sam Champion Leaving ABC for The Weather Channel — First on TVNewser: Sam Champion, weatherman for ABC's “Good Morning America” is leaving ABC and joining the Weather Channel. It's the first talent departure at the No. 1 morning show in more than two years.