Mediagazer: Ratings Sag for Cable-TV Business News (Wall Street Journal)

9:50 AM ET, December 3, 2013

Top News:

Zucker plans massive change at CNN — After almost a year of tinkering, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker has concluded that a news channel cannot subsist on news alone. — So he is planning much broader changes for the network—including a prime-time shakeup that's likely to make CNN traditionalists cringe.

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico, @jayrosen_nyu, @13013b, @ehananoki, @vivianschiller, @cadelargy, @marklittlenews, @drudge_report, @annecronin, The Huffington Post and TheBlaze.com, Thanks:@steverubel

Carl Bernstein / Guardian:

An open letter from Carl Bernstein to Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger — Watergate scandal journalist's letter comes as Guardian editor prepares to appear before MPs over Edward Snowden leaks — There is plenty of time - and there are abundant venues - to debate relevant questions …

Discussion: Poynter, @dangillmor, @jesselynradack, @ggreenwald, @attackerman, Reuters and The Huffington Post

Tim Marshall / Sky News:

Guardian Editor Faces MPs' Snowden Questions — The Guardian editor will likely face a few softball questions, some straightforward ones and several which may make his seat in front of the Home Affairs Committee uncomfortable. The softballs will be thrown by those who agree with Mr Rusbridger …

Discussion: Agence France Presse, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk and The Drum

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, Softpedia News, @guardian, @arusbridger, @solle, @youranonnews, The Verge, TheHill and Committee to Protect …

Adam Sherwin / The Independent:

Spotify answers Thom Yorke attacks by revealing ‘$0.006 per play’ royalties figure — Music streaming service has received criticism from musicians, but boasts that is has paid out more than $1bn in royalties since its 2008 launch — A song played on Spotify can earn an artist just $0.006 …

Discussion: Speakeasy, Fast Company and The Verge

Kate Solomon / TechRadar:

Spotify spills beans on how much it pays, adds ticket and merch options — Has paid out $1bn to date … Spotify has added some new analytics features that give a better idea of how much money it pays out to artists and labels when their music is streamed through the service.

Discussion: Guardian, TechCrunch, Gizmodo UK, SlashGear, Music Ally, Complete Music Update, Engadget, The Next Web and Pocket-lint

Fortune:

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: Guardian, The Huffington Post, @danprimack, New York Magazine, emptywheel, Business Insider, @romenesko, Talking Biz News and BuzzFeed

Alex Litel / The Wire:

A BuzzFeed in a Box: The Person Behind ViralNova — ViralNova came out of nowhere. A collection of image-heavy, emotionally manipulating posts unabashedly in the style of BuzzFeed and Upworthy, the site launched in May with stories like “14 Photos That Will Warm Your Heart” and “Lioness Saves Her Cub Trapped on a Cliff.”

Discussion: Business Insider and Digits

Nick Bilton / NYT Bits:

The Allure of the Print Book — I didn't want to start reading print books again, but I honestly had no choice. My dog, Pixel, forced me to. — You see Pixel, a 35-pound clump of energy, has an obsession with shadows and reflections. At the beach or the dog park …

Discussion: @benchten and @davidjalmond

Wall Street Journal:

Ratings Sag for Cable-TV Business News — The U.S. stock market is soaring, but ratings have sunk for the TV networks dedicated to covering it. In the third quarter, CNBC, the dominant business-news channel, hit a 20-year low in its target demographic of adults 25 to 54 years old, according to Nielsen Holdings NLSN -0.93% NV.

Discussion: Poynter, @tomgara, @emptywheel, @thestalwart, @espnmichele and @keachhagey

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: @dicktofel, @laurarenamurray, @qounsel, @digidave and Kirk LaPointe's …, Thanks:@blake

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review:

ONA launches $1 million Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education — The Online News Association is running a competition to explore new forms of journalism education — The Online News Association launched a $1 million micro-grant contest on Monday to help universities …

Discussion: Online News Association and Knight Foundation

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:

Rdio Names Former Amazon Exec Anthony Bay Its New CEO — After enduring a round of layoffs last month, Rdio, the streaming music startup from Skype co-founder Janus Friis, has found a new chief executive officer, Anthony Bay. Bay, whose experience includes executive positions at Amazon …

Discussion: AllThingsD, Gigaom, CNET, AllAccess.com, Digital Journal and The Next Web

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

Being a viral genius is going viral — Farhad Manjoo's profile of Gawker's Neetzan Zimmerman is getting a lot of well-deserved attention and, if my Twitter feed is any indication, scaring the daylights out of more traditional reporters. — Zimmerman is basically Gawker's chief finder of viral content.

Discussion: PandoDaily, @brookekroeger, @ezraklein, @erikwemple, Business Insider, Gawker, Poynter and AllThingsD

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, Gigaom, Reuters, Home Media Magazine and TechCrunch

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

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: @jessicalessin, Associated Press and MediaPost

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

BuzzFeed:

BuzzFeed Reaches More Than 130 Million Unique Visitors In November — Facebook and other social networks contribute to site's growth by propelling quality journalism and entertainment — DECEMBER 2, 2013 - BuzzFeed announced today that November was its biggest traffic month ever …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @craigsilverman, @fmanjoo, @felixsalmon, @jonerlichman, @hunterschwarz, @damiencave and Digiday

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

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Aimee Mann Wins First Round in Lawsuit Over Digital Music — The songwriter sued a company responsible for providing millions of songs to big online streaming services. — In July, Aimee Mann brought a noteworthy lawsuit over the possible existence of a massive amount of unlicensed music being streamed online.

Discussion: musicfeeds.com.au

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

For many women journalists, workplaces are dangerous, study says — The majority of abuse, threats and harassment facing women in the media comes not from the work they do, but from the places they work. In a study released Monday from the International News Safety Institute …

Discussion: International News …, FishbowlNY, @kristenhare, @poynter, The Huffington Post and The Newspaper Guild

Darren Boyle / Reuters:

Michael Gillard scoops Journalist of the Year at second annual British Journalism Awards — Michael Gillard of The Sunday Times has been awarded the prestigious Journalist of the Year award at the second annual British Journalism Awards 2013. Some 150 people attended the celebration …

Discussion: Guardian, @misterscoop and @beltrew