Mediagazer: ONA launches $1 million Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education (Edirin Oputu/Columbia Journalism Review)

1:10 PM 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: Capital New York, The Wrap, Deadline.com, Mediaite, TVNewser, @stephencwebster, @rubinreport, Politico, @jayrosen_nyu, @drudge_report, @elongreen, @marklittlenews, @ehananoki, @cadelargy, @13013b, @annecronin, @vivianschiller, 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: The Lede, @malinip, @astepanovich, @dianneg, @jxpaton, Sky News, Reuters, @jesselynradack, @sachinkalbag, @ggreenwald, @dangillmor, @attackerman and The Huffington Post

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, dissenter.firedoglake.com, BillMoyers.com, Softpedia News, @guardian, @arusbridger, @youranonnews, @solle, Boing Boing, The Drum, The Verge, TheHill and Committee to Protect …

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

Alan Rusbridger Asked Some Ridiculous Questions At Parliamentary Hearing — The questioning of Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger by a parliamentary committee on Tuesday was a rather sorry spectacle from a press freedom perspective, but it was also a forum for some questions that defied belief.

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: JIMROMENESKO.COM, @lazerow, @craigsilverman, @fmanjoo, @felixsalmon, @jonerlichman, @hunterschwarz, @damiencave, FishbowlNY and Digiday

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Readers will ‘eventually choose the juicy truth over a heartwarming hoax,’ says Nick Denton — In an email to staffers Tuesday, Gawker Media honcho Nick Denton sad it was “bad news” that BuzzFeed beat Gawker in traffic in November. Upworthy, which he describes as “even smarmier than Buzzfeed …

Discussion: @poynter, @thestalwart and Business Insider

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, @independent and The Verge

Kate Solomon / TechRadar:
Spotify spills beans on how much it pays, adds ticket and merch options

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

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: @mjenkins, PandoDaily, @brookekroeger, @ezraklein, @erikwemple, Gawker, Mediaite, @fmanjoo, @jaimestein, @palantirtech, Wall Street Journal and Poynter

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The Guardian experiments with a robot-generated newspaper with The Long Good Read — The Guardian is experimenting in the craft newspaper business and getting some help from robots. — That may sound odd, given that the company prints a daily paper read throughout Britain. A paper staffed by humans.

Discussion: @mattmcalister, @tomtaylor and @mrjohncrowley

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

Jake Batsell / Idea Lab:

Where Did the Chicago News Cooperative Go Wrong? Not Putting Business First — Nearly two years after he folded the Chicago News Cooperative, co-founder James O'Shea has had time to reflect on his short-lived stint as a news entrepreneur. — O'Shea launched the political news startup in late 2009 …

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:

Fates of Brooks and Coulson in Tabloid Hacking Case Are Diverging — LONDON — Once they were friends and colleagues who reveled in the heady world of British news, politics and intrigue. Together they rose from the scrappy newsrooms of London's tabloids to the heights of establishment power …

Discussion: @sarahlyall

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

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

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, @ericboehlert, @tomgara, @thestalwart, @reformedbroker, @emptywheel, @espnmichele and @keachhagey

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 …