Mediagazer: Epic Fail: The Rise and Fall of Demand Media (Andrew Wallenstein/Variety)

10:45 PM ET, December 3, 2013

Top News:

Guardian will not be intimidated over NSA leaks, Alan Rusbridger tells MPs — Editor tells parliamentary committee that stories revealing mass surveillance by UK and US have prompted global debate — The Guardian has come under concerted pressure and intimidation designed to stop …

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Editor Describes Pressure After Leaks by Snowden — The top editor of the British newspaper The Guardian told Parliament on Tuesday that since it had obtained documents on government surveillance from a former National Security Agency contractor, Edward J. Snowden, it had been subjected to measures …

Discussion: @timobrien, @alicedreger, @monahol and @genn4dy

Reuters:

Guardian Newspaper Staff May Face Charges For Assisting Terrorists — LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - British police are examining whether Guardian newspaper staff should be investigated for terrorism offences over their handling of data leaked by Edward Snowden, Britain's senior counter-terrorism officer said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Guardian, VentureBeat, Techdirt and Gawker

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 …

Jill Lawless / Associated Press:
Guardian: We have published 1 pct of Snowden leak

Discussion: ABC News, @davidmwessel, @inteldump, The Daily Caller, @hackingdave, Politico, @amypeikoff, @freedomofpress, @postbaron, Daily Dot, @gretawire, Committee to Protect …, The Drum, TheHill and Boing Boing

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

Newsweek Plans Return to Print — Newsweek, the struggling weekly magazine that ceased print publication last year, plans to turn the presses back on. — The magazine expects to begin a 64-page weekly edition in January or February, said Jim Impoco, Newsweek's editor in chief.

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post, The Wrap, Mediaite, Variety, @abigaildj, @dgelles, @alexmleo, @jbenton, @justinjm1, @stevekovach and @nishachittal

Pierre Omidyar / The Huffington Post:

WikiLeaks, Press Freedom and Free Expression in the Digital Age — This week, fourteen people charged by the Department of Justice in connection with a coordinated denial of service attack on PayPal's services in 2010 will appear in Federal Court. The “PayPal 14,” as they have been dubbed …

Discussion: @pierre, @carwinb, @wikileaks and Pressing Issues

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
A News Organization That Rejects the View From Nowhere

Discussion: @acarvin, @tomgara, @jayrosen_nyu and @raju

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

The Sad Final Demise Of “The Daily Download” — The Daily Download, the much-scrutinized project of media personalities Lauren Ashburn and Howard Kurtz, appears to be no more. The website for the media commentary project hasn't been online in more than a month according to the Internet Web Archive.

Discussion: @buzzfeedandrew

David Weigel / Slate: Howard Kurtz and the Daily Download: The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Dave Weigel:

If You Want Reporters to Check Stories Before They Publish, You're a Hater — Instead of doing something productive, like finishing chapter two of my book (it's going well anyway!), I spent about an hour today noticing how the Internet had fallen for yet another hoax.

Discussion: On the Media, Butterflies and Wheels, @dkiesow, @kashhill, The Daily Caller, @clairesuddath, @dangillmor, @jonathanlkrohn, Guardian, Gawker and The Awl

Sarah Hedgecock / Gawker:

What's Wrong With America's Newspaper Opinion Columnists in One Chart — Why are newspaper opinion columnists so consistently baffled by the politics, technologies, and social mores of the 21st century? We've crunched some data, and we think we've figured out the answer: They're old as hell.

Discussion: @mccartneywp, @anamariecox, @azmatzahra, @heyveronica, The Daily Caller, @dskok, FishbowlNY, @connieschultz, @jacremes, @minethatdata, @byheatherlong, @moorehn, @paulwiggins, @traceyleeholmes, @nickkristof, @mattbors and The Wrap

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: @moorehn, @jeremytai, @justinnxt, @revdancatt, @jbenton, @mattmcalister, @tomtaylor, @rubinafillion, @mrjohncrowley and @newspaperclub

David Sirota / PandoDaily:

Glenn Greenwald faces attacks from critics because he's an “affront to the news cartel” — The journalist who hacked the old system — With Edward Snowden becoming a leading candidate for Time magazine's Person of the Year, it is important to remember that he is the central character …

Discussion: @exiledsurfer, @davidsirota, @digiphile, @trevortimm, @bill_owen, @barryeisler and @johncusack

Capital New York:

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.

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

House Republican Leaders Announce Effort to Reform Communications Law — Signal it will be lengthy process with hearings, papers and public comment — House Republicans Tuesday said they were launching an effort to rewrite communications law that has been outstripped by technology and innovation.

Discussion: Deadline.com, CNET and TheHill

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: @chrismurphys, @sarahlyall and mUmBRELLA

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

As New York Mag Cuts Issues, The Week Decides to Add a Few — One day after New York magazine said it would reduce its print frequency to every other week, The Week said it plans to increase the number of issues it publishes to 51 next year from 48. — New York's decision was informed …

Discussion: Folio

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Chartbeat Looks Beyond Clicks With Redesigned Publisher Analytics — It's not unusual to hear complaints about websites that are too focused on maximizing clicks - but it's a little surprising to hear those words coming from Tony Haile, CEO of real-time analytics startup Chartbeat.

Discussion: @niemanlab, The Next Web and @tomventimiglia

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

Epic Fail: The Rise and Fall of Demand Media — The future of the so-called “content farm” looks bleak as its search-centric biz crumbles — Take note, Twitter: Not every tech company has a happy ending after a ballyhooed IPO. — Just look at Demand Media, the Santa Monica …

Dan Kennedy / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The New Haven Independent seeks to expand its hyperlocal mission to low-power radio — The New Haven Independent, which launched eight years ago amid the first wave of online-only community news sites, may soon expand into radio. — The nonprofit Independent is one of three groups asking …

Geoffrey King / Mediashift:

Journalist Faced Prison for Posting Media Relations Number — Carlos Miller is not one to back down. As the founder and publisher of Photography is Not a Crime, a leading blog about free speech and press rights in the U.S., Miller has made it his mission to publicize examples of government overreach …

Thanks:@pbsidealab