Mediagazer: Let It Full-Bleed — On the importance of images and layout in writing. (MG Siegler/Medium)

7:10 AM ET, December 9, 2013

Top News:

Where Freedom of the Press Is Muffled — In China on Thursday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke plainly about the role of a free press in a democratic society. — “Innovation thrives where people breathe freely, speak freely, are able to challenge orthodoxy, where newspapers …

Discussion: New York Times, @arusbridger, @carr2n and @raju

Robert Mahoney / Committee to Protect Journalists:
A chill over British press

Discussion: The New Yorker Blog and TechCrunch

Peter Lauria / BuzzFeed:

How To Use The Media To Sell A Company — “Time Warner Cable's Next CEO Ready to Sell If Price Is Right,” blares the headline of a Bloomberg story published Friday morning. The headline isn't as informative it sounds, however: a basic operating principle of mergers and acquisitions reporting …

Discussion: @peterlauria3 and @jimpoco

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

Afraid of Free Speech, on Many Fronts: PEN, Google, China, Goliath — Free societies depend on free-swinging critiques, even those that are “unbalanced” or “go too far.” — On Wednesday afternoon, as previewed earlier, I got to serve as moderator for a panel of four very eminent writers …

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

The not-so-quaint charm of the email newsletter — In spite of today's obsession with social networks, the email newsletter remains a potent vector for the dissemination of news and for driving traffic back to websites. It comes with one condition, though: reintroducing a human touch.

Discussion: @qz

Richard Parker / Columbia Journalism Review:

At Jake Silverstein's “amped up” Texas Monthly, water policy, immigration, and BBQ are all cover stories — At Jake Silverstein's “amped up” Texas Monthly, water policy, immigration, and BBQ are all cover stories — AUSTIN, TX — From his posh office on the 17th floor, Jake Silverstein …

Dan Caterinicchia / Poynter:

College websites seeing mobile migration, but not all are ready — Website traffic at the University of Oregon's Daily Emerald was less than 1 percent mobile in 2010. This year, it's 39 percent and growing. And while visits on desktops have more than doubled to 951,000 since 2010 …

Discussion: @doughaddix and @elanazak

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Politico, Hill Reporters Get Rare Access For Hillary Clinton Book — NEW YORK — When CNN recently canceled a Hillary Clinton documentary, Charles Ferguson, the film's director, lashed out at the former secretary of state's aides. — Ferguson suggested that longtime Clinton protector Philippe Reines …

Caitlin Dewey / WorldViews:

Of the 7,776 languages in use in the offline world, fewer than five percent exist online — How the Internet is killing the world's languages — Less than five percent of current world languages are in use online, according to a recent study by prominent linguist András Kornai …

Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:

Brian Stelter Officially Debuts as CNN's ‘Reliable Sources’ Host — The hour included a brief segment looking at the conflict of interest of CNN's Chris Cuomo interviewing his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. — Brian Stelter — Though he's appeared as a guest host since August …

Discussion: TVNewser, @brianstelter, @wolfblitzer and Inside TV

MG Siegler / Medium:

Let It Full-Bleed — On the importance of images and layout in writing. — Load up your favorite tech blog. Or almost any blog, really. There's a good chance it looks like s**t. There's a better chance that the reading experience is even worse. And we put up with it, day in and day out.

Discussion: @parislemon, @jess and ParisLemon

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

Jessica Lessin talks about paywalls, The Information and the virtues of knowing who your audience is — Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin got some attention when she left the newspaper six months ago to start a new online news venture, and this week she launched the project …

Discussion: @theinformation, @jessicalessin, @garrettgoodman, StartupBook, @gabestein and @jayrosen_nyu

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Profile: Time editor Nancy Gibbs, an insider navigating declining revenue at an iconic brand — Her ‘Time’ — On a Thursday afternoon in October, Nancy Gibbs, who shattered a glass ceiling the previous month when she became the first woman to reach the top of Time's masthead …

Discussion: @tmcgev and @cschweitz, Thanks:@steverubel