Mediagazer: If a Story Is Viral, Truth May Be Taking a Beating (New York Times)

11:30 AM ET, December 10, 2013

Top News:

Marcella Bombardieri / The Boston Globe:

New York Times columnist David Carr to join Boston University faculty — Times columnist to join BU faculty — Boston University has landed star New York Times media columnist David Carr to fill a new endowed chair dedicated to exploring creative business models to support journalism in the digital era.

Discussion: Poynter, FishbowlNY, @jayrosen_nyu, @jbenton, @jenniferpreston, Capital New York, @melissaadan_, @jeffjarvis, @hblodget, @brianstelter, @cynthianeedham, @dankennedy_nu and @craigsilverman

New York Times:

If a Story Is Viral, Truth May Be Taking a Beating — Truth has never been an essential ingredient of viral content on the Internet. But in the stepped-up competition for readers, digital news sites are increasingly blurring the line between fact and fiction, and saying that it is all part …

Discussion: @allisonkilkenny, @nytonit, @rzgreenfield, @rga, @adriennelaf, @kevglobal, @flemingsean, @magicofpi, @anttiisokangas, @juliewestfall, @marcsettle, @saramorrison, @jswatz and @pkafka

Fox News:

New York's top court rules Fox reporter cannot be forced to reveal sources in Colorado — In a ruling likely to be hailed as an affirmation of laws protecting journalists, New York's top court ruled that FoxNews.com reporter Jana Winter cannot be forced to reveal to a Colorado court her sources …

Discussion: Poynter, FishbowlNY, Mediaite, The Desk, @alexweprin and The Huffington Post

Oliver Laughland / Guardian:

Murdoch is evil: the message hidden in a children's puzzle in one of his papers — Third line down says LIVESIHCODRUM (read it backwards) as puzzlemaster has a laugh at paymaster's expense — Harry the Dog's weekly kids' word search in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph tabloid

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, Mediaite, The Desk, Gawker, Agence France Presse, Business Insider, @davidfolkenflik, @ravisomaiya, mUmBRELLA and Junkee

J.K. Trotter / Gawker:

Fox News Paid Fired Executive $8 Million to Keep Quiet — Roger Ailes' secrets command a heavy price. Last week, the New York Times reported that Fox News had reached an out-of-court settlement with Brian Lewis, the former Roger Ailes aide who was abruptly fired in late July.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Los Angeles Times, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, Erik Wemple, @will_bunch, Variety, @gabrielsnyder, @stevesilberman, PRNewser, @dangillmor, @dylanbyers and The Huffington Post

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The OJR.org saga has a happy ending, with the domain headed back to USC Annenberg — OJR.org is going back to its original home. — A quick recap for those who haven't been following this tale of wayward domain names (one, two, three): The Online Journalism Review was, starting in the late 1990s …

Lyra McKee / The Muckraker:

Matter had over 10K paying readers but paywall wasn't right model, says co-founder — In 2012, tech journalists Bobbie Johnson and Jim Giles raised over $140,000 on crowdfunding site Kickstarter for their new publication, Matter. The idea was simple: a digital publishing house that produced in-depth …

Discussion: @petersterne, @niemanlab and @jayrosen_nyu

Guardian:

International bill of digital rights: call from 500 writers around the world — In a petition to the United Nations, a group of authors agree that democratic rights must apply in virtual as in real space — • State surveillance of personal data is theft, say world's leading authors

Discussion: BBC, The Huffington Post, The Week UK, presstv.ir, The Australian, Bookseller news, The Dawn News, The Irish Times, @poetryarchive and Guardian

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Swisher/Mossberg venture, “Revere Digital”, plans to announce another partner January 2 — NBCUniversal Buys Stake in AllThingsD, Which Is Set to Get New Name: Report — Tech-news venture founded by two former WSJ editors to be renamed ‘Revere Digital,’ according to Bloomberg report

Discussion: @fmanjoo, @qhardy and Deadline.com

Bloomberg:
AllThingsD Editors Are Said to Complete NBCUniversal Deal

Discussion: PandoDaily, Capital New York, @hriefs, Talking Biz News, bizjournals, Politico, Betabeat, @bloombergnews, @crayton_h, @markgurman and @jyarow

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

The persecution of Apple: is the ebook investigation out of control? — Fresh controversy over Apple's role in an alleged ebook conspiracy raises questions about the judge's handling of the case, and even led the Wall Street Journal to say she is a “disgrace” and call for her removal.

Discussion: Melville House Books

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Patch co-founder and AOL exec Jon Brod to leave company — Longtime AOL Exec Jon Brod Headed Out — AOL executive Jon Brod, who has had multiple roles in the company and was most recently in charge of its venture arm, is leaving AOL. — The news isn't a huge shock …

Discussion: Poynter, Business Insider and @vouchey

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Scripps Buys Newsy For $35M To Expand From TV And Newspapers To Digital Video — Another exit for a new media startup into the arms of the old media industry: E.W. Scripps, the storied owner of 19 local television stations and daily newspapers in 13 markets across the U.S. …

Discussion: The E.W. Scripps Company, Folio, Variety, Gigaom, @newsyvideos, @davidherzog, @stlarchangels, Lost Remote, StartupBook, MediaPost, @zachtoombs, @michaelroston, @laurenzima, NetNewsCheck Latest, Poynter, The Commercial Appeal, TVSpy and @wadefoster, Thanks:@steverubel

Darren Boyle / Press Gazette:

Linux Voice secures £90,000 crowdfunded launch target — The editorial team behind a new computer magazine are busily working on the first edition having secured £90,000 investment on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. — Linux Voice is being launched by the former editorial team …

Rachel Bartlett / Journalism.co.uk:

After first year online, Tech City News launches print magazine — Tech City News outlined print plans when it launched as a website at the start of the year, and has remained committed to that as it publishes new magazine — Credit: Image by Jinx! on Flickr. Some rights reserved

Discussion: Guardian and @beckygolland

Dave McNary / Variety:

Netflix Picks Up Mitt Romney Documentary — Streaming service will run ‘Mitt’ soon after Sundance preem — Ramping up its documentary business, Netflix has acquired theatrical and TV rights to the Mitt Romney documentary “Mitt” with plans to air it exclusively on Jan. 24.

Discussion: Post Politics, The Wrap, Deadline.com, The Verge, Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Jeffrey Rothfeder out as editor of International Business Times — Jeffrey Rothfeder, editor-in-chief of The International Business Times, is leaving leave the budding business news website next month, Capital has learned. — Sources familiar with the matter said Rothfeder will be out as of the end …

Discussion: Talking Biz News