Mediagazer: Chromecast in 2014: an open SDK, big international plans and maybe even new devices (Janko Roettgers/Gigaom)

8:10 AM ET, December 16, 2013

Top News:

AOL's Tim Armstrong reluctantly lets go of Patch as shareholder pressures mount — AOL Chief's White Whale Finally Slips His Grasp — Tim Armstrong, the chief executive of AOL, is finally winding down Patch, a network of local news sites that he helped invent and that AOL bought after he took over.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @carr2n, @michaelroston, @jpodhoretz, @antderosa, @jeffjarvis, @joepompeo, @thefix, @jenconnic, @kbeninato, @rakeshlobster, @niketa, @lyramckee, @raju, @shacker, @nycjim, @daveambrose, @romenesko and @geostanley

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:

Update: AOL Says Its Hyperlocal New Network Patch Is Not Closing — Update: AOL says a report that Patch is winding down is “factually inaccurate.” We've asked the company for more information. A New York Times article stated that AOL is reportedly planning to dismantle Patch or sell …

Discussion: SocialTimes and @tracewall

Elizabeth Jensen / New York Times:

NPR Gets $17 Million in Grants to Expand Coverage and Develop Digital Platform — NPR has amassed nearly $17 million in grants to increase substantially its coverage of education and global health and development, and finance creation of a new mobile and web platform that is expected to allow …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @ibarguen, AllAccess.com, @slcarothers, @nprmonkeysee, @nprglobalhealth, @nycjim, @romenesko, @j_schiff and @ceciliamarie

Jacob Fischler / BuzzFeed:

AP Reporter: Keeping The Levinson Story A Secret Was The “Hardest Thing I've Done” — The government asked several journalists to stay quiet — even as other media outlets — and occasionally their own — told a story they and others knew to be false or incomplete. — Handout / Reuters

Discussion: The Huffington Post, @adamgoldmanwp, @passantino, @buzzfeedben, @poynter, Gawker, @ggreenwald, Boing Boing and TIME

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
New York Times Withheld News Of Missing American's CIA Ties For Six Years

Discussion: New York Times, ABC News, The Verge, Capital New York and The Nation

Dasha Afanasieva / Reuters:

Syrian opposition vows to help prevent journalists being kidnapped — (Reuters) - Syrian rebel leaders said they would do all they could to protect journalists but were hampered by infighting, after international news organizations complained kidnappings were preventing full media coverage of the civil war.

Discussion: @joshuahersh

RT:
Reporters Without Borders calls for attacks on journalists to be labeled war crimes

Discussion: GlobalPost and Associated Press

David Holmes / PandoDaily:

From Google Glass to Snowfalling: What will journalism look like in 2014? — If you want to peer into the future of journalism, do yourself a favor and look to Jay Rosen's Studio 20 journalism program at NYU. Sure, I may be biased: I graduated from the program in 2011.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

‘60 Minutes’ reporter didn't want NSA story to be ‘a puff piece’ — In an interview with “60 Minutes Overtime” producer Ann Silvio, John Miller talks about his intentions with “60 Minutes"' two-part NSA story, which ran Sunday. Miller said the disclosure that he used to work in the Office …

Discussion: CBS News, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, Softpedia News, @mat, @jayrosen_nyu, @matthewkeyslive, The Verge, @poynter, @noahshachtman, @markgurman, @mat and The Huffington Post

Charlie White:

Secrets revealed: How we won CES with Avatar Journalism — With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2014) coming up in a few weeks, you might be wondering how all that information gets to you. It's traditionally done with a tremendous amount of effort, personnel, equipment and money.

Discussion: @ksablan, @panzer and @dangillmor

Denise Lu / Mediashift:

Freedom of the Press Foundation Steps Up Encryption Efforts for Journalists — With the NSA constantly popping up in headlines this year, it's important to look into how to protect journalists who need to communicate with confidential sources. The Freedom of the Press Foundation aims …

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

Chromecast in 2014: an open SDK, big international plans and maybe even new devices — Google landed a bit of a coup with Chromecast this year, launching a device that no one saw coming but that has proven to be very popular. Next year, the company plans to take Chromecast even further …

Discussion: Engadget, Softpedia News and Electronista

Alexander Howard / Tow Center for Digital Journalism:

Data journalism MOOCs offer new options for distributed learning — One of the most common questions I've heard since I began investigating data-driven journalism has been “where can I go to learn more?” Every day, those options are expanding. Starting in early 2014, for instance …

Discussion: @rosental and @digiphile

Karen Fratti / 10,000 Words:

New Web Pub Focuses on ‘American Renewal’ and Compelling Readers to Act — If you're looking for something other than cute animals or faux civil rights controverseries to inspire you on the internet, it's arrived. It's called NationSwell, a new media company that focuses on good things.