Mediagazer: Saudi Arabia using arrests and beatings ‘to scare online critics’ (Matthew Weaver/Guardian)

7:05 AM ET, December 19, 2013

Top News:

Hackers break into Washington Post servers — Hackers broke into The Washington Post's servers and gained access to employee user names and passwords, marking at least the third intrusion over the past three years, company officials said Wednesday. — The extent of the loss of company data …

Discussion: @digiphile, darkREADING, The Verge, The Wrap, New York Magazine, Mashable, CNET, TIME and Yahoo! News

Alexandra Steigrad / WWD:

John Koblin Named Styles Reporter at Times — John Koblin has been named The New York Times' new styles reporter, a position previously held by Eric Wilson, who left the paper to become InStyle Magazine's fashion news director, WWD has learned. — Koblin, a reporter for sports blog Deadspin …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, @kurtsoller, @felixgillette, The New York Observer, FishbowlNY, @max_read, @richarddeitsch, @bennettmadison and @joepompeo

Michael Rondon / Folio:

Magazine Closures Continue to Fall In 2013 — Launches outnumber closures 3 to 1. — The magazine market stabilized in 2013 as launches outnumbered closures by more than 3 to 1, according to a year-end report by MediaFinder. — With 185 new magazines in 2013, there were 18-percent fewer launches …

Discussion: BtoB Magazine and Canadian Magazines

Jay Yarow / Business Insider:

The New AllThingsD Has Hired Ken Li As Managing Editor — And now, for a little inside baseball... Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg have hired Kenneth Li, formerly of Reuters, to be managing editor at their new tech focused website. — Swisher and Mossberg are moving on from Dow Jones …

Discussion: Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day, @edmundlee, FishbowlNY, Talking Biz News, @ashleyshuston, @mccarthyryanj, @edgecliffe, @antderosa and @fmanjoo

Matthew Weaver / Guardian:

Saudi Arabia using arrests and beatings ‘to scare online critics’ — Human Rights Watch report says government targets internet commentators and journalists to try and crush talk of reforms — Saudi Arabia is trying to silence calls for reform and criticism of its rulers by a campaign …

Discussion: BBC

John Eggerton / Multichannel.com:

FCC unanimously supports plan to eliminate sports blackout rules — FCC Approves NPRM On Sports Blackout Rule — Leagues Can Still Make Them Part of Negotiated Agreements — The FCC has voted unanimously to support a proposal to eliminate the sports blackout rules.

Discussion: @ajitpaifcc, @ajitpaifcc, Variety, All, NBC News Business, Bolt Beat, SBNation.com, CBS Miami, Bloomberg, Radio & Television … and TheHill

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Forbes names Avik Roy opinion editor — Forbes has tapped Avik Roy, the author of its online healthcare blog, to serve as Opinion Editor for the magazine. — The appointment, which Forbes is expected to announce later today, comes ahead of an expansion of the magazine's contributors …

Discussion: Talking Biz News and Forbes

Natalie Thomas / Reuters:

Beginning next year, Chinese reporters must pass ideology exam to retain press credentials — Testing time for Chinese media as party tightens control — (Reuters) - Early next year, Chinese journalists will have to pass a new ideology exam to keep their press cards …

Discussion: Guardian

Hollywood Reporter:

Jeff Zucker has approached Jay Leno about new show on CNN, say sources — Jay Leno in Demand: CNN's Jeff Zucker Among Suitors — How in demand is Jay Leno? The most watched late-night host, who will be without a TV job in February when NBC transitions The Tonight Show to Jimmy Fallon, has been approached by some unlikely suitors.

Discussion: Capital New York, Gawker, Mediaite, TVNewser, Variety, FishbowlDC, New York Magazine and TheBlaze.com

Sandra Oshiro / Poynter:

Knight innovation award winner selects MuckRock for $25,000 grant — Wikimedia's Sue Gardner received the Knight Foundation's first innovation award Monday night and she paid it forward with a $25,000 grant to MuckRock, an open government platform that eases requests for public records.

Discussion: @freedomofpress, @coulterjones, @poynter, @konklone and @sachapfeiffer

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:

‘Hatching Twitter’ Book Optioned For TV Show Development By Lionsgate — New York Times' columnist Nick Bilton's book Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal, on the dramatic origins of Twitter, has been optioned by Lionsgate for production as a TV show.

Discussion: Variety, Gigaom, Poynter, Pocket-lint, WebProNews, AllThingsD and The Wrap

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

The Conservative Media Arms Race Coming To An Internet Near You — Last week, with two high-profile acquisitions, a conservative media company catapulted itself from successful but largely below-the-radar company to a player with a portfolio that could make it the next news empire on the right.

Discussion: FishbowlDC