Top News:
David Carr / New York Times:
When ‘60 Minutes’ Checks Its Journalistic Skepticism at the Door — Last week, a study commissioned by the president concluded that the National Security Agency had reached too far into the private lives of Americans. The study, which came after a series of journalistic revelations exposing …
Discussion:
Mediaite, TVNewser, Techdirt, The Corsair, @dangillmor, Talking Points Memo, @hugh_w_forrest, @davidsirota, @zpower, @dandrezner, @noahshachtman, @greenhousenyt, @tmcgev, @thomas_drake1, @mattblaze, @jayrosen_nyu, @johnmcquaid, @robertgreenwald, @add, @mattapuzzo, @spencerante, @jswatz, @davidfolkenflik, @abrams, @carr2n, @antderosa, @agolis, @buzzfeedben, @brianstelter, @mlcalderone, Capital New York, @jimdwyernyt, @gregorydjohnsen, @jackshafer, @laura_nelson, @jeffjarvis, @carr2n, @mikiebarb, @ggreenwald and @ericboehlert
Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:
Plan for Tribune Spinoff Raises Concerns for Future of Newspaper Operations — A plan by the Tribune Company to separate eight newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, from its more profitable digital and television businesses could threaten their survival …
Discussion:
Poynter, @carr2n, @peterlattman, @ravisomaiya and @postbaron
Lucia Moses / Adweek:
How Native Advertising Will Change in 2014 — Native advertising was all the rage this past year, as online publishers and marketers grappled for new (or repackaged) ways to get the attention of ad-weary consumers. Brands and publishers created entire divisions to produce the ads …
Discussion:
@adweek and Kirk LaPointe's …
Corey Pein:
More Questions For Reuters About The Death Of Molhem Barakat, Teenage War Photographer — Reuters, a big-leagues news service owned by a $13 billion multinational corporation, is ducking critical questions about the death of a teenage war photographer who'd been selling pictures to the agency.
Discussion:
@omarsyria, @coreypein, The Huffington Post, @duckrabbitblog, @bagnewsnotes, @daliaezzat_, @eldahshan, @nmuaddi and @jilliancyork
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Alex Sherman / Bloomberg:
Time Warner Cable Has Shareholder Backing as Takeover Bid Looms — Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) is loathed by many consumers and loved by many investors. It's shareholders who may give incoming Chief Executive Officer Rob Marcus the will to reject a $62 billion offer for the company.
Discussion:
@laurenweinstein
Felix Salmon / Nieman Journalism Lab:
The veracity of viral — 2014 is going to be the year of a big debate about what news is — and especially about whether and how news organizations can ethically report on activity in the virtual world. — The first time I saw this debate take place in public was in October …
Discussion:
@abrams, @rakeshlobster and @jeffjarvis
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
TV Broadcasters Fire Back at Aereo's Supreme Court Claims — “Make no mistake about it,” broadcasters tell the high court. “Aereo is not a hardware supplier. It offers a subscription service.” — Both sides in the debate over Aereo's legality hope that the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to a review.
Discussion:
MediaPost and Neon Tommy
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Hulu must face privacy lawsuit, U.S. judge rules — (Reuters) - Hulu has failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the video streaming service of illegally sharing users' viewing history with Facebook Inc and business metrics company comScore Inc.
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
Why the New York Times witheld the Robert Levinson story for six years — A Missing Spy and the Right to Know — NEW YORK TIMES readers expect, reasonably enough, that their newspaper will publish what it digs up in the way of news, especially news about the clandestine activities of the federal government.
Discussion:
@abumuqawama, @mlcalderone, @petersterne, @dancow and @moorehn
Nick Turner / Bloomberg:
Meredith to Buy TV Stations From Gannett for $407.5 Million — Meredith Corp. (MDP), the media company that publishes Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle, agreed to buy television stations from Gannett Co. (GCI) for $407.5 million, extending its push into broadcasting.
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Tribune To Acquire Sony Audio Recognition Unit Gracenote For $170 Million — Global consumer electronics conglomerate Sony is getting a tiny bit leaner with the sale of Gracenote, a business unit that provides audio recognition and metadata solutions to a number of device manufacturers and media companies.
Discussion:
Gigaom, AllThingsD, Variety, PR Newswire, @gracenotetweets, The Next Web and Digital Journal
Claire Atkinson / New York Post:
DC staff irked as NBC News eyes cuts — NBC News boss Deborah Turness is spending the last few days of the year eyeing cuts — moves that could include axing some senior on-air talent, The Post has learned. Turness, brought on in August to shake up the moribund news division — where …
Discussion:
FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, @mlcalderone, @jonahnro, FishbowlNY and Inside Cable News