Mediagazer: In an effort to combat piracy, China's Sohu.com launches US shows, starting with SNL (Clifford Coonan/Hollywood Reporter)

1:25 PM ET, January 2, 2014

Top News:

NYT editorial board calls for clemency or a plea bargain for Snowden — Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower — Seven months ago, the world began to learn the vast scope of the National Security Agency's reach into the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe …

Guardian:

Snowden affair: the case for a pardon — Snowden gave classified information to journalists, even though he knew the likely consequences. That was an act of courage — In an interview with the Washington Post just before Christmas, Edward Snowden declared his mission accomplished.

Discussion: Latest News & Headlines, @doughill25, @timkarr, @maryagneskrell, @alexqgb and The Week

Re/code:

Happy Re/new Year! — We are thrilled to announce that we are forming our own new and independent media company, Revere Digital, with a pair of respected investors and partners — the NBCUniversal News Group and Terry Semel's Windsor Media. Revere will be operating news sites and apps, as well as a series of conferences.

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, The Wrap, Fast Company, WordPress.com VIP, WebProNews, @kvox, @dannysullivan, @waltmossberg, @mat, @karaswisher, @kenli729, @kabster728, @jtemple, @ranimolla, The Next Web, @startupljackson and @laurengoode

Dan Primack / Fortune:

NBC and Terry Semel back new Swisher/Mossberg site — All Things D founders Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg launch Re/code with new investors. — FORTUNE — “Who are the investors?” — It's a question I've heard nonstop since we first reported back in August that Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg …

Discussion: CNNMoney.com, TVNewser, The Verge, @sdkstl, @vivianschiller, Variety and Talking Biz News

Julia Boorstin / CNBC:
Swisher and Mossberg launch ‘Re/code’; NBC & Windsor Media are minority investors

Discussion: New York Times, Capital New York, NBC Universal, Hollywood Reporter, @mikeisaac, @alexweprin, @karaswisher, @mikeisaac, NBCNews, Mashable, Deadline.com, USA Today, @kenli729, @waltmossberg, Bloomberg, PRNewser, Talking Biz News and Poynter

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

New York Times to Unveil Redesigned Website Next Week — The New York Times said Thursday that it would launch its redesigned website on Jan. 8. — The new platform, which will allow for better integration of video and photography with text, among other features, had been previously announced.

Discussion: Poynter, Capital New York, investors.nytco.com, @sunny_hundal, @joshsternberg and @juddlegum

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

No books for you: U.S. starves public domain for another year — A new year means a new batch of copyrights expire, and works like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Bell Jar become as free to use as Charles Dickens or Shakespeare. Unless you happen to live in the United States, that is.

Discussion: The Verge

Cory Doctorow / Boing Boing:
Public Domain Day 2014: bad times ahead, urgent action needed

Discussion: Everybody's Libraries, @rgibli, @codinghorror, Techdirt and Scientific American …

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Bloomberg's Susan Goldberg Leaving For National Geographic — Bloomberg News executive editor Susan Goldberg told staff Thursday in an email that she is leaving the company to become executive editor at National Geographic. — Goldberg had previously overseen coverage of federal, state and local government out of Washington.

Discussion: FishbowlNY and Capital New York

Michael Meyer / Columbia Journalism Review:

Evgeny vs. the internet — Evgeny Morozov wants to convince us that digital technology can't save the world, and he's willing to burn every bridge from Cambridge to Silicon Valley to do it — Depending on whom you ask, Evgeny Morozov is either the most astute, feared, loathed …

Discussion: @antderosa, @jbenton, @emilybell, @gilbert_makore, @quods and @gabriel_anaya

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

Hearst's Swartz Eyes B2B Media, Entertainment, for Growth — Hearst Corp. had record revenue and profits in 2013, when it marked the fourth year in a row of growth on both fronts since the 2008 recession, Steven Swartz said in a New Year's letter to employees recapping the year he took over as chief executive.

Discussion: @lmoses

Anupreeta Das / Wall Street Journal:

At Newspapers, Berkshire Rewrites Its Investing Script … Shortly after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper in 2012, things began to change. — Eight-year-old newsroom computers were replaced. A malfunctioning sound system …

Discussion: @preetatweets, @robcurley, @jayrosen_nyu and @raju

Agence France-Presse:

Saudi sentenced to jail, lashes over Twitter libel — A Saudi court has sentenced a man convicted of defaming a Kuwaiti singer by accusing her on Twitter of adultery to three months in jail and 80 lashes, a news website reported Thursday. — The Saudi national, apparently a fan of a rival pop star …

Discussion: Arab News and Middle East and North Africa

Nanjala Nyabola / Al Jazeera English:

Why do Western media get Africa wrong? — There are fundamental differences in how Western and African media cover African events. — Yesterday I witnessed yet another twitter storm erupt over Western coverage of an African situation. A Guardian correspondent offered an analysis …

Discussion: @africasacountry

Clifford Coonan / Hollywood Reporter:

In an effort to combat piracy, China's Sohu.com launches US shows, starting with SNL — ‘Saturday Night Live’ Launches on Chinese Video Site Sohu — The company's chief executive Charles Zhang believes recent court victories against copyright violators is kickstarting a major import boom of Hollywood TV shows and movies.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, The Wrap, Variety and AceShowBiz.com