Mediagazer: The BBC's Social Media Problem With Sherlock (Matt Asay/ReadWrite)

10:10 PM ET, January 4, 2014

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Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Guns & Ammo columnist fired for suggesting Second Amendment limits after gun manufacturers threaten to pull ads — Banished for Questioning the Gospel of Guns — BARRY, Ill. — The byline of Dick Metcalf, one of the country's pre-eminent gun journalists, has gone missing.

Discussion: Business Insider, @glennf, @mckaycoppins and @nycsouthpaw

George Lewis / Galapagos Digital:

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Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

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Steve Buttry / The Buttry Diary:

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Discussion: @dangillmor, @jayrosen_nyu, @palafo and @macloo

Maggie Mahar / healthinsurance.org:

Anatomy of an Obamacare ‘horror story’ — Texas daily went digging for victims of the ACA and Surprise! Reporter unearthed three Tea Partiers who hate the new law. — For months, health reform's opponents have been feasting on tales of Obamacare's innocent victims …

Discussion: @yelvington, @dankennedy_nu, @dangillmor and @robpegoraro

Matt Asay / ReadWrite:

The BBC's Social Media Problem With Sherlock — I'm not an information anarchist. I don't start from the premise that all information must be free. Or even that the availability of content necessitates it being open to all on equal terms. I collect a paycheck and believe others should …

Ed Christman / Billboard:

As streaming grows, digital music sales decreased in 2013, the first time since iTunes launch — Digital Music Sales Decrease For First Time in 2013 — For the first time since the iTunes store opened its doors, the U.S. music industry finished the year with a decrease in digital music sales.

Discussion: TechnoBuffalo, MacStories, Electronista, 9to5Mac, BetaNews, Engadget, AppleInsider, The Verge, The Wrap, Gizmodo and Financial Times

Rap Genius:

Rap Genius begins to recover its Google search ranking, details SEO strategies, apologizes — Rap Genius is Back on Google — It takes a few days for thiAnnotatengs to return to normal, but we're officially back! First of all, we owe a big thanks to Google for being fair and transparent …

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Jon Swartz / USA Today:

ESPN's behind-the-scenes tech wizardry at Candlestick Park — CANDLESTICK POINT, Calif. - It's three minutes before kickoff, and Chip Dean is frenetically orchestrating a phalanx of video, sound and graphics. — Like a composer leading a symphony, he conjured a national TV show that opened …

AJ Vicens / Mother Jones:

“We Rattled Too Many Cages:” An Eyewitness Account of Journalist Marie Colvin's Death in Syria — Syria is the deadliest place in the world for journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday, with 29 killed in the country in 2013—more than the next five countries combined.

Discussion: @motherjones and @ncaplanbricker

Matthew Lynch / Capital New York:

Neetzan Zimmerman to leave Gawker for social startup Whisper — Neetzan Zimmerman to leave Gawker — Gawker viral content mastermind Neetzan Zimmerman is leaving the company, according to editor John Cook who tweeted the news on Friday afternoon. — Reached by email …

Brian Fung / The Switch:

How Netflix film categories are like BuzzFeed headlines for movies — Netflix is notoriously good at chopping up the films and TV shows in its online library into micro-categories that cater to viewers' every niche interest. In a brilliant deep dive on the practice, Alexis Madrigal …

Discussion: Mashable and Daily Dot

Felix Salmon / Reuters:
Netflix's dumbed-down algorithms

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Brian Solomon / Forbes:

John Malone's Liberty Media Wants To Absorb Rest Of Sirius XM — Billionaire John Malone's Liberty Media announced late Friday a proposal to turn Sirius XM Radio into a wholly-owned subsidiary by creating a third class of Liberty shares. Liberty already owns a controlling stake in Sirius XM …

Discussion: DealBook, Radio & Television …, Reuters, Variety, Bloomberg and Reuters