Mediagazer: ESPN's behind-the-scenes tech wizardry at Candlestick Park (Jon Swartz/USA Today)

7:00 AM ET, January 4, 2014

Top News:

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: Daily Dot and @simonowens

Felix Salmon / Reuters:

Netflix's dumbed-down algorithms — Alexis Madrigal has a rollicking investigation into Netflix's movie genres — all 76,897 of them, from category #1 (African-American Crime Documentaries) to category #91,307 (Visually Striking Latin American Comedies). His story is titled …

Discussion: Marketing Pilgrim, Mother Jones, The FJP, @caseynewton, @reuters, @bendwilliams and @obsoletedogma

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, Variety, Reuters, Bloomberg and Reuters

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: 9to5Mac, BetaNews, AppleInsider, The Verge, The Wrap, Gizmodo, Engadget and Financial Times

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 …

Jeremy Barr / Poynter:

Photographer says Spokesman-Review's drone-shot video occurred in a ‘gray area’ — While the journalism community is buzzing about drones' potential to help report hard-to-reach stories, the Federal Aviation Administration still largely bans the use of unmanned aircraft systems for commercial purposes, journalism included.

Katie Roof / Fox Business:

Business Insider Turned Down $100M-Plus Buyout Offer: Source — BusinessInsider.com, an edgy financial and technology news website, may not technically be shopping itself, but that hasn't stopped potential suitors from calling, including one that recently offered more than $100 million …

Discussion: @katie_roof, @katie_roof, @evanasmith, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @ckrewson, @pablor0bles, @stefanjbecket and @cgasparino

Noelene Clark / Hero Complex:

‘Star Wars’ comics leaving Dark Horse, returning to Marvel in 2015 — “Star Wars” No. 12 by Brian Wood. (Hugh Fleming / Dark Horse Comics) — Marvel will publish new “Star Wars” comic books beginning in 2015, the company announced Friday. — The agreement between Lucasfilm and Marvel …

Discussion: Marvel.com, The Wrap and CNET

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: @ncaplanbricker and @motherjones

Peg Brickley / Wall Street Journal:

Inquirer's Owners Push Newspaper to Auction Block — Philadelphia Inquirer's Owners in Impasse Over Management — PHILADELPHIA—The Philadelphia Inquirer is being pushed back to the auction block by owners at odds over management of the newspaper operation and how to break the impasse at the top of the company.

Discussion: NewsWorks

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Discovery CEO Stands to Make $110 Million in 2014 Compensation — Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA) Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav stands to make more than $110 million in compensation in 2014, the first year of a new contract that keeps him at the cable-network giant through 2019.