Mediagazer: Algorithms Could Help Predict a Book's Success (Victoria Turk/Motherboard)

10:40 PM ET, January 9, 2014

Top News:

Co-Chief Eric Eldon Leaving TechCrunch — One half of the duo operating Silicon Valley's industry blog of record is making his exit. After a little over two years at the helm alongside Alexia Tsotsis, TechCrunch co-editor Eric Eldon will soon depart the site. He planned to make the news official next week.

Discussion: @pickavet, @jguynn, @caseynewton, Talking Biz News, @eldon, @jguynn, @mikeisaac, @megan and @tolles

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Matthew Panzarino replacing Eric Eldon as TechCrunch co-editor, Leena Rao becomes managing editor — And Now For Something Completely Different, Leadership Changes — As you may have read, our beloved co-editor Eric Eldon is moving on to do other things.

Discussion: @scottbeale, @kluo, @anthonyha and @adamnash

Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
It's Never Too Early To Say Goodbye

Discussion: @gaberivera, @johnolilly, @jasonkincaid and @eldon

Erik Wemple:

New Jersey's Record used persistent reporting, records requests and leaks for Christie story — The Record nails Christie story — Martin Gottlieb, editor of the (Bergen, N.J.) Record, has a lot of great things to say about his employer. Though his newsroom has had to deal with a bit …

Luke O'Neil / Mediaite:

Fire All the Headline Writers: A Bridge Too Far over Troubled Waters to Nowhere — Yesterday a series of uncovered emails from his staff implicated New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in a politically-motivated act of retribution. The emails, first reported by the Bergen Record …

Discussion: The New York Observer, Latest News & Headlines, Forbes, The Fiscal Times, NorthJersey.com, Democracy in America and Broadcasting & Cable

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Dow Jones cites the hot news doctrine in new lawsuit — Dow Jones is suing Ransquawk, a London-based news service that delivers real-time updates on financial markets. In the suit, Dow Jones accuses Ransquawk of illegally accessing one of the company's financial news and analysis products.

Discussion: @mathewi, @niemanlab and Talking New Media

Jason Conti / Dow Jones:

Dow Jones' Jason Conti explains why it sued Ransquawk claiming “hot news” doctrine — Jason Conti on Protecting Our Journalists' Work — We devote a lot of time, energy and money to having the best newsroom in the world. We produce scoops, uncover wrongdoing and aim to keep …

Discussion: Gigaom, @jeffjohnroberts, @raju and Talking Biz News

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

More excerpts from Ailes bio: Fox News battles with Murdoch sons, Peter Chernin and more — The Civil Wars of Roger Ailes — Roger Ailes sometimes refers to Rupert Murdoch's media empire as a pirate ship. Since launching Fox News in 1996, Ailes's legendary temper and gyrating moods made him stand out …

Discussion: Politico, TVNewser, Variety, @peterjukes, @buzzfeedandrew, @neilchenoweth, Erik Wemple and Talking Biz News

Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:
Roger Ailes Fights Back: CNN ‘Out of News Business’; Megyn Kelly Critics ‘Jealous’; Dismisses New Book (Q&A)

Discussion: USA Today, Capital New York, TVNewser, Gawker and New York Magazine

Rob Suls / Pew Research Center:

Who is this man? Many Americans don't recognize top news anchor — Can you identify today's top news anchors? For many Americans, matching names with news faces is tougher than it was roughly 30 years ago. FT_anchor-recognitionIn an online survey about Americans' knowledge …

Discussion: TVNewser, Mediaite, WebProNews, @jbenton, Poynter, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, @pewjournalism and @alansmurray

Ravi Somaiyajan / New York Times:

Jason Calacanis's mobile news startup Inside.com has hired former The Wire editor Gabriel Snyder, launches Jan. 23 — Gabriel Snyder, Former Editor of The Wire, Joins Mobile News Start-Up — Gabriel Snyder, the former editor in chief of The Wire, a website owned by Atlantic Media …

Discussion: @gabrielsnyder, @jason and @jason

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

FTC Tries to Put Brakes On Deceptive Auto Ads — Takes action against 10 dealerships; says media outlets need to read fine print, too — The Federal Trade Commission Thursday announced settlements with nine new car dealerships and ongoing litigation with a tenth over deceptive advertisements …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, AdAge and PR Newswire

Victoria Turk / Motherboard:

Algorithms Could Help Predict a Book's Success — Over the past five years we've seen a lot of developments in the way we consume literature (yes, a time before Kindles and iBooks is really that recent), and it's got publishing houses very worried. But technology hasn't yet usurped the role …

Discussion: Telegraph and @evgenymorozov

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Associated Press ‘Beefing Up’ Newsroom Amid Understaffing Concerns — NEW YORK — Brian Carovillano, the Associated Press' incoming managing editor for U.S. news, notified employees Thursday about several recent hires and more than a dozen open positions nationwide, a move that comes amid concerns …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Fullscreen to Purge Unlicensed Music Videos from YouTube Under Legal Settlement — Multichannel network will compensate music publishers under deal with industry org — Fullscreen, one of the top YouTube multichannel network companies, reached a deal with the National Music Publishers' Assn …

Discussion: The Wrap

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

Barnes & Noble Reports Steep Drop in Holiday Sales — Barnes & Noble, the nation's last remaining major bookstore chain, experienced steep sales declines in its digital division during the nine-week holiday period, the company announced on Thursday. — Revenue in the Nook division …

Discussion: CNET, Business Wire, The Verge, VentureBeat, MarketWatch, Reuters, Gigaom and @jeffjohnroberts

William Wan / Washington Post:

China renews Western journalists' visas after months-long standoff — BEIJING — Several Western journalists who faced expulsion from China were issued renewed visas by the Chinese government Thursday, ending a months-long standoff with the government. — But China is still on track …

Discussion: @jwassers, FishbowlNY, @edmundlee and @comradewong

Gail B. MacDonald / Poynter:

College papers dropping arrestee names from crime blotters — Those arrested on the University of Connecticut campus this academic year may not feel lucky, but actually they are catching a break. Their arrests are being published in the student-run campus daily newspaper as has been typical for decades …

Al Jazeera English:

Al Jazeera Cairo team's detention extended — Network condemns Egypt's delay in release of its journalists as three of them are remanded to 15 more days in custody. — Three Al Jazeera journalists who have now been detained without charge for 12 days in Egypt have been remanded to 15 more days in custody …

Discussion: Associated Press

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix's Monopoly - Hulu, Amazon, & More Studios Still Won't Let It Happen — Netflix is the big cheese of subscription VOD. There's no argument that Reed Hastings and company have built a huge lead in the sector, with more than 40 million global subscribers.

Discussion: Forbes

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks ‘protected from media’ after Dowler phone-hacking revelation — News International former security director tells Old Bailey that plan was also to help her deal with ‘police concern’ — News International put a plan into action to protect Rebekah Brooks from the media and help her deal with …