Mediagazer: As Netflix Rises, More People Are Canceling HBO and Showtime (Todd Spangler/Variety)

9:25 AM ET, January 21, 2014

Top News:

Bill Simmons / Grantland:

Grantland editor apologizes for publishing “Dr. V's Magical Putter” — The Dr. V Story: A Letter From the Editor — How “Dr. V's Magical Putter” came to be published — “How could you guys run that?” — We started hearing that question on Friday afternoon, West Coast time …

Discussion: Deadspin, ThinkProgress, Guardian, The Huffington Post, @transmediawatch, @jaketapper, @monteiro, @charsbooks, @lukefritz64, @riceid, @jayrosen_nyu, @parkermolloy, @jeffsharlet, @aemccarthy, @thetomasrios, @amandahess, @emilynussbaum, @jason_pontin, @jsnell, @petersterne, @joshsternberg, @melissagira, @rocza, @glennf, @add, @canice, @sarahljaffe, @petersterne, @docfreeride, @dandrezner, @rgay, @paulcarr, @jeffjohnroberts, @albertatrebla, The Big Lead, @robinjp, @mzhemingway, @zeynep, @buzzfeedandrew, @wccubbison, @carr2n, @katzish, @jonlovett, @sophiaphotos, @anildash, @gabydunn, @romenesko, @erinmdurkin, @themarkberman, @tabathasouthey, @rachelsklar, @shani_o, @ohheygreat, @chrisgeidner, @chrisgeidner, @sdkstl, @edgeofsports, @stevesilberman, @andytobo, @theferocity, @petersterne, @craigsj, @mattdpearce and @waxpancake

Christina Kahrl / Grantland:

What Grantland Got Wrong — Understanding the serious errors in “Dr. V's Magical Putter” — When you're a writer, you want something you create to have a long life, to be something that readers will remember and revisit for years to come. If such was Caleb Hannan's wish, it's been granted …

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:
Grantland and Dr. V: What happens when niche journalism meets the network effect

Discussion: Feministing, Kirk LaPointe's … and Boing Boing

Ryan Graff / Knight Lab:

How an intern created the NYT's dialect quiz, the site's most-visited content in 2013 — Behind the dialect map interactive: How an intern created The New York Times' most popular piece of content in 2013 — " generates a personalized dialect map based upon user responses compared …

Discussion: Mediaite, @jayrosen_nyu, @dylanmatt, @ar_shah, @journochat, @brianabelson, @knightlab and @jackseale

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

Why Verizon is buying Intel Media: it's all about taking on Comcast — Verizon made it official on the day of its Q4 2013 earnings call: The company is indeed buying the assets of Intel Media, the Intel subsidiary that has been developing an internet TV service called OnCue.

Discussion: CNET, Home Media Magazine and Re/code

Aaron Souppouris / The Verge:
Verizon agrees to buy Intel's failed internet TV project

Discussion: Intel Newsroom, TechCrunch, Bright Side Of News* and The Next Web

Darren Boyle / Press Gazette:

Guardian set for £500m windfall after agreeing to sell stake in Trader Media Group — Guardian Media Group has agreed to sell its 50.1 per cent stake in the highly-profitable Trader Media Group, the company has announced. — No-one was available for comment this morning …

Discussion: Guardian

Michael Wolff / USA Today:

Can it be? A return to big and rich media? — A net neutrality ruling means more clout for those who control content distribution. — What if you could put the media business back to where it was a generation ago? — That was when a set of large companies controlled access to most content.

Discussion: @michaelwolffnyc, @paulxharris and @alansmurray

Todd Spangler / Variety:

As Netflix Rises, More People Are Canceling HBO and Showtime — U.S. households subscribing to premium cable channels dropped 6 percentage points over 18-month period, while Netflix and other SVOD services grew 4 points — Netflix may be putting a dent in premium cable subscriptions …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, BBC, @davidjmclare, @pmarca, Betabeat, Electronista, WebProNews, The Verge and Gigaom

Fred McConnell / Guardian:

Tony Gallagher exits as Daily Telegraph editor — Chris Evans, assistant editor (news), to take over Monday to Friday editions with immediate effect, publisher announces — Daily Telegraph editor Tony Gallagher is understood to have been fired after four years in charge of the UK's biggest selling quality paper.

Discussion: @mediaguardian, BuzzFeed, @sparky000, @steve_hawkes, @janemartinson, @lisaocarroll, @dansabbagh, @charlesarthur, @jimwaterson, @dansabbagh, @psmith, @chrisdeerin, @annemcelvoy, Guy Fawkes' blog, @raju and @flashboy

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Beats Will Shut Down MOG Music April 15; MOG Founder Joins Stealth Mobile Startup Chosen.fm — As Beats Music turns up the volume on its new streaming service (which is now live in the App Store), it is calling it a day on MOG, the streaming service its parent Beats Electronics acquired …

Discussion: Beats Music Support, Gigaom, USA Today, The Verge, Pocket-lint, Billboard, Engadget, Digital Journal, The Next Web, Geeky Gadgets, The Next Web and App Advice

Jessica Camille Aguirre / Columbia Journalism Review:

Der Spiegel scales back its English edition — The coverage has provided a non-US alternative for Wikileaks and NSA reporting — In late December, the German weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel published a story covering the latest slew of revelations about surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency.

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

Stealth marketing: Microsoft paying YouTubers for Xbox One mentions — Machinima campaign offered undisclosed money to videos promoting new console. — The line between traditional, paid advertising and organic editorial content on the Internet can sometimes be hazy.

Discussion: Consumerist, Wired.co.uk, SlashGear, Polygon, The Verge, VG247, Forbes, BGR and MetaFilter

Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:

Apple patents automatic ‘station tuning’ for broadcast and streaming audio, video content — Apple on Tuesday was awarded a patent for a system that analyzes on-board, broadcast or streamed audio and visual media content to create a custom tailored playlist that can switch between sources to deliver an optimal user experience.

Discussion: TechCrunch and @zseward

Alastair Reid / Journalism.co.uk:

Smartwatches and the digital future of news — From the Pebble and Samsung's Galaxy Gear to the oncoming influx of Android-based smartwatches, will the new devices change how news is produced and consumed? — Credit: By Janitors on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Discussion: Softpedia News and The Gadgeteer