Mediagazer: Why Verizon is buying Intel Media: it's all about taking on Comcast (Janko Roettgers/Gigaom)

10:10 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: Poynter, ThinkProgress, Deadspin, Guardian, The Huffington Post, @transmediawatch, @jaketapper, @monteiro, @charsbooks, @riceid, @jayrosen_nyu, @parkermolloy, @jeffsharlet, @aemccarthy, @thetomasrios, @amandahess, @emilynussbaum, @jason_pontin, @jsnell, @petersterne, @joshsternberg, @melissagira, @rocza, @glennf, @add, @canice, @sarahljaffe, @petersterne, @docfreeride, @rgay, @paulcarr, @jeffjohnroberts, @albertatrebla, @lukefritz64, The Big Lead, @dandrezner, @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: Aoifeschatology, Feministing and Kirk LaPointe's …

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, Forbes, Home Media Magazine, AdAge and Re/code

Aaron Souppouris / The Verge:

Verizon agrees to buy Intel's failed internet TV project — After publicly announcing and failing to follow through with a big plan to launch a set-top box, Intel is selling the project to Verizon. The telecoms company will purchase assets of Intel Media, a division set up to develop “over the top” TV services.

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

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, @bydanielvictor, @makautry, @jayrosen_nyu, @dylanmatt, @ar_shah, @journochat, @brianabelson, @knightlab and @jackseale

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Carlos Slim Still Reaping Big Rewards From NY Times Loan — Billionaire Carlos Slim is poised to double his money after investing $250 million in a 2009 lending agreement with the New York Times, showing how dearly the newspaper's owners paid for his help. — Slim, who controls mobile …

Discussion: @edmundlee

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

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

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

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Ezra Klein leaves Washington Post to launch new venture, takes staff with him — Ezra Klein out at Washington Post — The Washington Post announced Tuesday that its star economics blogger Ezra Klein will be leaving the paper to start a new venture. — The move comes after weeks …

Discussion: Poynter, @anupkaphle, @wonkblog, @elisefoley and @dylanbyers

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.