Mediagazer: Russia's Only Independent News Channel Faces Closure Under Kremlin Pressure (Max Seddon/BuzzFeed)

5:35 AM ET, January 30, 2014

Top News:

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Breaking News From Twitter: There's Breaking News on Twitter — News today from Twitter: Twitter would like to provide more of your news. — That's the upshot of a press event in New York today, where Twitter, CNN and Dataminr, a Twitter-blessed data company, announced a new tool designed to help journalists find news on Twitter.

Discussion: @margafret and @edmundlee

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

CNN And Twitter Partner With Dataminr To Create News Tool For Journalists — CNN is hosting a press event today to announce a partnership with Twitter and social analytics company Dataminr to launch a new tool called Dataminr For News. — Dataminr CEO Ted Bailey said the goal is to …

Discussion: Dataminr, Poynter, @michaelsurtees, @digiphile, @jcstearns, The Verge, Engadget, Pocket-lint, Variety, @willoremus, @jweb and CNET

Nitasha Tiku / Valleywag:
Today's News, Brought to You By Tech Giants

Discussion: @nitashatiku

Vivian Schiller / Twitter blog:
A faster, easier way for newsrooms to find breaking news on Twitter

Discussion: Daily Dot, Mashable, Wired, @vivianschiller, @edmundlee, Kirk LaPointe's …, @ericaamerica, @cpen, @marksluckie, @joannauk, @sladurantaye and CNET

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:
Why CNN partnered with Twitter and Dataminr

Discussion: Capital New York and Gigaom

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Tech isn't just a talking point, it's the media's new context — Tech isn't just a talking point, it's the media's new context. — Via youtube.com — If you want to understand Ezra Klein's departure from the Washington Post to Vox Media, as well as the context of the larger conversation about …

Discussion: metamedia, @psmith, @tcarmody, @mat, @ezraklein, @mattzeitlin, @blakehounshell, @tldr, @yurivictor, @bethshanna and @jayrosen_nyu

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Why everyone is starting a news site: free-agent talent, cheap tech, maturing business models — The newsonomics of why everyone seems to be starting a news site — You'd think the new digital printing presses were minting money. — Just within the last month, all kinds of details …

Discussion: @om, @justinnxt, @niemanlab, Economist and Politico

David Carr / New York Times:

As I Was Saying About Web Journalism ... a Bubble, or a Lasting Business? — Last week, it occurred to me that the departure of Ezra Klein, the creator of The Washington Post's influential Wonkblog, to join the young company Vox Media was a bit of a moment — an inflection point in the emergence of a news economy online.

Discussion: @pximenez, @joshuatopolsky, @benhuh, @brandoncarte, @gregory, @justinnxt, @carltonpurvis, @digiphile, @viceukmedia, @suzykhimm, @dananorak, @dangillmor, @carr2n, @cappiwill, @jonathanwald, @peterlattman and @azi

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Major Expansion Ahead at The Washington Post — The Washington Post has significantly increased its budget and plans to make dozens of newsroom hires under its new owner, the Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, the paper's executive editor, Marty Baron, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Discussion: Washington Post, Adweek, The Huffington Post, @abihabib, @ktumulty, @paula_span, @adamnagourney, @pkafka, Mediawire Daily, FishbowlDC and Capital New York

Harry Jaffe / Washingtonian:
Katharine Weymouth Defends Decision Not to Fund Ezra Klein's New Venture

Discussion: New York Times, Poynter, @ravisomaiya, bookforum.com, @jayrosen_nyu, @jamesrbuk, @mathewi, @raju, @mlcalderone, @harryjaffe, @sophiegg and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

James Clapper Suggests Journalists Could Be Edward Snowden's ‘Accomplices’ — NEW YORK — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper urged former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and his “accomplices” to return leaked documents during a hearing on Wednesday.

Discussion: UT Documents, Techdirt, TheHill, Politico, Mashable, The Lede, @trevortimm, @huffpostmedia, @mlcalderone, @gaberivera and The Daily Caller

Jim Romenesko:

Report: Hundreds of Patch employees laid off — I'm told that hundreds — two tipsters claim two-thirds of the editorial staff — have been laid off by Patch's new owner, Hale Global. I have asked the company for confirmation. (It bought Patch from AOL on January 15.)

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

Fox Sports president on planning the Big Game — This week is arguably one of the biggest in the history of Fox Sports. — On Sunday, the network will broadcast Super Bowl XLVIII, but leading up to it Fox has made sure to saturate the lineup of its cable channel, Fox Sports 1, with Super Bowl coverage.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Variety and The Big Lead

Chris Welch / The Verge:
NFL will block streaming video inside Super Bowl stadium

Discussion: Betabeat, New Jersey Online, @pkedrosky and GeekWire

Jim Romenesko:

Task force recommends Society of Professional Journalists not change its name to Society for Professional Journalism — Some at SPJ wanted to change the focus of the organization to upholding and advocating the principles of professional journalism rather than the people performing it …

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:

The O.C. Register's supremely ghoulish financial strategy — The Orange County Register building in Santa Ana is shown. The company is seeking to buy life insurance on its employees, not to benefit the employees' families, but to benefit the company's pension plan. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @jimmyorr, @froomkin, @romenesko and @bgrueskin

Jim Romenesko:
Orange County Register owner blasts Los Angeles Times' story on his ‘ghoulish strategy’

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, LA Observed and The Newspaper Guild

Kristen Schweizer / Bloomberg:

BSkyB Revenue Increases as It Signs Up Record TV Customers — British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY)'s first-half sales rose 6.3 percent as the U.K.'s largest pay-TV broadcaster signed up more customers for broadband and TV services, fending off increased competition from BT Group Plc.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal and Proactiveinvestors …

Hanna Rosin / Slate:

Melissa Harris-Perry, tenured professor, progressive hero, TV star. — Melissa Harris-Perry, tenured professor, progressive hero, TV star. — Even serious journalists covered Michelle Obama's 50th birthday earlier this month People-style, writing about the first lady's hair, her trip to Hawaii, and her latest thoughts about Botox.

Diego Cruz / Journalism in the Americas Blog:

Killing of Mexican journalist sparks human rights ombudsman's investigation — Mexico's National Human Rights Commission will investigate the Jan. 23 murder of a journalist in Guerrero. It is the first killing of a journalist in Mexico this year. — Miguel Ángel Guzmán Garduño …

Discussion: Guardian

Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:

Amazon to Offer Kindle Checkout System to Physical Retailers — Project Would Give E-Commerce Firm Access to More Customer Data — Amazon.com Inc. plans to offer brick-and-mortar retailers a checkout system that uses Kindle tablets as soon as this summer, people briefed on the company's plans said.

Discussion: Softpedia News, TechCrunch, The Verge, Los Angeles Times and Mashable

Max Seddon / BuzzFeed:

Russia's Only Independent News Channel Faces Closure Under Kremlin Pressure — Several cable networks abruptly dropped Dozhd TV under apparent orders from powerful figures. “There's only one way things happen that quickly in this country,” the channel's owner says. — Via facebook.com

Amanda Holpuch / Guardian:

Academic group proposes editor blogging ban to keep ‘professional’ tone — Professors criticise the International Studies Association's suggested ban as ‘antithetical to the entire academic enterprise’ — A major academic body is proposing that editors of its journals be banned from blogging …

Discussion: @smsaideman, @dandrezner, @anon1990, @mathewi, @fonnesbeck, @oliverburkeman and Washington Post

Guardian:

The blog turns 20: a conversation with three internet pioneers — Dave Winer, Megan Hourihan and Justin Hall on the web's transformation from ‘small village’ to ‘megalopolis’ — Before Twitter, Whisper and Snapchat there was the Blog - the platform that made it possible for non-techies to publish on the internet.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @blogdiva, @davewiner and @megnut

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Guggenheim Digital CEO Ross Levinsohn: All Tech, No Action — Digital media vet was hired to build an ambitious portfolio. But all that's emerged is expectations of his exit — A year ago, financial services giant Guggenheim Partners trumpeted an ambitious new strategy …

Rebecca Ballhaus / Washington Wire:

Solid Gains for White House's SOTU Web Effort — The White House made a big push this year to draw more State of the Union viewers to its own website, where it broadcast charts, graphics and data designed to back up key points in President Barack Obama's speech.

Discussion: TVNewser, Inside TV, Politico, Post Politics and Los Angeles Times

Emmanuel Naert / INMA:

De Standaard learns, profits through digital edition's growing pains — Nine months ago today, dS Avond debuted as a free digital publication. When De Standaard began charging three weeks later, 16% of its subscriber base began paying for the publication. But digital sales weren't what the media company was hoping for.

Sheera Frenkel / BuzzFeed:

How To Get Arrested In Egypt: Work As A Journalist — The third deadliest country for reporters in 2013. “It's never been as bad as it is nowadays,” says Elshamy. — Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters — Mos'ab Elshamy was just leaving a prison visit with one brother when he heard another one had been arrested this weekend.

Discussion: @taratw and Committee to Protect …

Daniel Roberts / Fortune:

HowAboutWe buys Nerve.com — Exclusive: The company is launching an entire network of content sites based around dating and love—an effort to challenge much bigger properties and be more than a dating site. — FORTUNE — Your go-to Friday night date routine may not be as unique as you thought.