Top News:

NBC story on visitors to Sochi Olympics getting hacked is misleading — That NBC story 100% fraudulent — [Yesterday (Feb 5 2014)] On February 4th, NBC News ran a story claiming that if you bring your mobile phone or laptop to the Sochi Olympics, it'll immediately be hacked the moment you turn it on.
Discussion:
Businessweek, Graham Cluley, Forbes, Paul Proctor, The FJP, CNET, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, The Switch, @a_greenberg, @mikko, @lorenzofb, @dejan_kovacevic, @diminish7, @agelastic, @lowcalspam, @briankrebs, Softpedia News, Silicon Republic, @ivorcrotty, @webjournalist, @jesskw_, @redsteeze, @peard33, @helenrazer, @wideasleepnima, Engadget, @alexweprin, @androidcentral, @jandrade, @iliablinderman, @tapbot_paul, @inthisdimension, @grasswire, @stilgherrian and Daring Fireball
RELATED:

NBC Blasts Claims That Richard Engel's Terrifying Sochi Hacking Report Was ‘Fraudulent’
Discussion:
@brettlogiurato and Gigaom


Time Inc. lays off workers as boss rakes in $1.4 million signing bonus — Magazine monolith Time Inc. on Tuesday began laying off workers as the company gets ready to be spun off from TV/entertainment company Time Warner. According to the New York Times, as many as 500 jobs may be lost as a result of the reductions.
Discussion:
@dangillmor


CNN's transformation says a lot about what is working today in television — CNN's transformation says a lot about what is working today in television — JEFF ZUCKER, boss of CNN Worldwide, a cable-news firm, likes to start his morning with a shot of numbers.
Discussion:
@sambrook, @alexandrasuich and @econbizfin

First Look hires its general counsel away from The New Yorker — Lynn Oberlander is leaving her post as general counsel of The New Yorker after seven years to join Pierre Omidyar's new news organization, First Look Media. — Oberlander will oversee all legal aspects of the organization's media operations …
Discussion:
Business Wire
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How The Wall Street Journal owns social media through Facebook and Twitter — The venerable financial news institution achieved over 4m Twitter followers last weekend and its Facebook page is edging closer to achieving 2m Likes. — For what could be considered a niche publication, this is an incredible achievement.
Discussion:
@lheron and Talking Biz News


British spies developed technique to manipulate non-British journalists for feeding information to targets — Snowden Docs: British Spies Used Sex and ‘Dirty Tricks’ - NBC News — British spies have developed

Ex-State Dept. adviser to plead guilty in leak to Fox News — A former State Department arms expert has agreed to plead guilty to disclosing national defense information to a Fox News reporter, his lawyer said in federal court Friday. — The agreement calls for him to serve 13 months in prison.
Discussion:
Gawker and @jasonleopold


Rise of the Platishers — What should we call a publisher — like Gawker — that provides a tech platform on which anybody, not just its staff, can create content? What should we call a tech platform — like Medium — that has a team of editors and pays some contributors to create content?
Discussion:
Gawker, @evanatmedium, @jonathanglick, @alexremington, @alexremington, @pkafka, @peterrojas, @caseynewton, @tcarmody and @marathonpacks


News Corp Aussie newspapers lose 17 per cent of revenues — Australian newspaper revenues for News Corp dipped further in the final three months of last year, losing 17 per cent year-on-year with CEO Robert Thompson blaming a “challenging advertising market” for the global company's revenues …
Discussion:
Media & Entertainment, NetNewsCheck Latest, Variety, The Wrap, Business Wire and Forbes
RELATED:

Dow Jones to set ‘more flexible’ subscription prices for DJX
Discussion:
Talking Biz News

Advertising Declines Weigh On News Corp, Times Co.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review and @yahoofinance

Memo: Ottawa Citizen offering buyouts; five laid off at Postmedia's parliamentary bureau — Today the Citizen is announcing a new Voluntary Buy-Out offering for the newsroom. You will find details of the offering in the attached document, as well as posted on a board outside the HR office.
Discussion:
ctvnews.ca, @katemalloy379 and Guardian


The media in Saudi Arabia: Beating the censor — The kingdom's press and its social media are livelier than ever — FOR a country reputed to be dry and dull, Saudi Arabia is surprisingly awash with news. The good old broadsheet newspaper, dying out elsewhere, thrives.
Discussion:
Kirk LaPointe's …


Canadian film, music producers look for protection as media landscape changes. — Canadian film, music producers look for protection as media landscape changes. … Millions of Canadians now subscribe to Netflix, raising concerns from Canadian film and TV producers.
Discussion:
Gigaom


How The Guardian Uses “Attention Analytics” To Track Rising Stories — A day after Philip Seymour Hoffman had died of a drug overdose, a year-old article by comedian and actor Russell Brand on why he gave up drugs suddenly burst into the Guardian's top 10 most read list.
Discussion:
10,000 Words, @richjm, @kimchy, @gdndevelopers, @cri and @raju

Charter Communications to Put Pressure on Time Warner Cable — Charter to Nominate a Full Slate of Board Candidates Next Week, Sources Say — Charter Communications Inc. plans next week to nominate a full slate of candidates for Time Warner Cable Inc. 's 13-member board …


Waxman says he's still concerned about Tribune newspaper spinoff — The congressman says a meeting with Tribune executives fails to ease his worries that the L.A. Times and other papers would be hobbled financially after the spinoff. — The entrance to the Los Angeles Times building …


Lonely Planet Buys Budget Travel Magazine, Reportedly for $2.4 Million — Travel publisher Lonely Planet has purchased Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine. — “It appears, subject to court approval that we may have been the successful bidder on Budget Travel,” Lonely Planet COO Daniel Houghton confirmed to Skift.
Discussion:
@rafat


To Grow, Netflix Must Learn From the Quietly Brilliant UI of Regular TVs — “Smart” TVs have failed because they've always assumed more is better. Instead of evolving the television experience, TV makers have simply added to it, heaping more streams, more services, and more content onto …


Warner Bros.' Homevideo Exec Mark Horak to Join Redbox as President — Mark Horak, most recently president of the Americas at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, will join DVD kiosk company Redbox as its new president on March 17. — Horak's appointment comes after Redbox president Anne Saunders ankled …
Discussion:
Home Media Magazine, Associated Press, PR Newswire, CNET, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Engadget, Deadline.com and GeekWire


Spotify Premium membership offer for Times subscribers — News UK strikes deal for year's membership to digital music service for all subscribers to newspapers' digital pack — Subscribers to the Times and Sunday Times will be offered a free year's membership to Spotify Premium as part …
Discussion:
@zseward, Gigaom, @raju and thedrum.com