Mediagazer: Distressed by Baby Controversy, AOL's Armstrong Reverses 401(K) Policy (Kara Swisher/Re/code)

4:30 PM ET, February 9, 2014

Top News:

Deanna Fei / Slate:

My Baby and AOL's Bottom Line — Late last week, Tim Armstrong, the chief executive officer of AOL, landed himself in a media firestorm when he held a town hall with employees to explain why he was paring their retirement benefits. After initially blaming Obamacare for driving …

Discussion: Mediaite, @karaswisher, Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Fortune

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Distressed by Baby Controversy, AOL's Armstrong Reverses 401(K) Policy — In a letter to employees, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong reversed the company's recent decision to change some 401(k) benefits. The move had caused controversy inside the company, especially after Armstrong made a mess …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Forbes, Capital New York, Business Insider, @jackmirkinson, @jackmirkinson and New York Magazine

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

NBC Responds to Opening Ceremony Criticism: We Edited IOC Speech for Time — NBC has responded to media reports questioning edits to IOC president Thomas Bach's speech during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, in which Bach urged everyone not to discriminate against people from other countries.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Deadspin and Gawker

Timothy Burke / Deadspin:

NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony — Russia's anti-gay laws have been a major focus in the lead-up to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, and during his address at today's opening ceremony IOC president Thomas Bach made a strong statement against “any form of discrimination” and in favor of tolerance.

Discussion: Twitchy, NewsBusters blogs, The Raw Story, @bubbaprog, @jeffjarvis, Associated Press, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post and The Wrap

The Lede:

Turkey Deports Journalist for Criticizing Government on Twitter — ISTANBUL — Turkey deported an Azerbaijani journalist on Friday for “posting tweets against high-level state officials,” according to an Interior Ministry order obtained by his newspaper, the English-language daily Today's Zaman.

Discussion: Mashable, @lheron, cihan.com.tr, The Star Online, Hurriyet Daily News, Middle East Real Time, EurasiaNet.org and Reporters Without Borders

Mahir Zeynalov / Al Arabiya News:

I was smeared, persecuted and deported in Erdogan's Turkey — “You're deported,” one of my colleagues told me, citing his police sources. “And the police are after you.” Within hours, the police phoned my editor-in-chief, asking him to hand me over. That night, I purchased two one-way tickets …

Discussion: @gkates and @alarabiya_eng

Paul Steiger / ProPublica:

A Closer Look: Three Golden Ages of Journalism? — This morning, ProPublica founder and executive chairman Paul Steiger received the William Allen White Foundation National Citation from the University of Kansas's White School of Journalism and Mass Communications in Lawrence. Here are his remarks.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @buzzfeedben and @propublica

Tom Moran:

New Jersey Star-Ledger regrets endorsing Christie, calls endorsement process “excruciating” — Chris Christie endorsement is regrettable: Moran — Gov. Chris Christie takes the oath of office in January. Even before he was embroiled in scandals, The Star-Ledger's endorsement of the governor was a close call.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, CNN, The Fix and Gothamist

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Loose Lips Give Ammunition to MSNBC Foes — Since MSNBC is in the political ring, its opponents are always on the lookout for things to attack. Lately, NBC's left-leaning cable news sister has offered plenty of ammunition. — MSNBC fired a staff member last week for an offensive tweet …

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:

Rethinking TV news, Part III: First, kill the stand-up — I was about to launch into writing a post about the most irritating habits of local TV news — starting with the most objectionable: the stand-up — when I got a surprising email from a producer at Fox Channel 5 News in New York …

Stacey Higginbotham / Gigaom:

Data suggests ISPs are throttling video streaming. Will the FCC do anything about it? — There's something rotten in the state of online video streaming, and the data is starting to emerge — If you've been having trouble with your Netflix streams lately, or maybe like David Rafael …

Discussion: @jcstearns

Telis Demos / Wall Street Journal:

Programmatic ad tech plaform PubMatic planning IPO, aiming for a valuation of over $1B — Ad Platform PubMatic Working on IPO — PubMatic Inc., which automates the buying and selling of digital advertising space, has tapped bankers for a potential initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Bloomberg and Beet.TV

Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:

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: New York Times, TVNewser, @trevortimm, @jasonleopold, Reuters, The Wire, Politico and Gawker

Trevor Timm / Freedom of the Press Foundation:
Guilty Plea In Fox News Leak Case Shows Why Espionage Act Prosecutions Are Inherently Unfair to Sources

Discussion: @freedomofpress, @jesselynradack and @trevortimm