Mediagazer: Why The New York Times Hired A Biology Researcher As Its Chief Data Scientist (Rebecca Greenfield/Fast Company)

7:05 PM ET, February 12, 2014

Top News:

Apple Said to Plan New Set-Top Box Amid Time Warner Cable Talks — Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to introduce a new Apple TV set-top box as early as April and is negotiating with Time Warner Cable Inc. and other potential partners to add video content, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Gigaom, Deadline.com, Mercury News, AppleInsider, @edmundlee, Business Insider, @brianstelter, Gizmodo, @zseward, @bloombergtech, The Verge, @awallenstein, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, @sherman4949, BGR, The Next Web, Pocket-lint, Variety, App Advice, Mashable, Electronista and DealBook

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Here's What the New Apple TV Could Look Like (Hint: Check Your iPad) — Apple is reportedly prepping a new version of Apple TV, which would work like a cable set-top box. Apple is working with Time Warner Cable to launch the device this year, Bloomberg says.

Johana Bhuiyan / Capital New York:

The very public growth of The Intercept — The Intercept, the new startup title funded handsomely by eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar, debuted Monday and created buzz both for simply showing up and for its content: An article examining the use of drones to kill government-selected targets abroad …

Discussion: @the_intercept, @niemanlab, @janinegibson and Agence France Presse

Andrew Osborn / Reuters:
European press chief to UK: Ease up on Guardian over Snowden leaks

Discussion: @nickpickles

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Does a ‘savvy media observer’ require anonymity for smack talk? Apparently so!

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @sulliview, @ggreenwald and @antderosa

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Greenwald's ‘The Intercept’ Gets Intercepted on Day One

Discussion: The New Yorker Blog, FAIR Blog and @thedailybeast

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Who Rules The Second Screen, Facebook Or Twitter? — Twitter's user growth in the last couple quarters may have been less than stellar, but one place the social messenging service hasn't disappointed is its hold on television viewers. Twitter executives see the so-called second screen experience …

Discussion: @rachaelrad

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:
Facebook Lays Claim to Twitter's Live TV Territory

Discussion: @jimconnolly

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The Facebook Effect on the News — Social networks are the new front page and homepage for news. But on Facebook, it's not the “news” that readers come to see or click to leave. — Around this time last year, I considered writing a story claiming that Facebook and Twitter were the new “homepages” for news on the Internet.

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's …, @nathanjurgenson, @tsimonite, @millie, ReadWrite, @kevinroose, @mjenkins, @jbennet, @rubinafillion, @darcyday, @mathewi, @holmesdm, @alexismadrigal, @theatlantic and The Dish

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Media Standards Trust updates its “churnalism” tools — The U.K.'s Media Standards Trust has released an updated version of Churnalism, its tool to identify news stories that are thin rewrites (or outright cut-and-paste copies) of press releases. In addition to a revamped website …

Discussion: Media Standards Trust

Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times:

Second-screen apps? Viewers say ho-hum, but execs see potential — Andrew Lincoln appears in a scene from “The Walking Dead.” The show has been using second-screen technology to engage viewers. (Gene Page / AMC) — Networks, advertisers and tech start-ups have been trying …

Rebecca Greenfield / Fast Company:

Why The New York Times Hired A Biology Researcher As Its Chief Data Scientist — It doesn't come as a huge surprise that the New York Times has hired a chief data scientist. Even 162-year-old media companies know that technology will play a huge role in the future of journalism.

Discussion: @butterworthy and @chanders

Henry Taylor / TheMediaBriefing:

BuzzFeed's native advertising: are they really making ads you want to share? — BuzzFeed is a business built on sharing. That doesn't just mean shareable articles, it also means shareable ads. But do people really want to share this branded content? We thought we'd take a look …

Discussion: @danwmedia, @blathnaidhealy, @henryctaylor and @mashplant, Thanks:@rorybrown

Craig Timberg / Washington Post:

Foreign regimes use spyware against journalists, even in U.S. — Mesay Mekonnen was at his desk, at a news service based in Northern Virginia, when gibberish suddenly exploded across his computer screen one day in December. A sophisticated cyberattack was underway.

Discussion: Mashable, @ezraklein, @washpostpr and @oswaldrachel

David Sirota / PandoDaily:

PBS station WNET financed “Pension Peril” series with $3.5M donation from Arnold Foundation — The Wolf of Sesame Street: Revealing the secret corruption inside PBS's news division — On December 18th, the Public Broadcasting Service's flagship station WNET issued …

Discussion: @johnarnoldfndtn, PandoDaily, @froomkin and @davidsirota

Max Fisher / WorldViews:

Is U.S. press freedom really ‘plummeting’? Not if you look at the data. — This year's global press freedom ranking, released annually by the international NGO Reporters Without Borders, appears to show something alarming: The U.S. has dropped in the rankings from the world's 32nd most free for media to only 46th.

Discussion: @jcstearns and Business Insider

David Lieberman / Deadline.com:

CBS Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates And Says It Will Add $1.5B To Share Buys This Quarter — CBS shares are up in post market trading after it reported the ambitious stock repurchase plan — bringing Q1 buying to $2B — and Q4 results that exceeded forecasts just about everywhere except in local broadcasting and its billboard operation.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, The Wrap, Nieman Journalism Lab, Los Angeles Times, PR Newswire, USA Today, Reuters, @richbtig, @alexweprin, @dana_mcclintock and @edmundlee

Sam Kirkland / Poynter:

Does it matter that mobile-native Quartz has a mobile-minority audience? — As much as mobile is poised to keep growing in 2014, old desktop habits die hard — especially during business hours. That leaves Quartz, Atlantic Media's 18-month-old business site, with a fascinating hand after going all-in on mobile.

Discussion: @poynter

Gideon Spanier / London Evening Standard:

Net-A-Porter's glossy mag is raising hackles at Vogue — The glossy world of fashion magazines hasn't seen a war like this for years. Porter, a new print title published by online retailer Net-A-Porter, is going head to head with Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and other established names.

Discussion: Mediawire Daily

Catherine Taibi / The Huffington Post:

Soledad O'Brien Teams Up With Google — Soledad O'Brien's production company is teaming up with Google as she prepares for her first speaking tour, the former CNN host told the Huffington Post Wednesday. — Google will be developing “digital verticals” for O'Brien's Starfish Media Group in order to reach a broader audience.

Nicole Perlroth / NYT Bits:

The Day the Internet Didn't Fight Back — So much for mass protest. — A consortium of Internet and privacy activists had long promoted Feb. 11 as the day the Internet would collectively stand up and shout down surveillance by the National Security Agency.

Discussion: ZDNet, The Switch, TheHill, Free Press, PSFK, Mother Jones, Business Insider, TechWeekEurope UK, Softpedia News, The Colorado Independent, @pernillet, @evacide and @xor

Geoffrey King / Committee to Protect Journalists:

The NSA Puts Journalists Under a Cloud of Suspicion — In fall 2013, the U.S. National Security Agency quietly began booting up its Utah Data Center, a sprawling 1.5 million-square-foot facility designed to store and analyze the vast amounts of electronic data the spy agency gathers from around the globe.

Discussion: Guardian and @cpjinternet

Nick Vivarelli / Variety:

MacNeil/Lehrer Productions Teams Up With Al-Monitor For Middle East Web Specials — MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and Washington-based website Al-Monitor.com have teamed-up to produce a series of Web video specials on Middle East politics titled Trendlines to be streamed on the PBS NewsHour webiste …

Discussion: Rapid TV News and TV Media Insights

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

Indy Star's Bizarre Tale of Real-Life Exorcism Wins Huge Mobile Traffic, but Cashing In Is Harder — Haunted House Story a ‘Serendipitous’ Big Draw for Gannett Paper — Gannett's Indianapolis Star is happily learning what movie studios have long known: Ghost stories are a huge draw.

Discussion: @gangrey and @romenesko

Yang Xiao / Nieman Reports:

Are the linguistic tricks Chinese journalists use to express their opinions just another form of self-censorship? — Are the linguistic tricks Chinese journalists use to express their opinions just another form of self-censorship? — In China, May has 35 days.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab

Ted Johnson / Variety:

U.S. Trade Representative Identifies ‘Notorious’ Piracy Sites — Putlocker.com, Rapidshare.com and The PirateBay.se have enjoyed huge traffic on the Internet, but they also have earned a distinction of being among the most “notorious” online sites when it comes to piracy.

Ken Yeung / The Next Web:

Disney teams with Techstars to launch accelerator program for media and entertainment startups — The Walt Disney Company is launching an accelerator program to help ten lucky startups succeed and give the media giant more insights into innovation and creativity.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @chudson, CNET and Variety

Alice Su / Wired:

In the Middle East, Arabic Wikipedia Is a Flashpoint — And a Beacon — AMMAN, Jordan - Rami Tarawneh knew something was wrong when security in a Middle Eastern airport made him wait for three hours. The 36-year-old Jordanian traveled throughout the region often, but this was the first …