Mediagazer: Plain Dealer managing editor explains ‘digital first’ strategy (Jay Miller/Crain's Cleveland Business)

11:55 AM ET, February 21, 2014

Top News:

Phone-hacking trial told of ‘bin man’ who sold documents to newspapers — Rebekah Brooks explains reference to ‘binology’ on invoice sent to the News of the World in 2001 while she was editor — A man who used to go through the bins of lawyers and other high profile people would sell material …

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Om-Niscient: A Much-Deserved Mash Note to Tech Blogger Om Malik — Of course, I was jammed yesterday with a trip and then the big news of Facebook forking over $19 billion for WhatsApp in the endless hamster-wheel cycle that is sometimes my life, so I missed the news about Om Malik.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @jayrosen_nyu, @mathewi, Om Malik, Talking Biz News and @nitashatiku

Om Malik / Gigaom:
Om Malik leaves day-to-day operations at Gigaom, becomes full partner at True Ventures, site raises $8M more

Discussion: Om Malik, Talking Biz News, @alexia, @kentgoldman, @waltmossberg, @tomkrazit, @om, Pulse 2.0, @nitashatiku, @carr2n, @johnolilly, @pkafka, @hblodget, @thekenyeung, @laurengoode, @satishd, @caseynewton, @pkedrosky, @twittner, @rafat, @msquinn, @mikeisaac, @ashleymayer, @tonysphere, @mims, @jason_pontin, @timoreilly and PE Hub Blog

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Sources say Amazon readying a Web TV box competing with Apple TV and Roku, for March rollout — Amazon Gets Its TV Box Ready, Again — Amazon is gearing up to take on Apple and Roku, again. — Industry sources say Amazon is getting ready to launch a Web TV box that would compete …

Discussion: VentureBeat, Forbes, TechCrunch, CNET, ReadWrite, 9to5Mac, VatorNews, AppleInsider, GeekWire, WebProNews, MacRumors, Pocket-lint, App Advice, BGR, The Verge, Business Insider and VG247

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Telegraph: Jason Seiken confirms MacGregor and Evans in editing roles — TMG editorial chief also announces three deputies and creates digital director roles for content and visual journalism — Telegraph Media Group's editorial chief, Jason Seiken, has announced a number of changes to the senior editorial team.

Angela Doland / AdAge:

Western TV Hits a Big Draw for Online Viewers — and Advertisers — in China — Brands Reach Out to Young, Educated Audience That Loves ‘House of Cards’,'Sherlock' — How to Make Credible Green Marketing Claims — While Americans shell out for Netflix subscriptions to see the second season of …

BBC:

Venezuela threatens to expel CNN over protest coverage — Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has threatened to expel the US news network CNN from the country over its reporting of recent protests there. — Mr Maduro said he would take action if CNN did not “rectify its coverage”.

Discussion: Poynter, Politico, FishbowlNY, Caracas Chronicles, Committee to Protect …, @fieldproducer and TIME

Uri Friedman / The Atlantic Online:
Why Venezuela's Revolution Will Be Tweeted

Discussion: @valtmc, @hemlockmartinis and @anupkaphle

Danny O'Brien / Electronic Frontier Foundation: Venezuela's Internet Crackdown Escalates into Regional Blackout

Eric Lipton / New York Times:

Comcast's Web of Lobbying and Philanthropy — WASHINGTON — Only a few hours had passed after the $45 billion merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable was announced last week when an early voice emerged endorsing the giant deal. — “Win-win situation for American businesses,” …

Discussion: @tackettdc and @brianstelter

Jeff Bercovici / Playboy:

Nick Denton: Gawker, Crowdsourcing & Kinja — Manti Te'o had a fake girlfriend. Rob Ford smoked crack. Brett Favre texted photos of his junk to a young woman. That these and countless other onetime secrets are now public knowledge is thanks to Nick Denton, the founder and owner …

Discussion: Forbes, Erik Wemple, @thestalwart, @taylorlorenz, @psigrist, @lhfang, @mslaurenrae, @pkafka, @jyarow, @jayrosen_nyu and Capital New York

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

‘House of Cards’ Binge-Watching: 2% of U.S. Subs Finished Entire Series Over First Weekend — Binge-watching on the rise compared to drama series' first season — There are some dedicated “House of Cards” fans out there. — Approximately 2% of Netflix subscribers on U.S. broadband networks took …

Discussion: @awallenstein, TIME, Fox Business, @theaafca, @awallenstein and The Verge

New York Post:

Maxim owners sue over bungled buyout — Maxim's parent company has sued media mogul Calvin Darden Sr. over the $31 million buyout of the glossy men's mag that was bungled by his alleged scammer son. — In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Alpha Media Group …

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Gannett blog shuts down after almost 7 years — Gannett Blog, a nonprofit site being run by an ex-Gannett editor, has shut down after nearly seven years. — The site was launched by Jim Hopkins, a former reporter and editor at USA Today, and was probably the foremost tracker of the tumult …

Discussion: Gannett Blog and SFist

Pew Internet:

Mapping Twitter Topic Networks: From Polarized Crowds to Community Clusters — Summary of Findings — Polarized Crowds: Political conversations on Twitter — Conversations on Twitter create networks with identifiable contours as people reply to and mention one another in their tweets.

Discussion: Quartz, @jesseholcomb, Business Insider, Des Moines Register, The Technology Chronicles, Washington Post, Al Jazeera America, PBS and CNET

Henry Taylor / TheMediaBriefing:

Contributoria catch up Q&A: how the first month went — Described as “if Kickstarter and Medium had a baby”, crowd-funded journalism community Contributoria is now one month old. — The Guardian Media Group-backed startup has signed up more 650 members - 65 percent of which are writers - and 24 projects have been backed.

Discussion: @mattmcalister

Jay Miller / Crain's Cleveland Business:

Plain Dealer managing editor explains ‘digital first’ strategy — The Plain Dealer's shift to a so-called “digital first” strategy, and the end to seven-day home delivery, is an attempt to retain the lion's share of the audience for local news and eventually translate that hold …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Core Media Teams with PopSugar, in Latest Tie-Up of TV and Web Worlds — TV production company Core Media Group, best known for “American Idol,” inked a pact with celeb website PopSugar to jointly develop and distribute scripted and non-scripted projects. — The deal fits within the trend …

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

BitTorrent shuts down its live streaming website to refocus on mobile — BitTorrent Inc. is shutting down its P2P-powered live streaming website by the end of the month, according to an email BitTorrent co-founder Bram Cohen sent out to users late Wednesday.

Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:

Rivals debate auction rules for Philly newspapers … PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The top investor in Philadelphia's largest newspapers wants the company sold in a quick, closed auction among current partners while a rival wants a slower sale open to all. — The Philadelphia Inquirer …

Discussion: Philadelphia Magazine