Mediagazer: National Enquirer will fund a $45K/year playwriting prize as part of lawsuit settlement (Jim Dwyer/New York Times)

5:15 PM ET, February 26, 2014

Top News:

Corey Hutchins / Columbia Journalism Review:

Why did the FCC want to interview journalists in the first place? — Context for the agency's Critical Information Needs study—and for the backlash it sparked — CHARLESTON, SC — The Federal Communications Commission publicly backed off part of a controversial research study last week …

Discussion: Techdirt and USA Today

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:
Clyburn Defends FCC's Critical Needs Study

Discussion: TheHill, @eggerton, @eggerton, Watchdog.org, @jbflint and Variety

Marc Andreessen / Andreessen Horowitz:

The Future of the News Business: A Monumental Twitter Stream All in One Place — I am more bullish about the future of the news industry over the next 20 years than almost anyone I know. You are going to see it grow 10X to 100X from where it is today. That is my starting point for any discussion about the future of journalism.

Dominica Lim / Al Jazeera America:

Al Jazeera calls for global day of action on Feb. 27 to support detained journalists in Egypt — FreeAJStaff: A global day of action … The worldwide campaign for the release of Al Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt continues to gain momentum. In the last several weeks …

Discussion: Capital New York, @jumurungi, CMG and Al Jazeera English, Thanks:@jaredbkeller

Roy Greenslade / Guardian: Al-Jazeera English is not Al-Jazeera Arabic - but Egypt doesn't agree

J.K. Trotter / Gawker:

Emails Show How Donald Trump's Enemy Became the Observer's Enemy — On Tuesday, the desiccated ruin of the New York Observer published a bizarre, hilariously facile takedown of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, accusing him of using his office to wage politically motivated prosecutions.

Discussion: @nickconfessore, @hunterw, @jaredbkeller and The New York Observer

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
New York Observer defends negative Attorney General profile, denies it was influenced by Donald Trump

Discussion: The New York Observer, @sridharpappu, Capital New York, @mollyesque, @dylanbyers, New York Magazine, @hunterw, @atotalmonet, @dougsaunders, @evanchill, @dangillmor, @sternbergh, @nxthompson, @buzzfeedandrew and The Huffington Post

Alex Pareene / The Baffler:

NYT's Sorkin and DealBook focus on building journalistic brands instead of reporting — A stacked deck at the New York Times — The New York Times, as everybody knows, is the premier source of authoritative journalism in the world's most powerful formal democracy.

Discussion: @clarajeffery, @heavenrants, bookforum.com, @ryanchittum, @stewartwills, @schadenfraade, @ryanchittum and @owillis

Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks tells court she didn't read NoW interview with phone hacker — Ex-editor tells hacking trial she doesn't recall article describing Glenn Mulcaire as ‘part of our special investigations team’ — Rebekah Brooks has said she did not read a News of the World interview …

Discussion: CNN, canada.com and BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Jill Lawless / Associated Press: Rebekah Brooks says she offered convicted phone hacker a job to keep him from going public

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC could axe frontline channel or service as it seeks extra £100m in cuts — Tony Hall rules out further ‘salami-slicing’, saying further corporation-wide cuts threaten quality of content such as drama — Read Tony Hall's Oxford Media Convention speech in full

Discussion: @mid_wifecrisis and @ade_jacobs

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism:
Study reveals how cutting BBC licence fee would reduce choice and value for money

Discussion: The Conversation and @risj_oxford

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Kyle Pope to reboot Manhattan weeklies — A stable of weekly New York newspapers is about to get a makeover under the direction of a new boss. — Kyle Pope, a former New York Observer editor and Wall Street Journal veteran, has been named editor-in-chief of Straus Media-Manhattan …

Discussion: @jaredbkeller and @iwantmedia

Capital New York:

The 60 Second Interview: Anthony De Rosa, Editor-in-Chief, Circa — CAPITAL: Circa's priority is to create content that is tailored for mobile as opposed to simply trying to fit web or print content into an app. What does that entail other than brevity? — DE ROSA: The content …

Discussion: Forbes and @niemanlab

David Griner / Adweek:

Alt-Weekly Mocks Its Own Buyout With a Cover That Looks Just Like Its New Owner — When you're an alt-weekly known for skewering the establishment, how do you tackle the fact that you've been bought out by the establishment? — Baltimore City Paper takes a commendably self-effacing approach …

Discussion: 10,000 Words and SPLICETODAY.com

Laura Hazard Owen / Gigaom:

As Barnes & Noble Nook revenues slide 50%, the company says it's launching another tablet — Barnes & Noble is cutting jobs and revenues fell again in the third-quarter earnings report released Wednesday, with the Nook segment once again taking a particularly large hit …

Jim Dwyer / New York Times:

National Enquirer will fund a $45K/year playwriting prize as part of lawsuit settlement — Truth and a Prize Emerge From Lies About Hoffman — Herding his three younger sons out the door to school on Feb. 5, David Bar Katz was stopped for a moment by his eldest, who was browsing a computer.

Jeff Hermes / Digital Media Law Project blogs:

Revised DOJ Regs Protect “Members of the News Media,” But What Does That Mean? — On February 21, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice released its long-awaited revisions to 28 C.F.R. § 50.10, the DOJ's regulatory guidelines (the “Guidelines") regarding investigations and prosecutions of members of the news media.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @jcstearns and Politico

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Netflix Is Chasing HBO, but It's Already Passed Plenty of Big Cable Guys — Netflix makes no bones about the fact that it wants to be HBO. And it is closing in on the pay channel, at least in terms of revenue: Last year, Netflix's streaming business generated $3.5 billion, while HBO made $4.9 billion from subscription fees.

Adam Lashinsky / Fortune:

LinkedIn walks like a publisher and talks like a publisher. But is it? — The business-focused social network opens its publishing platform to its members, raising lots of questions. — FORTUNE — Ryan Roslansky, head of content products for the company, strenuously rejects LinkedIn's media ambitions.

Discussion: @rafat

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Vice News, where video works — Here are two truths: Fewer and fewer people get their news from television anymore, and very few news organizations are capable of creating compelling video news packages online. Here's another truth: The news organizations that have the reach and the resources …

Discussion: @vicenews and @dylanbyers

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Kids May Be Leaving Facebook, but They Love YouTube — Lots of people think kids are done with Facebook. No way, says Facebook: Kids love Facebook! — But, let's say Facebook was concerned — maybe just a little bit — that the kids were no longer alright. Where should it go to find them?

Discussion: hypebot

Hadas Gold / Politico:

House unanimously passes FOIA bill — The House on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that would make Freedom of Information requests easier with potentially faster response times. — H.R. 1211, the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2014 was co-sponsored by House Oversight …

Discussion: E Pluribus Unum, @gopleader, @lifewinning and UNREDACTED

Jennifer Van Grove / CNET:

Facebook showing unsolicited Page posts in News Feed — You may not have asked for them, but you're going to start seeing posts in your News Feed from Pages you don't follow. — Facebook said Tuesday that it has tweaked its News Feed formula yet again, this time to include posts that Pages you've “liked” are tagged in.

Discussion: Digiday, Facebook, Joho the Blog, Marketing Pilgrim, SocialTimes, AllFacebook, Softpedia News, The Next Web, Mashable and ReadWrite

Michael Calia / Wall Street Journal:

Time to Merge Digital Properties on Google Ad Platform — Partnership Will Also Result in Editorial-Themed Packages Available for Sale — Time Inc. said it would merge its digital properties into a single ad exchange on a Google Inc. platform, to give marketers access to the publisher's global consumer base.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Business Wire, Talking New Media, AdAge and Beet.TV

Josh Stearns / Mediashift:

Where Did Press Freedom Suffer Most in 2013? Online. — This month the Committee to Protect Journalists released its annual analysis of Attacks on the Press, including a “Risk List” of the places where press freedom suffered most in 2013. As you might expect, conflict areas filled much of the list …

Discussion: @jcstearns

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Google ordered to remove anti-Islamic film from YouTube — (Reuters) - Google Inc was ordered by a U.S. federal appeals court to remove an anti-Islamic film that had sparked protests in the Middle East from its YouTube website. — By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court …

Discussion: Gigaom, CNET, Hollywood Reporter and @fedcourtjunkie

Jeff Morganteen / CNBC:

NFLX co-founder: Binge-watching won't work long term — Netflix on beginning of great trend: Co-founder — Netflix co-founder Mitch Lowe, discusses the deal between Netflix and Comcast, and comments on the culture of “binge-watching.” I don't think long-term binge watching is the right way …