Mediagazer: A look behind the curtain: how Netflix redesigned and rebuilt its television experience (Janko Roettgers/Gigaom)

6:20 PM ET, February 26, 2014

Top News:

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: @joepompeo, 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 — Many journalists have been asking why the Egyptian authorities have arrested staff who work for Al-Jazeera Arabic and Al-Jazeera English. — Gregg Carlstrom, in a lengthy piece on the Foreign Policy website, has sought to provide an answer to that question.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review

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

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.

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

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

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 …

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

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.

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: @lhfang, @nickconfessore, @hunterw, @jaredbkeller, The New York Observer, Capital New York, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, @dylanbyers and @evanchill

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: @jbenton, @vicenews and @dylanbyers

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

All Alternatives Considered: How Slate thinks a daily podcast can fit into your evening commute — When Slate decided to get into the daily drive-time podcast business, they decided to take a cue from a proven winner: sports radio. At least the public radio version of sports radio …

Discussion: @fmanjoo and @jacobwe

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: @jeffjarvis, @zseward, @rafat and @hblodget

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

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Ugandan activist on tabloid list of LGBT citizens: ‘they are using us to make sales’ … Ugandan LGBT rights activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, who was on the list a tabloid newspaper published of LGBT citizens, spoke Wednesday on the CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi.

Discussion: Associated Press, BuzzFeed and Reuters

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: Reuters Institute …, @mid_wifecrisis and @ade_jacobs

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: CNET, Gigaom, @fedcourtjunkie and Hollywood Reporter

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

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Three Top Time Inc. Digital Execs Head out the Door — Three of Time Inc.'s top digital executives are leaving, in advance of the publisher's spinoff from Time Warner this spring. — Fran Hauser, who ran Time's Style & Entertainment group, including People.com, announced her departure on Monday.

Discussion: @waltmossberg, @rafat and Capital New York