Mediagazer: Apple Presses Labels For More 'Beyonce'-Type Exclusives In Wake of Downloads' Slide (Billboard)

4:35 AM ET, March 1, 2014

Top News:

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

Why the rise of sites devoted to explanatory journalism is a trend worth celebrating — Everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it, a famous curmudgeon once said. The same criticism could have been made — until recently at least — about the media's relentless focus …

Discussion: Poynter, (Re)Structuring Journalism, Politico, @rgibbs, @hancush and @moorehn

Mark Ames / PandoDaily:

Pierre Omidyar co-funded Ukraine revolution groups with US government, documents show — Just hours after last weekend's ouster of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, one of Pierre Omidyar's newest hires at national security blog “The Intercept,” was already digging for the truth.

Bloomberg:

Comcast weighs spinning off 3M subscribers into a new company after TWC deal — Comcast Said to Weigh Subscriber Spinoff After Time Warner Deal — Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) is weighing options for how to divest about 3 million cable subscribers as part of a takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc. …

Discussion: Deadline.com

Liana B. Baker / Reuters:
Liberty Media says Charter would look at buying Comcast divestitures

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, Business Wire, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com

Jim Romenesko:

Report: Tampa Bay Times to cut 10% of newsroom staff, copy desk to be hit hard — A SportsJournalists.com commenter says he's been told that the Tampa Bay Times newsroom will shrink by 10%, and that the copy desk will be hit the hardest. “In addition, the regional sections will be published …

Discussion: TBO.com, @flpressclub and @gmarkham

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

Traders turn to Twitter for market news. Now they can measure mood, too — Financial firms once blocked Twitter to prevent employees leaking sensitive information. It worked, but there was a problem: reporters and companies were using Twitter to reveal important news, leaving traders to rely on second-hand accounts.

Karen Fratti / 10,000 Words:

Contextly, Woopie, Beatroot present at demo day for second class at media accelerator Matter — Digital Publishing Gets A Little Smarter (and Better Looking) With Matter's 2nd Round of Startups — This week, Matter's second round of start-ups took over New York City for a demo day at WNYC's Greene Space.

Discussion: FishbowlNY and FishbowlDC

Billboard:

Apple Presses Labels For More 'Beyonce'-Type Exclusives In Wake of Downloads' Slide — Apple Inc.'s music chief Robert Kondrk has been pressuring major labels for releases similar to last year's Beyonce exclusive, excluding services like YouTube and Spotify to help shore up slowing download sales …

Discussion: AppleInsider, App Advice, MacRumors, @jherskowitz and Gigaom

Dean Starkman / Columbia Journalism Review:

A new consensus on the future of news — The future isn't what it used to be, and that's a good thing — Just a couple of years ago, although it feels like a lot longer, the media world was embroiled in something like a gigantic family argument over the idea of whether it was good idea to charge readers for news online.

Discussion: @mterenzio, @myersnews, @jayrosen_nyu, @davewiner and @mathewi

Jon Boone / Guardian:

Liberal newspaper Express Tribune cowed into silence by Pakistani Taliban — Media group opts for self-censorship on terrorism after Taliban admits murder of three employees for critical reports on militants — When it was launched four years ago, the Express Tribune set out to become …

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

Washington Post expands fact-checking project — and not just to movie trailers — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Leonardo DiCaprio are getting the same fact-checking treatment thanks to the latest evolution of The Washington Post's Truth Teller project. — The actor and the senator each figure prominently …

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

A&E Networks and Say Media Team Up to Continue Biography.com — A&E Networks and Say Media Team Up to Continue Biography.com — How to Make Credible Green Marketing Claims — A&E Networks is killing off the Bio Channel this summer to install the new FYI Network, but it's not killing off the Bio website.

Discussion: Adweek and @msebastian

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

'Gawker Is Snarkier Than I'd Like': Outtakes From My Playboy Interview With Nick Denton — Eight thousand words sounds awfully long for a Q&A, but for someone with as much to say as Nick Denton, it's really only the beginning. — My hours of interviews with the Gawker Media founder …

Discussion: @jeffbercovici

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

Maxim Magazine Sold to Restaurant Holding Company — Biglari Holdings Bought the Trouble Men's Title … Here's hoping this deal is real: Alpha Media Group has sold Maxim magazine to a subsidiary of Bilgari Holdings, a holding company that specializes in owning restaurants such as Steak 'n Shake, the companies said Thursday.

Discussion: @davidpoland

Peter Elkind / Fortune:

Employees at Bloomberg LP are attempting to unionize — Exclusive: If a drive to organize at the data-and-media giant is successful, it would be a first for the former New York mayor's company. — FORTUNE — Fearful of layoffs and unhappy with work conditions, employees at a unit of Bloomberg LP …

Discussion: @jtotoole

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks ‘embarrassed’ at not buying MPs' expenses scoop — Former Sun editor tells phone-hacking trial she hesitated over high cost of story, which was later published by Daily Telegraph — Rebekah Brooks has declared her “embarrassment” at not paying a public official …

Discussion: Reuters