Mediagazer: FCC has backed down from newsroom survey in face of Republican backlash. Story coming at http://WSJ.com . (Gautham Nagesh/@gnagesh)

5:15 PM ET, February 28, 2014

Top News:

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, Deadline.com, Business Wire, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter and Fox Business

Brooks Boliek / Politico:

FCC dumps controversial media study — The Federal Communications Commission is pulling the plug on a controversial survey of TV newsroom activities that sparked a firestorm of criticism from Republicans. — “The FCC will not move forward with the Critical Information Needs study,” an FCC spokesman said Friday.

Discussion: The Hill

Gautham Nagesh / @gnagesh:

FCC has backed down from newsroom survey in face of Republican backlash. Story coming at http://WSJ.com .

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.

Discussion: @howardweaver, @philgreaves01, @op_israel, @mattyglesias, @timothys, @colmorrisdavis, @espiers, @jeffjarvis, @kbandersen, @espiers, @jaredbkeller, @sanfranciscoba, @coopeydoop and @clarajeffery

Darren Boyle / Press Gazette:

FT Group boosts profits to £55 million as business daily's digital subs rise to 415,000 — The FT Group made a profit of £55 million last year despite plunging print circulation figures for the FT according to results reported this morning. — Profit was said to be up 17 per cent year on year, on an underlying basis.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review and Guardian

Kristen Schweizer / Bloomberg:
Pearson Plunges as Earnings Drop on Education in North America

Discussion: Financial Times, RTTNews, Reuters, London News, City A.M., Bookseller news, Life Style Extra, Wall Street Journal and @tcarmody

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: @gmarkham, TBO.com and @flpressclub

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 …

Michael Holden / Reuters:
Ex-Murdoch British CEO Brooks paid official for Saddam anthrax story

Discussion: The Evening Telegraph, The Drum and BBC

Emma Bazilian / Adweek:

TheWeek.com Launches ‘Speed Reads’ Vertical — In the past couple of years, the “longread” has been one of the most popular buzzwords among online publications, with outlets from BuzzFeed to The Atlantic touting investments in more deep-dive, longform journalism.

Discussion: theweek.com

Margaret Simons / Guardian:

The Saturday Paper: who on earth would launch a newspaper today? — Meet publisher Morry Schwartz and his 25-year-old editor, Erik Jensen, who over Darjeeling tea dreamed up an audacious plan to buck the rampant trend towards digital — Print enthusiasts Schwartz and Jensen.

Discussion: @niemanlab, @mathewi and @themurdochtimes

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

Ken Kurson / The New York Observer:

The Process of Reporting The Observer's Story on Eric Schneiderman — The Process of Reporting The Observer's Story on Eric Schneiderman — It has mostly been The Observer's policy to let our stories do the talking and not get caught up in the ensuing discussion we hope to create.

Discussion: Jack Shafer, @hunterw, @hamiltonnolan, @davidfrum, @pkafka, @oliverburkeman, @edzitron, @matt_levine, @fmanjoo, @pkafka, @joepompeo and @michaelroston

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Business Insider launching in UK this year, first outside US with no franchisee content licensing deals and its own staff — Business Insider prepares to take the UK — For Business Insider, the next move in its bid for global domination is to colonize the U.K.

Discussion: @hblodget

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

John Plunkett / Guardian:

BBC and BSkyB reach agreement over retransmission payments — Corporation will no longer pay to have channels on satellite broadcaster's platform, saving £4.5m a year — The BBC and BSkyB have resolved their long-running row over retransmission fees with the corporation no longer having …

Discussion: bbc.co.uk and broadcastnow.co.uk

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 …

Jasmine Wang / Bloomberg:

Hong Kong Paper Raises Reward to Find Lau's Attackers — Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News tripled its cash reward to HK$3 million ($387,000) for catching the assailants who critically injured its former chief editor Kevin Lau, the newspaper said today. — Media Chinese International Ltd. …

Discussion: Reuters, The Irish Times, Here & Now, New York Times and Wall Street Journal

Agence France-Presse:
Hong Kong journalists vow not to be intimidated by savage attack on Kevin Lau

Discussion: Poynter and Wall Street Journal

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Hollywood Rallies Support for Republicans After Piracy Defeat — Bruised by the defeat of an anti-piracy bill two years ago, Hollywood's chief lobbying organization is giving more money to outside political groups that support Republican lawmakers. — During the 2012 election cycle …

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, CREW and TheHill