Mediagazer: Web firms face a strict new set of privacy rules in Europe — here's what to expect (David Meyer/Gigaom)

2:20 PM ET, March 12, 2014

Top News:

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks denies giving evidence from ‘prepared script’ — Prosecution suggests that ex-NoW and Sun editor must have been ‘very much aware’ of what her co-defendants were doing — Rebekah Brooks has denied giving evidence from a “carefully presented and prepared script” …

Discussion: @ipasho

Press Gazette:
Brooks: ‘Climate of paranoia’ during last days of News of the World amid ‘police leaks to Guardian’

Discussion: @gazthejourno

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:
Hacking trial hears details of Blair's offer to help Brooks prepare for committee appearance

Discussion: Guardian and Guy Fawkes' blog

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
News International ‘wanted Lord Mandelson to coach Rebekah Brooks’

Discussion: @lisaocarroll and @courtnewsuk

Emily Bell / Guardian:

Journalism startups aren't a revolution if they're filled with all these white men — Nate Silver has a chart to hire for ‘clubhouse chemistry’. Ever heard of something called ‘workplace diversity’? — When the predictive superstar Nate Silver announced last summer that he would defect …

Discussion: @karnythia, @susie_c, @mccanner, @mattdpearce, @mattbors, @pennyred, @mitrakalita, @sulliview, @msjamshidi, @jbouie, @rwhittall, @maura, @ryanchittum, @annaholmes, @ryanchittum, @rustyk5, @sullduggery, @nitashatiku, @nytfridge, @moorehn, Erik Wemple and Digital Media Wire

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

Time Inc. spinoff probably won't mean name change for Time Warner — Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes. — Although Time Inc. won't be part of Time Warner much longer, don't expect the media giant to change its name to better reflect its assets. — “We haven't decided to change the name …

Art Brodsky / Wired:

Here's How Comcast Plans to Rule American Cable and Internet — It's been a little more than 100 years since this country witnessed an accumulation of economic power to rival what Comcast is assembling. Like the Gilded Age magnates who controlled oil and refining and leveraged their product with railroads …

Wall Street Journal: Media Industry Worries About Comcast-TWC

Jemima Kiss / Guardian:

An online Magna Carta: Berners-Lee calls for bill of rights for web — Exclusive: web's inventor warns neutrality under sustained attack from governments and corporations — The inventor of the world wide web believes an online “Magna Carta” is needed to protect and enshrine the independence …

John Reynolds / Guardian:

60% of UK's video, video games and music sales now come from the internet — Netflix and Spotify help drive UK home entertainment revenues to £5.3bn — New figures show that three-fifths of Britain's video, video games and music sales are now derived from the internet

Discussion: Variety

David Meyer / Gigaom:

Web firms face a strict new set of privacy rules in Europe — here's what to expect — The European Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a large package of laws intended to strengthen data protection - that's “privacy” in non-legalese - across the European Union.

Discussion: Wired.co.uk, @piratenpartij, @superglaze, Re/code, @openrightsgroup and @mslods

Cadie Thompson / CNBC:

Rdio drops Echo Nest after Spotify acquisition, aims for global growth via mobile — Streaming music service Rdio aims for global, and mobile — Streaming music: More noise than competition? — CNBC.com Technology Reporter Cadie Thompson and Rdio CEO Anthony Bay discuss the trends …

Discussion: The Next Web, Business Insider, Gigaom, TechCrunch, Electronista, The Verge and hypebot

Wall Street Journal:
Amazon hopes to boost MP3 sales with limited music streaming service for Prime members

Discussion: CNET and The Verge

Bloomberg:

Berkshire to Buy Graham TV Station in $1.1 Billion Swap — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) agreed to buy WPLG, a Miami-based television station, from Graham Holdings Co., the former publisher of the Washington Post, paying with stock that Warren Buffett has held for more than four decades.

Discussion: Benzinga and NASDAQ.com

Tina Daunt / Hollywood Reporter:

ObamaCare Website Traffic Spikes After President's ‘Funny or Die’ Interview — Obama's comic turn on Zach Galifianakis' “Between Two Ferns” becomes big driver to HealthCare.gov site, according to White House aides. — Within hours of President Barack Obama's appearance with comedian Zach Galifianakis …

Discussion: Fox News and FishbowlNY

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Obama bypasses traditional media again in interview with Zach Galifianakis, showing how to take advantage of fractured landscape

Discussion: USA Today, Variety, PopWatch, Guardian, Betabeat, Latest News & Headlines, Business 2 Community, Forbes, @poynter, The Fix, TechCrunch and Erik Wemple

Tim Peterson / AdAge:

News App Circa Looks to Native Ads for First Revenue Stream — Mobile News Reader Plans to Introduce ‘Native’ Sponsored Posts — How Advertising Performs in a Social Media World … It's time for the mobile news-reader apps to become businesses. — One of the category's earliest players …

Discussion: @miamabanta and @mhess4

Adrienne LaFrance / Quartz:

Why venture capitalists are suddenly investing in news — Something curious is happening in the American news business. — Media organizations are hiring again. Promising young reporters are leaving stalwart publications for new newsrooms. And venture capitalists are pouring millions into nimble publishing startups.

Discussion: @sarahcuda, @erichippeau and @adriennelaf

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Appeal Court victory for Guardian in fight to see Prince Charles minister letters - Govt takes fight to Supreme Court — The Guardian today won a major legal victory for press freedom over Government secrecy as it won the right to see a number of letters to ministers written by Prince Charles.

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Lawyer, @pressgazette and @robevansgdn

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

Ronan Farrow: Awesome on Twitter, Awful on Television — Ronan Farrow has the kind of resume that's difficult to match. He graduated from college at the tender age of 15; went on to collect degrees from Yale Law School and Oxford U., the latter on a Rhodes scholarship …

Discussion: TVNewser

Henry Taylor / TheMediaBriefing:

VICE News: 'We don't treat the internet like a low-rent version of other media' — “There's always been this view that this generation of young people aren't interested in the stories of the world,” says Al Brown, head of video for VICE UK, “Through our work you can see that young people …

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

Disney TV Shakeup: Anne Sweeney Leaving to Pursue Directing Career — Disney's longtime TV chief Anne Sweeney will leave her post in January 2015 to pursue a career as a television director. — “The past 18 years at Disney have been the highlight of my executive career.