Mediagazer: Popcorn Time app shuts down amid threats of video piracy (Aaron Pressman/Yahoo! Finance)

5:00 PM ET, March 14, 2014

Top News:

Comcast deal may offer media companies leverage on fees — (Reuters) - Media companies plan to press Comcast Corp for higher fees in the coming year, seeing an opportunity to squeeze better terms from the U.S. cable company as regulators review its planned takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc.

Discussion: Forbes

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

L.A. city attorney sues Time Warner Cable for $10 million — Los Angeles is suing Time Warner Cable for $10 million over fees. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg) — Time Warner Cable has more problems in Los Angeles. — Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer took a swing on Friday …

David Gelles / New York Times: Charter Still Hanging Around Time Warner Cable

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

An inside look at what it's like to work at Russia Today, the Kremlin-funded media outlet — How The Truth Is Made At Russia Today — “It was my first job and I feel embarrassed and ashamed.” An inside look at what it's like to work at the Kremlin-funded media outlet.

Discussion: @coalsonr, @mbk_center, @joshuafoust, @billbrowder, @anowrt, @intelwire, @peterlauria3, @buzzfeedben, @thegoldfarb and @rosiegray

David Remnick / The New Yorker Blog:
Putin Moves Against the Press

Discussion: The Moscow Times, New York Times, The New Republic, The Verge, Politico, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Latest News & Headlines, Global Voices, New York Times, @digiphile, @nxthompson, New York Times, Trust.org, The Newspaper Guild and Guardian

Max Seddon / BuzzFeed:
Russia Wipes Opposition Sites From The Internet

Discussion: @kasparov63, Columbia Journalism Review, Daily Dot, Gigaom, Softpedia News, @jeremyduns, CNET, TechCrunch, Global Voices, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect … and @miriamelder

Sarah Harrison / Guardian:

Britain is treating journalists as terrorists - believe me, I know — My links to WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden mean I am treated as a threat and can't return to the UK. We need a free speech roadmap — Free speech and freedom of the press are under attack in the UK.

Discussion: @wikileakssforum, @webmink, @runasand, @dangillmor and @higgis

Bloomberg:

Jennifer Lopez-Backed NuvoTV Said to Make Offer for Fuse — Jennifer Lopez, the singer and actress who dated Sean “Diddy” Combs more than a decade ago, is now challenging her former beau as the two compete for Madison Square Garden Co.'s Fuse TV, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Discussion: Reuters, EURweb, @sfnick, The Boombox, TheCelebrityCafe.com and Mediawire Daily

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Vice News Quickly Makes Mark With Ukraine Dispatches — NEW YORK — Vice News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky has reported extensively through Central Asia, the Middle East and the Caucasus region, but says he's never encountered as much hostility as he has covering the Russian invasion of Crimea.

Discussion: NY Daily News

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Newspaper ill-advised to let police post their own online story — A newspaper that allowed its local police force to publish an article directly on to its website should be wary of celebrating the initiative. — Torbay police posted a “story” on the site of the Torquay Herald Express …

Discussion: HoldTheFrontPage and @gazthejourno

Aaron Pressman / Yahoo! Finance:

Popcorn Time app shuts down amid threats of video piracy — Popcorn Time, we hardly knew ya. Just a few days after the new app arrived on the scene with its incredibly easy to use interface giving users acces to the entire Internet storehouse of illegally uploaded movies and TV shows, it has shut down.

Discussion: Business Insider and Medium

Reuters:

Russia accuses U.S. of discrimination against Russian journalists — (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Friday of unacceptable discrimination against Russian journalists by barring them from a news conference given by President Barack Obama and Ukraine's prime minister.

Discussion: Stuff.co.nz, RTÉ, Worldcrunch, The Huffington Post and ITAR-TASS

Haniya Rae / Digiday:

How Time Out NY's rethinking for digital — As a print publication of nightlife and restaurant listings, Time Out New York is an outlier in a world with Foursquare, Yelp, Urbanspoon and any number of apps to connect people with things to do and places to go. — That's why it's retooling for digital.

Brian Fung / The Switch:

Reporters Without Borders: For the first time, America is an enemy of the Internet — For the first time, the United States has made it onto Reporters Without Borders' “Enemies of the Internet” list, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jillian York. — How did Washington win this distinguished (dis)honor?

Discussion: Poynter, Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Huffington Post and Reporters Without Borders

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

What a German Comedy Can Teach Kristen Bell About Crowdfunding — After three weeks near the top of the German box office, “Stromberg” is set to pay back online fans who invested $1.4 million to get it made. — Kirsten Bell's Veronica Mars reboot is set to light up the box office …

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

European VOD Service Viewster Kicks Off $100,000 Online Film Competition — Users can vote on the 84 shorts and features submitted to the first annual Viewster Online Film Fest. — European VOD service Viewster has launched its first-ever online film festival, putting up $100,000 …

Joanna Plucinska / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A: Radio Free Europe's Ukrainian director — Maryana Drach on her staff's experiences reporting on the conflict — For journalists in Ukraine, safety has become a leading concern. Radio Svoboda, the Ukrainian branch of Radio Free Europe, had been covering the protests (in Ukrainian) since they started in November.

Discussion: Forbes

Jim Romenesko:

Don Graham: I'm really impressed with the Washington Post right now — Former Washington Post Co. CEO Don Graham (now head of Graham Holdings Co.) spoke with OZY for a two-part video interview. Here are some excerpts: — On the Post under Jeff Bezos: — “I've stayed away from the Post [since selling it].