Mediagazer: Ezra Klein: Give Ambrosino a chance (Dylan Byers/Politico)

5:30 PM ET, March 15, 2014

Top News:

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Warner Bros. to Refund Angry ‘Veronica Mars’ Contributors — Warner Bros. will provide refunds to backers of the “Veronica Mars” crowdfunding campaign who struggled to download the movie they helped support, the studio said Friday. Irate contributors complained about their problems throughout the day …

Discussion: Re/code and @lucas_shaw

Moisés Chiullan / TechHive:

Why Veronica Mars embraced UltraViolet and angered fans — The campaign to revive Veronica Mars delivered a number of cool things—an enormous number of new Kickstarter users and, lest we forget, a full-length motion picture of a deeply loved TV series that arrived Friday.

Discussion: @film_girl, @moiseschiu, @waxpancake, @iamchoppah, Flavorwire, @timhorsburgh, @kvetchup and Variety

Lucas Shaw / The Wrap:

Can ‘Veronica Mars’ Convince Mainstream Hollywood to Embrace Crowdfunding? — “Veronica Mars” will be the greatest test yet of Hollywood's uneasy relationship with crowdfunding. — Few established filmmakers had experimented with Kickstarter when Rob Thomas, creator of the “Veronica Mars” …

Discussion: Kickstarter, Home Media Magazine, Variety, Gawker, Chicago Tribune and New York Times

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: Kickstarter brings hundreds of its funded films to iTunes

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter: What a German Comedy Can Teach Kristen Bell About Crowdfunding

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

Sarah Palin plans “Rogue TV” channel on Tapp, the upcoming $10 per month online network — Sarah Palin plans ‘Rogue TV’ — Fox News contributor and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be launching her own digital video channel, tentatively called “Rogue TV,” a source familiar with the project told Capital.

Discussion: TVNewser, Adweek, @zseward, The Wire, The Raw Story, Hot Air, Mashable, Erik Wemple, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Ezra Klein: Give Ambrosino a chance — Ezra Klein is standing by Brandon Ambrosino, a recent hire to Vox who has earned the ire of progressives and the gay community who characterize him as an apologist for homophobia. — “I could've, and should've, handled this hire a lot better.

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Politico, Slate, Vox - Facebook, The American Conservative, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Slate, The Dish, The Huffington Post, The Huffington Post and Mediaite

Associated Press:

LA Times fires reporter, admits error in 3 stories … LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Times dismissed an investigative reporter Friday after discovering he had an inappropriate relationship with someone who was a source for a front-page story that the newspaper says contained an error.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Wrap and @jasonfelch

James Wolcott / Vanity Fair:

How to Become a Name-Brand Journalist Like Arianna, Nate, and Ezra — Big-name literary branding isn't new—look at Twain or Hemingway. But today, even novice writers must nurture a social-media presence. Arianna Huffington, Nate Silver, and Ezra Klein have branded their way to the top of Journalism 2.0.

Discussion: @nbj914 and @poynter

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

VOX CEO: Here's How We're Able To Get Tons Of Traffic Without Gaming Facebook — Vox Media, parent company of popular websites The Verge and SB Nation, is growing quickly. It recently announced the launch of a new website, Vox.com, led by prominent reporter Ezra Klein …

Andrew Jacobs / New York Times:

For Foreign Journalists in Beijing, It's All About Asking the Right Question — Go ahead, raise your hand and wave it back and forth like an overeager first-grader. If you think you're going to be picked to ask China's second most powerful leader a question, you have another thing coming.

Discussion: @gadyepstein and FishbowlNY

Reuters:

Sina Weibo files for $500 million U.S. IPO — A man holds an iPhone as he visits Sina's Weibo microblogging site in Shanghai May 29, 2012. — (Reuters) - Twitter-like messaging service Weibo Corp filed on Friday to raise $500 million via a U.S. initial public offering …

Discussion: TechCrunch, @wsjd, @wsjd, @hannahkuchler, BuzzFeed, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Gigaom, Wall Street Journal and Quartz

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review:

Digital media hiring diversity under the microscope — As Nate Silver and Ezra Klein were being criticized for their homogenous hires, suggestions for diversification came to the fore — On Wednesday, Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center and a member of CJR's board of overseers …

Discussion: @melissabell, @melissabell, Medium and @cindylgeorge

Ed Christman / Billboard:

Rate Court Judge Rules Pandora Will Pay ASCAP 1.85% Annual Revenue — In what is being viewed as a defeat for songwriters, the ASCAP/Pandora rate court judge has decided that Pandora will pay the performance rights organization a rate of 1.85% of annual revenue.

Discussion: @rhettmiller, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Times and @edchristman