Mediagazer: Average journalism gets crowded out as the internet eases delivery of the best journalism (Ben Thompson/stratechery)

11:10 AM ET, March 18, 2014

Top News:

Ben Thompson / stratechery:

Average journalism gets crowded out as the internet eases delivery of the best journalism — FiveThirtyEight and the End of Average — Just a few minutes ago, Nate Silver's new FiveThirtyEight site launched. While it's not known how much ESPN is paying Silver, it's certainly a substantial amount …

Discussion: USA Today, @mathewi and @karaswisher

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

FiveThirtyEight launches to make data journalism accessible without sacrificing rigor — What the Fox Knows — FiveThirtyEight is a data journalism organization. Let me explain what we mean by that, and why we think the intersection of data and journalism is so important.

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Amazon's Set Top Box Will Be A Dongle Like Chromecast, Could Feature OnLive-Style Streaming — Amazon is readying a game console/set top box of its own, and we've learned from multiple sources familiar with the device that the Lab126-produced gadget will have a form factor similar to the Chromecast …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, Business Insider, ReadWrite, MacRumors, WebProNews, App Advice, Softpedia News, PC Advisor, Mashable, Electronista and MCV: Home Stream

Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon to Ship Video-Streaming Device in April

Discussion: Business Insider, VG247, Ubergizmo, Cult of Mac, CNET, The Verge and Engadget

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Charged Sun journalist: ‘Alarming’ police crackdown has made reporters ‘fearful’ of contact with public officials — A Sun journalist facing trial for ‘conspiracy to cause misconduct in public office’ has highlighted the plight of the many UK journalists caught up in criminal investigations prompted by the hacking scandal.

Discussion: @domponsford and @gazthejourno

Michael Holden / Reuters:
PM Cameron's ex-media chief agreed to fund hacking - court

Discussion: The Independent, BBC and Guardian

KING-TV:

News helicopter crashes at Seattle Center — A news helicopter crashed on top of a car at Seattle Center Tuesday morning and caught fire. — KOMO-TV confirmed that it is their helicopter. The helicopter was being used in a joint partnership between KOMO and KING 5. — We have no official word on injuries.

Discussion: Poynter, @q13fox and @king5seattle

Tom Conrad / Pandora Blog:

Pandora CTO Tom Conrad stepping aside, transitioning to advisory role — On a personal note... Back in the early days of Pandora, I was frequently the person who would post to our blog with news about the latest product enhancements and company milestones.

Discussion: TechCrunch, VentureBeat, @om and Re/code

L.A. Ross / The Wrap:

Scott Robson Out as Editor of Yahoo Entertainment (Exclusive) — Veteran editor is leaving after less than two years as head of website's entertainment division Scott Robson is out at Yahoo Entertainment after less than two years as editor in chief, two individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Cal Borchers / BetaBoston:

Northeastern University receives $250K from Knight Foundation for new media innovation course — Who invited them? Innovation party crashers keep coming as Northeastern launches new journalism program — First the musicians, now the reporters. Sorry, tech types. There's another crasher at your innovation party.

Discussion: @niemanlab

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Trinity Mirror to close weekly newspaper office in pilot experiment — Trinity Mirror has launched an experiment to test whether local newspaper journalists can report for their paper without an office. — Reporters working at the Crewe Chronicle have been told their office is to close, probably by the end of May.

Discussion: National Union of Journalists and @themediaisdying

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

Comcast and Time Warner Cable lost 1.1 million video customers in 2013 — Pay-TV isn't going away, though, as AT&T and Verizon boost subscriber numbers. — Comcast, Time Warner Cable (TWC), and all other top cable companies lost pay-TV subscribers in 2013, but the companies were able …

Discussion: Forbes, @obrien and VideoNuze Analysis

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

YouTube is reportedly building a version for kids under 10 years old, asks creators for child-oriented content — As the biggest video sharing site by a landslide, YouTube attracts people from all walks of life, for better or for worse. Yet the Google-owned company is reportedly developing …

Discussion: The Information, Daily Mail and @amir

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn asks court to unmask blogger who writes at Seeking Alpha — Hedge Fund Spars With a Nameless Blogger — Who was the leaker? — That is what David Einhorn, the outspoken hedge fund manager, wanted to know after one of his firm's investments was disclosed by an anonymous blogger last year.

Discussion: @felixsalmon and Business Insider

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Vimeo Buys Video-Making App Cameo, a Few Months After Its Debut — Vimeo has bought Cameo, a video-making app that launched last fall. It's the second time in the last year that IAC's video site has acquired a video app. — Cameo is supposed to offer easy-to-use video editing software …

Discussion: The Next Web, PR Newswire and App Advice

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

Business Insider's Henry Blodget pushes back against Michael Wolff's gloomy outlook for ad-supported digital media — USA Today Is Worried About Us And The Digital Media Industry! — USA Today columnist Michael Wolff has written a column expressing his view of the prospects for our business and that of other digital news companies.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @michaelwolffnyc, @michaelwolffnyc, @reformedbroker, @michaelwolffnyc, @jayrosen_nyu, @michaelwolffnyc, @katie_roof, @jeffjarvis, @hblodget, @raju and @mathewi

Dan Primack / Fortune:
You can't judge Business Insider's value by its investors

Discussion: Talking Biz News and USA Today

Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:

Diversity—or lack thereof—in journalism startups, cont. — Emily Bell weighs in on the response to her Guardian column from last week — Someone is wrong on the internet, and I wonder if it might be me. Last week I wrote a piece for the Guardian about what I saw as a disappointing trend …

Discussion: Zombie Journalism and PSFK

Elizabeth Jensen / New York Times:

State funding for public television is increasing, $191.5M allocated for 2014, up $10M from last year — In Reversal Since the Recession, Some States Give More Money to Public Television — Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana would seem an unlikely candidate to receive an award from the Association …

Discussion: @richhomberg and Committee to Protect …

Connie Cass / Associated Press:

Study: three quarters of Americans get news at least daily, using multiple devices and sources — ON THE MEDIA BUFFET, PEOPLE STILL SEEK MEATY NEWS — WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans of all ages still pay heed to serious news even as they seek out the lighter stuff, choosing their own …

Discussion: American Press Institute, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, American Press Institute, TVNewser, Kirk LaPointe's … and @brianstelter

Joe Concha / Mediaite:

Source: Jay Carney to Resign in Spring; CNN Next Stop for Press Secretary? — Sometime soon, you may not be hearing the following six words in a row: — “White House Press Secretary Jay Carney...” — That's because — according to my reliable sources — Mr. Carney will resign in the spring.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Politico and The Huffington Post

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Google and Viacom Settle Copyright-Infringement Lawsuit over YouTube — Google and Viacom announced the resolution of the media conglom's copyright-infringement lawsuit filed in 2007 — which had sought more than $1 billion in damages. — The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.