Mediagazer: I Was Putin's Pawn (Elizabeth Wahl/Politico)

4:20 AM ET, March 23, 2014

Top News:

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

New York Times Story on Pakistan Censored by Local Printer — A New York Times story saying Pakistan's government protected Taliban forces was censored by the publisher's printing partner in that country, resulting in a blank hole on the front page of its international edition.

Discussion: @carlottagall, Gawker, The Verge, @sherryrehman, New York Times, Mediaite, Business Insider, @sunny_hundal, @edmundlee, @qasimnauman, CNN, New York Magazine, Mashable and The Huffington Post

Andrea Peterson / The Switch:

Turkey strengthens Twitter ban, institutes IP level block — After Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan banned Twitter in the country late Thursday night, many local users found ways to circumvent the restrictions. But getting around the ban is becoming more difficult …

Discussion: New York Times, @renesys, @cda, @mattblaze, @renesys, @ekizilkaya, The Next Web and Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal:
Google Refuses Turkey's Requests to Yank YouTube Videos

Discussion: Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Re/code, ThinkProgress, TechCrunch, @headhntr, @brianstelter, 9to5Google, Business Insider, The Switch and The Verge

Elizabeth Wahl / Politico:

I Was Putin's Pawn — What it was like to work for the Russian propaganda machine, and why I quit on live TV. — I knew I had to quit. I'd been a correspondent for RT—the English-language international cable network funded by the Russian government—for about two and a half years.

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Selling Cars.com would give newspapers millions in a one-time windfall, but should they? — The newsonomics of selling Cars.com — Sometimes, you see the train wreck coming. — Tony Ridder, the last CEO of Knight Ridder, saw the classifieds pileup ahead and would talk …

Discussion: @kdoctor, AIM Group, @kdoctor and @raju

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

NYT Public Editor on infamous trend pieces: “let's pray that they never go away” — Trend-Spotting, With Wink at Mr. Peanut — IF only I were gifted at satire, or even its goofy little brother, parody. Those skills would sometimes make commenting on The Times's journalism so much more fun.

Discussion: New York Times, @amandahess, @rafat, Allen Salkin and @stevekrak

Jim Cicconi / AT&T Public Policy Blog:

AT&T: costs caused by Netflix's growth should not be borne by all broadband subscribers — Who Should Pay for Netflix? — I saw Reed Hasting's blog yesterday from Netflix asserting in rather dramatic fashion (with diagrams) that ISPs should build facilities (he said provide …

Discussion: Softpedia News, thedrum.com, Variety, Reuters, ZDNet, Re/code, Gigaom, TechCrunch, @notpatrick, Engadget, @richbtig, @herbgreenberg, BGR, Electronista, @zseward, @jbflint, Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, The Verge, Netflix US & Canada Blog, Free Press Blog and Businessweek

Dan Rayburn / StreamingMediaBlog.com:
Netflix & Level 3 Only Telling Half The Story, Won't Detail What Changes They Want To Net Neutrality

Discussion: Business Insider, @jayrosen_nyu, BetaNews, @samgustin, @glennf, @hopusnet, CNNMoney.com, Gigaom, Boing Boing and Quartz

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom: What if Netflix switched to P2P for video streaming?

Patrick Kingsley / Guardian:

Al-Jazeera journalist jailed in Egypt loses full use of arm — Mohamed Fahmy, one of four imprisoned journalists, reveals injury has worsened after being denied treatment since arrest — One of the four jailed al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt no longer has full use of his arm …

Discussion: Full, SunNewsNetwork.ca, HeraldSun and LNR Journalism

Ed Christman / Billboard:

Apple explores Spotify-like streaming service, iTunes app for Android as downloads decline — Apple Mulls Launching Spotify Rival, Android App as Downloads Decline (Sources) — Apple has opened exploratory talks with senior label executives about the possibility of launching …

Discussion: SocialTimes, Gigaom, Softpedia News, Digital Spy, hypebot, MacRumors, 9to5Google, Pocket-lint, AppleInsider, TechCrunch, Wall St. Cheat Sheet, @ampressman, @pkafka, @rosa, App Advice, Engadget, Business Insider, @stevekovach, @yinkawrites and The Verge

Leo Barraclough / Variety:

ITV Takes Stake in Nordic VOD Channel Cirkus — LONDON — U.K. broadcaster ITV has taken a minority stake in Nordic on-demand channel Cirkus. — The service showcases British TV series through program supply agreements with ITV Studios Global Entertainment, BBC Worldwide, Endemol and All3Media International.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter

Taylor Soper / GeekWire:

Rhapsody ‘winds down’ partnership with Echo Nest after Spotify acquisition — Rhapsody today announced that it is ending its partnership with The Echo Nest, just weeks after the music intelligence company was acquired by Spotify. — Seattle-based Rhapsody said it has …

Discussion: The Rhapsody Blog, Electronista, Engadget and The Verge

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Sen. Chuck Schumer predicts Senate will pass media shield bill later this year — Chuck Schumer: Shield bill could pass Senate — Sen. Chuck Schumer on Friday predicted that the Senate will pass his bill providing protections for journalists this year, calling it “very, very likely.”

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Capital New York

Kia Kokalitcheva / VentureBeat:

Twitter Music pulled from App Store today, will be shut down April 18 — Connect with leaders from the companies in this story, in real life: Come to the fourth annual VentureBeat Mobile Summit April 14-15 in Sausalito, Calif. Request an invitation. — A Twitter app will be shutting down soon.

Discussion: Engadget, NME, Softpedia News, MacRumors, Wall Street Journal and The Verge

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:

LinkedIn plans major Pulse update for Q3, will use your professional info to personalize news — LinkedIn Said to Plan Data Personalization of Pulse App — LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) is updating its Pulse news-reader application to serve content based on users' professional data …

Discussion: SocialTimes and App Advice