Mediagazer: Alibaba launches entertainment investment fund (Paul Carsten/Reuters)

8:25 AM ET, March 26, 2014

Top News:

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Pew finds embattled newspaper industry still pulls in more than half of all news revenue — Pew's 11th annual State of the News Media report, out this morning, offers fresh measures of news media revenue and news staffing at digital-only start-ups. Both findings are arresting for those of us …

Discussion: TVNewser, Columbia Journalism Review, Mediashift, Poynter's News University and stratechery

Amy Mitchell / Pew Research Journalism Project:

State of the News Media 2014 — Overview — In many ways, 2013 and early 2014 brought a level of energy to the news industry not seen for a long time. Even as challenges of the past several years continue and new ones emerge, the activities this year have created a new sense of optimism …

Discussion: Pew Research Journalism …, Nieman Journalism Lab, Journalism.org, Journalism.org, USA Today, Journalism.org, The Raw Story, @ejnetwork, @orskov, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, Digiday, @bob_grip, CNN Money, @pewresearch and @danalpage

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

State of the media: Not out of the woods by any means, but some reasons for cautious optimism — In its annual review of the media industry in the United States — which it published online early Wednesday morning — the Pew Research Center says the news business looks somewhat healthier …

Discussion: Poynter and Journalism.org, Thanks:@mathewi

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

The New York Times Bets On Its Own Reputation With Its New Mobile App — NYT Now is sleek and ambitious. But will anybody actually buy it? — NYT Now, the New York Times' soon-to-be-released mobile app is ambitious, sleek, and, for the most part, quite useful. More importantly, though, it's a wager.

Discussion: The New York Times Company and TechCrunch

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

The Times to launch NYT Now at $8/month and Times Premier at $45/month on April 2 — The Times Is Expanding Its Digital Subscriptions Offerings — The New York Times announced two new subscription plans on Wednesday, including NYT Now, a lower-priced app curated for a mobile audience …

Discussion: Poynter, Guardian, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, The Next Web and App Advice

News Corp:

Lachlan Murdoch Named Non-Executive Co-Chairman of News Corp — Lachlan Murdoch has been named Non-Executive Co-Chairman of News Corp by the Board of Directors, the company announced today. — “This appointment is a sign of confidence in the growth potential of News Corp and a recognition …

Discussion: Bloomberg, mUmBRELLA, The Age, Guardian, Financial Times, TheAustralian, The New Daily, ABC, @bernardkeane, @therealpbarry, @nikkifinke and @nicilind

Hollywood Reporter:
21st Century Fox Promotes James Murdoch to Co-COO, Names Lachlan Murdoch Non-Executive Co-Chairman

Discussion: Deadline.com, @neilchenoweth and Wall Street Journal

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

Ben Richardson shares more details about why he resigned from Bloomberg over China coverage — Another Bloomberg Editor Explains Why He Has Resigned, Over Its China Coverage — Four months ago, the New York Times ran a big story contending that Bloomberg editors had quashed an investigative report …

Discussion: Poynter, @davidfolkenflik, @emilydparker, @comradewong, Kirk LaPointe's …, @theatlantic, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @marklittlenews, Talking Biz News, @mlcalderone, @mcgregorrichard, @brianstelter and @jayrosen_nyu

Dean Starkman / Columbia Journalism Review:
Bloomberg gets a taste of transparency

Discussion: The Independent

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

Oculus Rift Just Put Facebook in the Movie Business — Commentary: Virtual reality headsets pose (very) long-term threat to the theatrical business — Just as the movie industry gathered this week at CinemaCon to discuss its future, Facebook came along and changed it without even bothering to show up in Las Vegas.

Discussion: Oculus VR, Forbes, Forbes, New York Times, @besvinick and The Next Web

Paul Carsten / Reuters:

Alibaba launches entertainment investment fund — (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the world's biggest e-commerce company, will launch a fund that allows customers to invest in entertainment products, the company said on Wednesday, as it expands its financial services platform.

Discussion: New York Times and The Next Web

New York Post:

CNN producers busted trying to get into WTC site — Two CNN producers were arrested Tuesday for trying to sneak into the World Trade Center site to test its security — after The Post reported that a teen made it all the way to the spire of the world's top terror target.

Discussion: CBS New York, TVNewser, Nation, Reuters, New York Times, @hollywoodswine, NY Daily News, Gawker, @heytammybruce, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Tarantino: Gawker Fabricated ‘News Story’ to Enable Script Theft — The director's lawyers compare the “Hateful Eight” leak post to a newspaper that reports on a film piracy ring by instructing how, where and when readers can buy their own pirated copies. — Quentin Tarantino

Discussion: The Wrap, @dangillmor and Variety

Al Jazeera English:

Turkish court orders halt to Twitter ban — Access to Twitter is expected to be restored within hours after court lifts last week's controversial ban. — A Turkish court has issued a temporary injunction ordering the telecommunications authority to restore access to Twitter …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Reuters, BBC, Haaretz, Associated Press and Engadget

Amy Schatz / Re/code:

Why an Apple-Comcast Deal Stirs Net Neutrality Concerns — Four years ago, Netflix executives painted a bleak picture for regulators struggling to reach an agreement on new rules for Internet lines. — Unless Federal Communications Commission officials closed a loophole sought …

Discussion: Fortune, Bloomberg View, Quartz, Free Press Blog and Washington Post

Katie Zezima / Washington Post:

U.S. condemns Saudi Arabia's denial of visa to Jerusalem Post reporter covering Obama — The White House has condemned Saudi Arabia for denying a visa to the Jerusalem Post's Washington bureau chief, who is traveling with President Obama. — Reporter Michael Wilner, an American …

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, USA Today, The Huffington Post, Politico, @mawilner, @marieharf, Jerusalem Post, BuzzFeed, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Jerusalem Post and Reuters

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

What the Oregonian's new web strategy gets right and what it gets wrong about online media — There's been much sound and fury in media circles about a leaked internal presentation from The Oregonian that lays out the newspaper's goals for its web content and sets performance measurements for reporters and editors.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @mathewi, Poynter, @jjeremiahcasey, The Whip and SPLICETODAY.com

Abigail Edge / Journalism.co.uk:

Buzzfeed: ‘Emotional quotient matters more than IQ’ on social — In a keynote at today's Rethink Media conference in Birmingham, BuzzFeed's Jonathan Perelman revealed the two main reasons he believes people want to share content — Social sharing has put the “power” into the hands of readers …

Discussion: @mikeisaac and Birmingham Eastside