Top News:
Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Digital First Media is closing Thunderdome and putting papers up for sale in $100M cost cutting initiative — The newsonomics of Digital First Media's Thunderdome implosion (and coming sale) — Today, we'll hear official word of the demise of Project Thunderdome, one of the news industry's …
Discussion:
Poynter, Washington Post, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, Mmm. Smooth Buttry Goodness, Poynter, Gigaom, Guardian, Mashable, Media Nation, NetNewsCheck Latest, storify.com, @raju, @vivian, LA Observed, Crain's Detroit Business, @rafat, @amp6, @jbenton, @markkatches, News & Tech, @marykimm, Talking New Media, @nacin, @haileyerin, @jkrim, USA Today, @johnghendy, @maura, Salt Lake Tribune, @abeaujon, /Film, @mattsebastian, Philadelphia Magazine, @mjenkins, @niemanlab, @dankennedy_nu, @sojcsuzi, @abeaujon, Street Fight, @robwdavis, Politico, @thomlieb, @meranduh, @kchapline, @mattmcalister, @tscurrie, @sladurantaye, @markloundy, Kirk LaPointe's …, @johnmcquaid, @jweb, @aaronmedwards, @mathewi, @ckrewson, @mattwaite, @raju, @bydanielvictor, @chanders and New Haven Independent
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John Paton / Digital First:
Moving On From Thunderdome — Media changes very fast these days and nothing changes faster than digital. — Make a change, then get set in your ways and become reluctant to make other changes and you get left behind. — Today, we are going to be making some changes to our Project Thunderdome activities and go in a new direction.
Discussion:
@dfmthunderdome, @jbenton, @stevebuttry, @raju, @gnadv and @jilliansed
Dan Kennedy / The Huffington Post:
The View From New Haven: What Went Wrong With Digital First — The end may be near for one of the most widely watched experiments in local journalism. — Early today, Ken Doctor reported at the Nieman Journalism Lab that Digital First Media was pulling the plug on Project Thunderdome …
Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:
Parental controls, gaming, and Amazon's focus on kids' content could give Fire TV a boost — Here's why Amazon's Fire TV could become a big seller: Kids — Amazon's new Fire TV streaming box offers a lot of the same content that's already available through competing devices like Apple TV …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, New York Times, It's a Gadget, @alexweprin and Broadcasting & Cable
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Terrence O'Brien / Engadget:
Amazon launches Fire TV, an Android-powered streaming and gaming set-top box for $99
Amazon launches Fire TV, an Android-powered streaming and gaming set-top box for $99
Discussion:
The Verge, Amazon.com, ReadWrite, cnbc.com, TechCrunch, Gigaom, MacRumors, Gizmodo, The Verge, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, BBC, canada.com, The Verge, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, CNNMoney.com, The Wire, TechRadar.com, The Next Web, Mashable, @emily, SlashGear, @tim, Ars Technica, ExtremeTech and VG247
Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:
NYT Now, out today, mixes lots of good mobile-centric ideas with moments of caution — If you've got an iPhone or an iPod touch, NYT Now is out now and a free download. The new app from The New York Times promises to offer a subset of the Times' content to a mobile-focused audience that gets …
Discussion:
Poynter, The Atlantic Online, FishbowlNY, @clairecm, @pilhofer, The New York Observer, @niemanlab, New York Times and Business Insider
David Carr / New York Times:
Minneapolis Newspaper Gets a New Life, but I Remember the Old One — By now it's a familiar story: a once-mighty regional newspaper is brought low by punishing economics and a series of owners who could not change that math, and is now being scooped up by the local rich guy.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Hot Air, yelvington.com, @peterlattman, MinnPost, The Newspaper Guild, JIMROMENESKO.COM, NewsCut and @megankadlec
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
In build-out, New York Post to launch new entertainment vertical — The New York Post is expanding its web operation in a bid to scale its digital audience in 2014. — A handful of online journalists have been hired recently , working under digital chief Remy Stern.
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, @grahamorama and @unclegrambo
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AwesomenessTV Buys YouTube MCN Big Frame for $15 Million — Deal by DreamWorks Animation unit follows Disney acquisition of Maker Studios — AwesomenessTV, the digital media arm of DreamWorks Animation, announced the acquisition of YouTube multichannel network Big Frame for $15 million in cash.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Broadcasting & Cable, @jstrauss, @shaycarl, @digitalerfilm, bizjournals, Hollywood Reporter, Re/code, The Wrap and Guardian
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Music Industry Pushes Unified Message on Compensation — When it comes to the music industry's lobbying efforts in Washington, it is time for some harmony. — That message has gained momentum among music executives, who worry that squabbling among the various players — record labels …
Discussion:
@nytimes
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Saudi Arabia Government Blocks The Pirate Bay (and More) — Blocking The Pirate Bay has become quite common around Europe in recent years, and today this practice spread to Saudi Arabia. — Without prior warning or official announcement, the country's Ministry for Culture …
Discussion:
Plagiarism Today and Softpedia News
Michael Malone / Broadcasting & Cable:
Gannett, Weinstein Co. Partner on First-Look Deal — Film and TV giant gets first crack at local Gannett stories — Gannett and The Weinstein Company have forged a content partnership that gives the film and television studio first consideration for programming ideas stemming from Gannett's content.
Discussion:
New York Times, Variety, Deadline.com, PR Newswire, ScreenDaily, Capital New York, @alexweprin and IWantPop
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
NYT plans political news tip sheet “First Draft” to compete with Politico and Washington Post — Times plans tip sheet, ‘First Draft’ — The New York Times is gearing up for the launch of an early-morning tip sheet aimed at readers of political news.
Discussion:
@cwarzel, @mlcalderone, @davidpasch and @tmcgev
Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:
Hulu adds focus on binge TV, inks deal with NBCU for exclusive rights to past-season shows — Hulu Adds to Its ‘Binge TV’ Catalog — As Marketplace Changes, Video Subscription Service Strikes Deal for Past-Season NBCU Shows — Hulu will have exclusive rights to past seasons …
Discussion:
Hulu Blog, Wall Street Journal, multichannel.com/rss, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, WorldScreen.com and TheFutonCritic.com
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
As it prepares to spin off on its own, Time Inc. tries to write its own script — In February, Time Inc. C.E.O. Joe Ripp hosted a series of town halls to bring his several thousand employees up to speed on the state of the business. Held in the company's eighth-floor, 300-capacity auditorium …
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Report: Netflix Sets French Headquarters In Luxembourg to Bypass Gallic Regulations — Netflix will be launching in France in the fall — PARIS — Netflix is set to follow iTunes and Google's footsteps: The service will launch in Gaul in the fall but will be headquartered Luxembourg in order to avoid the heavy French regulations.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, GlobalPost, Telegraph and Engadget
Nick Vivarelli / Variety:
Italo Motion Picture Org ANICA Launches Its Own VOD Service — ROME - Italy's motion picture association ANICA is launching its own Video-On-Demand service for movies intended as a tool to fight the country's rampant piracy plague and also to stimulate online distribution now stalled …
Brett Scott / Contributoria:
Crowdfunding critical thought: How alternative finance builds alternative journalism — Greg Palast's approach to investigative journalism can be summed up in one phrase: Stand up for the underdogs, and take on the fatcats. His hard-hitting reports on corporations like ExxonMobil …
Discussion:
@rossdawson, @adamgomolin, @cjenscook, @peterbrownbarra and @lightcoin
Humeyra Pamuk / Reuters:
Turkey's Twitter ban violates free speech: constitutional court — (Reuters) - Turkey's block on access to Twitter violated freedom of expression and individual rights, the constitutional court said on Wednesday, the most significant legal challenge yet to a ban which caused public uproar and international condemnation.
Discussion:
Hürriyet Daily News, @policy and The Verge