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, Mmm. Smooth Buttry Goodness, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter, Gigaom, Mashable, Guardian, Media Nation, NetNewsCheck Latest, storify.com, @raju, @vivian, Crain's Detroit Business, @amp6, @jbenton, @markkatches, News & Tech, @marykimm, Talking New Media, @jkrim, USA Today, @johnghendy, @maura, Salt Lake Tribune, /Film, @mattsebastian, Philadelphia Magazine, @mjenkins, @niemanlab, @dankennedy_nu, @sojcsuzi, @abeaujon, Street Fight, Politico, LA Observed, @haileyerin, @rafat, @nacin, @robwdavis, @abeaujon, @thomlieb, @meranduh, @kchapline, @mattmcalister, Kirk LaPointe's …, @tscurrie, @sladurantaye, @markloundy, @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 …, It's a Gadget, @alexweprin, New York Times and Broadcasting & Cable
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Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Same Stuff, Same Price, More Features: Amazon's TV Box Aims at Apple TV and Roku
Same Stuff, Same Price, More Features: Amazon's TV Box Aims at Apple TV and Roku
Discussion:
New York Times, AdAge, The Wrap, USA Today, Variety, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Wired, TIME, @pkafka, Mashable, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Businessweek and App Advice
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, Wall Street Journal, canada.com, BBC, TechCrunch, NBC News, VentureBeat, CNNMoney.com, The Wire, TechRadar.com, The Next Web, Mashable, @emily, SlashGear, @tim, Ars Technica, ExtremeTech, VG247 and The Verge
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, @jstrauss, Broadcasting & Cable, @shaycarl, Hollywood Reporter, bizjournals, Re/code, @digitalerfilm, The Wrap and Guardian
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, ScreenDaily, Capital New York, PR Newswire, @alexweprin and IWantPop
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
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, Telegraph, GlobalPost 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 …
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Ohio Newspaper May Sue Army Over Civil Rights Violations — NEW YORK — The Blade, a newspaper based in Toledo, Ohio, may file a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army after two journalists were detained Friday for photographing the exterior of a tank plant that's visible from the street.
Discussion:
Toledo Blade and @nppalawyer
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 …
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, Variety, multichannel.com/rss, Broadcasting & Cable, WorldScreen.com and TheFutonCritic.com
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
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