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, USA Today, Reflections of a Newsosaur, Mashable, Guardian, storify.com, @raju, Media Nation, @vivian, @jbenton, News & Tech, Talking New Media, @jkrim, USA Today, @maura, Salt Lake Tribune, @mattsebastian, Philadelphia Magazine, @mjenkins, Crain's Detroit Business, @abeaujon, Politico, @johnghendy, LA Observed, Street Fight, NetNewsCheck Latest, @marykimm, @markkatches, @sojcsuzi, @amp6, @niemanlab, /Film, @dankennedy_nu, Kirk LaPointe's …, @haileyerin, @nacin, @robwdavis, @rafat, @abeaujon, @thomlieb, @meranduh, @kchapline, @mattmcalister, @tscurrie, @sladurantaye, @markloundy, New Haven Independent, @johnmcquaid, @jweb, @aaronmedwards, @mathewi, @ckrewson, @mattwaite, @raju, @bydanielvictor and @chanders
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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, @alexweprin, It's a Gadget 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, Wired, @pkafka, Mashable, Washington Post, TIME, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, Businessweek, Business Insider 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, NBC News, VentureBeat, CNNMoney.com, The Wire, TechRadar.com, The Next Web, Mashable, BBC, TechCrunch, @emily, SlashGear, @tim, Ars Technica, ExtremeTech, VG247, canada.com 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, yelvington.com, Hot Air, @peterlattman, MinnPost, The Newspaper Guild, JIMROMENESKO.COM and NewsCut
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:
@grahamorama, FishbowlNY 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, bizjournals, Hollywood Reporter, @shaycarl, Re/code, @digitalerfilm, The Wrap, Guardian, @jstrauss and Broadcasting & Cable
Tracie Powell / Columbia Journalism Review:
The National Association of Broadcasters and Congressional Republicans are both trying to stymie new FCC rules against broadcast conglomerates — The National Association of Broadcasters and Congressional Republicans are both trying to stymie new FCC rules against broadcast conglomerates
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com
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 …
John McDuling / Quartz:
CNN's over-the-top, nonstop coverage of MH370 might solve its ratings problem — “It was the most-watched event in TV history, and CNN owned it,” wrote Entertainment Weekly. — That was 1991, when the Gulf War propelled CNN (and for that matter, 24-hour cable news) into the American mainstream.
Discussion:
Variety, Inside Cable News and Business Insider
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, Engadget and Telegraph
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
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 …
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:
@musicfirst and @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