Mediagazer: Michael Wolff: 'Online journalism can't pay for itself' (Lucia Moses/Digiday)

12:55 AM ET, April 9, 2014

Top News:

Online competitor Alaska Dispatch is buying Anchorage Daily News from McClatchy for $34M — Alaska Dispatch to purchase Anchorage Daily News — In what amounts to a stunning media shakeup in the 49th state, the still-young online news organization Alaska Dispatch announced on Tuesday …

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News, @alaskadispatch, New York Times, @vosdscott, Reuters, @anjumsheh, @arcticassembly, @ethanklapper, @mlcalderone, @ethanklapper, @alaskarobyne, @wconnors, @adn_jomalley, Associated Press, bizjournals and Poynter

Cecilia Kang / The Switch:

Comcast the little guy? There's competition everywhere, the company argues. — Comcast says it has loads of competition — everyone from Facebook to Apple, which Comcast says is contemplating a television set-top box to compete with cable service. Plus, Netflix and Amazon are already giants …

Discussion: Free Press Blog and @jcstearns

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast, Time Warner Cable Defend Union as Benefiting ‘Millions’ in FCC Filing

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

Michael Wolff: 'Online journalism can't pay for itself' — When author, Internet entrepreneur and media pundit Michael Wolff surveys the landscape, few are safe from his bleak prognostications. In recent columns for USA Today, the Guardian and GQ, he has skewered Marissa Mayer for wanting …

Discussion: @bobtheprguy, FishbowlNY, @mediaczar, @lmoses, @niemanlab, Kirk LaPointe's …, @jason_pontin, @bmorrissey, @emilybell and @mathewi

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Journalism Lab:

How some journalists are using anonymous secret-sharing apps — Gwyneth Paltrow's divorce from rock star husband Chris Martin is not an event with great civic impact. But it's big news to the many writers whose salaries depend on highly trafficked stories about celebrities, as well as to the massive audience that loves to read them.

Discussion: @niemanlab

Wall Street Journal:

DirecTV Reaches Deal With Weather Channel — Pact Ends Monthslong Dispute, Will Restore Channel to Satellite Operator's Lineup — DirecTV reached an agreement to restore the Weather Channel to its program lineup, say people familiar with the matter, after a monthslong dispute between the two companies over program fees.

Discussion: New York Times, CNET, @jbflint, @jimcantore, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, AdAge, Variety, Mashable and Inside Cable News

Jill Colvin / The New York Observer:

De Blasio Places Personal Call to CBS to Keep ‘Late Show’ in NYC — Mayor Bill de Blasio today revealed that he placed a personal call to CBS head honcho Les Moonves yesterday, urging the network to keep the Late Show With David Letterman in the city after its host's departure next year.

Discussion: Mediaite, New Yorker, Capital New York, The Wrap and New York Magazine

Jack Shafer:

NYT's Times Premier is mainly a repackaged New York Times subscription, not worth the upgrade — Dressing up the NYT with fins, chrome and glitter — At the beginning of April, the New York Times launched its “Times Premier” digital offering, accessible to Times home delivery subscribers …

Discussion: @mathewi, @lmoses, @sulliview and @antderosa

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

The Accelerator: Condé Nast tries its hand at social ads — Social is the new search, but many publishers are then left with heaps of traffic they can't make money from. — Condé Nast is attempting to solve that problem with The Accelerator, a platform that predicts when a story …

Discussion: AdExchanger, @ben_kaplan and Business Insider

Press Gazette:

Android fastest-growing platform for Sky News as app downloads hit 10 million — Sky News says it has reached the 10-million download milestone for its mobile applications - across iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and Blackberry. — The jump from 9 million to 10 million downloads …

Paul Sawers / The Next Web:

Sesame Street now has its own dedicated video-on-demand service called Sesame GO — Breaking Bad fan? Sign-up to Netflix. Looking to stream more recent theatrical releases? Check out Amazon Instant Video. Kids addicted to Sesame Street? Well, there's a new kid on the VOD block just for that.

Discussion: Gigaom, Mobile Entertainment Feed, Electronista, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, VideoNuze Analysis and App Advice

Rachel Bartlett / Journalism.co.uk:

The digital strategy ‘journey’ at Al Jazeera English — A look at Al Jazeera English's approach to multi-platform content production and the ‘opportunity’ of user-generated content, based on an interview with managing director Al Anstey — Al Jazeera English's move to implement …

Casey Johnston / Ars Technica:

Just having a 4K TV isn't enough to see Netflix's 4K streams — Netflix just added 4K, but it won't work everywhere. — Netflix has added 4K streams to its slate of offerings as of Tuesday, according to a report from CNET. However, the streams only work on TVs that were released this year …

Discussion: Multichannel, CNET, TechRadar.com, TIME, HDTV News and The Verge

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

Esquire Network Quicker to Attract Advertisers Than Audiences — Esquire Editor David Granger pitched a TV show to Adam Stotsky. But the general manager for Esquire Network, the cable channel named after Mr. Granger's magazine, passed. — “He was pretty frank with me that it was a good idea …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Discovery Acquires Stake in DogTV, a Network Aimed at Canine Viewers — Discovery Communications has invested in DogTV, a 24-hour cable channel aimed at entertaining and relaxing pooches. Really. — The size of Discovery's stake was not disclosed. DogTV said it will use the investment to drive sales and marketing of the network.

Discussion: @aubernalevy and @learmonth