Top News:
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 …
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Felix Salmon / Politico:
Is There a Wonk Bubble? — Why the boom in data journalism actually makes sense. — Call it the Wonk Bubble. If you're in the market for serious, empirical, quantitative analysis of national policy—or of just about anything else in the news these days—the East Coast Media Elite has you covered like never before.
Discussion:
@moorehn, @felixsalmon and @jayrosen_nyu
Alex DeMarban / Alaska Dispatch:
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 …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast, Time Warner Cable Defend Union as Benefiting ‘Millions’ in FCC Filing — Cable giants cite increased competition in video market, including from Netflix, Apple, Google and Amazon — Comcast's $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable will benefit millions of consumers and businesses …
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Cecilia Kang / The Switch:
Comcast the little guy? There's competition everywhere, the company argues.
Comcast the little guy? There's competition everywhere, the company argues.
Discussion:
Free Press Blog and @jcstearns
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.
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TVNewser, The Wrap, AdAge, CNET, Mashable, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, @jbflint and @jimcantore
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.
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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:
@antderosa and @lmoses
Bloomberg:
Time Inc. to Raise $1.4 Billion in Debt for Spinoff — Time Inc., the publisher of People and Time magazines, said it will raise $1.4 billion in debt as part of its planned spinoff from Time Warner Inc. (TWX) this year. — Time Inc. said it will use the proceeds to fund the acquisition …
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
AwesomenessTV Hires Ex-Disney Stores President Jim Fielding — DreamWorks Animation's AwesomenessTV plans to extend its youth-skewing media brand, which centers on YouTube videos, to merchandise. — AwesomenessTV has hired Jim Fielding, former president of Disney Stores Worldwide …
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Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Vox Media's key to growth: working with “media hackers”, says CEO Jim Bankoff — Vox Media ventures into general news and news analysis with Vox.com — Jim Bankoff was already fascinated, even a bit obsessed, by the media when he was in the third grade. As a class project, he developed his own make-
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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 …
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 …
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:
@ben_kaplan and Business Insider
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.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon Streams More Video Than Hulu or Apple, But It's Still Miles Behind Netflix — Amazon is touting a study finding that the number of streams delivered for its Prime Instant Video service nearly tripled year over year — and now surpasses Apple and Hulu in streaming-video usage.
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TechnoBuffalo, The Verge, Wall Street Journal and Fox Business