Mediagazer: RIAA sues Megaupload over copyright infringement (Cyrus Farivar/Ars Technica)

6:40 PM ET, April 11, 2014

Top News:

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

Texas Monthly to file lawsuit over hiring of Jake Silverstein as editor of NYT Magazine — Texas Monthly to Sue New York Times Over Magazine Editor — The publisher of the Texas Monthly is expected to file a lawsuit against The New York Times and Jake Silverstein, the Monthly's editor …

Jordan Chariton / TVNewser:

Layoffs at Al Jazeera America — As it nears eight months on-air, Al Jazeera America is laying off a few dozen staff employees as well as freelance employees, TVNewser has learned. — In an email to staff we obtained, network President Kate O'Brian said the network has reached a …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Wrap, The Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Business Insider

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Inside The New Yorker's digital strategy — The New Yorker, ambling at its own pace, is busy upping its digital game. — Not only has NewYorker.com significantly increased its digital metabolism, but it has also boosted its monthly audience to an excess of 10 million …

Discussion: The Awl, @carr2n, @cotton, @ryanchittum, @penenberg, @raju and @digiday

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Henry Waxman asks Tribune CEO to reconsider newspaper spinoff — U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman has sent a letter to Tribune Co. CEO Peter Liguori saying interviews with experts “raised serious concerns about the future of the Los Angeles Times” should the company go ahead with its plan to spin off its newspaper division.

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune: Tribune Publishing to take on $325 million in debt

Andy Fixmer / Bloomberg:

CBS's Moonves Says Woman Would Be ‘Great’ as ‘Late Late’ Host — CBS (CBS) is considering hiring a woman for “The Late Late Show” as the TV network weighs a complete remodeling of its programming for night owls. — “12:30 is up in the air,” Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp. …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Gawker and @alexweprin

Meg James / Los Angeles Times: CBS' Leslie Moonves paid $67 million in 2013; Redstone gets $57 million

Amanda Holpuch / Guardian:

Journalists who broke NSA story in Guardian dedicate award to Snowden — The journalists who first revealed the extent of the National Security Agency's surveillance activities on Friday dedicated a prestigious award to their source, Edward Snowden. — Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras …

Discussion: RT, The Huffington Post, The Republic, VentureBeat and Daily Dot

David Kravets / Ars Technica:

Appeals court reverses hacker/troll “weev” conviction and sentence [Updated] — Appeals court skirts Computer Fraud And Abuse Act analysis. — A federal appeals court Friday reversed and vacated the conviction and sentence of hacker and Internet troll Andrew “weev” Auernheimer.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Forbes, Engadget, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Washington Post, Guardian, @kmactane, @falconred and Techdirt

Press Association:

Metro editor Kenny Campbell to be replaced by NY Daily News' Ted Young — Young to take charge at UK national freesheet, returning to Associated Newspapers after previously editing Mail Online — The editor of Metro, Kenny Campbell, has left after 15 years with the newspaper.

Discussion: Guardian

BuzzFeed:
“Metro” Editor Kenny Campbell Leaves Newspaper

Discussion: @richjm

Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

Ezra Klein on Vox's Launch, Media Condescension, and Competing With Wikipedia … Travel Design Dates Weddings Real Estate Doctors NYC Tourist Guide Best Of New York Issue

Discussion: Mediashift, @weareyourfek, Democracy in America, @nymag, @mzhemingway, FishbowlNY, The New York Observer, @binarybits, @moorehn, @joecoscarelli, @jayrosen_nyu, @ejleven, @ezraklein, @carson_smith, @mattzeitlin, @huffpostmedia and Digiday

Gordon Russell / The New Orleans Advocate:

Times-Picayune gives judge data on two online commenters — Judge reviewing facts after newspaper exhausts appeals — After apparently exhausting every avenue of appeal, The Times-Picayune on Thursday gave a federal magistrate “voluminous” information about two pseudonymous commenters …

Discussion: @jbenton, @mikescarcella, @gordonrussell1 and @niemanlab

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

IAC bought 11% of Tinder from Palihapitiya for only $55M, valuating company at $500M — Hot But Not That Hot: Tinder Stake Sale Puts Valuation of Whole Startup at $500 Million — As in dating online, the Bloomberg report that put the valuation of popular dating app Tinder at $5 billion was a little too good to be true.

Discussion: Bloomberg

Ryan Chittum / Columbia Journalism Review:

Michael Wolff's digital media bloopers — The Newser founder trolls (other) digital-news companies — Having accurately predicted that Lachlan Murdoch would return to his dad's company, Michael Wolff, in his exhilaration, made this crack recently: — Good one.

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Ipso or the charter? Press regulation refuseniks should avoid both — What, asked a BBC interviewer, will happen to press regulation now that Maria Miller has gone? Answer: not much. In fact, the arrival of the new culture and media secretary, Sajid Javid, will not make any difference at all.

Discussion: @charliebeckett

Abigail Edge / Journalism.co.uk:
The IMPRESS Project's plans for press regulation

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's<br …

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

AP will livestream Anja Niedringhaus' funeral — The Associated Press will livestream the funeral of photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus on Saturday. The service will take place near Hoexter, Germany, where she was born. … Niedringhaus was shot and killed Friday, April 4 …

Discussion: ap.org

Chris Velazco / Engadget:

Facebook report shows where and how often it blocked illegal content — Facebook's plan isn't a secret: Mark Zuckerberg wants to connect the world, be it through the website proper or a buzzy, expensive mobile messaging app. Breaking down communication barriers also means some of the company's millions …

Discussion: Facebook, The Next Web and The Verge

Digital First Media:

Digital First Media Names David J. Butler Editor-in-Chief — David J. Butler has been named Editor-in-Chief for Digital First Media. — New York, NY (April 11, 2014) - Digital First Media today named David J. Butler the Company's Editor-in-Chief. — Mr. Butler, editor of the San Jose Mercury News …

Discussion: Poynter

Sam Kirkland / Poynter:

Why The Seattle Times lowered its paywall during the mudslide — but not completely — The mudslide near Oso, Wash., on March 22 and its aftermath commanded national attention, but one local news organization was in position to own the story. — That meant The Seattle Times had a decision to make …

Judy Cantor-Navas / Billboard:

84% of Content Consumed in Spain is Pirated — 84% of content consumed in Spain is illegal, according to new report that adds more fuel to fiery debate in piracy-plagued country. Eighty-four percent of all online content consumed in Spain is pirated, according to a study …