Mediagazer: Former Maker employee and shareholder Andy Faberlle sues to block acquisition by Disney (Eriq Gardner/Hollywood Reporter)

10:05 AM ET, April 18, 2014

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Record Labels Sue Pandora Over Pre-1972 Recordings — The popular streaming service is hit with a complaint in New York court with potentially big consequences. — The major record labels are now suing Pandora for exploiting sound recordings made prior to February 15, 1972.

Discussion: New York Times, PC World and Billboard

Edward Nawotka / Publishing Perspectives:

Byliner uses social media to monetize back catalog, tie older stories to current news hooks — Byliner Sees Huge Opportunity in “Second Serial” Rights — Join us on April 24 in NYC at this half-day event, where we'll discuss how to sell more backlist titles, find new licensing and distribution channels …

Barbara Selvin / Poynter:

Newseum will include weeklies in its “Today's Front Pages” exhibit after campaign by editors — Newseum relents, will display weeklies after protest by editors — A daylong protest by weekly newspaper editors from around the U.S. against the Newseum's snubbing …

Discussion: @poynter

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Former Maker employee and shareholder Andy Faberlle sues to block acquisition by Disney — Maker-Disney: New Lawsuit Asks for Unwinding of Merger — A shareholder argues that Disney's acquisition came after fraud at the company. — Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz

Discussion: Variety

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

ESPN Sees Continued Profitability Despite Competition — Aiming to squelch smoldering concerns about ESPN's continued profitability amid rising sports rights costs, the Walt Disney Company on Thursday said profits at its ESPN-dominated cable networks unit would grow in the “high single digits” …

Discussion: Deadline.com

Alexandra Topping / Guardian:

Eric Pickles: I'll shut council freesheets that publish ‘propaganda on the rates’ — Communities secretary targets five Labour-led London boroughs, where he says free press is being put out of business — An advertising board for a London newspaper. Eric Pickles says the capital's local press …

Discussion: Telegraph, Daily Mail, Hacknety Gazette, Hackney Citizen, ITV, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk and Guardian

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Amazon is adding Hulu Plus, Crackle, and Showtime Anytime catalogs into Fire TV's voice search — Amazon today announced Hulu Plus, Crackle, and Showtime Anytime will be adding support for their full catalogs into Fire TV's unified voice search feature “starting this summer.”

Discussion: Amazon.com, MediaPost, AppleInsider, VentureBeat and The Verge

Politico:

Conservative radio hosts garnered nearly $22M in sponsorships from conservative lobby groups — The tea party radio network — Glenn Beck worked the crowd like a preacher at a rally this month in Louisville, Ky., declaring that God had responded to conservatives' prayers by sending a slate …

Discussion: @kenvogel

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

Confusion over dead celebrities on social media, as Twitter suspends James Dean fan account — Twitter's finished being a rebel, at least when it comes to standing up for a James Dean fan who is being sued by a celebrity licensing company that wants to claim the fan's @jamesdean account.

Discussion: @gigaom

Sandra Oshiro / Poynter:

Media organizations challenge order to take down anti-Muslim video — Major news organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Google and YouTube in their effort to overturn a takedown order for an anti-Muslim video that inflamed Islamic communities worldwide.

Discussion: Softpedia News, Reporter's Committee …, @poynter and Ars Technica

Jennifer Faull / The Drum:

Nearly 20% of YouTube users now pay less attention to TV, finds Google study — YouTube is having a measurable impact on TV consumption, with nearly one fifth (19 per cent) of YouTube users saying they pay less attention to TV and 17 per cent stating that they watch TV less overall.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Denver Post strengthens sponsored content designation on energy section — Following articles that said a Denver Post-sponsored energy section wasn't marked clearly enough, Post President and CEO Mac Tully told Poynter in an email the paper decided to “strengthen the sponsored content designation …

Discussion: Center for Western Priorities, @bj_bobbijo, Wonkette, @wglabe, @markloundy and ThinkProgress