Mediagazer: French journalists kidnapped in Syria freed (Al Jazeera English)

12:55 PM ET, April 19, 2014

Top News:

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Newspaper industry narrowed revenue loss in 2013 as paywall plans increased — The newspaper industry narrowed its total revenue loss in 2013 to 2.6 percent, the best performance since the mid-2000s, according to figures released today by the Newspaper Association of America.

Discussion: @jacquiemcnish, Mashable, Associated Press and Media & Entertainment

Alan D. Mutter / Reflections of a Newsosaur:

Print ads fell 8.6% at papers in 2013: NAA — In the eighth consecutive year of decline, print advertising at the nation's newspapers fell 8.6% to $17.3 billion in 2013, according to statistics released today by the Newspaper Association of America. — This means the primary revenue stream …

Discussion: Newspaper Association …

Al Jazeera English:

French journalists kidnapped in Syria freed — Four journalists found on the Turkish border with Syria after being kidnapped last June by al-Qaeda-linked group. — Four French journalists kidnapped in Syria last June by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) …

Discussion: Poynter and english.rfi.fr

Agence France-Presse:

French reporters held captive in Syria set free — Four French journalists held captive in Syria for almost a year were free and “in good health” on Saturday, President Francois Hollande told AFP. In a statement to AFP, the president said he had “learned with great relief this morning …

Discussion: Reuters, BBC, Daily Sabah and ABC News

Tom Cheredar / VentureBeat:

Comcast: Binge watching actually helps live TV ratings (exclusive) — The best way to hook someone into an existing series of stories is to make sure they can start from the beginning. The same is also true of TV shows, and Comcast has the data to back it up.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

British Pathé Uploads Entire 85,000-Film Archive to YouTube in HD — British Pathé, the U.K. newsreel archive company, has uploaded its entire 100-year collection of 85,000 historic films in high resolution to YouTube. — The collection, which spans 1896 to 1976 …

Discussion: Gizmodo UK, @nathanheller, Motherboard, New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, The Verge and kottke.org

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Kyiv Post delivers English language news from embattled Ukraine with budget of $60k a month — The newsonomics of the Kyiv Post's embattled work — It was the night of January 22. Kyiv Post editor Christopher J. Miller was out on the Maidan, Kiev's main square and its center of protest.

Discussion: @nycjim and @niemanlab

Saya Weissman / Digiday:

The Truth in Advertising Act aims to regulate photo manipulation in US ads — There's a push to make photoshopped models in ads illegal — In 2011, British member of parliament Jo Swinson ordered Lancôme to take down London billboard ads featuring Photoshopped images of famous women — Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington.

Discussion: AdAge

Capital New York:

The 60-second interview: Tom Goldstein, SCOTUSblog publisher — CAPITAL: SCOTUSblog is now more than 12 years old, and was the first blog to ever be awarded a Peabody, yet the Senate Press Gallery declined to renew reporter Lyle Denniston's press credential last week.

Discussion: @capitalnewyork and @niemanlab

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

About.com plots its digital comeback — When About.com was launched in 1997, Google didn't exist, most Internet users were on dial-up, and the Web browser of choice was Netscape Navigator. A once-iconic Internet brand that, back in 2005, was sold to The New York Times for $410 million …

Discussion: @digiday

Megan Geuss / Ars Technica:

Digital Public Library of America to add millions of records to its archive — At one year old, DPLA makes some big partnerships and looks back on its growth. — Today marks the Digital Public Library of America's one-year anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, the non-profit library …

Discussion: Melville House Books

Tom Cheredar / VentureBeat:

Comcast and Time Warner may sell 3-5M subscribers for up to $20B to Charter before merger — Ahead of its TWC merger, Comcast may sell 5M subscribers to Charter — Comcast and Time Warner Cable are in discussions with smaller cable provider Charter to sell up to $20 billion worth of assets, according to a Financial Times report.

Discussion: Financial Times, @danprimack, The Verge and @zseward