Mediagazer: In Defense of Explaining Things (John Herrman/The Awl)

8:15 PM ET, April 23, 2014

Top News:

FCC to propose letting broadband providers give some traffic preferential treatment — FCC to Propose New ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules — Proposal Would Allow Broadband Providers to Charge Content Companies for Consumer Access — WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission plans …

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Felix Salmon to Take on Web-Based Role at Fusion — Felix Salmon, a prominent writer on finance and other topics who announced this week that he was leaving Reuters, will join the cable network Fusion on Monday in a web-based role that runs across multiple media.

Discussion: Gigaom, Capital New York, @deilemberg, @dylanbyers, @isaacleep, @dkthomp, @moorehn, @jledbetter and @felixsalmon

Felix Salmon / Medium:

Salmon: Fusion offers chance to experiment with digital storytelling wherever audience may be — Why I'm joining Fusion — I'm leaving Reuters and joining Fusion. Which I'm sure was not at the top of anybody's list of the most likely places for me to go.

Discussion: @mathewi, @bridgetwi, @froomkin, @dlboardman, @gaberivera, @nytfridge, @espiers, @lpolgreen, @mckaycoppins, @jayrosen_nyu, @jeffjarvis and @felixsalmon

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Amazon to pay HBO more than $300M over three years in streaming deal — HBO's Amazon Haul Is Big — But Not as Big as You Might Think — How much is Amazon paying to get its hands on HBO's old shows? — A lot! But less than some people might have thought.

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Amazon Makes a Big Move, Snags Older HBO Shows for Web Streaming — You still can't get new HBO shows, like this season's “Game of Thrones,” without paying for TV. — But starting in May, you'll be able to get some of the premium cable channel's older stuff online — via an Amazon Prime subscription.

Amazon.com:

Amazon and HBO Ink Exclusive Multi-Year Deal to Bring Award-Winning HBO Programming to Prime Members — For the first time ever, favorite HBO series like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Big Love, Eastbound & Down, Oz, Band of Brothers and Deadwood, as well as early seasons …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Gigaom, multichannel.com, Hollywood Reporter, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Lost Remote, @outlawz616, TechCrunch, ReadWrite, AdAge, BBC, The Verge, Business Insider, ZDNet, All, VatorNews, VentureBeat, App Advice, Engadget and The Wrap

John Herrman / The Awl:

In Defense of Explaining Things — For websites meant to help us understand things, the new Explainer Sites—Vox, FiveThirtyEight, et al—are awfully disorienting. We stare them in the face and we cannot quite describe what we are looking at. Are they publications? Some sort of health food?

Discussion: Tow Center for Digital …, @marginalutility, @mariabustillos and @irin

James Ball / Guardian:

The Upshot, Vox and FiveThirtyEight: data journalism's golden age, or TMI? — A New York Times site completes the trio started by Nate Silver and Ezra Klein. Maybe it's all a little too much information — An interactive feature on The Upshot presents five different rival models of the 2014 Senate race.

Angela Haggerty / The Drum:

Financial Times targets younger readership in digital campaign — A digital advertising campaign from the Financial Times has been launched to target a younger readership. — The campaign was created with digital agency Essence and will run on digital poster sites at London commuter stations as well as Facebook and Twitter.

Discussion: Financial Times

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Gannett's broadcast revenue soars, circulation revenue slips — Revenue from broadcasting in Gannett's first quarter just about doubled over the same period a year earlier, the company announced in an earnings report Wednesday. Gannett attributed the 99.5 percent rise in broadcast revenue …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Associated Press, Broadcasting & Cable, Gannett Company, Inc, Reuters, NetNewsCheck Latest, TVNewsCheck.com and @abeaujon

Capital New York:

The 60-second interview: Ayesha Siddiqi, Buzzfeed Ideas editor — CAPITAL: Buzzfeed Ideas is now in its fourth week. What was your editorial vision for the site when you were hired, and how close to that vision has it been so far? — SIDDIQI: I've been very lucky to join a company that trusts my vision for this space.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Andy Coulson: I quit David Cameron role due to phone-hacking coverage — Prime minister's former spin doctor tells court of the reasons for his resignations from No 10 and the News of the World — Andy Coulson resigned as David Cameron's spin doctor in January 2011 because his ability …

Discussion: mUmBRELLA

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Andy Coulson denies ‘covering up’ phone hacking at News of the World

Discussion: BBC, Latest, thedrum.com, The Independent, Reuters, Bloomberg, Sydney Morning Herald, Associated Press, UK - The Huffington Post and Associated Press

Francesca Bacardi / Variety:

Facebook Exec Says Oculus Rift May Expand Into Movies — USC professor Jonathan Taplin and Cory Ondrejka, Facebook's VP of mobile engineering, addressed the future of mobile technology, specifically with regard to Facebook, in the keynote presentation at Tuesday's Hollywood IT Summit, held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Raw Story, TechCrunch, Engadget and TheHill

Yuras Karmanau / Associated Press:

Pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine confirm they're holding Vice's Simon Ostrovsky captive — Pro-Russian Insurgents Hold Journalist Captive — DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine admitted on Wednesday that they are holding an American journalist who has not been seen since early Tuesday.

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Q&A: Ex-Flipboard designer Craig Mod talks about Hi, designed for community and mobile writing — Q&A: Craig Mod on making writing more mobile-friendly and where digital publishing is headed — Craig Mod spends a lot of time in motion. He's also spends no small amount of time thinking …

Discussion: @emjbanks and @tylrfishr