Mediagazer: Comcast shedding 3.9M subscribers to ease deal with Charter (Associated Press)

10:15 AM ET, April 28, 2014

Top News:

Cable providers cling to bundled TV channels as viewing habits evolve — New Challenges Chip Away at Cable's Pillar of Profit — For decades, cable television has been an almost magical source of profits, in large part because of the bundle, the packaging of channels that compels subscribers …

Discussion: @monkbent, @peterlattman, @laurengoode, @ennisnyt, @jayrosen_nyu, @antderosa, @pkafka, @laurengoode, @hunterwalk, @pmarca, @buzzfeedben, @pkafka and @pkafka

The Atlantic Online:

Net Neutrality: A Guide to (and History of) a Contested Idea — This week, news broke that the Federal Communications Commission is considering new rules for how the Internet works. — In short: the FCC would allow network owners (your Verizons, Comcasts, etc.) to create Internet …

Discussion: Center for Internet …, @tonyromm, VICE, @kwerb, 24/7 Wall St., Re/code, Hit & Run, On the Media, Columbia Journalism Review, Vox, Computerworld, Washington Post, NYU Local, Gawker, Network World, SocialTimes and ReadWrite

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:

Raleigh News & Observer reporter's investigations of scandals at UNC spark reform and outrage — University of North Carolina Is at Odds With a Raleigh Newspaper — RALEIGH, N.C. — There have been violent threats, angry screeds, Twitter flame campaigns and an entire website predicated …

Discussion: @bryanalexander, @nytsports, @rick_bonnell, @coreyhutchins, @sarahlyall, @johnrobinson, @sipetethamel and @davidfolkenflik

Michael Cavna / Washington Post:

41 years later, The Post publishes spiked ‘Doonesbury’ Watergate comic for the first time. Here's why... THIS WEEK, The Washington Post ran, for the first time, a comics-page strip in which a character declared former Nixon attorney general John Mitchell guilty for Watergate crimes.

Economist:

In Pakistan, being a journalist becomes increasingly lethal — Journalism in Pakistan: The silencing of the liberals — THERE was a time when Hamid Mir, Pakistan's most famous journalist, had little reason to fear his work might put his life in danger. In a country where his trade …

Discussion: Poynter, New York Times, @dhume, @benazir_shah, @razarumi and Columbia Journalism Review

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Microsoft goes Hollywood as it unveils Xbox Originals television programs for Xbox Live — After a lot of anticipation and some major investments in Hollywood, Microsoft is unveiling its original television shows, dubbed Xbox Originals, for its Xbox Live online entertainment network.

Discussion: Capital New York, The Wrap, Softpedia News, Variety and Re/code

Associated Press:

Comcast shedding 3.9M subscribers to ease deal with Charter — Comcast selling some cable systems to Charter — PHILADELPHIA — Comcast would shed about 3.9 million subscribers in deal with cable competitor Charter Communications Inc. to help Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner Cable clear regulatory hurdles.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch, Gigaom, Adweek, @underoak, Philly.com, Variety, @tomelko, Seeking Alpha, Advanced Television, Deadline.com and New York Times

Jeanine Poggi / AdAge:

Ad Buyers Slowly Taking Digital NewFronts More Seriously — Agencies Bring Digital Players in For Early Development Meetings, Just Like TV — Creativity Top 5 — Digital platforms are aggressively seeking TV dollars again in this year's NewFronts presentations, which kick off on Monday.

Jeff Jarvis / Mediashift:

LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman and Knight Foundation fund CUNY's new Masters in Social Journalism — CUNY to Launch Master's in Social Journalism — Some big news at CUNY: We are developing a new master's degree in social journalism. We've considered calling it a degree in community information and engagement.

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Alibaba to Pay $1.2 Billion For Stake in Chinese Video Leader Youku-Tudou — UDINE, Italy — Alibaba, China's massive home shopping group, is further ramping up its interest in media with the purchase of a $1.22 billion stake in China's online video market leader Youku Tudou.

Discussion: Forbes, TechCrunch, Softpedia News, Hollywood Reporter, Channel NewsAsia, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, New York Times and Tech in Asia

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review:

The New Yorker plagiarises itself, refuses to acknowledge error — The New Yorker's plagiarism blunder — “The problem is the degree to which you are a victim of your own success” — Elizabeth Kolbert's Comment “Rough Forecasts,” published in the April 14 issue of The New Yorker …

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Justice Department urges Supreme Court to pass up James Risen's case on confidential sources — Justice Department urges SCOTUS to pass up reporter's privilege case — The Obama Administration is urging the Supreme Court not to take up New York Times reporter James Risen's plea …