Mediagazer: US State Department adopting social media to counter Al-Qaeda propaganda (David Kravets/Ars Technica)

6:20 PM ET, April 30, 2014

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Ben Fischer / New York Business Journal:

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Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

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Discussion: College Media Matters, @asvokos, @jayrosen_nyu, @megreenwell, @nymag, @joecoscarelli, The New York Observer and Wall Street Journal

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Mike Hopkins / Hulu Blog:

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Henry Taylor / TheMediaBriefing:

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Digital TV Group:

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Alex Rogers / TIME:

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Nicola Leske / Reuters: Charter withdraws slate for Time Warner Cable's board

Jon Boone / Guardian:

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Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, @georgeprof and @samirashackle

Asif Shahzad / Associated Press:
Amnesty urges Pakistan to probe threats to media

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Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

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John McDermott / Digiday:

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Ron Nixon / New York Times:

Paywast, an Afghan social media network with 1.6M users was backed by the US govt until 2011 — Social Media in Afghanistan Takes On Life of Its Own — WASHINGTON — Afghans have long been resistant to central authority — as the United States has found to its frustration …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, @nytimesbits and Daily Dot

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

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BBC:

Jeremy Paxman to step down as presenter of Newsnight — Jeremy Paxman has decided to step down as the presenter of Newsnight, a position he has held with great distinction for 25 years. — He informed Tony Hall, the Director General, and James Harding, the Director of News and Current Affairs …

Discussion: Guardian, Guardian, @davidwhite020, @lilo11, @emilybell, @spencetimes and @piersmorgan

David Kravets / Ars Technica:

US State Department adopting social media to counter Al-Qaeda propaganda — US says violent extremists increasingly taking to social media. — The State Department unveiled Wednesday that it is widely employing social media as a method to counter online violent extremism from Al-Qaeda and others.

Helienne Lindvall / Guardian:

Publishers and songwriters question why labels should get a much bigger share when a track is played on Pandora or Spotify — The music industry is divided over streaming - and heading for a collision — Publishers and songwriters question why labels should get a much bigger share when a track is played on Pandora or Spotify

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

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Discussion: Forbes, AdAge, TechCrunch, Forbes, VentureBeat and Globe and Mail

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

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Diana Reese / Al Jazeera America:

In small towns with local investment, print journalism is thriving — MARYVILLE, Mo. — Newspapers aren't dead yet. — Far from it in this town of 12,000 nestled among the rolling hills of northwestern Missouri, where the daily paper has returned to local ownership for the first time in decades …

Discussion: @niemanlab and @rosental

Timothy Spence / International Press Institute:

Nine journalists and bloggers arrested in Ethiopia prior to John Kerry visit — Ethiopia Arrests Journalists, Bloggers — Vienna — Ethiopian authorities have arrested nine journalists and bloggers on allegations that they worked for foreign human rights groups or used social media to incite violence …

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Kurt Badenhausen / Forbes:

The Value of ESPN Surpasses $50 Billion — The National Football League announced last week that ESPN would host the first playoff game in its 35-year history in January 2015. The Wild Card playoff game is a carrot for the $15.2 billion ESPN committed over eight years in its latest NFL TV rights deal, which kicks off next season.

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Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Seth Liss is Poynter's new editor — Seth Liss is Poynter's new digital editor. He'll oversee Poynter's website and newsgathering operations. — Liss is currently the online managing editor for WAMU, a public radio station in Washington, D.C. Before that he was an online content editor …

Harley Brown / Billboard:

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Addresses Net Neutrality Furor, Assures Internet Will Remain ‘Open’ — A few days ago, NPR released a 20-year-old staff memo introducing employees to the Internet. “A code of ‘netiquette’ exists among users and within user groups,” the document reads, “but otherwise …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Variety and TIME

Dennis Schaal / Skift:

Yahoo Relaunches Yahoo Travel as a Digital Magazine With Lots of Sponsored Content — Yahoo has relaunched Yahoo Travel with an emphasis on travel inspiration and sponsored content. / Yahoo Travel — Yahoo has relaunched Yahoo Travel as an “immersive digital magazine” …

Discussion: Yahoo and iMediaConnection Blog