Mediagazer: Ban on drone photos harms free speech, say media outlets in challenge to FAA (Jeff John Roberts/Gigaom)

8:05 PM ET, May 6, 2014

Top News:

Disney Q2 earnings: $1.92B, or $1.08/share, up 27% on film studio strength — Disney Posts 27% Rise in Profit — Studio Division Continues to Benefit From the Animated Blockbuster ‘Frozen’ — Walt Disney Co. said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 27% as the company's studio division continued …

Discussion: Forbes, New York Times, multichannel.com, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, Reuters and Los Angeles Times

Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:

Disney Ad Revs Slide At ABC TV, ESPN — In an otherwise stellar financial quarter performance, Walt Disney says advertising revenues at both ABC Television Network and ESPN declined in its fiscal second quarter. — In its release, Disney said of ABC, there was “lower prime-time advertising revenue …

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

Ban on drone photos harms free speech, say media outlets in challenge to FAA — The New York Times and other major media outlets have accused the Federal Aviation Administration of “chilling” journalism and violating their First Amendment rights by banning the use of unmanned aircraft for news photography.

Discussion: Forbes, @niemanlab, Associated Press, The Verge and Motherboard

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Page 1, with ex-NYT Magazine editor Hugo Lindgren as its president, aims to turn journalism into hit movies — New Venture Envisions Films Based on Gritty Journalism — LOS ANGELES — An Oscar-winning screenwriter, a billionaire film financier and a well-known magazine editor have come together …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @jessicaweisberg, Hollywood Reporter and @niemanlab

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

MSNBC apologizes for Cinco de Mayo segment — In a statement on its website, MSNBC's “Way Too Early” says the show on Monday “made sarcastic references to the way some Americans celebrate” Cinco de Mayo. “It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for the ill-advised references,” the statement says.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, Politico, The Wrap, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, National Assc … and The Week

Reuters:

Twitter shares fall over 17% to all-time low as lock-up period for 470M shares expires — Twitter shares plumb new lows as stock lock-up expires — (Reuters) - Shares of Twitter Inc slumped 15 percent to fresh lows in a flurry of trading on Tuesday after the expiration of a six-month …

Discussion: Forbes, Valleywag, @dangillmor, @xdamman, TechCrunch and Mashable

BBC:

BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten stepping down following major heart surgery — BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten to stand down — BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten has today announced that he will be standing down with immediate effect on health grounds following major heart surgery.

Discussion: The Wrap, Deadline.com, Reuters, 964eagle.co.uk, Press Gazette, Variety and Hollywood Reporter

The Local:

Editors at Le Monde newspaper quit en masse — A majority of chief editors at French daily Le Monde resigned from their posts on Tuesday amid a conflict with management over editorial reforms. The mass resignation comes while staff at another French newspaper are in uproar over plans to turn into a “social network”.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review and Agence France-Presse

Michael Rondon / Folio:

Spanfeller Media Group Launches TV Series — The Daily Meal hopes to bring its digital audience to a new screen. — With second-screen viewing on the rise and the lines between platforms continuing to merge, Spanfeller Media Group is looking to capitalize on its digital presence and enter the world of television.

Erin Griffith / Fortune:

Blurb acquires HP's MagCloud, aims to dominate long-tail publishing — The book-printing service has always been popular with photographers and designers. Now it's going after writers. — FORTUNE — Blurb, a book-printing service, has started making noises again after a few quiet years.

Discussion: Publishers Weekly and Talking New Media

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

Larry King criticises former employer CNN, says missing plane coverage was “absurd” — Larry King on going digital, and CNN's strategy — This interview originally appeared in our Media Pro daily newsletter. — CAPITAL: What did you think of this year's White House Correspondent's Dinner?

Discussion: The Wrap, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Jeff Baumgartner / Broadcasting & Cable:

Suddenlink to Offer Netflix on TiVo Devices — MSO to add support for OTT video service this summer — Suddenlink Communications has become the latest U.S. cable operator - and the largest domestic MSO, so far - to strike a deal to offer access to Netflix on leased TiVo-powered set-top boxes.

Discussion: Home Media Magazine, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Variety and multichannel.com

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

BBC's £20k of payments to MPs so far this year more than combined total for national newspapers — MPs have registered more payments from the BBC than all of the UK's national newspapers combined so far in 2014. — According to the most up-to-date register of interests …

Discussion: Daily Mail

Jennifer Saba / Reuters:

New media site Ozy partners with NPR — Six-month-old new media site Ozy is jumpstarting its distribution and has struck a partnership with U.S. nonprofit radio network NPR. — The alliance, officially announced on Tuesday, broadens ties between the two news organizations since NPR's popular program …

Discussion: @dwayneroper

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Projects in arts, science, and business journalism funded for new Magic Grant winners — The Brown Institute announced eight new Magic Grant winners today. The Institute, a joint operation between Columbia's School of Journalism and Stanford's School of Engineering, was founded in 2012 via …

Discussion: Columbia University … and Talking Biz News

Tim Peterson / AdAge:

Maker Studios, Omnicom Sign Eight-Figure Upfront Deal for Web Video — Here's why one way Disney can begin to recoup the $950 million it plans to spend on YouTube network Maker Studios. Maker Studios has signed an upfront deal with Omnicom Media Group ahead of the network's Digital Content …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Variety, Variety, @learmonth and @dslrvideostudio