Mediagazer: Goodbye to Katie Cotton, the Queen of Evil Tech PR (Sam Biddle/Valleywag)

11:05 PM ET, May 8, 2014

Top News:

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Why Apple Is Betting Big on Beats: Hardware for Now, Streaming for Later — Apple is set to make the biggest purchase in its history: A $3 billion-plus deal for Beats, the company that sells high-end headphones and recently launched a streaming music service.

Discussion: Daring Fireball, App Advice, @chris_ciaccia, @pkafka, @antderosa, @eghosao and @pkafka

David Gelles / New York Times:

Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Rising Music Brand for $3.2 Billion — Apple is in discussions to buy Beats Electronics, the company behind the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, for $3.2 billion, according to people briefed on the talks, in what would be the biggest acquisition in Apple's history.

Discussion: Om Malik, Financial Times, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, Forbes, Gigaom, Mashable, New York Times, Quartz, Variety, @bobgendron25, 9to5Mac, The Next Web and iMore

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Beats' CEO Jimmy Iovine in talks to join Apple as Cook's “special adviser” on creative matters — Beats Electronics boss Jimmy Iovine is in talks to join Apple — Beats Electronics boss and veteran music industry executive Jimmy Iovine is in talks to join Apple as a …

Discussion: @jyarow

Sam Biddle / Valleywag:

Goodbye to Katie Cotton, the Queen of Evil Tech PR — After 18 years of spin, Katie Cotton, Apple's magnetically ruthless vice president of worldwide corporate communications, has left her job, and tributes from the tech press are pouring in. What no one will admit is that we were all afraid of her.

Discussion: Daring Fireball, @kobunheat, Fortune, AppleInsider, The Verge and Wall Street Journal

Dan Lyons / Inbound Hub:

Three Lessons from Katie Cotton, Apple's Departing PR Boss — Katie Cotton announced yesterday that she's leaving Apple. This is a big deal. Cotton was VP of worldwide corporate communications at Apple, and while PR people aren't always seen as super important, Katie Cotton was.

Discussion: @tcarmody

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

U.S. Journalist Adam Baron Deported From Yemen — NEW YORK — Adam Baron, a freelance journalist reporting from Yemen the past three years, has been deported from the country. — Baron regularly writes for the McClatchy newspaper chain and the Christian Science Monitor.

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, @ionacraig, BuzzFeed, Yemen Post Newpaper online, @adammbaron, @adammbaron and @adammbaron

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Will Lewis named Dow Jones C.E.O. — Will Lewis' role as C.E.O. of Dow Jones is no longer “interim.” — Parent-company News Corp. announced this afternoon that Lewis has been appointed C.E.O. on a permanent basis. He had been serving as interim C.E.O. since his predecessor, Lex Fenwick, was ousted in January.

Discussion: Media & Entertainment, The Wrap, mUmBRELLA, Bloomberg, Reuters and Variety

Anna Prior / Wall Street Journal:
News Corp reports $2.08B in quarterly revenue, down 5% vs. last year, net income of $48M

Discussion: @kosakunarioka, News Corp and Reuters

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Muve Music Service Is Said to Be Up for Sale by AT&T — One of the most successful music subscription services in the United States may be up for grabs. — Muve Music, which is connected to Cricket Wireless, a prepaid wireless phone carrier, will be discontinued by AT&T …

Discussion: Gigaom, Billboard, Light Reading, Digital Media Wire and hypebot

Brian Braiker / Digiday:

Andrew Sullivan on native ads: Journalism has surrendered — Journalist and blog entrepreneur Andrew Sullivan is not one to jump on bandwagons. The outspoken political blogger left the Daily Beast nearly a year and a half ago to launch The Dish, his own subscription-driven news site.

Discussion: @joshsternberg, @slarkpope, @lindypop, @bmorrissey, @elongreen, @raymondsultan and @colindickey

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube Global Creator-Development Lead Bing Chen Resigns — Exec's departure for stealth startup comes after appointment of new YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki — Bing Chen, YouTube's global creator development and management lead, is leaving the Google-owned video powerhouse for an unidentified stealth startup.

Discussion: BING CHEN

William Alden / New York Times:

YouTube Founders to Sell Delicious, a Social Bookmarking Site — The social bookmarking service Delicious has changed hands twice over the last decade, while failing to attract a mainstream audience. — Now it is being sold again. Science Inc., a technology investment and advisory firm run …

Discussion: VentureBeat, Re/code, @seldo, Mashable, @charlesarthur, @choosenick, @veen, @ourielohayon and The Next Web

Alastair Reid / Journalism.co.uk:

BBC to launch daily infographics shared on social media — Online visual journalism and social media are playing an increasing role in how the BBC is looking to experiment digitally — The BBC is to launch daily infographics distributed on social media as part of continued experimentation …

Paul Bonanos / Billboard:

Deezer Knocks Spotify Out of Shazam in Four Countries … Questions? Comments? Let us know: @billboardbiz

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

New York Times completes ‘innovation report’ led by Sulzberger scion — Back in July, New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson announced that Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, a metro reporter and the son of Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., would “take a leave from metro …

Discussion: @justinnxt

Chris Hall / Pocket-lint:

Sony Reader Store to close on 16 June, Kobo to supply Reader and Xperia device content — Kobo has confirmed that it will be supplying the content for Sony Reader and some Sony Xperia devices following the closure of the Sony Reader Store on 16 June. — Access to Kobo's platform will be enabled …

Discussion: Engadget and Expert Reviews

Joshua Green / Businessweek:

Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation launches mobile-first news site Daily Signal aimed at younger audiences on June 3 — Daily Signal: Heritage Foundation News Site Seeks Mainstream Impact — Last year the conservative Heritage Foundation had more influence on the direction …

Adam Lashinsky / Fortune:

Reporter offered pre-IPO shares by Arista Networks, considers it another sign of a tech bubble — Yes, we're in a tech bubble. Here's how I know it — When tech startups are willing to offer almost anyone — even a journalist — shares ahead of an I.P.O., a burst isn't terribly far behind.

Discussion: @adamlashinsky, Valleywag, @pkafka, @karaswisher, @ryanchittum, @rapoportwsj, Business Insider, @jonrussell and @rachelmetz

Stuart Elliott / New York Times:

For Online Video Publishers, a New Tack on Luring Ad Dollars — AS a well-received annual presentation of new digital offerings to Madison Avenue ends, publishers are seeking to keep the momentum going by making it easier for marketers and agencies to spend advertising dollars on online video …

Discussion: @iab

Maggie Michael / Associated Press:

Egypt's el-Sissi tells media not to push freedoms — You are here — Home » Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi » Egypt's el-Sissi tells media not to push freedoms — CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top presidential candidate, the former military chief, warned newspaper editors not to press issues …

David Gelles / New York Times:

Omnicon-Publicis $35B mega-merger called off due to internal differences and regulatory issues — Ad Agency Giants Said to Call Off $35 Billion Merger — Omnicom Group and Publicis have called off their $35 billion merger, bringing a premature end to a deal that would have created …

Discussion: CNNMoney.com, Financial Times, @omnicom, Re/code, Wall Street Journal and Wall Street Journal

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

The complicated and disputed mission of the Huffington Post, 9 years after launch — The Huffington Post, nine years on — On Friday, March 7, Peter Goodman was writing an email to Arianna Huffington during the last hour of his last day as her employee, when a team of workmen showed …

Discussion: @mattbai, @lmoses, @niemanlab, @markhor, @7im, @froomkin, @binarybits, @williamalden, The New York Observer, @gideonresnick, @michaelroston and @erinruberry

Edward Wyatt / New York Times:

US House antitrust panel questions Comcast and TWC execs, hears from merger critics like Cogent, RFD-TV — House Republicans Say Comcast Merger Risks Undue Sway on Channels — WASHINGTON — Several House Republicans expressed concern on Thursday that a merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Comcast Voices Blog, TIME, Associated Press, Re/code, Bloomberg and Reuters

Joseph Checkler / Wall Street Journal:

Judge Says LightSquared Restructuring Plan Unfair to Ergen — Nearly $1 Billion of Charlie Ergen's Claims Will be Subordinated Below Those of Other Creditors — A judge on Thursday said some of Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen's nearly $1 billion in claims in the wireless venture's bankruptcy case …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Reuters

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Time Inc. Will Spin off From Time Warner in 15 Days — Publishing Unit Will Pay Time Warner $800 Million for U.K. Publisher IPC Media — Time Warner has set a date for the spin-off of its Time Inc. publishing unit: May 23. — The date came in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission …

Discussion: Folio, Capital New York, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com

ABC News:

Australian journalist covering press freedom deported from Myanmar for lacking visa — Myanmar Deports Australian Journalist — Authorities in Myanmar said Thursday they have deported an Australian video journalist for covering a press freedom rally without a proper visa.

Discussion: The Irrawaddy Magazine

Associated Press:

CBS Q1: $468M net earnings, 6% higher on license fees; ad revenue falls 12% without SuperBowl — CBS 1Q EARNINGS RISE DESPITE LOWER AD SALES — NEW YORK (AP) — CBS's first-quarter earnings rose 6 percent as higher licensing fees from the company's Showtime network helped overcome …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap and CBS Corporation