Mediagazer: Culture change is hard: What Nikki Usher learned in five months embedded in The New York Times newsroom (Joseph Lichterman/Nieman Journalism Lab)

5:00 AM ET, May 13, 2014

Top News:

Associated Press polices story length — Citing a “sea of bloated mid-level copy,” Associated Press Managing Editor for U.S. News Brian Carovillano last week instructed fellow editors at the wire service to limit most “daily, bylined digest stories” to a length of between 300 and 500 words.

Discussion: Poynter, Guardian, Techdirt, @tcarmody, @tcarmody, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

He said/she said isn't just a failure of journalism, it's a failure to understand the media market — For some time now, journalism professor and First Look Media advisor Jay Rosen has been railing against what he calls “he said, she said” journalism — that is, the artificially balanced approach …

Thanks:@mathewi

Jay Rosen / Pressthink:

NYT's story on voter ID is the latest example of he said, she said journalism and harms its brand — ‘Democrats argue. Republicans contend. We have no idea.’ A he said, she said at the Times. — Classic forms of he said, she said are not so much a “sin” against high practice …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, Medium, The Heritage Foundation, @katrinanation, @sulliview and @davidfolkenflik

Wall Street Journal:

AT&T could seal deal to take over DirecTV within two weeks, for around $50B — AT&T Could Strike Deal For DirecTV In As Soon As Two Weeks — AT&T Would Likely Pay A Combination of Cash, Stock — AT&T Inc. is moving quickly to seal a takeover deal with DirecTV …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Broadcasting & Cable, Associated Press, New York Times, TIME, @sherman4949, @shaliniwsj, Talking Biz News, Gigaom, @sherman4949, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, @sherman4949, Variety and Consumerist

Sam Machkovech / Ars Technica:

Sources: Xbox Live to remove Gold requirement for Netflix, Hulu — Multiple sources confirm internal efforts to make long-demanded paywall change. — We can report that multiple sources within Microsoft have been briefed on plans to make a long-awaited change to the Xbox Live Gold paywall for streaming media services.

Discussion: Ubergizmo, Geeky Gadgets, The Verge, VG247, UPROXX, @mrgobert, Cinema Blend, @pkafka and SlashGear

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

YouTube shuts down public RSS feeds of user subscriptions — Easily getting your YouTube videos into an RSS reader is no longer supported. — If you're a news junky, you probably use an RSS reader like Feed.ly to keep up with stuff on the Web. One of the nicest ways to consume YouTube subscriptions …

Discussion: gHacks Technology News, @davewiner, @gruber, @violetblue and @codepo8

Reuters:

Europe's top court: people have right to be forgotten on Internet — People can ask Google to delete sensitive information from its Internet search results, Europe's top court said on Tuesday. — The case underlines the battle between advocates of free expression and supporters of privacy rights …

Discussion: Associated Press and @infomgmtexec

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Washington Post Has Hired 50 Staffers In 2014 Amid Bezos-Funded Expansion — NEW YORK — The Washington Post reached a milestone Monday that would've seemed unthinkable amid the succession of newsroom buyouts in recent years: 50 new hires in 2014. — “No, you haven't been imagining it …

Discussion: Politico, WashPost PR, MediaWire Daily and The Newspaper Guild

Yinka Adegoke / Billboard:

Iovine and Dre could be unveiled as Apple execs at WWDC, deal to be announced later this week — Apple May Unveil Iovine, Dr. Dre Exec Appointments at June Conference … Questions? Comments? Let us know: @billboardbiz

Discussion: 9to5Mac, VentureBeat, Electronista, Ubergizmo, AppleInsider, The Verge, MacRumors, @jyarow and App Advice

Adam Satariano / Bloomberg:
Apple interested in Beats for paid streaming conversion rate, plans to improve its headphones

Discussion: TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Ubergizmo, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, @hamburger, Electronista, bizjournals, MacRumors, App Advice, AppleInsider and Geeky Gadgets

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

NAB Sues FCC Over Sharing Arrangement Guidance — Says Media Bureau was off base and exceeded authority — The National Association of Broadcasters says it has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to throw out the FCC's March 12 guidance on how it would review TV station sharing arrangements in station deals.

Discussion: Adweek, Variety, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Hollywood Reporter and NationalJournal.com

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Culture change is hard: What Nikki Usher learned in five months embedded in The New York Times newsroom — In the early afternoon of January 27, 2010, The New York Times' tech team was ready for breaking news: Apple was set to unveil its long-anticipated tablet computer.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, Talking Biz News and @niemanlab

Paul Farrell / Guardian:

Peter Greste gains support for release from prominent Egyptians — Widespread international outcry at jailing of Australian journalist and two al-Jazeera colleagues for more than 100 days — Prominent Egyptians are calling for the release of Australian journalist, Peter Greste, and his al-Jazeera colleagues from detention in Egypt.

Discussion: @amyfeldtmann, VICE News and The Huffington Post

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

With 68.2M views, Barcroft TV was the 40th biggest YouTube channel in March and is about to launch more channels — With 68.2m views, Barcroft TV was the 40th biggest YouTube channel in March and is about to launch more channels — You might not know Barcroft Media, but if you've ever …

Amy Schatz / Re/code:

Complaints About Net Neutrality Flooding the FCC — It's now T-minus six days until the FCC is scheduled to take up a controversial plan to allow Internet providers to buy priority, fast-lane service to consumers — and the complaints continue to pile up. — Yesterday, FCC Chairman Tom …

Discussion: FCC.gov, Variety, @b_fung, ThinkProgress and PandoDaily

Dan Kennedy / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Through its live events series, the Washington Post is expanding its influence beyond DC — Why is The Washington Post holding a live event in Boston? — In a well-appointed banquet hall at the Westin Boston Waterfront, a balding, disturbingly energetic man in a red bow tie is holding forth on baby boomers, technology, and aging.

Discussion: @raju and @dankennedy_nu

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

AP launches international investigative unit, expands US investigative team — AP expands investigative team — The Associated Press announced Monday that it is expanding its Washington-based investigative team, adding reporters for national coverage and “launching a unit of international reporters …

Discussion: ap.org, @mattapuzzo, NetNewsCheck Latest, Politico, FishbowlDC and FishbowlNY

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

At the New York Times, one-third of roughly 400 reporters are women — Still Talking About It: ‘Where Are the Women?’ — Some facts, according to a recent Women's Media Center study: — * At the nation's 10 most widely circulated newspapers, men had 63 percent of the bylines, nearly two for every one for a woman.