Mediagazer: Times journalist Anthony Loyd shot and photographer Jack Hill beaten during kidnapping, have now fled Syria (Hayley Dixon/Telegraph)

7:30 AM ET, May 15, 2014

Top News:

NYT's Abramson was fired after confronting “top brass” about being paid less than male predecessor — Why Jill Abramson Was Fired — At the annual City University Journalism School dinner, on Monday, Dean Baquet, the managing editor of the New York Times, was seated with Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the paper's publisher.

New York Times:

Jill Abramson unexpectedly leaving as executive editor at NYT, to be replaced by Dean Baquet — Times Ousts Its Executive Editor, Elevating Second in Command — The New York Times dismissed Jill Abramson as executive editor on Wednesday, replacing her with Dean Baquet, the managing editor, in an abrupt change of leadership.

Discussion: The Guardian, @dgelles, Vox, Capital New York, Washington Post, Politico, Washington Post, Forbes, JIMROMENESKO.COM, investors.nytco.com, Politico, Mashable, Vox, BuzzFeed, @brianstelter, @patcohennyt, Adweek, @huffpostbiz, Washington Post, @natesilver538, @lauriegnyt, @c_heller, CNNMoney.com, Businessweek, @moorehn, WWD, @nataliekitro, @nxthompson, @moorehn, @alexkoppelman, @antderosa, @joepompeo, @ezraklein, @jbenton, @gaberivera, @jasoncherkis, @emilcdc, @matthewwells, @antderosa, @samir, NPR, @robedits, USA Today, FAIR Blog, @edmundlee, The Huffington Post, @gabrielsnyder, @tcarmody, Talking Points Memo, Poynter, Business Insider, Forbes, Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day, Al Jazeera America, Wall Street Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, Variety, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, The Maynard Institute …, Pressing Issues, The Root, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Fortune, FishbowlNY, FishbowlDC, The Wire, Gawker, @irastoll, Cision, @pogue, @mckaycoppins, The Newspaper Guild and Gothamist

Kate Aurthur / BuzzFeed:

Jill Abramson's Firing And The New York Times' Chaotic Future — The abrupt dismissal of the executive editor portends a bumpy road ahead for her successor, Dean Baquet, and the rest of the newsroom. — Brad Barket / Getty Images for WIRED — When the news broke that Jill Abramson …

Discussion: @stuartpstevens, @erinnthered, @thefix, @ajfriedenberger and Talking Points Memo

Dylan Byers / Politico:

N.Y. Times: Abramson's compensation ‘was not less than’ Bill Keller's — The New York Times is pushing back against a report that Jill Abramson was fired in part because she complained that her salary was less than that of her male predecessor, Bill Keller.

Discussion: Business Insider, Poynter, Salon, Forbes, @petersterne, Gawker, Capital New York, Talking Points Memo, The New York Observer, MediaWire Daily, @neetzan, @dylanmatt, @thestalwart and Mediaite

Kelly McBride / Poynter:

The New York Times owes the audience an explanation — Jill Abramson's departure as the executive editor of The New York Times and Dean Baquet's appointment as her replacement was abrupt. — Times Company Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. told senior editors at a 2 p.m. meeting and the rest …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Capital New York, @lexinyt, @lexinyt, @drudge, @kellymcb, Mediaite, FishbowlNY and Talking Points Memo

Politico:

Why Jill Abramson's departure will ricochet — Brilliant journalist rockets to the top of a newsroom, then discovers that the traits that make a great reporter or writer are not the same — indeed, can sometimes be the very opposite — as the traits that make someone a capable newsroom leader.

Discussion: Vox, @dylanbyers, @nayantararai, @zbergson, @fmanjoo, @nickbilton and @nayantararai

Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

Everything You Need to Know About Dean Baquet, the First Black Executive Editor of the New York Times — A bit buried in the unexpected announcement that the New York Times is ditching its first female executive editor, Jill Abramson, after less than three years, is that the man replacing her is also historic.

Discussion: New York Times, TIME, @juliadavisnews, @palafo and The Huffington Post

Hannah Karp / Wall Street Journal:

Warner, Universal, Sony Buy Stakes in Music App Shazam — Shazam Entertainment, the music-identification app, landed small investments from the world's biggest record companies, according to people familiar with the matter. — Warner Music Group owner Access Industries …

Discussion: hypebot, Billboard, @chriswelch, Reuters and Digital Media Wire

Todd Spangler / Variety:

NCM to Bring Disney's Maker, Twitter, Shazam and Grammys to In-Theater Ad Network — Movie-advertising network National CineMedia has cut deals with partners including Disney's Maker Studios, Twitter, Shazam Entertainment and the Grammy Awards in a bid to bring sponsored content to the silver screen.

Discussion: TechCrunch

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Apple's Beats Deal May Not Be Finalized Until Next Week — More time for people to speculate about what it all means: Apple's planned deal to buy Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion may not be finalized until next week, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Discussion: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and App Advice

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

James Risen Recalls ‘Game Of Chicken’ With New York Times Editors To Reveal NSA Spying — NEW YORK — In the fall of 2005, New York Times reporter James Risen invited a colleague, Eric Lichtblau, to his house to read a chapter from his forthcoming book, State of War.

Discussion: Washington Post, Pressing Issues, RT and WGBH News

Mary Ann Badavi / The Atlantic Online:

Choire Sicha, co-founder of The Awl, shares his concerns about how we digest information online — Choire Sicha, co-founder of The Awl, shares his concerns about how we digest information online. — “You want [writers] to flower into their floweriness,” said Choire Sicha, smiling slyly at the audience at last week's New York Ideas.

Discussion: @mthomps, @kashhill and @niemanlab

Nathalie Tadena / Wall Street Journal:

NYT Readers Spend Same Amount of Time on Paid Posts as News Stories — Readers of the New York Times are spending roughly the same amount of time on advertiser-sponsored posts as on news stories, according to Meredith Levien, the executive vice president of advertising for The Times.

Discussion: PandoDaily

Jack Shafer:

The (misguided) passion of Glenn Greenwald — It's not that journalists have thin skins — it's that they have no skins. — This adage gets trotted out once a month or more in better newsrooms to provide context for the overreaction of a reporter or editor who has found himself …

Discussion: Mediaite, @gammonator, @dominicumile, @froomkin, @sauravdatta29, @leftleaningec and @joanneleon

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Journalism Lab:

NowThis News, a leader in mobile/social/video, shifts its strategy and its personnel — So what's going on with NowThis News? — Less than two years old, NowThis News immediately grabbed attention for what seems like a bold new proposition for news: short digital video that was built for mobile devices and social media.

Discussion: CNN

Michael Cieply / New York Times:

Sony Pictures buys film rights to Glenn Greenwald's book on Snowden and the NSA revelations — Sony Pictures Buys Film Rights to Book on Snowden — LOS ANGELES — After a long, slow haul, the film rights to Glenn Greenwald's book about Edward J. Snowden and his revelations …

Discussion: Deadline.com, Variety, /Film, VatorNews, WebProNews, VentureBeat and @nycjim

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Walmart's Vudu Now Allows UltraViolet Users To Share Their Movies With Up To Five Friends — Walmart's Vudu announced that it will introduce a Share My Movie feature that will allow its customers to share their UltraViolet collections with up to five friends or family.

Discussion: Walmart Labs, Deadline.com, VentureBeat and Variety

Charlotte Higgins / Guardian:

From David Kelly to Jimmy Savile, how does the BBC deal with a crisis? — The Smith review into the handling of the Savile allegations, leading to the demise of its director general, is just the latest scandal to hit the corporation — On Thursday 29 January 1987, Alasdair Milne …

Discussion: @peterjukes and @charliebeckett

Hayley Dixon / Telegraph:

Times journalist Anthony Loyd shot and photographer Jack Hill beaten during kidnapping, have now fled Syria — Journalist shot by Syrian kidnap gang — Anthony Loyd and Jack Hill were held captive and beaten before a rebel group demanded their release — A journalist and a photographer …

Discussion: Guardian, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, ITV News, Hurriyet Daily News, @sophia_mjones and NBC News

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Time Inc. Waves Goodbye to CNNMoney and Its Digital Profits — When Time Inc. splits off from parent company Time Warner next month, it will also say goodbye to CNNMoney, the financial news site it ran as a joint venture with the cable network. CNN is keeping the site in the divorce …

Discussion: @pkafka and @niemanlab