Mediagazer: George Bodenheimer stepping down as executive chairman of ESPN (Tim Baysinger/Broadcasting & Cable)

1:45 PM ET, May 27, 2014

Top News:

Dan Hart / Bloomberg:

Hachette Apologizes to Authors Caught in Amazon Dispute — Hachette Book Group apologized to its authors for a dispute with Amazon.com Inc. that prompted the online retailer to block pre-orders for some of the publisher's forthcoming book releases. — “Please know that we are doing everything …

Discussion: Associated Press, Bookseller news, Fortune and Good E-Reader

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Indie E-Book Printer Blurb Buys Graphicly; Will Shut Down Comic E-Publishing Platform — As the ongoing dispute between Amazon and Hachette sees the huge online retailer continue to block and/or delay sales of some of the publisher's books, two smaller startups in the industry are merging forces.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Business Wire, Medium and Talking New Media

John McDuling / Quartz:

Buzzfeed is shutting down its traffic partner network ahead of a video push — Buzzfeed won't be sharing its traffic with other websites as it has been. — The phenomenally successful viral content site, known for its listicles and cat videos (and some impressive reporting of late) …

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @nowthised, @nickblunden and @raju

David Sell / The Inquirer:

Lewis Katz and Gerry Lenfest win control of Inquirer papers with $88M bid — Katz, Lenfest win control of Inquirer parent company — Inquirer co-owners Lewis Katz and H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest won control of newspaper and its parent company Tuesday after a bidding war with other owners in a private auction at a Philadelphia law firm.

Discussion: inquirer.com, Poynter, @phillyinquirer, Washington Post, The Huffington Post and The Newspaper Guild

Ilya Khrennikov / Bloomberg:

Russia's CTC Close to Getting TV Shows on Hulu in U.S., CEO Says — CTC Media Inc. (CTCM), Russia's largest publicly traded television company, said it's near a deal for Hulu LLC to carry its shows online in the U.S., helping expansion to more devices and markets.

John McDermott / Digiday:

Twitter, Facebook battle YouTube for video ad cash — Social platforms Twitter and Facebook spent Upfronts week trying to woo TV buyers with their respective ad products. But while the two platforms certainly have the reach needed to pique buyers' interests, whether social can compete …

Discussion: New York Times and Forbes

Tim Baysinger / Broadcasting & Cable:

George Bodenheimer stepping down as executive chairman of ESPN — George Bodenheimer Leaving ESPN — Executive chairman to step down May 31 — George Bodenheimer has notified ESPN that the longtime executive will leave the company after 33 years at the end of the month.

Discussion: TVNewser and Associated Press

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Six of 10 Highest Paid CEOs are in Media — The AP and Equilar are out with the top 50 highest paid CEOs list. And it's quite possible you work for one of their companies, as six of the top 10 head media conglomerates, including: 2. Leslie Moonves (right), CBS Corp., $65.6 million, up 9 percent 5.

Discussion: Associated Press, Lost Remote and The Tell

Ken Auletta / New Yorker:

Jill Abramson's friends dispute accounts that she misled Sulzberger — SUMMING UP THE FIRING OF JILL ABRAMSON — The story of Jill Abramson's abrupt termination as the executive editor of the Times is one of those running stories in which reporters peel away one layer only to be presented with another.

Discussion: @lisamcintire, @nxthompson, @thestalwart, @brianstelter and @newyorker

Matt Burns / TechCrunch:

Spotify Was Hacked, Warns Android Users Of Impending Update — Spotify users, take note. The music streaming service just posted a message on its company blog indicating that one user's account was hacked, but assuring that steps are being taken to ensure others will not fall victim to the same exploit

Discussion: Spotify Blog, VentureBeat, Electronista, cnbc.com, VatorNews, BGR, ZDNet and Business Insider

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Businessweek promotes Rob Vargas to Creative Director to replace Richard Turley — Businessweek names new creative director — Bloomberg Businessweek has named a new creative director to replace Richard Turley, the star designer who recently left the magazine for a job with MTV.

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Melissa Eddy / New York Times:

Amazon delaying deliveries for backlist book titles owned by Germany's Bonnier Media Group — Amazon Strategy Raises Hackles in Germany — BERLIN — It was German authors, carefully monitoring their Amazon rankings, who were among the first to notice something was amiss.

Discussion: @davjolly, @davidstreitfeld and @publisherbull