Mediagazer: Platform or publisher? Medium keeps blurring the line (Ricardo Bilton/Digiday)

1:50 PM ET, May 28, 2014

Top News:

Amazon Doesn't Expect Quick Resolution to Hachette Dispute — Contract Disagreement Has Led Amazon to Restrict Sale of Some Hachette Titles — Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday it doesn't expect a quick resolution of a contract dispute with Hachette Book Group that has led to Amazon restricting the sale of some Hachette titles.

Martin Shepard / the cockeyed pessimist:

Independent publisher says Amazon levels the playing field, and Hachette is just greedy — WHO'S AFRAID OF AMAZON.COM — On May 24, The New York Times ran a page one story “As Publishers Fight Amazon, Books Vanish.” In their alarmist zeal reporters David Streitfeld and Melissa Eddy conjure …

Discussion: Business Insider, Mashable, @pmarca, @ericuman, @thestalwart, @susanwisebauer, @baratunde and Bookseller news

Joshua Benton / Nieman Journalism Lab:

You can add audio and video players inside your tweets, just as WNYC did for a Maya Angelou interview — Interesting tweet an hour or so ago from New York public radio giant WNYC: … That's audio of an interview WNYC's Brian Lehrer did with Angelou in 2013 — playing right in the tweet.

Discussion: @niemanlab

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

UCSB newspaper board responds to criticism over non-coverage of killings — The editorial board of the Bottom Line, a student-run newspaper at the University of California at Santa Barbara, has released a statement clarifying — and nearly recanting — a much-commented-upon op-ed regarding …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Bottom Line and Calbuzz

Kelly McBride / Poynter:
The right way to publish a killer's deranged manifesto

Discussion: The New York Observer, New York Post, Washington Post, @scottleadingham, @mlcalderone and NME

Tom McCarthy / Guardian:
Daily Mail and New York Post criticised for ‘distorted’ Isla Vista coverage

Discussion: @sarahwatson42, @studiesincrap, @representpledge, @dmreporter, @sarahrapp, Latest News & Headlines, Slate, Gawker, Daily Mail, Hollywood Life, The Wrap and The Huffington Post

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Public Media taking over distribution of ‘This American Life’ … Chicago Public Media will begin self-distribution of its signature program, “This American Life,” on July 1, taking over key business functions for one of public radio's most significant franchises.

Discussion: This American Life Updates, Public Radio Exchange, New York Times, Poynter and @currentpubmedia

Monica Anderson / Pew Research Center:

As the New York Times' first black executive editor, Dean Baquet is in a distinct minority — Just as the May 14 dismissal of New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson sparked a debate about gender roles in journalism, the ascension of Dean Baquet—the first African-American to run the paper's newsroom …

Discussion: Poynter, FishbowlNY, @niemanlab, @mhugolopez, @monicaranders, @edmundlee and @jcstearns

Anne Mortensen / The Independent:

A journalist goes missing nearly every day in Ukraine — It's not just journalists who are being victimised by pro-Russian separatists, but entire newsrooms — The campaign by pro-Russian separatists to muzzle local Ukrainian journalists appears to be succeeding.

Aditya Kalra / Reuters:

Twitter to take India election innovations global — (Reuters) - U.S. social networking company Twitter is planning to replicate parts of its India election strategy across countries that go to polls this year, after it emerged as a key tool for politicians and media companies during the world's largest democratic exercise.

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

UK daily newspapers have doubled in price since 2004 and shrunk in size - no wonder sales are down — Every month when the latest set of ABC national newspaper circulation figures are released, journalists across the country heave a collective sigh of despair.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix Buys Pay-TV Rights to Sony Animated Films — Starz's agreement with studio carved out animated pics, which will come to Netflix starting with ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ now and ‘Smurfs 2’ later in 2014 — Netflix reached a multiyear deal with Sony Pictures Television …

Discussion: Home Media Magazine and The Wrap

John Plunkett / Guardian:
Netflix beats BBC and ITV to “The Crown,” a £100m series on Queen Elizabeth II

Discussion: Daily Mail, The New York Observer and Rolling Stone

Johana Bhuiyan / Capital New York:

The Hill launches contributors platform — Congressional newspaper The Hill has launched a contributors platform, for which so far more than 100 experts in various policy fields have signed on to write for the site, the company announced today. — Contributors will be selected by editors at The Hill …

Discussion: FishbowlDC

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Print still attracts more advertising than it deserves, Mary Meeker says — Newspapers and magazines attract 19 percent of total advertising spending, Mary Meeker says in her annual Internet trends report. But consumers, she says, spend only 5 percent of their time reading them.

Discussion: kpcb.com, Forbes, Deadline.com, Business Insider, Re/code, Quartz, ZDNet and Fortune

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Pocket Premium launches: $5 per month for permanent archives, improved search, suggested tags — Pocket wants to be your permanent digital library, for a price — $5 per month gives you a permanent archive, search, and auto-tagging. Is it worth it? — Pocket, which lets you save articles …

Discussion: Pocket Blog, Gigaom and The Next Web

Index on Censorship:

Index launches project to map media freedom violations in Europe — Index on Censorship and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso are launching mediafreedom.ushahidi.com to track media violations in Europe. — Index on Censorship, (London, United Kingdom) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso …

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Platform or publisher? Medium keeps blurring the line — The old question for tech platforms like Google and Yahoo was: Are you a platform or a publisher? For upstart Medium, the answer is clearly both. — The blogging platform, founded by Twitter CEO Ev Williams, continues to blur the line between platform and publisher.

WashPostPR / Washington Post:

The Washington Post partner program signs on nearly 100 newspapers — Digital First Media, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Columbus Dispatch among the latest to join pilot program — Nearly 100 newspapers will participate in The Washington Post partner program first announced earlier this year.

Discussion: FishbowlDC and @jbenton

Andrew Leonard / Salon:

How Disney learned to stop worrying and love copyright infringement — The Monday before the Oscars, Scott Kramer, a digital content producer based in Los Angeles, called his close friend Joshua Elson, a high school choir teacher, with an idea. For months, both their families had been obsessed …

Discussion: @mslods, Techdirt and @rothken

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Press regulator Ipso names its board — Members of PCC successor's 12-strong panel include pensions expert Ros Altmann and former Times editor Charles Wilson — Pensions expert Ros Altmann is to join the board of press regulator Ipso. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Discussion: Press Gazette and Press Association

Jon Boone / Guardian:

Geo TV apologizes for saying Pakistan's spy chief plotted to assassinate journalist Hamid Mir — Geo TV owners print front-page apology to Pakistan's ISI spy chief — Move comes in week regulators rule on coverage that include claims Zaheer-ul-Islam behind attempt on life of star journalist

Discussion: @fispahani and @aqpk