Mediagazer: Why the Orange County Register's bold experiment hit the skids (Ryan Chittum/Columbia Journalism Review)

9:30 PM ET, June 11, 2014

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Songwriters Are Losing $2.3 Billion A Year Due To Outdated Government Regulations

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Music Groups Urge D.C. Lawmakers to Revamp Licensing Laws

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Steve Henn / NPR:

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Jason Deans / Guardian:

Kickstarter links with the Guardian to highlight journalism projects — Crowdfunding website to have a dedicated category for the sector, plus a curated page picking out noteworthy new ideas — The Vancouver Observer's Tar Sands Reporting Project was funded through Kickstarter

Discussion: @nicolehe, @digiphile, The Kickstarter Blog, @jamesrbuk, @znmeb, @ystrickler, @contributoria and @caseynewton

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

AT&T's Pitch to the Feds: Let Us Buy DirecTV, and Maybe TV Bills Won't Go Up So Much — Remember when AT&T told investors that it could cut its programming bills by 20 percent if it buys DirecTV? — That was last week. This week AT&T is telling regulators why they should let it buy DirecTV, and it's making a similar argument.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Variety and CNET

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Jury in Rebekah Brooks trial retires to consider verdicts — Eight-month trial over alleged phone hacking, corruption and perversion of the course of justice enters final phase — The jury in the Rebekah Brooks trial has retired to consider its verdicts on a string of offences related to phone hacking …

Discussion: Reuters, BBC and mUmBRELLA

Ryan Chittum / Columbia Journalism Review:

Why the Orange County Register's bold experiment hit the skids — Debt doomed Aaron Kushner's dramatic expansion strategy, financial documents show — Aaron Kushner's massive investment in The Orange County Register—one I argued a year ago was “the most interesting—and important …

Discussion: @ryanchittum

Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:

2014's most talked-about media startups aren't distinguished by the what, but the how — With the launch of new site after new site in 2014, it's been a fascinating time to watch digital media try to figure itself out. Amid the turmoil of disruption, buffeted by tech companies' control …

Discussion: The Corsair, The New York Observer, @jimtankersley, @jayrosen_nyu, @conorsen, @mathewi and @jkavanagh

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

The Sun marks the World Cup by giving away 22m papers to English homes — In a burst of patriotism on behalf of England's World Cup team, The Sun is distributing 22m copies of a special issue to almost every household in England. — The 24-page paper is being delivered over the next two days …

Discussion: Forbes, Variety and Guardian

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

The Christian Science Monitor tweaks its engagement algorithm — The Christian Science Monitor, a 106-year-old news organization that boasts a serious, civic-minded audience, would seem well poised to crack the engagement code. A digital-focused publication since 2008 …

Discussion: Poynter, Nieman Journalism Lab, @digiphile and Christian Science Monitor

Felix Salmon / Matter:

A Q&A with BuzzFeed's Jonah Peretti on everything from print to innovation — BuzzFeed's Jonah Peretti Goes Long — The media mogul (twice over) on being both contagious and sticky — I first got to know Jonah Peretti in February 2011, very shortly after the Huffington Post was sold to AOL.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, Gigaom, New York Magazine, @nbj914, @buzzfeedben, @marklotto, 10,000 Words, @gregorydjohnsen and kottke.org

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Vice Launches A Sports Channel, With Modest Ambitions (For Now) — Vice Media CEO Shane Smith wants to displace ESPN as the global leader in sports news. He's said so publicly and often. — When I interviewed him for a FORBES profile in December 2011, he told me, “I want to be the next CNN …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

In the news media, are Muslims the only ‘terrorists’? — What do you call a couple who espouse an extremist, anti-government ideology and kill two policemen and a bystander while draping one of their victims in a flag associated with a political movement? — After Sunday's shooting spree perpetrated …

Discussion: @notoccupying, @jnaureckas, @zekejohnsonai, Pressing Issues and VICE