Mediagazer: RIAA Revenue Drops to Record Low (Ernesto/TorrentFreak)

8:10 AM ET, June 11, 2014

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Ralph Cipriano / Big Trial:

Lenfest to buy out Drew Katz to take sole control of Philly Daily News, Inquirer, websites — The Partnership That Didn't Last Twenty Minutes — Auction winners Gerry Lenfest and Lewis Katz — for Bigtrial.net — In the moments after Lewis Katz and H.F. “Gerry” …

Discussion: Philadelphia Magazine, Philly.com, Philly.com, @carrierickey, @taramurtha, @davidleepreston and @will_bunch

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Amazon Stops Taking Advance Orders for ‘Lego’ and Other Warner Videos — The Everything Store is shrinking again. Amazon customers who want to order forthcoming Warner Home Video features, including “The Lego Movie,” “300: Rise of an Empire,” “Winter's Tale” and “Transcendence,” are finding it impossible to do so.

Discussion: The Verge, Bookseller news, @publisherslunch, Mashable, @deanbaker13 and @sherman_alexie

Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:

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Discussion: @conorsen, @mathewi, @jayrosen_nyu, @jimtankersley, @jkavanagh and VentureBeat

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Fox News pushes back on Gawker report — Fox News says it has not retracted its claim that former executive Brian Lewis submitted fraudulent expense reports, despite a Gawker report alleging otherwise. — On Tuesday, Gawker unearthed a document filed in court appearing to state that the network …

J.K. Trotter / Gawker:
Fox News Retracts Fraud Claim Against Former Executive

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, @gabrielsherman and @ericboehlert

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Mirror group faces new phone-hacking claims — Cilla Black, Christopher Eccleston, Alan Yentob and Davina McCall among new claimants for compensation — The publisher of the Sunday Mirror is facing compensation claims over alleged phone hacking from at least a dozen new litigants including Cilla Black …

Discussion: Press Gazette, @davidfolkenflik and Guardian

Maxim Eristavi / Columbia Journalism Review:

Reporter forced to leave Eastern Ukraine after Russian journo accuses him of “spreading lies” — In Eastern Ukraine, one journalist turns on another — A German reporter is forced to flee after a Russian counterpart denounces him on social media

Discussion: Poynter

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Stars from YouTube and Vine capitalize on internet success with live festivals and concerts — Performing Without Net: Stars of YouTube Take to the Stage — A capacity 12,500 tickets have been sold. More than 70 performers are appearing on three stages.

Ted Johnson / Variety:

Music Groups Urge D.C. Lawmakers to Revamp Licensing Laws — Characterizing the current system as outdated as the heyday of vinyl records and 8-track tapes, representatives for musicians and music publishers called on Congress to overhaul laws governing how songwriters and others in the industry …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Billboard, San Diego Jewish World, radioworld.com and New York Times

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

RIAA Revenue Drops to Record Low — The RIAA has submitted its latest tax filing to the IRS, covering the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, which provides some background on how the organization is faring. — Continuing the trend from recent years the total revenue of the anti-piracy group dropped once again, to $24.2 million.

Discussion: Music Week and VentureBeat

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

The Vice-Time Warner deal, HLN, and CNN — With the news that Time Warner is seeking a major investment in Vice, the possibility of HLN's involvement raises a number of questions. — HLN has been teased as possibly going to Vice as part of the deal, though there was enough wiggle room …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Wall Street Journal, TVNewser, Inside Cable News, @antderosa and Sky News

Stuart Kemp / Hollywood Reporter:

Oliver Stone Options Novel by Edward Snowden's Russian Lawyer — The filmmaker and his producing partner have acquired movie rights to “Time of The Octopus” by Anatoly Kucherena, set to be published later this year. — Oliver Stone and his producing partner, Moritz Borman …

Discussion: Variety and Media Law Prof Blog

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Boston Globe launches Capital, a new section for political junkies — Boston Globe wants to make political-junkie-style coverage accessible — On Friday, The Boston Globe launched Capital, a new section on politics that comes out Fridays in print and updates regularly online.

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

BBC journalists to ballot for strike action — Union members call for overhaul of pay gap with managers, rejecting ‘derisory’ offer of 1% pay rise — BBC journalists are to ballot for strike action after rejecting an offer of a “derisory” 1% pay rise. — Members of the National Union …

Discussion: Press Association, Poynter, Press Gazette and mUmBRELLA

Jason Deans / Guardian:
BBC Radio to cut 65 more posts

Discussion: broadcastnow.co.uk, mirror, MediaTel, Prolific North, Telegraph, Gigwise, Digital Spy and BBC

Bryan Bishop / The Verge:

Sony formally announces PlayStation original sci-fi series ‘Powers’ — There were reports that it was in the works a few months ago, but Sony has now made it official: the first original television show for the PlayStation is coming, and it is called Powers.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Arcade Sushi, Observation Deck and TechRadar.com