Mediagazer: In Australia, theatrical release window narrowing to 90 days from 120 days, to combat piracy (Andy/TorrentFreak)

1:45 AM ET, June 18, 2014

Top News:

Why Audiences Hate Hard News—And Love Pretending Otherwise — Ask readers what they want, and they'll tell you vegetables. Watch them quietly, and they'll mostly eat candy. — You may not realize this, but we can see you. Yes, you. The human reading this article.

Discussion: Washington Post, @michaellinhorst, @kctvphotogbrett, @rebeccaschinsky and @onceupona

Clay Shirky:

Kushner's wrong; trying to save print journalism steals resources from planning for the future — Nostalgia and Newspapers — Aaron Kushner, CEO of Freedom Communications and the architect of a contrarian plan to expand southern California newspapers, began erecting hard paywalls …

Discussion: @stevebuttry, @pottsmark, @mathewi, @dangillmor, @will_bunch, @vosdscott, @ckrewson, @glyph, @kleinmatic, @fraying, @brianstelter, @mathewi, @mathewi, @monkbent, @wendywarren, @austenallred, @jamcnn and @brizzyc

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse:

Twitter Restores Access to Pakistani Notices — Abstract: Today, June 17th, Twitter has restored access to the tweets and Twitter accounts that it blocked in Pakistan on May 18th, using its Country Withheld Content tool. — Pakistani authorities had requested the removal of the material …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and The Next Web

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

Twitter struggles to remain the free-speech wing of the free-speech party as it suspends terrorist accounts — Twitter hasn't been having a very good time of it lately: turmoil in the company's executive ranks — including the recent departure of the chief operating officer and the head …

Discussion: @farhanmemon

Todd Spangler / Variety:

World Cup Sets New Internet-Video Streaming Record — The 2014 FIFA World Cup is still in its opening round, but the soccer tourney has already broken the previous global record for online-video streaming and set new digital high-water marks for ESPN. — Monday's Germany-Portugal match drove …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Wall Street Journal, @raanan, New Yorker and Associated Press

Luke Vnenchak / New York Times:

NYT's content-management system Scoop: managing 700 articles, 600 images, 14 slideshows, 50 videos a day — Scoop: A Glimpse Into the NYTimes CMS — You know the importance of technology to the future of journalism has become a widely accepted fact when a prominent editor decides to join …

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @wblau, @amyoleary, @rjs, @robinsloan and @leslienassar

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

AnonyWatch: When Unnamed Sources Are Flat Wrong — In a blistering column this week, the Reuters media critic Jack Shafer takes The Times to task for using a particular kind of anonymous source — the kind who turn out to be wrong. — In two recent cases, he writes, The Times was left “at the corner of Mortified and Peeved.”

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, Jack Shafer, @sulliview, @jessicalustig and @the_intercept

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review:

Jill Abramson and Arthur Sulzberger Jr. have tense reunion at Pulitzer lunch — A tense reunion — On May 28, Columbia University photographer Eileen Barroso captured a historic, if uncomfortable New York Times moment at the Pulitzer Prize luncheon: the last portrait …

Jennifer Saba / Reuters:
NY Times top 3 paid generously given its results, size: analysis shows

Discussion: Poynter, @nycjim, @michaelroston, @mccarthyryanj and @edmundlee

Yinka Adegoke / Billboard:

YouTube Confirms Subscription Service Imminent, Warns of Takedowns — YouTube has confirmed it is close to launching its music subscription service, even as it in the process of pulling down some of the biggest indie label acts in a dispute over payments. — Acts like Adele …

Discussion: @viticci, @ow and Businessweek

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube to Block Music Videos from Labels That Don't Sign On for Subscription Service

Discussion: Guardian, Engadget, Marketing Pilgrim, Rolling Stone, AdAge, @yinkawrites, Business Insider, The Verge, hypebot, @scroobiuspipyo and TechCrunch

Andy / TorrentFreak:

In Australia, theatrical release window narrowing to 90 days from 120 days, to combat piracy — Movie Piracy Combated by Narrowing Theatrical Release Window — While its popularity has waned in recent years, the issue of camcorder piracy is often spoken about in crisis terms by the major movie studios.

Discussion: @glynmoody and Softpedia News

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Surprise! Twitter Ad Partnership Research Says Twitter Ads Are Great (And Boost Sales). — Last year, in an effort to prove that TV was the perfect medium to show off Twitter's efficacy, the San Francisco social communications company created The Social TV Lab with giant media buying agency …

Discussion: Fast Company

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

YouTube adds Chromecast support for live streams to its iOS and Android apps — Watching YouTube live streams on the TV just got a bit easier: Chromecast owners can now beam any live video streams straight from the YouTube iOS and Android apps to Google's streaming stick.

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Apple Is Happy to Sell You the Hachette Books Amazon Won't Stock — Amazon doesn't want to sell books from Hachette Book Group. — More for us, says Apple, which is taking advantage of the fight between the world's biggest bookstore and one of the world's biggest publishers.

Discussion: Cult of Mac, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac, App Advice and MacRumors

Danielle Wiener-Bronner / The Wire:

Hunger-Striking Al Jazeera Reporter Set Free — An Al Jazeera reporter who was captured in Egypt and has been on a hunger strike for more than 100 days has finally been set free, according to the Associated Press: … Egypt's prosecutor general said yesterday he had ordered the release …

Discussion: Voice of America, Gawker, Associated Press and Press Gazette