Mediagazer: Speculation mounts of an AOL-Yahoo merger; Mayer interested in HuffPo (Kara Swisher/Re/code)

4:40 PM ET, July 14, 2014

Top News:

Ryan Roslansky / Official LinkedIn Blog:

LinkedIn acquries Newsle, a tool for monitoring mentions of people in news stories — Stay In The Know On Your Network: Newsle Joins The LinkedIn Family — We know LinkedIn is a place you visit to stay up-to-speed on your network, showcase and strengthen your professional identity …

Discussion: Newsle Blog, Forbes, MediaPost, The Next Web, New York Times, Bloomberg, PC Magazine, CNET, AdAge, Online Social Media, WebProNews, ValueWalk, SeekingAlpha.com, 24/7 Wall St., TechHive, ZDNet, @bfeld, @jeffjarvis, PandoDaily, @jamescham, VatorNews, @digiphile, Mashable, @jeffweiner, @pkafka, @robpegoraro, @danroth, TechCrunch, SocialTimes and VentureBeat

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

Julia Turner Is Named Editor in Chief of Slate — The online magazine Slate on Monday named Julia Turner its editor in chief, replacing David Plotz, who is stepping down after six years in the job. — Ms. Turner has served as Mr. Plotz's deputy editor since 2008.

Discussion: Slate, FishbowlNY, The Wrap, Politico, Poynter, Slate, @sdkstl, @erikwemple, @mattyglesias, @ezraklein, @michaelroston and @laurenzcollins

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

Under Larry Kramer, USA Today focuses on breaking news fast and going viral — USA Today Goes Viral — TYSONS CORNER, Va. — “Today is a good day to be here because we are starting Social Media Tuesdays,” exclaims Larry Kramer, the publisher of USA Today.

Discussion: @chenkx, @jswartz, Change of Subject, @lauraelizdavis, @oso, @mjenkins, @cookie, The Whip, @caseynewton, @jayrosen_nyu, @mikeisaac and @dannysullivan

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

A.G. Sulzberger named ‘senior editor for strategy’ at Times — The New York Times has confirmed a new role for Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, a rising newsroom star and the son of Times publisher and chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. — The younger Sulzberger, who previously did stints as an editor …

Discussion: Poynter, The New York Observer, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @stuartmillar159 and @hunterw

Josh Rottenberg / Los Angeles Times:

‘Snowpiercer,’ VOD and the future of film distribution — On June 27, a bold new sci-fi film opened in theaters. Critics raved. Fanboys exulted. Word-of-mouth was overwhelmingly positive. No, it wasn't “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” — Upon its release, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo and The Billfold

Michael Cieply / New York Times:

BitTorrent launching paywall and using crowdfunding to finance new sci-fi series — BitTorrent to Try a Paywall and Crowdfunding — LOS ANGELES — This might be the latest twist on crowdfunding — or the web equivalent of seeking a ransom. — BitTorrent, a purveyor of file-sharing technology …

Discussion: @tedhope, The Verge, @cryptogeeks, @tigermedia247, @frankrose, @katikrause, TorrentFreak, The Next Web, TechHive and Engadget

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

Time chief content officer Norman Pearlstine on the spinoff, The Awl, Twitter, and more — Norm Pearlstine on Standing in Checkout Lines and The Awl — Norm Pearlstine. (Illustration by Paul Kisselev) … What does the spinoff mean for Time Inc.? We were very much defined …

Discussion: @annehelen

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Speculation mounts of an AOL-Yahoo merger; Mayer interested in HuffPo — Two Years and Still Stuck in a Revenue Rut, Will Yahoo's Mayer Bite the AOL Bullet? — Maybe AOL and Yahoo will merge. Maybe not. Maybe they should. Maybe they shouldn't. — But for the erudition of reporters …

Discussion: @jvanslem, Business Insider, @mathewi, @mccarthyryanj, @hblodget, @jyarow, @kenli729 and SeekingAlpha.com

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

News Corp calls for piracy crackdown in Australia — Rupert Murdoch company requests toughening of laws to force internet service providers to act on copyright theft — News Corp, owner of film studio 20th Century Fox, has called for the toughening of piracy laws in Australia.

Discussion: TorrentFreak, @myriamrobin, Plagiarism Today and The Register

Ellen Emmerentze Jervell / Wall Street Journal:

Swedish author and his bot created 2.7M Wikipedia articles; some editors object to methods — For This Author, 10,000 Wikipedia Articles Is a Good Day's Work — In Sweden, Sverker Johansson and His ‘Bot’ Have Created 2.7 Million Articles; Some Purists Complain

Discussion: Popular Science

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AT&T-Chernin Group's Otter Media Online-Video Venture Acquires Creativebug for $10 Mil — Otter Media, the newly named online-video joint venture of AT&T and Chernin Group, has acquired how-to crafting video site Creativebug from Demand Media for $10 million in cash.

Discussion: The Wrap, VentureBeat and Re/code

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Neil Young becomes PonoMusic CEO after the Kickstarter gold rush — Musician steps up to run digital music company that he founded, ahead of launch for gadget and high-def downloads store — Musician Neil Young is now also a technology CEO, after taking the reins at PonoMusic …

Discussion: RAIN News, News For Shoppers, Music Week and hypebot

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox Loses Latest Bid to Halt Dish's Place-Shifting Technology — The 9th Circuit affirms a district judge's conclusion that Fox hasn't demonstrated irreparable harm. — Fox Broadcasting has lost again in its attempt to stop Dish's Hopper with Sling, also known as “Dish Anywhere.”