Mediagazer: Sony, Universal Said Facing Probe Over Songwriter Fees (David McLaughlin/Bloomberg)

1:55 PM ET, July 16, 2014

Top News:

Time Warner rejected $80B takeover bid by Murdoch's 21st Century Fox last month, no longer in discussions — Rupert Murdoch Said to Have Made Offer for Time Warner — Twenty-First Century Fox, the media empire run by Rupert Murdoch, made an $80 billion takeover bid in recent weeks …

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Alan D. Mutter / Reflections of a Newsosaur:

The newspaper crisis, by the numbers — Roughly a decade after the commercial debut of the Internet, America's newspapers posted record high advertising sales of $49.4 billion in 2005, leading many publishers to think their businesses would not be seriously affected by the digital revolution.

Discussion: Poynter, @grovesprof, @billadairduke, @kevglobal, @jayrosen_nyu, @ssuttell and @niemanlab

Richard Smirke / Billboard:

Global Indie Sector Unites To Launch ‘Fair Digital Deals Declaration’ — Over 700 indie labels have given their backing to a major new initiative promoting fair and transparent accounting to artists and music companies in respect of digital revenues. Representatives of Domino, Cooking Vinyl …

Michelle Castillo / Adweek:

Univision reports 73M World Cup livestreams, WatchESPN cites 43M hours of live viewing — Univision, ESPN Score Digital Victories During 2014 World Cup Both networks report record increases in traffic, livestreaming By Michelle Castillo — Germany may have won the World Cup …

Discussion: stream.aljazeera.com, Hollywood Reporter and Hollywood Reporter

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes: World Cup Streaming Boosts Comcast's TV Everywhere Push

Chris Jasper / Bloomberg:
World Cup Final Watched Live by Record 40,000 Airline Passengers

Discussion: @panasonic_mea

Laura Hazard Owen / Gigaom:

Amazon is testing “Kindle Unlimited,” an ebook subscription service for $9.99/month — Amazon is testing an ebook and audiobook subscription service called “Kindle Unlimited” that offers “unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just $9.99 a month.”

Richard Lawler / Engadget:

Netflix already stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays, but you probably didn't notice — The USPS may not have gone forward with its plans to kill Saturday mail delivery, but Netflix isn't waiting. A few customers have noticed it's no longer processing shipments on Saturdays, opting for a five day schedule instead.

Discussion: Re/code, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, fox59.com, Cinema Blend, Betabeat and Gizmodo

Vivian Yee / New York Times:

Corner Media Expands Its Network of Brooklyn Blogs — By now, the neighbors know exactly where an associate publisher of one of Brooklyn's biggest media conglomerates works (about three feet from his bed, most days) and what he looks like. That is the way he likes it.

Discussion: @juliemmoos, @raju, @tommy_robb and @grdodgemedia

David McLaughlin / Bloomberg:

Sony, Universal Said Facing Probe Over Songwriter Fees — The music-publishing arms of Sony Corp. (6758) and Universal Music Group are being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged price coordination, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Billboard, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, WallStreet Scope, Complete Music Update, Radio Ink Magazine, SeekingAlpha, AllAccess.com, RTTNews and Quartz

Andy / TorrentFreak:

RIAA Copyright Pressure Silences Historical Radio Archive — When sites like The Pirate Bay come under copyright holder pressure, there is often a big backlash from users who see such action as unfair. That being said, it's generally accepted by both sides that The Pirate Bay courts trouble by …

Discussion: Techdirt, @dangillmor, AllAccess.com and Airchecks:Radio:REELRADIO …

Ian S. Port / SF Weekly:

Alt-Weekly Awards Snub Music Writing of the Nation's Largest Alt-Weeklies — This week, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the professional group representing papers like SF Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, LA Weekly, and Village Voice, announced the winners of its annual awards.

Discussion: @iport and @earmeat

Tim Peterson / AdAge:

Tumblr, Blogger, and WordPress have larger audiences on mobile than desktop, only WordPress has seen overall traffic growth — Why Online Audiences' Mobile Migration Isn't All Bad News for Blogs — Mobile Hasn't Made Up for Desktop Declines, but It Is Growing — Online audiences are migrating to mobile.

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

Study: Political journalists opt for stenography over fact checking during presidential debates — During the 2012 U.S. presidential debates, political journalists on Twitter primarily repeated candidate claims without providing fact checks or other contest, according to new research published …

Discussion: TVNewser, @jayrosen_nyu, @craignewmark, @owillis, @mlcalderone, @jaredbkeller, @markcoddington, @craigsilverman and The Huffington Post

Andrianes Pinantoan / Pocketbook:

27% of Australians using TV and movie subscription services use Netflix despite geo-blocking — How Netflix Is Doing In Australia: 2 Stats That Should Scare Foxtel and Quickflix … Andrianes Pinantoan — Andre is heads up marketing at Pocketbook. He's an accounting graduate …

Discussion: @getpocketbook, CHOICE and Mashable

Dave Lee / Medium:

Technology journalists are facing extinction — Very soon I won't be needed. — One of the first ever online journalists for the BBC is a close colleague of mine. These days, you'd say he was the most experienced member of the team. — But back in the 90s, when the BBC …

Discussion: @adders, @nathanjurgenson, @fmanjoo, @annfriedman, @mattlynley, @megangarber, @sfiegerman, @jayrosen_nyu, @martinstabe, @kvetchup, @lukeplunkett, @jamesrbuk, @davelee and @digiphile

Cosmopolitan:

Jill Abramson: “I'm Not Ashamed of Getting Fired” — When Jill Abramson was appointed the first female executive editor of The New York Times, it was a big deal. When she was fired only two and a half years into the gig for her “brusque management style,” it was an even bigger deal, making headlines across the globe.

Discussion: FishbowlDC, FishbowlNY, The Huffington Post, @janestreet, @kimseverson, @mslaurachalmers, @alexweprin, @e_dythe, @primroseriordan, @fmanjoo and @meslackman

Samuel Gibbs / Guardian:

The return of the YouTube troll: Google ends its ‘real name’ commenter policy — The search company has apologised for complicating the commenting process, and reversed its ‘anti-troll’ real name policy on Google+ — Google has reversed a policy that forced users of Google+ to use their real names …

Discussion: plus.google.com, Mashable, SlashGear, Online Social Media, Gizmodo, PC & Tech Authority, Tech2, htxt.africa, Silicon Republic, GMANetwork.com, Marketing Land and PC World

BBC:

BBC journalists are to go on strike on the first day of the Commonwealth Games next Wednesday. — BBC journalists are to go on strike on the first day of the Commonwealth Games next Wednesday. — The walkout will start at midday on 23 July and last for 12 hours.

Discussion: Scotsman, BECTU, Daily Mail, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, @andrewjkeir, allmediascotland, dailyrecord, @bbcgaryr, The Drum and The Independent

Melissa Hellmann / TIME:

Nielsen Partners Up With Facebook to Track Television-Viewing Habits — Nielsen Media Research, the television-ratings company, will be partnering with Facebook to ascertain what television viewers are watching on their tablets and other mobile devices. — In the past, Nielsen solely tracked meters …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, PC Magazine, French Tribune, redOrbit, NBC News, Tech Times, Cinema Blend, AllFacebook and Tech Times

Reuters:

Apple agrees conditionally to a $450M settlement in e-book price-fixing case; $400M will go to consumers — Apple agrees to conditional $450 million e-books antitrust accord — (Reuters) - Apple Inc has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve U.S. state and consumer claims …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Business Wire, Channel NewsAsia, Hollywood Reporter, AppleInsider, The Next Phase, Publishers Lunch, ag.ny.gov, Patently Apple and The Verge

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Paul McCartney re-releases five of his classic albums as iPad apps — Band on the Run, McCartney, McCartney II, RAM and Wings over America get reworked for the modern-day App Store — Paul McCartney is the latest musician to experiment with the idea of albums as apps …

Discussion: The Next Web, Macgasm, App Advice, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and NME

Angela Haggerty / The Drum:

Metro MD Steve Auckland quits to become CEO of Independent, Evening Standard and London Live brands — Metro managing director (MD) Steve Auckland is leaving the company to become chief executive of ESI Media companies ESL, IPL and ESTV. — Auckland will take up the role in October …

Discussion: Guardian, HoldTheFrontPage and MediaTel