Mediagazer: Essay: Hey, Publishers: Stop fooling us, and yourselves (David Boardman/Poynter)

7:25 AM ET, July 17, 2014

Top News:

In Modern Media Realm, Big Mergers Are a Bulwark Against Rivals — When the news broke on Wednesday that 21st Century Fox, Rupert Murdoch's huge media and entertainment company, made an $80 billion offer to buy Time Warner Inc., another big media conglomerate, it seemed like a seismic jolt in the business landscape.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, The Week Magazine, @michaelroston, @peterlauria3, Talking Biz News, @gerryconway, @cdixon, VatorNews, Slate, Mediaite, Quartz, The Corsair, US News, Comic Book, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

John McDuling / Quartz:

It's not TV that Rupert Murdoch wants: It's HBO — The shockwaves from the news that Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox recently approached Time Warner (and was rebuffed) about an $80 billion takeover are still rippling through New York's media scene today. — And the early consensus among analysts …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Mashable

Simon Dumenco / AdAge:

What If Rupert Murdoch Really Is Unstoppable — and Immortal? — If the Media Mogul Really Wants to Buy Time Warner, Nothing Can Stop Him — Content Marketing 2014 — Rupert Murdoch appears to be convinced that not only will he live forever, but eventually he'll own every global media company of consequence.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, USA Today, BuzzFeed, Variety, @themarkberman, Latest News & Headlines, Variety, Media & Entertainment, @dellcam and USA Today

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
21st Century Fox Bid Puts CNN in Cross Hairs

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post

David Boardman / Poynter:

Essay: Hey, Publishers: Stop fooling us, and yourselves — For an industry built on a foundation of truth-telling, the newspaper business sure has trouble telling the truth about itself. — Last month at the World Newspaper Congress in Turin, Italy, the chief spokesperson for U.S.-based dailies …

Discussion: Guardian, Gigaom, Reflections of a Newsosaur, @chadedge, @pmarca, @samkirkla, @albertocairo, @bobstep, @geostanley, @derekmyoung, @samkirkla, @jillkimball, @stevebuttry and @greggriffin

Alan D. Mutter / Reflections of a Newsosaur:
The newspaper crisis, by the numbers

Discussion: @gsterling, @stevebuttry, @grovesprof, @jayrosen_nyu, @ssuttell, @niemanlab, @billadairduke and @kevglobal

BBC Media Center:

BBC News announces plans to save £48m and invest in digital transformation — BBC News today outlined plans to save £48 million a year across the BBC News Group by 2016/17, along with proposals to restructure the division and to invest in digital transformation and original journalism.

Discussion: @spencetimes

BBC:

BBC News to cut a further 415 jobs — The BBC's News department is to axe 415 jobs as cost-cutting measures continue, the BBC's director of news James Harding has announced. — The move is part of £800m efficiency savings required after the licence fee was frozen in 2010.

Discussion: Press Gazette, Guardian, @trushar, @trushar, @imkevinyoung, @lucynews, @marcsettle, @marcsettle and @marcsettle

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Netflix says ‘no rules’ would be better than FCC's net neutrality proposal — Netflix filed a comment with the FCC yesterday strongly condemning the commission's new net neutrality proposal, which would allow internet service providers to offer so-called “fast lanes” to companies that can afford them.

Discussion: Softpedia News, @acedtect, The Hill, The Slanted, Netflix US & Canada Blog, Techdirt, Variety, BGR, Gigaom, FierceOnlineVideo News, Daily Dot and Free Press Blog

Joe Strupp / Media Matters for America:

NPR Backs Off Planned “Downgrade” Of Ombudsman — National Public Radio is backing away from a revised job description for its ombudsman that suggested the person in the position should avoid “passing judgment” on any errors in NPR News coverage, calling that listing “a mistake.”

Discussion: @theharryshearer, @sulliview, @acarvin, @digiphile, @brianstelter, @dangillmor and @jayrosen_nyu

Tyler Hicks / New York Times:

Pulitzer-prize winning NYT photographer describes witnessing the deaths of four boys in Gaza — Through Lens, 4 Boys Dead by Gaza Shore — GAZA CITY — My day here began at 6 a.m. Photographing something as unpredictable as war still has a routine. — It is important to be out the door …

Discussion: TVNewser, New York Times, Guardian, NBC News, @grahamliddell, @cblatts, @justinraimondo and @lucykafanov

Kristen Schweizer / Bloomberg:

Liberty Global Acquires ITV Stake From BSkyB for $824 Mln — Cable billionaire John Malone took another step to expand in TV programs and production with the purchase of a stake in ITV Plc (ITV), the biggest U.K. commercial broadcaster known for its top-rated show “Downton Abbey.”

Discussion: Variety, Guardian, Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times, Proactive Investors, RTTNews and Key 103 Manchester

RT:

Australian bill sees whistleblowing on intel ops punishable by up to 10 years in jail — Neo-McCarthyism is on the march in Australia as the country's attorney general proposed a new bill which would see potential whistleblowers facing up to 10 years in prison for leaks.

Discussion: Guardian, Mashable, Engadget and Boing Boing

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Independent launches i100, a Buzzfeed style news site, where users can upvote articles — Now i goes digital with a BuzzFeed-style website called i100 — First there was BuzzFeed and then there was Trinity Mirror's Usvsthe3M. And now there is i100, a new site launched by ESI Media.

Discussion: Press Gazette, Journalism.co.uk, @olyduff, @omaroakes, MediaTel and communicateonline.me

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.”

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

A change in the IRS process for granting tax-exempt status could be a boon to nonprofit news — It took almost a year and a half for nonprofit news site Eye on Ohio to get its tax-exempt status approved by the IRS this spring. Launched in the fall of 2012 by former business reporter Lori Ashyk …

Simon Parkin / Eurogamer.net:

Some YouTubers covering video games are running advertorials, paid promotions, and product placement without disclosures — Blurred lines: Are YouTubers breaking the law? — From unmarked advertorial to paid social promotion, Simon Parkin investigates the ethics and legality of YouTube.

Discussion: Guardian, @renireni and Forbes

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: ag.ny.gov, Gigaom, Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Electronista, The Next Phase, Business Wire, Publishers Lunch, AppleInsider, The Verge, BGR and The Next Web

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Publishers have an updated evergreen strategy: Make the old new again — Here's an irony about the rise of the real-time Web: Sometimes what's new isn't always what performs best. — Publishers are doing all they can to wring out more value from their existing body of content.

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: Washington Post, French Tribune, redOrbit, NBC News, Tech Times, PC Magazine, Lost Remote, Cinema Blend, Tech Times and AllFacebook

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Media reporter's advice for her replacement: ‘Turn your computer off once in a while’ — Until the end of the month, Johana Bhuiyan is a digital media reporter for Capital New York. Bhuiyan's headed next to cover tech for BuzzFeed's FWD. Before she leaves our tribe of media reporters …

Discussion: @alldigitocracy, @petersterne, @aubernalevy, @carr2n and @ksablan