Mediagazer: How to Be a Better Online Reader (Maria Konnikova)

5:10 PM ET, July 20, 2014

Top News:

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:

Sources: NBC pulled Ayman Mohyeldin from Gaza due to network infighting, not to silence him — What really happened with NBC and Ayman Mohyeldin — NBC News Foreign Correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin returned to Gaza on Sunday, four days after network management told him to leave the conflict zone amid breaking news coverage.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianstelter and @jeffjarvis

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:

NBC reverses decision to pull reporter Ayman Mohyeldin from Gaza; will send him back as soon as possible — NBC News Reverses Decision, Will Put Ayman Mohyeldin Back in Gaza — On Thursday, NBC News reportedly pulled correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin out of the Gaza Strip citing “security concerns.”

Jeffrey Dvorkin / Now The Details:

NPR Learns About (New) Media Accountability - the Hard Way — NPR HQ in Washington, DC — It began with a job posting on the NPR website. — NPR is looking for a new ombudsman to replace Edward Schumacher-Matos who has held the post for the past three years. He steps down in September.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @acarvin and Current.org

Thanyarat Doksone / Associated Press:

Thai junta's gag on media raises alarm, criticism — FILE - In this June 13, 2014 file photo, Thailand's Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, left, arrives at the Royal Thai Army Club in Bangkok, Thailand. Critics and journalists raised concerns Saturday, July 19, 2014 …

Discussion: Asian Correspondent and The Week

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Qplay, TiVo founders' service for streaming video playlists to TVs, shuts down six months after launch — Qplay, Internet Set-Top Startup Formed by TiVo Founders, Shuts Down — Qplay, the Internet video-device and app startup launched by the founders of TiVo, is closing its doors less …

Discussion: Qplay, Forbes, The Next Web, The Verge, Home Media Magazine and BetaNews

Hayley Tsukayama / Washington Post:

Kindle Unlimited: worth it if you buy 12+ books/year and find the limited catalogue appealing — Is Kindle Unlimited worth it? — Amazon.com introduced a new subscription service, Kindle Unlimited, on Friday. This $9.99 per month, all-you-can-eat feature gives you full access to a hundreds of thousands of e-books.

Discussion: ReadWrite

David Pierce / The Verge:
Why Amazon's ‘Netflix for books’ might be doomed before it starts

Discussion: @tcarmody, @chicagoterp, @arielledross, @wmerydith, Talking New Media, TechCrunch, @exprimak, @sdarlington, @robertcain, @piercedavid, @thomasjager, Forbes, PandoDaily, Forbes, Gigaom, Re/code, PC Pro and The Daily Caller

Jonathan Ellis / Mashable:

WSJ's Facebook Page Hacked With Fake Air Force One News — A false report about the loss of Air Force One was posted to The Wall Street Journal's Facebook page early Sunday morning. The newspaper later said its page had been “compromised.” — The WSJ deleted the fake posts …

Discussion: The Wall Street, The Rakyat Post, UPROXX and The Huffington Post

Nilay Patel / Vox:

Price of media is falling to zero because it's not scarce anymore, but inherently ubiquitous — Can you answer these 4 questions and save the media industry from Taylor Swift? — That headline is 100 percent pure clickbait, the finest in the world. Let's talk about why after you answer …

Discussion: @kitson and @jacobschulman

Maria Konnikova:

How to Be a Better Online Reader — Soon after Maryanne Wolf published “Proust and the Squid,” a history of the science and the development of the reading brain from antiquity to the twenty-first century, she began to receive letters from readers. Hundreds of them.

Discussion: @jcreidtx and @ahmed

Andy Baio / Medium:

How to fake flawless predictions for any sports event or election using social media — How to Flawlessly Predict Anything on the Internet — Spark conspiracies, incite riots, and predict the future with a confidence scam for the Twitter era — On Saturday, a Twitter account appeared …

Discussion: @daddy_san, @om and @nodunayo

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

Sky News apologises after presenter is seen looking through MH17 luggage — Broadcaster met with storm of criticism after footage emerges of Colin Brazier picking items from suitcase at crash site — Media professor Joe Watson described Brazier's actions as a ‘horrible moment for journalism’.

Discussion: @wjoewatson and BuzzFeed

Source:

How the New York Times created its popular “Spot the Ball” World Cup interactive — HOW WE MADE “SPOT THE BALL” — Photoshop, interaction design, and the secret origins of the game — Even among the many wonderful World Cup interactives and news apps we saw this year, the

Discussion: @_alastair and @dansinker