Mediagazer: Spain's lower house approves tax on online news aggregators; requires paying for news snippets (Julio Alonso/Medium)

4:55 AM ET, July 29, 2014

Top News:

Andy Orin / Lifehacker:

I'm Ira Glass, Host of This American Life, and This Is How I Work — Ira Glass is a writer, producer, storyteller, performer, and a familiar voice. His show This American Life has set the contemporary standard of nonfiction radio shows, and has influenced and inspired countless others to grab a mic and give podcasting a try.

Discussion: @chasejarvis

Corey Pein / The Baffler:

At its worst, entrepreneurial journalism disdains ethics and ignores journalism's mission — Amway Journalism — Like uninsured New Agers afflicted by terminal illness, journalists facing the collapse of their industry are turning in desperation to faith healers, quacks, and hucksters of all sorts.

Discussion: @ceodonovan, @coreypein, @readwriteradio, @helaineolen, @anatsuno, @ryanchittum, @bryandevasher, @stevebuttry, @aaronmesh, @markamesexiled, @sherrynoik, @ryanchittum, @jvagle, @thebafflermag, @profjeffjarvis, @jxpaton, @coreypein and @jamespiotr

David Carr / New York Times:

At Front Lines, Bearing Witness in Real Time — My social media feed has taken a bloody turn in the last few weeks and I'm hardly alone. Along with the usual Twitter wisecracking and comments on incremental news, I have seen bodies scattered across fields and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza.

Discussion: Prof Chris Daly's Blog, Gigaom, @digiphile and @antderosa

Pierre Omidyar / First Look Media:

First Look rethinks approach, focuses on incubating ideas over launching digital magazines — Nine Months in, First Look is Still Very Much a Startup — It's been some time since I've shared what we're working on at First Look Media and I wanted to provide an update.

Discussion: niemanlab.org, Folio, Pressthink, @chanders, @jayrosen_nyu, Gigaom, PandoDaily, @daveweigel, The Intercept, @michelemclellan, @zandarvts, @gabestein, Capital New York, @gregorydjohnsen and @raju

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

In Hollywood, Apps Like Whisper Dish Dirt — LOS ANGELES — A ripple of dread rolled through Hollywood's power publicist ranks in February. For the first time since its 2012 debut, the anonymous secret-sharing app Whisper had ensnared an A-list star. — Gwyneth Paltrow …

Discussion: @brianstelter, @raju, @atsalas360, @mattdpearce, @nytfridge, @jennedeau and The Awl

Joe Flint / Los Angeles Times:

FCC should help reach deal to end Dodgers TV standoff, lawmakers say — A group of Southern California lawmakers wants the Federal Communications Commission to broker a deal to end the bitter standoff between Time Warner Cable and other pay-TV providers over distribution of SportsNet LA …

Discussion: Multichannel News, @replindasanchez, @repcardenas, @dodgerslakers and Variety

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

Convicted in absentia, sentenced to ten years in Egypt prison: British Al Jazeera journalist tells of ‘burning sense of injustice’ — A British Al Jazeera journalist convicted in absentia over terrorism offences in Egypt has spoken out against the “burning sense of injustice” he and colleagues feel.

Discussion: @pressgazette, @sp_dom and @indexcensorship

Globe and Mail:
Jailed journalist Mohamed Fahmy denied presidential pardon in Egypt

Discussion: Christian News …, Gulf Business, The Huffington Post, @lindseyhilsum and @indexcensorship

Julio Alonso / Medium:

Spain's lower house approves tax on online news aggregators; requires paying for news snippets — The Story of Spain's Google Tax — As has happened elsewhere, France, Belgium and Germany come quickly to mind, Spanish newspaper editors have been arguing for long that Google is taking unfair advantage of them.

Discussion: Quartz, Techdirt, Business Insider, Global Voices and Boing Boing

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:

State Department urges Iran to release Washington Post correspondent — The State Department on Monday called for the release of The Washington Post's Iran correspondent, Jason Rezaian, who was detained last week in Tehran along with his wife and two others for undetermined reasons.

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, US Department of State, @marcburleigh and @rezamarashi

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

GAO: FCC flying blind on broadcasters' sharing deals — The Federal Communications Commission is largely flying blind when it comes to its oversight of broadcast companies that share resources, according to the Government Accountability Office. — The office, which acts as Congress's investigative arm …

Discussion: Reuters

Jim Brady / NetNewsCheck:

Lessons Learned From Project Thunderdome — “Do we think local news organizations — in the disaggregated Web world we live in and the even more atomic mobile world we're speeding into — actually need much national news anymore?” asks Jim Brady, who was head of Project Thunderdome until …

Discussion: niemanlab.org, Poynter, @mjenkins, @dailybreezeme, @jbinckes and @mattderienzo

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:

HBO works on expanding reach by bundling with Internet + basic cable for $40-$50/month — HBO Pushes Web Expansion as Bewkes Battles Murdoch Bid — Jeff Bewkes is looking to the Internet to accelerate growth at his prized TV network, HBO, as he seeks to demonstrate to investors that Time Warner Inc. …

Discussion: Deadline.com, VentureBeat, Re/code, The Huffington Post and MediaWire Daily