Mediagazer: German RTL Group to acquire 65% stake in digital video ad firm SpotXchange for $144M (Georg Szalai/Hollywood Reporter)

6:45 AM ET, July 31, 2014

Top News:

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

NYT response to plagiarism claim acknowledges improper use of language, details from Wikipedia — Times Issues Editor's Note in Response to Plagiarism Charge — The New York Times issued an editors' note on Wednesday in response to allegations that a reporter in the culture department …

Discussion: USA Today, ARTnews, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, @clpauwels, @nbj914, @craigsilverman, @theapjournalist, @paperhaus, @journolibrarian, @saramorrison, Politico, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

Ian Griggs / PRWeek:

IPSO appoints Matt Tee, former permanent secretary for government comms, as chief executive — Matt Tee appointed as new press regulator's first chief executive — The Independent Press Standards Organisation has appointed Matt Tee, the former permanent secretary for government comms, as its first chief executive.

Discussion: Press Association, @nhsconfed, @davidcharter, @matttee, @bengoldacre, @unity_mot and @shaunlintern

Bill Glauber / JSOnline:

Journal Communications of Milwaukee and E.W. Scripps announce merger, spinning off newspapers — Journal, Scripps deal announced Newspaper firm to be based in Milwaukee; broadcast company in Cincinnati — Two storied media firms, Journal Communications Inc. of Milwaukee and E.W. Scripps Co …

Discussion: Associated Press, The E.W. Scripps Company, @donlday, @journalsentinel, @dlboardman, @geostanley, Thomson IR, @brizzyc, @thisispaulsen, TVSpy, @nstockdale, The Commercial Appeal, Poynter, @romenesko, @baltmediablog and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Bloomberg:

AMC Networks in talks to acquire almost 50% of BBC America — AMC Networks Said to Discuss Acquiring Stake in BBC America — AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX), the cable network controlled by the Dolan family, is in talks to acquire about a 50 percent stake in BBC America, BBC Worldwide's U.S. channel …

Discussion: Guardian, @tpalazzo, Telegraph, Variety, Deadline.com, @chrissiemurray and The Wrap

Johana Bhuiyan / Capital New York:

Sources at Vocative say their software, touted to mine the deep web for generating news stories, doesn't work as promised — Showtime for Vocativ — Vocativ, the news organization that promises to mine the “deep web” for stories of global interest that cannot be found using traditional reporting methods …

Discussion: @aubernalevy, @petersterne, @buzzfeedben, @mccollumashley and @riceid

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

German RTL Group to acquire 65% stake in digital video ad firm SpotXchange for $144M — European TV Giant RTL to Acquire Majority Stake in Video Ad Firm SpotXchange — The unit of German media giant Bertelsmann takes 65 percent in the marketplace for digital video ads for $144 million plus possible additional payouts.

Discussion: Reuters, ukaop.org.uk, Advanced Television, IP&TV News and The Drum

David Holmes / PandoDaily:

Breaking news in the social age is a mess. Can Grasswire help stop the spread of misinformation? — From Reddit's catastrophic witch hunt in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing to the deluge of fake images and reports during Hurricane Sandy, social media has turned every breaking news event into a playground of misinformation.

Bloomberg:

Thomson Reuters releases Q2 results, beats estimates, but remains flat with $249M net profit amid major reorganization — Thomson Reuters Profit Beats Analysts' Estimates on Cuts — Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI), the provider of financial data and news, reported second-quarter profit …

Discussion: Yahoo! Finance, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Finance, TheStreet.com, Reuters, BDlive, Benzinga, Irish Independent, RTTNews and Toronto Star

Juliette Garside / Guardian:

BT's TV customer growth slows but broadband market share grows — Company's rate of net new TV subscribers has slowed to 40,000, the lowest rate for five quarters — BT has outperformed City forecasts thanks to strong demand for fibre broadband lines, but growth in its pay television business has slowed.

Discussion: The Drum, Telecomist and Rapid TV News

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

News Corp considers app-based news service to attract ‘millennials’ — News Corp is working on an app-based news service to blend original reporting with repurposed content from its many outlets, reports the Financial Times, which cites people familiar with the situation.

Discussion: Financial Times

Adrienne Lafrance / The Atlantic Online:

In 1858, People Said the Telegraph Was ‘Too Fast for the Truth’ — Perusing The New York Times archives a few days ago, I stumbled upon a delightful news nugget from 1858 about the “benefits and evils” of the transatlantic telegraph—delightful, because it reads like it could have been written today …

Discussion: @neilwrites and @alimanzano

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Heads rolling at Beats as Apple eliminating redundant positions, Ian Rogers & Trent Reznor to stay on — As Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music nears completion this financial quarter, the Cupertino and Santa Monica, California-based companies have begun work …

Discussion: Bloomberg, ZDNet, MacDailyNews, @soundboy, Cult of Mac, VentureBeat, Electronista, Business Insider and App Advice

E.J. Dickson / Daily Dot:

Wikipedia prank on Amelia Bedelia children's book entry lived on for 5 years, cited by others — I accidentally started a Wikipedia hoax

Discussion: @hmason, Re/code and The Verge

David Kravets / Ars Technica:

Algorithm predicts US Supreme Court decisions 70% of time — Supreme Court fantasy league to compete against computer model in upcoming term. — A legal scholar says he and colleagues have developed an algorithm that can predict, with 70 percent accuracy, whether the US Supreme Court …

Discussion: @sarahcnyt

Ben Mook / Current.org:

NPR Labs to end run as stand-alone unit after losing consulting work — NPR will integrate NPR Labs into its general budget and tighten its focus on public radio after almost five years of running the division as self-sustaining. — Under the restructuring, NPR Labs will transition …

Discussion: @currentpubmedia

Erica Sweeney / NetNewsCheck Latest:

Deseret Native Ad Biz Closing In On $1M — With its BrandView native advertising segment now in full swing regionally and FamilyShare.com already attracting national native advertisers, Utah's Deseret Digital Media is looking to expand its other platforms with this revenue source, Erica Sweeney reports.

Fiona Lowenstein / Columbia Journalism Review:

In Latin America, the money may be in the media startups — In Latin America, the money may be in the media startups — When the news blows up in Mexico City, Dulce Ramos is on the case. She is editor in chief of Animal Politico, a digital media startup that began as a Twitter account.

Jason Abbruzzese / Mashable:

How Amazon Brought Publishing to Its Knees — and Why Authors Might Be Next — Morgan Entrekin is happy with the relationships he's developed with Amazon. As the president of independent publisher Grove/Atlantic Books, he witnessed the industry change as Amazon's introduction …

Discussion: PC Pro, Ubergizmo, Engadget, Bookseller news, The Next Web and Muncie Free Press, Thanks:@jasonabbruzzese

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

C-SPAN Moving To Authenticated TV Ch. Streaming — Separate live feeds of government proceedings will still be accessible to all — C-SPAN is launching a beta test of its migration of live online feeds of its TV channels—C-SPAN 1,2,3—to an authentication model starting Monday …

Discussion: @jbenton and @keachhagey

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

Popcorn Time Adds Apple TV Support, iOS App Coming Soon — The Popcorn Time phenomenon is one of the biggest piracy stories of the year thus far. — The software became an instant hit by offering BitTorrent-powered streaming in an easy-to-use Netflix-style interface.

Discussion: The Next Web, @shealan, Cult of Mac, BGR, Softpedia News and Business Insider

Katherine Fung / The Huffington Post:

Journalist Rami Rayan Killed In Gaza Attack (GRAPHIC) — Rami Rayan, a Palestinian photojournalist, was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli air strike on a busy market in Gaza. — The attack killed at least 16 people and wounded over 150 more. Rayan, a photographer reportedly working for a local website …

Discussion: @ihazemi, @temoris, @gazanpal, Committee to Protect … and Associated Press

Jessica E. Lessin / The Information:

An updated Apple TV won't launch this year as talks with cable operators lag, sources say — Apple's TV Push Stalls as Partners Hesitate — Those waiting for Apple to start selling its long-discussed, all-in-one box for accessing live and on-demand television are going to have to keep waiting, The Information has learned.

David Uberti / Columbia Journalism Review:

With dwindling newsstand sales and fierce competition for viral stories online, the New York tabloids are forced to recalibrate — With dwindling newsstand sales and fierce competition for viral stories online, the New York tabloids are forced to recalibrate

Discussion: @daviduberti