Mediagazer: Amazon's Failed Pitch to Authors (Vauhini Vara/New Yorker)

9:30 PM ET, August 1, 2014

Top News:

Andrew Flanagan / Billboard:

Beats and Apple Dispute Reports of Layoffs — Apple and a source close to Beats are disputing the characterization in recent reports that a significant round of layoffs is taking place at Beats, saying there have been no layoffs (save for about five performance-based terminations) …

Discussion: Ubergizmo, Electronista, Re/code, Music Week and RAIN News

Hannah Karp / Wall Street Journal:

With Apple-Beats Deal Complete, Ian Rogers To Run iTunes Radio — Now that Apple has officially swallowed Beats, Ian Rogers, the head of Beats' subscription-music service, will also oversee the iPhone-maker's iTunes Radio efforts, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Forbes, VentureBeat, Ubergizmo, Variety, Softpedia News, AppleInsider, MacDailyNews, App Advice, @chrissyfarr, Tech Times, 9to5Mac, VatorNews, Re/code, Cult of Mac, The Next Web, MacRumors, @pkafka, RAIN News, Business Insider, Electronista, TIME and Mashable

Kristen Schweizer / Bloomberg:
Vivendi Sells Its 13% Beats Stake to Apple for $404 Million

Discussion: AppleInsider, Mashable, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, MacRumors and MacDailyNews

Don Reisinger / CNET:
Apple closes $3B Beats deal, welcomes the company ‘to the family’

Discussion: Re/code, Daily Dot, Ubergizmo, The Verge, Gigaom and The Daily Caller

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Israel Censor Wants To Pre-Approve New York Times Coverage Of Soldier — NEW YORK — The Israeli military told The New York Times on Friday to withhold publishing additional information about an Israeli soldier reportedly captured by Palestinian militants until it is first reviewed by a censor.

Discussion: New York Times, Pressing Issues, @steveplrose, Mondoweiss, @mlcalderone, New York Magazine, The Dish and The Week

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

Times Foreign Editor Responds on Israeli Censorship — Isabel Kershner and Fares Akram reported Friday in The Times that detailed information about a kidnapped Israeli soldier would be subject to a rare instance of Israeli military censorship. The passage from the article reads as follows:

Discussion: Gawker

Farhad Manjoo / NYT Bits:

Amazon Wants Cheaper Ebooks. But Should It Get to Enforce Prices? — In a short blog post meant to shed light on its ongoing contract dispute with the publisher Hachette, Amazon argued this week that its data proves that lower ebook prices are better for everyone in the market for books.

Discussion: @dangillmor, @burningbunnies, @johngapper, @mathewi, @fmanjoo and @jeffjarvis

Vauhini Vara / New Yorker:

Amazon's Failed Pitch to Authors — In May, the publishing company Hachette revealed that the online retailer Amazon had been delaying shipment of physical books published by Hachette while the companies argued over how e-books should be sold on Amazon. Since then, the public-relations war between …

Charlie Beckett / Polis:

Should news get personal? Emotion and objectivity in the face of suffering — Should journalists covering suffering allow their own emotions to become part of the story? — [see comments and selected tweets at the bottom of this article for reaction] — Jon Snow's heartfelt monologue …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, @abuaardvark, @fox_claire, @alstewitn and @fleetstreetfox

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Facebook and fewer stories behind rise in web traffic, says Telegraph chief — Telegraph Media Group editor-in-chief Jason Seiken says a change in focus helped drive up the paper's website traffic in June — The Telegraph website's 20% traffic boost in June has been attributed …

Discussion: @kate_day, Gigaom, @shanegreer, @samkirkla, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @marksweney and @chrismoranuk

Deutsche Welle:

Journalist Greenwald refuses to speak to Germany's NSA scandal inquiry — Journalist Glenn Greenwald has refused to speak to a German parliamentary inquiry on the NSA scandal. He said the Bundestag's decision not to interview Edward Snowden is indicative of the committee's “empty symbolism.”

Discussion: TwitLonger and Talking Points Memo

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Please Stop Saving Me A Click — Lately, a new behavior seems to be picking up steam. More and more, average men, women, androgynous novelty Twitter accounts, and even brands are bravely butting in, taking up a conservationist cause. It looks like this: … There are clicks in need of saving.

Discussion: Daring Fireball, @mikeisaac, @b_fung, @misterjayem, @bydanielvictor, @mims, @glennf, @bydanielvictor, @gaberivera, @harrymccracken, @nathanjurgenson, @jasondashbailey, @weskroesbergen, @gaberivera, @ourmaninchicago, @timlampe, @6x6pix and @acoyne

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Mail did not reveal to PCC or Leveson that News of the World hacked staff — Four Mail on Sunday journalists were told by the police in 2006 that their mobile phones had been hacked — Vital evidence about phone hacking was withheld from the Press Complaints Commission when it held …

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Apple $450 million e-book settlement wins court approval — (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Friday won preliminary court approval for its $450 million settlement of claims it harmed consumers by conspiring with five publishers to raise e-book prices. — In approving the accord …

Discussion: Forbes, CNET, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac and The Verge