Mediagazer: Amazon responds to “Authors United” with letter encouraging authors to email Hachette's CEO (Amazon Books Team)

4:45 PM ET, August 9, 2014

Top News:

Amazon responds to “Authors United” with letter encouraging authors to email Hachette's CEO — A Message from the Amazon Books Team — Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing. It was the paperback book.

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Amazon misrepresents George Orwell in attempt to argue Hachette is against the future of books — Dispute Between Amazon and Hachette Takes an Orwellian Turn — Maybe Amazon really is rattled by the whole Authors United phenomenon organized by Douglas Preston.

Discussion: Gawker, @irisblasi, @jcstearns, Talking New Media, SlashGear, Re/code, VentureBeat, International Business Times, Los Angeles Times, @kristenpainter, Guardian, The Daily Caller, Ars Technica, @dannysullivan, Engadget, @jodimeadows, BBC and AppleInsider

Matthew Lynley / BuzzFeed:

How Twitch co-founder and CEO Emmett Shear built a video game streaming site worth $1B — How A Site That Streams People Playing Video Games Became A Billion Dollar Business — Twitch CEO Emmett Shear wasn't born a leader, he became one almost by accident. And he now runs one of the most valuable video properties on the web.

Discussion: Forbes, @peterlauria3, BBC, Re/code and The Next Web

Eric Johnson / Re/code:

After Twitch's Music Copyright Crackdown, What About Games Themselves? — Videogame streaming site Twitch is officially a big media site and can no longer fly under the legal radar, as evidenced by this week's announcement that videos in its archives with unlicensed music will be flagged and partially muted.

David Uberti / Columbia Journalism Review:

Spy agency may have given away The Intercept's scoop, highlighting role of trust in reporting — Did a spy agency screw The Intercept? — For better and for worse, trust is key to coverage of the national security beat — Predicated on mutual trust, the relationship between reporters …

Discussion: @daviduberti

Susanne Ault / Variety:

Survey: YouTube Stars More Popular Than Mainstream Celebs Among U.S. Teens — U.S. teenagers are more enamored with YouTube stars than they are the biggest celebrities in film, TV and music. — That's the surprising result of a survey Variety commissioned in July that found the five …

Discussion: Gigaom, Business Insider and TechCrunch

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

ESPN is shutting down its public API — Sportscaster ESPN is getting ready to shut down its public API. ESPN's API team announced this week that it won't be issuing any new API keys going forward, and that all previously issued API keys are going to be revoked in early December.

Discussion: @pdxdbo, @burgwyn, @jayrizzi1, @claylo and ESPN Developer Center

John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:

Senate panel: let cable subscribers pick local TV stations they're willing to pay for under “Local Choice” plan — Sources: Sen. Commerce Floats Retrans Remake — “Local Choice” pitch would be to let subs decide whether they want to pay station prices, get stations

Discussion: @eggerton, Variety, TVNewsCheck.com, The Hill and Multichannel News

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

NFL fights to save its TV “blackout rule” — Despite $9B revenue, NFL says blackout rule needed to keep football on free TV. — The National Football League (NFL) is trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to preserve 39-year-old blackout rules that prevent games …

Discussion: The Hill, @bradleychambers and Weekly Standard

Leigh Anne Williams / Publishers Weekly:

Copyright Changes Hit Canadian Publishers Hard — Canada — When the Canadian Copyright Modernization Act was passed in 2012, publishing associations were happy with certain aspects of the legislation, including its antipiracy measures. But dissatisfaction in the industry has been mounting …

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Bloomberg shifting political news power to NYC marks end of a decade of focus on Washington — Bloomberg's game change: New York's in charge — Bloomberg Media wants to be a dominant player in political news. In order to make that happen, the New York powers have wrested control of the steering wheel from Washington.

Discussion: @mlcalderone, Talking Biz News and FishbowlNY

Eric Johnson / Re/code:

Japan's SmartNews raises $36M, is in talks with western media for autumn expansion — Exclusive: Twitter-Mining News App SmartNews Raises $36 Million from Atomico and Gree — Japanese newsreading app SmartNews has raised $36 million in new funding, in a round led by growth-stage investment firm Atomico …

Discussion: Tech in Asia, Gigaom and VentureBeat