Mediagazer: Time Inc.'s Pearlstine says writer rating system “no big deal”, confined to Sports Illustrated (Gabriel Sherman/New York Magazine)

4:20 PM ET, August 21, 2014

Top News:

Amanda Meade / Guardian:

News Corp Australia defends use of James Foley beheading images — Julian Clarke tells forum ‘hiding the brutal reality’ is in no one's interest, despite family requests for the images not to be used — The chief executive of News Corp Australia has defended the decision to publish …

Discussion: Forbes, Latest News & Headlines, @coopesdetat, The Huffington Post, @meadea and Digital Life

James Ball / Guardian:

Twitter's claim to be just a platform, and not a publisher, is suspect if it censors images and videos — Twitter: from free speech champion to selective censor? — By acting on footage of James Foley's murder, Twitter has taken responsibility in a way it hasn't over abuse and threats.

Discussion: Jack Shafer, @dickc, Associated Press and Business Insider

Tom Risen / US News:

James Foley and Syria's News Repression — Syria was ranked the most dangerous nation for journalists like Foley, who was kidnapped and murdered. — Journalist James Foley rests at a Libyan airport in 2011. Foley was later captured in Syria, which one press freedom group has deemed …

Discussion: @abeaujon and @usnews

Washington Post:
U.S. staged secret Syria operation in failed bid to rescue Foley, other journalists, hostages

Josh Halliday / Guardian:
UK warns that viewing, downloading or sharing Foley video may be a crime under terrorism legislation

Discussion: USA Today, Jon Slattery, @mathewi, AlterNet.org, @vaultsan, @joshhalliday and @dangillmor

Michelle Castillo / Adweek:

HuffPost India launching November 25; won't be overseen by former managing editor Jimmy Soni — Huffpost India Is Launching Thanksgiving Week — Editor Jimmy Soni won't direct the project after all — It's official: HuffPost India—a partnership between the Huffington Post Media Group …

Discussion: Gawker, FishbowlDC, Capital New York, @nsabloff, @bobbymacreports, MediaNama, @bobbymacreports and FishbowlNY

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:

Huffington Post teams up with Beacon Reader to fund a local journalist reporting in Ferguson for a year — The Huffington Post Is Not Leaving Ferguson — What happens in Ferguson and the St. Louis metro area the day after everybody leaves? — It's a question on the minds of nearly every resident …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, 10,000 Words, The Awl, AdAge, The Local News Lab, @mikeisaac, @adviserdavid, The Daily Caller, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Guardian, FishbowlDC, @khillmatic, @mathewi, @attackerman, @jcstearns and Beacon

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:
Why it's smart of the HuffPo to partner with Beacon Reader in crowdfunding a reporter

Discussion: @sandersak

Nikhil Pahwa / MediaNama:

Thomson Reuters emails Indian digital publisher Medianama: we'll take your articles if you don't tell us not to — Thomson Reuters: we'll take your articles if you don't tell us not to — We received a email from Thomson Reuters last evening, informing us that unless we write …

Discussion: Quartz, Business Insider, @raju, @over_rated, @rafat, @stevesilberman, @myrmecos, @thestalwart, @sachinkalbag, @sirajdatoo, @dmjreports, @qhardy, @rohanv, @earleyedition, @rafat and Techdirt, Thanks:@nixxin

Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:

Comcast to launch ‘Xfinity on Campus’, IP-based video service targeted at college students — Comcast: ‘Xfinity On Campus’ Is Open For Business — Several Schools On Board For IP-Based Multiscreen Offering — Following an extensive trial period, Comcast said it has moved forward …

Discussion: AdAge, Forbes, The Verge, Variety and Engadget

Lockhart Steele / The Verge:

Vox's Lockhart Steele commits to blogging again, hints at turning Chorus CMS into platform — The retro-futuristic future of blogging — I've been thinking about ecosystems lately. As we're digging deeper into YouTube at Vox Media, I'm coming to appreciate the ways YouTube personalities interact …

Discussion: LockhartSteele.com, @jonathanglick, @davisshaver, @verge, @lindseymgreen, @smalera, @dangillmor, @fimoculous, @nbj914 and @petersontee

Kim Williams / Sydney Morning Herald:

Former CEO Kim Williams calls News Corp leaks a festival of vengeance — During my time at News Corporation there were frequent frustrating leaks, much like the one this week, a comprehensive set of numbers on the company's Australian enterprises. — The leak, published in Crikey …

Discussion: @cjoye, @gay_alcorn and Guardian

Nic Christensen / mUmBRELLA:
Crikey agrees to destroy copies of leaked News Corp financial statements

Discussion: Crikey, Crikey, Sydney Morning Herald, Crikey, Guardian, Crikey, Crikey, @nicchristensen, @kieragorden, @themurdochtimes, mUmBRELLA, mUmBRELLA, Sydney Morning Herald, @chrismurphys, @peterjhinton and @ivorytowerjourn

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

SoundCloud to incorporate ads, allow artists to collect royalties, prepares to introduce paid subscriptions — Popular and Free, SoundCloud Is Now Ready for Ads — SoundCloud is the ubiquitous wild child of the digital music world. Without paying artists or record companies …

Discussion: SoundCloud, TechCrunch, RAIN News, VentureBeat, Consequence of Sound, @soundcloud, @haynes_dave, @alftirado, Wall Street Journal, @jacobschulman, @caseynewton, The Verge, The Next Web, Engadget, TIME, Your EDM, Gigaom, AVC, Music Ally and Music Week

Tim Molloy / The Wrap:

Conde Nast Media Group Names Vanity Fair Publisher Edward Menicheschi CMO and President — Condé Nast Media Group has named Vanity Fair publisher Edward Menicheschi its chief marketing officer and president. He will succeed Lou Cona, who in April 2013 was named the company's president and chief revenue officer.

Discussion: Media & Entertainment, Folio, AdAge, Forbes, Poynter, Capital New York, WWD Media Headlines, MinOnline, FishbowlNY and MediaWire Daily

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Time Inc.'s Pearlstine says writer rating system “no big deal”, confined to Sports Illustrated — Pearlstine on Time Inc. Spreadsheet-gate: ‘Not a Big Deal’ — The company's chief content officer calls the controversy “bulls**t.” — Shares

Discussion: MediaWire Daily, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @tyrangiel, @kbandersen and FishbowlNY

Rick Gladstone / New York Times:

Afghanistan Defends Expulsion of New York Times Reporter — The United States sharply criticized the government of Afghanistan on Thursday over its expulsion of Matthew Rosenberg, a New York Times correspondent, calling the move a threat to the country's budding democratic system and a “regrettable step backward” for its press freedom.

Discussion: The Hill, @rodnordland, @mrosenbergnyt, Afghanistan, @mrosenbergnyt, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English, Washington Post, Guardian, RT and Committee to Protect …

TheMediaBriefing:

Different beasts for a new media: Why BuzzFeed and Vice have less in common than you think — Vice Media, Vice News, Advertising, Digital Media — On the face of it, BuzzFeed and Vice are two companies with a lot in common. Both get young internet users, both get mobile and social …

Discussion: @henryctaylor, @monkbent, @ampress, @peterlauria3 and @jayrosen_nyu