Mediagazer: Amazon has been in late-stage talks to acquire video game streaming site Twitch (The Information)

2:00 PM ET, August 25, 2014

Top News:

Edmund Lee / Re/code:

New York Times's Digital Subscription Growth Story May Be Ending — The New York Times has bet on digital subscriptions to play a central role in its long-term future. But while selling access to the paper's Web and mobile versions was an initial hit, growth is slowing …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @mathewi, @mattzeitlin, @pkafka and @eduardosuarez

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
New York Times defends Michael Brown Jr. ‘no angel’ characterization

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Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Time Inc. Faces a Looming Existential Magazine Deadline — What should a magazine company be now? The most storied one in America has to come up with an answer fast. — In the 92 years since Henry Luce co-founded Time Inc., there have been just seven journalists to hold the title of editor-in-chief.

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Following layoffs memo, Jeff Zucker tells CNN employees they need to “do less and do it with less” — CNN chief: News operation will do less with less — CNN chief Jeff Zucker recently shared not so encouraging words with some of the news operation's employees, many of whom have been bracing for potential jobs cuts.

Discussion: The Wrap, TVNewser, @t_mcconnell, @howardkurtz, @tvnewslab, @brianstelter, @passantino, @mlcalderone, The Huffington Post and Inside Cable News

The Information:

Amazon has been in late-stage talks to acquire video game streaming site Twitch — Amazon Nears Deal to Acquire Twitch — Amazon.com has been in late-stage talks to acquire video site Twitch, according to two people familiar with the matter, after reports that Google had virtually sealed a deal to acquire the site for $1 billion.

Discussion: Polygon, WebProNews, Business Insider and The Next Web

Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal: Amazon to Buy Video Site Twitch for More Than $1 Billion

Fox News:

US, UK eye rapper as British-born militant who beheaded journalist James Foley — American and British intelligence officials are eyeing a British-born rapper as the militant who beheaded journalist James Foley. — A senior Western intelligence official told Fox News that 23-year-old …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, The Sunday Times, New York Times, CNN, Guardian, Vanity Fair, Softpedia News, Telegraph, India & World, Middle East, NY Daily News, The Independent, BBC, UK - The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Sky News and Reuters

Christopher Massie / Columbia Journalism Review:
To publish or not: James Foley video spotlights media's tough call

Discussion: Media Nation, Latest News & Headlines, Business Insider, The Atlantic Online, @storyful, @cjr and BetaNews

Andy Cush / Gawker:
Experts: Foley Execution Video Was Edited to Streamline Beheading

Discussion: The Times, Telegraph, National Post, Metro.co.uk, Sydney Morning Herald, WorldNetDaily, NY Daily News, The Economic Times, TheAustralian, RIA Novosti, @gawker and The Daily Caller

David Carr / New York Times:

Its Edge Intact, Vice Is Chasing Hard News — In early 2010, I wrote a column about Vice in which Shane Smith, one of the founders, suggested that he and his band of insurgents were building “the next MTV.” And then there was a promise to become “the next CNN” — outrageous claims at the time …

Discussion: @ellenbarrynyt, @shaunrandol, @margafret and @newsliteracy

Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:

Quartz has a new look—and for the first time, a homepage — We just shipped version 3.0 of Quartz, which you are looking at right now. It's our second major redesign in as many years, a rapid pace of reinvention that makes good on our promise to continually evolve and improve on what a purely digital news organization can be.

Discussion: @joelcifer, @chiaraalbanese, @danieldrepper, @jackdearlove, @craigmod, @baekdal, @gintautasd, @samuelrsolomon, @zseward, @qoreilly, @davidbauer, @felixsalmon, @vivian, MediaWire Daily and Talking Biz News

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:

Peter Theo Curtis, Abducted by Nusra Front in 2012, Is Released — An American journalist held captive for nearly two years by Al Qaeda's official branch in Syria has been freed, according to a representative of the journalist's family and a report on Sunday by the Al Jazeera network.

Bill Carter / New York Times:

Profile of NBC News President Deborah Turness as she completes her first year in the role — NBC News President Rouses the Network — In her first year as president of NBC News, Deborah Turness received one message loud and clear: Welcome to the feeding frenzy.

Discussion: The Wrap, Mediaite, TVNewser, FishbowlDC, Talking Points Memo, @hgil, @brianstelter and Capital New York

Tim Peterson / AdAge:

Yahoo rolls out its native ad network to other publishers, including Vox Media's SB Nation — Here Is Yahoo's Native Ad Network — Content Recommendation Box on Vox Media, CBS Interactive Sites Includes Yahoo's Ads — Yahoo's content recommendation box places its native ads on others' sites.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal and Business Insider

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Vice News sparks debate on engaging younger viewers — Traditional broadcasters such as BBC and Channel 4 examine how to attract generation focused on YouTube and social media — Vice News report on The Islamic State has attracted more than 2.5m views on YouTube

Discussion: @eelcoromeijn

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Erosion of newspaper coverage in Ferguson and similar places reduces civic engagement; solutions are digital — Was Ferguson a ‘news desert’ until two weeks ago? — Coming late to the Ferguson story, I have a modest thought to add to the ongoing discussion of why the police shooting …

Discussion: Latest News & Headlines, @abeaujon, @kellymcb, @aspiegelnpr, @libbyanelson and Mashable