Mediagazer: Re/code introducing native advertising (Walt Mossberg/Re/code)

9:15 AM ET, August 26, 2014

Top News:

Walt Mossberg / Re/code:

Re/code introducing native advertising — A New Advertising Format for Re/code — Eagle-eyed readers may notice a new feature here on Re/code today. It's called “Sponsor Content,” and is, for us, a new form of advertising. Known broadly as “native advertising,” this is a category …

Discussion: @monkbent and @jonrussell, Thanks:@steverubel

Ted Johnson / Variety:

Los Angeles Mayor: FCC Should Consider Dodgers Dispute in Comcast-TW Cable Merger Review — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says that the FCC's review of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger should examine “real world problems like the Dodgers dispute,” in which more than 60% …

Discussion: Home Media Magazine

Emily Steel / New York Times:

Patrick Gottsch, Rural Media Group chief, warns rural America about the proposed Comcast-Time Warner merger — TV Chief Takes 2-by-4 to a Proposed Cable Merger — MEDINA, Minn. — As the oom-pah-pah oom-pah-pah of the band fades, Patrick Gottsch makes his way through silver-haired couples circling …

Discussion: corporate.comcast.com, @brianstelter, Gigaom and The Hill

Joshua Brustein / Businessweek:

With high levels of engagement, Twitch users could make Amazon more attractive to advertisers — Why Amazon Is Paying $1 Billion to Help People Watch Video Games — For months Twitch, the video-game streaming service, was supposedly putting the finishing touches on a deal with Google (GOOG).

Discussion: Ars Technica, @bradstone and The Verge

Amazon.com:
Amazon acquiring Twitch for $970M in cash

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

NYT public editor says choice of words in Michael Brown profile a “regrettable mistake” — An Ill-Chosen Phrase, ‘No Angel,’ Brings a Storm of Protest — Two words — “no angel” — have become a flash point for many of the difficult, contentious, entrenched issues that have arisen …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, bookforum.com, Washington Post, @mlcalderone, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, @naacp_ldf, @fmanjoo, @andykindler, @jamilsmith, @jennydeluxe, @ggreenwald, @jayrosen_nyu, The Week and Pressing Issues

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

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Rogers And Shaw Team Up To Launch A Netflix Competitor For Canada Called ‘Shomi’ — Canadian cable giants aren't just going to watch their audience slip away to streaming services - two of the nation's biggest providers have joined forces to launch shomi, a new subscription-based service …

Discussion: Globe and Mail, MobileSyrup.com, CityNews, Global News and Globe and Mail

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Tribune Hires John Batter to Run Digital Media, Shashi Seth Out — Tribune Media is bringing in a new leader for its digital operations: John Batter, who has been running streaming video service M-Go, is in. Shashi Seth, the former Yahoo executive who has been running Tribune Digital Ventures since May 2013, is out.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @pkafka and PR Newswire

Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:

James Foley's Family Posts Letter He Dictated to Fellow ISIS Captive — The family of James Foley, the American photojournalist murdered by ISIS militants, have posted a letter on Facebook that they say he dictated this summer to a fellow captive: — Diane Foley is James Foley's mother.

Discussion: Free James Foley, CNN, The Independent, Mirror.co.uk, CBC News, Fox News, BBC, Newsweek, The Wire, Politico, The Wrap, Guardian, Vanity Fair, Middle East, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Mediaite and Daily Mail

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

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

Amanda Meade / Guardian:

Rupert Murdoch runs News Corp along feudal' lines, Kim Williams says — Former CEO says the Australian newspaper business is ‘vaingloriously ignoring the facts’ and is shackled by outdated management systems — News Corp Australia is a company run along feudal lines which is …

Discussion: Yahoo! News and ABC

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

To lure subscribers, the Times debuts a free mini crossword — The New York Times is launching a free daily mini crossword puzzle for users of its crossword app for iOS devices, the company said today. — The puzzle, which is comprised of a five-by-five grid of blocks …

Justin Ellis / Nieman Lab:

Verge Hack Week: developers, designers, and writers build new storytelling tools, plot growth — The Verge threw a hackweek and invited everyone they know — The idea for a Hack Week at The Verge was fairly simple, says editor-in-chief Nilay Patel. Looking at the example …

Discussion: Poynter, @clockwerks, @reckless and @niemanlab

Michelle Atagana / memeburn:

Erik Martin, general manager of Reddit, on journalism, comments, global expansion, democracy — Creating a more curious generation through memes: Q&A with Reddit GM — It's a slightly gloomy Seattle day but the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is packed with students and members of the public.

Thanks:@steverubel

Michael Wolff / USA Today:

Mail Online success due to publisher ensuring digital and print function separately, different products with different functions — ‘Daily Mail’ solves Internet paradox — News is a reliable British export. The lineup of products has included the tabloid and broadsheet newspaper …

Discussion: @nero, @spencerreiss, @michaelwolffnyc and @amolrajan

Denny Thomas / Reuters:

Taiwan's Wei family to buy cable TV operator CNS for $2.4 bln -source — Taiwan's Wei family has agreed to buy China Network Systems (CNS), the nation's biggest cable TV operator, for about $2.4 billion including debt from private equity firm MBK Partners, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday.

Discussion: Variety, Bloomberg, Taipei Times and Wall Street Journal