Mediagazer: The Guardian taps former Google exec to strengthen tech industry ties (Tom Cheredar/VentureBeat)

11:55 AM ET, September 3, 2014

Top News:

US Says Sotloff Beheading Video Is Authentic — WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it has determined that a video showing the brutal killing of freelance journalist Steven Sotloff is authentic. — Islamic State extremists released the video showing Sotloff's beheading on Tuesday.

Discussion: US Department of State, Guardian, Committee to Protect …, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, BBC, @nscpress, Fox News and The Wire

Peter Beaumont / Guardian:

Murdered journalist Steven Sotloff had dual US-Israeli citizenship — Journalist kidnapped and beheaded by Islamic State militants managed to hide his second nationality during his captivity — Steven Sotloff, the kidnapped journalist beheaded by Islamic State, was a dual Israeli-US citizen …

Discussion: @jakesherman, Jerusalem Post, Reuters, International Business Times, Associated Press, thejc.com, Mashable, NBC News, ejpress.org and The Times of Israel

Uri Friedman / The Atlantic Online:

The Stories Steven Sotloff Told — On the work of the American journalist reportedly murdered by ISIS — “The civilians of Aleppo are trapped in a violent stalemate, left to endure a war whose suffering and hardships grow larger with every passing day. Though NATO Secretary-General …

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Committee to Protect …, @ntarnopolsky, The Daily Banter, The Deacon's Bench, LA Observed, The Newspaper Guild, @davidkenner, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Business Insider, BBC, Boing Boing, @gary__bass, New York Magazine and NPR

Rob Crilly / Al Jazeera America:

Islamic State's execution videos are sly propaganda written in blood — Analysis: The made-for-media ritual murder of Steven Sotloff is designed to send a series of carefully crafted messages — The condemned man kneels in an orange jumpsuit, just like before.

Discussion: The Desk, @ibnezra, @robcrilly and New Yorker

Washington Post:

New Post publisher: Strong Washington ties and longtime interest in the news business — Washington Post owner Jeffrey P. Bezos is replacing publisher Katharine Weymouth with Frederick J. Ryan Jr., a former Reagan administration official who was part of the founding leadership team of Politico.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, @kamenintheloop, @ktumulty, @wexler, @gabrielsherman, @jimpoco, Capital New York, @mateagold, @sinderbrand, @jamisonfoser, @chicoharlan, @mlcalderone and @themarkberman

Harry Jaffe / Washingtonian:

Bezos's replacement for Weymouth as publisher at the Post is an old-school organization man in a digital age. — Bezos's replacement for Weymouth as publisher at the Post is an old-school organization man in a digital age. — When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @washingtonian and @stevebuttry

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Katharine Weymouth's resignation completes the close of the Graham era at the Washington Post

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, bookforum.com, Media Myth Alert, @poynter, @sulliview, @mrbutterworth, JIMROMENESKO.COM, The New York Observer and Poynter

Tom Cheredar / VentureBeat:

The Guardian taps former Google exec to strengthen tech industry ties — As tech plays an increasingly important role in the news business, U.K. media company the Guardian has decided to open up its first office on the west coast. — It makes sense that the company would want to strengthen …

Nancy Scola / Washington Post:

Comcast bets on hyper-local by reviving EveryBlock — The cable giant Comcast is reviving the once-future of local online news, announcing on its corporate blog that it has expanded its relaunch of the news and social site EveryBlock to include its home city of Philadelphia …

Discussion: corporate.comcast.com, @nancyscola and @digiphile

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

BuzzFeed Wants to Beef Up Its Business News — Everyone knows that BuzzFeed does lists and quizzes and videos you like to click on and share. Some people know that BuzzFeed also does reporting from far-flung places, and some delicate, thoughtful features. — But not many people know that BuzzFeed also does business reporting.

Discussion: @peterlauria3 and @sfiegerman

John McDermott / Digiday:

After public setbacks, the future of Gawker's Kinja platform unclear — Gawker's push to make Kinja the quintessential platform-publisher hybrid has taken a slight step backward: Playboy has stopped publishing its “safe for work” stories to its Kinja account PlayboySFW.

Discussion: @niemanlab

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Time Warner's Warner Bros. Studio plans buyouts and possible layoffs to boost profit — Warner Bros. Studio Said Planning Buyouts to Boost Profit — Time Warner Inc. (TWX)'s Warner Bros. unit plans to offer buyouts to an unspecified number of workers as part of a drive to increase profit …

Discussion: @brianstelter, Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

AOL's Brand CEO Susan Lyne Stepping Down to Run Women-Focused Fund for Company — Susan Lyne, the longtime media exec who has been CEO of AOL's brand group from early 2013, is stepping down from that role to run a venture fund inside the New York-based media company aimed at women-led digital startups.

Discussion: @johncolucci, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, @alexia, Variety, Business Insider, @vivian and @kcpike

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Associated Content Founder Luke Beatty Is Now In Charge Of AOL's Tech Blogs (Including This One)

Discussion: @mjmanos

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

Reddit unveils its first mobile app for Ask Me Anything (AMA) interviews on iOS — Reddit to Launch Mobile App for AMAs (Exclusive) — Reddit has made its long-awaited entry into the mobile app category with one devoted to its most popular attraction, the Ask Me Anything (AMA) interviews.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @socialogilvy_in, BetaBoston, Ubergizmo, VentureBeat, Engadget, Mashable, Gigaom, Business Insider, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, The Next Web, The Verge and Gizmodo

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Gracenote Acquires TV And Film Data Provider Baseline For $50 Million — It looks like new Gracenote CEO John Batter is already making a mark on the company he only officially joined yesterday. Today the company is announcing that it's acquired Baseline, another provider of information …

Discussion: Variety, VentureBeat and PR Newswire

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press:

Government oversight board asked to investigate whether surveillance compromises newsgathering — The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 24 news organizations have asked the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) to investigate whether journalists' confidential sources …

Discussion: @debgh and @ericnewton1

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Bloomberg Politics Hires Slate's Dave Weigel As New Venture Prepares For Launch — NEW YORK — Bloomberg has hired Dave Weigel, a senior political reporter at Slate, for its new politics venture, which is being helmed by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. — The forthcoming Bloomberg Politics brand …