Mediagazer: USA Today lays off between 60 and 70 staffers (Andrew Beaujon/Poynter)

12:00 AM ET, September 4, 2014

Top News:

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

Michael Bloomberg to reassume leadership of Bloomberg LP; Dan Doctoroff to step down as CEO at year end — Michael Bloomberg to Return as Chief of Company He Founded — Michael R. Bloomberg will reassume the leadership of his business empire only eight months after ending his final term as mayor of New York.

Peter Lauria / BuzzFeed:

Here's An Idea For Michael Bloomberg: Buy CNN — The investment banker-turned-media-mogul-turned New York City mayor is heading back to run the company he founded. And as Bloomberg expands its news operation into magazines, politics and more, his first order of business should be to buy CNN.

Discussion: @peterlauria3

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

USA Today lays off between 60 and 70 staffers — USA Today laid off between 60 and 70 staffers Wednesday, with about half those cuts hitting its newsroom, a company source tells Poynter. — Gannett, which owns USA Today, announced in August it plans to spin off its publishing business.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @ednagundersen, New York Times, @abdub29, USA Today, @danlamothe, FishbowlDC, @bookbobminz, The New York Observer, Mashable, @murdochdavis, @steph_steinberg, Ashvegas, @abeaujon, @johnlpitts and bizjournals

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: Latest News & Headlines, Associated Press, Mediaite, The Deacon's Bench, The Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, International Business Times, thejc.com, ejpress.org, NBC News, Reuters, Mashable and @jakesherman

Joel Simon / Columbia Journalism Review:
Is it time to end media blackouts?

Discussion: New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, The Daily Beast, @cpjmena, The Deacon's Bench and The Dish

Rob Crilly / Al Jazeera America:
Islamic State's execution videos are sly propaganda written in blood

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

Associated Press:
US Says Sotloff Beheading Video Is Authentic

Discussion: US Department of State, Los Angeles Times, Committee to Protect …, Guardian, @nscpress, Guardian, Amnesty International, BBC, Globe and Mail, Fox News, The Wire and The Atlantic Online

Laura M. Holson / New York Times:

WWD Seeks an Expanded Online Presence and Larger Staff — The day after Condé Nast announced last month that it was selling Fairchild Fashion Media for a reported $100 million, the new owner, Jay Penske, held several meetings with staff members of its crown jewel publication, Women's Wear Daily.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @kristiano, @koblin and WWD Media Headlines

Bill Carter / New York Times:

‘The Simpsons’ Marathon Lifts Ratings for Fledgling FXX Network — A quarter-century ago, the animated comedy “The Simpsons” put the fledgling Fox network on the map as the fourth broadcast network. Now, with a much-promoted marathon of all 552 episodes that ended Monday, “The Simpsons” …

Discussion: UPROXX, Inside TV, Rolling Stone and TVbytheNumbers

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: Nieman Lab, @peterlauria3, @joepompeo, @buzzfeedben, @sfiegerman, @moorehn, @reformedbroker and @hamburger

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

How the Fox v. TVEyes lawsuit might impact the future of news — More on How a Fox News Lawsuit Might Impact the Future of News — TVEyes asserts that it serves the public interest by facilitating criticism of Fox News — Is Fox News about to be decimated by a media-monitoring service?

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, @adammswift and @alexweprin

Michael Daly / The Daily Beast:

From ISIS Videos to JLaw Nudes, When Is Looking Abetting Evil? — The Steven Sotloff execution video, like the James Foley video before it, was made for you to see. The stolen celebrity nude photos were never meant for you to see. So should you? — To look or not to look, that is the question of this digital age.

Discussion: Forbes, Guardian, Latest News & Headlines, @mathewi and TIME

Ben Mook / Current.org:

Merged newsroom boosts St. Louis Public Radio's response to tumult in Ferguson — The aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., proved to be a critical test for the newsroom of St. Louis Public Radio, whose expansion through a merger with a local news nonprofit provided …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Alexandra Alter / New York Times:

Penguin Random House Plans to Combine 2 Units — In the latest reorganization at Penguin Random House since the two publishers merged last year, the company will combine two units in another effort to streamline its operations. — Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Penguin Random House …

Discussion: Deadline and Bookseller news

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

‘Good Morning America’ Anchor Robin Roberts Launches Production Company — By allowing viewers of ABC's “Good Morning America” to witness many of her struggles - including a months-long grapple with the bone-marrow disease myelodysplastic syndrome - Robin Roberts has become something much more than a morning-show anchor.

Discussion: TVNewser, New York Times, FishbowlNY and The Wrap

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

Comcast spinoff “GreatLand Connections” to be 5th largest cable company — New name for “SpinCo,” the spinoff created by Comcast/TWC merger. — “GreatLand Connections” is the United States' next cable company, potentially coming to 2.5 million subscribers currently served by Comcast in 11 states.

Discussion: PR Newswire, Gigaom, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Verge and @jbrodkin

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 …