Mediagazer: VentureBeat Beefs Up Edit Squad (Bill Mickey/Folio)

4:05 AM ET, September 11, 2014

Top News:

Julian Reichelt / OZY:

How Steven Sotloff + James Foley Fell Prey to the Islamic State — Steven Sotloff and I did not know each other. But I knew the country and the conflict he was trying to show to the world. Stay safe — don't wanna see you in some YouTube video. When Sotloff was kidnapped …

Discussion: MiamiHerald.com, NBC News, Telegraph, NY Daily News, New York Post, ABC News, CBS News and The Independent

Jeremy Barr / Capital New York:
N.Y.T. reporter: U.S. needs to pressure Europe on journalist ransoms

Discussion: The Wrap, Columbia Journalism Review, FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Latest News & Headlines, Gawker and @mlcalderone

Reuters:
White House doesn't believe slain U.S. journalist was ‘sold’ to Islamic State

Discussion: Guardian, The Independent, The Wire, Mediaite, Newsweek, FOX6Now.com, The Wire, International Business Times, International Business Times and The Times of Israel

Annie Lowrey / New York Magazine:

The latest list of “media disruptors” spawns other, more diverse lists and a call for quotas — Why Disruptors Are Always White Guys — We don't think of women and minorities when we think of bosses and entrepreneurs. — Shares — It's happening again. There's a list of “media disruptors.”

Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:

IDG shutters Macworld Magazine, much of the editorial staff let go — International Data Group (IDG) is shutting down Macworld Magazine, the long time Apple periodical according to tweets by staff and conversations I've had with personnel. Dan Miller, Editor, Macworld tweeted the following …

Discussion: Folio, @marcoarment, @danfrakes, Fast Company, FishbowlNY, Poynter, @dangillmor, @dsilverman and @zachhonig

Bill Mickey / Folio:

VentureBeat Beefs Up Edit Squad — Adds managing editor and staff writers to roster. — VentureBeat, the online business and tech publisher, has bolstered its edit team with a new managing editor and staff writers. The new hires come on the heels of a $2.6 million equity investment.

Discussion: @jordannovet

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Guardian launching community events and voluntary membership programs from £15-£60 per month — Guardian Space & Guardian Membership, playing the physical/digital continuum — Can it be that the solution to newspaper companies' digital woes lies in the physical world?

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, TheMediaBriefing, @michaelfredman, Guardian, @redbrand, @akshatrathi, @lloydshep, @mattlearmouth and @gallaghereditor

Alan Rusbridger / Guardian:
welcome to Guardian Membership

Discussion: @benstupples, Digiday, Guardian, The Drum, @jeffjarvis, @dangillmor, Poynter, @gunnar40, @cathomahony, @julieposetti, @vivian, @arusbridger and @jcstearns

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

New U2 album gets pushed to iTunes users by default, may appear on your iPhone automatically — U2's new album is showing up on your iPhone whether you want it or not — Here's how to hide it if you don't want it showing up in your shuffle mix. — I'm not here to tell you what music …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, @nickwingfield, VentureBeat, @sisario, @glennf, Softpedia News, @dsilverman, @ethanklapper, Gigaom, AppleInsider, BGR, 9to5Mac, Engadget, MediaNama, Apple, Cult of Mac and Forbes

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

CNN Raids Politico For Growing Digital Politics Team — NEW YORK — CNN hired three Politico journalists Wednesday as part of the network's bid to expand its digital politics team. — Politico Congress editor Steven Sloan has joined CNN Politics Digital as assistant managing editor …

Discussion: @jmsummers and FishbowlDC

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Malaysian journalist detained, threatened with sedition — Authorities in Malaysia should halt their investigation into Malaysiakini reporter Susan Loone who could face sedition charges in connection with a critical article she published in early September, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Discussion: The Rakyat Post and MSN Malaysia News

Alastair Reid / Journalism.co.uk:

Live UK flood maps made available to all news outlets — Environment Agency contractor Shoothill provides embeddable interactive maps and Twitter accounts for over 2,400 river gauges ahead of flood season — Credit: By Bob Bowyer on Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved

Nieman Lab:

News is now shaped by app designers, who often see themselves as separate from journalism — Designer or journalist: Who shapes the news you read in your favorite apps? — What are the ethics of platform design? One of the reasons that Facebook study on user emotions was so controversial …

Discussion: @rachelnixon, @vizworld, @lainnafader, @kreissdaniel, @amzam, @lauraelizdavis and @gabekahn

Associated Press:

Venezuela's oldest paper, El Impulso, shuts down amid newsprint shortage, failing advertising — CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's oldest newspaper is shutting down because of a lack of newsprint and a difficult economic climate as the country grapples with chronic shortages.

Martha C. White / NBC News:

Freelance war correspondents are making as little as $100 a story and receive little guidance — Freelancing in a War Zone: Hazardous Work, Low Pay, Few Benefits — The abductions and killings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria captured America's attention, but the dangerous conditions and low pay that today's fr...

Discussion: Poynter

Alan D. Mutter / Editor and Publisher:

The price of Sunday newspapers should be reduced to attract new and former customers — Newsosaur: Selling Papers to the ‘Sub-Geezer’ Set — Why do Sunday newspapers cost so much? — As I picked up the Sunday New York Times at a Starbucks in a leafy neighborhood in Chicago …

Discussion: @johnrobinson

Aoife White / Bloomberg:

Google Right-to-Be-Forgotten Roadshow Rebuffs Questions — Google Chairman Eric Schmidt speaks during an advisory council about The Right to be Forgotten at Casa de America on Sep. 9, 2014 in Madrid — Google Inc. (GOOG:US) promised a “robust” debate on a European Union court ruling …

Discussion: WRAL Tech Wire, Bloomberg, ctvnews.ca, Opposing Views, PC Magazine, Independent.ie, Reuters, The Drum, Reuters, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Search Engine Land and Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal: Google Seeks Views in Europe on Right to be Forgotten

Edmund Lee / Re/code:

MTV, Comedy Central To Show Up on Sony's Internet-TV Service — Sony just got one step closer to selling live television over the Web. — The hardware and entertainment company cut a deal with Viacom to sell 22 of its cable networks over the Internet, the first programmer to come on to Sony's still-theoretical service.