Mediagazer: Weather Channel Talks to Banks on Options Including Sale (Bloomberg)

5:45 PM ET, September 12, 2014

Top News:

Digital First Media to consider sale of some or all of its newspapers — Digital First Media will consider sale — NEW YORK — Digital First Media, the operator of this web site and newspaper, announced Friday that it will “evaluate and consider strategic alternatives” that could lead to the sale of some or all of the company.

John Reynolds / Guardian:

Huffington Post banned from posting on Reddit section in attribution row — Social media site accuses some HuffPo Good News editors of ‘parasitic business model’ and sourcing content without credits — The Huffington Post's Good News section has been accused of lifting content from Reddit without crediting the source.

Discussion: International Business Times, Newsweek, Press Association and The Daily Caller

Erik Wemple / Washington Post: Huffington Post disputes Reddit ban

Tanya Dua / Digiday:

The YouTube-ification of Vimeo: Now with more baby videos — If you've hopped on to the New York City L train recently, chances are that you've come across a sea of blue: shrink-wrapped subway cars, plastered with Vimeo messaging. “If other video sites are the BQE, Vimeo is the High Line.”

Wall Street Journal:
Facebook is trying to lure YouTube's biggest content creators, discussing advertising

Discussion: Forbes, Fast Company, Marketing Pilgrim, Reuters, Times of India, Reuters, Tubefilter, Wall Street Journal and ValueWalk

Guardian:

Guardian newspaper to showcase new look and brand new ‘Journal’ section — The Guardian newspaper will be showcasing a new look from Saturday 13 September, with a completely redesigned Weekend magazine, a brand new ‘Journal’ section featuring long reads, and a generally refreshed look and feel.

Discussion: Guardian, @rosegeorge3, @sarahoconnor_ and Poynter

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

BBC denies plan in place to double licence fee for independent Scots — The BBC has stood by its position of not reporting the impact that Scottish independence would have on its services. — It comes after The Guardian today reported that the corporation had kept secret an internal study revealing …

Discussion: Forbes

Tara Conlan / Guardian:
Independent Scotland ‘faces doubling of BBC licence fee’

Discussion: Daily Mail

ABC News:

Government Threatened Foley Family Over Ransom Payments, Mother of Slain Journalist Says … Obama administration officials repeatedly threatened the family of murdered journalist James Foley that they might face criminal charges for supporting terrorism if they paid ransom to the ISIS killers …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, @meekwire, Poynter, @trdeghett, 7online.com, @bro_pair, @wntonight, @shannonbream, @wikileaks, The Week and Reason

Bloomberg:

Weather Channel Talks to Banks on Options Including Sale — The buyout firms that own Weather Channel Cos. have spoken to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. about strategic options including a possible sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Multichannel News and Gawker

Tom McGeveran / Capital New York:

Financial Times to debut big redesign Monday — The Financial Times will hit newsstands Monday with its first major redesign in seven years. And between the lines (set in a new typeface, called Financier, developed by rockstar New Zealand type designer Kris Sowersby) it's possible to read …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @jvanslem and The New York Observer

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Bloomberg Current, social media experiment, is ending — Bloomberg Current, a social discussion platform for business, curated and managed by its users that has been a Bloomberg News beta test, is ending at the end of the month. — Bloomberg Current has allowed members to post, discuss and share content.

Discussion: @ranjanxroy

Andrew Jacobs / New York Times:

Foreign Journalists in China See Decline in Reporting Conditions — Conditions for foreign journalists working in China have gone from bad to worse over the past year, with the Chinese authorities increasingly seeking to influence coverage by intimidating reporters and their interview subjects …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, @herbertnyt and @comradewong

Jonathan Marino / TheStreet.com:

Parade Magazine Goes up for Sale — NEW YORK ( The Deal) — Advance Publications' M&A march continues with its auction of Parade Publications, whose Sunday news magazine has been a staple in papers around the country since 1941. — The auction, which was first reported by the New York Post …

Lewis Blackwell / The Drum:

Creatives, it's time we do something about Google and its power over us and our work — A colleague has been burgled while away for the day. The fourth time in just a few months. The thief came through the front window in broad daylight, chiselled out the security bolts before entering …

Discussion: The Drum and @jeffjohnroberts

Kevin Gallagher / Freedom of the Press Foundation:

Fifteen Months After the NSA Revelations, Why Aren't More News Organizations Using HTTPS? — More than fifteen months after the NSA revelations laid bare the overwhelming scope of online surveillance and fueled the demand for privacy, virtually none of the top news websites …

Discussion: @csoghoian and @headhntr

Capital New York:

The 60-second interview: Felix Salmon, senior editor, Fusion — CAPITAL: Fusion has done a great job at recruiting notable names, especially in the digital media realm. Tim Pool, you joined from Reuters... SALMON: I was just talking to someone, who is also on the shopping list, as it were.

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Google forced by European law to remove positive article — Google has been forced by Europe's “Right to Be Forgotten” law to remove an article about an artist named Dan Roach from its search results. The article ran in the U.K.'s Worcester News in 2009, and unlike many of the articles memory-holed by the law, was positive.

Discussion: Press Gazette, Guardian and HoldTheFrontPage

Michael Wolff / Hollywood Reporter:

Vice lured backers from A&E to Fox for a $2.5B valuation through CEO Shane Smith's showmanship — Michael Wolff on Vice Media: Why Hollywood Is Drinking the Kool-Aid — The Brooklyn digital property's CEO, Shane Smith, touts a $2.5B valuation and has lured backers from A&E to Fox by claiming magical access to young men.

Discussion: clickhole.com

Paul Sawers / The Next Web:

Microsoft's studio-grade Skype TX for broadcasters is released to manufacturers — Back in April, we reported that Microsoft was targeting broadcasters with the Skype TX, studio grade software “that delivers high quality audio and video output to seamlessly connect broadcast and media productions with people around the world.”

Discussion: Skype Blogs, mygtn.tv and WinBeta

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Journalists top the coffee-drinking league table despite health risks — Journalists are coffee addicts, drinking more cups a day than any other group of “professionals”, according to a survey conducted among 10,000 people. — Evidently, 85% of the respondents said they drink at least three cups …

Discussion: Pressat Blog, TVNewser, Poynter, The Independent, @arimelber, @malonebarry, @danieldenvir, @coreypein, @davidnelsonnews, 7online.com, The Huffington Post and HoldTheFrontPage

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Chopflix Launches VoD Service for Asian Movies (EXCLUSIVE) — OTT service built on Vimeo On Demand platform — Los Angeles-based Asia Releasing is to launch an on-demand video service, Chopflix for North American fans of Asian movies. — Chopflix will start with 1,000 library titles and add six new features per month.