Mediagazer: YouTube will spend millions to fund & promote new shows from popular creators (Peter Kafka/Re/code)

9:50 AM ET, September 19, 2014

Top News:

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

YouTube will spend millions to fund & promote new shows from popular creators — YouTube Takes Out Checkbook Again, Pays Its Stars to Make Videos — The world's biggest video site is paying people to make videos. Again. — YouTube is planning to invest millions in some of its biggest stars …

Discussion: Guardian, Business Insider, Tech Trader Daily, The Next Web, Engadget, LifeHealthPro, Onlinevideo.net, 9to5Google, TechBeat, SocialTimes, Forbes, YouTube Blog, Variety, Marketing Land, The Next Web, Bloomberg, CNET and Gigaom

Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson / Financial Times:

Corporate owned news sites bypass traditional media, blurring lines between journalism and PR — The invasion of corporate news — The lines between journalism and PR are rapidly becoming blurred as business interests bypass traditional media to get their message across

Discussion: @guychazan, @raju and @edgecliffe

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Twitter's New US Media Boss is Kirstine Stewart — Twitter has named Kirstine Stewart to head up its U.S. media unit, filling a vacancy left by Chloe Sladden in June. Stewart, who had previously run Twitter's media group in Canada, will report to Katie Stanton, who now runs Twitter's global media group.

Discussion: @joannauk, @katies, @shinangovani, @mathewi, @kathrynbuczko and @chrisdoyle

Mike Wallberg / IVOH:

New Washington Post newsletter delivers optimism to readers' inboxes — Washington Post photo of Whitney Paxson and daughter Madeline, 6, who were featured in a story about the transformation of alleyways in D.C. The story appeared in the Post's new newsletter, The Optimist.

Discussion: Poynter, @ivohmedia, @mallarytenore, @carloslozadawp, @meena_thiru and @jayrosen_nyu

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Mobile website readership overtakes desktop for Mail Online, Metro and Mirror — Mail Online, Metro and the Mirror all now attract more readers to their websites from mobiles than they do from personal computers. — New evidence of the shift from desktop to mobile news readership is provided …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and @pressgazette

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Chinese Internet Giant Tencent Launches Film Production Unit — HONG KONG - Tencent, the giant Chinese Internet firm which operates WeChat and the QQ messaging service, has unveiled plans to become a film producer. — Its new unit Tencent Movies+ has a slate of seven feature films in development.

Discussion: Tech in Asia, Forbes, ScreenDaily and BusinessKorea

Associated Press:

3 Guinean radio journalists among those killed in an attack on a team fighting Ebola in Guinea — 7 Killed While On Guinea Ebola Education Campaign … CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The prime minister of Guinea says seven bodies have been found in rural Guinea after a group …

Tamara Baluja / J-source:

Winnipeg Free Press adds social media element to letters to the editor — Letters to the editor are a dying breed. Although a long-standing tradition at newspapers, they just don't jibe with today's media landscape of immediacy and urgency. The Winnipeg Free Press is changing that by bringing social media to snail mail.

Discussion: @meltait, @tamara_baluja, @tamara_baluja, @quinparker and @iabcmanitoba

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

Mirror and Express are only two Fleet Street titles not to name British journalist held by IS — The Daily Mirror and Daily Express are the only two national newspapers not to have identified British journalist John Cantlie who is being held hostage by the Islamic State.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Independent, ASHARQ AL-AWSAT, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Global News, NBC News and NY Daily News

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

BMI Reports a Record $977 Million in Revenue — BMI and Ascap, two of the music industry's oldest and biggest licensing organizations, are struggling to adapt to the digital age. But both groups are also collecting more and more money as their songs are played on all kinds of media.

Discussion: BMI.com, Music Week, Complete Music Update and RAIN News

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

New Politico Editor Susan Glasser praises newsroom's clear-cut mission, acknowledges need to adapt constantly — New Politico Editor Susan Glasser Wants To ‘Win The Morning’ — And The Afternoon And Evening — NEW YORK — On Thursday morning, Politico cofounders John Harris …

Discussion: @jonathanchait, @sbg1, @carloslozadawp, @mlcalderone and FishbowlDC

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Lab:

New Inquiry publisher says building cultural significance is easy, building a sustainable business is hard — For New Inquiry publisher Rachel Rosenfelt, building cultural significance was easy — building a sustainable business is the hard part — The New Inquiry started as a Tumblr in 2009.

Discussion: @gillianmae, @mattdpearce, @zunguzungu, @rachelrosenfelt and @niemanlab