Mediagazer: Amazon launches Kindle unlimited subscription service in UK for £7.99/month with access to over 650K ebooks, 2K audiobooks (Stuart Dredge/Guardian)

1:20 PM ET, September 24, 2014

Top News:

Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports — White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media's eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities. They are written by reporters for other reporters …

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

New York Times retires managing editor title, promotes four to deputy executive editor — New York Times Promotes Editors, in Change of Leadership Structure — The executive editor of The New York Times announced broad changes to the newspaper's leadership Wednesday …

Discussion: Poynter

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

Washington Post announces cuts to employees' retirement benefits — The Washington Post announced large cuts in retirement benefits on Tuesday, declaring that it would eliminate future retirement medical benefits and freeze defined-benefit pensions for nonunion employees.

Discussion: Politico, FishbowlDC, @chris__richards, bizjournals, @sarahw, @jamieson, @kansasalps, @aterkel, @carlzimmer, GeekWire, The Huffington Post and New York Times

Pew Research Center:

How social media is reshaping news — The ever-growing digital native news world now boasts about 5,000 digital news sector jobs, according to our recent calculations, 3,000 of which are at 30 big digital-only news outlets. Many of these digital organizations emphasize the importance …

Discussion: @pewinternet and @niemanlab

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

Nielsen's mobile ratings debut Monday without Comcast and other cable and satellite operators — Qualms Set In on Mobile-TV Ratings — Industry Shows Reluctance on Lumping Together Different Audiences — There is a whodunit dominating television as the fall season gets under way.

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Sirius XM found liable for copyright infringement for failing to pay royalties on pre-1972 recordings — Sirius XM Loses Lawsuit on Royalties for Oldies — In a case that could have wide implications for the digital music business, a federal judge in California ruled on Monday that Sirius XM …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Showbiz411, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, VVN Music, Complete Music Update, Digital Music News, Music Ally, Techdirt, Radio & Television …, Wall Street Journal, hypebot, TechCrunch and Gigaom

Reed Albergotti / Wall Street Journal:

Publishers are sending less data to Facebook, as it increases user tracking for advertising — Websites Are Wary of Facebook Tracking Software — Some Businesses Block Sharing of Data, Fearing Social Network's Increased Clout — Online retailers and publishers are pushing …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, VideoNuze Analysis, AdAge, PandoDaily and SocialTimes

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Time Warner focuses on its growth strategy for HBO — HBO typically needs a wheelbarrow to haul all of the trophies it collects during awards season. — Top-tier Hollywood producers, directors and stars, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh and Matthew McConaughey …

Discussion: @richbtig and ParisLemon

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Starz meets with 21st Century Fox about possible acquisition — Executives with Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox and Starz met Tuesday to discuss a possible acquisition of the premium cable movie service, a deal that could expand Murdoch's reach into homes across the country.

Discussion: Variety, C21Media, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, @irishfilmcritic, Home Media Magazine and The Wrap

Matt Galligan / Medium:

Circa adds a search function and launches Wire, a personalized news briefing — Introducing Circa News 3 — Before Circa News first launched in late 2012 we had a conversation with one of our investors Scott Belsky about some inspiration for what we thought Circa could be:

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Capital New York, VentureBeat, @circa, The Next Web and Digiday

Jon Fine / Inc:

What the Founders of Vice Media, Upworthy, and Aereo Have to Say About Media Innovation — The disruptors behind three of media's most fascinating companies talk about what they've learned and what's next. — Chet Kanojia (Left), Suroosh Alvi. … Vice began 20 years ago as a free publication, the Voice of Montreal.

Discussion: @drewkerr, @steveevo, @abeaujon, @jonfine and @inc, Thanks:@drewkerr

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Amazon launches Kindle unlimited subscription service in UK for £7.99/month with access to over 650K ebooks, 2K audiobooks — Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited - a Netflix-for-books - in the UK — Harry Potter, Hunger Games, audiobooks and more bundled in to £7.99-a-month subscription, following US debut in July

Discussion: Engadget, PC Advisor, Bookseller news, TechRadar.com, Amazon, Gizmodo UK and Pocket-lint

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Stephen Hayes, Weekly Standard writer and Fox News contributor, makes DHS Terrorist Watchlist — Stephen Hayes, a senior writer at The Weekly Standard and a regular Fox News contributor, was informed Tuesday that he had been placed on the Department of Homeland Security's Terrorist Watchlist.

Discussion: FishbowlDC, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Washington Times, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Associated Press:

Somali pirate says $1.6 million ransom paid for German-American journalist Michael Scott Moore — Pirate: $1.6 Million Ransom Paid For Journalist — MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Negotiators paid a $1.6 million ransom for the release of a German-American journalist who was kidnapped in Somalia …

Agence France-Presse:
Somali pirates release German-American journalist and writer Michael Scott Moore after more than two years

Discussion: Spiegel Online, CNN, Gawker, VICE News, SFWeekly, Medium, New York Times, BBC, Associated Press, Committee to Protect … and Reuters

Josh Stearns / Medium:

News orgs must lead privacy debate & acknowledge their role in open discussions with readers — It's Time for a Real Debate on Reader Privacy — Last week longtime local publisher Howard Owens, founder of the online news site the Batavian, launched a new publication covering Wyoming County in upstate New York.

Discussion: Forbes

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Google Currents For iOS Now Called Google Play Newsstand Following Big Redesign — Google Currents, Google's magazine-like news reading iOS app and a competitor to Flipboard, is rolling out a redesign and a handful of new features, including a way to subscribe to topics you're interested in …

Discussion: The Verge, The Next Web, PhoneDog.com, iClarified, App Advice, Talking New Media and Engadget

Cyril Julien / Agence France-Presse:

Iran photographer pays price for artistic freedom — 2 hrs ago — Tehran (AFP) - Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian was over the moon when she won a 50,000-euro prize from a French foundation. She never imagined she would lose it to “censorship” by her own benefactors. — “I am very sad, disappointed.

Amy Schatz / Re/code:

Comcast Accuses Time Warner Cable Deal Opponents of “Extortion” — Netflix, Discovery Communications and other companies opposing Comcast's $45 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Cable are doing so after they failed in “extortion” attempts to get special favors, Comcast told federal regulators Wednesday.

Discussion: Multichannel News, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Politico, Ars Technica, Wall Street Journal, Variety and @brianstelter

Tim Johnson / McClatchy:

Televisa reporter fired after video catches him taking cash from Mexican drug lord — MEXICO CITY — A choppy clandestine video that surfaced Monday is likely to reinforce the widespread impression that the country's drug cartels have gained a solid foothold in the Mexican news media.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, RT and Forbes

Jaclyn Tuman / Multichannel News:

Showtime Unveils First Trailer with Haptic Technology Effects — ‘Homeland’ Season 4 Will Include Immersion Technology for Android Devices — Showtime is launching the first ever tactile feedback video for Android mobile devices, available on the fourth season of the drama series, Homeland.

Discussion: Associated Press, Inside TV and Adweek