Mediagazer: FAA gives drone exemption to Hollywood production firms (Richard Verrier/Los Angeles Times)

10:45 AM ET, September 26, 2014

Top News:

Mirror publisher in £125k hacking payouts to Sven, Doctor Who actor, Beckham nanny and three others — Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (pictured, Reuters) and actor Christopher Eccleston have settled their phone-hacking damages claims for £30,000 each.

Discussion: Guardian

Danny Sullivan / Marketing Land:

Dear News Corp & Google: An Open Letter On Their Open Letters To Each Other Over Competition — After media giant News Corp slings accusations at Google, the search & advertising giant pushes back. A close-up on the claims. — Last week, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp sent an open letter …

Discussion: Beyond Search, Google Europe Blog and Wall Street Journal

Rachel Whetstone / Google Europe Blog:
Google responds to News Corp's claim that it is a platform for piracy

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

One secret to the success of Quartz, BuzzFeed and Gawker: They look at news as a service — Most traditional media outlets are used to thinking of journalism or news as something they create and then distribute to a waiting audience — but seeing it as a product or service instead can change …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Vast Majority of Top Films, TV Shows Are Available Legally Online: Study — Hollywood is delivering more movies and TV shows via legal outlets than ever, although most titles are available for purchase or rental rather than subscription VOD. — As of December 2013, 94% of 808 top films analyzed …

Discussion: SYS-CON MEDIA, IP&TV News and @mpaa

Ed Christman / Billboard:

U.S. Music Revenues Down Nearly 5%, Says RIAA — In the first half of the year, U.S. music revenues shrunk 4.9%, to $3.2 billion, down from the $3.35 billion that the industry tallied in the first half of 2013, according to the RIAA's mid-year report. — Within that, digital music revenue …

Discussion: New York Times, Complete Music Update, Music Week and AllAccess.com

Richard Verrier / Los Angeles Times:

FAA gives drone exemption to Hollywood production firms — Hollywood will soon have a new angle on capturing aerial footage. — The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it has approved exemptions that would allow filmmakers to use “unmanned aircraft systems,” otherwise known as drones.

Ben Grubb / Sydney Morning Herald:

Australian Senate clears law enabling Internet monitoring, jail for disclosing classified info — Terror laws clear Senate, enabling entire Australian web to be monitored and whistleblowers to be jailed — Australian spies will soon have the power to monitor the entire Australian internet …

Discussion: Guardian, Freedom of the Press …, Guardian, @freakboy3742, ThinkProgress, Guardian, Mashable, presstv.ir, Techdirt and Ethical Martini

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer: media relations are trickier now due to fast news cycle and social media that competes with legacy outlets to set agenda — Top Obama Adviser Dan Pfeiffer Dismisses ‘Fake’ Media Uproar Over ‘Latte Salute’ — NEW YORK — Dan Pfeiffer said Thursday that the president's …

Discussion: @buzzfeedben, @publicdiplo and ABC News

Jeremy Barr / Capital New York:
Obama's media diet: heavy on print/online news, light on TV

Discussion: @tmcgev, @mattyglesias, The Huffington Post, @raju, @joelcifer, @huffpostmedia and @bawli_booch

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Goodreads updates its iOS app with new home feed, streamlined navigation and improved shelving — Amazon's Goodreads App Finally Gets A Makeover — Goodreads, the social network for book lovers, has at last seen its first major update since Amazon bought the company last March.

Discussion: The Province, Goodreads, Good E-Reader, Engadget and GeekWire

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

TV Networks Offering More On Demand to Reduce Ad-Skipping — CBS, Fox (FOXA) and the other TV broadcasters are delivering more shows on demand through pay-TV services to wean audiences off digital video recorders, which let viewers skip through commercials. — More ads mean more revenue for the TV industry.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Adam Gartrell / Australian Associated Press:

Tony Abbott and Barack Obama have both personally raised the case of jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste with Egypt's leader. — Abbott, Obama press Egypt on Greste — TONY Abbott and Barack Obama have both personally raised the case of jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste with Egypt's leader.

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, Agence France-Presse, @antloewenstein, Al Jazeera English, Guardian and TheAustralian

Carolyn Kellogg / Los Angeles Times:

Amtrak announces its first class of writers in residence — In the 1930s, hobos illicitly rode the rails; nowadays, authors are being invited onto trains thanks to Twitter and a new writers residency program launched by Amtrak. — On Wednesday, Amtrak announced the first class of resident writers …

Discussion: Quartz, Washington Post, @pwheeler_agent, @latimes, blog.amtrak.com, New York Times and The Verge

John Plunkett / Guardian:

Digital radio sales fall to six-year low — Consecutive quarterly gowth in digital's share of listening comes to a halt despite cross-industry marketing campaign — ‘Smooth soul man’ D-Love in a BBC ad for digital radio — Digital radio sales have fallen to a six-year low …

Discussion: Radio Ink Magazine and Music Week