Mediagazer: FCC pauses Comcast-TWC merger review until Oct. 29, says responses from cable cos inadequate (Amadou Diallo/Forbes)

5:00 PM ET, October 6, 2014

Top News:

Brad Stone / Businessweek:

Washington Post working on curated news app for the new 8.9" Kindle Fire launching this fall — Jeff Bezos's New Plan for News: The Washington Post Becomes an Amazon Product — Jeff Bezos wants to turn the Washington Post into a national publication, and he's going to use his other company …

David Carr / New York Times:

The Washington Post Regains Its Place at the Table — Nothing in God's creation is ever as good as it once was, but The Washington Post is coming pretty close. — The once-embattled newspaper is in the middle of a great run, turning out the kind of reporting that journalists — and readers — live for.

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ESPN and NBA agree *on* deal *for* “over-the-top” offering to stream games digitally — NBA Strikes 9-Year Deals With ESPN, Turner That Expand Digital Rights — In two deals that cement its media partnerships for nearly the next decade, the National Basketball Association selected …

Discussion: AdAge and Multichannel News

Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Why ESPN Thinks it Can Sell NBA Games on the Web Without Breaking Up its Pay TV Bundle

Discussion: Mashable, Deadline, Deadspin, CNBC, @pkafka, @danshanoff, Bleacher Report, Engadget and The Wrap

Wall Street Journal:
NBA to Cash In on New Deals With Disney, Time Warner

Discussion: New York Times, Mashable and @jbrodkin

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Peter Canellos named POLITICO executive editor — Peter Canellos has been named executive editor of POLITICO, Editor Susan Glasser announced in a memo to staff Monday morning. — Canellos, who until September had been editorial page editor of the Boston Globe, had been with the Globe for 26 years …

Discussion: Prof Chris Daly's Blog, @tmcgev, @wesleylowery, @tcambanis, @juliettekayyem, FishbowlDC, @sbg1, @blakehounshell, @nickconfessore, @ron_fournier, @garethideas, FishbowlNY and Media Nation

Mark Armstrong / Longreads Blog:

Longreads member contributions will now fund original stories, with Automattic matching them — The Longreads Membership Is Now Twice as Powerful — Since 2009, Longreads has thrived as a service and a community thanks to your direct financial support. Without Longreads Members' contributions …

Discussion: Fast Company, VentureBeat, @tommytomlinson, @rosegeorge3, @lyramckee, @jcstearns and @jeffsharlet

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Bloomberg Politics launches with splashy website, feature on Jeb Bush's presidential ambitions — Bloomberg Politics kicks off — Bloomberg's new politics vertical kicked off on Sunday with a splashy new website and features, including a piece about Jeb Bush's presidential ambitions …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, MediaWire Daily and American Press Institute

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Iran frees wife of Post's Tehran correspondent, but he remains in custody — An Iranian journalist detained in Iran since July along with her husband, The Washington Post's bureau chief in Tehran, has been released from custody, a family member said Sunday.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, New York Times, Guardian, Reuters, yourmiddleeast.com, presstv.ir, Arutz Sheva, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Associated Press, Mediaite and @ishaantharoor

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:

Turner to reduce headcount by 10% — Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN, will cut its total workforce by about 10 percent in the coming weeks through a mix of buyouts, layoffs and other measures, the company said Monday. — The reductions are part of a broader effort to save money …

Discussion: USA Today, PR Newswire, @darrenrovell, @ryanchittum, @richellecarey, @brianstelter and @kateaurthur

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Breakthrough: Interception Commission orders police forces to reveal use of RIPA to identify journalistic sources — The Interception of Communications Commissioner has announced an inquiry into police use of spying powers against journalists. — The move comes just after a month …

Discussion: Telegraph, Press Association, @timescrime, @fleetstreetfox and Guardian

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Sun makes official complaint over police use of Ripa against journalists

Discussion: The Drum

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

Jeff Zucker Has Endured Cancer, Hollywood, and Being TV's Wunderkind. So Why Not Take on CNN? — The headache started in the morning. It was a Thursday last June, and Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, was working on the final preparations for New Day, the morning show he was set to debut four days later.

Discussion: TVNewser, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, @gabrielsherman, The Wrap, @cwarzel, The New York Observer, @alansmurray, @mlcalderone, @matthewkeyslive, @danprimack, @matthewkeyslive, @chrislhayes, @jayrosen_nyu and Inside Cable News

David Uberti / Columbia Journalism Review:

PBS pulls ads from Harper's Magazine after critical essay — Piece argues public broadcaster has fallen under the sway of political influence and outside money — After a sales representative at Harper's Magazine received a phone call on September 18 from a disgruntled advertiser …

Discussion: @daviduberti, @felixsalmon and Current.org

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

NPR's Chief Content officer Kinsey Wilson is leaving the network, Loren Mayor promoted to COO — Kinsey Wilson leaves NPR — NPR chief content officer Kinsey Wilson will leave NPR, new NPR CEO Jarl Mohn announced Monday, according to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik: … Wilson is a trustee for Poynter.

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, Capital New York, @jeffjarvis, @aschweig and @abeaujon

Lene Bech Sillesen / Columbia Journalism Review:

Startup De Correspondent experiments with community features, only lets paying members comment — Dutch website De Correspondent responds to negative comments sections with a new kind of quality engagement — Dutch website De Correspondent responds to negative comments sections with a new kind of quality engagement

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @cjr and @_arianna

Amadou Diallo / Forbes:

FCC pauses Comcast-TWC merger review until Oct. 29, says responses from cable cos inadequate — Comcast Merger Review Put On Hold By FCC — In a public letter to Comcast and Time Warner Cable executives, the FCC announced that it is hitting the pause button on its review of the proposed $45 billion merger.

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Variety, Reuters, The Register, Delhi Daily News, Bidness Etc, The Westside Story, The Verge and Broadcasting & Cable

Derek Mead / Motherboard:

Adrianne Jeffries named Managing Editor of Motherboard's English sites — Hey, Look Who's Joining Motherboard — Motherboard's editorial team has grown by one more: Adrianne Jeffries starts this week as managing editor for our English sites. As it stands, I'm proud to work with our killer team …

Discussion: @samsheffer, @derektmead, @mikeisaac, Poynter, @reckless and @adrjeffries