Mediagazer: Funny or Die Launches News Hub (Exclusive) (Natalie Jarvey/Hollywood Reporter)

12:10 AM ET, October 9, 2014

Top News:

NBC Wanted to Hire Jon Stewart As Host of Meet the Press — “They were ready to back the Brink's truck up,” one source said — This Sunday marks Chuck Todd's one-month anniversary in the anchor chair at Meet the Press. Despite an opening-week ratings spike from his exclusive sit …

Discussion: New York Times, CNNMoney.com, UPROXX, @eliapowers, @elizabeth_calo, @alexweprin, @jjsimonwp, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, @tomgara, Mediaite, @ewerickson, The Week, The Daily Caller, Inside TV, Business Insider, Mother Jones and Variety

Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:

Funny or Die Launches News Hub (Exclusive) — “You can be entertained while getting your news” — Funny or Die is tackling the news with the Wednesday launch of its newest content vertical. — Funny or Die News will feature daily editorial content about current events from the comedy website.

Discussion: @dorseyshaw, Mediaite and @funnyordie

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Twitter News Head Vivian Schiller Out in Media Unit Consolidation — Vivian Schiller, the high-profile NBC and NPR exec who Twitter hired to run its news unit, is leaving the company as part of a consolidation. Adam Sharp will now be in charge of both news and politics at the social messaging company .

Discussion: Guardian, @vivian, TechCrunch, Multichannel News, @vivian, @vivian, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, @stevekovach, @jcstearns and @digiphile

Glenn Fleishman / The Magazine:

Subscriber-supported magazine app The Magazine will produce its last issue Dec. 17 — Last Issue Is December 17, 2014 — Hello, readers, The Magazine will stop publishing its every-other-week issues on December 17, 2014, cancel all outstanding subscriptions, and automatically provide pro-rated refunds …

Discussion: Bring Me the Head Shot …, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @jasonalcorn, @lschmeiser, Talking New Media, @jamiemsmyth, Cult of Mac, @chrispirillo, The Digital Reader, @glennf, @themagazineapp, @glennf and @harrisj

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

Next up for Netflix: An expansion to South Korea, Italy or the Middle East? — Netflix is looking for people who can speak Korean, Arabic and a number of other languages. The job offer could give us clues about the company's international plans. — Netflix isn't done with its international expansion …

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

The New York Times Keeps Cutting Newsroom Jobs, But Headcount Doesn't Budge — NEW YORK — New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet recently announced plans to eliminate 100 jobs through voluntary buyouts or layoffs, marking another grim occasion for the beleaguered newspaper industry.

Discussion: Capital New York, @mlcalderone, @abeaujon, @stuartathompson and @sulliview

Chris Ariens / TVNewser:

Comcast Shareholders Approve Time Warner Cable Merger — More than 99% of Comcast shareholders voted this morning in support of the company's planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable. TWC shareholders, who are expected to vote on the merger tomorrow, would get 2.875 shares of Comcast Class A stock for every one of their TWC shares.

Discussion: Multichannel News, Lost Remote, TVSpy, The Wrap, GalleyCat, Radio & Television …, VentureBeat and Variety

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

Ongoing crowdfunding sites like Patreon are becoming a source of revenue for journalists — Can Patreon's crowdfunding platform help journalists go direct? Jesse Brown is going to find out — Canadian journalist Jesse Brown decided he needed to get paid for his podcast or give it up …

David Higgerson:

Instead of fearing Facebook, journalists should be exploring how to make the most of it — Why journalism needs to get over its fear of Facebook — At the Online News Association conference in Chicago, Facebook went under the microscope, challenged almost to prove it was a force for good in journalism …

Discussion: Strange Attractor, @raju, @davidhiggerson, @marcsettle, @macloo and HoldTheFrontPage

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

George Gallup's 1928 college thesis showed readers lie about how much serious news they want — Readers Are Liars: The 1928 Study That Predicted the Future of News — It's a simple enough question: What do you read all day long? — For hundreds of years, it was also an utter mystery to the publishing business.

Discussion: @dkthomp and @alexweprin

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

IAC May Buy Korean Video Site DramaFever — DramaFever, a Web video service that specializes in Korean movies and TV shows, is looking to raise money or sell. — One potential buyer: Barry Diller's IAC. — Sources say DramaFever, which has raised a reported $11.5 million in debt and equity …

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Hulu CEO mulls cutting number of ads running on Hulu Plus — Hulu is looking to lighten its ad load. — CEO Mike Hopkins, who took the helm in May, is considering cutting back the number of ads that appear on Hulu Plus, the $7.99-a-month paid tier of the online streaming service, The Post has learned.

Discussion: Gigaom