Mediagazer: Scripps expands digital investment by buying Weathersphere, with apps RadarCast, Hi-Def Radar (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

7:50 PM ET, October 9, 2014

Top News:

Claire Suddath / Businessweek:

The Weather Channel's Secret: Less Weather, More Clickbait — The writers and editors at the Weather Channel's weather.com don't often talk about the weather. They're not meteorologists. They don't mention the forecast or debate whether New York's overcast sky means it's going to rain.

Discussion: TVNewser, @ryanchittum, @jyarow, @tyrangiel and The Huffington Post

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

At National Press Club, the press is shut out — I'd like to tell you what Robert Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria, said at the National Press Club on Wednesday about recent developments in the war against the Islamic State. The diplomat, who resigned in protest earlier this year because he found it …

Discussion: @miriamelder, Politico, @peterwsinger, @vipalmonga and @mlcalderone

Karen Lee Ziner / Providence Journal:

Providence Phoenix to cease publication after 36 years — kziner@providencejournal.com — PROVIDENCE, RI — The Providence Phoenix, which has served for 36 years as Rhode Island's alternative news and arts weekly, is ceasing publication, Phoenix Media/Communications Group owner and publisher Stephen M. Mindich announced Thursday.

Discussion: Poynter

Wall Street Journal:

Amazon opening first physical store this year in Manhattan, will handle pickups and returns — Amazon to Open First Brick-and-Mortar Location — The New York City Site to Handle Same-Day-Delivery Inventory, Product Returns — Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. plans to open its first brick …

Discussion: Forbes, Gigaom, VentureBeat, Washington Post, ZDNet, AppleInsider, @pkafka, @tomgara, The Verge, @claireatki and The Next Web

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Haters gonna hate: A guide to the backlash against Vice — The hype cycle for publishers is a cruel thing. One day the darling, the next you're getting a Code:Red. — Just look at Vice. In 20 years, Vice has gone from being a small counterculture magazine to becoming …

Discussion: @nickbaumann, @davidzspiegel and @buzzfeedben

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

A tip for media companies: Facebook isn't your enemy, but it's not your friend either — Facebook seems to produce a kind of existential dread in news organizations and journalists, since it plays an increasingly large role in whether anyone sees their content.

Discussion: The Awl, @stevebuttry, Mashable and Strange Attractor

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Christian Science Monitor plans Passcode, a cybersecurity vertical — Coming soon (-ish, by January of next year at the latest) The Christian Science Monitor will launch its first vertical, Passcode a “modern field guide to security and privacy.” — “The Monitor saw a real opportunity …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon Studios Wants Big Comedies, Ready to Pay $4 Million for Pilots: Sources — Amazon Studios, its appetite whetted for half-hour comedies, is now looking to fund a big-budget, high-profile laffer to anchor its next wave of original series — and rival Netflix for attention-grabbing properties.

Discussion: Business Insider and Digital Spy

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Scripps expands digital investment by buying Weathersphere, with apps RadarCast, Hi-Def Radar — Scripps Acquires WeatherSphere, Publisher Of 3 Top 10 Weather Apps On iTunes — WeatherSphere, the company behind the #1 Paid weather application on iOS, and maker of three of the Top 10 Paid weather apps …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, bizjournals, Broadcasting & Cable, WCPO-TV and Associated Press

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Music Industry Pushes for New York Tax Credits Like Film Industry's — Can a tax subsidy revive New York's music business? — A group of music industry figures, worried about the flight of music production and related jobs from New York to states like Texas and Tennessee …

Discussion: FDRMX, NCPR Daily News and Billboard

Nicole Levy / Capital New York:

At Condé Nast Entertainment, marketing digital video costs as much as making it — Every fall, when broadcast and cable networks premiere a new lineup of television shows, they aren't just investing in the production of pilot episodes—they're also spending millions to market …

Sumit Galhotra / Committee to Protect Journalists:

Big businesses attempt to muzzle critical reporting in India — This month Keya Acharya responded to a nine-page legal notice demanding she pay 1 billion rupees ($16.3 million) over her article on India's rose industry. Her legal troubles are a window on to a pattern of how big businesses …

Discussion: @mahazm and @joelcpj