Mediagazer: Cash-Rich Asian Companies Are Looking To Pour Money Into Hollywood (Peter Lauria/BuzzFeed)

3:30 AM ET, October 29, 2014

Top News:

Matt Taibbi has taken a leave of absence from First Look Media following dispute, says source — Matt Taibbi Disappears From Omidyar's First Look Media — Matt Taibbi, the star magazine writer hired earlier this year to start a satirical website for billionaire Pierre Omidyar's First Look Media …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, PandoDaily, @paulcarr, @jayrosen_nyu, Politico, New York Times, @mtaibbi, @jackshafer, @mlcalderone, @libertyblitz, @joshuafoust, @tomgara, @ddayen, @edpilkington, MediaWire Daily, @ebboyd, @jbenton and @brettlogiurato

Pierre Omidyar / First Look Media:

Magazine journalist Matt Taibbi has left Pierre Omidyar's First Look Media: “Our differences were never about editorial independence” — Important Announcement — I regret to announce that after several weeks of discussions, Matt Taibbi has left First Look. We wish him well.

Discussion: @johnjcook, PandoDaily, @jamesrbuk, @rafat, @tomgara, @nicholasdynan, @pierre, @dangillmor and @acarvin

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Sun-Times parent Wrapports launching 70 news sites and apps for US metros, aiming to build national news and ad network with local partners — The newsonomics of the Sun-Times national/local network play — Coming, officially today, to your hometown: A templatized, national/local …

Discussion: Chicago Sun Times, Robert Feder, @mathewi, @ckrewson, @mikeziegler, @mschwerha, @mikeziegler, @jbenton, @shoominc and Poynter

Rafat Ali / rafat.org:

Why It Is Time For A Vertical Media Collective — For all the hype that media loves to shower on itself, vertical media companies, outlets and startups are the invisible middle child that everyone ignores. Even media reporters writing at vertical media outlets ignore it …

Discussion: @rafat, @tcarmody, @lock, @mallarytenore, @genn4dy, @rafat, @epeckham, @keithbohanna, @kev_burns and @jamiemottram, Thanks:@steverubel

Patrick Howell O'Neill / The Daily Dot:

Verizon's tech news site SugarString won't let writers report on US spying or net neutrality — Verizon is launching a tech news site that bans stories on U.S. spying — Verizon is getting into the news business. What could go wrong? — The most-valuable, second-richest telecommunications company …

Discussion: @aidanfeldman, Gizmodo, @tvnewslab, @klinla, @reckless, @mikeisaac, @fordm, @emptywheel, @mattblaze, Business Insider and The Verge

Amy Schatz / Re/code:

FCC Kicks Off Push to Regulate Internet TV Services Like Cable — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler Tuesday circulated a proposal to regulate Internet TV providers like Aereo, a move that could make it easier for online video services to compete with cable providers.

Discussion: FCC.gov, MediaPost, Variety, Gigaom, National Journal, Los Angeles Times, Businessweek, Engadget, @tcarmody, Mashable, Bloomberg, The Wrap and The Hill

Peter Lauria / BuzzFeed:

Cash-Rich Asian Companies Are Looking To Pour Money Into Hollywood — The trend began in 2012 with Wanda Group's purchase of theater chain AMC and has heated up in recent months as Softbank and Alibaba look to put their billions of dollars in IPO money to work. — LUNAMARINA/LUNAMARINA

Discussion: New York Times

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

New York Times Reporter James Risen Laments Lost Art Of Undercover Reporting — NEW YORK — New York Times reporter James Risen acknowledged in his new book, Pay Any Price, that he posed in one instance as an investor to look into money laundering in the Middle East, a break …

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

No arrests or prosecutions were made in 90% of journalist murders over the last decade — CPJ: In almost all cases, journalists are still being killed with no consequences — On Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists released a report entitled “The Road to Justice …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, The Huffington Post, Guardian and Broadcasting & Cable

Josh Ong / The Next Web:

Tidal launches as a hi-fi music streaming service with editorial curation and videos — Aspiro Group, the company behind the WiMP Music streaming service in Europe, has launched a new service, Tidal, in the US and UK with a focus on high-fidelity audio, editorial curation and video content.

Discussion: The Verge, Billboard, VentureBeat and Engadget

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

What's in a ‘scoop’? The White House has a strategy for that. — When the New York Times broke a story in June about the Obama administration's plans to expand its immigration-enforcement efforts, rival reporters spied a hidden hand behind the news. With its prescient timing and abundant details …

Discussion: @mlcalderone, @carloslozadawp, @gregorykorte, @alexlazardc and @jonathantamari

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

David Gregory to Join Katie Couric for Election Special on Yahoo — David Gregory, who was replaced as host of NBC's “Meet the Press” in August, will appear in a Yahoo midterm election program with Katie Couric, the company said Tuesday. — Mr. Gregory has not formally joined Yahoo …