Mediagazer: Family of jailed Washington Post journalist, held for 100 days, asks Iran to free him (Carol Morello/Washington Post)

11:30 PM ET, October 30, 2014

Top News:

First Look Media opens up about Matt Taibbi's departure, details months of internal turmoil — The Inside Story Of Matt Taibbi's Departure From First Look Media — Matt Taibbi, who joined First Look Media just seven months ago, left the company on Tuesday.

Rafat Ali / rafat.org:

It's About To Get Ugly in Media Startupland — As I look out to 2015, so much froth in the media-tech market, and it is still all on the up, mostly Newton's law, but the cracks are beginning to show in medialand, and it will likely get ugly. The big-funded sub-standard media startups & brand …

Discussion: @kevglobal, @jen_mcfadden, @rafat, @dangillmor, @chrisseper, @dwayneroper and @anildash

Gawker:

What Are The Odds These New Media Brands Will Survive? A Power Ranking — It was a sunny morning like any other (it was yesterday) when the shocking news fell on Mediatown: The future of a much-ballyhooed web startup, Racket, was in Limbo's grasp, due to warring egos, shifting amounts of start-up capital …

Discussion: @kavithadavidson, @palafo, @anildash, @franciediep, @newsmary, @max_read, @zachprague, @majorcbs, @fmanjoo, @rafat, @versharma, @mathewi, @om, @edbott, @nitashatiku, @ravisomaiya and @charlottelytton

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

9 takeways from the New York Times Co. 3rd quarter earnings call — The New York Times Co. joined McClatchy yesterday in booking a rare operating loss for the third quarter, $9 million or about 2.5 percent on revenues of $364.7 million. — But the many moving parts of the Times digital …

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
Times brass tout native, digital subs as bright spots

Discussion: Nieman Lab, AdAge and MediaWire Daily

New York Times:
NYT Q3 results: $364.7M revenue, 1.3% increased circulation, operating loss of $9M, digital subs up 20% year-on-year

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Poynter, Wall Street Journal, NetNewsCheck Latest, @joycelaunews, @whatthebit, @byheatherlong and Forbes

Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:

Al Jazeera America Viewers Down Nearly 50 Percent From Current TV's Numbers — The winner and loser of the lawsuit between Al Jazeera America and former Current TV CEO Al Gore is yet to be determined, but ratings comparisons between the two show a clear winner. — See photos: Is One of These the Next Al Jazeera America Chief?

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Vice Media Pacts with Rogers for $100 Million Canadian Studio Venture — Vice Media and Canada's Rogers Communications, a media and communications conglom, have formed a $100 million joint venture to create a multimedia production studio dedicated to original programming from the Great White North.

Discussion: Globe and Mail, Gawker, Forbes, @johnmccauley, AdAge, Media & Entertainment, City A.M., @rmcomedy and Tubefilter

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Family of jailed Washington Post journalist, held for 100 days, asks Iran to free him — The family of a Washington Post reporter held without charge in Iran for more than three months called Wednesday on the authorities in Tehran to free him. — An open letter signed by Jason Rezaian's brother …

Discussion: New York Times, @thekarami, Agence France-Presse, @rezamarashi, #JasonAndYegi and Associated Press

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Washington Post will soon have an all-male masthead — The Washington Post announced today that Usha Chaudhary, its chief financial officer and vice president for finance and administration, would depart Nov. 21 to take a leadership post at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Discussion: @jillfilipovic, @emptywheel, @grouchybagels, @zielina, @nycjim, @clarajeffery, @mshannabrooks, @doreeshafrir and @weymouthk

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Industry vet launches Global Music Rights promising 30% higher royalties from radio and online — New Venture Seeks Higher Royalties for Songwriters — Smokey Robinson, the Eagles, Bruno Mars, John Lennon and Megadeth would not seem to have much in common.

Discussion: hypebot, RAIN News, Music Week and AllAccess.com

Ramin Setoodeh / Variety:

ABC News Takes Over ‘The View’ As Ratings Dwindle (Exclusive) — Incoming president Ben Sherwood steers franchise to division's non-fiction arm — For 18 seasons, “The View” has been one of the crown jewels of ABC Daytime programming block. But in a significant restructuring …

Discussion: TVNewser, Capital New York, Broadcasting & Cable, @spinsvixenella, @carrie_uk, @poniewozik and UPROXX

Pamela Rolfe / Hollywood Reporter:

Spain passes LPI law allowing publishers to charge aggregators that link to news stories; effective January 2015 — Spain Passes Much-Debated Intellectual Property Law — Critics complain of an unenforceable Google tax and missed opportunity for clear anti-piracy law

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, @ronald_mooij, The Verge and Gizmodo

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Newsquest cuts 20 jobs at Oxford as it switches production to south Wales — In yet another round of cutbacks, Newsquest is set to make 20 staff redundant at its Oxfordshire titles. The official announcement was made this afternoon. — It is part of the group's strategy of transferring …

Discussion: @mediaguardian