Top News:
Re/code:
Re/code drops comments on its site, noting that most discussion takes place on social media — A Note to Re/code Readers — Like all websites, Re/code is in a constant process of iteration. So, starting today, you'll notice a few changes on our site, and we wanted to let you know about them.
Discussion:
SocialTimes, @waltmossberg, @inafried, @jaredbkeller, @mathewi, @dvg, @antderosa, @ashleyesqueda, @emilybell, @colarusso42, @fmanjoo, @c_davies, @karlbode, @digiphile, @mathewi and Talking Biz News
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Former Fake Steve Jobs and HubSpot content marketer Dan Lyons to head up Valleywag in January — Dan Lyons Used to be Fake Steve Jobs. Now He's the Chief Valleywag. — Valleywag's chief editor Nitasha Tiku just left for The Verge. Here's her replacement: Dan Lyons …
Discussion:
@glennf, @jyarow, @marcuswohlsen, @kevinmonty, @digiphile and Talking Biz News
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Mark Sweney / Guardian:
Andy Coulson leaves prison after serving five months of 18-month term — Ex-News of the World editor and Downing Street communications boss will have to wear electronic tag as condition of early release — Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor and Downing Street communications boss, has been released from prison.
Discussion:
Telegraph, Agence France-Presse, ITV, ITV, BBC, @bjennings90, @colinmccredie, @stevennott, @robindbrant, @privateperson3, @tiernandouieb, @zuroph, @revcindy1, @andrewspoooner, @drnostromo, @markfergusonuk, @kevin_maguire and The Drum
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Leela de Kretser / Capital New York:
Rebekah Brooks spotted in New York Post offices as speculation grows about her future role at News Corp — New York gets ready for Rebekah Brooks — When Capital's Joe Pompeo first reported that Rebekah Brooks, famous for her role in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal …
Discussion:
@themurdochtimes, @joepompeo and @davidfolkenflik
Johana Bhuiyan / BuzzFeed:
Uber document shows it sought to hire researcher to “weaponize facts” against incumbent taxi and limo industry, not journalists — Uber Sought To Hire Opposition Researcher To “Weaponize Facts” — A document obtained by BuzzFeed News points to taxi industry targets, not journalists.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, @alexismadrigal, Gigaom, @lvdjgarcia, Business Insider, @fmanjoo, @willoremus, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Electronista, The Dish, Mashable, TechCrunch, TIME and Capital New York
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Peter Kafka / Re/code:
BuzzFeed Editor Ben Smith Says His Uber Scoop Didn't Need a Disclosure — Ben Smith and BuzzFeed had a whopper of a story on Monday, when BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief reported on an Uber executive's plan to smear journalist Sarah Lacy. — A few days later, in some corners of the Internet, Smith and BuzzFeed are now the story.
Discussion:
The Week, @pkafka, @waltmossberg, @anthonyha, @nickstatt, The Daily Caller, Forbes, The Huffington Post and Consumerist
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
Yet Another Study Shows US Satire Programs Do A Better Job Informing Viewers Than Actual News Outlets — By now it's sadly clear that the nation's satirical news programs do a significantly better job at reporting the news than most of the nation's actual news outlets, despite a fraction of the budget and experience.
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
CBS, Dish Network Agree to Short-Term Extension to Avoid Blackout — CBS and Dish Network are avoiding a blackout by agreeing to a short-term contract extension Thursday evening while negotiations continue. — The crux of the deal involves the expiration of Dish's deal to carry CBS' 29 O&O stations in 17 local markets.
Discussion:
@jboorstin, @lucas_shaw and @shaliniwsj
Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:
Google launches Contributor, a subscription service that lets users contribute to participating sites and turn off Google ads — Google launches Contributor, a crowdfunding tool for publishers — Google is launching a new service for websites called Contributor, which allows users to sign …
Discussion:
@digidave, @djbentley, @mathewi, @fernandezpm, @ferenstein, @yoast, VentureBeat, Engadget, Gizmodo, The Next Web, Business Insider, @chartier and @zielina
Rob Evans / Guardian:
London police face legal action from 6 journalists for keeping database of their activities — Police face legal action for snooping on journalists — ‘Domestic extremists’ unit kept a secret database of details on journalists including medical history of family members
Discussion:
National Union of Journalists, Associated Press, BBC, @calderbank and The Independent
Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:
Jeff Bezos Makes His Mark on Washington Post With New Kindle App — WASHINGTON — In recent months, The Washington Post has been worried about reducing cognitive overhead. The phrase, borrowed from its new owner, the billionaire Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, refers to the number …
Discussion:
AdExchanger, AdAge, @saila, Mashable, PandoDaily, GeekWire, CNNMoney.com, TIME, @niemanlab, @thefix, @hblodget, @jayrosen_nyu, @nytimesbusiness, @noahchestnut and @kerrylauerman
RELATED:
James West / Mother Jones:
New York Times Signals More Newsroom Layoffs Are Imminent — The New York Times indicated today that it's getting close to a round of forced layoffs of its journalists. — The newsroom-wide email sent Thursday morning, obtained by Mother Jones, details responses to employee questions …
Discussion:
@bendreyfuss, @felixsalmon, The New York Observer and Talking Biz News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube Music Awards to Return in 2015, But Not as a Live Event — Vidsite pacts with Vice Media to produce original content for March 2015 event — YouTube, as part of its stepped-up push into the music biz, will bring back the YouTube Music Awards next March and has renewed a pact with Vice Media to produce it.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Wrap, @mizz_julie, Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Dot and Los Angeles Times
Jasper Jackson / TheMediaBriefing:
Quartz and The Economist on what makes a good media business today and tomorrow — This article is the first in a series looking at some of the key issues and topics which will feature in our Digital Media Strategies event next March. — Quartz and The Economist are two quite different businesses serving broadly similar audiences.
Discussion:
@miamabanta, @raju and Talking Biz News
New York Times:
Huffington Post Is Said to Be in Talks to Host a Jill Abramson Journalism Start-Up — Jill Abramson, a former executive editor of The New York Times, and the journalist Steven Brill are in talks with The Huffington Post to host a new journalism site that would run long articles monthly …
Discussion:
@tcarmody, New York Magazine, Politico, FishbowlNY and @felixsalmon
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Web-Video Startup Pluto TV Raises $13 Million from U.S. Venture Partners, UTA, Sky and Others — Pluto.TV, a startup whose service aggregates Internet video in a TV-like grid, has closed $13 million in Series A funding led by U.S. Venture Partners, with participation from UTA …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Forbes and Deadline