Mediagazer: Layoffs at Freedom's OC Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise, affecting 100, mostly in sales (Gustavo Arellano/Navel Gazing)

10:05 PM ET, December 3, 2014

Top News:

Dish, Writers Guild, Glenn Beck's The Blaze, consumer groups and more launch Stop Mega Comcast coalition to fight $45M TWC merger — Coalition Opposes Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger — A group of companies, public interest groups and labor unions have joined forces to urge regulators …

Discussion: Consumerist, Variety, Multichannel News, The Wrap and FierceCable

Ted Johnson / Variety:

FCC Restarts Clocks on Comcast-TW Cable, AT&T-DirecTV Merger Reviews — The FCC has restarted the clock on its review of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, as well as that of AT&T and DirecTV, establishing new deadlines for comments to be filed on the transactions.

Discussion: corporate.comcast.com, Washington Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, Home Media Magazine, Gigaom and Broadcasting & Cable

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

BuzzFeed expanding San Francisco bureau to 20 staffers, hires Mat Honan from Wired as bureau chief — Wired's Mat Honan Hired to Run New Buzzfeed Silicon Valley Bureau — Matt Honan, the high-profile Wired writer and editor, has been hired by Buzzfeed to be its new Silicon Valley bureau chief.

Discussion: @buzzfeedben, @digiphile, @rafat, @jmbooyah, @strngwys, @mathewi, @walldo, @emilydreyfuss, @davidbauer, @jguynn, @blam, @mattbuchanan, @zpower, @mat, @antderosa and @mikeisaac

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

Behind First Look Media's inception, star hires, staff turmoil, and uncertain future — Can First Look Media Make Headlines That Aren't About Itself? — When a crusading but conflict-averse billionaire bankrolls several of journalism's most prominent mavericks to create …

New York Times:

Investigation continues into Sony hack, company claims news of North Korea being singled out as culprit is “not accurate” — Sony Pictures and F.B.I. Investigating Attack by Hackers — LOS ANGELES — Sony Pictures Entertainment and the F.B.I. on Wednesday were hunting …

Discussion: Re/code, BuzzFeed, Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, Businessweek, SlashGear, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal

Mike Fleming / Deadline:
In memo to staff, Sony execs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal confirm confidential data was stolen

Discussion: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, Vulture, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times and Fusion

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Founder and Editor Ann Marie Gardner steps down at Modern Farmer — Ann Marie Gardner steps down at Modern Farmer — Staff and contractors of Modern Farmer have been informed that founder and editor in chief Ann Marie Gardner has stepped down from the celebrated food-culture magazine she founded in 2013 …

Discussion: New York Times, @modfarm, @thestalwart and @joepompeo

Human Rights Watch:

Iran extends Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian's pretrial detention for two more months — Iran: Journalist's Detention Extended — Washington Post Reporter Held 4 Months, but Not Charged — (Beirut) - Iran's judiciary has extended Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian's pretrial detention for another two months.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, @cathtaibi and BuzzFeed

Gustavo Arellano / Navel Gazing:

Layoffs at Freedom's OC Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise, affecting 100, mostly in sales — 100 Layoffs Happening at OC Register, Riverside P-E TODAY: UPDATE — 1ST UPDATE, 11:40 A.M.: Here's a note from new Orange County Register publisher Rich Mirman explaining the layoffs to his crew.

Discussion: Orange County Register, Associated Press, @talkingnewmedia, @gustavoarellano, Los Angeles Times, @melendezsports and LA Observed

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Barry Diller's IAC Shuts Down nRelate Content-Recommendation Network — IAC, the digital-media conglomerate headed by Barry Diller, is pulling the plug on nRelate, its native-advertising division that sold content-recommendation ad inventory distributed via thousands of web publishers.

Jim Romenesko:

TheStreet.com investor urges Jim Cramer to take a 70% pay cut or sell the company — The head of Cannell Capital hedge fund wants Jim Cramer to consider two options: quit CNBC and focus on TheStreet.com at significantly reduced pay; or sell the 18-year-old financial news website. — J. Carlo Cannell writes:

Discussion: @aaronlucchetti, @romenesko and @pkedrosky

Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong Dismisses Yahoo Rumors, Talks Up HuffPo — To hear AOL CEO Tim Armstrong tell it, a merger with Yahoo might slow down his ongoing plans for an AOL turnaround. — Speaking during a keynote interview at Business Insider's Ignition conference in New York …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Capital New York, Mashable and Business Insider

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Demand Founder Raises $20M at a $100M Valuation for Legal TV-Clipping Startup Whipclip — Longtime Los Angeles entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt is launching a startup called Whipclip in private beta today, striking a series of deals with big media companies and attracting a roster of entertainment …

Discussion: @demandrichard, @gsrubenstein and @besvinick

Frank Pallotta / CNNMoney.com:

As new viewing options gain ground, live television viewership is slipping — Americans continue to watch most of their TV shows the old-fashioned way, but new Nielsen data proves that the old-fashioned way is fading. — According to a Nielsen trends report released on Wednesday …